//------------------------------// // 3 Welcome to Equis // Story: Lyra-7% // by Meep the Changeling //------------------------------// Lyra Heartstrings - 15th of Firstbloom 18 EoH - Noon Multiverse Location: Neighpone, Equis #7 - The Anthroverse I had never thought I would ever see a Japanese style castle. Japan had been a part of the United American States since the beginning. I mean, they had been super buddy-buddy with the old USA before the meteor, so that made sense. Their biggest ally groups up with everything else on the same hemisphere, no shit they would want in. The problem was Japan was too close to the enemy, and well… Island nation you really hate because history, seawater is refined to make deuterium, deuterium powers fusion reactors, you gotta power all of Eurasia, the meteor's dust cloud makes solar not an option... I’d have probably taken the isle over myself if I were in command of the Eurasian Confederation. As far as I knew, no westerner had gotten within a hundred miles of Japan for the last hundred years. Yet here I was. Sitting inside a Japanese style castle that could have been plucked from a photograph. White walls, tiered roofs of green tiles, gold ‘gargoyle’ heads on the corners… Or whatever you call head-shaped carvings on buildings if Japanese people made them versus someone else. The castle itself was as architecturally beautiful as I’d imagined one would be. Multiple square buildings linked via rectangular mini-buildings to make one massive complex. The whole thing lovingly sitting atop a hill at the base of a mini Mount Fuji, and surrounded by elaborate gardens with stepping stone pathways and mini bridges over artificial brooks. All encased by a wall decorated with gold leafed geometric patterns set into reliefs in the stone. This place was human as shit. If I were not talking to a four and a half foot tall pink and gold pony-girl I would seriously assume that I had been teleported behind enemy lines. But, that couldn’t be the case. If this was Earth, I would have had to fight those mecha, and I’d never seen an air capable walking tank. Furthermore, while cosmetic biomods are a thing, no one’s worked out how to change a skeleton yet, so Segata Mysuki’s digitigrade legs had to be natural. This was Japan, just with some elements changed out. It doesn't take take a Hugh Everett to work out that there was no way in hell an alien species would by chance have the exact same language as the Japanese, and also their culture, and their architecture, and sushi. The Vortex Manipulator hadn’t teleported me per say, it had ripped a hole between universes. This had to be an Earth that developed just a bit differently. I had realized this as the Empress had shown me around her garden. It would probably have blown my mind, but I’d just finished rescuing a four and a half foot pony-girl from a burning mecha and a hoard of baby kaiju. Teleported to another dimension made much more sense than any other explanation for how that massive turtle monster was able to exist and not collapse under it’s own mass… Empress Segata Mysuki had one hell of a nice garden. Every last cup of dirt had been placed by hand over generations, the whole thing was artificial, but so lovingly designed that the small rolling hills, babbling brooks, mossy stones, and lush plantlife looked as if it had just grown in that way. That’s not to say it looked like what archeologists said an untamed forest looked like. It clearly had been made to look aesthetically pleasing, having many branching and linking pathways, different set pieces made from plant life, or rocks arranged or grown in specific ways. The thing looked, despite being ‘designed’, like everything just happened to have grown like that. A near perfect balance between chaos and order. I’d seen virtual gardens less perfectly managed than this real, actual garden made with living plants. I’d also seen AR costumes with less care put into them than the short, kinda kimono-ish knee length skirt Mysuki had changed into from her shorts. It was very nice jade colored silk that shimmered and shined almost as much as the lines embroidered into it with gold thread. Though she still didn’t have a top on, prompting me to ask about their manner of dress. Apparently ponies dressed for fashion and utility only, there was no sense of shame. I wasn’t told this directly, but rather told ‘It’s too warm for a blouse.’ and ‘I’d forgo the juban, but I think it makes me look nicer. That’s worth being a little warm.’ I’d agreed that she did look very nice in the skirt to avoid being rude. Then I’d been offered a matching patterned gi, which I just couldn’t turn down, again for fear of being rude. That’s when I’d mostly shut up and listened to her talk about her garden as we walked through it, not wanting to come across as greedy by casually mentioning liking things. Mysuki’s hooves clicked against the stepping stones as the two of us slowly walked towards the palace's entrance, passing through a tunnel made by the tree tops. Whatever stimpacks these pony-people had must have been amazingly good to get her up and walking only hours after breaking both legs. Too bad I had no idea what alien meds would do to me. I refused medical care, and thus, was enjoying a full body cramp right now. “I believe this is the last part of the garden to show you,” Mysuki informed as we reached the natural tunnel’s halfway point. “What do you think?” “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen so many plants outside of a hydroponics farm in my life. How do you tend to all of these?” I asked, tilting my head back to get a closer look at the tree tops, only for my view to be obscured by Bon’s neck due to her also looking up. “Sadly, I don’t. I have many skilled gardeners to help me. I only really have time to personally care for the bonsai plum tree,” Mysuki replied. Her voice took on a curious tinge as she asked. “Do your people live in a desert? I can’t otherwise imagine how this simple garden is the most plants you have ever seen.” I wanted to dismiss the question. UASM behavioral training reflexively making me weary of speaking about my home to a stranger. On the other hand, what enemy was she going to tell any details too? “Eh… sort of,” I began. “It’s more of a wasteland.” Mysuki turned and looked at me, lips pursed in confusion. “Er, that last word wasn’t in Neighponese.” “What, wasteland?” I asked, stopping walking for a moment to check my translator app. “Yes, I don’t know what language you are speaking,” Mysuki confirmed. Quickly manually checking the dictionary, I forced myself to phonetically read the proper word aloud from memory. “We live in a arechi.” “Ah! I see… That must be difficult. What happened?” We started walking again as I continued talking. “Well, about two hundred years before I was born, my homeland was struck by a meteor. Big ass Impact Winter. Mass extinction. Few years of post-apocalyptic shenanigans… Things got very messed up for a decade, but, humans don't stay down long. We bounced back. “We did fuck things up ourselves too though. Once the new governments were stable, someone wanted to do something about the massive cloud cover. There was a geoengineering project, it went wrong… Long story short, there isn’t much alive on the surface anymore. But we’re cleaning it up properly now. Should be okay in a few hundred years.” “On the surface?” Mysuki asked, ears twitching adorably. “Your people live underground? That would explain why I haven’t heard of your kind before.” I shook my head. “No, we live in biodomes. Big ones, city sized. Or if you're wealthy, in one of the few nice outdoor pockets of eden that survived.” I paused for a moment, considering the consequences of answering her next question. I knew it would be ‘where?’ but… How could contact with actual alien life go on their side? “That seems like a massive feat of engineering,” Mysuki mused to herself thoughtfully. “I would like to see a dome so large it can hold a city.” Yep. Indirect, but a ‘where?’ all the same. I sighed, and stared at the device on my wrist for a few seconds. If I wanted to do what I came to do… I’d have to tell her about this thing sooner or later. Might as well be honest from the get go. “I don’t think it would be possible to show you,” I said with a little hesitation. “My people’s ships are far more capable than any other nation’s. I assure you we can sail to anywhere on this planet we wish,” Mysuki stated proudly, flashing me a big toothy grin. “I… I don’t live on your planet,” I explained slowly. Mysuki’s clip-clopping hooves stopped mid clip. Her ears perked excitedly. “Do you speak truly?!” She asked, turning to face me quickly enough to scuff her hoof as it rotated in place on the stone. I took a deep breath, clearing my head of the mixture of fear and unconscious prompts to stop divulging information. I was out of the Navy now. That shit didn’t belong in my head! “Yes,” I held up my arm and pulled the flap back to show her the manipulator, “this device appeared in my home a month ago. It’s a…teleporter of sorts I supose. I did my best to repair it in an attempt to try and return it, establish a peaceful contact between my species and another. It’s have enough power to make another portal though... I had hoped I would be taken to the lab that made it. I came here instead.” Mysuki’s eyes narrowed in concentration as she looked the manipulator over. After a moment, she nodded. “I believe you,” she said bluntly. “What makes you believe me?” I asked, frowning behind my helmet. “Something about this thing?” I added pointing to the manipulator. She nodded, golden mane rippling from the motion in a way that made it shimmer like sunli- God dammit, Lyra! Yes, she’s cute and exotic! Get over it! “Yes. This looks like something SkyTech would produce,” Mysuki said, still inspecting the manipulator. “I know his work quite well. His company is one of our biggest military contractors. If anypony could create an interplanetary teleporter, it would be him. Or maybe his sister.” “Wait, SkyTech?” I asked, breaking into a relieved smile. “It says SkyTech on the inside of the case! Whew! Right place after all. I was worried there for a minute.” Mysuki nodded. “I can understand why. Space is very big, it would be very easy to wind up in a place you didn’t intend to be.” She shook her head slowly before looking up at my visor and smiling widely. “Well, for wanting to establish a peaceful contact between peoples, you could hardly do better than saving my life, Heartstrings-sama… Are you in a position of authority for your species? “It should be a simple matter to arrange a visit to Trigger-san’s laboratory and send you home. I could send a nonaggression proposal with you to give to your government?” I shook my head firmly. “No. I’m a retired pilot. Not anyone of real importance… But, I can do one better than being a bureaucrat. Humans have a technology we call the ‘Direct Net’ it lets us share information with literally everyone instantly. “As soon as I get home, I can show everyone everything I saw here. At which point, the government will have to initiate a first contact, and do it peacefully since the whole public is watching. “I know that makes it sound like our leaders are evil… But they are not. We’re just in a really long slow war right now. Have been for almost a century. I’m sure you know how a government acting in war is.” Mysuki nodded grimly. “I do. I am sorry for your people’s position. Though, a resource war is quite understandable given your home’s condition. If I decide I do not wish to contact your people, will you share the information with them anyways?” She looked at me suspiciously as she asked. Her golden eyes pierced my soul like she was actually able to see through me into my mind. A warrior’s gaze to be feared. “No,” I replied swiftly and honestly. “It’s enough to know for myself that there is life aside from my own kind. Also to have had this adventure.” Mysuki pursed her lips for another moment, then nodded to herself. “I believe you. You risked your life for me with nothing in it for you. You have honor.” I laughed as she said honor. “Ohhhh man! I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not like, a knight or anything. I just couldn’t let someone burn to death.” “Your species must have a very different idea of honor than we do,” Mysuki chuckled. “I am sure you have a million questions about my world. But will you indulge me in two more, for the moment?” I nodded. “Of course.” “Why are you carrying around that snake?” Mysuki asked in a way I had never had the question asked before. With disgust-free curiosity. “Oh, you mean Bonbon Two?” I asked reaching up to get her to wind her head around my arm and hand so I could hold her head out for Mysuki to touch if she liked. “She’s my pet. I…didn’t intend for her to follow me here. I’d even hired a pet sitter. But here she is… Frankly I don’t know how she’s still alive.” Mysuki bent her knees slightly and looked Bon in the eyes. “Hello there, scaled one. You’re not hungry, are you?” I chuckled. “She can’t talk. I don’t have the money for that sort of pet-tech.” Bon flicked her tongue, seemingly intentionally, booping the pink unicorn-girl on her nose with the tips of her forked tongue. Only to coil back around my arm while looking very pleased with herself. Mysuki nodded sagely. “Then I shall feed you along with your mistress.” I blushed slightly, it was one thing to talk to her myself, but it felt weird when someone else did it. “My species comes in three varieties,” Mysuki said as she stood back up to her full adorably sized height, “one of my ancestors was an Earth Pony. Understanding an animal’s current mood and desires is a trait he passed on to me. You take excellent care of your pet, she adores you.” I frowned uneasily. “Wait like, you can talk to animals?” She shook her head quickly. “No. Some fullbloods can, but that is far beyond my power. I am merely empathic towards all manner of beasts… It’s... A great burden to know the mind of a creature when fighting a kaiju. So much hatred...” Mysuki trailed off, taking a moment to physically and mentally compose herself in the same way any ground trooper asked about Korea II would. I frowned behind my helmet. Was she being serious? Was this a religion thing, or did they have some kind of heightened animal empathy? I mean, old people claimed they could tell what their dogs were thinking… Maybe these ponies just sort of had that as a natural thing instead of something they learned to do? Shaking my head to clear it of what could be a very culturally rude question, I instead said. “On a different topic, I’m surprised she’s doing alright. The radon should have killed her within a few minutes.” Mysuki’s tail twitched, the braided length of hair moving in what had to be an emotional way. “The what should have killed her? Why?!” She asked in complete shock. “Radon,” I repeated. “A gas that’s frankly making up way more of your atmosphere than should be possible… I mean, the stuff decays quickly and according to my sensors it’s making up about twenty percent-” “Manuke!” Mysuki swore, slapping a palm to her face. “I have been wondering why you kept that helmet on after the battle. Do humans know Alchemy? Could you illustrate the gas for me? I’ll have a mage create a ward so you are able to remove your helmet to eat.” “Ohhhh shit! That’s a good point I didn’t even think about eati-” I paused mid sentence as my brain finished processing everything Mysuki had said. “Mage?” “Hai. One who manipulates the natural world,” Mysuki said as her muzzle split into a confused frown. “Do you not know the word?” I bit my lip again. There was no dodging the cultural bullet this time… Best be as tactful as you can, Lyra. “No, I know what mage means,” I began, speaking slowly to gain more time to think. It’s never a good idea to piss off a head of state. “I can appreciate cultural differences, I mean no disrespect, and I hope you can also appreciate cultural differences. “Humans do not ascribe to superstition, at least, most of us don’t. Magic is not a thing we believe in. I can appreciate that you do, but please understand that from my point of view, it is insane to take a helmet off in a toxic area because a priest has performed a superstitious ritual.” To my surprise, Mysuki didn’t immediately scream at me for poking her culture’s superstitions. Instead she gave me a half understanding, half condescending smile. “It’s not superstition. Magic is a very real part of the universe. Our mages have theorized that some species might not be capable of magic, humans must be such a species.” I almost rolled my eyes, only avoiding doing so by remembering that only the clear visor was between my eyes and a fucking head of state. “I don’t suppose you could prove that, could you?” I asked, again, doing my best to remain polite in tone and posture. Honestly, how does a species which can build five story tall battle mechs still buy into the supernatural? They have to have science! “I could very easily show you many kinds of magic, if I were not an A.L.I.C.O.R.N. pilot,” Mysuki said all question dodgingly. “Our mecha use our natural magics to link our minds to the machinery. It is how we control the movements so fluidly. Unfortunately, this means modifying our horns, and means we can no longer sense magical energy or utilize it outside of our mecha. So, no. I can not personally prove magic to you, but, any unicorn in my staff can.” “You don’t have to actually show me magic to prove it’s a real thing,” I said, breaking out my elbow drop skeptic’s argument against all common sense. “After all, if something is real, it or its’ effects can be observed. If it can be observed, it can be measured. If it can be measured, it can be tested. If you can test it, you can learn about it. Meaning if magic is real, it could be described scientifically. Could you describe how it works?” Mysuki nodded in the short simple manner of an expert being asked if they could tell me which drill bit was for wood and which was for metal. “Of course I can, I do still use magic, just not outside of my A.L.I.C.O.R.N. Magic is simply the manipulation of the Thaumaturgic Field, a universal field much like the electron field, only this field's…shape in a given area provides an instruction set for the rest of the fundamental forces to follow. “Effectively, the Thaumaturgic Field sets the rules that create physics. Again, like other force vector fields, the Thaumaturgic Field is accompanied by an elementary particle which the field uses to perform interactions with other things within spacetime. Unlike most elementary particles, this one, which we call Mana, are easily manipulated via electrons and can not only influence non Thaumaturgic fields and their particles, but can also work in reverse, and manipulate the Thaumaturgic Field itself to in turn adjust everything else. “That is what we call magic. Using the movement of electrons in very specific ways to change the behavior of Mana, thus causing a desired effect as the Thaumaturgic Field that reshapes and influences the universe accordingly. It can be performed by almost any living creature, but some species are better suited to it than others.” I stood there looking at her dumbfounded for several long moments with my jaw hanging limply open. “D-did you just describe magic in terms of Quantum Mechanics?” I stammered. “Hai!” Mysuki replied with a huge grin. “I… Can’t do better than that, I’m a samurai, not a mage. I only know enough to make my own spells. I’m certain there is far more to it than I know.” “Um…” I said as a means to compose myself. Mysuki suddenly looked past me, a slight frown on her face for a moment before she silently nodded to herself. “Would a practical demonstration help?” she asked. I nodded. “A lot.” I mean, her explanation sounded plausible. Kinda. I think? I was mostly entirely blown away by the fact that someone had gone to such effort to come up with a plausible scientific explanation for a super- “Ōi!” Mysuki called over my shoulder. Reflexively turning my head, I spotted a lime green pony-girl with a light blue mane done up in a bun with jade pins, who had silently and stealthily crept up behind us to tend to a small flowerbed. She definitely confirmed the fact that ponies definitely thought of clothing as optional as she seemed completely comfortable in her fur, with just a satchel over one shoulder for her gardening tools. Then again, her fur did cover everything up very well. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t have a sense of modesty? It was definitely hard to not judge an alien culture by human standards... Setting a watering can down to give Mysuki a low bow, the gardener asked. “Hai, my Emperor?” “Would you please pass our guest a crystal from the garden?” Mysuki asked her in a very polite tone, considering she was ordering a servant to do something. “Hai,” she confirmed. An actual visible light blue energy field shimmered around the gardener’s horn, another simultaneously enveloping a small smooth polished piece of rose quartz. A piece of quartz which just floated up from the rock garden the flower bed surrounded and drifted over to me as if it were in zero gravity. I reached out for the crystal, hesitant to touch it in case the energy field was plasma. But, my helmet’s systems detected absolutely nothing wrong with the crystal. It was seemingly safe. The field vanished as I closed my fingers around the crystal. “Ah yes, you like the color jade. Shiyōnin-chan, would you kindly recolor this crystal for our guest?” Mysuki asked politely. “I’m sorry, my Emperor, I do not know any color changing spells,” the gardener apologized with another low bow. “Ah, a shame. Thank you for helping demonstrate magic to our guest. Please return to your work,” Mysuki ask-ordered, turning her attention back to me. “Do you believe in our ‘superstition’ now?” She joked. “Uh… Well… It’s not like she had any tech on her… And that energy didn’t register on my helm’s systems… So yes. That was a thing, and whatever it is, my species has no knowledge of it.” I said, rolling the crystal over in my fingers. She hadn’t asked her to use magic to pass it… She just…did. Like it was a thing you could just do... “H-how much can this do? If it works how you said it does, then you could change all of physics! How do you have any problems as a civilization?” I asked, mind doing the equivalent of CPU stuttering as I tried to process a trillion things at once! “In theory, yes, we could,” Mysuki confirmed, “but not in practice. There’s a natural harmony to the universe, and the field will return to it eventually. If you want a spell to last a long time, you must provide energy for it. Also… We are only mortals. Not everyone can learn any spell, most of them are quite difficult to use, let alone master. “To levitate the crystal too you, my shiyōnin had to think in a very specific way to make the electricity in her brain form a specific pattern, to achieve the effect you saw. It takes a lot of work designing a new spell, and even more to learn one you did not make yourself. We unicorn's are lucky, we naturally understand much of magic’s workings. But most species would spend years mastering even basic spells. “Furthermore, while you can get more energy out of a spell than your body puts into casting it, you will never get more than a certain amount. It’s very much proportion, so to do something requiring a great deal of energy requires luck in genetics, or knowing how to be very efficient with your spells, or using arcane technology to help you. Each of those methods have their boons and banes. “In short, there are physical laws which magic obeys. It’s hard to do for most, and simply put, we have not yet invented spells to do everything. Neighpone is not Equestria. We can’t simply conjure tons of lumber… Ah, and another drawback, nations tend to guard their most useful spells jealously.” I nodded slowly and stared at the crystal for a few more moments, then nodded slowly. “Okay. I’m convinced. You’re magic is a real thing.” Mysuki smiled again and wiped her forehead. “Thank goodness! I’ve never enjoyed teaching the sciences. Will you now consent to allowing a mage to construct a ward so you may share a meal with me?” I took another look at the pink crystal, and slowly shook my head in amazement at the truly awesome thing I had just witnessed. “Well… If it can manipulate gravity, it can probably move some atoms out of the way. Alright, let’s do this thing.” Lyra Heartstrings - 15th of Firstbloom 18 EoH - Evening Multiverse Location: Neighpone, Equis #7 - The Anthroverse The promise of lunch had turned into a promise of dinner. Mostly because it took a long, long time to explain to Mysuki’s court mage how humans did chemistry. Pony alchemy and human chemistry are the same exact thing… Except their alchemy includes arcane phenomenons, and therefore had a totally different language. We simply wrote down the number of electrons, protons, and neutrons to describe an element. Ponies use a weird probability formula to derive a specific mathematical description, which is how they describe an element. It’s totally and completely unintuitive to humans, or at least me. At least our system was just as incomprehensible to them as theirs was to me. Fortunately we found a common ground once I was able to bridge electron orbitals with part of their equations, and the two of us worked things out from there. It didn’t take long after that, but getting there was quite the bitch and a half. Once I was able to successfully communicate to the young stallion what I meant by ‘radon’, well, he had a spell for blocking the stuff already. Apparently ponies actually use radon in a similar way to oxygen. They don’t need it to live, but somehow radon helps them recover their stamina. Without it it can take a pony hours to get their wind back after a sprint instead of minutes. So a radon blocking spell was pretty much standard for all prison guards. This did make me feel like I was going to dinner in handcuffs, but at least I had a few hours of freedom to remove my helmet. A damn good thing since apparently to the Neighponese ‘a meal’ means ‘a fuck-mothering feast god damn it!’ Mysuki’s dining hall was HUGE, easily two hundred feet across and perfectly square. It was decorated just how I had expected it to be, but that did nothing to diminish it’s beauty. The floor was made from dark stained oak boards polished to a glossy shine, the walls were wooden and rice paper screens painted with murals depicting Neighponese history and doubling as doors to the kitchen and other areas. The ceiling was literally sporting a paper lantern per square foot, and each lantern was burning some sort of very nice smelling incense. They also definitely moved furniture in as needed because the only thing in the room right now was a single square black-stained wood table and two chairs. It was dead center in the room, and completely heaped with all manner of exotic looking food. Exotic looking food that was motherfucking art! There were rice sculptures of cats, birds, fish, and other animals, even objects! Dozens of different kinds of vegetables were cut to interesting shapes and/or arranged artfully on the plates and platters… It looked like someone had told a sculptor to make the most amazing thing possible with vegetation, bread, and grains. Even the rabbit they had gotten for Bon to eat was presented on a plate and arranged in a pleasant to look at manner… And also adorably located atop a tiny snake-high table set next to a chair at the big table I presumed was for me. Normally I balked at the thought of a vegetarian meal, but holy fuck, that looked too good to complain about in any goddamn way! Mysuki was already seated by the time I arrived, and politely gestured for me to sit. Which I did. Eagerly. “I’m sorry this is such a simple meal, but my staff was away for most of the day due to the evacuation,” Mysuki informed as I stared longingly into a bowl of some kind of amazing looking mushroom soup. My head snapped up to look her in the eyes. “THIS, is SIMPLE?” I demanded incredulously. Mysuki’s mouth formed a little ‘o’. “Right, of course… Your homeland is a wasteland. Why don’t you take that off and enjoy Neighpone’s bounty? It would be nice to see your face.” I nodded, took a deep breath, and nervously reached up with both hands to press both releases on my helmet. Bon meanwhile noticed the rabbit and slid down my shoulders to the floor at the speed of Clint Eastwood. Mysuki had been right, Bon was hungry! Confidence in this magic boosted by my snakie friend, I pressed the releases, and slid my helmet off with a loud hiss of air. As I set the helmet down on the floor next to my chair, I heard Mysuki gasp in surprise. “You’re furless!” She exclaimed. “Er, yeah. We just have the ‘mane’,” I said giving her a smile. “I had figured you were some sort of ape, based on your body shape,” Mysuki mused, stroking her muzzle thoughtfully. “You must be so cold all the time! Is that why you have that full body covering?” I blushed lightly and ran a finger through my rapidly vanishing mint and white colored military crew-cut. Thank goodness I could have normal hair again! “Er, well yeah… That’s one reason,” I agreed, not wanting to explain the human relationship to clothing in case that might offend this much more casual species. “Another is that it works in tandem with my helmet. Parts of a whole system.” “Ah I see… Also the green looks much better on you than your skin. I didn’t know non-pony skin came in ivory,” Mysuki said casually as she began to move various foods onto her plate. “Eh, well, human skin isn’t usually this color. Same with hair. I’m super pale because my grandparents are from a place called Ireland. And my hair is from my mom. She got genetic hair dye done, and that gets passed onto your kids, so I get the epic hair color and pattern,” I explained. “Ah, what colors are normal for your kind then?” Mysuki asked. “We are super boring in terms of variety. Pale peach with a gradient to extremely brown skin. Blond, black, brown, or orange hair, gray if you are old. That’s it. Cosmetic modifications are very popular,” I said, following Mysuki’s lead and loading up on deliciousness. “I was actually going to get my ears made something similar to yours, but our military has strict appearance regulations, so I decided to wait on it.” Mysuki nodded, satisfied with my explanation. “Interesting. Is there a particular reason you dislike your ears?” I paused, frowned, and thought about her question for a moment before shaking my head no. “Not especially. I just think I might look better with different ones is all.” “I would comment on that, but I would likely say something rude,” Mysuki chuckled. “Let’s turn the tables a bit, I have been asking all the questions so far. How about you ask a few.” Yes! Finally! I had a list! “Why is your species so adorable?” I asked, instantly regretting blurting out the first thing that came to mind and blushing a bright red. “Pony bodies are highly toxic to most creatures,” Mysuki answered. “You can touch us, that’s safe, but if you tried to eat one of us, you would most likely die.” “Oh! So your bright colors are like a warning to predators?” I asked genuinely intrigued. “Yes, though there are plenty of things that will eat you because they are immune. We call those species ‘monsters’, but they are generally rare. As most species leave us alone, our ancestors chose mates for beauty over survival traits. Hence, we look much more… Adorable, as you put it, compared to most species we share our world with,” Mysuki finished, taking a spoonful of soup into her mouth upon finishing. “Wait, share? There’s more than one sentient species on your world?” I asked, taking a bite of a sauce covered rice-thing that was basically screaming ‘eat me’. Oh. My. Fucking. Gosh. Best. Food. EVER! If I was being bamboozled and was being poisoned from the air despite the ‘spell’, this would make it totally worth it! “There are. You have dragons to thank for the passion fruit sauce you just tried. In total, there are about nine intelligent species on Equis. I’ll get you a book on them to read later,” Mysuki offered. “I would much rather have a bottle of the sauce,” I said, eagerly eating another of those rice-things of pure deliciousness. “It has to be prepared fresh, unfortunately. It will not keep for more than few hours,” Mysuki sighed sadly. “Do you have anymore questions, or will you be enjoying your meal too much to talk?” “Uh…” I squirmed in my seat slightly. “I’m not sure. This is very good!” Mysuki laughed and shook her head with a smile. “I understand, Heartstrings-sama. Dig in, I’ll tell you my people’s history while we eat.” “Sounds great! But first, what are these things?” I asked holding up the delicious rice-thing of epicness. “They are called onigiri,” she answered taking a sip of her…whatever she was drinking. “The Neighponese are the descendants of an ancient land which is long dead. It was very far from here, and we don’t know quite for sure where Normane was for sure, but it was somewhere near the modern nation of Prance. As for how long ago our ancestors came from this land, well, we are the only modern nation older than Equestria.” “How old is that?” I asked curiously. And also ate another delicious unpronounceable rice-thing. “Just over twelve thousand years now,” Mysuki answered, taking another sip of her soup. “Those many millennia ago, the Normane attempted to make a colony across the sea from their homeland. It was to be on a place called ‘The Hallowed Isle’. “Unfortunately their six colony ships were blown off course by a storm, beyond the regions marked upon their maps. The fleet did their best to find their way back to Normane, but with no bearings they could only take their best guess and as such, they failed. Instead our ancestors found this place, the Sunbathed Isles. Just in time too, as supplies were almost completely expended. “Unable to sail any further due to ship damage and a lack of food, our ancestors were forced to try and settle here, on this isle. This was a dire problem for our ancestors. The Sunbathed Isles are…hard to tame. Earth Ponies and Pegasi, they have a hard time manipulating the natural order here. Also, as you saw, Kaiju like to come ashore on occasion.” “I was wondering why you lived here with those things stomping around,” I said through a mouthful of rice-thing. “Er, sorry, I forgot to swallow.” “Quite understandable, I love that sauce too,” Mysuki chuckled. “Our ancestors had no choice but to live here, and as they survived and came to thrive, so do we, their descendants. We have tamed this dangerous land… But we had help. “You see, our ancestors had formed a small democratic council as an emergency government to help get things started. I know, I know, it’s not a very efficient means of governance, but when you have no idea of what to do, multiple voices and public consensus are quite helpful. Things were very bleak for them, no one had any experience dealing with the new problems, and the land our ancestors came from was cold, not tropical. Their plants did not grow well here. “Our ancestors would have died within the second year if not for a miracle. I know it's odd to call something a miracle when you live amongst sorcerers, but well… A traveling monk happened upon our ancestor’s settlement. Miraculous since scouts showed the isle as otherwise uninhabited. No one lived there but our ancestors, and yet, this monk arrived in the early Neighpone.” “Maybe he sailed from a neighboring isle?” I asked with a shrug. “That's what I think,” Mysuki agreed with a nod. “Some ponies think he appeared from thin air… Sadly we will never know. His appearance has been lost to the ages since our ancestors were too busy working to not-die and had no time to draw or sculpt. He didn’t give directions to where he came from as well. “We do know his name, for he was my family line’s sire. Segata… Personal name unknown. We call him Segata Sanshirō, since the name means ‘Imperial Resolve’ and well, my ancestor single handedly planned out all of Neighpone from scratch! “According to legend, he slew a kaiju on his own, and painted the Imperial Isle with its blood to ward off others. He showed our ancestors what plants grew well here, how to grow them… Everything. If it exists and is traditional here, my ancestor’s scrolls detailed it for the ponies he saved and guided.” I nodded, thoroughly impressed. “That’s a pretty good story… How did he kill a kaiju though? You didn’t have mecha back then, did you?” Mysuki laughed. “We did not… But our Mechs designs are based on drawings of armor he left for us. According to legend, he beat the crap out of it.” I triple blinked. “Beg pardon?” “The story goes that my ancestor waited atop a cliff as the kaiju came to land, and then beat the crap out of it, by himself, using only hand to hand combat,” Mysuki clarified, smiling a little. “I know. It’s silly, but it’s a twelve thousand year old legend, it’s surely exaggerated somewhat. No Earth Pony is that strong.” “It must make for a great story… I’d love to see it sometime,” I said, cracking a smile as I pictured an over the top action film of a tiny pony-guy fighting Godzilla. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any plays about our history in the summer. They are a winter tradition,” Mysuki sighed sorrowfully. “But we could see the statue commemorating his victory tomorrow. It’s in my family’s shrine.” I hummed for a moment before nodding, “Alright. But I do want to get a hold of SkyTech so I can return this thing,” I said holding my arm up to indicate the VM. “Oh! Hai, of course,” Mysuki said apologetically with a smile. “One moment…” Reaching into a pocket of her skirt, Mysuki retrieved a small blue gemstone and held it up to her lips to say, “Trigger-san”. The gem began to glow a faint blue, and then after a moment a stallion's voice came from the gemstone. “Good evening, your highness,” the stallion said pleasantly. “Is the new fusion blade holding up well?” “I am afraid it was destroyed in battle today, Trigger-san,” Mysuki said sadly. “But it served me well. I shall be ordering another. This is on another matter. Would it be possible for you to come here with a portable laboratory? A new friend of mine has acquired some technology built by your company via a teleport accident. She wishes to return it, and also go home. She is here due to the same teleportation accident, and somewhat stuck.” “Huh… Are you sure it’s mine?” The stallion asked. “Hai, your branding is etched into the case, and the design is clearly your own,” Mysuki replied adamantly. “Humm… Maybe someone on my team was working on teleportation tech. I don’t remember doing that… I guess Ayna could have made it and forgot,” he mused. “Well, my little bro is getting married tomorrow, and I’ll be providing security for his wedding… Soonest I could be there is three days, five days tops. Is that alright?” Mysuki looked up at me from her fucking awesome communication rock. “Heartstrings-sama, is that alright with you?” “Yeah,” I decided with a nod, “we found a way for the air to not kill me long enough for me to eat. I don't mind staying a few days.” “Wait, the air will kill you?” The stallion asked, seemingly baffled. “My friend is not from our world. Our air is toxic to her,” Mysuki explained casually. “Y-you uh… So… Aliens?” He stammered. “Yes,” Mysuki confirmed calmly. “I’ll be there in two days,” the stallion said firmly. “I need to go now and do things to clear my post-wedding schedule.” The gem’s glow vanished, presumably as it’s connection was cut. “There we are,” Mysuki said, tucking the stone away to return to her soup. “Your quest is coming to you. Until he arrives, I would enjoy showing you my people’s home and learning about your own. This is an… Interesting experience.” I gave her a smile. “You can say that again!” To my extreme disappointment, Mysuki didn’t coyly say it again. Instead she continued to talk about her ancestors legends. I would have paid full attention to them… But well, those rice-things were just too fucking good! It was impossible to snack on them and pay more than half attention to anything dammit! I only had two more days to eat them. They deserved my time and attention, double-dammit! Besides, Mysuki apparently could talk for hours and hours. By the time she was done recalling everything, it was very late at night. Late enough where she had a servant show me to a guest room, and I collapsed onto the bed without really even noticing anything more than a bed to spend the night in. “Night, Bon…” I muttered as I drifted off to sleep. “This has been fun so far, hasn’t it?” Bon slithered to coil herself up next to me and a bit on top of me, sort of like a blanket. “Yeah, it has…” I muttered happily.