Chapter 2
Twilight had been going through her books late into the night, looking for clues to the origins of their mysterious alien visitor, but hadn't found anything terribly useful. Getting to sleep late, she had found herself waking tired, but early, even as the first light of dawn came through her open window. Heading down to breakfast, she considered her options.
"Hmm, I could go over and see if the creature is awake yet..." she said thoughtfully. "I wonder if Princess Celestia has ever seen anything like him before?" she brightened. "Spike, take a letter!"
"Right!" Spike produced parchment and quill in a moment, rarely going anywhere without them. It was always handy to be prepared to write around Twilight Sparkle, after all.
"Dear Princess Celestia,
I wish to inform you of an unusual visitor to our village of Ponyville. Some time yesterday afternoon, a bipedal creature of unknown origin wandered into our village. It is somewhat similar in form to the Diamond dogs, but taller, and without a natural covering of fur, apparently. This creature came out of the Ever-free forest, and after a short incident at the Sweet Apple Acres, wandered into town, where it was... temporarily rendered unconscious due to a slight misunderstanding.
Thankfully, there were no serious injuries, and the strange creature, once I was able to establish communication with it through a translation spell, was friendly and cooperative, and quite willing to answer questions, although it's injuries prevented me from having more than a short conversation with him.
While I have searched my texts for references to such a creature, I was unable to discover anything that matched its description. The fact that it did not speak Equestrian, as well as it's unique appearance, led me to believe it is of alien origin, that is, not of Equestria. The creature's own experiences, as it has related them to me, seem to agree with this hypothesis. According to the creature, who calls himself Johnathon, he is an archeologist by trade, and was investigating an ancient ruin in a jungle rainforest in his world, when he encountered, as he put it, a "hole" or "nothingness" that pulled him into our world, where he suffered a head injury. He apparently arrived at the Castle of the Two Sisters, where we recovered the Elements of Harmony, and I believe this location to have some significance, although what that significance is I am uncertain. Also, the time of his arrival seems to coincide roughly with Discord's storm of chaos, which I feel is also likely a factor, although again, whatever combination of factors that brought this creature here, I can only guess.
I intend to continue my investigations, and I will keep you informed of anything new I discover.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight nodded to Spike. "Send that please."
Spike was struggling along as quickly as he could. "continue my investigations..." he glanced up at her. "Twilight, didn't you ask this Johnathon character what kind of creature he is?"
Twilight blinked. "Well, I would have gotten around to it, Spike, but Fluttershy felt he needed his rest after his injuries. Apparently he's had a number of blows to the head over the last few days, and we don't want to take any chances."
Spike shrugged. "I guess you can ask go ask him now then." he went back to writing. "anything new... faithful student..." he finished writing, then glanced up at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you going to mention the other stuff? I mean, this creature seems kind of dangerous to me. He's really strong, and he hurt Big Macintosh."
Twilight blinked. "What? No one told me Big Macintosh was injured! When did that happen?"
Spike rolled his eyebrows. "Couldn't you tell? Big Mac was kind of walking funny yesterday, as if his chest hurt. I asked him about it after you carried this... Johnathon away. Apparently Big Mac ran into him, and this creature stopped him dead at a full run."
Twilight blinked again. "Stopped... Big Mac? How?"
Spike shook his head. "Big Mac wouldn't say, exactly, only that he ran into the creature and it stopped him."
Twilight shook her head, then focused.. "Well... is Big Mac going to be alright? Does he need to see Nurse Redheart?"
Spike shrugged. "Big Mac said he'd be fine, it was only a bad bruise. Still, is it alright to leave that creature alone in Fluttershy's cottage? It could hurt her!"
Twilight hesitated, then shook her head. "Fluttershy has dealt with lots of dangerous creatures before... it's not like this... like Johnathon is any more dangerous than a Manticore. Besides, he was injured pretty badly as well. He seemed barely able to stand. I don't think he'll be in any condition to be a threat to anyone for awhile yet."
She frowned. "It is strange that he could stop Big Mac like that... Johnathon is... tall, but not really very big. He probably weighs less than I do!" Twilight thought about trying to stop Big Mac at a full run herself without using magic, and her imagination failed. "Perhaps creatures of Johnathon's species are exceptionally strong for their size? He was able to hog-tie Applejack, and she's the strongest pony I know, aside from Big Mac."
Spike nodded. "Like I said, dangerous!"
Twilight shook her head. "Don't worry too much, Spike. Just sent the letter to Princess Celestia. Maybe she might know something about his species that we don't have in our books here?"
Spike shrugged and sent the letter.
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The Princess of the Sun was standing on the balcony with her sister Luna, having raised the sun only minutes before, when Twilight's letter popped into existence in front of her.
Luna smiled fondly. "Ah, another letter from your faithful student!" she teased lightly. "I do enjoy reading her lessons on friendship, when you'll share them with me, big sister."
Celestia couldn't help smile as well. "She has grown into a wonderful little pony, don't you think,Luna?"
Luna nodded gracefully. "She does her teacher proud." she looked curious. "What discovery on the magic of friendship has your student made this morning, I wonder?"
Celestia unrolled the parchment with her telekinesis, and started to read. In moments, her expression changed from one of cheerful anticipation, into one of confusion, and finally settled into a faint frown.
Luna grew grave as well at the sight, as she was aware of very few things that would so disturb her older sister. "Tia?" she asked softly. "What is the matter? Is Twilight Sparkle well?"
Celestia shook her head, then turned to her younger sister. "She is not harmed, although her message worries me. A creature from another world has arrived in Ponyville, and... I fear I may understand more about it's arrival than my most faithful student. I think she may have encountered a creature called... a human."
Luna blinked. "The same creatures we encountered after we defeated Discord the first time?" She asked, looking slightly worried as well.
Celestia. "I do not believe it to be a coincidence, dear sister. I shall contact Twilight Sparkle at once."
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Twilight Sparkle hadn't quite made it out the door to the library when there was a loud *thump* on the balcony outside, and a polite knocking on the second story window.
Twilight blinked in confusion. "When did Rainbow Dash actually start knocking on pony's windows rather than flying straight through them?" she grinned slightly to herself, and quickly headed up the stairs to her bedroom, only to stop in shock. Outside her window, Princess Celestia was patiently standing on her small balcony.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight rushed up to the window to open it, stepping aside as her mentor gracefully stepped into her room. "I didn't expect you to come yourself! Is everything alright?"
"I hope so, my faithful student." Celestia said with a calm expression. "I do not wish to cause undo alarm, but given this matter's possible relationship to Discord, I thought it best to make sure everything was all right myself."
"Of course, Princess." Twilight nodded seriously. "Shall I show you the way to Fluttershy's home then?"
Celestia smiled softly. "Please do, Twilight Sparkle. I am most interested in meeting this alien creature you have described."
Twilight led the way, and they were soon on the path to Fluttershy's house. Several ponies they passed on the way paused in shock, usually bowing as they passed, and Twilight couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable with the attention. While she was used to the way most other ponies treated her mentor, it was always a little strange, especially here in Ponyville. As they walked, Twilight explained a little more about their visitor.
Celestia was unusually quiet, and finally Twilight felt she had to ask. "Princess, have you ever seen a creature like what I've described before?"
Celestia hesitated a moment. "I can not be certain, and it was a long time ago. I believe it will be better to simply see for myself."
They traveled the rest of the way in silence and found Fluttershy tending her garden when they arrived. "Oh my! Good morning Princess Celestia!" Fluttershy said, bowing low, but doing her best to address the alicorn clearly. "Are you here to see Johnathon?"
"And a fine morning to you, Fluttershy." the princess answered with a gentle smile for the timid pegasus. "Yes, is he awake? I'd like to speak with this being myself, if possible."
Fluttershy hesitated only a moment. "He was asleep a moment ago, when I checked on him, and he should get his rest with his injuries...." she glanced at Twilight Sparkle, who was looking at her with an impatient expression. "...but I'm sure he wouldn't mind visitors. He seemed very... nice when we spoke last night." she continued as she cowered lower to the ground.
Celestia hesitated as well. "Perhaps we could just peek in and see how he's doing? I wouldn't want to disturb his slumber..." she said in a kindly tone.
Fluttershy nodded her agreement quickly. "... sure." she said in a tiny voice, not daring argue the point. "if you think that's a good idea..."
Celestia's eyes went soft, and she smiled very gently down at the yellow and pink pegasus pony. "It is important, Fluttershy. We will try not to disturb your patient too greatly." she nodded at Twilight, who gave Fluttershy a reassuring look before leading the Princess quietly into Fluttershy's cottage.
Celestia stopped and took a good look at the form reclined on Fluttershy's couch. Still fully dressed, save his boots, which now rested on the floor, and covered in a blanket, she could not be certain at first what exactly she was looking at. But only moments after she and Twilight had entered, the man was stirring, glancing in their direction, then slowly rolling onto it's back and laboriously rising into a sitting position.
"Good... good morning." the man said slowly, looking at the Princess as his eyes went wide in astonishment. He glanced at Twilight, and after a moment's contemplation, greeted her by name. "Twilight Sparkle. Good morning. Could you introduce me to your... companion?" he returned his gaze to Celestia again, obviously thinking hard.
Twilight cleared her throat. "Johnathon, this is Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia, this is Johnathon."
"Johnathon Dwire." the archeologist corrected absently. "My full name is Johnathon Dwire."
Celestia's doubts faded. While different in many ways from the creatures she remembered, this was almost certainly a human. "I am... pleased to meet you, Johnathon Dwire. Welcome to Equestria." she frowned just slightly, and seemed to make a decision. "Your people... call themselves human, am I correct?"
Johnathon nodded. "That's right." he opened his mouth as if to ask a question, then closed it. "And... you are...?" he shook his head. "I apologize if it seems rude. I'm just... quite curious. So far I have seen three distinct species of... er... ponies since I've arrived. You appear to be a fourth... and from something Twilight Sparkle said last night... are all members of your species royalty?"
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "My sister Luna and I are known as Alicorns... and yes, I suppose we are considered royalty. There are only the two of us, I'm afraid."
Johnathon nodded. "I apologize if that was an impertinent question."
Celestia smiled slightly. "Not at all. How are you feeling, Johnathon Dwire? Would you be willing to answer some of our questions as well this morning?"
Johnathon smiled back. "Sure. Can I ask some of my own at the same time?"
Celestia nodded. "That would be acceptable."
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Johnathon found himself opening up to the Princess with surprising ease. There was just something... reassuring about her. It was more than the fact that she was the most magnificent animal... he corrected himself, the most magnificent being he'd ever seen, more than the subtle but undeniable sense that she was immensely powerful, which normally would have worried him rather than reassured him in any case, it was something about how calm and controlled she seemed, even though she had let him see a little bit of the worry she was feeling.
It was that he wanted, very badly, to reassure her, even though he realized, as he continued, that perhaps not every thing he had to tell her would be sure to engender her confidence, he found it very difficult to keep from telling her everything she wanted to know.
Twilight glanced at her Princess, looking slightly confused. Why was Princess Celestia using magic? it was subtle... so subtle that she could barely detect it, but it was there. She could feel it calming her, making her more willing to share... almost like a truth spell, although much more sophisticated then anything she had ever seen before. Just a... gentle nudge toward being more open and honest. She started to ask, then shook her head. Surely the Princess knew best.
"And that's when something hit me in the back of the head, and I woke up here." Johnathon explained, finishing his abbreviated story with a shrug and a chuckle. "Apparently Rainbow... err... Dash, I think? The blue pegasus with the rainbow colored mane, hit me when I was reaching for Twilight...." he waved a hand quickly. "Not that I'm mad. She was just worried about her friend... and I'm alright, mostly."
Celestia smiled gently at him. "I am grateful that you do not hold a grudge." she turned to Twilight. "I did not think to ask. Were all accounted for after everything had settled? No injuries, I hope?"
Twilight hesitated. "Big Macintosh was a bit bruised, but he was moving alright when I saw him last. I don't think anyone else was injured."
Johnathon frowned slightly. "Was that the big red stallion wearing the horse collar?" He asked, looking slightly guilty. "I thought I might have hurt him a little. I'm sorry about that." he reached up to rub his right shoulder, wincing slightly. "Although I'd wager he got off lighter than I did. I'm going to be feeling that hit for a week at least."
Twilight Sparkled mouthed the word horse in mild confusion before nodding. "Yes, that's Big Mac." she looked slightly impressed. "I'm surprised he didn't knock you flat. Big Macintosh is very strong. Are humans normally as strong as you are?"
Johnathon blinked. "Well, er... I suppose I'm pretty fit. Stronger than average, I guess. I also spent some time as a linebacker in high school...." he shook his head. "Sorry, a linebacker is a position I played in a sport, a game my people call football...." he paused, checking his audience to see if he'd lost them. "Do you have team sports here?"
Twilight nodded. "A few." she looked a bit surprised. "What kind of sport teaches you to... stop somepony that big in the middle of a charge like that, anyway?"
Johnathon chuckled wryly. "A rough one. I was... well, I was really small growing up. I was the smallest guy my age growing up, so when I played football, I had to block guys twice my size... or more, on a regular basis. I just... well, I already knew a lot about leverage, and that sort of thing from these jujitsu classes I took when I was little, and I took that onto the field... mind over matter, you know?"
Twilight started to nod, then blinked, and shook her head. "I'm not sure I do, really. What is ju... jujistu?"
Johnathon blinked. "Oh... that's an unarmed combat form from my world. Um... big on grappling, and joint locks, and holds, that sort of thing. A lot of it is designed to allow someone who's smaller to take advantage of their opponent's greater size... and at the time, I was the smallest one around."
Twilight blinked. "You learned... a form of combat when you were very little?"
Johnathon hesitated. "Well... er... several, actually."
Princess Celestia sighed slightly without letting her disappointment show. It seemed humans had not changed as much as she had first hoped, although at least this individual seemed somewhat less aggressive than she remembered. Still, humans could lie as easily as anypony... she could not be sure he was being completely honest with them, although he did at least seem quite sincere.
Johnathon looked at Twilight with a bit of concern. "I take it that... er... that sort of thing is not typical for this area?"
Twilight hesitated. "Well, not really, no, although it's not unheard of, I suppose. Is your world very dangerous, then?"
Johnathon looked thoughtful. "I suppose it's a matter of perspective. So far, this place has seemed rather dangerous to me, although thankfully now that we've gotten past our communications problem, I'm hoping that won't be a problem." he shrugged. "Some parts of my world are more dangerous than others. Some parts... very dangerous, others, like the part I grew up in, less so. I learned to fight... to defend myself when I was young because I was smaller than the rest of the boys my age, and... well, it was part of the culture of the region where I grew up that boys had to be strong. Fighting... not serious fighting, but fist fights and minor scuffles were just part of growing up. It was how a lot of boys figured out their... place among their peers." He shrugged. "I didn't exactly fit in... I was taught not to fight by my parents... to... in their words, to turn the other cheek, but after I was, well, beaten up a few times, my father encouraged me to learn to defend myself." he chuckled wryly. "And, while it's not really the most useful skill, it turned out that I had a talent at it."
Johnathon turned serious. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea. By the time they become adults, almost everyone grows out of that sort of nonsense. My culture does not tolerate adults fighting the way they do boys... and I, personally, dislike violence... harming any living thing. I always have. I did study the martial arts... unarmed combat styles, for many years, but when I reached the point where I could defend myself without having to hurt anyone in the process, I stopped training... well, mostly. It's good exercise, and I did spend some time as a self defense instructor for awhile." he grinned. "But now I'm rambling, and you probably are getting lost. To make a long story short, at one point, I had a big growth spurt... I was about sixteen years old? I grew ten inches..." he demonstrated the distance with his hands. "About that much, in three months..." He frowned. "Er... ninety days?" he shrugged. "After that point, I never... well, I never purposely inflicted injury on anyone. I did have a few altercations, but I was able to deal with the situation without doing anyone any harm... which was the best part of my talent for... well, for combat."
During his long winded explanation, Twilight and the Princess simply listened. While Twilight's face expressed so many different emotions that he wasn't quite sure what she was thinking, the Princess's expression remained dispassionate, as if she was simply used to hiding her emotions.
Twilight was the first to speak. "So... because you disliked violence, you became good enough at it that you didn't have to... use it anymore?" she wrinkled her nose. "I'm not really sure I understand."
Johnathon scratched his head. "Yeah, I do have a bit of trouble explaining that one." he looked thoughtful. "Um... maybe if I use an example. If... oh... Big Mac wanted to stop Applebloom from hurting him, he could be gentle, right? He wouldn't have to hurt her."
Twilight nodded. "Sure, he's so much bigger than she is! He could just hug her, or something."
Johnathon nodded. "Well, skill is like being bigger and stronger... and I've got a lot of skill. I'm also pretty big and strong... and fast. Bigger and stronger and faster than most people... and a whole lot more skilled than most people too. If I want to stop someone from hurting me, I can almost always do so without having to hurt them. Does that make sense?"
Twilight nodded now. "Oh! I get it now." she frowned. "I'm sorry, but your world doesn't sound very nice... if you have to learn all that just not to hurt anypony...."
Johnathon blinked. "Well... it's not quite that bad. I mean, I was, for various reasons, in positions that were more dangerous that what most people had to deal with. I was a security guard for several years, in between going to school...." he hesitated. "Um... I protected people and things?"
Twilight nodded. "We have guards here."
Johnathon nodded. "Before I finished my degrees, I did quite a bit of security work, and sometimes I had to... keep people from harming me or each other. It was nice to be able to do so without doing harm."
Twilight nodded. "I see. And most ponies... er... people, aren't guards..."
He nodded. "As adults, most people do not have to worry about violence very often at all. It's not really that common where I come from."
Celestia spoke up. "Where you come from is one of the more peaceful places on your world?" her words were kind, but the question was plain.
Johnathon nodded slowly. "Well, yes, in fact. There are parts of my world that are quite a bit more dangerous, to be honest. I've never really visited any of those places personally. Not any place really dangerous."
Celestia looked at him solemnly. "You spoke of... unarmed forms of combat. Are there other forms of combat on your world?"
Johnathon hesitated, hearing something that he didn't like very much in her tone. "Well, yes." he admitted, not wanting to lie. "I know a few armed techniques as well, although they're more of a sport where I come from. I have never carried a weapon, personally, aside for practice."
Twilight glanced at the Princess again. It seemed like she was fishing for something, and she wasn't sure she liked where this conversation was going, but she didn't know what to say.
Celestia nodded at the human. "You do not have to defend your own actions in this, Johnathon Dwire. I believe you to be a... gentle human. But I would like the complete truth."
Johnathon nodded slowly. "I won't lie to you, princess. Lying isn't one of my failings, thankfully."
Celestia smiled. "I believe you. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but your people, they use weapons against each other?"
"Some of them." Johnathon admitted gravely. "Yes. Even in the best parts of our world, there are some that do."
Celestia nodded again. "To harm... or to kill?"
Johnathon nodded again. "Yes. That's true enough. It's not something that's permissible in our culture... to harm or kill others, but it does happen. Such things are crimes where I come from... and severely punished."
"With death?" Celestia asked, tone very soft, her eyes forgiving but still firm.
Johnathon hesitated. "Not where I come from... or at least, so rarely that when it happens it's a remarkable event indeed, but in some parts of my world, yes."
Twilight Sparkle felt a shiver go down her spine, and she sounded upset as she spoke again. "Oh." she said simply. "I've read the history books... I know that, long ago, ponies used to fight... sometimes even kill, but... it was very long ago."
Johnathon turned to Celestia, looking helpless, then back to Twilight. "That's... well, I'm glad to hear that. I'm afraid my people haven't quite grown up that far." he tried to think of a way to explain it, but couldn't come up with anything. "I'm sorry... I...."
Celestia sighed, and held up a hoof. "I'm sorry as well. I know these questions are not pleasent. I'm afraid I have one more, however."
Johnathon nodded slowly, having a feeling where this was going, but not willing to lie to her.
Celestia's eyes were grave. "Do they still have war on your world? Do humans still kill each other for land, for wealth, or for political gain?"
Johnathon hesitated, then nodded. "Yes... we still have war."
Celestia sighed. "I feared as much."
Twilight felt her ears flattening against her head. "War?" she vaguely knew the word, although she had almost never heard it used. It meant many ponies... fighting and hurting each other over some sort of goal. She knew the concept, having studied their history as completely as any Pony she knew, but it had seemed such a strange... alien idea. She shivered again, realizing that she was actually frightened. Standing by her mentor... Princess Celestia, in Fluttershy's cottage, she was suddenly scared to death. She couldn't stop herself from shaking!
Celestia put a wing over Twilight's back comfortingly. "The human society is not like ours, Twilight Sparkle. The last time Discord was free, after my sister and I defeated him, sealing him in stone and freeing our land from chaos, there were many strange things left behind. One was a gateway... a weak point in space and time that led between the human world, and our own. My sister and I encountered travelers from that place... strange, barbaric men who bore only the faintest resemblance to Johnathon Dwire, and unlike him, did not desire peace in their hearts. We tried to reason with them, offered friendship and peace, and while they were not truly dangerous to my sister and myself, they could not be trusted around those who were weaker than themselves."
Celestia sighed. "By that time, it had been many hundreds of years since the ponies of Equestria had moved beyond the need for such violence. We lived in harmony, at least for the most part. The humans, unfortunately, had not yet learned that lesson. I had hoped, somehow, that in the time that has passed, they might have achieved a lasting peace as we did so long ago, but it seems that's not the case."
She turned to Johnathon. "At the time, we felt that the humans were too dangerous to stay in Equestria. We, my sister and I, forced the few humans that had found their way into our world to return to their own, and we traveled to your world for many years, attempting to make a lasting peace between our peoples, and we hoped, between your own. Unfortunately, we were not successful. We built embassies on both sides... one eventually became what you know as the castle of the ancient pony sisters, Twilight Sparkle, the other.... The other I believe you may have been excavating when you were pulled through to this side."
She looked thoughtful. "We sealed the gateway long ago. We thought it was a permanent thing. Neither my sister or I had the power to open such a gateway again once it was sealed, so we only closed it when all other options seemed hopeless to us. I am afraid that Discord's return has reopened the gateway..." she frowned sadly. "And from what you have told me, Johnathon Dwire, I think it best if we seal the gateway once again... before more of your kind come through."
Johnathon Dwire had sat silently and listened to the alicorn princess. He didn't know what to think. At the same time, however, he couldn't argue with her.
"You're probably right." he finally admitted. "I'm sorry to say, but... I think your world would probably be better off without any of the... bad parts of mine." he sighed. "I wish I could argue with you. If there is a gateway... and I could travel back and forth, it would be the opportunity of a lifetime for me... to study your people, perhaps to learn something that could benefit mine... but...." he should his head. "But if this place is as... as peaceful as you imply, well, while the chance of something... truly bad coming through seems small to me, it's probably not worth the risk."
Twilight sighed, closing her eyes and visibly calming. "I am sorry Johnathon. Even though it sounds like parts of your world are terrible, I would also like to find out more about it. I'm sure we would learn a lot from each other!"
Johnathon nodded. "Of that I have no doubt. But the Princess is right. While most of the people of my world would not abuse a place such as this, there are enough that would... and I would not let that happen if it could be prevented."
He turned to the Princess. "We should hurry. The site we were excavating is quite remote, but my team should have returned almost two days ago... and they would have called for help. There may be more humans here already." he frowned. "My team won't be any problem... they're scientists, like me... and peaceful enough. Those who come to help...?" He shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't want to risk it. We should go now."
Celestia hesitated. "Are you not injured, Johnathon Dwire?"
He shrugged. "I'll live... and there will be medical care on the other side. I'll be fine so long as I don't hit my head going... going through again."
Twilight suddenly rushed forward, putting her hooves around him. "I'm sorry I could not get to know you better, Johnathon." she told him softly. "I think we could have been friends."
"I think we are... just a little." he told her softly. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but if we get there too late, and someone... the wrong someone comes through? I can't let that happen."
Celestia nodded. "We will hurry." She hesitated. "I could call for the royal chariot, but it would take hours to arrive. In this emergency, I think we will have be expedient." she looked at Johnathon. "Can you climb on my back, Johnathon Dwire?"
He blinked. "Can I..." the archeologist nodded slowly. "I can ride... er... I used to have a horse about your size on my farm." He told Celestia. "Although she didn't have wings." he hesitated. "I'll just... hold onto your neck, if that's alright?"
Princess Celestia nodded firmly. "That will be acceptable." she turned for the door. "Let us go."
Johnathon Dwire quickly pulled on his boots, then forced himself to his feet slowly, taking in a slow breath. "OK... yeah, i think I can manage, for awhile, anyway."
Celestia smiled. "It should not take long to arrive. I know a... shortcut."
Johnathon raised an eyebrow. "You can teleport too?"
She smiled broadly and nodded. "You're a quick study."
Johnathon shrugged. "I pay attention." he followed her out into Fluttershy's yard. The yellow pegasus was laying in the middle of her chicken run, talking to her chickens quietly, and looked up as she saw the princess and Johnathon exit.
"Oh my!" she said, looking concerned. "Are you sure you should be up, Johnathon? You were so dizzy last night!"
Johnathon smiled faintly at the gentle pegasus. "I'll survive, Fluttershy. Thank you so very much for taking care of me. I'm sorry I have to rush off like this, but... well, we have a world to save." he grinned at Celestia. "OK... that was probably the coolest thing I'll ever get to say."
Celestia grinned back. "It is pretty cool the first few times." she agreed cheerfully. She slowly knelt before him, then folded her hind legs so that she was sitting on all fours. "Will this make it easier for you to climb on my back?" She asked politely.
Twilight nearly fainted at the sight, and Fluttershy got very confused. "Um... can I ask... er... what's going on?"
"I'm going to ride an Alicorn." Johnathon explained tersely, with a bit of a grin. "A very great honor." Celestia giggled lightly, her voice like the sound of bells.
Twilight looked horrified. "But... princess! It's not right!"
Celestia smiled gently at her and deliberately misunderstood. "I know Johnathon is hurt, but I promise, I will be most gentle with him... and as you know, time may be slipping away from us, and it would not be right to trap him on this side of the gateway."
Twilight's ears drooped. "Of course... but..."
Celestia nickered lightly, amused but not angry at her favorite student. "One serves in the way needed, Twilight Sparkle. It does me no harm to carry an injured man."
Twilight nodded, slowly smiling back at her mentor. "I will remember, Princess Celestia."
Johnathon slowly climbed onto the Alicorn's back, careful to place his legs so as not to interfere with her wings, and lowering himself so that he was hugging her neck. "I apologize if I squeeze too hard. Are you planning on actually flying part of the way?"
Celestia giggled. "I'm afraid so, for a little bit. Teleportation is a bit easier long distance if you travel within open spaces, and mid air is easiest."
"Ah." Johnathon sighed. "As much as I'd love to fly any other day, my poor head was hoping you weren't going to say that."
"We will begin slowly." Celestia said comfortingly, and rose to her feet, easily bearing the man's weight. She flapped her wings experimentally at first, making sure she had full range of motion with him on her back, before making several strong down beats, and lifting off the ground almost effortlessly.
"How do you do that?!?" Johnathon said in a loud voice into her neck as the wind rushed past them. "Achieve so much lift with wings that small... I'd think you'd have to beat them much faster!"
"Magic!" Celestia told him gaily. "Now hold on tight!" She instructed. A moment later, there was a flash, and they were gone.
Twilight shivered. "Please... let it be alright!" She begged. She wasn't quite sure who she was talking to. The sun? Celestia herself? She didn't know. There was something inside her... some small part of her that was absolutely certain that regardless of everything she had heard and seen today, this wasn't over. She wasn't sure if she should be frightened, or hopeful. All she knew was, somehow, this wasn't...
The end.
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Not the end... although one ending. I'm actually pretty happy with this.
Endings are hard... good endings doubly so, and I feel like I nailed this one. But no, this story is not complete. (although this would make a good place to close a short story, I think...)
I like this, and I hope you'll do more.
If there's one thing that sits a bit uneasy with me, it's the discussion of violence in our human world. It seems overstated on both sides. Johnathan rambles excessively on the subject, while the ponies seem too shocked. I know they are pacifists by nature, but I figured they were made of sterner stuff than this. These aren't your G3 ponies who spend their days giggling and having tea parties and giggling and playing dress-up and giggling.
I'd suggest that both worlds are large and diverse, and categorizing one as safe-and-civilized and the other as violent-and-barbaric is just unfair. I mean, for example: would you be more afraid of finding yourself suddenly dropped into The Netherlands or into the Griffin Kingdom?
Okay, so this is one ending? Like this was a short story and is finished, but you will also make more chapters starting back from a point in the near past?
I agree, I did have my human protegonist ramble on a bit too long before coming arond to the point. In my head, Celestia was subtly encouraging him to continue on the subject, as it was the human tendency towards violence she was worried about... and she wanted to get a true picture of how bad it could be... but it does seem to bog down the story a bit... good place to edit, I suppose. I might have indicated the subtle magic Celestia was using to get Johnathon to open up more clearly as well... Hindsight is aways keener, I suppose. So far I've been pretty much writing this in a nearly stream of consciousness style, so I expect I'll hit more rough patches.
As for the shock Twilight exhibits? Perhaps a slight overreaction, but I often do lean toward the dramatic... Still, while some level of violence does exist in the MLP universe, we have never seen any real crime, no police, no army, not a single weapon of any kind...
Princess Celestia's guards wear armor, but there has never been a single weapon. Even villain's like Nightmare Moon have not resorted to anything like lethal force... (ignoring the fact that in a realistic world, no sun would mean everyone dies of starvation or freezes to death, but it's a magical world, perhaps Nightmare Moon had some plans to feed and heat the planet? Or she didn't think that far ahead, being a bit crazy?)
Heck, there is a huge dragon that could eat a dozen ponies in a gulp, covering ponyville in smoke, and Celestia sends Twilight and company to deal with it? Unless we are to assume that Celestia is more than a little ruthless, we have to figure that even dragons in this world do not kill other sentient beings without cause. And the Griffins? Gilda was rude, and a bit mean, but she never laid so much as one talon on any pony. Given the ponies casual reactions to her, Griffins aren't considered dangerous.
Extrapolating, it is easy to conclude that even the meat eating creatures of this world ruled by alicorns respect life to an unheard of degree on our world. Is it the influence of a certain benevolent immortal alicorn? It seems likely. Even the depictions of the founding of Equestria, and the alicorn sister's battle against Discord in the distant past have no real violence or death. No one is ever killed, no matter how evil... so it comes across as a serious taboo, just by the fact that it's never even referenced.
It's just my opinion, of course, but I think it's pretty plausible on the surface. Lethal Weapons, and the concepts of deliberately ending the life of a sentient being, are not things you find in Equestria, or if they are, they are very, very rare, and suppressed.
Anyway, to answer another question... this was not the end, not even of this story. Twilight's gut feeling is correct, and this is not the end. You didn't think it would be that simple, did you?
Oh wait... Pip the pirate was waving around a wooden sword on Nightmare Night, wasn't he?
*Sighs* Darn it. That blows my theory out of the water... anyone want to earn a no-prize by figuring out why that DOESN'T mess with my no-weapons, no-killing in Equestria theory?
Personally, I'm going to pretend he was holding a wooden replica of a handy tool for dramatically descending sails with... not a weapon. (If anyone doesn't get the reference, watch some Errol Flynn pirate movies...)
Hah... I almost forgot Applebloom. She's been depicted wearing a karate gi, and when she got 'cutie pox' she gets a fencing mark, and is winning a sword fight with another little pony... just fencing foils, of course, but still, no way to explain that away. Sure, they are all minor instances, but obviously weapons exist in Equestria.
*throws in the towel*
Alright, looks like I need to make some changes if I want my story to match the canon. I can do that. Time for a rewrite.
>>Christopher28
I like to think about it from the point of view where weapons are more archaic and reserved for guards and other ponies of that stature. If you'll remember, in "A Bird in the Hoof", when the pegasus guards' wings connected, we heard a metal clash. If my theory is correct, weapons such as wing-blades and other forms of swords exist, covering Pipsqueak's costume, yet modern firearms have yet to even be stumbled upon. Plus, there really isn't much reason for anything like our modern weapons, considering the griffins and zebras are relatively friendly to the ponies in Equestria.
However, perhaps in the past such weapons were required to live, comparable to our Middle Ages? Over time their need would have dwindled to near nothing in the civilian population, creating the desired effect of no weapons in the populace.
Does this satisfy your question? *Bows before you*
(On a side note, no-prizes are my favorite)
-Randomosity19
Actually, my thoughts were leaning in that direction as well.
Looking at what little canonical history of Equestria we have been shown so far, we can come to some basic conclusions.
Over a thousand years before the series is set, perhaps several thousand years, (it isn't said, but certainly well before Nightmare Moon is trapped in the moon), the unicorns controlled the day and night, the pegasus controlled the weather, and the earth ponies controlled the land, and apparently Celestia and Luna didn't exist yet.
An important factor, if more than just a legend, is the existance of the "Windigoes" which feed off fighting and hatred. They would be a very powerful motivation to avoid serious conflict, once the various races discovered their existence, and how they were causing the world to enter a premature ice age...
At some point later, Celestia and Luna are born... come to be...? And take over the duties of raising the sun and moon.
Some point after this, Discord controls Equestria, and Celestia and Luna defeat him and become rulers.
All of this happens at some point more than a thousand years before the time depicted in the show. At some point after that, Luna goes nuts and Celestia sends her to the moon.
So... there may have been armed conflict in Equestria's past... perhaps even as recently as the period right before the founding..., the rosy picture of opposing rulers simply bickering and going their seperate ways, painted by the "Hearth's Warming Eve Play" could obviously be the result of history being retouched... but it seems rather clear that in general, there were no serious conflicts between the species of pony after the founding of Equestria.
Certainly, in the thousand years of Celestia's rule after Nightmare Moon was banished, it seems that their world was extraordinarily peaceful.
Having a ruler who actually lives over a thousand years means that their history would be more accurate than ours... unless Celestia took it upon herself to sanitize the parts of history she didn't want to see repeated... which is more likely, IMO.
So at the least, we probably can assume there has been no major armed conflicts of any kind for the last thousand years. Long enough that the very concept of war would be alien to the ponies of Equestria. Just like in our society, weapons that were used a thousand years ago are used today as implements of harmless sports... no military seriously uses swords today, but it's likely that the sport of fencing will last for centuries to come...
Anyway... as I said, I think a rewrite is in order, although not a major one. And then on to chapter 3!
And... done. Minor edits, mostly. Just smoothing out things to make sense. I believe I'll call Chapter 2 done now, and move on!
Time for Chapter 3.
Regarding extreme pacifism.... My assumption has always been that we don't see outright violence largely because we're viewing their world through the lens of a TV-Y rated cartoon. That translates as "all ages 2 and older"! The violence and danger are implied rather than shown directly because that's what the rating requires.
By way of comparison, the new Looney Tunes Show is rated TV-PG (9+ years, parental guidance suggested) and they still took away Yosemite Sam's pistols. That should give you some idea how sensitive the requirements are for getting a cartoon on TV. That FIM is working within those restrictions and still managing to imply some degree of danger in their world is.... pretty cool, actually.
Well, we can assume we're seeing their world through a lens, brightly, or, as I'm doing, come up with canonical, (if slightly implausible) reasons that everything we've seen so far is true...
Which gives us some weird history... but again, it doesn't seem too much to ask to actually accept that magical talking unicorns with wings control the sun and moon?
Anyway... I'm simply going with some rather bold assumptions, and work from there.
A: A prey species (ponies) becoming the masters of their world instead of a predator species, (humans!) means that competitive drives aren't as primal. Gryphins and Dragons (obviously prey species) exist as well, but have adapted to the acceptable social mores of the more powerful society. Add in magical creatures (Windigos, and yes, I'm assuming they're real) that bring never-ending winter in response to fighting and hate? A more peaceful society than our own just makes sense.
B: An Immortal, all powerful being that actually lives on the planet. Sure, Celestia is shown to be far from all powerful, but it's obvious that she and Luna have significantly more power than anything else, save possibly dragons, and Discord himself, on the planet, and are essentially immortal. What they say goes! It's like what would happen if Superman lived on earth since Roman times... and got tired of war and violence. What military is going to say... "heck with what the immortal super being says, we're going to blow our enemies up anyway.... oops, look at that, all our tanks just melted..."
C: Finally, why doesn't the giant dragon in "Dragonshy" eat the Mane 6 for lunch when they disturb his nap? Why, for that matter, would Celestia risk her favorite student like that, when, if there was trouble, the dragon could easily have eaten them all? Because an immortal alicorn with the power to move the Sun and Moon says if you eat intelligent species, you get sent into the Sun, so Celestia knows that there is no real danger. (OK, this is part of B, but it's a really important clue...)
D: Because it's my story, and it's the way I'm interpreting the MLP universe. *grins*
Someone is going to have to change their story somewhat now that cadence made an appearance !!!
"One serves in the way needed, Twilight Sparkle. It does me no harm to carry an injured man."
I really like your characterization of Celestia.
Hate to whine a bit, and you write a great story. But whenever a human comes across in any good story they always seem to be a shining example of humanity. I'm not saying i'd want the dregs of socitey to be featured in a story, but someone a bit more gray would be nice.
Call it cynical but i think the only reason we don't have major wars anymore is because we're too good at killing each other now and the benifits would almost be guaranteed to not out weigh the repercussions..
P.S. if you addressed this ealier my apologies, i'm a very lazy commentor.
You've won points in my book right there.
You need to do an edit my friend:
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "My sister Luna and I are known as Alicorns... and yes, I suppose we are considered royalty. There are only the two of us, I'm afraid."
There are 3 now, in canon
Otherwise, great story so far.
1602843 Nine months ago, when I wrote this chapter, there WERE only 2 Alicorns. Lauren Faust herself stated that there were only supposed to be the two. She wrote Cadence as a regular unicorn, and Hasbro changed her into a pink winged unicorn to sell toys.
Right now, I'm still not sure if she should be considered an alicorn or not. Cadence is obviously not much older than Twilight Sparkle... (she was visibly younger when foal sitting her, enough so that she seems to age at a normal rate.) So is she immortal? Hard to tell.
She's a princess, but then again, Blueblood is a prince, so that doesn't mean much. At the time of the Royal wedding, she didn't even seem all that powerful, (Twilight clearly seemed the more powerful of the two) so aside from the fact that she has both a horn and wings, she seems different from Luna and Celestia in some major ways. I thought that perhaps she's simply a mortal winged unicorn, with royal blood, perhaps, but without some intrinsic quality that would make her an immortal alicorn.
Of course, Celestia getting her ass kicked did not help clarify anything, although it made her seem a lot more mortal than I think most of us had assumed. Discord beating her? Yeah, that's one thing, but a glorified ant queen who's best tricks are self transformation and stealing love energy giving her a beat down? WTF?
The season 3 premiere has made me take a step back and think about Cadence a bit. Cadence has obviously proved herself to have some major power... on the level of her husband, at the least. The Crystal ponies seemed to recognize her. (huh? she can't be much older than Twilight... right?)
But still the question remains. What IS an Alicorn? Are all winged unicorns immortal, or are Luna and Celestia somehow unique? We still really don't know.
This one time, I wrote a story that involved Celestia in the body of a human riding her body that the mind of a human.
And she had a gun.
As silly as that was, I still giggled as I read your take on Alicorn Cavalry.
Yea... That was really hypocrical to humans, what would ponies be doing if there was 7 trillion of them on the planet? Killing each other just to live, it shouldn't be "Humans haven't gotten that far yet" it should be "Humans have gone there and back, turns out, it doesn't work!" I mean, if ponies and Humans where put out in the wild, who would survive: The humans, while the humans are beating the shit outa bears and the likes to survive, the ponies get mauled because "It's peaceful", there reason humans survive is because We're smart, we're paranoided, we have a strong sence of self perservance, and hands. All that just reaks of winning. And the whole alicorn royalty is over rated, they got wings and horns, so what? That gives you right to rule over others, thats like saying because you have blond hair and blue eyes you the "suprior race", you may argue that th raise the heavenly bodies, how did it before? Before the unicorns knew how to do it?, simple that guys called Newton, Galileo, and Einstien. If anything, the ponies are the ones to sham, especially since they're "So fogiving and peaceful" that thy automaticly assume the humans evil, just because how he looks; and b) because theyitteraly judged the human race on the few people that slopes though.
This just seams close to being a TCB jr.
</rant>
That feltt good,I just can't stand hypocritical ponies, it just it's too many nerves, Exspecialy sence in their world every thing is fixed by saying "I'm sorry" and everything ok.
2277847 It's 7 billion, not trillion. But I have to agree with the rest of what you say. I hate the idea of them being so simple minded that they mark humans as evil for shit like that. It's the kind of thing a child would do.
2277847 Well said, good sir.
2277847
Answering questions and statements periodically.
"what would ponies be doing
if there was 7 trillion of them on the
planet?"
Assuming that they do have a bit of a childish mindset, that wars are past 1000 years old and the Princesses have time to rule a planet, theyd still have an utopia.
" Killing each other just to live,
it shouldn't be "Humans haven't
gotten that far yet" it should be
"Humans have gone there and back,
turns out, it doesn't work!" "
Ah, but we are so infinitely different that you cant say that, how do you know if we HAVE actually gone there and back?
" I mean, if
ponies and Humans where put out in
the wild, who would survive: The
humans, while the humans are
beating the shit outa bears and the
likes to survive, the ponies get
mauled because "It's peaceful" "
The differences between our nature and Equestrian nature are again, vastly different, so you cannot deduct that, unless your talking about only one of the aforementioned.. natures. That last bit is also hypocritical against ponies.
" , there
reason humans survive is because
We're smart, we're paranoided, we
have a strong sence of self
perservance, and hands. All that just
reaks of winning. "
Thats preservation. Also, "All that just reaks of winning." depends on the environment were in, if we were in our dream/god-lands, all those(except being smart) traits would be useless, and seriously, what do hands have over magic?
" And the whole
alicorn royalty is over rated, they got
wings and horns, so what? That
gives you right to rule over others,
thats like saying because you have
blond hair and blue eyes you the
"suprior race" "
The thing is, ponies chose them to rule, that is at least a valid hypothesis, and from the looks of it, ponies LIKE them ruling over them, third, they have at least 2000 years(-1000 for Luna) of expertise in ruling a country.
About the superior race thing, well, they are, watch the show please.
" , you may argue that th
raise the heavenly bodies, how did it
before? Before the unicorns knew
how to do it?, simple that guys called
Newton, Galileo, and Einstien. "
First and foremost, they didnt have those 3 legendary persons there, second, i could argue lots about that last bit, there are so many hypothesis's, mabye they didnt move? Cosmic powers? Did the sun even exist before Celestia? etc.
" If
anything, the ponies are the ones to
sham, especially since they're "So
fogiving and peaceful" that thy
automaticly assume the humans evil,
just because how he looks; and b)
because theyitteraly judged the
human race on the few people that
slopes though. "
If youd read more youd see that they didnt judge the human by its looks only, second, they didnt judge our race by only those who went through the portal, if youd read more youd see that THEY went through the portal into our world, even made embassyes, they judged us by that period of time.
P.S - Yes, i do realize i just answered a 10 week old post, but i liked it ;P
RAINBOW DASH STUDIES KARATE, DAMMIT
I wish people would THINK. God above, I wish they would think.
They have ARMED SOLDIERS. They live in a world with MONSTERS. And there are things like the Changelings and Sombra and obviously there are other nations that are not friendly to Equestria. If they live in a perfectly peaceful world it's because they kicked so much ass that nobody dares cross them.
They're NOT PACIFISTS just because they EAT DAISIES!
2769588
I started writing this before Season 2 ended. No spears, no changelings, no Sombra.
I do acknowledge Dash's general badassery in this story along the way... including her martial arts skills.
You must admit that the Mane 6 at least generally employ peaceful means to solve most of their conflicts. The Manticore, the Sea Serpent, the Dragon... all "defeated" without killing.
It's a kids show, they don't show serious violence in a kids show, right? I am making the (rather radical) assumption that perhaps the things we see on the show are the literal truth in every way. That the reason we don't see more violence and aggression is because they actually aren't there! I'm sure many people disagree with me on this. Another opinion on the matter is that they are a militaristic, violent society, at least as much as ours, and the only reason we don't SEE that is because it's a kids show. I'm going with my own take. IE, that everything we see on the show is the reality, and trying to write about that world as realistically as I can.
I respect your right to disagree with me though. It's a fantasy story, after all. It's quite open to interpretation.
2769631
I can't believe I'm about to say this but ... I agree with Reality up there (to a point). I remember reading this up until the next chapter and then stopping but not the 'why' of it. This is the why. I respectfully disagree with your assertion of pony pacifism and wish you luck on your writing.
2770829
I respect your right to have your own opinion. But as a final rebuttal, I have only this to say.
Season 1, Episode 21, Over a Barrel. A wild west style cowboy (pony) vs Indian (buffalo) confrontation... and the weapon of choice? Apple Pies.
Yeah. Apple Pies. I'm positively terrified of the pony capacity for violence.
I'm not saying that the ponies weren't violent in the past... but all evidence seems to say that in the present, they're pretty darn pacifistic in nature.
I could go on. There is plenty of evidence to support my theory... if you'd care to debate using examples from the show, I'd be happy to engage in a polite argument on the subject.
Damn I thought this was going to be a fun story
oh well.. unfaved 
2778194 wow. thats pretty heartless dude. authors feed on favourites dontcha know? you're starving him man, you're starving him! oh god the humanity! wont somepony think of the authors?!
The shitstorm that is the comment section.
really dude such a joke is just cruel
This is probably a well written story but Jesus. This fucking human bashing is retarded and I do not understand just how the fuck you reason to reach this.
It's fucking atrocious and I HATE when the author does it. And the "hollier than thou" shit from celestia? Equally if not more atrocious than the "humans suck" bull he is pulling.
Nope, I can't continue. It has committed almost all of my deadly sins in just two chapters. A Mary sue main, a humans are bad speech, a martial artist "so I don't have to hurt others" twat and the reactions are that of Kristen steward's Barbie doll
Yes, that would make for a good ending... but I still have to say it.
Dick move.
From this chapter I've gathered that Celestia is incredibly niave for her age, this may stem from a lack of understanding of human nature or maybe the author has lofty expectations for Humanity. Even if we were to achieve officiall world peace today there would still be that one group of malcontents trying to disrupt the peace, and lets say that we eventually got rid of the small group, the idea that we are alone in the UNIVERSE is incredibly stupid I mean it's freaking huge! By all statistical values there will be other races out there and if we survive long enough we will meet, if the others are out for domination or some other goal that leads to violence our completely peacefull and niave Humanity would be all but defenceless, have you ever played a Halo game? If you have this scene i'm about to paint may seem familiar, Humans using archaic projectile weponry against an incredibly advanced alien race hell-bent on conquest/*instert stupid reason here*. Humanity in this situation is very likely headed for anihaltion. At this point I've just been rambling really and I whole-heartedly apoligize for that but it's late and this is the first thing that came to mind
TL;DR: HUMANS CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT CONFLICT ONE-WAY OR ANOTHER is the point I tried and failed to get across
Edit: the only reason most of this comment is still here is that I spent a lot of time writing it and I felt it would be further wasted effort if I deleted it all now
266683 Even though I know this was rhetorical I couldn't help but say : 'DEFINETLY the griffin kindoms, at least the Netherlands are on Earth'
couldn't help it
267429 Please do, you make Celestia sound incredibly niave for a 1000+ year old being and I somehow doubt that Equestria is the norm for violence or the lack-thereof, especially countries with a majority meat-eater populace.
267779
That... Would be an incredibly stupid idea, the best way to see history repeated is to hide the origional occurance.
Sorry if I seem to be incredibly picky but I'm a history student and I don't like it when people try to destroy historical accounts etc. This story does seem intresting so far and I do agree with you insofar as the Human world and the Pony world would do best to stay seperated for now. Wait until mankind gets past its' 'backstabbing greed' stage first
269247 While I can't argue with option D I do see other things I disagree with.
Well for the ponies becoming a dominant species, Unicorns can pick their enemies up with their minds and toss 'em about, or just shoot sharp pointy things through their heads, pegasai can controll the weather, essentially the ability to reshape the turn of a battle by brining in afreak storm or dropping lightning on the heads of their enemies, Earth Ponies have super strength and an affinity with the ground itself, the idea that my enemy could literally kick my head clean-off my shoulders is quite scarry and that's without thinking about what they could do with the earth abilities besides farming. As for the windigoes while they would be a threat for early pony society, they feed off of hate and war 2 things that ponies and -by your account- every other sentirnt rce has been short on for several thousand years, societies more prone to war and fighting in general would eventually figure this out and start up again. Granted it may take a while but it'll hapen.
Celestia doesn't seem like the kind of person/pony to enforce her will so liberally, seeing as rather than deal with all of ponykinds problems personally she sends Twilight and her friends.
While Celestia may tolerate Dragon behaviour normally, Twilight is her personal Protege' and future princess of Equestria, plus this dragon is inside Equestrian borders while he might have gotten away with it elsewhere there are currently no other Dragons in the area, the death of Twilight, somone Celly is emotionally attached to, would have most definetly earned the wrath of the Solar Diarch just as surely as the death of her sister would. In addition unless Celestia was a complete idiot or the Dragons lacked any governing body there would most-likely be treaties between the Dragons and Equestria, I mean if I happened to live in a gem-rich nation near some massive flying, fire-breathing lizards that happened to covet gems I'd probably work something out
2632592 While you have brought up some exelent points I will have to disagree on some.
That's just downright racist and though I think you didn't mean it that way I ask that you rephrase your comment.
While this is a valid point it is not a good reason for Alicorns to be the ruling power as they like anything else will eventually die, just imagine for a second that we had a God ruling over us in person on the Earth, we'd grow soft pampered and unaware of the hardships of life in the greater scheme of things, now imagine that it was only the America's that had a God ruling and nowhere else,now imagine that one day the God-like being dies, what happens? The area that was ruled by them is fought over and conquered and the people likely abused for percieved wrongs such as: 'why did they not deserve a God looking over them and they did?' this would likely happen to the ponies too if Celestia and Luna kept ruling untill the day they died, without their Gods to defend them the ponies are fair-game to all the Predator races surrounding them.
Wait a minute... If ponies are supposed to pacafistic i this story, then why the **** did RD give John a concussion!
4256133
Actually it is believed that Alicorns CAN die, but only if they are murdered or commit suicide. For example, Celestia lives for billions of years when all of a sudden, somepony kills her. Basically she can be counted as IMMORTAL, because with how much wisdom and magic she has it'd be SUPER hard to kill her. But she isnt quite sooo...
It's just what most bronies assume...
Just pointing that out...
Probably wating both our time.
4297444 Yet bug queen fucked her up lickity split.
4256168 Ya they basically beat the shit out of unknown aliens and are super racist towards non-ponies, yet they preach that harmony bullshit all the while using spells to fuck with your head to tell the truth.
4127940 I titaly agree. This will be the end for me aswell.
Only two alicorns, eh? Darn. This must be before the wedding ep. Ah well. Still gonna read it. It's written quite well, after all.^_^
As much as I hate to rain on your parade. The only civilization that got close to the Amazon Rain Forest was the Incans. And even then the time period wouldnt match up as Discord was 1000 years ago during 1000 A.D. approximately, and the Incans were up and about a few centuries later. They also took to staying near the coast and the mountains. The closest border point that would make sense then if we disregard the timing is La Paz. But any site around La Paz would have already been checked and turned into a tourist trap by this time. Of course I still need to read the rest of the story to see if you clear that up but I needed to put that out first.
Couldn't read past chapter 2. The ponies obsess over humanity's capacity for violence after three of them attacked Johnathan on sight?
Too much hypocrisy and misanthropy for me.
It's appearently clear this chapter is not focusing on misanthropy or hate for humans.
The main focus lies on the concern for peace, for equestria.
I really like how the author managed to portray Celestia here, normally I am not for those "I have meet humans before through a portal" situations, mainly because other authors portray Celestia like a jerk and exaggerate on her desperate and rash acting to keep peace.
But here, knowing that peace has been indeed established and held for over a thousand years, with severely reduced need for violence, I can understand why she would be concerned that some other unwelcome visitors might arrive.
She knows Jonathan is a good man that much is clear now after the conversation, and she wasn't accusing him or his race of anything.
The thing is, she simply formed her questions in a tone for the sake of gaining the information itself, an update, not for the sake of blame.
She also realized that the questions were uncomfortable and apologized as well, but in her role as the leader of this peaceful world, she has to make sure to be correctly informed, in order to protect it. As for jonathan, he couldn't very well lie and say everything is fine in our world, despite there being a many things wrong and connected to violence, he also made sure to remind her constantly that not everyone is like that, and that there are a lot of places that are sufficiently and comfortingly safe.
I have seen many Celestia's written by authors, and this one isn't particularly hostile or hate-full, nor does she hold a grudge, towards humans, but seems more compassionate and precautions towards a world that couldn't let go of conflict and war, while her own did.
This would indeed appear unnerving to a ruler who kept peace for so long, in particular. Imagine not having to deal with this stuff, and suddenly something springs up that could bring the concept of real war back to equestria.
I'd feel uncomfortable, and also sad that after such a long time it still happens on this world, and that there are people who abuse or exploit the concept of war, sometimes to inhuman levels, even when they are few.
Jonathan is no problem, he is nice and a good guest, but she doesn't feel the luck to risk something more dangerous coming through.
As to the hypocrisy, Twilight was the one judging him/his world about violence, had Rainbow for example talked to him, her opinion might have been different, she does do a sort of 'karate' as well after all, evident by the episodes where she helps apple bloom find her talent, while failing to do so, and how she thrashed AJ's old barn in 'Lesson Zero'.
That said, Rainbow Dash being more tough than Twilight anyway and maybe a bit less of a pacifist, see the dragon incident, would have a different opinion of John's life story, she was the one who hit him anyway.
Same thing with Applejack really, of course had John pointed that out to Twilight, for the sake of being smug of feeling offended, Twilight would have realized her mistake of hypocrisy.
I'm also guessing, since the ponies live in such a wild world filled with monsters, that she was more likely pointing out the violence used in a civilized society. But I can agree that her reaction, as well as Celestia's, regarding martial arts for self-defence, was perhaps a bit exaggerated, for they should have been at least better at grasping the concept of such a thing, Celestia in particular just seemed to have simply the wrong picture, especially when there are subject's in her kingdom that practice forms of martial arts as well (Rainbow Dash, and Zecora perhaps, she does seem like the monk type with her staff).
Still, those slip ups aren't anything major to complain about. There is no real hate and misanthropy in this chapter, no generalization that shows "every human is bad, and must be dealt with harshly".
Seriously, I've seen much worse by now in that regard.
Ah how beautful hypocrisy in pony side of things. We are peacful and tolerant and yest here we have a concusion and Zecora case. Partially the changelings, And not forget about from human point of viev authoritarian princess. In essnce Equestria is like Fedeartion from Star Trek or Culture from Culture series,. Beautiful things from the outside you would love to live in ther but when you look deaper is literall cess with a lot bad thing you wish to hide.
Good show, old bean! Very good show!
I can hardly wait to see what happens next. 