Chapter 35
"Now remember, everypony be sure to bring your permission slips for our trip to the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters tomorrow," Cheerilee told her class with a knowing smile. "And if your parents have any questions, please be sure and have them talk to me before we go, alright?"
Diamond Tiara raised a hoof. "But Miss Cheerilee, isn't it dangerous in the Everfree Forest? Wouldn't it be better to visit some... other castle?"
Silver Spoon chimed in helpfully. "Like Canterlot Castle!" Diamond Tiara smiled at her friend and their eyes twinkled as they giggled together.
"The Everfree Forest is normally quite dangerous," Cheerilee agreed easily. "But the route to the ancient castle within has been well marked, and groups of ponies have been traveling to and fro without trouble for several days now."
She smiled reassuringly. "We will be accompanied by a group of the Canterlot Royal Guard... who assure me that every precaution is being taken. There is nothing to worry about."
"It's going to be awesome!" Scootaloo said, pumping a hoof into the air. "Rainbow Dash will be there, and Daring Do!"
"That's not really Daring Do," Apple Bloom commented. "Just the pony that the fiction... that the fake... I mean the one that the... er...." she wrinkled her nose. "She's the pony Daring Do was based off of, right?"
"Daring Do is a fictional character," Sweetie Bell corrected, emphasizing the word Apple Bloom had had trouble with. "But it is still going to be really neat seeing a real archeological dig! My big sister says that Mister Fancy Pants, who is in charge of the dig, is a very smart pony."
Diamond Tiara's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. "F-f-f-fancy Pants?" she stuttered. "He's there? No way!"
Sweetie Bell blinked. "Of course he's there. My sister said so. They're friends!"
Diamond Tiara's eyes narrowed. "YOUR sister is friends with a great pony like Fancy Pants? Now I know you're lying!"
Sweetie Bell stamped a hoof down on her desk. "I am NOT lying! You take that back, you meanie!"
Applebloom and Scootaloo looked like they were about to jump in when Cheerilee stood up. "Girls! Girls! Settle down," the class went silent as Cheerilee towered over them. When she was sitting on her new, comfortable chair behind of her old desk, it was easy to forget how much she had changed. She sounded like the old Cheerilee, even kind of looked like her, but standing on two legs, 'hands' flat on the top of her desk, brought back to everypony in the room the fact that their teacher was very different now.
Cheerilee frowned slightly at the nervous silence that filled the classroom, then sighed. "I have it on good authority that Mr. Fancy Pants is indeed helping out at the dig at the old castle," she explained patiently. "And it is not nice to call another pony a liar, especially without any proof, Diamond Tiara," she shot the filly in question a look, complete with her patented disapproving raised eyebrow, and was surprised to see the filly cringe quite a bit more than she expected.
Cheerilee signed and closed her eyes, then opened them, smiling brightly. "Now then, no harm done," she settled down in her chair and saw the tension go out of the room almost at once. "Remember, you'll need to pack a lunch. There will be food and shelter when we arrive, and will will be returning before nightfall, but you'll want something to eat along the way."
With that, school was out for the day, and Cheerilee let out a small sigh as the last student left the small classroom.
They still weren't used to her being human. It was subtle, even in the children, but it was there. On one hoof, they accepted her as the pony they had always known as their teacher. On the other hoof, when she stood suddenly or became cross, they always seemed nervous around her, as if they sensed the predator in the room.
"I don't feel all that different," she murmured softly to herself, as if the words, spoken aloud would have more force, as if she didn't really believe it, but wanted it to be so. She really wasn't that different, was she? Aside from being bipedal now, and having hands, and the whole thing about eating meat...
Cheerilee shuddered slightly. Her mother had been almost too understanding about her new diet, helping her figure out recipes and giving her advice on where to buy fish locally. It HAD tasted good, but Cheerilee was satisfied, wanted to be satisfied at least, with the vegetarian diet that Johnathon had adopted when he had arrived in Equestria.
"I'm not a predator," she told herself quietly, although part of her wondered. Johnathon had always seemed to hold a hint of danger, a tiny thrill of fear when he came near or touched her that she had long since adapted to, but one that lent a bit of spice to their relationship. He had always seemed powerful, capable of anything, but she knew for a fact that, thanks to her Earth Pony magic, she was now both faster and stronger than him. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
She was halfway home, still lost in thought, when the sound of her name being called caught her attention.
"Cheerilee! Hey Cheerilee! Come join us!" Cheerilee paused in mid step at the familiar voice, knowing who it was without looking. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and and shook her head slightly before forcing a smile and turning back to face the source. Lyra Heartstrings.
Cheerilee spotted Lyra and Bon Bon almost immediately, sitting at an outdoor cafe with Rose, Daisy and Lily, who were otherwise known as the Flower Trio. Lyra grinned and waved at her as she looked over. "Come on, Cheerilee! It's been ages!"
"We talked last night," Cheerilee said flatly as she approached the group, but her smile lost a bit of its forced quality as she nodded to the four earth ponies in the group. Bon Bon had a sympathetic look on her face, which was nothing new when dealing with Lyra's mania, which the candy maker seemed to tolerate with only mild annoyance.
Rose waved tentatively, and Lily and Daisy had small nervous smiles, but Cheerilee was glad to see them. She hadn't really talked with any of the trio since she had been transformed into a human, and it would be nice to catch up.
Lyra putt a hoof behind her head and chuckled self deprecatingly. "Heh. Seems like longer."
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "She talks about you all the time now, Cheerilee," she said with a long suffering look. "If I didn't know better, I'd be jealous."
"Lyra's not really my type," Cheerilee said with a grin. "So you have nothing to worry about."
"That's because you like them tall and hairless," Rose said quickly, before flattening her ears to her head. "Er... sorry, that was tactless of me."
"It's alright," Cheerilee said automatically, but her smile was starting to slip.
"No it's not!" Bon Bon said sharply, glaring at Rose. "That was rude, Rose!"
"Sorry..." Rose said quickly, looking so mortified that Cheerilee found herself wanting to comfort her.
"It's really alright," Cheerilee insisted. "You didn't mean it as an insult, did you?"
Rose hesitated, then shrugged. "It came out wrong... I..." she grimaced. "Your... Mister Dwire... he seems..." Rose seemed to be having difficulty finding the words, shrugging helplessly as she finished. "Nice?"
Lily patted Rose on the back, then turned to Cheerilee. "He's a bit scary, sometimes... but he's never done anything bad. He scared Rose a few times though, running through town."
Cheerilee sighed. "He's scared me more than once myself. I keep telling him I'm going to put a bell around his neck if he keeps sneaking up on me!"
Daisy blinked. "He sneaks up on you? Why?"
Cheerilee blinked. "Well, honestly, I don't think he does it on purpose. He just walks... quietly. Even in his shoes, he doesn't make anywhere near as much noise as hooves do... especially indoors. He says it's something to do with his time as a... scout? A Boy Scout? He used to go camping and fishing and... er..."
Five sets of eyes stared at her with keen attention. Lyra looked eager, while Bon Bon and the flower trio seemed a bit disturbed. "Fishing?" Rose said with horrified fascination.
"Humans are omnivorous, duh," Lyra said nonchalantly. "You eat fish, right Cheerilee?"
Cheerilee winced. "Among other things... although Johnathon and I almost always stick to a vegetarian diet."
Lyra turned to the others. "Miss Song told me she's had some Griffons over for dinner a few times, and she learned how to cook for omnivores that way. Humans and Griffons have a lot in common, you know?"
Rose, Lily and Daisy were staring at Lyra in shock, then glanced at Cheerilee. Almost unconsciously, they all shifted incrementally away from the human.
Lyra didn't notice. "Humans are so cool. They're the apex predator on their world, did you know?"
Rose swallowed nervously. "What... what does that mean?"
Lyra grinned, her eyes glinting. "That means they're on the top of the food chain. They eat all the other predators!"
Cheerilee winced. "Lyra... that's not really..."
Lyra blinked, seeming to realize finally how uncomfortable she was making the others. "Er... well, they don't eat ponies, do they Cheerilee?"
Cheerilee sighed. "Johnathon says not, although they don't have any other sapient species on his planet anyway," she shook her head. "Can we change the subject? Personally, if mom hadn't gone to the trouble of preparing a special fish dinner, I'd have probably never eaten anything but fruits and vegetables. It's more than a little weird to enjoy the taste of..." she trailed off, wincing, "fish."
"You like the taste of..." Rose swallowed. "Er... formerly living animals?"
Cheerilee put a hand to her forehead, suddenly tired. "Rose... seriously, can we change the subject?"
Rose's ears drooped, but she nodded. "Sorry."
Cheerilee sighed, then reached out toward Rose's head, unconsciously mirroring what Johnathon had always used to do to comfort her. Rose's eyes widened and she flinched back, and Cheerilee froze, hand halfway outstretched.
Lyra watched the exchange, then grinned. "Oh! Show them the thing! The thing with the hands... and the ears! Do the thing!"
Everyone looked at her in confusion except Cheerilee, who blushed. "I don't know..."
Lyra grinned. "Come on, it's great! Do me first!"
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you haven't been telling me, Lyra?"
Lyra glanced at her girlfriend, then grinned at Cheerilee. "On second thought, do Bon Bon first!"
Bon Bon looked suspicious. "Do what now?"
Cheerilee folded her arms across her chest. "It's just something Johnathon used to do when I was still a pony. He did it all the time... it's nice."
Rose looked a bit shocked. "He did it all the time? While you were still a pony?"
Cheerilee rolled her eyes. "It's not like that..." she reached out toward Rose again. "Hold still, let me show you." Rose started to flinch back again, then froze, eyes wide. Cheerilee smiled slightly and gently put a hand down on top of her head. "It's just a way humans show affection to ponies they care about," she slowly started to pet Rose's head, then ran her fingers back behind her ear gently.
Rose's eyes slowly closed as her slightly panicked expression gradually changed to one of pleasure. "Oh... oh, that's nice."
"Right? Right?" Lyra was bouncing slightly. "Hands are AWESOME, aren't they?"
Rose's eyes opened, and they were slightly wet. "Cheerilee... I..."
Cheerilee continued to lightly pet her friend's head, smiling gently. "Yes Rose?"
Rose impulsively moved forward, hugging her around the waist. "I'm just a silly pony sometimes. I know you'd never hurt me."
Cheerilee worked her fingers behind her friend's ear some more, forcing herself not to giggle at how Rose shivered at the sensation.
"Oh... damn. That's just not right..." Rose muttered huskily. "No wonder you let him move in with you!"
Daisy and Lily looked like they were torn between horror and amusement, while Lyra simply started giggling. Bon Bon rolled her eyes to conceal a small smile of her own.
Lyra laughed out loud. "Maybe you two should get a room, huh?"
Rose glared at her with one eye. "Oh, shut up," she chuckled suddenly, and in moments, the whole group was laughing. Ponies walking down the street nearby turned to look, obviously wondering what was going on, which just caused them all to laugh harder.
**********************
Cheerilee whistled cheerfully to herself as she opened her front door and walked inside, letting the door swing quietly shut behind her. Lyra's curiosity about all things human was sometimes annoying, but today she couldn't help but be grateful to the unicorn musician. Most of Cheerilee's friends had been distant since her transformation, and she'd missed them more than she had realized. Having her friends back... really back, filled a hole in her heart she'd not even realized was there. For the first time in long time, Cheerilee felt euphoric... like all was right with the world.
"I finally got my friends back," Cheerilee said to the empty room. "And tomorrow I get to see Johnathon!"
***********************
"Before I agree to allow my little Diamond Tiara to go on this field trip, Miss Cheerilee, I'd like to talk to you about some concerns I have..." Filthy Rich was saying, looking grave. "Now, far be it from me to hold to superstitions, but it's common knowledge that the Everfree Forest is very dangerous at the best of times... and a wise pony does not ignore such things."
Cheerilee put on her best reassuring smile. "I understand your concerns, Filthy... I mean, Mister Rich, but as I explained in the permission slips, the route we're taking has been well traveled in the last two weeks, and we'll be escorted by the Canterlot Royal Guard."
"So I hear," Flithy Rich agreed soberly. "But I have heard rumors of the timberwolves being especially aggressive. Is it true that they have even been attacking the Royal Guards themselves?"
"Unfortunately for the timberwolves..." Cheerilee acknowledged with a small frown. "But that was two weeks ago. The timberwolves have not been seen since that one encounter, and their numbers were drastically reduced. As unfortunate as that is for the timberwolves, it's very unlikely that there will be any further encounters in the near future."
"Unlikely is not impossible," Filthy Rich asserted calmly. "And there are many other dangerous creatures in the forest, are there not?"
Cheerilee was about to answer when her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open slightly. Behind him, the activity of the many ponies getting ready to head into the forest had quieted, and Filthy Rich turned to look.
Princess Luna strode through the midst of the gathered group, nodding genially to those who caught her eye, even as they bowed. "I hope that my presence on this expedition will calm your concerns," she said as she approached.
"Y-yes of course, your majesty," Filthy said quickly, bowing before her as he controlled his initial stammer. "You honor us with your presence... and your protection."
Luna nodded to him with a patient smile. "I patrol the Everfree on a regular basis, and I assure you your foals will be quite safe in my care. A most entertaining and... educational experience awaits us!" she proclaimed proudly, almost but not quite breaking into the royal Canterlot voice.
As predicted, their trip through the Everfree was uneventful. Nothing in the forest apparently wanted anything to do with such a large group of ponies. By midday, they had come into sight of the Castle of the Two Sisters. There were diggers and workponies everywhere. The excavation by the side of the castle had not expanded much, although the entrance to the staircase going down was now well marked and roped off. The castle itself, however, was apparently the focus of a great deal of attention.
Luna led the way into the entrance hall with a peculiar expression on her face. She appeared calm, but a little sad, looking wistfully around the room, as if remembering events long past. In a far corner, Rarity was levitating a remarkably intact tapestry back up onto a wall sconce, while against one wall, Applejack adjusted a painting so it hung better.
"What is all this?" Luna asked in, for her, a quiet voice.
"Oh my! Princess Luna! Princess Celestia should have mentioned that you were coming by!" Rarity bustled up to Luna, then bowed. "Welcome to... well, to your castle, Princess."
"Mine?" Princess Luna frowned. "Not for many years... but what is going on? You seem to be... restoring the Castle?"
Rarity nodded. "Well, the archeological team is stalled... well, not stalled so much, as that they're studying what they've found, and that chamber has been fully excavated. So since we're here anyway... I thought... why not tidy up the place a bit? The tapestries here are magnificent... so inspiring. I just had to restore them!"
Applejack came up, taking off her hat and holding it to her chest. "Pardon, your majesty... I hope you don't mind. We're just... sprucing up the place a mite, seeing as we've been staying here."
Luna blinked, shook her head as if to clear her thoughts, then straightened, once more looking calm. "It is quite acceptable. Out of curiosity, have you found anything... odd?"
Rarity shuddered before answering. "Well... yes. There's all these... well, not traps, really, but... well, very odd features. Rotating walls... trap doors...."
Luna smiled suddenly. "Ah, yes. I remember. My sister had quite a few rather... interesting features installed when we first had it built. Is the old pipe organ still functional, by any chance?"
Rarity rolled her eyes. "Pinkie found it last week. We asked her to stop playing with it when half a dozen ponies vanished after a single musical number. Apparently it controls all sorts of things."
Luna looked worried. "Was anypony harmed?"
Rarity smiled and shook her head. "Thankfully no. Some of them were lost for quite a while, but everyone found their way back eventually, and no pony was injured."
Luna nodded. "Very good."
Cheerilee and her students had fallen back a bit, staring around at the Castle in wonder while Luna had been talking with Applejack and Rarity, but now she stepped forward. "Can I ask where Johnathon is?" she blushed slightly. "And Professor Rose, I mean. Where are they working?"
Rarity turned to Cheerilee with a smile. "Johnathon and Professor Rose are in the Courtyard, along with Rainbow Dash and some of the Guards, taking a bit of a... break of sorts," she nodded toward an archway, through which the sounds of voices and movement could be faintly heard, then pointed in the direction of the roped off section to the left of the castle entrance. "However, right now, Twilight and some of the other professors from Canterlot University are down in the chamber we unearthed, studying... well, she'd explain it better herself."
Cheerilee hesitated, torn, glancing longingly toward the courtyard before sighing quietly, taking a deep breath, and turning to her students with a smile. "Well now, children, why don't we go see if Twilight will show us something of what she's discovered, shall we?"
Rarity chuckled knowingly. "Shall I fetch Johnathon for you, Cheerilee?"
Cheerilee took another calming breath before shaking her head. "It's fine. I need to keep an eye on the children."
Luna's ears swiveled in the direction of the courtyard, obviously interested. "I, for one, will go to the courtyard. Unless I am much mistaken, the guards are practicing, and I should speak to their commander."
Applejack grinned. "Well then, follow me, Princess. I've been itching to take a gander at them practicing for awhile now. I know just where they are, too."
Rarity nodded to Cheerilee. "I'll take you and your students to Twilight then, shall I? I'm sure she'd love to explain what it is we've uncovered here!" she spotted her sister and waved with a smile, causing Sweetie Bell to wave back, looking embarrassed.
The students dutifully followed Cheerilee and Rarity toward the dig site, although Scootaloo and Apple Bloom hung back slightly, glancing toward the courtyard.
"But Rainbow Dash is that way..." Scootaloo complained under her breath.
"My sister's going that way too, but you don't see me complaining," Apple Bloom said with forced cheer. "Come on, we're going to fall behind."
******************
When Applejack and Luna reached the Courtyard, Johnathon Dwire and Morning Star were sparring, bare hooved, in the center of a large ring of guards and work-ponies who were watching the action eagerly. Johnathon was bare chested, and sweating heavily, while Morning Star still looked fresh, although the expression on the young pegasi guard's face was of intense focus as he slowly circled the taller human.
Going up on his hind legs, and supporting that upright posture with gentle flaps of his wings, Morning Star scooted forward and to the side, forehooves up defensively like a boxer.
Johnathon turned with him, his own hands, wearing his desert lion hair gloves, slowly coming up from where he had them relaxed near his sides. Morning Star suddenly shot forward with a foreleg leading, and Johnathon stepped back and to the side, avoiding the first kick. The pegasi kept moving in, lashing out with a second forehoof, and Johnathon kept going, leaning away from the second strike, and rotating his left arm upwards in a small half circle that knocked the blow wide.
Even as Morning Star's second kick was being picked off, Johnathon pivoted slightly on his left hip and lashed out with a snap kick with his right leg, aiming for the pegasi's side. Morning Star hadn't stopped moving either. Rising off his back legs, he kicked out with both hind feet, catching Johnathon on the shin with one of them and deflecting the kick with enough force to send Johnathon's right foot slamming back down into the grassy floor of the castle courtyard.
Morning Star went over backwards with the momentum from the block, and landed on his hind legs once more, but as he was rotating in mid air, Johnathon lunged forward with a left jab, rapping the pegasus smartly in the back of his head. Morning Star stood firm for a moment, then stumbled a bit, reaching behind his head and wincing as he felt the spot he'd been struck.
Johnathon stepped back and waited patiently as Captain Bright Lance stepped forward with an upraised hoof. "Point, match, to Johnathon!"
The crowd around them broke into enthusiastic cheers and boos in equal measure, and Johnathon waved a hand tiredly in acknowledgement before reaching down to rub his shin, wincing slightly.
Luna stepped into the midst of the spectators, stomping her forehooves together and supporting herself in an upright stance with her flaring wings. "Huzzah! Well struck my good human!"
In her wake, the cheering stopped, and in moments, the courtyard was silent.
Appearing not to notice the sudden change, Luna turned to Bright Lance. "What sport is this, Captain? Explain the rules to me," she demanded cheerfully.
"Er... it's a sort of king of the horde style tournament, your majesty," the Captain of the Guard explained.
"King of the Hill," Johnathon corrected from the center of the ring.
"Right," Bright Lance agreed with a swift nod. "Light contact sparring matches where the winner remains and continues to spar till they are defeated. There are a number of other rules to make it fair to everypony, but essentially that's the gist of it."
Luna clapped her hooves together again. "Oh, what fun! A most interesting diversion."
"Alright, I'm up next," Briar Rose said with a grin, tossing her pith helmet to Rainbow Dash. "Time for the king to go down!"
Johnathon Dwire's face paled slightly and he straightened. "Oh... great," he shook his arms lightly and spread his feet, taking a deep breath as Briar Rose entered the circle.
Briar Rose grinned at him. "I've been watching your moves. You're pretty good."
Johnathon shrugged. "Years of training don't hurt... and I have a few advantages."
Briar Rose raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
Johnathon grinned. "None of you have ever fought a human before, but all I've had to deal with since I got to Equestria is ponies. I know you much better than you know me."
Briar Rose grinned back, her eyes twinkling. "What do you think I've been doing during your last five matches?"
Luna stage whispered to Bright Lance. "Five?"
"He's good. He's lasted the longest so far... aside from Rainbow Dash, who went eleven in a row," Bright Lance explained. "That mare has some SERIOUS stamina."
As they whispered, the two combatants circled each other, feeling each other out.
"You look tired. Are you tired, Mister Dwire?" taunted Briar Rose.
"I've just got my second wind," Johnathon replied with a grin, although it was obviously a bit forced.
Briar Rose and Johnathon circled each other several times, waiting for the other to make the first move, but finally the pegasus attacked first, charging in with a swift uppercut with a forehoof. Johnathon dodged backwards, only for the archeologist pony to swivel and kick out with both her rear hooves, catching Johnathon in the stomach and chest simultaneously. He staggered backwards several steps, then fell over, landing on his rear with a heavy thud.
Briar Rose turned to face him as the crowd went silent. "You OK?"
Johnathon coughed, and raised one hand upwards with a single finger. "One... one second. Just let me catch my breath."
"First point to Briar Rose!" Bright Lance announced unnecessarily.
Luna blinked, glancing at Bright Lance. "Thou... er, you said that this is light contact only? Was that not in violation of the rules?"
Bright Lance shrugged. "That IS light contact... at least, compared to how hard someone like Rainbow Dash can hit, still..." he cleared his throat, addressing Briar Rose. "Ease up, Professor Rose, or I'll have to disqualify you."
Briar Rose nodded at him, keeping her eyes on the prone human. Johnathon slowly got to his feet, took a few deep breaths, dusted himself off, and got into a ready stance again, and once more the two experienced fighters went at it.
"Those two apparently have the most combat experience of our group..." Bright Lance commented thoughtfully. "Although I'm surprised at how skilled Professor Rose is. It's like she's been fighting... real fighting, not what you get in a class, for years. They're also both older than the rest of us, but they're both da... darn tough," he coughed, hoping that the princess wouldn't call him on almost swearing in front of royalty.
The match was quickly going Briar Rose's way. She scored several points in quick succession, only suffering a single hit herself, and it was obvious that Johnathon Dwire's energy was nearly gone, he was just moving too slowly to score a hit.
Still, he kept his feet and kept fighting, and Luna found herself favorably impressed by both of them. Suddenly, however, things turned.
Briar Rose missed a flying kick, Johnathon just barely managing to side step, when he wrapped his long arms around her torso. Throwing himself backwards, he slammed the pegasi into the ground on her side.
"Point, Johnathon!" Bright Lance announced immediately, but the human archeologist wasn't done. Wrapping his legs around her middle, and both arms around Briar Rose's neck from behind, Johnathon pulled the Pegasi on top of him and tightened his grip to keep her from being able to get any leverage on the ground.
Briar Rose struggled, her wings battering the man's sides and head, but the ground interrupted her wings' movement, preventing her from being able to get off a solid hit with them. Ten seconds passed as they struggled, then twenty...
"Thirty seconds!" Bright Lance announced. "That's the match! Johnathon Dwire wins!"
Johnathon sagged, releasing Briar Rose who rolled off of him before offering him a hoof up.
"Nice finish," Briar Rose said sincerely. "Remind me not to let you grab me in the future. Those ape arms of yours..."
Johnathon chuckled self deprecatingly. "Eh. In a real fight you'd have finished me with that first kick. I've seen how hard you can hit when you're not holding back."
Briar Rose shrugged and grinned. "You're right about that. I WOULD beat you in a real fight."
She looked around curiously. "So, who's going next?"
Before anypony else could respond, Luna stepped forward and raised a hoof. "May I participate in this contest?"
Everyone froze, and several seconds passed before Bright Lance spoke. "Er... you want to spar, Princess?"
"Aye! I would be most pleased to engage in vigorous mock combat!" Luna explained cheerfully. "Now, what are the exact rules?"
Bright Lance blinked before answering. "Er... no ranged magic, no flying unless your opponent can also fly... light contact only, and five touches or being pinned for thirty seconds decides the match."
Luna blinked. "Being pinned?"
Johnathon spoke up. "I asked them to add that rule. I have a certain advantage in grappling, and realistically, if I can hold you for thirty seconds, I can probably subdue you in that time."
Luna nodded thoughtfully. "Fair enough. Shall we begin then?" she started forward before Johnathon raised his hands.
"Whoa... just a second. I'm exhausted and... you've got to be four times my mass, Princess!"
Luna looked thoughtful. "Would thou be willing to spar with me if the odds were a little more in thy favor?" she asked in a rather formal tone.
Johnathon blinked. "What do you have in mind?"
Luna stepped forward. "First, let me remove your fatigue," she lowered her horn at him. "With your permission?"
Johnathon blinked. "Alright."
Luna's horn lit up and she bathed him in a soft beam for several long seconds. The human gasped and visibly straightened. When the beam faded, he shivered, then looked down at his hands, flexing them experimentally.
"Whoa..." he stretched experimentally and grinned. "Nice! I feel like I've been resting for hours!"
Luna smiled and nodded. "A useful spell, although it takes as much energy from me as it gives to you... I have much greater stamina than a normal pony, so it is only a small loss."
Johnathon bowed to her lightly. "Thank you Princess," he straightened and rolled his shoulders, then got into his deceptively open stance again before making a 'come here' gesture with one hand. "I can't imagine I'll win, but I'm game if you are."
Luna smiled slightly. "Let's make the odds a bit more even, shall we?" she raised an eyebrow. "If I understand correctly, you are skilled with a blade?"
Johnathon blinked. "Er... yeah. I'm decent. You want me to use a sword?"
Luna nodded. "Yes. Collect your blade, and we can begin."
Johnathon looked concerned. "Er... I don't want to injure you, Princess."
Luna wrinkled her nose. "Hmm. I do believe I have a solution. She turned to the unicorn guard Aegis. "You are skilled with force fields, correct?"
Aegis blinked, then nodded. "Yes Princess."
"Can you project one over Mister Dwire's blade while he wields it?" Luna inquired calmly.
Aegis nodded again. "Yes Princess, if I have a moment with the blade, I can put a force field around it that should last for quite a while."
Luna nodded. "Very well, proceed."
There was a cyan colored blur, and a moment later, Rainbow Dash landed in front of Aegis, holding Johnathon's griffon war blade between her forehooves, still in its sheath. "Here you go!" the cyan speedster said, grinning ear to ear.
Removing the blade from its lacquered sheath, Aegis touched his horn to the blade and ran his horn along its length, enclosing it in a transparent tube of force. Once the blade was entirely covered, he floated it over to Johnathon Dwire, who caught the weapon by the handle.
"Don't hold back, Mister Dwire," Luna warned. "It would not please me."
Rainbow Dash hovered over to land next to Briar Rose, rubbing her hooves together in eager anticipation. "This is going to be GOOD."
Johnathon Dwire swallowed nervously, then stepped one foot back, getting into a much more formal stance, lowering the point of the blade to point at Luna's throat. "As you wish, Princess."
Luna grinned and stepped toward him. "Excellent. Let the fun commence!"
Without warning she lunged with her horn, her horn becoming encased in a shield of force much like the one around Johnathon's blade in the same instant. Johnathon parried the attack automatically, and the battle began in earnest.
For nearly half a minute, they sparred back and forth across the courtyard, before Johnathon finally scored a point, tapping Luna in the neck lightly with the tip of his sword after a series of complex feints.
Luna immediately stepped back, then glanced at Captain Bright Lance, who was standing dumbstruck with his mouth hanging slightly ajar. "I believe the first point is Mister Dwire's, correct Captain?"
Bright Lance nodded dumbly, then snapped out of it. "Er.. right. First point to Johnathon Dwire. Continue!"
Luna grinned at the human evily. "You are most skilled with the blade, but I believe I have your measure now."
Johnathon sighed. "You've been holding back this whole time, haven't you."
Luna grinned again. "Verily," and launched herself at him again.
Johnathon parried one blow, then a second, but the third drove his sword out of line, and an instant later, almost casually, Luna placed a hoof on his right shoulder and simply pushed. Johnathon was driven backwards, falling, and Luna followed him down, almost gently kicking the sword out of his hands with her other hoof. She shifted so that she had one hoof firmly on the center of his chest, and pressed down lightly. "I must hold you for thirty seconds, correct?"
Johnathon struggled gamely, but in quite a bit less time than that he threw up his hands, coughing. "I give up. You've got me."
Luna nodded and lifted her hoof, and helped him to his feet. "Victory is mine!" she crowed with pleasure after making sure that he was uninjured.
Luna spun around, glancing from pony to pony with a wide smile. "I believe that makes me King of the Horde, correct? Who would like to go next?"
**************************
A short time later, Luna followed Johnathon toward the excavation site, frowning. "Most disappointing. Only Rainbow Dash had the courage to face me. I really must talk to Tia about raising the quality of our guard training program..."
Johnathon chuckled. "I don't really blame them, Princess. I mean... you're bigger and stronger and faster than any of them."
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash protested, following behind, limping slightly.
Johnathon chuckled. "Well, bigger and stronger... and faster than MOST of them."
Luna raised an eyebrow at the concession, then nodded at Rainbow Dash. "You are, in fact, very swift, Rainbow Dash. We were most favorably impressed."
"Not to mention you're WAY more experienced than any of us," Johnathon continued.
Luna glanced at him with an inscrutable expression. "Are you implying that I am old, Mister Dwire?"
"Positively ancient, Princess," he agreed with a chuckle. "And experience counts, especially if you're still youthful enough to take advantage of it."
Luna smiled back. "Both a crone and a foal, am I?"
"Best of both worlds," Johnathon shot back. "I'm jealous. Briar Rose and I both may have more experience fighting than most of your guards, but we're also both slowing down as we get older. Must be nice."
"It has its advantages," Luna said, her smile fading. "And its disadvantages as well."
Johnathon nodded soberly. "Most things do."
They reached the roped off area around the entrance to the excavated stairway, and Johnathon swiftly untied the rope between two posts that marked one side of the site to clear the path. "Follow me, Princess, and watch your step. These stairs are pretty steep."
As they descended, they could hear Twilight Sparkle's voice, and as they got toward the bottom of the long spiral staircase they could make out what she was saying.
"... and here you can see this pattern of runes is stabilizing the transference matrix...." Twilight broke off as she spotted Johnathon come into the underground chamber with Luna just at his back. "Hello, Princess!" Twilight said cheerfully. "I was just explaining what we've discovered to Miss Cheerilee's class. Would you like me to start over?"
Anguished groans could be heard from several of the students, and aside from one or two students pretending interest, it was obvious that the children were bored out of their minds.
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps a brief summary. Have you discovered what, exactly, this room was used for?" She looked around the large underground chamber herself, her eyes widening slightly as she started to take in details. "It appears to be some sort of... spellcasting chamber. One designed for a spell of unimaginable power."
Twilight blinked. "That's exactly right, Princess Luna! We've been decoding the spell matrix bit by bit for the last week..."
Luna nodded, interrupting gently. "Have you determined its purpose?"
Twilight blinked again, then frowned. "Well, I can't say with absolute certainty, but I believe I have enough information to make an educated guess at this point."
Luna nodded. "Please."
Twilight gestured to the walls and floor. "As you have obviously noticed, the room is covered with runes, using orichalcum..." she paused, excited. "It's incredible. I've never SEEN such quantities before! Do you have any idea how rare pure orichalcum is?"
Luna snorted lightly. "I do have some idea, yes."
Twilight flushed, then continued. "Well, it makes up a spell matrix, drawing energy from six distinct sources..." she nodded to the symbols on the walls. Evenly spaced around the room were six distinct symbols that Luna knew intimately. "The Elements of Harmony themselves." Twilight concluded with a tone of wonder. "The power requirements alone caused me to suspect what this room was for, combined with Johnathon's arrival just above this location... but I believe I can be almost certain... maybe ninety... ninety five percent sure... that this room is supposed to generate a portal to another dimension!"
Rainbow Dash, who had been barely paying attention, turned to her friend with shining eyes at that pronouncement. "Really? Awesome!" she blinked. "Wait... what does that mean?"
Twilight hesitated. "Well... I think... I think that, just possibly, the reason Johnathon came to this precise spot was that the walls between our worlds were weakened by the spell in this room. Discord's magic tore a hole through the place that was weakest. I think this... that the spell inscribed in this room will send any pony inside to Johnathon's world!"
Luna blinked. "Are thou certain of this, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight hesitated. "Not completely... but it fits. From what we've determined, we can be almost certain that this room predates the age of Discord. The runes... the very techniques involved are more advanced than any magic we possess today. Also, the portal that you and Princess Celestia investigated after you defeated Discord for the first time, and the one that opened up to let Johnathon through just before we defeated Discord the second time, both went to Johnathon's world, and they both opened up in the immediate vicinity of this room. From my studies, it's clear that such magic tears a hole in the fabric of our reality... and once torn, the fabric becomes... thinner."
Luna frowned. "That is not encouraging, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight nodded. "It is a bit worrying... but the energies required to create a portal are still immense. Far more than any single unicorn could ever hope to accomplish... at least for anything more than a pinhole for a split second. And the weakening is very slight. I calculate that the... well, for a lack of a better term, the fabric of reality in this room is perhaps as much as... five percent thinner than average. Obviously that's a huge deviation compared to the norm, but I don't think we need to worry about any side effects or bleed through any time soon."
Luna blinked. "I... see. I will take your word on the matter then."
"Miss Twilight?" Sweetie Bell spoke up from the middle of her fellow students. "Does that mean that Johnathon can go home now?"
The room was silent for a long moment, the only sound was Cheerilee's sudden involuntary intake of breath, and Twilight turned to face the school teacher before answering. "Theoretically, yes... although it'll be several more days at least before I'd be comfortable trying any experiments."
Johnathon walked over to Cheerilee and hugged her lightly, ignoring their audience. "I'm not leaving you. You know that."
Cheerilee nodded stiffly, then sighed, relaxing into his arms and laying her head on his shoulders. There was a soft sigh from most of the fillies in Cheerilee's class (and Twilight) at the sight, and even Princess Luna smiled gently at the couple's display of affection.
Cheerilee found herself blushing as she became acutely aware of just who was observing them, and she pushed on Johnathon's chest, separating herself from his embrace. "I know," she told him softly, allowing him to hold onto her shoulders for a few more seconds before gently pulling away, her face still red.
Johnathon turned to Twilight. "It makes sense. If there was a portal between our worlds before Discord... that would explain why myths and legends of pegasi, and unicorns... and so many other creatures from your world are so common on mine. I thought it was odd... so many references to species native to your world in our mythology. It can't be just a coincidence."
Twilight nodded. "I agree. What puzzles me is why that's all there is. I'd think SOME evidence would remain."
Johnathon looked thoughtful. "I wouldn't assume that there isn't. I expect that some evidence does remain on my world... perhaps misinterpreted... or not recognized, but there are quite possibly clues to find on my world, if you knew what you were looking for," he looked thoughtful. "Do you think... is it possible?"
Twilight looked at him curiously. "What are you thinking?"
Johnathon hesitated. "Could there be another structure underneath the one my team was investigating in the Amazon? Like the way this room was hidden under the Castle of the Two Sisters? This portal had to come out someplace, right?"
Twilight looked thoughtful. "It's possible... and there's something else. If you were a unicorn mage in the last days of Discord's reign, and you had access to this portal. Wouldn't you use it? Wouldn't you try to escape?"
Johnathon nodded slowly. "Perhaps. Or at least I'd use it to hide away whatever I didn't want Discord to destroy. The lost library... it could be on Earth! Buried somewhere below the structure my team was excavating, perhaps?"
Rainbow Dash grinned. "I'm liking where this is going..." she began. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"
Twilight nodded. "We need to go. Even the possibility...! If we could recover what was lost during Discord's reign... it would be more than worth the risk!"
Rainbow Dash grinned wider, her eyes flashing with excitement. "Oh yeah. We're going to Earth!"
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Yes... I am aware that there has been a VERY long delay between chapters. No point in making a big deal about it. Life is sometimes very busy, and writing fanfiction is unfortunately a hobby I don't always have time and energy for.
I'm not making any promises, but I should be able to post again quicker in the future, and I do still have every intention of taking this story to it's conclusion.
Oh, and happy new year, everyone!
Great chapter and Keep up the good work
Road trip!
Can't wait to read how you handle diplomacy.
Ah. Just the present I needed for the new year!
A very happy chapter, and working to your strengths! It's also neat to see the way you were inspired by Season 4.
I wonder, will this story extend to the beginning of Season 3?
How good are Jonathan's skills (both unarmed and armed) relative to the best humans? Unarmed, I got the impression that he'd be a competent amateur MMA fighter, but clearly a cut below a professional level of skill.
3714079 Fair question! I think you've read him just about where I intended, however, which I appreciate. It's nice when the reader can understand what you're trying to portray.
Johnathon is about at the level where he would do very well (and has) in an amateur event, but who was never quite good enough to go pro. On the other hand, he's more of a generalist than a specialist, and doesn't specialize in any one form of the martial arts, so he's a hair more dangerous in a real fight than he would be in a ring.
Fighting is one of his "special talents" but he's never truly developed it as he's always preferred non-violent methods of conflict resolution. His sword skills are approximately of the same quality... he was the best fencer in his college (by a small margin, mostly because he IS quite competitive), but he was never anywhere good enough, say, to try for the Olympics.
Of course, he knows more than one sword fighting art, and can use a rather wide variety of medieval weapons with nearly equal skill, so again, in a real fight he's a bit more dangerous than he would be on a fencing strip.
Just to be clear... every one of the Mane 6 could beat him in a fight... Twilight with ease... Rainbow Dash with a hair more difficulty. Rarity pretty easily if she used her magic effectively, which she CAN do if pressed. Fluttershy could just stare him into submission, Pinkie could run circles around him and bounce off his head till he collapsed, and Applejack... well... she'd have the toughest time, but she's much stronger and tougher than he is, and all it would take is a him making a single mistake.
And yeah, Briar Rose, aka Daring Do could kick his ass in a real fight too.
3714137
Yeah, I was thinking that it sounded like Luna was probably at the level of a typical Olympic fencer, though perhaps not the medalists (since being an actual ruler presumably takes significant time away from training, so she hasn't maximized her potential). I had the chance to fence repeatedly against someone who, a few years later, would go on to fence in the World Championships (non-Olympic year), and it was extremely impressive how he could capitalize on the slightest mistake. I also got to watch him dismantle a number of varsity fencers who were the #1 at their school by forcing them slightly out of position with each successive attack before scoring a hit on the third or fourth exchange, which is what I figured Luna was doing.
The idea of trying to fight a pony unarmed is interesting. Attempting a takedown on something with four legs seems questionable at best, but if the human could maneuver to the side of the pony and get a grip around the barrel...are you familiar with the Karelin Lift?
3714228 I agree with you on Luna as well... although if you combine that level of skill with the size of a small horse (I'd say Luna is in the 600 lb range... quite small for a horse, but still WAY bigger than Johnathon) with the physical power of an Earth Pony her size... (I'd put Big Mac at around 400 lbs, and he can drag a house around when he's too insane to realize he shouldn't be able to do that.) you end up with something very frightening.
Size does matter. Luna moves like a gymnast and is three to four times more mass than Johnathon. Beating him was like a normal sized adult beating a really talented 8 year old.
As for the Karelin Lift... I didn't know it before just now, but after watching some video, I can tell you that I used something quite similar to it a couple of times when trying to subdue a 200 lb goat from hell on my farm...
One weakness of a quadruped is that they can't reach behind themselves very well,.(unless they're a cat, I suppose) Their limbs are meant to be under their body, so if you turn them upside down, they don't have much leverage.
You have no idea how big a grin I got when I saw this in my updates list.
Well, if Jonathon ever gets bored of being an archaeologist, he would certainly have the monopoly on the 'scratching behind the ear' business. Can you imagine how much money he would make? Cheerilee eating fish... haven't we seen them eating eggs? They were going to be chickens at one point you know? Hell, I had Luna ask for some bacon in one of my stories.
So... going to Earth... looking for a lost library... I believe it was in Alexandria, correct? Good luck finding that. Hmm... Dash will want a race with a jet, I can almost guarantee it. Now, given that she can break the sound barrier, we know that she can fly at speeds of 1 225.044 km/h, possibly more. One of our jets, which entered service in 1986 (Great year, I appeared in the world.) can fly at 2,338 km/h. Our latest one can fly at 2,495 km/h, and the SR-71 could fly at 3,540 km/h. Dash has got some serious training to do is she wants to beat us.
And before you go calling me a nerd... I'm an aircraft engineer. I'm supposed to be a nerd!
The Great and Powerful New Chapter!
Thank you so much!
I'll consider this as New Year present for fimfiction.net, if I may.
I'm reading and suddenly like. Wait wtf why is cherilee a human? Guess I have to re-read the story
!
3714637 Reread chapter 23. That ought to do it.
3714666
Yeah I went skimming through the chapters and was like, oh yeah. Cherilee took love poison and went to twilight and stuff happened and yeah.
Well shit. This can only end well.
they are definitely inciting Murphy's law.
3714272 try pinning sheep down, even baby dolls (small sheep) , its hard! While they ram into you hard, if it was a "real" fight, you'd just have to trip them, flip em over, and punch at some joints. I expect the same for ponys, most of them are the same hight so they aren't expecting a power full concentracted wack at their collar bone area. Probably pretty effective
Great chapter, I'm always happy to see that you've updated.
I did have a comment on the way you wrote the fight. I feel like there's too much detail, I can't follow what's actually happening.
I had to read this bit a few times to actually get what's happening. I don't know about other people, but I have a picture in my head about what's happening. Detail is good, but the whole thing seems like someone is recounting the fight to me, not like it's actually happening. I feel like it would be a bit smoother if you tried to lighten the whole thing up a bit, and let my mind fill in some of the gaps.
it's a great chapter though, and you're free to take my input and do with it what you will. I'm by no means an expert at this, it's just my 2 cents.
That ending there. Oh. My. God.
Another step closer to one home....
They haven't made their choices yet. Won't they stay by each other's side; not to be thrown away by winds of chaos?
Awaiting further releases.
Not TOO much stereotyping there really. I mean the human of this story is 40-ish...I can honestly say I haven't seen TOO many stories like that, I think I can count on one hand how many I've ready with a 40 year old human as the protagonist. Additionally the language barrier. I think this is the 4th story I've read where that was an issue and then there's the similarities to Earth. I like seeing that looked at. It's refreshing to see a character that's an archeologist be the protagonist so the similarities can be more closely examined. I'm honestly looking forward to reading a story where there ISN'T a foul mouthed teen or twenty-something person in a hoodie as the main character for once.
This is a story that proves an adventure can be entertaining without supervillains trying to blow up the world.
Awwww yeah, new chapter!
Now this Is getting juicy!
Hah, nice. I liked that scene from Power Ponies as well
Overall, it was quite an excellent chapter. I loved how fluid the fight scene was, and Cheerilee's interactions with Lyra and co were heartwarming -- I have a soft spot (ha!) for scratching pony ears. Keep up the good work!
Nice to see this story again. Our heroes are about to go on one heck of an adventure.
Thank goodness! I was starting to worry about this story. No doubt, hands down my favorite HiE fic on this site. It even forced me to rethink my own.
Bwhahahahaha! Glad to see Cheerilee make up with the flower girls.
Youch, that King of the Hill match. Good thing the ponies were holding back, I can only imagine that in a real confrontation a serious kick from one of them might be straight up fatal if it hits somewhere particularly vulnerable.
Glad to see you back. How long ago was the ponies on earth angle planned, out of curiosity?
3717361 Plan? I have a plan?
Seriously though, I couldn't say. I knew that there was a portal under the Castle of the Two Sisters that would go to Earth since about chapter 17 or so, I think...
But the ending keeps changing and shifting in my mind. Ponies on Earth? A dozen different variations on that have gone through my head since I decided that the "Lost Library" was on Earth... none of them simple...
I'm still not sure exactly how this is going to end... or even exactly how we're going to get there. I have some ideas... some firm, some not so firm, about some of the details, but even I don't know for sure where my crazy brain is going with this for sure.
I just realized that this story managed to successfully predict both Alicorn Twilight and Daring Do being real.
3718239 Huh. What do you know.
Kind of a narrow-scope here. Even herbivores eat living things just as much as carnivores and omnivores. And to counter the statement that plants are non-sentient, these plants certainly wouldn't let you eat them if they were, especially more if the were sapient.
Hmmm..... I wonder if any one will be on the other side?
3714829
It's funny. In another fandom, long long ago, this same Author was a bit famous for his incredibly realistic fight sequences. It was a real strength of his writing, though his talent has expanded far outside of that realm by this point.
I actually really enjoyed the sequence... but I admit, it was quite detailed.
This is a plus in my personal opinion... great detailing like this, of course, can only come from an expert in the field. And the author's expertise shows here.
3717787
And sadly, this was always the weakness. As always, if you have a plotline problem, feel free to consult. ;)
This was good. Please continue being good, no matter how long it takes. Thank you.
3720221 I can definitely see that, I think a lot of the detail was good, but I found it hard to follow what was going on in that particular sequence. I think he's a fantastic author, I just figured I should mention it.
3721650 I get that. The scene with Morning Star was probably the trickiest, as he has a very unique style of fighting, using his wings to allow him to create attack combos that wouldn't be possible for a creature with less than six limbs. (Or force of will flight)
Think the flying fight scenes in the third Matrix movie, or some of Goku's better combos in DBZ... or a good wire-fu flick.
3718687
Yep. It's canon that ponies eat eggs, after all, which are essentially unhatched/ unfertilized baby chickens. In other words, ponies eat dead babies!
But, horses in real life can eat meat. There is video footage of horses eating birds, and some horses are trained to eat meat in preparation for high altitude climates where plants are scarce, such as mountains. Quick historical fact: Alexander the Great's horse was rumored to be a man-eater, so it could strike fear into the hearts of his enemies.
"the fabric of reality in this room is perhaps as much as... five percent thinner than average" lol Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow.
Also, Luna is still one and only best princess.
3723861 Chapter 30, Cheerilee's mother fixes Cheerilee and Johnathon (who's an Earth Pony at the time) a fish dinner.
Fluttershy feeds a pair of weasels some fish in one of the actual episodes.
In my own personal headcanon, some pegasi enjoy fish. And obviously anypony can eat meat without serious problems. However, I do think that, being primarily non-meat eaters, and living in a society where there are so many sapient forms of life besides ponies, eating meat would be quite a bit less socially acceptable among ponies than it would be among humans. I stated in one chapter that Griffons who live among ponies tend to follow pony customs toward meat eating... but naturally there are exceptions to every rule.
Still, the Flower Trio are notoriously squeamish and extremely easy to shock or scare... hence their over-the-top reactions to Cheerilee's diet.
3724383 The third doctor coined that phrase. He's my fourth favorite, after 10, 11, and 4.
This story is just gonna get longer andl onger won't it?
I can definetly say you are improving too.
3723861
Of course it's obvious ponies eat eggs. I'm certain a fair share of the baked goods they cook up use eggs as ingredients, though I'm not sure which ones. But the thing that got to me in that line I quoted was that they don't considering something to be living if it's not sapient/sentient. It's the same way most people think of humans as the superior species and shelve off every other animal as inferior because they don't live the same good and easy way we do when in fact, we too are also animals.
On one hoof, they accepted her as the pony they had always known as their teacher.
images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131026094525/fallout/images/7/70/What-a-twist.jpg
Not a bad chapter, by the way.
3726418 Thanks for the edit.
3725943 Don't take the line too seriously. Rose was just being, in her own words, a silly pony. Just like many humans, her own grasp of the issue isn't that clear, and she's pretty much freaking out over nothing.
The flower trio aren't known for their rational debate after all. Anyone remember them fainting because of a stampede of bunnies?
Has there been fanart of humanized Cheerilee yet? I mean, based on this fic.
3729511 Unfortunately, this fic hasn't generated any fan-art. *shrugs* Ah well.
Bring on the brony archeologists that John just happened to work with. You all know it's gonna happen.