This story is a sequel to Crossing Over
Falling through a portal to a land of talking ponies is not generally a good idea. It was a lesson Jonathan Lockhart learned the hard way four years ago. So why isn’t he running away from this strange glowing sphere in his friend’s apartment?
An old friend is in trouble. She has to be in trouble, if she crossed over again. Were it not for the friendships he forged on that occasion four years ago, he may never have gotten out alive. By following through, he could repay that debt.
A new friend is in trouble, too. It is his apartment where the portal appeared, and he is nowhere to be found. Jonathan’s unique experience made him realize that traveling to one’s favorite universe is never a good thing.
His new friend is in the most trouble of all. He wants to be there. And that means he might not want to be found. And if all this is part of another plot, they don’t have the luxury of waiting.
It’s enough to make a man look forward to going back to the office on Monday.
Set during Season Three.
Seems like a good sequel. Although, did you prewrite all 3 chapters, or did you just write them all in the same day?
6338719 Like with the original story, I submitted multiple chapters at once. I would be very hard pressed to write that many words in a day!
For both stories, I wanted to show the multiple humans angle in the chapters originally submitted.
Ok. Even with the holidays, writing that many words in a day would mentally wear me out. Although I heard that there are these prolific writers who can write 10,000 words a day.
Two words describe my feelings on this tale: "Buck! Yes!"
6339161 I think I've managed ~10,000 words over a weekend before, but that was doing nothing else, and writing about 16 hours a day. Two of my stories here were written over an evening, both under 3,000 words.
Re: author's note. I'm not really sure, but it's possible. If so (and I've read over 300 HiEs), it's very rare. I've read a few with the right age group, and a modest number of pegasister-in-Equestrias, but I don't think I've hit upon any that intersect.
If there was any and the girl stayed in Equestrian it would have to be an adopt fic. Closest I've seen is child/infant gets transported to Equestria but the show either doesn't exist or he/she doesnt know about it
Indeed! That is the problem with smartphones. They have bigger screens (more power needed for the backlight) which are brighter (more power needed for the backlight). They have powerful processors (more power needed to power it) and oodles of memory (guess what? More power needed). And with 3G and 4G, faster throughput means more power needed to transcode the signal. Even with a huge battery, it wont last very long.
You could have magic constantly charging the phone like other stories do
6379183 I would certainly see someone like Twilight Sparkle, after studying human science textbooks and analyzing the phone, being able to charge it. I wouldn't want the ambient magical field of Equestria to automatically charge electronics.
Generally, I assume late 19th to early 20th century technology, with magic being used in place of technology in some places.
6379338 I've just seen stories where the person pulls out their phones only to see the charge icon while not plugged in and using the ambient magic is powering my phone as the excuse
Jason raised a good point about staying. A lot of people have left their homes, whether the conditions were good or bad, on a whim, a hope or a prayer. In a way, my family did and it didn't start paying off for about three years when my parents got steady jobs. We were running mostly off savings and pitiful earnings from the part time/temp positions they got (and student loan bursary in my case). I can't fault Jason's reasonings, particularly considering that he's actually doing what he always wanted to now.
6530167 He has a good point, but so does John, who points out the extreme nature of being willing to abandon your old life entirely. An immigrant remains able to contact his family back home, and can always return home. (Except, perhaps, in the case described in this story. If Jason's ancestor planned on working in America so that he could return home with better financial means, he would have found his plan ruined by the Great War; his homeland was also moved from part of Austria-Hungary to part of Yugoslavia.)
In a future where there's an established link between Earth and Equestria, and a worker exchange program, his desire to move there to work would still be extreme, but something most people would grudgingly accept.
6530403 It's a duel of the points! Debate of the ages! Line for your tickets starts at the front of the library, popcorn available for 5 bits! But yeah, both sides have decent support. Unfortunately the love card is a whole 'nother wrench in the works.
Right... remaining in contact... *whistles innocently and doesn't meet Alaborn's eyes*
The premise of the reopening portal and the old friend in danger on the other side reminds me a lot of the old Ultima series and its avatar... well, even if that is unrelated it's certainly enough to catch my interest. And Greycait approves ;) Let's see where this goes.
6530643 I played several of the Ultima games, including Ultima IV multiple times, and now that I think about it, the portals I described in Crossing Over greatly resemble moongates. But it wasn't intentional.
And now I'm thinking about the situation in reverse, ponies coming through a portal to the human world to help them out. With all the resulting awkwardness from changing bodies.
6530831 Moongates... *reminisce*
Come to think about it, I loved the Ultima Underworld games. That could be a great crossover (or inspiration at least). Ah, being old enough to remember the great age of gaming :b
That sounds... good.
Gasp,
, changelings!
6535680 "Hey, Pinkie, you're supposed to gasp. Instead, you said the word gasp."
D'oh!
Oldest trick in the book.
Says the guy stupid enough to jump through a portal to this strange world, while Jason just got accidentally sucked in.
The funny thing is that's intentional, and very part of the book's setting, that wizard magic is unrealistically complicated. It's not just a flaw of the author, but part of the humor. Supposed to leave you scratching your head going "So why use living portrait people, and not just put a map on the wall?" Whether this is because eccentric wizards feel a need to make it complicated, or whether complicated magic feels a need to create eccentric wizards, there is absolutely no reason for instance, that Quidditch even exists.
Holy fishbuckets leave the poor guy alone. He has to be the most well adjusted transplant into ponyland I've ever read about. He didn't go fangasming all over Ponyville, no he walked over to a bridge and started helping ponies build it. He's not saying Equestria is a paradise or that humanland is evil or destructive, he's drawing metaphors with his own ancestors finding their purpose in a new land. I mean, I thought he was going to blend in and hide just because he was afraid of being sent back, but no, he was just like "Yeah, I'm Jason. What of it?" He's not blindly drooling over everypony he sees; he's falling in love with a coworker, slowly, over a period of months. That's more than you can say of most people who don't get transported into a magical land of happy sparkles and manticores!
6535944
He's not stupid, he's loyal.
"There's a difference?"
6536032 That's written from John's perspective. He's probably read plenty of bad Harry Potter fanfiction showing fangasming self-inserts, and he'd be the first to admit that Jason's being very well-adjusted. However, his view of the present situation is colored by the fact that the last time he was brought to Equestria, it was part of a sinister plan. If some other entity has plans for Jason, then getting him home will stop them.
He's only been in Equestria a day longer than John, so Jason is falling in love very quickly. But that's not unusual; that's just how Jason is. (Such will be revealed next chapter.)
6536133
Hasn't eight months passed?
6536221 Time between John's two trips to Equestria, from the Earth perspective: ~4.5 years.
Time between John's two trips to Equestria, from the Equestria perspective: ~8 months.
Time between Jason going to Equestria and John going to Equestria in this story, from the Earth perspective: ~ 1 hour.
Time between Jason arriving in Equestria and John arriving in Equestria in this story, from the Equestria perspective: ~ 1 day.
The only thing that's clear is that Earth and Equestria are not in sync in terms of the passage of time.
6536298
Ohh, 8 months since his first visit to Equestria. Yeah, that makes Jason a wee bit more suspect. Eight months and no freakout, and I'd be lots more leery to suggest that it'd be right to send him back, despite whatever world ending menace is contingent on it.
Curious how many days it's been though. Jason has 1 day on John, and John's been studying the stuff with Twilight for... some amount of time?
It doesn't matter even if Jason and John arrived at Equestria simultaneously, if John was making his assessment 8 months after both of them had arrived.
Ohh, the cliffhanger!
I am looking forward to the next chapter!
It's like Twilight in a sexy outfit John. It's almost impossible not to think of it. Heavens, I'm thinking about it! Gah...
I really do like the concept of Malice Discord. It works quite well with not only his character, but his role, the way he is treated by others such as Celestia, and even Nightmare Moon.
6706805 Malice Discord helps when future seasons include a "reformed" Discord.
And just look at the Twilight Sparkle in the banner for the Clopfics group!
Yes, that is of course the only reason you like hugging Twilight, John. I mean, what other reason could there possibly be?
Right?
6707586 I know, right? Sending non-bronies to Equestria is such a waste.
NOPE!
But still. Really nice chapter, I liked it. I also like the headcanon of Discord having multiple aspects.
Got to say, the changeling tension seemed to wrap out way too quickly. I get that the interactions between the characters was the main thing with the story, but it felt a bit... unfulfilling to have the suspicious confirmed, explanations [attempted to be] given and Imago hustled off in under 500 words.
Anyway, that was my gripe with the chapter. The rest was good. I'm trying to think of which surprise John could be alluding to... Snape? Dumbledore? The true nature of the MacGuffins? Hmm... And don't show her the movies! The books are way better! Don't do it John!
Poor Pinkie though. So many party opportunities just spirited away before they could be fully met. The Emergency Party could only do so much, after all.
Huh. Neat epilogue. Does seem a bit mean to have not let John know about it, from Equestria's end I mean. But who knows? John and Twilight can be Potter chatting pen pals!
6730504 I recognized that as a weakness of this chapter, but I was not a fan of the actual episode, with Queen Chrysalis easily besting Princess Celestia. I prefer my Celestia competent. The idea of changelings being responsible for this latest link to Earth was established last chapter, though, with Twilight Sparkle's conversation off camera with Celestia triggering suspicion.
As for Harry Potter, John is such a huge fan, that everything is a treat. But what he likes most are the mysteries about Snape's ultimate loyalties.
6379338
I love HiE stories but there's one issue that always comes up.
Just how advanced are the Ponies? In some areas like the Earth Pony town of Ponyville, they probably use oil/gas street lamps so Twilight can probably wire a bunch of lemons and potatoes up, while at the same time Ponyville has a freaking HYDROELECTRIC DAM!
Their tech be all over the place!
[edit]
http://www.roundstable.com/2013/04/23/halberds-and-hair-dryers-the-bizarre-tech-of-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic/
6816787 Ponies are exactly as advanced as the writers need them to be, for any given plot line, scene, or gag.
The worker bees immediately begin producing more royal jelly, which contains hormones to transform a larva into a queen, as opposed to a worker. They do this anyway, but normally the queen kills any new queen bees that are born. As a successful hive grows larger, the queen isn't able to keep up with the rate new ones are emerging, and
they battle to the deaththe new queen just leaves peacefully, taking half the hive with her in a nonaggressive swarm that finds a good location to start a new hive.And when the queen dies, the workers do make more royal jelly, but if they can't produce a new queen before their own short lifespans are over, then the entire hive just dies of old age.
tl;dr it's magic puke
I've read plenty of stories where there was a changeling succession without kinky bondage. Heck in one story it was just a single drop of goo randomly given, and Sweetie Belle, who the current universe was very confused about, since she was/wasnot a changeling/"changeling"/rock.
Ostensibly changelings are analagous to wasps, that attack bee hives and take all the honey and bee abdomens (no really) back to their hive to feed their larva. But wasps have a bunch of queens in their hive, just most with their gonads turned off acting as hunters, and there's no real info on how succession works AFAIK.
This ending felt... off.
I kept waiting for the huge plot twist that never came. It was... a nice story, I suppose?
MORE
or you might not like what I do next.
7038268 I do have two more story ideas for this series. But developing them will take time.
a good story a vary worthy read.
I can see your skill as a righter is improving good work.
Sorry; my Iphone's lasted two days without issues. On the other hoof, when it's in Equestria where there aren't any cell towers in easy reach, it'll expend all its battery searching in vain and probably die within eight hours or so.
?? lavender?
? = how
led
It's called Television, Twilight, sigh (here we go)
They're looking for an engineer...and Stone Arch doesn't click?
8124723 He bumped into one of the flower mares, not Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle happened to be nearby, recognized his voice, and called out to him.
They would both have a good handle on what electricity is, so a battery recharge by moving electrons may be a feasible fix. Only problem is without a phone tower, the phones at beast could only Bluetooth or WiFi at close range.
8124809 Corrections made.
Hey, John's an electrical engineer. He doesn't design bridges or aqueducts.
8124978 Hasn't seemed to 'Phase' him.
8124929 Oops my mistake, read it wrong.