Chapter 6: Lonely no More (20 AE)
They didn’t sleep when the Albatross finally touched down, not then. There was still the captured servants of the Equestrian spirit to deal with. Or so Alex had suspected, right up until she got to the site the prisoners had been kept, awake only through the sheer power of earth in her bones.
There were no prisoners now. No drones remained functional either. There were several new bodies on the ground, bodies of ponies and more of the hybrid water-creatures, and the wreckage of every combat-capable drone there.
It was a terrible loss. Dozens of drones destroyed, one Albatross heavily damaged, and one HPI drone engineer who wouldn’t ever return home to Raven City. She could only hope the magical squid-monster had cost their enemy, because he had hurt them dearly. Charybdis was not like his brother abomination, Odium. He didn’t return to try to take them again, he had no ponies lying in wait or bombs buried in the soil.
Did that mean he was an adversary more worthy of respect? Or merely that much more dangerous, since alongside all his awful traits there was also at least one virtue? Sunset Shimmer refused to let them spend the night there, insisting that “The Umbrum do not show mercy. If he intends for us to go, it is only because he feels letting us leave serves his purpose better.”
Alex had only one task to accomplish before they left: turn the Albatross’s reactor back on, turn it up as high as it could go, and arm every defensive circuit except the self-destruct. If Charybdis expected it would gain a powerful warship from its mercy, it would learn better. Its servants would be shot to pieces and their brains would all melt in their heads.
Sunset Shimmer lacked the strength to bring all of them back to Alexandria, even with her decades of Alicorn growth and magical practice. Queen Blacklight solved that problem for them by pointing her drones homeward and sending them off to fly on their own. They would take a few days, but she wasn’t worried about them. The drones she had chosen for today’s mission had been among her strongest and brightest.
“It’s amazing- I hope you don’t mind me saying so.” Sunset Shimmer pulled her robe tight about herself again, and within it her wings seemed to melt away. It was just an illusion woven into the fabric, but it was a powerful one. “Nopony in Equestria would ever imagine a changeling would want to help ponies.”
Blacklight didn’t look offended or surprised. “Then ponies in Equestria have weak imaginations. Or perhaps the changelings do. Maybe both.” She shrugged. “Irrelevant; our situation is different.” She didn’t close her eyes, didn’t move in any visible way. Yet she changed anyway, in a flash of green spellfire. Black armor became black coat, and holes vanished from her legs and mane. She even had a cutie mark, appearing as the crown-like growth she had when she was a changeling. She looked like a unicorn this time, though of course she could’ve looked like anything. She had kept her unusual size, meaning she was about equal with Sunset Shimmer, minus the wings. Alex was just grateful Blacklight would be carrying their burden back, since she wasn’t sure she could do it. Even earth pony endurance had its limits
“Don’t open your eyes.” Sunset’s voice was firm. “When I say so, exhale. It hurts otherwise; the pressure differential will rip the air right out of your lungs. Ponies talk about worse things happening, but I don’t think they’re that reputable.”
Lonely Day had done this before, and over far greater distances. After traveling between universes, moving a few thousand miles just didn’t have the same thrill. Still, she followed all of Sunset’s instructions, and was not surprised by the thunderclap of air or the biting cold on her coat. She didn’t have the air forced out of her lungs, and she didn’t balk at the thin dusting of ice that froze almost instantly upon her coat.
Alex knew little about teleportation. She’d had Sunset Shimmer explain it once; the way their travel shunted through higher-dimensional space. The Alicorn had even drawn her the field equations. It took her twenty volumes of various high-level math textbooks before she could even guess at what they meant. What mattered was that their passage through higher-dimensional space allowed them to cross a theoretically indefinite distance without passing through the space in-between. A pity she couldn’t learn it.
With another answering thunderclap and a rush of warm air, Alex found her hooves again resting on solid ground. The frost melted almost instantly upon contact with air, and she hesitantly opened her eyes. Sunset Shimmer’s precision had improved greatly over the last decade. The first time Alex had jumped with her, they had ended up half a dozen miles away. Not anymore. Their little party stood less than a dozen steps away from Cloudy Skies’s front door.
It was later in Alexandria than it had been in the ruins of Los Angeles. The sun was only just rising, casting everything in bright yellows and oranges. Sky lived in the residential suburbs of Alexandria. Even so, there were already ponies out and about. Many were early risers, particularly the pegasi. Many of those didn’t bother with sidewalks, flying from place to place.
Cloudy Skies had been a farmpony until she became a parent. In those days, Alex might’ve worried about not catching her this late. Now, there was little chance she would be anywhere else. Three of her children still lived at home, and with Adrian gone as often as he was...
“You’re going to make her day.” She smiled weakly towards Sunset. “She still idolizes you. Fair warning.”
The Alicorn chuckled. “A few decades seems long enough. This seems like a good excuse to get back in touch. Even if I still won’t be able to visit that often.”
“She’ll understand.” Alex hurried to the front of her little group, knocking briskly on the door. There was no answer, though as she waited she could make out some frightened crying from upstairs. She felt a twinge of guilt; had they woken Sky’s youngest with their arrival? It had been loud enough to wake the dead.
She tried the door, and sure enough she found it unlocked. Nopony locked their doors in Alexandria. She opened it with a little delicate downward pressure, stepping inside. “Cloudy Skies, I’m letting myself in! Don’t rush, but I’ve got guests with me!” She gestured, and her companions followed. Neither seemed particularly troubled by her letting herself into somepony’s home.
Like many of the earliest citizens to Alexandria, Sky and Adrian had chosen some of the best homes the former village of Paris had to offer. Theirs was one of the largest, a sprawling Tudor-style with expensive antique furniture. Much of that was gone now, replaced with practical, rustic-looking affairs Adrian had scavenged during his numerous expeditions. They had kept the rustic hardwood though, which echoed with every clopping hoofstep.
“Put her down on the couch there.” She gestured for Riley into the parlor, at the most comfortable of several different sofas. “Is she awake yet?”
Queen Blacklight didn’t even glance over her shoulder. “Still unconscious. I could wake her if you wish.”
She shook her head vigorously. “She deserves her rest.”
“Very well.” Blacklight’s graceful steps were purposeful as she made her way into the parlor, levitating the blanket-wrapped form she had been carrying onto the sofa. She paused to make sure her passenger was still breathing freely, then turned away, hurrying past them both. “Give Sky my regards.”
“You won’t stay? Smells like Sky’s cooking omelettes and pancakes for breakfast. Bet she would make some for you too. That’s gotta be better than...” Lonely Day struggled for the word the queen had used for the nutrient-rich fungus her drones cultivated in the dark, but could not find it. Couldn’t find it, because it had no word. They just called it: “hive food.”
“Taste is irrelevant.” Riley nodded politely to her. “I would like to see Cloudy Skies, but I have other concerns.” Her eyes flicked briefly to the stairs. “She must tend to her brood, and I to mine. If you have any further need of me, find one of my drones.” She turned to Sunset then, actually bowing as Alex had never seen her do before. “Remember me, princess. We are not all the monsters your world knew. Some of us haven’t forgotten we are human.”
Sunset Shimmer returned the bow, though much shallower. “I will. I hope we can be friends, Queen Blacklight.”
“I would like that.” She left. No matter how close her friendship with Cloudy Skies, no queen had time for frivolities such as “saying hello.” Lonely Day didn’t expect anything less of her.
The smell of eggs and cheese from the kitchen drew Alex like an invisible tether. “Hungry?”
Sunset nodded eagerly. “You have no idea how exhausting all that spellcasting is.”
Together they made their way into the kitchen.
It wasn’t empty, as the entryway had been. The second-eldest was an earth pony colt, grumping up a corner with a pre-Event video game console. The colt barely even grunted as they came into the room. He used a modified controller Joseph had designed, its buttons wide and accommodating of hooves. Instead of directional buttons, another hoof went into a depression covered with sensors, so that moving in any direction would trigger the attached key. The result was several times larger than a controller built for human hands, but one that required only hooves. Even an earth pony could play if he or she wanted to.
Not that it would matter for long. There was still plenty of old hardware, and in particular the “retro” consoles and computers seemed to hold up remarkably well. Yet it would all run down eventually, and she doubted many ponies would be able to afford to exchange any of their hard-earned chits for custom manufacturing of such luxuries. The rising generation might very well be the last for hundreds of years outside of Raven City that knew the joy of computer games.
Sky’s eldest had insisted on using the human name “Amy” her father had given her, even though she had one of the Equestrian variety from her mother. Her coat was only a few shades lighter than her mother’s had been, her mane like lemons. Amy appeared to be the one manning the electric stove. She glanced briefly over her shoulder as they came in, waving enthusiastically. “Ammex, mooed hmm mee moo!”
She found herself waving back, smiling in spite of herself. On the outside, Amy was only a year younger than herself. They had been friends for years, thanks to Amy’s love of books. If anypony in Alexandria could boast to reading even half of what Alex had, it was her. Alex still smiled whenever she thought back to the first time she had found the filly years ago, when she had spotted her following Alex around the library like a ghost and hiding whenever she turned around. “Don’t burn anything on our account!” Alex sat down at the table, choosing one of the most comfortable cushions and gesturing for Sunset to do the same.
The absent-minded little pegasus winced, turning around hastily and returning to her work. Several all sizzled at once, with Sky’s characteristic multitasking. Amy, for all she was well-meaning, could never keep up with so many different things at once. Already at least one of the pans was pouring black smoke.
“She looks like she needs help,” Sunset murmured, concerned.
“Yes. But she gets incredibly frustrated if you do it for her. She wants to fail until she gets it right. Don’t help, or she’ll just dump everything and start over.”
Sunset nodded, turning her attention on the colt and the television in the corner. “What about you; are you Cloudy Skies’s son too?”
He glanced up, looking as though he were going to say something rude... until he saw he was looking at a stranger. His eyes slid off her like she had been covered in oil, and he scooted a little away, blushing. “Y-Yeah.” He paused the game.
“And what’s your name?”
“N-north Wind, miss...”
“Sunset Shimmer, but you can just call me Sunset. I’m an old friend of your mother’s.”
“O-Oh.” He swallowed. “I think... I think I know...” he mumbled for a moment, then his curiosity got the better of his embarrassment. “I thought you went back to Equestria. Mom said she’d never get to see you again.”
“I did go back.” Sunset shifted uncomfortably on her cushion. “But Earth needed me more, so I came back.”
“You mean you’re actually from Equestria, like the teachers at school?” Amy glanced over her shoulder, no longer holding the spatula in her mouth. “There’s no way to get back to Equestria- that must mean you’ve been here for a long time!”
“Yes.” Sunset Shimmer didn’t meet her eyes, finding the rest of the room suddenly fascinating. “I wish I could have visited your mother sooner, but I wasn’t allowed.”
“Wasn’t-“
Alex interrupted her. “Amy, don’t. We’ve had a rough night. I’m sure Sunset Shimmer will be happy to answer your questions later. Where’s your mom, doesn’t she usually cook your breakfast?”
The filly nodded, suddenly abashed herself. Alex was almost never stern with her. “Upstairs with Sunbeam. Something or other woke him up. If she’s still upstairs, he’s probably being difficult. She’ll be down.”
“Y-Yeah. That was probably us.” Alex winced. “Sunbeam is still difficult?”
“Worse than any of the rest of us. Mom says he’s nature’s way of telling her to stop.”
Someone cleared her throat from the doorway. “Sunbeam is nature’s way of teaching me to have a little more patience. You were just as grouchy when you were his age, Surefire.”
“Amy,” the filly muttered, stepping away from the stove. “Here, Mom. I kept most of it from burning. I think you’ll have to make more anyway. Alex is here, and she’s brought a friend.”
Sky nodded. As she passed, Day could see a foal resting on her back, wrapping himself around her. One eye was closed, the other watched everything with a sleepy intensity. At least until he saw Sunset. When he did, his head lifted from his mother’s back and both eyes locked on her, never looking away.
“I can see that.” A younger, less mature Sky might’ve jumped up and down, might’ve squealed in enthusiasm upon seeing Sunset Shimmer. The mature mare only smiled, though there was a moisture in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “I see you’ve already made yourselves at home. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll get you fed. We can talk after.”
Alex ate more than an adult stallion, ate until the gnawing emptiness inside her finally stopped pressing at her and her exhaustion returned to prominence. That, and how revolting she smelled.
Sky wasn't the same pony that had been her best friend when Alexandria had been founded. Without having to ask, Sky insisted their breakfast was followed with some time in the shower and a good rest in one of the numerous extra beds. She would later learn that Sunset never slept, sacrificing her comfort for more time with her friend. Alex felt a little guilty after that, but not much. Sky probably preferred to be alone with her friend anyway.
By the time she wandered back downstairs into the parlor, she found the new friend she had brought was still asleep. A glance told her Sunset and Sky were still out on the porch, talking over lemonade. Alex ignored them for the moment, approaching the little bundle on the couch.
Well, little compared to the size she had been before. Taylor was an adult after all, taller and larger than Alex might ever be. With a gentle flick, she peeled away the blankets, revealing the mare inside. Taylor twitched at the sudden change in temprature, blinking blearily awake.
Taylor Gamble had been completely transformed. It was a strange thing just how much of her human self Alex could see, having the two so close together in time. Her coat was almost skin-colored, a peach just a few shades too dark. Her mane and tail were the exact same shade of ginger-orange, and here and there Alex could even make out what might’ve been freckles on her coat. Taylor had been in middle age as a human, but there were no traces of that age now. From what the books said, some of the equestrian species aged slower than humans did. None of them really believed that, it seemed too good to be true, but here was one more little piece of evidence. Taylor looked much like Sky: a mature adult in her prime, with no wrinkles or sagging or lines.
She had no wings, no horn. Alex found that reassuring somehow, though she had no end of pity for the new arrivals who had to adapt to losing their hands. Taylor would face that, just as all new arrivals did. She was just in the unique position of having been human on Earth after the Event. The HPI did not yet know; Alex had personally destroyed the internal video footage of the transformation. No doubt Clark had several notifications waiting for her in her bracer even now. He could wait a few more minutes.
The mare stirred, choking out a weak cough before meeting her eyes. “Hello Alex.” Her voice sounded different, as all returning ponies did. Higher, more musical somehow. They were all better singers now, though somehow she doubted Taylor would ever take much interest in it. The mare yawned. “Are we in sickbay? I remember…” She shivered, suddenly closing her eyes and curling up. “No…” All sleepiness was instantly gone from her. “I was exposed. Must’ve lost consciousness… No, thaumic exposure doesn’t let you do that. Can’t feel my fingers or toes… drugged then?”
“No.” Alex stood beside the couch, nearly close enough to touch her. But she didn’t touch, and thus confront Taylor with the reality of her transformation before she was ready. “Nothing I used would still be in your system this long.”
“Dead, then?” She closed her eyes, relaxing into the blankets. “I knew I’d see you when I died. You’ve always been liminal, haven’t you? Walking on both sides of the veil? You weren’t a pony, you were an angel, sent from God to help the last of us pass on. Now you’ve taken me. A little earlier than I expected.”
Archive wasn’t sure if it would be entirely honest to deny what Taylor said. “You aren’t in Heaven. That might be what the HPI wanted to do with you, but not me.” She smiled. “Humanity needs you too badly to let your skills all go to waste. The white shores will have to wait.” She rested a hoof firmly on Taylor’s shoulder.
“Hmmm.” Taylor reached up, subconsciously gripping the offered hoof with her own. She was quiet for a long time, eyes closed on the couch. Then she sat up, though the motion was so sudden she nearly threw herself from the couch. “I hear wind, Alex! Voices! We’re not in sickbay… we’re not aboard the Albatross at all, are we? I can’t feel my armor, I-”
She froze, and her eyes that met Alex’s were wide as saucers. “I don’t hurt.”
Archive shook her head, still smiling sadly. “No, you wouldn’t. You won’t ever feel that again, Taylor. That part of your life is over. You won’t ever be afraid of magic again. You won’t ever be locked in bunkers and metal boxes. You don’t need your armor anymore. It wouldn’t fit even if you wanted it to.”
Taylor looked, and this time she saw. She didn’t struggle or flail around, as many others spoke of doing during the first moments of their arrival. She didn’t scream or fall off the couch. “Oh.” She concentrated, rolling sideways onto the floor. She caught her hooves beneath her, though only with Alex’s help did she not fall. “If you don’t mind, Alex… I’d like to go outside.”
She didn’t mind. Taylor took each step with great care, moving only one leg at a time. Alex stayed beside her, catching her more than once before she stumbled. The former human continued with dogged determination, ignoring every stumble and setback, eyes fixed on the patio and the open doorway. She said nothing, seeming to need all her concentration just to move forward.
They passed onto the patio. At a gesture from Alex, Sunset and Sky remained where they were, falling quiet but not interfering. Taylor did not stop until she reached the edge of the porch, where sun could shine full on her. A spring breeze blew across the manicured grounds, taking the smell of flowers and fresh plants up to them. Taylor looked like she was swimming in it, absorbing every detail in silent appreciation. There was no sound but the wind and the birds.
It seemed many minutes before Taylor started walking again. Her steps seemed firmer already, as though she were drawing on the earth without realizing it. Alex wondered idly if longing for so long to appreciate the Earth would speed Taylor getting to know it now that she could be around magic. She walked right into the center of the garden, not seeming to mind the damp soil on her hooves. There she knelt, and began to pray.
Alex couldn’t listen for more than a few seconds without weeping. She left her friend there in the garden, hurrying back up the steps to rejoin Sunset and Sky.
“What’s she doing?” Sunset asked, eyes still fixed on the prostrate mare in the garden. “Were we too late after all? Is her mind-”
“No,” Archive said. “Humans didn’t evolve in boxes. We came from the forest, from the plains. Somewhere in each of us, there’s still a part that longs to feel the wind and sunshine. The HPI might have their hydroponics, but there’s no substitute for actually being here. Taylor balked at that life more than most. Working with us on the surface is incredibly dangerous for humans, as you observed. Yet she kept coming. She could never touch it, only watch through the glass of her helmet and long for freedom.”
“How do you know all that?” Sky had risen to her hooves, watching too. Her concern wasn’t for Taylor, though. It was for Day. “Did she tell you?”
“No.” Archive turned away. She didn’t need to watch. “I feel it. Coming up here is like waking from a dream. It wasn’t a bad dream, not at first. But the desperation, the loneliness, knowing it’s only you and a few machines and a computer left of your whole world. But the parts of it you really loved couldn’t come down with you at all, and you would never be able to-” She stopped, blushing. She realized suddenly that it was not her place to say what Taylor felt. Archive might not be her god, but those feelings were still sacred somehow. “Now the dream is over. Taylor is awake for the first time in twenty years.” She chuckled. “It’s not going to stay sweets and roses. When she realizes the hell it’s going to be to learn to do basic things… she might realize us ponies aren’t living in Heaven either. Still… I don’t think she’ll regret coming here.”
Sunset’s voice was low, barely louder than a whisper. “Lonely Day: I postponed this moment because of our urgency, but I think we need to talk.”
“Alright.” She sat down. It was hard to be nervous about the reckoning now coming with Taylor’s joy filling her so full that she felt like she was going to explode.
“We talked about doing this for the other humans still on your planet. You never told me they were so oppressed by their condition. It might have affected my decision.”
Alex looked back to her Equestrian friend. “Many aren’t. The newer generation is better adapted to life in their underground city. The culture in there was all engineered for their benefit. The first generation never glorify the surface, or mystify it. When they grow up, they might not feel as Taylor does. Commander Clarke is hopeful they will grow up without missing it.”
Sunset was unmoved. “Humans live about a century?”
She nodded. “Most of them probably will, if not a little longer. Their diet and lifestyle are pretty close to perfect, and they’ve got near-instant access to medical care. Though…” She shuddered. Clark had not been optimistic about what would happen to him and the others of Raven’s elderly, when they grew too old to contribute. Raven City had grown a great deal, grown large enough to support a population nearly double that it had housed two decades previously, but it could not grow forever. CPNFG shields had been optimized about as much as was possible with the existing paradigm. Unless some incredible new breakthroughs occurred, they would run out of power eventually.
They might run out of raw materials to make replacement parts before that, unless the ponies on the surface began to advance more rapidly or the Van Neumann probes finally bore fruit. From what Alex understood, the network was growing more slowly than expected and was presently slightly smaller than a hundred in size even after two decades. Unless those had more success, it might be millennia before the HPI’s forays into space-mining turned any dividends.
“Though?” Sunset pressed.
“Taylor’s generation are all like her a little. Some more, some less. They all want to be back up here a little. But they’re too valuable to let go while they’re still useful. They might be aging, but that doesn’t matter down there. It’s not like there’s much physical labor to be done in Raven. Their brains are needed to keep the place running, and to invent the technologies that will keep it running centuries from now. I told you, I took your proposal to Clark. He flat-out refused to talk to you, and refused your offer. He won’t let anyone leave.”
She glowered. “The last of your race have chosen themselves a tyrant?”
“No.” Alex was equally harsh. “It is not just to judge them by our standards of justice, Sunset.”
Sky winced, retreating a few paces. She had been so quiet, Alex had forgotten she was even still there. “I’ll… get some lemonade for Taylor.” She slipped away without a backward glance.
Alex went on. “Raven City depends on the labor of every single human who can work. If you aren’t maintaining the ventilators, you’re rebuilding old CPNFGs, and if you’re not doing that, you’re designing the next generation of thorium reactors, or inventing a new way to store food. Every project they have is or will be critical for their survival.”
“It’s not ideal to not tell people to leave, but if even some big fraction… like a third… if a third decided to leave, Raven would die. Everyone in it would have to accept your offer and move out or let the magic kill them when the machines all failed in a few years. Would it be tyrannical for the third who wanted to leave to make the decision for everyone else?”
Sunset didn’t seem to know what to say to that. She deflated a little. “What if they all wanted to leave?”
“They don’t. They might eventually…” She shook her head. “What happened to Taylor might just be our opportunity. Clark wouldn’t allow the risk of losing even a single person in that bunker. But to him, Taylor was already dead. We proved it worked and he’s got no right to be upset. Now they know there are other options for the ones who get exposed. Or… maybe the ones they can’t support anymore.” She thought again to some of the haunting things he had said, about what would happen to the elderly. Clark himself was already pushing seventy. He wasn’t dictating some distant reality for others. He would be among the first.
“I haven’t had the time I would’ve liked to spend practicing the spell. I do think we might be able to enchant something with it eventually though. Something a dozen or so ordinary unicorns could charge, instead of needing me each time. I could spend more time on it if you think he might consent.” She looked up, at the pony walking happily back towards them through the grass.
“I’ll call him right now. Maybe you can give some pointers on walking to the new pony!” She grinned, hurrying inside.
“You know how to walk too, Day!”
“You’ve been doing it longer!” she shouted as she headed inside to find where she had left the gauntlet. She wasn’t looking forward to this conversation, but maybe it could make a difference. Being a pony sounded like a better fate for Raven’s elderly than what Clark had resolved to do.
* * *
When Alex finally got home, she found Oliver waiting for her downstairs. He sat at their computer console, resting on a chair built for ponies. He was surrounded by screens, glowing with pages and diagrams from his book. The whole office area had been transformed into his studio, with numerous larger prints of Equestrian anatomy charts on every wall. Alex didn’t care for the room much anymore. She spent so much time in the library that she didn’t mind.
Oliver swiveled around in the chair as she walked in, grinning up at her. Alex found her heartbeat accelerating as he met her eyes. Like all her friends, Oliver had aged over the last two decades. Also like her friends, the way he aged didn’t seem to entirely line up with the way humans got older. He was a little bigger, a little taller, but that was about it. Oliver might be forty-five, but he didn’t look it. How long would it take before they noticed visible signs? It made their relationship easier, in any case. Because Alex hadn’t changed a single centimeter since her return from Equestria. Once Oliver started visibly aging, how long before one of them started feeling weird? They were already an odd couple, Alex about half of the grown stallion’s size. She didn’t mind, but she wasn’t sure how long before Oliver would.
“You’re in once piece this time.” She couldn’t shake the feeling he sounded disappointed. “No gruesome injuries?”
“I love you too, Oliver.” Alex rubbed up against him, in her brief animal affection. He embraced her with equal fervor, despite his mocking words. Alex reveled in the feeling of the stallion against her, in the feeling of strength he offered. “What’s for dinner?”
“I’ve got some ideas.” He grinned, then shook his head and hurried past her, back into the house. “Actually, I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. But I haven’t eaten either, so it’s fine. We can…” He glanced over his shoulder, stopping when he saw that she was following him. “No. You’re not allowed to help, Alex. You tell me about your latest adventure, I cook. That’s how it works.”
“That’s how it works,” she repeated, following him to the edge of the kitchen and hopping up on one of the stools near the bar, where she could get a good view of whatever he decided to make. “Alright. This one’s pretty freaky, though. The Council of Cities is going to hear my report on it next month, when we meet again.” The Council had just over thirty members now, assembled from every large settlement on the continent. She still represented Alexandria, though the meetings were only annual so it didn’t do much to alleviate her boredom the rest of the year. “I haven’t told the city council yet. Nothing I tell you gets out of this kitchen.”
“Cross my heart.” Oliver removed several fresh ingredients from little storage boxes throughout the kitchen, setting them down beside the sink. He flicked it with his hoof, and fresh water began to flow. Even after twenty years, seeing that still gave Alex chills. They had done that. They were the reason there was water in the pipes and electricity in the walls. “Not a word.”
“Good.” Alex leaned closer to him. “I think we finally know what Charybdis is.”
* * *
Alex found herself unable to sleep that night, despite all that came before. She was small, and she was careful, so she managed to get out of bed without waking Oliver. She crept out of their bedroom, slipping out the partially open door and down the stairs. Her son’s bedroom door was shut, though the lights inside were still on. She crept down the stairs, then slipped outside as silently as she could. She stepped off the path and onto the grass as quickly as she could for the silence it would offer her steps.
Sunset was waiting for her, robe tight about her against the chill. Or her identity. She sat on a little mound in the backyard, near a memorial stone Alex’s had carved with her own hooves. Even in the dark, she could make out the outline clearly in the moonlight. “Huan - Loyal Friend”
“It never seemed fair,” Alex said quietly, as she approached. “Dogs are so loyal, but they don’t get to live long enough to stay with us.” She sat down, her side touching the rough fabric of sunset’s robe. “Did you know our fourth generation of calves has started to talk? But none of our cows has lived longer than cows ever did. How is that fair?”
“Who ever told you life would be fair?”
Archive had no answer for that, at least not for several long moments. Eventually she said, “It seems like it ought to be.” Sunset said nothing to that, only looking a little smug. “It isn’t just Huan.” Alex looked up at the stars, trying to see whatever it was Sunset Shimmer seemed to be noticing. “It's every other pony out there. I won’t just outlive my dog anymore, I’ll outlive every friend I ever make, every child I ever have... that’s not fair either.”
“To you or to them?”
Alex opened her mouth, then choked on the words she had been about to say. “I suppose... them. Since I’m going to be living so much longer.” She didn’t look down, but she could still feel Sunset’s eyes upon her. She whimpered, and suddenly she was fighting back tears. She shut up, and stayed silent until she had recovered. “I don’t expect you to know about any of that. But there is something I’ve been hoping you could tell me.”
“I can try.” She chuckled. “But I probably don’t know as much as you think I do.”
“How come... Princess Celestia and Luna and Twilight Sparkle and Cadence are all Alicorns. I think I know now that immortals always represent something, and I know what I am... but if I’m immortal, why aren’t I an Alicorn like you? Not that... it’s not what you think... I don’t mind being an earth pony. I can use my hooves for most things just fine, and I’m afraid of heights! I just want to understand.”
Sunset rose to her hooves, turning and walking away towards the back of her house. With no other recourse, Alex was forced to follow, struggling to keep up. “Have you read any of the books about magic?”
She nodded. “I’ve read every single book in the library. I didn’t find anything in there about Alicorns. Only the social commentaries even mentioned that Alicorns existed. Nothing about them in the anatomy textbooks, or the books that explained to the newly transformed how their bodies work. I guess that means that nobody’s going to come back as one...”
Sunset nodded. “It wouldn’t be possible. Becoming an Alicorn is a matter of personal will. It isn’t something that can be thrust upon somepony. You’re not one for the same reason: you never did anything. Celestia and Luna made you what you are, because they were afraid you might not be able to figure it out, and they didn’t wish your planet to go without your guidance.”
“B-But...” She struggled to put that together with what she already knew. “I’m not doing anything to govern my planet! I’m not a princess, I can’t teleport or fly around and help ponies all over! I’m not even Alexandria’s mayor anymore, even if I’m still in charge of the library. I’m not really doing anything these days, except for helping the HPI and having all my suggestions ignored in city council meetings.”
“Is that why you ask?” The Alicorn looked concerned. “You think that, if your transformation was complete, ponies would give you more respect and you could have more of an impact on their lives?” Archive would have said no. Lonely Day, however, could not. Sunset went on. “According to Cloudy Skies, you’ve already done some incredible good.” She gestured vaguely around her, at all the silent buildings. Silent now, but not empty. In two decades, Alexandria had grown to a population of thousands. These buildings held businesses, workshops, and so on.
“You’ve distributed the knowledge Equestria gave you. You protected the library from those who would abuse it, and made thousands of copies for the returning ponies who can’t reach Alexandria. Princess Luna would be proud.”
“I feel like there’s something more I should be doing,” she said, barely loudly than a whisper. “But I don’t know how.”
“Maybe you’re already doing it.” Sunset kept walking until she reached a patch of bare ground, were the dirt had already been turned in preparation for new planting. She lifted a stick in her magical grip and started to draw.
“W-What? How could... How could I be doing anything? I mean, aside from the stuff I know I’m doing.”
“It will be easier to show you.” Sunset sat down, seeming to be deep in concentration as she drew. “It may help you understand what you have to do if you want to be an Alicorn.”
Alex nodded, sitting still in the center of the dirt as Sunset drew around her.
“Just look. Don’t focus too much on any single thing. Focus on the big picture.”
Alex wasn’t sure why Sunset couldn’t just tell her, but she wasn’t about to argue.
“I know you’ve got a great memory, Day. If you’re memorizing it, don’t try this spell on a regular pony. I wouldn’t suggest using it on yourself either if I’m not around, but I won’t try to stop you.
She chuckled. “I don’t know where I’d get the power for it. The Keeper only helps me when I’m fighting something really nasty. Not that I wouldn’t be more useful fighting those real nasty things if I could cast my own spells...”
Sunset stopped drawing. The circle was almost complete, missing only a single rune. “Just remember what I told you. I’m not convinced you won’t figure out a way sooner or later. Close your eyes.” She obeyed, though she could still hear as Sunset Shimmer walked around to behind her. “When you open them again, don’t look at me. Look towards your house first. Only two ponies in there, should be easier to see. When you want it to stop, just step outside the circle or scuff it somehow. It will probably hurt.”
Alex swallowed, but nodded again. “Okay.” With her perfect memory, she twisted a little, eyes still closed. She oriented herself to be facing her house, then opened her eyes.
She saw light, an impossibly fine web of light that seemed to fill all creation. Normal matter seemed dull and gray to her, transparent before the brilliant glow that suffused it. Distance too became meaningless, as all creation became known to her purely through the attention she gave. Alex’s mortal mind was instantly overwhelmed. Had that been all she was, that would’ve meant unconsciousness right there, perhaps followed by horrific brain damage as her mind could take no more.
She screamed, retreating into herself and away from the onslaught of information, which once she opened her eyes shone through into her soul. Yet no retreat would make it go away, and nowhere could she hide from the overwhelming onslaught of light and color. It hurt, but even in the pain her mind began to adjust. She saw herself not as a pony, but as burning flame built from the twisting together of hundreds of thousands of tiny threads spreading out in all directions. Together they twisted into a single whole, a whole that was Archive.
Somehow, these others were connected to her. How? She stretched to find a single thread, could only thanks to her familiarity with its owner. Archive found the thread tied most closely to her life, to her child and to her future, and followed it with her mind into the house. There she found her mate still asleep, peaceful and silent.
He wasn’t a bonfire, wasn’t even a candle. The thread was him alright, a single spark buried somewhere in his chest. Yet for the sudden dimness, she was able to see that it too had uncountable connections. As she focused, she could see that single spark connected with a razor-thin ray to each and every cell in his body, billions and billions that twisted into tissues and then into organs and then in thick bundles. Of exterior connections there were few. She followed the only other one she found, which lead a few rooms over to the body of her sleeping son. She felt his breathing, practically could’ve heard the thoughts of his mind had he not been asleep.
How far did this network go? Archive traced the lines back to herself and was again briefly overwhelmed. Yet she plunged onward, following the twisting of a million strands that together eclipsed the ember of her soul. Yet just as the threads in Oliver united tissues to organs and organs to him, some of the invisible filaments were easier to follow than others.
Brightest of all, twisting together like a steel anchor line and contributing a significant fraction of the light was a nearly uniform weave of power coming from far away. Archive’s mind rushed along its length, slipping beneath the earth as though the stone were mere vapor. She found her diamond in the dark, in the city called Raven. She saw nearly a thousand souls, every one with faith in her. Or... not her as a person, but her as an idea. Their faith was the essence of her strength, few though they were.
There was another source of light, one far closer than all the distant embers, and far brighter than herself. She knew what it was even before she turned, yet turn she did. Slowly, so she wouldn’t be caught by too large a part of it and blinded.
If a regular pony was an ember, if she was a torch, than looking at Sunset Shimmer was like looking unprotected into the sun. She could not look directly at her, couldn’t even look near to her without being overwhelmed by what she saw. Her light didn’t come from threads, though there were a few thick strands of them traveling in from distant places just like those that formed the entirety of Archive’s power.
No, Sunset Shimmer drew her strength from something greater. It wasn’t like looking at a pony, but like looking into an opening in the air, allowing light from somewhere brighter to shine through.
Archive saw, and at last she understood. With one of her forelegs, she reached out and scuffed the circle, ending the spell. Her perceptions came crashing back down into her body, and she staggered for several moments, but didn’t fall. After several deep breaths, she finally felt confident enough to speak again. “It’s like... I’m not complete.”
“Not yet. Alicorns can get their power from ponies, like you do. But that would take many more – probably millions. The ponies on Earth who believe in your old species are enough to keep you alive, but not enough to be an Alicorn. That power comes from somewhere else. Just as you now represent your species, you would have to represent something else as well. Some supernal truth. But I don’t think it’s going to happen tonight. Everypony who ever got there found their own way. I can’t show you, the same way won’t work for both of us. Probably way too much work to be worth it if all you want is for ponies to listen to you.”
Lonely Day rested her head briefly on Sunset’s side again, then pulled away. “Nah, thanks anyway. I think I’ve got enough to go on. Plus… plenty of time, right?”
Sunset chuckled. “Yeah. Plenty of time.”
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Lemonade.
See, I still believe that Lonely Day will be Luna and that Sunset will become Celestia. Nothing has directly contradicted that theory so far.
I can already tell that the end of the story will have to do with Alex's ascension.
Due to the fact that he gains the most from ponies who believe in their old species, and the "rate of return" is increasing as time passes, sooooo...
If Moriah has one miserable bad word to say about Taylor being saved, somebody had better smack the merry bejeezus out of her.
If being a pony isn't exactly heaven, but not really hell, could it be somewhere...
Outside of Heaven?
"It is every citizen's final duty to go into the tanks and become one with all the people."
-- Chairman Sheng-ji Yang,
"Ethics for Tomorrow"
I had been wondering if we'd get a bit about what happened to Huan. Bringing it up in the context of the cows' lifespan was interesting though. It would be very odd to live in a society where some members take as long or longer to grow to maturity as the entire lifespan of other members. If Oliver grew a little, that sounds like he wasn't even fully grown at the beginning of the story!
Sounds like she's had to fight things quite a lot if she can distinguish between "something really nasty" and standard nasty. Mostly Abaddon-possessed folks, or more varied enemies, I wonder.
I don't remember Odium doing all that. Does that imply it's still alive? Damn, I thought they got it.
Ah, damn. It's actually using a nuclear submarine as its "body", isn't it.
6563425 I was wondering when the first Alpha Centauri quote would emerge. That game has some of my favorite world-building in a game.
Hooray!
Wow! This was another great chapter! I am very excited to see where all this will lead, as well as more Taylor action! <3
That covered a lot of ground. Neat worldbuilding re:Alicorns.
We all knew Huan had to go eventually, but that still stung.
Plains?
This was a real sucker punch of a chapter... wow... so much covered. I have to admit, that scene with Day seeing all of her connections is MAGNIFICENT!
And I really just want to give Taylor a hug.
Ho boy, lots to unpack here:
I can only wonder how facetious he is being. This could mean that LD can be mangled without the regeneration kicking in. Maybe it only counts when she is actually killed? Hopefully it brings her back to 'full health' as it were. Does this mean that Oliver has been required to perform more than one emergency surgery on LD?
If everybody is living longer, I can only wonder how that will affect social structures? I mean what does seniority mean now? Nowadays we retire after the age of 60. I can only wonder how that will change with these extended lifespans. "Long Term Thinking" takes on a new meaning when you can conceivably live longer than the USA has been around. Forget the changes in thinking required for LD's immortality, I'd freak out at the idea of an extra century! Granted this would include everyone around me, but that is still as long as several immortals from other stories.
Whelp, this more or less explains why LD isn't an Alicorn while leaving the possibility open. Though the wording, '...those who believe...' makes me think that it will be pretty late in the timeline (At least going by the projection someone else did of the number of returned) before there is a big enough quorum of former humans for ascension in that manner. Though I guess if the HPI manages to be super successful it might be sooner. I do wonder how much native born ponies will be able to help LD in that regard. Kind of hard to root for a species you've never been. I'd imagine that IF she actually goes for the 'supernatural truth', it would involve Human Nature. That's what the rest of the story is for I guess.
Edit:
Also for some reason, the fact that Taylor's new voice is described as being more 'musical' reminded me of the Eloi and the Morlocks. Just an odd connection.
I spare a moment to think about this story, and I look and notice there is a chapter update. What timing! But now I've wasted time reading it and it is way past my bedtime.
Glad to see I was wrong about the time part of the spell affecting Taylor. I was sure Sunset could have easily modified that part out of the spell but I wasn't ready to assume she had the time for it in that urgent moment, or had done it beforehand.
I think that the sequence with Taylor standing in the sun for the first time in two decades was incredibly bittersweet. Alex was right about something else - Freedom is a luxury when the price is survival.
I found your descriptions of the prerequisites of Alicornhood to match my own thoughts quite closely. I particularly like the fact that Sunset was a hole letting in light from beyond. An Alicorn is an avatar of pure magic and so a lot of the rules of the physical universe simply can't apply to them because they are no part of it.
Arghh. That hurt, a lot.
I hate yet love the idea of living forever (or just a really, really long time). It's super depressing (for me at least) and yet I feel great reading it.
That's gonna be an interesting conversation between Taylor and Clark.
6564909
Africa.
6565999 Yes, but presumably not the "planes" of Africa.
6566198
Well, how do you think they crossed the ocean?
i have a mental image of a Stork Industries jet air-dropping babies.
Ah. It's not quite enough to be an idea. You need to be something that will truly endure, some essential part of the universe. Of course, that raises the question of just what Sunset embodies...
Also, good to see that the single-person version of the transformation is working. A new possibility for humanity... though it remains to be seen if it will be taken.
And, of course, Charybdis never stopped being a thing. It should be interesting to see what comes of that.
6564909 6565999 6566198 6566296 6566790
STOP! You're killing me!
Hmm... that would mean a replication time of slightly less than three years for each van Neumann probe. Assuming the network continues to grow at this rate they'll have about a thousand in ten years... and over a million in forty. Then they'll have to shut the network down before it gobbles up the whole solar system. If they can't, they'll arrive at over eight and a half billion probes in 100AE.
Anyway.
This was a beautiful chapter where your characters really got to shine and also develop again. I love those. And Taylor... that was some great writing right there. And I too now wonder what concept Sunset represents. Basically a hole in the fabric of reality itself and a gateway for magical energies directly from the dimension magic inhabits. Cool stuff. Your deliberations on the nature of Alicorns and Changelings keep me fascinated ;)
So the magical world of Equestria has an alicorn higher dimension where things are "as seen on tv', but the technological world of Earth has an alicorn higher dimension where things are seen in a mystical fire. Something seems backwards there, doesn't it? Also, no batmare here.
This chapter genuinely makes me sad... she's going to outlive all her friends...
Geeze, this whole trip was a disaster. But hey, at least we got to see Sunset again.
Probably all of the above.
Love the reunion between Sky and Sunset, that was a long time in coming.
I can understand the problem Raven City potentially has with losing people, but they really need to find some sort of compromise in how to politely ponify the people they can't support (and who choose it).
Nice to see that Olive Day is still running strong.
Interesting, so Archive is still a sort of proto-alicorn that hasn't fully found her connection to what she needs to connect to yet?
Plenty of time indeed. You have to raise a civilisation!
Using unicorn magic and science, some of the 21st century communications network could be rebuilt.
In the episode, “Castle Sweet Castle” shows memory ornaments that were created by Rarity in an hour or two, on the tree roots chandelier. So, if ponies can etch detailed images of their memories onto gemstones, then they could etch semiconductors onto gemstones.
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That’s a lot of detail on a gemstone about the size of a pony’s hoof. Making semiconductor gemstones would be easier once technicians that make semiconductors reappear as ponies.
In the episode, “The Mane Attraction” showed dancing ponies in a laser light show. With all the fiber optical cables in the ground by 2015, there would be no problem using these pony crafted lasers to rebuild that part of the human built communication grid.
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Of all her losses, perhaps Huan was the most poignant: perhaps he was small enough for her to grieve over.
Kipling summarized this:
"We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our hearts are not given, but only lent,
At a compound interest of cent per cent;
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve.
For when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-term loan is as bad as a long-:
So why in Heaven (before we are there),
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?"
- from "The Power of the Dog"
Oh, Sunset. You should read a SCUBA manual sometime. If your teleportation transits some kind of airless void-dimension-thing, you should all be attempting to exhale constantly, to avoid lung-expansion injury. "Worse things happening" is completely reputable; lungs aren't meant to be used as high pressure air tanks.
And if anyone reading this ever finds themselves stuck in a car sunk underwater and taking a deep breath (of now-depth-pressurized air) before smashing the window to get out... exhale on the way up, or you won't be able to breathe so good once you get there.
oh, this made me think of a scene in the novel "world war Z", that said the vacuum caused by an atomic bomb could rip the lungs clear out of a human! they actually saw Zombies with lungs hanging out of their mouths!