Chapter 9
Several hours later I slumped out through the inconspicuous wall. Twilight followed a few paces behind, monologuing to herself.
“This can’t be. There’s no way a language, independently invented across universes could have a similarity threshold less than eighty. The similar vocabularies alone have a p value less than 0.005. And that’s not even taking into account the identical slang and grammar! Are you sure you showed me the right world in the mirror?”
I shook my head perturbed.
“I think I can identify my own homeworld—and my own sister for that matter.”
The mare got a wild look in her eye, but then she started shaking her head vigorously followed by stretching her face with her hooves.
Taking a deep breath, she said, “I think I’m going to lie down.”
She definitely needed a long, long nap, though I kept this observation to myself.
Walking parallel to the wall, she stopped abruptly as another secret doorway opened in the inconspicuous wall. A familiar masked bird flew through and posed dramatically.
“Hi, Rising Sun,” Twilight yawned. “Out to fight for love and friendship?”
The bird squawked, nodding.
“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask: can I get an autograph for Spike? He’s a big fan.”
She summoned a pen and paper with her magic, and the crime fighter signed in what even I could tell was an illegible scrawl. The bird then saluted and flew off.
Should I even ask?
“Twilight,” I asked, too weary to bother with her title, “I know this place isn’t prone to acquiesce to common sense, but why is there a crime fighting bird coming out of the wall?”
“Oh, Rising Sun? Well, when I was remodeling the castle for my secret lab, the renovators were running a buy-one-get-one-free special on secret lairs. It seemed wasteful to leave the other empty, so Celestia let Rising Sun move in rent-free.”
“That… doesn’t answer my question.”
“Weren’t you asking why Rising Sun’s secret lair is next to mine?”
“No, I mean why is there a crime-fighting bird coming out of the wall? Why am I surrounded by talking ponies? And why does this world think I’m an alicorn filly?”
I panted a little bit. I’d had no idea how much I needed to get that off my chest.
Twilight cocked her head.
“I’m not sure how the first question is any different from before? I’m still trying to understand the third myself.” She smiled. “But the models to answer the second are actually fascinating. Scientists currently think that song magic latched onto the primeval ponies’ brains and speech was developed to express what they felt. Other species are thought to have developed language from observing this. Although, this theory is criticized for being pony-centric, but I personally feel it has the best evidence.”
I yawned, not knowing how long Twilight had kept me under the microscope. Clearly she wasn’t the only one in dire need of rest.
Walking along with her as she rambled on, I let my mind drift, mulling on the absurdity of it all. It was mostly an intellectual exercise as I had become inured to much of the strangeness around me. Perhaps the best evidence of my fast adaptation was that in thinking I could no longer be surprised by this world, something was almost certain to prove me wrong.
“And furthermore, the fact that most animals show a basic musical competence suggests that it may be a precursor to developing speech.”
“Hi Twilight! Hi, not-Princess Aron!” bellowed the most enthusiastic voice I’d ever heard.
With an audible bounce a very pink pony bounced in front of us and smiled wider than I’d thought possible.
“Pinkie, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked, happily surprised. “Shouldn’t you be back in Ponyville preparing for—you know...”
“Well, I was working super-duper hard, running all around Ponyville getting ready when I didn’t realize what kind of cake to get for the—” the pink earth pony closed the distance between us instantly and put a pair of earmuffs on my head.
Between suppressing my reflex to counterattack and processing what had just happened, it took me several seconds to pull the earmuffs off.
“—think a Princess theme would be a good idea,” Twilight said.
“No sugar!?” the hyperactive mare squealed, as if appalled by the mere words.
Twilight shook her head with understanding. “None.”
The pink one turned pale and fainted, all four hooves in the air.
I moved closer, looking her over.
“Is she—”
“Okay!” She exclaimed, springing up to her hooves again. “I Pinkamena Diane Pie accept the challenge. I’ll make it the best ever! Just for you.”
“Make what?” I asked dumbly.
“That would spoil the surprise, silly filly!” she said, booping my nose lightly.
Am I supposed to know this crazy pony?
“Well, I have an express train to catch. See ya!”
The mare was out of sight before I could muster any sort of reaction. Twilight started to lead me back to my room, and I accepted the courtesy without a word. However, soon enough, my curiosity overcame me.
“Princess Twilight.”
“Yes, Aron?”
“Who in Tartarus was that? Wait… don’t tell me she’s another princess?” I had more than enough to keep track of already, but from my experience thus far I wouldn’t have been shocked if every town was governed by its own princess.
Twilight giggled.
“Equestria would certainly be more… fun, to say the least, if Pinkie was an alicorn. But no, she’s one of my friends back in Ponyville. I can’t exactly say what she does without spoiling the surprise, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Oh, and I don’t know if Celestia mentioned it, but she wants you to wear the ring—at least until we get there.”
“How has that been working, by the way?” she added as an afterthought.
I stopped abruptly.
Looks like someone’s codes are compromised, I thought, using the old military idiom. Is proper and timely communication too much to ask for here?
“Wait…” Twilight said, flapping her wings to turn on a dime to face me. “Did I whisk you off to my lab before Celestia could tell you we’re going to Ponyville tomorrow?”
I glared at her.
“Sorry…”
She blushed profusely. I studied her face closely, overwhelmed by cuteness.
My trip aboard the Friendship Express was mostly tolerable. The food was a noticeable step down from the palace, but that was to be expected. My only complaint was that “Sapphire Luster” continued to invite fawning from passing mares as well as stallions. As there were no other foals aboard, I stood out. Some asked why I wasn’t in school, and thankfully I had Trusty’s cover story. Even though the commute was short, I yearned to take off the ring. I voiced this desire as soon as we stepped off the train and onto the platform.
“Not now, Aron, wait until we’re safely in the castle. Normally you being seen wouldn’t be much of an issue, but I don’t want to take any chances—not today.”
With little time to ponder that cryptic comment I was immediately rushed by a familiar filly unicorn.
“Hi! Are you new? There aren’t many other unicorn foals in Ponyville. Do you want to play? We can be friends. It’s really boring having to stay out of school.”
“Dinky,” said her pegasus mother, “He’s with Princess Twilight. I’m sure what she wants with him is important.”
She eyed Princess Twilight, as if expecting approval. The alicorn shied away, clearly uncomfortable with something.
Dinky’s horn had healed considerably since I had last seen her. As opposed to the fractured state from before, it now only looked chipped around the tip. My slumbering brain put the situation together lackadaisically: Filly unicorn. Chipped horn. Volatile.
I am ashamed to admit that the pony princess reacted before I could. As if anticipating the magic even before the first sparks started to fly, she erected a hemispheric purple barrier between me and Dinky. A brief jet of yellow light shot out of her horn and was absorbed effortlessly.
She blushed and hid behind her mother, without even an apology.
“I’m sorry about that,” the mare said. “The truth is my little muffin still has a problem with magic surges. Please don’t tell anyone.”
Reaching into the courier’s bag at her flank, she pulled out a muffin and offered it to me. I did my best to politely decline, which seemed to disappoint her. She then introduced the two of them as Ditzy Doo and Dinky Doo, and I offered the usual pseudonym in return. For obvious reasons, both Twilight and I were in a hurry to end the encounter, so we bid them farewell.
“I don’t want to steal Pinkie’s thunder, but let me be the first to say welcome to Ponyville.”
In a word, my surroundings were idyllic. We strolled past rows of identical straw-roofed cottages. I found the uniformity of these structures unbecoming of this land. As if in response we then walked by a building stylized to look like it was made of gingerbread.
“That’s Sugarcube Corner,” Twilight explained. “Pinkie Pie works there during the day. But she and the others are waiting for us at the castle. I can’t wait to introduce my friends to you!”
“Then why are we walking in the wrong direction.”
Twilight looked confused.
“You’ve never been here before, how did you know that?”
I raised a brow at her.
“The giant purple palace on the horizon isn’t exactly inconspicuous.”
Twilight shook her head and pressed a hoof to her temple.
“Sometimes it’s the most obvious details… But, to answer your question, I promised Rarity I’d do her a favor.”
We soon came to what looked like a circus tent made of fine fabrics. The whole block seemed to be themed in a similar matter, but this one was definitely the most extravagant. Twilight knocked on a second story window with her magic.
“Sweetie Belle!” Twilight called. “Are you awake?”
The unicorn filly I knew best slowly pushed open the window and yawned.
“Hello, Twilight,” she said nasally, sniffling. “What do you want?”
“Nothing,” Twilight said. “I just was checking up on you for Rarity. Are you doing all right?”
“If by all right you mean sick as a diamond dog, I guess—say, who’s that with you?”
“Well—” Twilight turned to me and nodded, and I quickly removed the ring and quickly replaced it. “This is Aron’s disguise.”
“Hi, Aron. That’s a cool disguise. It’s nice to see hhh—you…”
Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and gave a few huffs. Reacting instantaneously, Twilight slammed the window shut with her magic. A moment later, the filly sneezed, shooting out a light green beam with her horn simultaneously. The window shattered outward with a crash. However, Twilight effortlessly caught the pieces with her magic and just as easily reassembled them into one piece and set it back into the window frame.
I was torn between conflicting emotions. Part of me berated myself for once more having to being slower than Twilight to recognize danger. On the other hand, I was in awe at how Twilight’s magic was able to restore something so thoroughly broken to its original state. I was almost envious; though who wouldn’t want something so useful? I’m sure my people could make great use of it.
“Sorry,” Sweetie Belle sniffed.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Twilight said reassuringly. “Get some more rest, okay? Your parents should be here soon.”
Too tired to answer, Sweetie Belle nodded and shut the window with her own magic.
“Thanks,” I said hesitantly as we headed towards the castle.
“No problem.”
Our walk was eerily silent. Twilight was more alert than I had ever seen before, scrutinizing every passing pony and constantly monitoring our surroundings.I appreciated this and resolved to be just as vigilant, scanning the gaggles of earth ponies for any horns among them. But aside from cautiously grabbing my hand-mounted crystal a few times, the walk was uneventful.
I was tempted to toss the cursed ring away for good once we arrived, but I checked that irrational feeling. The first thing I noticed on entering was the pristine new-castle smell. I couldn’t explain it, but it smelled exactly how a new castle seemed like it would. Celestia’s castle had been immaculately clean itself, Twilight’s looked as if it had no concept of dust or grime.
I followed the castle’s regent into what appeared to be her throne room. However, instead of one crystal throne, seven surrounded a large glass table. Each had a colorful symbol printed on it.
“I’ve been meaning to ask—I hope this isn’t out of place—but what’s with those symbols. Trusty, the guard, told me about his, but what are they exactly? And what do they mean?”
“Cutie marks? I suppose you wouldn’t know about them, which isn’t all that unusual, but it’s another thing I guess we take for granted. Basically, when a pony discovers what their special talent is, their own one-of-a-kind cutie mark appears on their flank. It’s a rite of passage, and it proves to the world that the pony is capable in the pertinent profession. On a more personal level, it’s the core of our sense of identity, representing who we are as a pony.”
I scowled.
“Sounds like more destiny-policing to me,” I said scathingly. “So they just appear and tell you what your place in the world is?”
Twilight seemed confused as to what was distressing me.
“No, they don’t just appear on their own. Normally a pony has to reach an epiphany about what they enjoy most in this world, or achieve something that leaves no doubt about their aptitude. It means a lot to most ponies; earning it is usually the happiest of memories.”
I stood stiffly, not daring risking the impudence of sitting down in one of the thrones. I knew the ponies weren’t ones to snap at breaks in courtesy, but I still owed the princess a certain amount of respect for her office.
“Of course,” Twilight continued, “It’s often up to the pony to determine the meaning of their mark. My friend Fluttershy, for instance, has a cutie mark of three butterflies. She could take this literally and become a butterfly keeper, but that would be a misunderstanding of who she is as a pony. Instead, her cutie mark is proof of her gentle, caring nature, and she chose to channel that part of herself into caring for animals. She could have conceivably gone into foal services, or become a social worker or nurse. With hindsight, those would have been less of a fit for her, but she still could have applied her mark to them and been happy. How do you do it on your world Aron? Does everypony just choose something without guidance?”
I froze. It was a sobering realization: I had had less free will in choosing my lot in life than ponies who had destiny scribbling their fates on their butts.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Twilight quickly added, detecting my discomfort. “Of course, some marks are easier to understand than others.”
“Howdy, Twilight,” a mare’s voice said, slurring her speech.
It’s owner was an orange and blond earth pony wearing some sort of felt hat. She had a powerful build. Though not any bigger than any other mare I had seen, she was more muscular than even the royal guards. With Twilight’s explanation in hand, I took note of the trio of red apples on her flank. I certainly didn’t need to be a seer to guess what this one might mean.
“Sorry Ah’m late. Ah had some extra chores to do, since Big Mac can’t be counted on fer nothin’ durin’ the hoofball playoffs. Who’s this little fella?”
Once again I removed the ring and replaced it in order to quickly dispel the illusion for this new pony. She seemed taken aback at my sudden increase in size. I still didn’t know who was supposed to be in on the secret and who wasn’t, so I opted to keep it on going forward.
“It’s fine; you’re still actually early, Applejack,” Twilight said. “‘Everypony else is already here, though, so we can get started. I’m sure Aron is dying to know why he’s here.”
I nodded tentatively at this, and we followed a couple of hallways towards what felt like the back of the castle. Their conversation was clearly one between friends, and I felt out of place.
“By the way, thank Big Mac for me for taking Spike to the hoofball game. It means a lot to him to be able to bond with one of the guys. Besides, I personally can’t stand the noise.”
“Yeah, Ah know. I can appreciate the physical part of it, but I don’ see where the fun is in tryin’ to run other ponies over.”
“I don’t know either, but I guess colts will be colts,” Twilight giggled.
“That they will,” said Applejack.
After a few minutes of walking we came to a polished purple door marked with three butterflies. We pushed it open to reveal an open outdoor space decorated with luxuries for pets. A pristine pond sat in the center, birdhouses hung from the castle roof, and there was even an agility course. A few birds were eating out of nearby feeders, chirping happily and a stray cat was scratching on a post; however, it was mostly unoccupied.
“This is Fluttershy’s room,” Twilight explained, “the chamber of the Element of Kindness.”
I looked around, confused at what appeared ostensibly to be a yard. The only accommodation for ponies I could spot was a simple hammock hung by the bird feeders.
“Hello, Twilight,” a sweet, melodious voice came from above.
“Oh… hello, Princess Twilight…”
Two pegasi alighted. One was a pink-maned butter-colored pegasus. who owned a cutie mark identical to the symbol on the door. Cowering behind her was a near-identical pegasus, I was sure I had seen before.
She smiled at me, saying, “Hi, Sapphire.”
Now I know.
“Hi, Fluttershy. Hi, Wallflower,” Twilight said.
Wow she looks different without the armor, I thought.
Curious from the earlier discussion, I looked to her flank and saw her cutie mark—it was a violet.
“How are you liking your room, Fluttershy?”
“Oh… it’s very nice, but I would—I mean, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll keep living in my house. The animals like it better there—and me too.”
She seemed to shrink away at uttering that admission.
Twilight approached Fluttershy and put a hoof on her withers.
“It’s fine, Fluttershy. Everypony else feels the same way.”
“Yeah, mah cabin suite sure is cozy as far as a home away from home goes, but that don’t make it mah home. I still have apples to buck; I can’t go movin’ in here.”
“I understand,” Twilight said, slightly saddened. “But remember that you’re always welcome to come and go as you please.”
“Okay…”
“Will do.”
Distracted, I was caught unaware by Wallflower creeping towards me.
"I didn’t expect to see you here, Sapphire. Are you a friend of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Wallflower asked.
“Actually, this is Aron,” Fluttershy explained. “Remember what we talked about? How he’s the human who came here from another world.”
Wallflower retreated a few steps back and tried to hide behind her sister. This didn’t work very well, as she was about a hand taller than her sister. I almost snorted at this sight, but I had the sense hold back.
“He’s not dangerous,” Twilight said reassuringly.
I looked Wallflower in the eyes and she took a few steps back; however—
“Oh, I just can’t help it you’re too cute!”
And she pounced on me with a jump backed by the strength of her surprisingly powerful wings, wrapping her forehooves around my ankles and nuzzling them.
If hugging children you barely know is a norm in this world, I really need to leave soon, or there will be a lot more of that in my future. I cringed
“Now, Wallflower, you’ll see him later. Why don’t we see if we can invite more birds here,” she said, winking conspicuously at her sister.
“Oh—oh okay.”
With that, the two pegasi took off lazily into the sky.
“Let me introduce you to my other friends,” Twilight said. “Fluttershy’s the exception; the others’ rooms are on the highest level.”
I nodded wordlessly and I followed her in silence up several flights of purple stairs. I briefly wondered if the concept of garishness even existed in this world, until I remembered that I couldn’t exactly comment with my ridiculous hair. Remembering this, I briefly pawed at my new hair. It was longer than I remembered. Of course, any growth was noticeable since I kept my hair cropped short in the back, but I had to be suspicious of any change. At any rate, these stairs were much more convenient for me, though still too short to be natural. She had mentioned pony-centrism as a political idea. Perhaps this castle was an attempt to be more accommodating to other races.
I was so occupied with my thoughts that I followed her unthinkingly out of the stairwell. It only occurred to me a minute and several hallways later that this wasn’t the top floor.
“Umm… Twilight?”
“You’ll see in a second.”
She opened a door into a huge, pitch black room and gestured me in. I complied, asking, “What do you mean.”
The lights suddenly flashed on.
“SURPRISE!” a chorus of voices shouted.
Caught off guard, I looked around in a flash and saw dozens upon dozens of colorful equines, unicorns among them. Naturally this was my first concern, but before I could voice it, Pinkie Pie came bounding in front of me.
“Were you surprised? Were you?” she asked eagerly.
I let my confusion shine through on my face as I asked bluntly, “What’s this? What’s happening.”
She giggled.
“This is your welcome to Ponyville party, silly.”
“And what did I do to warrant this ‘welcome to Ponyville party?’” I asked. I then worried about sounding ungrateful and added, “It’s a very nice ‘party’ thank you.”
She seemed oblivious to the fact I was completely flabbergasted as to why almost a hundred ponies were surrounding me, talking amongst themselves and enjoying refreshments.
“I throw a party for everyone who comes to Ponyville for the first time. It says right here in Pinkie’s Manual to Eccentricity 5th edition that I am duty-bound to throw a party for everypony—nonponies included.”
She pulled out a book, which Twilight hastily grabbed in her magic. She opened it, and half a dozen rubber snakes sprung from it.
Overloaded by the strangeness, I turned to Twilight and voiced my immediate concern about the dozen or so unicorns in the room.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Twilight said. “Everypony here had their magic blocked. It’s a simple spell that wears off quickly. It’s commonly used at sporting events to prevent the spectators to interfering. You’re safe.”
Confirming for myself, I scanned the crowd again and found that there were no foals of any tribe. I could appreciate that she had thought of everything today.
“Come on!” Pinkie Pie said. “The guest of honor is here, so let’s party!” She grabbed my hand with a hoof and dragged me to the center of the room. Sensing my discomfort Twilight and Applejack followed us.
“Pinkie, can we start on the cake?” a jenny asked.
“Sure, I’ll cut it now for you, and you can dig in!” and she bounced towards the refreshment table.
“I’m sorry if this is a bit overwhelming for you. I talked her down from a ‘welcome new princess party’, so this sounded like a pretty good compromise,” she whispered. “But I guess I didn’t consider if your feelings on the matter. I probably should have asked even if it ruined the surprise.”
“I’m not mad,” I said. “I just don’t know what in the blazes I’m supposed to do in a party, or what a party is for that matter.”
“Well…”
“What!?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing over. “Did he just say he didn’t know what a party is.”
“No,” Twilight said nervously, eyes shifting.
“Ye—” Applejack started to say before Twilight stuck a hoof in her mouth.
“Oh,” Pinkie said, somewhat dejected. “There’s a super fun song I’ve been saving to explain what parties are—just in case I meet somepony from somewhere much less fun.”
I was never more grateful for Twilight than I was in that moment.
“Pinkie, we’re out of plates,” another voice said.
“Guess I miscounted,” Pinkie said with a giggle. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
She sped away with inhuman speed, and I noticed all eyes were now on me. I remembered the ring, and what they were really seeing. For some reason I felt as small as the illusion made me feel.
“Let me introduce you to the rest of my friends, come on,” Twilight said. “I don’t think I’ve properly introduced you to Applejack yet.”
“It was mighty rude of me to not introduce mahself,” Applejack said, shaking my hand up and down. I’m Applejack of the Apple Clan. Me and mah family run sweet apple acres, and we grow the best apples in Equestria if I do say so mahself.”
We were then joined by a cyan, rainbow-maned pegasus, and a white and purple unicorn.
“This is Rainbow Dash.”
“Hey, squirt. Uhh—I mean I guess you’re not actually a foal, and I should be more respectful if you’re gonna be a princess. Maybe you can make me captain of the Wonderbolts,” she joked.
“Rainbow Dash, that is rather uncouth of you, trying to ingratiate yourself with the new princess,” Rarity said in a mock-scolding style. “But if we are going that route, you simply must consult me for all of your fashion needs. Designing for a princess is my dream.”
“Girls!” Twilight said, coming to my defense,
“Just joking, Darling,” Rarity said. “I know Aron here doesn’t want to stay. It’s a shame he can’t give me his would-be wings on the way out? I don’t suppose there’s a spell for that?”
Twilight shook her head. “Maybe Discord could do it for a little while, but it wouldn’t last. You can no more take away a pony’s wings than you can take away their cutie mark.”
Rarity turned to me again and smiled. “I personally designed your wardrobe. How do you like it?”
I was tempted to tell her the truth: that it was far too garish. However…
“Have you ever designed for humans before?”
“No, it was quite the challenge,” Rarity replied with pride.
“Then, you did very well.”
“Thank you, Dear,” Rarity said, not detecting the flipside of my otherwise genuine compliment.
At that moment however, the pink terror returned, grabbed me and said, “Come on, Aron. Let me show you around; there’s a lot to do!” I was then swept up in a tornado of activity. I was led through the excess of balloons and streamers and personally introduced to what felt like every pony in the room. I met Lyra Heartstrings, Cheerilee, Time Turner, Bulk Biceps, Roseluck, Bonbon, Vinyl Scratch, and Mr. Davenport. And that was just the first two minutes. She then forced me to try the sugar-free cake that she had baked especially for me. This was easily the highlight as the desert was perfectly fluffy and every bite was filled with rich flavor. For some reason, though only a few slices were missing from the huge cake. Meanwhile, the cupcakes were nearly gone, which thankfully gave me another break from Pinkie as she ran off to get some more.
Sensing I was lost in the activity, Princess Twilight came over and rejoined me. She said she was curious about something, and lacking anything else to do, I followed her. She took me back to Cheerilee, a magenta pony with three smiling flowers as a cutie mark. Based on Fluttershy’s cutie mark, I had a couple of good guesses about what sort of work she did.
“Hello, Cheerilee,” Twilight said.
“Oh, hello, Princess…” Cheerilee said, somewhat nervous.
“Please, just keep calling me Twilight. I don’t need anypony treating me differently now that I’m a princess.”
“All right,” Cheerilee said. “That does seem like you, but I still wasn’t sure. Anyway, how can I help Her Royal Highness?”
From her expression it took Twilight a second or so to realize Cheerilee was joking, and Her Purpleness continued, “Don’t go spreading this around, but Aron is actually from another dimension.”
“Oh my.”
“He shares a common language with us, which doesn’t make sense, but there’s one point that confounds me more than the rest: why can Aron speak our language, but can’t read it at all?”
“He can’t read!?” Cheerilee said, horrified. “A foal as old as he is!? As a teacher I can’t let that stand.” She seemed to remember something and sighed. “I’d teach you myself, except—you know…”
“I’m already considered an adult on my homeworld,” I provided. “Also, I can read my own language.”
This made her feel considerably better, surprisingly so in fact.
“Do you have any idea on why that might be?”
Cheerilee laughed nervously. “I’m not nearly the expert you are on different universes—why I just learned that they exist—however, if I had to guess, it would have to do with Comma Quibbler’s orthography reforms of the second unicorn kingdom. It was a unique point in history, and our written language could have developed in a number of ways. Perhaps Aron’s people didn’t have such an event.”
“Hmm,” Twilight said, “I briefly considered such a possibility but I ruled it out because of the dissimilarities of the universes, unless—unless it really is that simple. But there would have to be an axis of similarity that connects even dissimilar universes!”
Twilight then squeed loudly.
“Thanks, Cheerilee, you’re a genius!”
The mare raised a confused eyebrow. “Glad to help, Twilight.”
The alicorn then summoned a chalkboard, found an empty corner of the room and started scrawling strange symbols.
Unfortunately this left me completely undefended, which Pinkie Pie took prompt advantage of. WIthout warning, I felt a pair of hooves wrap some sort of cloth around my head, blinding me. She then dragged me—with surprising strength—to the other side of the room and spun me around dozens of times.
“Pin the tail on the pony time! Guest of honor gets the first go!”
She put some sort of slender yarn-based object in my hand. I felt near the top and there was tape attached to it.
“The rules are simple: try to pin the tail on the picture of Celestia somewhere in this room. AAAAND go!”
“Left! Left! Go straight” three different voices called to me.
“Your other left!”
“Right!”
I hobbled back in forth as if I had just taken a shot to the leg. I had no idea what to make of these conflicting directions.
“Forward!”
“Left!”
Left!”
“Right!”
“Left!”
“Left”
“Straight.”
“Left.”
“Right”
“Turn right!.”
“Up!”
“Left!”
“Right!”
“Left!”
“FrankerZ.”
“Left!”
“Behind you!”
“Left!”
There was a sudden silence in the room, as if in anticipation.
All of a sudden, Rainbow Dash called out, “Right in front of you! You’ve almost got it!”
Pleased to be through with this ridiculous game, I thrust the faux-tail forward, seizing victory.
Silence.
As I started to untie the blindfold, Rainbow Dash let out a barrage of hysterical hollering in her raspy manner.
I opened my eyes and beheld a familiar regal, white muzzle, with the addition of a yarn tail to her snout.
“Hello, Aron,” Celesita said, unfazed. “Welcome to Ponyville.”
Pinkie joined in with the laughter with her giggling and slowly the rest of the room started to join in as they realized it was okay to laugh at their ruler. I scanned the room, looked back at Celestia and studied her newly adorned face.
And I laughed. I laughed harder than I could remember. I modestly covered my mouth, but the chuckles continued to creep out. They sounded somewhat like high-pitched shrieks. I wanted to blame this world’s reshaping of me but it had been so long since I had laughed that I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t my normal laugh either.
When I had finished both Celestia and Pinkie looked enormously pleased. I turned to Twilight and she was also beaming at me.
“Wow, Aron. I’ve never heard you laugh before!”
“Yeah,” I said hesitantly.
I found the corner of the room with Twilight’s chalkboard and slumped against the wall. Despite their reactions, I felt I had lost a considerable amount of face.
Not too long after, the party started clearing out. A small crowd of ponies left from the door I had come through, while the majority headed to the opposite door. I opted to follow the herd into a second dark room.
“Bye! Thanks for coming!” Pinkie Pie called out. She tailed me as the last to exit the party venue.
The lights flicked on!
“SURPRISE!”
“Again!”
About half of the ponies from before were gathered in a similar room. It was covered with even more confetti, armadas of balloons, streamers, and an even more generous helping of deserts. At the center of it all was a huge banner that I couldn’t read.
Pinkie appeared in front of me again like a wraith. Tears were in her eyes.
“We’ll be really sad to see you go. It feels like we just met!”
I froze.
“What do you mean.”
“ ‘Tis exactly what it sembles: your going-away party,” Luna said.
She was flanked by Princesses Cadance and Celestia.
“I have recovered enough to send you back,” Celestia said. “Additionally, our magic can reverse the changes you suffered here. Though they would be impermanent here, your planet has no restorative force to reverse them.”
I was still speechless.
“There are no strings attached. You are going home,” Celestia said with a bittersweet smile.
“We gathered here to avoid drawing too much attention in Canterlot,” Cadance said.
“I also have a lot of resources here in my castle that can prevent things from going wrong,” Twilight explained.
It was then that Trusty Stead, sans armor, pushed his way through the crowd towards me.
“I’m gonna miss you, Aron,” he said. “Though we had our difficulties at first, I really enjoyed teaching you about Equestria. It was like having a little brother to look after…”
“Uhh… thanks,” I said tentatively. “How’d you get here anyway?” I asked, slightly irritated at the little brother comment.
“Well, a friend of mine needed some help running his cafe, so I volunteered to step in while he tries to hire somepony else. Then I heard about this fun party, and I had to come. Sugarcube Corner’s cupcakes are the best.” With that, he ate a cupcake in one bite, licking his lips thoroughly afterward.
“Go on, Wallflower you can do it,” Fluttershy whispered.
“I’m not… sure I can.”
“Yes you can. Go on!” Fluttershy said with a little push.
The shy pegasus guard tiphoofed towards Trusty and asked, barely audible, “Would… umm you like to—uhh dance… with me? If you don’t mind that is.”
“Hi, Wallflower,” Trusty said with a goofy smile. “What was that? I didn’t hear what you asked.”
“Eeek. Oh, umm nothing. Sorry to bother you. Thanks… umm—for yesterday.”
With that she retreated back behind her sister.
“Wait, Wallflower!” Trusty said, trotting after her.
“Did you see me? I did it!” Wallflower whispered.
“Yes! Good job,” Fluttershy said.
Recovering from the distraction of the oblivious pair of ponies I returned my gaze to the princesses. In truth, I still hadn’t recovered from the shock. I was going home! I should be thrilled. I will have the honor of executing my duty once more for the sake of Rhod!
“Aren’t you happy, Aron?” Celestia asked.
“Whuh? Oh, uhh… yeah! Thank you. I’m just overwhelmed.”
I looked around the colorful room with a smile.
While I’m here I may as well enjoy my last day.
“Let’s party!” I said.
And so, I did. I participated in every pony party game, danced the pony pokey, and even took a bite out of one of Pinkie’s cupcakes. As expected it was far too saccharine for my liking. I was more than happy to help myself to more sugar-free cake, though. This time, without a doubt, nobody else had taken a single piece. It was draining, but it was not much of a stretch to say I enjoyed myself a little bit. The ponies for their part, were thrilled to have me participate.
I suppose this is my way of repaying them, I thought. Tomorrow, I’ll once again live for Rhod alone.
In my top storey suite in Twilight’s castle, I enjoyed the comfiness of the minotaur-sized bed. In a way, this was like an extended vacation for me.
I shook my head.
No, this was a test of my resolve. It was to remind me why we have principles and why our fight is so important.
I heard a knock on the door.
“It’s open.”
Celestia pushed her muzzle in. In her magic field was what I was most interested in: the scrying mirror.
“Thank you for letting me use it again,” I said. “I know it’s a ridiculous request because I’ll be there tomorrow, but I guess I wanted to see it again.”
“Perfectly understandable. I’ll start by tuning it to find other humans.”
Celestia’s horn glowed gold, and the mirror shined before revealing the scene of a battlefield. At a frenetic, double-speed pace. Three dozen Rhods clashed with a horde of bearmen. The speed confused me, but I was more concerned for my comrades as they were clearly outmatched. They bravely fought tooth and nail, taking out two of the enemy for every man that fell. Though the speed detracted from their efforts, their valor still shone through.
“What’s happening?”
“I don’t know, “ Celestia said, panicked. “Normally time dilation is fairly stable in between viewings. Maybe it’s a problem with the mirror. Let me see if I can find another group.”
Celestia tuned the mirror and another losing battle played out. Holding back tears, she changed the picture again. This time, a hundred unarmed Rhods were following the bearmen underground. The pony’s expression hardened.
“Let’s find your sister. I can track her magical signature from last time.”
Celestia’s horn glowed one last time.
A chamber, deep underground, came into view. A dozen Rhods were gathered in front of what I recognized as a high shaman of the bears. My sister, Diane, was among them, as was the one I had tried to die to protect.
At the accelerated tempo of the mirror, the shaman cast an incantation, which caused his hand to glow. He touched the forehead of the first Rhod. Patches of fur grew on his body as a pair of uneven antlers sprouted suddenly and painfully from his head.
No…
My brother was next. His nose and mouth extended outward into a pseudo-muzzle
Then he touched my sister. As soon as I saw the horns start to protrude from her head, I forced my eyes away, stood up and tossed the mirror full-force towards the nearest wall.
“Aron! Wait!” Celestia called after me, catching the mirror in her magic.
I slammed the door behind me. I could hear her cantering after me, but I didn’t care; I just wanted to be alone.
Running down the hall, I picked a random door and pulled it open to hide. Confetti then exploded in my face, and I flinched back. What appeared to be a toy cannon was rigged to the door.
Oblivious to the mood, Pinkie Pie came bounding down the hall.
“I’ve been looking for party cannon #37! Thanks Aron! Twilight’s still finding them around her castle, since I can’t remember where I hid them all.”
I slumped to the floor and put my face in my hands.
No! …. no...
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If equestria thinks this will stop him then it is wrong, he would only be spurned on to avenge his fallen comrades I would think. As he is all about duty and honor, also yay update
Nice chapter! i would say though that Twilight does know a spell to give wings afterall it was the one that she finished making from Starswirl it is written in plural afterall. I also question if cutie marks are destiny without freewill and are not instead a representation of the pony's soul.
Nice chapter, good work.
As I said before I'm really enjoying this story. The abject silliness of it, mixed with Aron getting used to it all.
Let me see if I can understand the end of this chapter though:
All the enemy bears from his world are converted from others of his kind. This wasn't known to Aron before now.
I can't help but see the parallels between that and Aron's current situation in Equestria, being transformed against his will.
7278068 If you look at the CMC getting their marks, they got them right after they decided what they were going to do with their life. It seems that most of the cutie marks appear when the pony in question chooses what is going to be important to them in their life. That would cover discovering what your talented at like Rainbow Dash or what means the most to you like Applejack's family.
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I'm not sure how I did, but I tried to foreshadow this with the half-human hybrid ursines in the first chapter. I imagined them as defectors that joined the Ayabna because of the strictness of Aron's society. I have something up my sleeve, but the twist isn't so big that they were all former humans, though. That's all I can say for now.
yay new pony princess is a go!
7278336 Exactly my point it was when they decided not when "destiny" or fate told them.
7278017
The thing with that, though, is that his comrades yet live, and his rampage has as much chance of killing his transformed comrades as it does anything else.
I want to see those bear creatures burn, sorry but I'm species-ist
Wait why do the bear men have antlers? I guess I missed that in the earlier chapters.
7282412
You didn't miss anything. It shouldn't make sense at this point, and I've left no real clues.
Even more reason to stay. By becoming an alicorn, he will be more powerful than those bears could ever imagine.
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He'd have to wait a few decades to grow up.
7278376 So they joined the bears voluntarily? If true, that would be a great relief. Up until now, I thought that his friends and sister were captured in the fighting and were forcibly transformed. And since the Bears are at war with the humans, I thought it had involved mind control or death of personality.
Man, it has been so long since I had statistics. Hated looking up the z value in a table.
With how easily horns and wings are being given out, it is only a matter of time till there is a Princess Pinkamena Diane Pie.
Since the whole world is against Aron, I feel he should just tempt fate now. Walk outside the castle unescorted and yell, "Come at me!"
No ending quotation needed here.
"Its"
Princess Aron will play such a game in the future just to keep that taste of violence.
No, no YOU stay, there are too many people who will enjoy your awkward hugs and having to deal with life as a tiny filly.
A hundred ponies with a total of ten unicorns plus a single alicorn, who all started to sneeze at the same time.
Huh, handy time dilation. I guess a couple months passed. Really could have helped to have more advanced weaponry.
I do not understand why he didn't ask for his siblings to be rescued to equestria. I know it would probably be moot as they might be pear trees, but I am surprised he didn't ask the question. I mean it is fairly obvious that those from his society would rather be there than be turned into beasts on their world, and it would keep the family together.
At this point, I'm not even surprised. That's twice that the trained professional soldier had slower reflexes than the pudgy bookworm, not to mention all the other ways he failed to achieve even rudimentary success at anything he tried. He's clearly not allowed to stop sucking before he's finally completely a pony.
One more mark for the "Aron literally isn't a human" list, because I cannot even comprehend any kind of human culture that hasn't at least got a concept of festivities, even if they don't indulge in them for whatever reason.
Yup, this definitely takes place before season five. Starlight Glimmer was but a spoiler at that point...ah, the memories...
Edit: Just read the author's note. Was the above a subtle in-joke then?
Not sure Avon has impressed me so far. If I was a loyal soldier, and an alien empire suddenly asked me to do them a massive favour that meant leaving my nation in a time of war, I would ask that my government would be compensated for my absence.
But he hasn't tried anything like that. What's that quote from Men In Black? "Congratulations gentlemen. You are everything we've come to expect from years of government training."
8469279
Just getting into the story, but the statement stands. Discord CAN give wings, but it would be just as temporary as Starlight’s Mark-Remover. As soon as you stop actively suppressing the marks, they return to the owner
Don't worry mate, so has half this fandom!
8404692
To be fair he did mention his group of humans was basically at war for as long as they can recall and their history is warped enough to misrecall quotes from the Bible (although I suppose that's not saying much) when at war you tend to not waste time on frivolities.
As for twilight's sense of danger, when you say she's a bookworm remember that she is a bookworm that lives in a town of CrAzY ponies who like to suprise her with new insanity and has dealt with at least a half dozen world threatening events. Add to that she tends towards paranoia and it makes sense that when aware of a problem she can magic a response near instinctively
Starlight... don’t think about it!
Well that was quite the twist. I was fully expectingthat Aron going to the castel of friendship that came from the tree of harmony, hanging out iw the bearwrs of the elements of harmony would largely equate to turn into filly alicorn now.
The thread has diverged. It is no longer possible to return to the original universe...
This is actually freaking hilarious.
"Surprise!: Double surprise!"
This shit is like AOT