Adjusting to Equestria
Lockheart
I stood before the Canterlot gazing down at all the citizens and fellow travelers to this happy magical world. At the end of the balcony I knew what the right decision and that in these types of settings the right decision was the best decision! I discarded my disguise and let the world know who and more importantly what I was! No longer would I be living a carefully constructed lie doomed to fail!
The crowd gasped in shock for a moment as I stood before them waiting for the dark turnabout before the heroic twist. You know those moments where the hero obviously did something foolish, but everyone would band together and help him out or prove that he was right.
Celestia sighed “You know that was a stupid move.”
I glanced at her in confusion “I’ve stopped trying to lie… I want to become honest like…”
Celestia rolled her eyes “Honesty? You do realize I feed my kingdom a spoon full of lies covering up my misconduct for countless years. Heck most of Equestria doesn’t even know about the Elements of Harmony. To them the solve all magical artifact is just a bunch of shinny rocks in a foal’s bedtime story.”
I started to move away from her only to bump into the balcony. The scent of fire came from the crowd below as pitch forks and torches were being prepared. I glanced back at Celestia ready to beg her for help only to see her brandishing a flaming red sword.
Celestia sighed “Really? All you had to do was wave to the public. Bring your idiots in and help me keep them under control, but no… you wanted to be an idiot.” The sword swung around a few times in her magical grip as if testing the weight “Now I need some way to save myself from this political blunder… so be a dear and hold still for just a moment. I promise to make it painless.”
I turned around only to see the pointed spears of the royal guard. I stared at Valkyrie in panic as she also held a spear towards me. I stared at her in hope... surely as a former human she could understand... possibly help me escape!
Valkyrie shrugged “It’s a paycheck. Besides Changelings aren’t the good guys in this story. It’s your fault for not reading the script.”
I felt my heart sunk as Valkyrie held no ill will towards me. She wasn't even threatening me as she simply stated a simple fact or stating what the weather outside looked like.
I turned around again trying to find a way out. Celestia handed the flaming sword to Maxwell as she messed with his hair “Ah the hero of the story arrived. Be a good pony and hack his head off. We need to reclaim one of the Elements of Harmony he stole from me.”
Maxwell grabbed the blade with his hooves as he stood on his hind legs “It’s you or humanity. Villain dies and hero survives. You just drew the short straw.”
Maxwell changed at me plunging the blade into the white scar across my chest and prepared to gut my like a fish.
******
“Are you alright!” Sparrow shouted in panic. She had kicked open my door and stared at me.
I held a hand…hoof to my beating chest “I’m alright… I’m alright… it was just a nightmare.”
She glanced at me for a moment and chuckled “Really? Not that I’m making fun of you… I mean.”
I sighed as I stared at the oddly colored Pegasus. Most ponies had simple color schemes, but she seemed to have painted just like a sparrow than the usual one coat, one mane color scheme. Her cutie mark was of a bird with open wings and more importantly she was also one of the ponies who had watched over me when I slept in the Canterlot dungeon.
“I know… Now that I’m not sleeping in a jail cell I feel uncomfortable.” I chuckled trying to relive the tension.
Emerald Spear stepped into the room… Sparrow’s friend and partner in crime for their punishment duty. Like her name suggested her coat was emerald green and a violet mane to go with it. Her cutie mark was of a spear.
She stared at my… new accommodations in confusion “How could you feel uncomfortable in a place like this?”
The room was nice… not royal nice, but I could see Twilight or Sunset shimmer living in one of these rooms while they were Celestia’s student when they were young. The bed was much better than the hard bunk and instead of stone walls surrounding me I had a balcony so that I could sit outside and stargaze… or something.
Yet it took away one thing that I liked “Because the old room was safe.” Emerald tilted her head and stared at me in confusion “The room never felt like it was keeping me trapped… but to keep threats from getting to me.”
Sparrow chuckled “Only you would see it like that. We’ll keep any 'evil ponies' away from you.”
Sparrow wasn't trying to mock me... she just believed that Equestria wouldn't harm me and that the nation of warm and friendly ponies would welcome me with open arms... I wonder how much of that would be true if they knew the truth? Still she cared enough to at least solve some of my dietary needs without causing any problems.
Emerald tried to whisper “Do you think he’s worried about that… rumor about him?”
Sparrow tried not to burst out laughing “Are you kidding? You’ve seen him! That rumor is just a rumor… Some upset Canterlot Noble probably started it before it got tossed about in the rumor mill! I mean seriously... Some ponies think we actually toss alicorns into a lake full of Hyrdas!”
Emerald gasped in shock as they closed the door leaving me in the deathly silence of my room. I tried to get comfortable again as the past few days still made no sense to me… I know Equestria tends to move faster on some things and the fact that I was out for a week.
I turned in my bed trying to get back to sleep as I attempted to push the nagging questions away.
I had no idea why… no … I might have had a slight theory for why Celestia let everyone know about my... presence. The public already caught wind of me… Timberton was reduced to a pile of ash. The Everfree Castle had evil changelings and a kidnapping ring.
Even then the issue of the criminals that had been captured and more importantly what to do with them was causing a couple of problems… especially after some of the former humans found out about them being put on trial. I could only imagine the fear of what they thought was going on before they heard the full story… or the fear they felt after hearing what the other members of humanity had done.
So naturally Celestia needed something to show to the public to calm them down and hung me out like bait in hopes of trying to get the rest of humanity under control… or at least figure out how many of us were running around her kingdom.
I tried to shut my eyes as the bitter nightmare still lurked in the back of my mind… there was a good chance that I was wrong.
Maybe Celestia had some descent or noble reason for letting every idiot out there know who I was or more importantly... what race they thought I was.
Sadly my justified paranoia gave me plenty of more realistic reasons for darker ulterior motives.
I checked underneath my pillow again making sure my crude attempt of a gun was still in one piece… it wasn’t comfortable to sleep on, but I didn’t feel safe in sleeping in such an open room. If anything the room made me feel more like bait at the end of a hook than a well-treated guest.
I sighed as I tried to get ready for the next day.
******
Maxwell
I'll admit life isn't that bad right now. I have a roof over my head and my punishment was community service... and by community service I was now 'required' to help Poker Ace out as he bought some deed to a building and turned it into a tavern open 24/7. He welcomed me with open arms and introduced me to his family who was rather happy to have him back.
I felt a bit guilty considering the fact I had... thought of him as an NPC instead of a living person... but he was thankful that I got help to rescue everyone and that our... time before Duran took over made him talk with his family again.
So here I was a former human turned earth pony working to help set up a bar for wayward travelers and other down on their luck souls. We traded stories and information with the other players. Sometimes we would be able to get in contact with some of the old... scratch that... the sane members of our old group and see how they were doing and if they made any progress with our original plan. I mean... even if the Elements of Harmony were hidden from us or somehow scattered across the land we would still need ponies or possibly people to use them.
Simply gathering them together wouldn't solve everything if we didn't have anyone that could use them... or at least candidates that might work.
Still that was another problem for another day as I joined Poker Ace at the nightly poker game we had set up mostly to trade stories and see how everyone else was adjusting to Equestria. It had been a month after the Everfree Forest incident and some people were starting to realize that not only this wasn't a game... but we might also be stuck here for a while.
I sat down in one of the wooden chairs as Poker Ace dealt the cards out. The rest of the former humans just watched in awe as the earth pony moved the cards around with the same skill of a New Vegas dealer... which was even more impressive considering the fact that Poker Ace didn’t have any hands.
He tossed us all our cards as we started with the first test of revealing our skills.
Holding the cards.
Each race had their own way and… apparently human turned ponies had their own versions as well. We all took a look at each other seeing how they managed to adapt to their... situation.
Former Human called Glory Wings held the cards to her using her wings in a similar manor as if she still had hands. Her sky blue coat and bright yellow hair caught a couple of eyes as she grinned tossing a few chips onto the table.
She smiled as she said “Never thought I’d be playing poker in Canterlot.” As she eyed the house pot ready to take what she believed was going to be easy winnings.
Griff chuckled as he tossed his bits onto the table and replied “I never imagined that there would be a market on animal pelts either.”
Griff kept his human name despite being stuck in his new pony form. The dark brown coat earth pony somehow managed to get his cards to stick up like tiny dominos except they wouldn’t budge an inch no matter how much you… accidently bumped the table or sneezed in their general direction.
No one’s figured how his trick yet and are just calling it “earth pony magic” because… reasons.
Poker Ace chuckled “That’s because you lot are the only ones crazy enough to hunt in the Everfree forest.” He tossed out a few extra bits “But I’ll just warn you that open season is going to end when the forest’s population has returned to normal.”
Unlike the rest of us Poker Ace somehow held the cards with his hooves. We had no idea how he managed to do it. Glory Wings claimed it was magnet hooves or something. Our other former humans turned earth ponies shrugged as they still haven’t figured out how to do that trick either. For all we knew it could have been his special talent or something.
Marcus sighed “Still it’s better than trying to dig up plants.” He rubbed his sides “I might try taking up Blitz’s job offer on his printing press than trying to dig up another batch of flowers from that forest.”
Marcus the magic teleporting unicorn. Dark purple coat with black and blue highlights in his hair. His violet magical aura held the cards up as he threw a few extra bits into the pile. If it wasn’t for the name or lack of cutie mark he might have been able to pass for a normal pony or an odd one from Ponyville at least.
I chuckled “Still it’s better than the mail currier job you tried last week.”
Despite Marcus’s speed, magical power, and ability to teleport he lacked the endurance needed to keep up with the pegasi.
I let the smile show to show my good humor and hopefully hide the fact I had a full house. All I had to do was keep my hand hidden until that pot became nice and full. Poker Ace on the other hand just stared at my tail. While I may not have magic hooves I was quite skilled with my tail. Skilled enough to make up for my loss of hands in some cases at least.
Marcus groaned “Now I know why most mail carriers are pegasi. Still at least it was quick cash.”
With the pot large enough I smiled as I upped the stakes “All in.”
Every last bit ready to keep me satisfied for the week. The others groaned as surely enough they all folded as I dumped every shinny bit into their beloved new home. With a quick pat on my now much heavier saddlebags Poker Ace started dealing the cards again until a new member sat down.
Poker Ace sighed “I’ve got something I need to take care of.” He glanced at me “Just call me if you need any help cleaning up.”
I nodded as Poker Ace didn’t even bother greeting Verrat as she stared at Poker Ace as someone else might stare at a dead rat left in her seat. Everyone at the table went silent as the former human turned Griffin had essentially killed the lucky go happy mood we had going.
Verrat sighed out of annoyance at seeing Poker Ace at the poker game “Why did you let one of them at the table?”
Marcus lifted his cards to with his magic and hid behind his cards “Because he has bits and owns the joint.”
Glory chuckled lifting up her mug “Free ale is good ale!”
Verrat simply scowled at Glory as she responded by rolling her eyes at Verrat’s distaste for having a NPC take her place during the poker game. Verrat lifted the cards up with her golden claws as her white feather ruffled across her body. Hopefully it meant she had a bad hand.
Griff coughed as he tried to change the conversation “So… Maxwell. What’s it like having a Cutie Mark?”
I simply shrugged as I had been asked that question a lot lately “Nothing changed. I looked at it. Tried figuring out some random hidden meaning and… all I can tell is that now I have a tattoo on my butt.” Verrat grumbled “So… Verrat. What happened with you?”
Verrat tossed a few bits onto the table “Timber wolf infestation. Chopped some logs and got the bits.”
Glory sighed “Then what’s your problem?”
Verrat glared at Glory as she hissed “Because the last party got annoyed that I didn’t give a dam about some random NPC’s background.”
Griff shook his head “Their people too you know.”
Verrat’s claws tore into the cards in her hand as she bitterly snapped back “Then they are no better than the Fae. You know the creatures in stories that kidnap people and then play with them for their own amusement. The ones made by the Brothers Grimm instead of the cheerful and colorful Disney variety.”
No one spoke as Verrat decided to keep her anger directed towards the Equestrians. She blamed the Equestrians for taking us all away from home and dumping us here. While everyone seemed to have different “intro tales” Verrat didn't trust any of them. Her personal theory was that Princess Celestia grabbed a couple off MLP viewers and then tried to make them into her little ponies or some Conversion Bureau fic.
In short… anyone who wasn’t a former member of humanity didn’t matter in her book.
“Besides what right did Molestia have on passing judgment?” She mumbled trying to straighten out the cards.
A stream of alcohol shot out of Marcus’s mouth as he coughed a few times before saying “The crazy nut job wanted to kill them! If anything you should be pissed at Lockheart!”
I shook my head "You do realize that was just a rumor."
I couldn't help but shiver at the comment anyway. It was a rumor made by some idiot... but it was a well known rumor that sadly people started to believe. Still Lockheart had fully admitted that Celestia was the pony in charge. Still the fact she let the public know about his... existence can't help, but make me wonder how many ponies were happy that they gained a new alicorn in Equestria? For all I knew maybe some former human was pissed off that they didn't become the next new alicorn.
Verrat to my surprise shrugged “How's Lockheart's judgment any different from Celestia's call?”
Marcus shouted out loud “They would have died!”
Verrat rolled her eyes “At least they would have died with dignity. Instead… we get them locked away, thrown on suicide duty, or mind wiped. Celestia just didn’t want a human getting rid of her new playthings.”
In truth the judgment of the current cases ended with the former humans being put in jail to serve time, help with public service, and be put on watch in some town as they helped them adjust to Equestria… sort of like a foreign exchange student program.
Of course if you ask Verrat you get a different story. She thinks Celestia has sent them to slay dragons or try the dreaded “reform spell”… which despite the cheerful wording still frightens the rest of us into thinking mind control. The fact that spell is actually legal is even more frightening.
“I’ll raise.” I said out loud tossing more bits into the pot.
I tried to get their attention back on the game instead of the next argument that would soon come to trading blows and when your dealing with some people... those blows tend to leave a mess. I glanced at Griff to see if he could help me out restore the peaceful happy atmosphere as we traded barbs and jokes with another instead of insults and swords.
Griff tried to hide behind his cards and replied “I tried my hoof at Applebucking.”
Everyone flinched at hearing him say it. I know it’s kind of hard not adapting to the terminology when everyone around you keeps saying it, but still...
Griff put his hand face down on the table and groaned “Seriously? The job pays good bits and I needed something to do while waiting for my next level up.”
Verrat dropped her hand as she nearly shouted “You’re using that thing!”
Griff huffed in annoyance “It’s free skills. So what if I lose a few minor memories. Being able to actually do stuff is worth it.”
I sighed as I put the cards down on the table. Some people still used the level up system despite the fact it stole their memories. Some used it in difficult situations to help ensure their survival while others… simply didn’t care. If you told Verrat that you would think they didn’t want to be human anymore.
Verrat shouted at him “It’s more than just a 'few minor memories'! It’s your life! Tell him he’s wrong Maxwell!”
Griff chuckled “Oh yah. The one with a cutie mark is going to tell me not to try to adapt.”
I face palmed as I replied “Actually I agree with Verrat on this one. If you do it too much it could screw you up.”
Griff stared at me in disbelief as Verrat smirked and practically doing a little victory dance with it. My opinion... I didn't trust the thing. Maybe I'm shifting the blame, but personally... I blame the memory theft gizmo for turning the rest of my old group into... well crazed individuals. Maybe it messed with their mind or warped their perception... but... I needed something to blame and the memory theft menu just didn't sit right with me.
Griff started arguing about how it was his life and his choice to make while Verrat shot back a few snide comments. I sighed shaking my head as the card game had been put off for now as Poker Ace had moved anything easily breakable away from the area... Hopefully I could get them to calm down before a fight broke out.
*****
Lockheart
I glanced at Celestia in confusion as another pony was inside the room, granted Celestia has been trying to make me... less reclusive. I have been forced to help her understand some of the... quirks of humanity and more importantly help deal with explaining certain concepts, ideas, or items and of course helping out with the paperwork.
It didn't help that some former humans are re-writing and selling some of earth's old stories. Trying explaining the Lion King isn't a historical event where one leader committed genocide to an entire race until two brave souls managed to teach a young king how to let their race survive without having to eat other sentient races.
If there are talking sentient lions in MLP that story is going to bring up a lot of questions.
I focused on my latest problem as I stared at the bat pony before me. I hadn't exactly seen a lot of them and well...they had one episode and that one was Nightmare Night so they could have been pegasi in costumes.
Was this another human turned Equestrian or was she a native to Equestria?
Celestia gave that all knowing goddess smile that left me dreading in fear of the words that would come out of her mouth as she said “This is Midnight Vixen. She will be your…”
“Wait one moment. Midnight Vixen?” I couldn’t help but ask out loud.
Celestia and the new bat pony stared at me in confusion. Apparently they were not joking about the name. Just another smash up of words and how Equestria sometimes made no sense to me… like Royal Script, Pound Cake, Snickerdoodle, and Lipton Hopin Meaner Mirer the strange pony with the bushy eyebrows and weird accent that works in the kitchen.
Midnight Vixen to my surprise blushed as she softly replied “It meant night child. Midnight due to being born at night and Vixen because my mom thought I was the cutest mare in the world.” She stared at my body for a few moments “And I still have no idea where your parents came up with the name Lockheart.”
I flinched as I bitterly replied “Names have meanings and some end up meaning things that have yet to happen. The less one thinks about it the better.”
Celestia simply shook her head as it seemed we were off to a rough start. Oh the joy it was going to be for both of us to try to understand each other. At least Remedy had gotten to the point where she simply ignored certain aspects of my speech.
Celestia went back to leader mode as she replied “She shall be your bodyguard and flight instructor.”
I nodded “Alright I can see why she needs to keep an eye on me… but flight instructor?”
Celestia just gave me a glance that said ‘you fly like a brick with wings’ as I simply nodded. Sure I wasn’t the best flier… but I never really grew up with wings on my freaking back! I’m just lucky enough as it is to be able to lift myself off the ground much less reach the celling in my room!
Midnight… because I refuse to call a pony Vixen… stepped forward. Her dark grayish fur matched the “night guard” armor, but her messy dark blue hair with light blue highlights were pushed back behind her bat like ears as he had apparently decided not to wear her helmet or she simply forgot it. I mean it seemed like she just woke up with bed hair… which she might have considering bat ponies tended to be nocturnal.
Midnight took a step forward “I may not be a Wonder Bolt, but I am one of the best fliers of in Canterlot after dark.”
I nearly face palmed taking out my eye in the process. Stupid overly large eyes. One of these days I was going to re-master that technique.
“Please tell me you don’t suffer from night vision.” I slowly replied only for Midnight to stare at me in confusion “Night vision… or… certain birds and bats tend to have specialized vision so birds have difficulty flying at night while bats tend to suffer the same problems birds do, but only during the day due to the difference of light levels between day and night.”
Midnight blinked as she stared at me in confusion “Why would bats sleep during the day?”
It's official. She's an Equestrian and not a former human.
Celestia thankfully intervened “Lockheart grew up in a very different place from Equestria as the place had similar aspects of the Everfree forest.”
She stared at me in confusion again despite what Celestia had just said as I nodded “You fall through clouds as they are also much higher in the sky. Animals take care of themselves and very little could be altered with magic. If anything the Everfree forest would seem natural to me… if not for the horde of dangerous wild monsters and crazed mystical plant life.”
Midnight slowly nodded as Celestia replied “He may also need a few remedial classes in weather management.”
I couldn’t help but shiver “I don’t care what you say. I am not going to try sitting much less try sleeping on a cloud. I am not going to trust a lump of moisture to keep me up.”
Midnight shook her head as apparently she knew that this was going to be difficult. To be fair I have had an easier time hiding my wings than hiding my horn. It’s also much easier to keep magic as an option than flight considering I now knew more spells than flight tricks.
Besides if this is some sort of alicorn test... it would probably be easier than trying to pretend to have earth pony powers... I also need to check up on that plant growing spell Twilight used to make that flower bloom.
******
“Wings out and use the lift!” Midnight shouted as I flapped my useless limbs “And watch out for the…”
I didn’t need her to shout the last warning as I saw the tree coming at me. The only problem was that when I tried to turn right… I managed to do some sort of cork screw slam into said tree. A few apples fell from it as one conked me on the head.
I lifted myself back up as Midnight slowed her descent to the ground as she checked if I was alright. My throat burned trying to keep the long string of curses held back as my head strung like heck. Even now I could feel the chaotic magic dancing about in my body.
Stupid changeling minions losing the stupid locket as none of the stupid guards could find a minor trinket!
I huffed in annoyance as two green flames shot out of my nose like some cartoonish parody as I pushed myself back up.
Hopefully Celestia would have another locket ready to keep this chaotic magic under control again.
Midnight just stared at me as she was a little bit shocked at the small oddity as just I shook the dirt out of my wings and prepared to take flight again. Celestia to my dismay was lying down on a cloud couch right on the balcony. She had a small end table with a bowl of grapes sitting out for her to munch on while I made a fool out of myself.
Then again this was one of the few times she got to watch someone else teach me without having to clean up the mess… or she still held a grudge about the Everfree Forest incident and the fact we had went alone instead of waiting for her return to clean up the mess.
I flapped my wings back in the air as I slowly rose back up. Midnight on the other hand stared at me as if I was trying to swim the wrong way or something… which to be fair I probably was. She flew over to one of the clouds as I followed her lead like a drunken idiot.
“Now to practice your landing.” She calmly replied as I started to move back towards the ground “On a cloud.”
With one loud gulp I flew over to the cloud as she smiled. My hooves moved closer to the mass of water floating in the sky as I tried to land on it. To her surprise and my dismay when I shut my wings and landed on it... I fell straight through the cloud.
A golden aura quickly caught me as I took a couple of deep breaths as I had been flapping my wings to try to stop my crashing descent to the ground. Celestia oddly enough stared at me in confusion as Midnight pulled the cloud with her before placing it under me. As soon as the cloud rested beneath my feet Celestia let go… as I fell through again.
“Oh come on!” I screamed in fury as I tried slowing my descent again before I crashed painfully into the ground.
Midnight landed on the ground with perfect grace as I tried to remove the dirt from my coat “What happened?”
I shrugged still sore from the crash landing “I messed a step? So what’s the magic secret of cloud walking?”
Midnight shook her head “There isn’t one. Even newborns can sleep on clouds.”
Instead of a light tap I nearly knocked myself out trying to face palm again. It was really starting to get annoying to be messing up on things foals could do.
Celestia got up from her royal seat and glided down from the balcony to grace us with her presence before her horn started to glow “Try one more time.”
Midnight nodded as she brought the cloud down to ground level as I flew back up into the air and tried to land on it only to fall through again. Celestia looked really confused when I walked through the cloud without any of it sticking to me.
“Are you feeling okay?” Celestia asked out loud as I had no idea why this seemed to be so confusing for them.
“I fell through a cloud again.” I replied with a slight bit of bitterness in my voice “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to feel or is this one of those 'you have to believe' for it to work deals?”
Celestia shook her head “The cloud walking spell I cast on you should have kept you afloat even if you tried going through the cloud on purpose.”
Midnight stared at me in confusion as I stared at Celestia with my mouth hanging open. Honestly I thought it was the old 'magic feather' trick like Dumbo had.
With a glow from her horn she summoned one of the Canterlart gardeners and casted the cloud walking spell on both me and the earth pony. Sadly instead of a gentle attempt to try again she wrapped us both up in her magic and flung us at the cloud.
I got a mouth full of dirt as I fell through the cloud and straight into the dirt. The earth pony on the other hand defied gravity and glanced down at me while he sat on the cloud without falling through.
Midnight shook her head “This is going to be harder than I thought it was going to be.”
******
I scratched my head trying to figure it out. It was just one of the many minor questions that lead up to the major ones on how Equestria worked. The kind of things I wasn’t allowed to repress into the back of my head like how does a rock farm work due to the fact that I had to deal with it now!
“So… why does Equestria have it’s own pony made weather… when areas like the Everfree forest and places away from pegasi don’t?” I asked my flight instructor. “I mean it still goes on… does it?”
Midnight rubbed her chin. Sure it was probably a stupid thing to ask a bat pony, but… didn’t they sort of do the same thing as pegasi? I know that with Luna stuck in the moon their kind of in the unemployment line for anything other than a nightshift job... or did they live in caves or something... I really wish I knew more about them before having to deal with them so that I wouldn't say anything stupid by mistake... then again we spent most of the entire day trying to get me to walk on a cloud so stupid questions can’t be taken for granted right now.
I was now laying on my stomach somehow holding a death grip on the cloud as she rested on her back without any fear of falling.
It also started to make me wonder about ponies in general… well some of the less talked about aspects. I mean tails cover most of the issue… Even then horses had some sort of sheath… So unless you went underneath a pony you really wouldn’t see much or something… but how does flight factor into it or will I need to by a flight suit to keep my sanity in check?
Was I even allowed to buy one since they didn’t allow alicorns to have jackets? I already had a had a few complaints about my attire because my jacket covered up my wings and cutie mark. Personally I liked having my jacket to help keep my sanity.
Midnight shrugged and snapped me out of my spiral towards insanity “That’s… a bit harder to explain, but mostly it’s cultural.”
At that I couldn’t help but ask “Cultural? Manipulating the weather is cultural?”
She chuckled “Weather still goes on… but not as effectively as it does in Equestria. You get droughts, storms, floods. Mostly the amount of imbalance is greater outside of Equestria. It’s magic, unity, and all that jazz.”
“Jazz?” When did bat pony’s learn that word much less that phrase?
She covered her mouth and looked away “Sorry that was uncoth of…”
I groaned as I was just curious “You didn’t say anything wrong. I just didn’t expect any of the ponies here to have heard of that phrase.”
Midnight sighed in relief “Well… with the new population and night clubs started forming… that and someponies are more active at night it… well kind of… helps they don’t mind a few… oddities.”
I didn’t know what to say about that. Was this because bat ponies were related to Luna and thus Nightmare Moon… was it the teeth or the… feeding habits. I know they have different teeth that regular ponies, but did that mean different taste buds? I know some bats eat fruit and a few others eat bugs... how much bat did bat ponies have in them?
“Back to the cultural bit.” Midnight coughed slightly trying to get back to the subject “If you look at the three tribe era. Windigos turned everything into a never ending winter. So the pegasi had to manipulate the weather so everypony wouldn’t starve. When the Windigos were finally gone the ponies could make summer finally return… so they did so.”
I nodded as she continued “Which lead to problems. While it was nice at first… a long period of warmth as plants thrived. Sunny skies and peaceful breezes making it the perfect… until the never ending summer ended up baking the land and turning it into a desert.” She chuckled nervously “At that point they didn’t think of trying to let the weather return to normal because at that point manipulating the weather was not only their lively hood, but also because of the ingrained fear of starvation.”
I think I was starting to see what was going on “They feared that if they stopped they wouldn’t be needed… or that winter would return again making them all starve.”
Midnight sighed “So then they started studying the Everfree forest. The one place with natural weather became the model for Equestria’s weather.” She caught my confused stare and smiled “It was one of the few places not affected by the Windigo’s freezing winter storm or the pegasi summer scorch. So the pegasi copied the weather inside the forest until it became trial and error to get the seasons and weather outside of the forest just right.”
“So then the pegasi experimented a little...” She stretched out her wings as a small grin appeared on her face “After all if a part of Equestria was going to flood while another area was having a drought then why not move some of that water over? If the wind was becoming a bit rough blowing away clouds then why not move them back? Eventually they kept studying the forest until they fixed the weather and then made… well this.”
She motioned at the sky as it was quite peaceful. Come to think of it… it might have made sense making a castle in the Everfree forest if the rest of the land was still stuck in a blizzard or burning to a crisp until they worked out the bugs.
Midnight just looked at the moon “So there you go. We screwed up and made the weather worse and when we cleaned up our mess… we figured out how it worked. So instead of letting random droughts, storms, and other disasters or even having the wind run wild… we regulated it. It kind of sounds boring when you put it like that doesn’t it?”
“That… actually makes sense.” Which left one last question “So what about the areas outside of Equestria?”
Midnight shrugged “That’s a bit more complicated. Magic lets us manipulate the weather. Magic is what also keeps the weather around the Everfree forest wild. In the end it just simply boils down to what magic affects the area and how the natural weather is going. Once we move into a new area the earth ponies try to get a grasp of the land. Then pegasi and unicorns come later to help bring a sort of harmony to it before making it a part of Equestria as a whole.”
She started to chuckle “Of course anypony else they’ll just say some speech about destiny, tradition, or more likely jobs. I mean not every earth pony has to tend to a farm or every unicorn has to study magic. It’s just common that they tend to do so. Does that answer your question?”
I nodded as she grinned “Good. Now that your done resting let’s see how far you’ll get before crashing into another tree.”
I sighed. Flying was not my strong suit.
******
Valkyrie
I turned the knob on the shower head as I let the water hit my body. With one deep breath I tried to ignore the stares of everypony… everyone as I tried to ease my mind.
The dreams weren’t helping either. Back home I had dreams when I fell asleep… but they were never much. Just random bits of my mind playing out or trying to make sense of my troubles. Stuff about rowing down a river of chocolate while have sock puppets chase after me.
After the Everfree Forest… they started to get more vivid. I started remembering them more often as a few of the dreams would have me as a pony… but I’m human. Sure I like to fly… and I haven’t used the point system in a while, but I still had enough memories to dream about home. Why wasn’t I dreaming about driving to work or messing around on a computer or was this some sort of Equestria deal?
I mean Luna did have the ability to dream walk and help deal with nightmares and stuff.
The water fell across my wings as I scrubbed my mane. My old hair was a tangled mess of knots that would break a hairbrush in two while my mane was soft and much easier to brush despite having to use my mouth and hooves.
I felt like talking to someone about my problems… but who could I talk to? An Equestrian doctor probably wouldn’t understand. Lockheart… quite frankly I trust him as an ally, but not as a therapist. Stardust… is a whole different can of worms.
Maybe I should put out an ad in the paper “unmarked therapist wanted.” Of course trying to find someone who knew what they were doing would be hard… The one time I want to go to a therapist is the one time I can’t find any. I bet Discord is laughing his stone butt off.
I turned off the water and got ready to dry myself off. It had taken a while, but I had finally become another face in the background. No pony… No one stared at me as if I was some sort of freak or that I didn’t belong here.
I quickly strapped back on my armor as I grabbed my bag full of bits and sighed. It had been hard to keep track of the days without a calendar. While it was nice I could rest in the barracks for the Royal Guard… it was time for me to look for a more… long term solution.
A month had gone by and I was still in Equestria only this time I had a 'slight' idea on what I was doing. People were moving into or near Canterlot as the former humans were gathering together trading information…but mostly to check on the trials.
The Elements of Harmony were missing… and Celestia didn’t trust Lockheart enough to let him know about the magic mirror. That or they were using it, but had yet to properly align it or something. Heck the Equestria girls movie had the rough “two years” gap before it could be used again… or was it longer than two years?
Unlike the movies I doubt we have a magical artifact back home we could hook up and link the mirror up to help align the two realities together or something… Well pony human earth might be close enough… Not much of a plan B, but at least it gives us a second option.
“Finally deciding if you want to stay or not?” Arrow Strike spoke out loud as I turned around.
The Pegasus sheepishly grinned as he tried not to look embarrassed. He was one of those bleached white coat pegasi found in the royal guards, but he kept his spiky orange hair underneath one of those stupid golden helmets. Funny enough he had a cutie mark of an arrow in pony’s knee.
He was also wearing that annoying Canterlot Royal Guard armor. Sure it looks nice in the cartoon, but in real life he’s wearing a shiny suit that will blind anyone who looks near him. I always feel tempted to just throw a bit of dirt on it to cut down the glare.
“Since it doesn’t seem like it will be fixed quickly I might as well see if there are any cheap rooms.” I quickly replied.
The second reason was to help with the housing situation. Lily and Stardust’s new friend… Cuddle Bug were changelings and thankfully found innocent. They were going to need a place to stay and quite frankly I needed to talk to another human just to try to keep myself sane for now.
Arrow Strike waited for me to continue or give him some more information about what I had meant. This was one of the odd details I never understood about ponies.
Back home you had co-workers. You might talk to them or chat, but mostly your goal was to finish your hours at work so that you could get that paycheck and head back home or somewhere far away from your place of work.
Sure you might talk to each other during work hours or during break … but it was never much. If the person left the job then you would never even give them a second thought. It was like high school or college really. You shared classes with other people and you might even remember a few of their names, but after the semester was over you would forgot most of them as you moved on.
Ponies on the other hand… they tended to interact more. They kind of behaved more like a sitcom you watched on TV as everyone in the work place knew each other… they may not exactly be friends, but they were a lot closer than what you got in real life.
Of course you still get the social clicks as most of the mares just give me a few odd stares since I always wear my armor. I don’t care how many fanfics have former humans going nude. I’m not going to be one of them.
I finally tossed Arrow a bone “I figured I would also check if they had any clothing I like.” And by that I mean anything that didn’t hamper my movement or wasn’t just a hat or a scarf. “That and I could use a new pair of boots and socks.”
Arrow’s face turned red as he replied “Socks?”
I blinked “It’s… don’t tell me nopony knows what they are.”
Arrow gulped as he looked out of the room “I…”
“Arrow Strike!” somepony shouted out loud in the distance
Arrow quickly sighed in relief “Oh shoot! Forgot about that. See ya Valkyrie!”
He shoot out of the door as I just shrugged. It would feel a little bit silly asking around for locations of stores, but if I’m renting or buying an apartment room I might as well make myself comfortable.
******
Steel Halberd
Steel sighed as he glanced at Valkyrie wearing her armor. Still it was nice to see that she was starting to get used to living in Equestria. She had passed the test for joining the Royal Guards easily and gave the others something to strive towards.
He took a deep breath as he felt… vulnerable without his armor. Valkyrie wanted to do some shopping and it was his job to help look after her. That was all there was to it and Celestia did want to make sure Valkyrie adjusted Equestria peacefully.
With tensions high from the rescue of the missing ponies from the Everfree Castle it was only a question of if the ponies would mob her for questions about the daring rescue… or place blame on her because she was a blank flank.
Steel shook his head not wanting to think about those darker thoughts. These were Equestrians and not the rough griffins, thuggish diamond dogs, or brutish dragons. Besides she needed the break as she seemed to be bothered by something during these past few days.
“So what are you looking for?” He asked trying to start a conversation.
Valkyrie glanced at her bag of bits “Socks, boots, maybe a book or two.”
Steel gulped as he probably heard that statement wrong “Socks?”
Valkyrie stared at him as he could feel his face redden. She couldn’t possibly mean…
“Socks… or do they not make socks?” Valkyrie replied with far too much ease than she should have.
Steel held up a hoof and took a deep breath “What exactly do you mean by that?”
He could feel himself starting to sweat. Surely she couldn’t be meaning what he was thinking. After all it would be foolish to think such crazy thoughts. Even then going in together into such a store…
Valkyrie rubber her chin “Socks… Small articles of clothing used to protect the... hooves. Their used with boots to help soak up water or to help keep one’s legs warms.”
Steel felt himself cool down… and slightly felt the painful sting of sorrow strike across his foolish heart. Socks had a different cultural meaning to her. To her Socks were like boots, or scarves, or hats. There was no hidden message or… (gulp)… deeper meaning.
“I… I think I might know of a place that could help.” He replied uneasily as he thought about it.
Steel had a sister who ran a clothing store. It felt cheap dumping the problem onto her, but it would be easier to explain to his sister the difference in cultural text than run into an embarrassing incident at a much more public store. He’d probably owe her a favor for having her explain the Equestrian cultural aspect of... socks.
******
Steel walked into the dreaded store full of dresses and hats no self-respecting stallion would ever wear. It wasn’t that this was a more… private store.
It was just that most stallions avoided this store simply because all hope and pride the stallion had was left at the door. Their job as a stallion was to nod, smile, and wait for hours as the mare they were with tried on the many different dresses, fabrics, and talked about things that most stallions barely understood. Oh and a couple of items tended to be rather expensive.
Steel wished he could have switched places with one of them at this moment. They were the lucky ones after all... they didn’t have a sister who not only worked in the store… but would stop whatever they were doing just to bug the living daylights out of them. To make things even worse... Steel's own sister ran the store making it almost impossible to avoid her.
“Steel!” His sister shouted for the rest of Canterlot to hear as she dashed over to him “It’s been to long… and you’re with a mare.”
He smiled gritting his teeth together as he hugged his sister Jade Pin. The sapphire coat mare had her lavender mane curled up into a ball held together by two sewing needles. Her cutie mark was of a pin cushion with three pins jabbed into it. His sister gave a not to subtle stare at Valkyrie already getting ready on her not so subtle way to torture her dear brother like any annoying yet adorably cute younger sister.
Steel saved her the devious planning and hopefully from having her embarrass him “This is Valkyrie and she was born outside of Equestria.” She nodded still ready to make him suffer “And… she has a few different cultural aspects about clothing.”
Jade nodded “I’ll gladly help.”
Steel quickly pulled her over dragging her away from Valkyrie “And… I need your help.” She grinned as if she was about to make him sign some sort of infernal contract “She… wants some... socks…” Her grin grew with his ever growing embarrassment “And… they don’t have the same... meaning as they do in Equestria.”
Jade blinked “What?”
Steel took a deep breath “Their viewed like… scarves or hats. No… other meaning…” much to his unspoken dismay “And… it would help if you… helped explain some of the… cultural differences.”
Jade nodded as she stared at her older brother in confusion before shouting “Find anything you like dear?”
Valkyrie shrugged “Do you have any… pants?”
Jade’s face flinched as she quickly glanced back to him for an explanation “No cutie mark and she’s griffin raised so expect a lot of cultural clash on certain things.”
******
Jade
Jade felt a little bit annoyed. Her big brother had finally paid her a visit only to ask for help with work of all things. Jade pulled out the tape measure with a small hint of anger as she checked Valkyrie’s body. Her light brown coat was much softer than Jade expect and her blonde mane was surprisingly well kept.
Most ponies in the Royal Guard tended to forgot about mane hair care as they were too busy thrusting spears in the hot sweaty sun all day which was perfectly alright for the stallions. (A pony could find a nice spot and watch them work out)The same could not be said about the mares thrusting those same spears in the hot sun.
Jade checked Valkyrie’s wing length and then check it again as the numbers couldn’t be right. With a third check Valkyrie's wing length was… larger than expect as the armor made them seem much smaller. They were also taken very good care of.
Jade shook her head trying to figure out how the odd measurements “Armor off. I need to finish checking near the base of the wings.”
Valkyrie sighed in slight annoyance as she undid her armor. Instead of the loud clatter that reminded Jade of empty cans a resounding thud came when the armor hit the floor and possibly denting if not breaking some of the floor boards. Jade tried to lift one up with her magic only to falter for a moment from the ridicules weight.
Steel simply shouted “And that’s her armor so be careful with it.”
Jade glanced back at Valkyrie in disbelief “This is your actual armor?”
Valkyrie on the other hoof didn’t seem to have been phased as she nodded “It’s better than the tin foil suits they give to the rest of the Royal Guard.”
Jade glanced back at the armor and then back at the mare in question. What should have been an overly buff pegasi instead stood a warrior goddess. Her muscles were tight, but they hugged her very feminine frame.
“Now stretch out your wings.” Jade replied as she tried not to look Valkyrie in the eyes.
Her wings now fully opened to their majestic glory Jade was starting to have doubts if she was dreaming or if the pony in front of her actually existed. Celestia was a strong mare as she could easily out hoof wrestle every body building stallion in Equestrian with one hoof tied behind her back.
Valkyrie either shared that same build or had a lot of earth pony blood ruining through her veins as her muscles were very tight. After going around her waist that most models would tear their hair out for Jade was starting to wonder if some crazed unicorn sculpted her out of clay or something as she had never knew a pony could naturally be born to look like this.
Of course she probably didn’t need a lot of help keeping those muscles in shape with that lead coffin wrapped around her body…
“How long have you worn that armor?” Jade couldn’t help try to ask calmly as she began to wonder if Valkyrie used some sort of alchemy enchantment to achieve such a… nice form that somehow made Jade feel both skinny and fat at the same time.
Valkyrie shrugged “Just about every day. I don’t have a lot of clothing.”
“Well that explains the body to some extent.” Jade thought in the back of her mind as she moved around to Valkyrie’s flank.
Jade felt her face turn red as she started to feel… embarrassed. Valkyrie’s body was just as tight and firm as it was up front… yet so soft. It must have been a mixture of the muscle and fur…
“What conditioner do you use?” Jade whispered to herself
Valkyrie glanced back at Jade as her own cheeks reddened “What?”
Jade quickly coughed realizing just how that could have been interrupted “I said… Have you been applying any dyes on your side?” and quickly glanced at the armor looking for an escape “I mean your armor has a large hole in its side right around where the cutie mark should rest.”
Valkyrie coughed “Actually that’s for the saddle bags. That way they are secure for when I’m flying.”
Jade simply nodded and tried to convince herself that she was into stallions instead of mares. Not that there was anything wrong with it… but… she was pretty sure she was into stallions as she went over the measurements again.
Trying to get her head out of the gutters Jade replied “What are you looking for in a dress?”
Valkyrie to her surprise frowned “I’m not a fan of dresses.”
Jade couldn’t believe what she had just heard! What mare didn’t like dresses! It was practically the number one rule of mares! Valkyrie could have told her that she was Celestia herself and Jade wouldn’t be half as shocked as she current statement.
Valkyrie sighed out loud “Their too… cumbersome. I like to be able to move my legs freely.”
It took all of Jade’s formidable power to not facehoof at the absurdity of it all. Still she guessed that was the reason why Valkyrie was training in the Royal Guard instead of walking around as a model. Ponies didn’t mind dresses because they liked how they looked… not the difficulties of wearing them or walking in them… especially with some of the corset dresses that seemed to be the rage these days.
Still Valkyrie was her client and her client wanted something that one could move freely in. Weight apparently wasn’t an issue considering her current attire. Jade frowned as it would feel right if she made something that didn’t show off the beauty she kept hidden underneath that ugly suit of armor.
Of course considering the fact she called the Royal Guard armor a suit of tin foil, either meant she didn’t like the design or she didn’t care for the protection. Jade began to wonder if she still had a few of the griffin fashion magazines lying about since a couple of them focus more on utility than fashion.
“And what about socks?” Jade couldn’t help but smirk as she said it.
Valkyrie replied with a straight face “Anything’s fine. Mostly I’m looking for something to wear with some boots.”
Jade blinked as she wasn’t sure she heard that right “Boots as in…”
Valkyrie rubber her chin “Something thick and durable. Hiking boots or something to deal with mud if I have to go back into the Everfree Forest for an extended period of time.”
It was then Jade knew that the universe has a twisted sense of humor. After all…Why else would it make a pony so impossibly fit and beautiful yet make them have no sense in fashion? Boots are supposed to be code word for high heels or those golden shoes like Celestia has. Not… stuff to trout around in a swamp!
Jade had the nagging feeling that she could have simply pulled out a pair of boots from the local dumpster and Valkyrie would have been fine with it just as long as they were in one piece! As a seamstress, designer, and well known artist Jade had to summon all her willpower to calm herself down.
She took a deep breath and had to remind herself about Valkyrie’s upbringings. It wasn’t the poor girl's fault that she was raised up by extremely strange griffins in a faraway land having never experience pony culture for herself and as a fellow mare it was Jade’s own duty to help her out.
Jade glanced at Valkyrie’s hooves “How do you take care of your hooves?”
Valkyrie gave them a quick glance “I wash them and check for cracks?”
Jade lifted a hoof up and studied them. In her line of work Hooves also tended to tell much about a pony. In general earth ponies tend to have more durable hooves, but may have a few slight chips or bits of dirt if they work on a farm. Unicorns tend to have a shine as magic or magic spells can clean them and helps with the rid of hard to reach places. Pegasi tend to have slightly softer hooves than most along with a sort of padding that is more common with those who live in cloud homes or rarely set their hooves on the ground.
Valkyrie’s hooves were different. She didn’t have any chips as they resembled more like an earth pony’s hooves. The small bit of shine to it seemed to indicate good care, but no magical assistance, yet she lacked the subtle grace of a pegasi. With a quick tap and feeling how strong the hooves were… Jade was willing to bet Valkyrie could break rocks with them if she wanted.
Valkyrie tried to smile “I know most pegasi tend to forgot about them since they tend to walk on clouds. I’m… not used to cloud walking.”
Steel shouted “Her home’s weather is like the Everfree Forest!”
Jade simply nodded as she then glanced at the armor plating that once held Valkyrie’s hooves. Jade knew about many types of shoes, boots, and had even been commissioned to build a suit of armor for some random noble… these boots weren't made for comfort. Her brother or somepony in the royal guard might have been able to use them... but these boots would probably chip if not break a normal pony's hooves.
Suddenly the sculpted theory didn’t seem so far-fetched after all. Jade could see in theory at least that a pony would end up with a rather strong build if they were forced to wear similar armor for most of their life. Of course such an existence wouldn’t have been fun.
“Well you might want to get it looked at in a spa every once in a while.” Jade replied trying to find some sort of fault in the almost mythical body.
It looked less and less like Valkyrie worked to keep her built shaped like it was and more like it was hard for her body not to look like it did from some sort of extreme training she had taken. Jade had the feeling she could probably use Valkyrie’s hooves to file her own horn! Of course her hooves might need to be filled a little just to be on the safe side.
Jade sighed as she put away the tape measure only for Valkyrie started to hide the Pegasi of old definition of perfection back into her large and not too wonderful looking armor coffin. Jade couldn’t help but frown as the armor seemed to make the lovely body look more like a smaller griffin that looked… sort of nice… but certainly didn’t even hold a candle to her natural form without the armor!
Jade felt her face turn red as she thought “Not a fillyfooler”
Jade quickly focused on her current task and the plans she would have to make “I can have some items ready for you tomorrow, but it may take a few days for larger articles of clothing.”
Valkyrie nodded “I understand. How much will it cost?”
Jade smiled as she looked at her rather nervous big brother “Don’t worry. Since most of what you’re asking for is basic the money set aside for the Royal Guard will pay for it. The bigger stuff I would just need your opinion on if they match what you’re looking for.”
Valkryie glanced at me with unease “Are you sure…”
Jade held a hoof up cutting her off “Darling… what you’re looking for is accessibility and utility. I just need to do a few simple modifications to what I have. Then we can talk price.”
Valkyrie smiled as she said “Thank you. I’ll be here tomorrow to pick up the items.”
Steel walked out of the store with her as Jade started to wonder how many stallions had even seen her out of that armor. The thought couldn’t help but make her chuckle she guessed that their standard issue armor now served another purpose.
Still Valkyrie had yet to understand what it was to be a mare as Jade as her fellow ally would simply have to show her. With her magic she flipped over the sign closing the store early as she pulled out her rather large address book. All she had to do was now find the right designers, artists, and friends to reveal the hidden beauty that Valkyrie had kept hidden.
Jade didn’t think there was anything wrong with what she was doing simply because Valkyrie was still a blank flank… and if living such a militant life hadn’t earned her a cutie mark then maybe seeing some… alternative might help her… branch out.
Besides she also needed help on figuring out griffin design fashions and how to employ them without making Valkyrie look… bland. Something most types of Griffin fashion seemed to specialize in.
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first!
I like the idea of them having served as nightwatches et cetera. It DOES fit with the profile of them having served under the princess of the night and their nocturnal lifestyle.
Well, I don't know about pony-humans (probably some sort of memory-based television?), but the changelings would probably go Lockhearts route and try to recreate modern weaponry, especially since they can put some points into "Knowledge: CBRNE" without losing any memories or suffering other drawbacks. Not to mention that the changelings could essentially grind on mindless drones of their own to level up or at least gain a serious headstart when it comes to things like this.
On another note: Please keep Valkyrie as oblivious as she is now. Whenever her name comes up in bold I already know I need to man up to not break out into laughing fits. It reminds me of a certain fic except it actually works (incredibly good) here
I wonder what Jade will say when the nickname "Overkill" is revealed...
And Lockheart seems to be getting into a great mindset too... I really need to find a way to like a story multiple times...
Quefg, you need to do a search and destroy mission in your story: "Grant it...." is just so wrong. You're needing "Granted" -- "Granted" is the same as "Admittedly", and along with that, since it's an introductory word, it also needs a comma immediately following.
Some slice of life moment.... How the others are adjusting.... poker games and world building... and socks?
Maxwell seems to have that touch of fate going about as he seems to be making connections and sort of a organization revolving around the elements of harmony... I can only wonder how that would affect the future.
Also loved watching how oblivious Overkill was when she was shopping. Seriously that part alone should be enough reason to read at least the end portion of this chapter. Please keep her not only like this... but please show the next part involving Jade.
As for the questions... bat ponies as nightshift makes sense, but you may want to check... hollow grove... just Google it with MLP.
For human items... depends on current metallurgical level or experimentation with alteration magic. Technology would be nice, but stories would be easier to reproduce and sell. Oh and ball point pens if not fountain pens.
Also can't help but wonder how many brands of songs and music are also being add/made to Equestrian culture by humanity.
6862622 Thanks for the grammar check!
6864082 Well, I do apologize for coming on so strong about that. There are other errors throughout the story, but none are more glaring as running into "Grant it" when you mean "Granted"--nor are they more jarring like it would be when driving down the road and running into a chunk of "granite".
Twilight Sparkle channeling Doctor Smith: "
Oh! The puns! The ... puns!
6865115 I don't mind at all. Just had been trying to fix most of the older grammar mistakes. Let me know if there are any other.
Another thing you might want to look for, is ctrl+f the word properly, and make sure you don't actually mean probably. It shows up, a couple of times.
That being said, the substance of the story is an absolute delight. I would certainly enjoy more.
Assuming they didn't have a magic equivalent maybe a microwave. Or possibly the telephone. In all likelihood though the first thing they would probably recreate would be guns. Bleh.
I like your explanation for the origin and continuation of weather control in Equestria. It fits very nicely with what we know and have seen. And even better, being framed with the context of Lockheart's horrible flying and cloud walking skills
The poker game did give us a nice insight into how people and ponies are adapting, and the outlooks they have.
Valkyrie and Jade Pin were my personal favourite parts of this chapter, however. All those innuendoes, Valkyrie's obliviousness, Jade's valiant efforts to maintain her sexuality with faced with that mythic body
As for what batponies would do... Midnight seems to hint they aren't exactly nocturnal, so... anything they want, I guess...
Technology... definitely ballpoint pens. And radios communication.
Humans would first recreate electrical generators. And patent them for money.
Humans first real innovation would be the concept of mass industry magitech. First shortlived runic presses and crude autospells, with increasing efficiency as applied theory improves, followed by Tesla Wardencliff Towers to power the new magitech economy.
Bat ponies would be a mix of normal and ancestral behaviors by individual. Nothing special, although their role in the tribes is as small as their population.
The last part with Valkyrie was great, screw being pretty, that armor is saving her flank better than the guards stuff