Chapter 49
Someone knocked loudly at his door. Jacob looked up, and reluctantly lowered the book he had been holding in his magic. Marble Epitaph the Lesser’s Exhaustive Equestrian History, Volume 3 of 16. Jacob pulled the blanket a little higher over his body, covering everything worth covering. In some ways Sunset had been right—adjusting to being smaller and differently shaped had not taken very long. Jacob didn’t stumble when he walked, and didn’t feel like he was ever craning his neck.
That did not translate to overcoming the nudity taboo. Danielle had managed that quick enough, probably because life in Imperium had given her no other choice. Jacob had a choice. He could stay in bed and hide under the sheets, and so that was what he did. It wasn’t like the ponies walking in would judge—few if any of them had any clothing, and none of it covered anything important. His own sister was the only one he had to worry about, and she couldn’t visit him at all. It was hard to make visits when you were comatose.
Equestria’s pleasures beaconed at the end of a long-fought war. Anytime he wanted Jacob could look out the window and find not only a peaceful nation, but one he had always dreamed of seeing. He was a criminal on Earth, or at the very least suspected of being one. His parents were dead, his only relation was here. How hard would it be to cut his ties for good, wash his hands of the affair, and trust the princesses to deal with it?
But did finding our way here make a difference? Will Celestia stop the war?
Someone knocked on the door outside again, a little louder this time. “Come in!” Jacob folded his hooves awkwardly in front of him, trying to look comfortable. It didn’t really work—ponies weren’t built for lying in beds like humans could.
A single pony entered. At first Jacob didn’t recognize her, though her colors and Cutie Mark were both familiar. Her flowing mane had been cut very short, and her left side was covered with deep scars that still exposed bare skin. A few cuts remained on her face as well, and there was a patch over one eye. Her tail, like her mane, had apparently been cut completely off, and only recently returned.
“T-Twilight?” He sat up a little straighter. “You’re alive?”
She chuckled, and there was an unhealthy rasp to her voice. “Barely.”
“So you…” Jacob tried to fill in the gaps. “You knew where that Temple was, and ran away there once Unity fell?”
She nodded. “I knew there was a traitor in Unity—there wasn’t any other way we could’ve been discovered. I didn’t want humans knowing I had lived, or that there might be other portals to Equestria. I couldn’t risk leading them to the Temple.”
“But why would you lead us there? It doesn’t paint a very favorable view of your princesses. It… kinda makes it out like they sold ponies out. And humans too I guess, by extension.”
“Sunset was supposed to find my message,” Twilight admitted, though she didn’t look away. “Nothing in the temple is… entirely unknown in Equestria. Obscure, but… I don’t think most ponies would see it the way you do. Celestia and Luna saved us. We wouldn’t have been born without them. Separatists like the ones who built that Temple might see ponies as slaves, but most of us see Cutie Marks as gifts. If ponies knew the princesses were the source, they would honor them even more.”
He frowned down at his book. “Is my sister awake yet?”
Twilight shook her head, though she did seem a little relieved he wasn’t going to press the subject. “The best doctors in Equestria are seeing to her, but… I didn’t expect humans to follow me. Unlike the broken mirror, the Separatists expected their trips to be mostly one-way. Their children weren’t supposed to come back to Equestria. From what we can tell, the magic of the trip destroyed the human illusion completely. But don’t worry, she’ll receive the best possible care. She’ll recover.”
“What about the rest of us?”
“Free to leave tomorrow morning. After everything you did, well… you probably won’t be surprised to hear that you’re of interest to the Crown. Luna has asked that I plead for your help. Capturing… well, not Nightmare Moon exactly, but the entity that created her… will do more to secure peace between Equestria and Earth than anything else we could do. We close the Light Tender’s view into Equestrian magic, and we stop the monster from claiming Earth as her own personal domain.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “But I’m still not a fighter or a spy. Do you… need me to convince Harley or something? Did she turn you down?”
Twilight shook her head. “You’re the first who has been told about this. I thought since you were the one who planned to find me, you should hear it first. Not only that, but you should be the one to decide if your friends have to even find out.”
She turned towards him again, showing her scarred side. “I know how awful the war is. Earth is… well, let’s just say I’ve seen enough for a lifetime after Unity. But Equestria still needs help. So long as the Nightmare is out there, Equestria is in danger. She might eventually persuade humans to turn your devastating weapons on us… or maybe she will somehow isolate Earth from rift travel, and damn the human population to her rule. Once we remove her, we believe peace is possible.”
“Luna plans on traveling to Earth within the week, along with Equestria’s most powerful warship. She wishes to bring advisers on Earth who can assist with the Nightmare’s capture or destruction. There are thousands of Earth ponies resettled in Equestria, and many would be willing to come and advise the princess. Many of them might be more competent than you, more knowledgeable than you, and more magically powerful than you.”
“But your ponies have one thing they don’t: our trust. So many refugees have fled to our shores that we cannot be confident of their goals. Luna wants Jackie’s and Harley’s infiltration skills, Elise’s experience with the enemy, your healing ability. Eric and Katie…” She shrugged one shoulder. “There is space for them as well, though they lack any specifically required abilities. They might still have useful input, though we doubt they would ever leave the airship.”
Jacob didn’t even hesitate. “What does Princess Luna plan to do about Sunset when she arrives on Earth? Is she going to continue using Sunset’s methods?”
“No.” Twilight met his eyes. For once, Jacob didn’t look away, searching for any sign of deception there. He didn’t find any. “Celestia would never condone what Sunset did. For better or worse, the damage is done. The attacks will not be repeated, and we will assist humanity in combating the virus in any way we can. Maybe we can help them come up with a vaccine, or—”
Jacob interrupted her. “Twilight, didn’t you send the ‘historical broadcast’ to Earth in order to make us all into ponies? Shouldn’t you be celebrating what Sunset did?” He didn’t sound happy himself, though. Only angry, bitter.
“We designed a pattern to evoke magical development in humans. We expected the process to take decades. Humans would not need contact from Equestria, you would discover your powers on your own. Without monsters or ponies around, it would take a very long time for any of you to manifest. It might take a generation. There would be no psychological trauma when you had that long to accept reality. Not to mention all the ponies featured in the broadcast would’ve had the time to move on with their lives…”
“So yes, Lifeline. We wanted to give you your birthright back. Could you have watched and done nothing while your own kind suffered and died by starvation and preventable disease? Denied ponies the chance to learn and explore their magic?”
He opened his mouth to say yes, but stopped himself. How many lives had he saved since becoming a pony? How many more would he save?
Twilight didn’t wait for him to answer. “Our intended method would have been painless and non-disruptive. No internment camps, no wars, no deaths. Slow enough that those who wanted to avoid it could have kept their distance, separating to avoid exposure. The human experiment could continue.
“Whatever you think about ponies, think of the alternative. The Nightmare already holds political power on Earth. She is immortal, patient, and powerful. Do you want her to rule over your planet?”
“No,” he admitted. He didn’t say that he wasn’t sure Earth needed their help to deal with her. Humanity had faced many threats in the past, and survived them all. Because of people who had the power to make a difference. Like you.
She turned, heading for the door. “I’ll let you think about it. If you’re going to tell them, do it tonight.”
* * *
As soon as he got up the courage, Jacob made his way to Katie’s room.
The door struck something soft as he opened it, though thankfully not very hard. Jacob released his magical grasp on it at once, recoiling in shock and concern. “Is someone over there?” He could see something bright on the other side of the door, the same greenish as Katie’s coat. Uh oh.
“Yes,” Katie grumbled, rising slowly to her hooves. She stuck a hoof in the door, then swung it open.
Jacob blushed immediately, tucking his tail between his legs even as his ears flattened. The reaction was instant and entirely unconscious, yet he felt it all the same. The pony body knows how to work on its own, or else my breathing and digestion and heartbeat would’ve all killed me a long time ago.
“That’s why you knock, idiot.” How Katie could stand there without looking embarrassed, Jacob couldn’t know. She was as naked as he was, though admittedly for a mare there was less to see from straight ahead. Of all the ponies who reminded Jacob of the taboo, being around Katie was the worst. That was why he had been avoiding her. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t come.” She stepped sideways, gesturing inside. “Come on then.”
“You knew I was coming?” Jacob complied, though his steps were still slow and his tail refused to obey. Hooves clopped with each step, and he shuddered at the thought of somepony from one of the other rooms emerging to see him from behind. They didn’t.
“Well duh.” Katie turned away from him, walking over to the window. “My sister has been spending time with Harley since they got here. I figured you’d realize sooner or later you shouldn’t leave me alone.”
Katie didn’t keep her distance, but rested her head on his shoulder. She was very beautiful—lithe and slender in ways that did not translate to the human form. Jacob didn’t know how he could possibly even feel an attraction so soon, and on some level worried for his sanity. Yet the transition had been gradual enough, except at the end. Did she see him the same way?
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Mhmmm.”
It felt natural to have her head on his shoulder, anyway. It was a shame he had come for something so serious. It was nice just to feel her there, and have the window before them. Katie’s room was on the other side of the building, so instead of facing down at Canterlot proper it looked out over the castle gardens. They were sprawling affairs of perfectly manicured plants, and had far more in common with Versailles than the few episodes he had seen them in. A few ponies enjoyed the benches or the flowers, but their colorful forms were easily lost in the greenery.
That gave him an idea. “Hey Katie.”
“Yeah?” She looked up at him, something unfamiliar in her eyes. It wasn’t embarrassment exactly… it wasn’t any emotion he knew how to recognize. Jacob hadn’t been this close to anyone before.
“Do you care about breaking pony rules?”
She grinned. “You sound like Jackie. I never tell her no. Just so long as you don’t plan on spray-painting ‘Sunbutt' onto the wall somewhere.”
Jacob pointed out the window with a hoof. “I’m pretty sure I could teleport two feet with a passenger. If I took us through the wall, do you think you could fly us both down to the garden?”
“Yes.” She grinned slyly at him, then spread her wings. The soft feathers brushed him as she flapped, just a few times until she was up in the air. Katie took off from nothing as though she had been doing it her whole life. “I can carry way more now that I’m not a lumbering human. Same amount of magic, fixed mass. More lift this way. That’s aerodynamics.”
“Okay. But how do I hold on without getting in the way of your wings? Humans might’ve been ‘lumbering’, but we were way better at carrying things.”
“Says you.” Katie reached down with her forelegs, then scooped him up. The ceiling wasn’t high enough for her to go very high. Even such a low flight scattered her few possessions and rumpled the bedding. They were probably making noise, too. “Do it!”
Jacob hardly felt secure, hanging just a few inches off the ground by Katie’s forelegs wrapped under his own. But on the other hand he was also very close to her, and close contact like this would likely provoke other sorts of reactions. Fear was an excellent motivator.
They appeared twenty feet or so away from the window, hovering in the air exactly as they’d been hovering in the room. Nopony spared them a glance.
Now Jacob hung suspended over a two-hundred foot drop. “Down, down!” he called, the fear becoming considerably more intense. “I can’t fly!”
“Relax.” Katie sunk for the first few seconds, but soon her wings caught them for a glide. Cold air blasted around them, mixing up his tail and mane and chilling all his previous fears away. “I won’t drop you, unicorn.”
It could happen, though he wasn’t about to correct her. He didn’t complain anymore, just focused on watching the ground as they got closer. A few ponies noticed them, staring as they made their way down from the castle, but none said anything. The few guards standing still at the garden entrances didn’t even blink at them.
Jacob felt far better once his hooves finally touched grass. He fell onto his back with a wave of relief, clutching at his chest. “That… was a little more adventure than I was counting on.”
Katie stood over him, grinning. “Aren’t there spells that let unicorns fly? I don’t know why you’d still be afraid of heights.”
He realized he was lying naked on his back a few feet away from Katie, and immediately jumped to his hooves, embarrassed all over again. “That was difficult magic for Twilight. Assuming the episode was true. It’s hard to tell the difference between parts of the show that were supposed to teach us and the parts that were just there for flavor.”
“The show did a poor job capturing this place,” Katie mouthed, breathless.
Jacob looked around, finally taking the time to appreciate the garden from the inside. There were a thousand different plant smells, which were at once sweet and appetizing at the same time. I never thought what a garden might be like to a grazing animal. I bet the arrangement and the taste are related somehow. He didn’t think to put it to the test in Celestia’s royal gardens, though.
Jacob had visited botanical gardens before. He had also grown up in a desert, with sparse pale vegetation. The comparison to Equestrian flora was a poor one. The greens were deeper, the splashes of each flower more vivid and alive somehow. Birdsong drifted gently through the trees, and it sounded somehow more friendly than he was used to. The birds weren’t just singing, they were singing for an audience. For him.
The grass was softer than any carpet, and didn’t feel dirty to his hooves. Indeed, it seemed grass was the paving material of choice within this section of the garden, not cement or gravel.
“It did,” he finally agreed.
They wandered a long time through the garden, enjoying its masterfully sculpted avenues. “Danni would’ve loved it here,” he said. “She was always more into the show than the rest of us. Eric didn’t even watch, unless we had an episode on at the club. I did, but I could never tell if I was actually enjoying it or not.”
Katie nodded. “Danni told me she kept an autograph book in Unity. It didn’t survive, but… she was sure she’d get all the important ponies eventually.”
He sighed. “I wonder how many ‘Bronies’ from Earth have tried that.” The garden had other visitors, but nopony bothered them. No guards came looking for them.
Several hours passed, and they were lounging under a cherry tree. The fruit was ripe, and every now and then he would reach up to pluck one with his magic. Using telekinesis was practically second nature to him now, even for non-medical tasks.
“Something’s on your mind,” she said, only for him to interrupt her with a cherry. She lay beside him, one wing resting on his back. She kept talking through it. “I know it’s something. You’ve barely talked.” She spat the pit at his hooves.
“Well, uh…” He sighed. “If I tell you, it will bother you too.”
She shoved her shoulder up against him. “Don’t care. We’re gonna be released tomorrow, right? We’ll be on a train to that refugee settlement, starting a new life. Whatever’s bothering you can’t be that bad.”
“So long as it isn’t called ‘Bronytown.’ If it is, I’m getting right back onto the train.”
“Me too.” There were cracks in her smile.
Jacob realized then what they meant. “You… don’t want to live in Equestria.”
She shook her head, and a few tears slid off her coat. “It’s not that. When Harley saved us from a whole squad of the ECU, I always thought it would only be a few more months before I could go home. But we waited and waited and now it seems like I’ll never see my parents again.” She cried. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen them.”
Jacob held still, lacking wings but unwilling to pull away from her. He knew enough to know when a pony needed help.
“We could go back,” he said. “I don’t know if we could stay, but… I bet if you asked, you could at least say goodbye.”
“What, when you take Michelle back?”
He shook his head. “Michelle… I don’t know what she’ll want. Right now I’m worried she won’t even wake up. But I’m her only family… she might not want to go back if I’m here. Besides… Earth is pretty much in the shitter right now.”
“Y-yeah,” she sighed. “So when?”
He told her. It took him longer than Twilight, and he didn’t know how to answer all of her questions. He tried, though.
“So if we go back, we’re soldiers again.”
He nodded. “Advisors too. Princess Luna is Equestria’s most experienced general, but she only has literary experience with Earth. Most of what she knows she learned from books or interviews with refugees. She wants a few humans aboard in case something comes up she doesn’t understand.”
“Makes sense.” Katie looked as deflated as he felt. “So we see the promised land across the river but we can’t cross.” She looked away. “I’m homesick for my family… but I’m even more sick of fighting. I’m sick of running, I’m sick of hiding and breaking the law. Just for awhile, I want to live. Go outside, smell the trees… go back to school, even. You know?”
He looked up at the garden all around them. “I do, yeah. Back when I thought we were fighting for the good guys… it was easier. But now that I know the truth… it just seems like everyone’s been a dick to everyone. I think the only way to win is not to fight.”
“I think you should tell the others. Let them make their decisions. Jackie will… probably want to fight. Harley will go with her. The rest…” She shook her head. “Poor Eric. Is he doing okay? Are you? I wasn’t really that close to Danielle…”
He shook his head. “No. He’s not. I’m not either. They say you need time with these things… I guess that’s what I need.”
“He can live across the street from us in… not Bronytown. Somewhere with a real name.”
“From us?” she asked.
He looked away, scraping at the ground with one hoof. “You said so yourself, Jackie will probably want to fight until the war is over. You wouldn’t want to live alone, would you?”
In answer, she kissed him again.
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D'aww
Still curious to how this will end
Well, another chapter, another part of me starts wondering when we can have a "Somewhat happily ever after"
I had a feeling that Twilight was still alive. I would've thought ponies to be in a state of mourning in Equestria had she really died. When I didn't see any evidence of that, I believed it would be only a matter of time before she showed up.
7604940 Same over here.
Awwww :3 yay for a bit of breathing room, cuteness, and information sorely needed. Poor Twilight, though...
They'd totally name it Bronyville.
Alright. Alright. This is alright. At least Twilight didn't get her wings scorched. Sunset permanently lost all of the feathers on one of her wings. She did nothing to deserve that at the time it happened. All her serious crimes happened after that. At least Twilight hasn't been injured in a manner that permanently alters her function. Losing half your coat and getting your wings scorched aren't equal.
Jacob is starting to act more like Alex. Once in Equestria, he very quickly becomes homesick, even though he had scarcely been there for three days (or a full week). Much like Alex, he doesn't have a large abundance of family, (S/he actually had no family s/he would see again any time soon, if ever) and like Alex, Jacob has cheated death numerous times. Once again, I am wondering if he's going to cheat death dozens and dozens of times like Alex had, effectively becoming a living boomerang. One of Alex's friends through the same experience also became one of these boomerang creatures, if I remember correctly.
I cannot say I would like being supernaturally branded, even if it is largely regarded as natural. Once you've got it, you are locked into it for life. Not knowing what's in store for you is part of the fun of living. Being surprised. Once the surprises are taken away, and you know it's for good, it's over, or it may as well be. We think obsolescence is painful in life. Think how much more painful it would be if you had a mark of a rotary dial on your hip. Or a typewriter. Or a kerosene wick lantern. See what I mean? It's not what it seems. A blessing and a curse in disguise.
Twilight had just reinforced what I have been thinking all along, they should have left well enough alone. You cannot miss what you never had. Yet having it happen generation by generation is the more equinn or humane a thing to do. Forcing it in a matter of minutes would psychologically kill them, leaving nothing in its wake but an empty shell. Not to mention the process of the disease itself seems designed to actively tweak one's core character rather than expose it, evidenced by the siblings in that story this is spun from acting like twins even though there's a substantial age difference and those same faux twins seeing their parents as generous caretakers as opposed to the man and woman who conceived them. I hope they are eventually cured, otherwise they are both dead and gone. Even if they went through the portal into Eques and came back, and it did return them to their shapes, they'd still have green and aquamarine hair and wings. And the damage to their minds would remain. They'd be strangers in their own bodies, only identifying the wings and hair (maybe eyes) as their own.
I hope and sincerely think Jacob will be better off than Alex was. Alex came to a tragic end, along with six very close friends s/he loved very much. The sole survivor finally leaves this world presumably for good after cheating death so many times. Jacob still has his sister, which is more than "A" and WL would ever have. WL and the big "A" emerged in a world where the vast majority of all returnees would never see another person ever again as long as they lived, which is quite short for many. Most returnees who did encounter somebody else were amongst the minimally small crowd who came back minutes after they had vanished, days at the most. Those who got online before the internet went away for good, seeking recent non automated activity. Then when that went down, listening for broadcasts on the radio, or setting up a radio station and broadcasting accounted for most returnees who found others. The even more minimal crowd who discovered more like them who didn't use a radio did so by sheer dumb luck. Most would wander the earth alone for the rest of their lives till loneliness, suicide, hunger, thirst, exposure, or old age took them out, never to see another animal again. If only Jacob and Michelle knew what happened in another tale with similarities to their own. Would they envy their plight over in LOPE? I wouldn't wager. They still have each other. Neither WL nor "A" would see their families or home ever again. These two haven't been permanently stripped away from their old bodies and all the equipment they came with. In fact, they've still got it. WL and "A" lost theirs. It's never made clear what WL originally had, but she doesn't have it now.
Jacob, Jacob. You should know smells don't translate through visual mediums like television unless verbally stated. Like you don't know pollution till you've had to breathe it. You don't know China until you take some factory smoke and exhaust fumes. He's lucky he didn't get reduced to the likeness of a twelve year old boy. He still got a physically mature, adult form. Others like Christine and Elijah in similar stories weren't so fortunate, and got shrunk to childlike forms with adult minds, physically preteen at oldest.
Wait... Twilight ran away to the Temple, and got home through there rather than through their own mirror? And she got through without opening the door with the code? Does that mean she did just teleport past it, and that Jacob could have done the same if he'd thought of it?
That's pretty depressing. Danni could have been safe.
I'm sensing an ending nearby
7602548 Eh, if yer God then either's just as easy. I mean, omnipotence and all... opens lots of options.
7605087 I'd do it, but my sense of humor is terrible.
There's still one question that won't leave my mind... How cool would it be for Danni to meet Toph from Last Airbender?