Chapter 9
“So if everyone here is really a pony, you must be a Unicorn.” Danielle seemed the least surprised that they weren’t alone, or at least the best at hiding her surprise. “Right?”
“Nope.” Harley leaned back in her chair. “Just because most of them are ponies doesn’t mean we all are. Not many of the other races came to Earth… and believe me, I’d kill for someone with some actual backbone for a partner on rescue missions… there are a few.”
“I’m surprised you aren’t back out already.” Jacob tried to keep the pain out of his voice and mostly succeeded. As nice as it was to see a few people he knew had made it up here, there was no escaping the much longer list of friends who hadn’t. Who had been taken by a group that was willing to kill people in the streets of his city without restraint. “Seems like the number of rescue-people out there helping took a big hit.”
In answer, Harley buried her face in her hands, moaning once with obvious frustration. “Sunset gave what’s left of the crew mandatory administrative leave. When I insisted I still be doing something, she put me with you three.” She looked up, then shrugged one shoulder. “The whole organization is still in shock from yesterday. Without enough ponies to spare for an official introduction, I’m your new advisor until I can go back onto assignment in… thirty damn days.”
“Oh, good.” Danielle pulled out a chair as Eric came back from the kitchen. “Does that mean you’ll stop telling us there isn’t enough time and answer our questions?”
“Yes,” she groaned. “Though I can’t answer everything, and I can’t guarantee you’ll like the answers. The rule most ponies don’t like is the one about the signs.” She gestured at the table, to a symbol printed onto the metal. “Twilight’s Cutie Mark… if you see it on a door, it means that area is forbidden. Whatever’s past there is too dangerous for you.”
“Same kinda deal: don’t use your own magic outside of class if you can avoid it. Flying around the halls, blasting magic around, all that kinda stuff… Whenever you can, save your strength for the classes. Your older selves will be grateful you did.”
“When can we go home?” Eric interrupted, his voice barely a squeak. “I have classes Monday. Jacob does too.”
Even Jacob could guess the answer to that, though he didn’t give it. Harley sighed. “See, this is what I was talking about with answers you didn’t like. You… kinda can’t leave yet. It’s part of the charter Sunset has to follow, from Celestia herself.” She said that last name with more disdain than respect, though she was talking too fast for Jacob to ask about it. “Not until you have learned enough about your own abilities and the dangers you face should you leave. There’s a sortof ‘coming of age’ thing we do here, not important now. It can take a long time, and most people still don’t go back.”
She folded her arms. “You saw the consequences first-hand. Your own government, and those of all its allies, are actively hunting you. If they find you, it’s jail for life. If they think your friends and family know anything about you, they might face the same treatment.”
Jacob wanted to ask how something so big could be happening without anyone knowing. Wanted to, except he could already guess the answer. “Will that ever change?”
She shrugged. “I’d say ask the princesses, but they predicted we’d already have strong diplomatic relations by now, sending thousands of pony teachers to Earth so you could incorporate magic into your way of life. You’d get magic, we could take some of your technology… Ponies hadn’t been that excited since Princess Luna came back.” She shrugged. “I guess I should give you the options. Everypony gets the same three choices, and even if you won’t have to decide for a long time it’s good to know so you can be thinking about them.”
They all watched, none daring to interrupt her. Jacob felt the stress of the day before return in force. He couldn’t go back to class. His family would think he was missing, or maybe a straight-up criminal. His whole life had been derailed. He almost wanted to scream, except he knew anger would only make things worse. A quick glance to the side was all it took to see that his friends looked similarly distraught.
“One, you already know. Once you learn what you can do enough that you aren’t going to hurt yourself, you go back into society and try to live again. We can’t really help you at that point, and we don’t hear from lots of those people again. Maybe they’re safe, maybe they aren’t… I dunno.”
“Option two, you stay here for training. Eventually you join rescue operations, or help us find the other ponies, or anything else we might be doing. Lots of positions need filling, and you natives tend to last longer than Equestrians.”
They were silent for a long time. Eventually, Danielle asked, “You said there were three.”
She nodded. “Come away, oh human child, with a fairy hand in hand. For this world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.”
“People do that?” Danielle asked.
“Many.” She sounded wistful. “It’s a dream for some, an escape for others. A few get bored and want to come back, but there’s such a waiting-list to use the mirror it might not happen for the next fifty years. That’s the key to understand if you want to go. Make sure you’re sure, because it’s the hardest decision to take back.”
“So if we stay…” Jacob started.
“No matter what you choose, you’ll be moved in with some other ponies. Living alone like this is the worst. There are classes for your individual talents, along with some stuff correcting all your misconceptions.” She lowered her voice to a mutter. “You’d think if they were going to make the effort to produce propaganda, they’d at least have got their facts right.” She looked up. “A month or so and you’ll be able to decide what path to take. Either more training, back down to Earth, or out to Equestria. Mist, iron, or silver. Take your pick.”
“What do you…” Eric hadn’t met her eyes yet, and he still didn’t. “How do powers work, exactly? I can’t do anything special.”
“That’s why you’re wearing white.” Even so, she seemed to be relaxing as they changed subject. “You guys were right about powers being restricted. At least from what I’ve seen, humans always hit the same range of abilities ponies have. The most common are the three you already know about: flying, magic, and strength. They’re mutually exclusive, there’s no way to decide or to switch between them. You just have to hope you’re happy with what you are, because it doesn’t change.”
She reached, tugging on Eric’s sleeve. “Every human on Earth can manifest abilities if they’re exposed to enough magic. When you’re ready, there’s a test you can take and you’ll know. Still, scrawny little kid like you, my money’s on feathers.” She folded her arms. “Go ahead and ask around: nopony can guess powers like Harley. It’s a talent of mine.”
“I’m short too,” Danielle argued. “But I can’t fly. That isn’t fair.”
Harley shrugged. “I’m the wrong one to complain to about things being fair, believe me. It wasn’t my decision to contact this damn colony, it wasn’t my decision to try to bring magic back, and it wasn’t my decision to start killing your own people.” She gestured vaguely up. “Sunset’s office is at the top of the biggest tower, can’t miss it. She takes complaints between noon and one PM on even-numbered Tuesdays.”
“We’ll need some time to think about what to do. Guess we’ll have that.” Jacob frowned. “How do you fit in?”
“Advisors mostly just answer your questions. Go to classes with you when I can, help you make an informed decision about where to go. Other advisors could tell you about Equestria, help you make up your mind about it. I don’t actually know much about Equestria, but I’ll do my best.”
She got up, stretching. “Anyway, I think we should start with a tour. You’re stuck up here, so you might as well get to know the place.”
That was what they did. It took a few hours to see the whole thing, and they weren’t rushing. Despite its remote location, “Castle Unity” seemed to have every amenity Jacob could think of. There were facilities to house about ten thousand, all off-grid and self sustaining. Not just what he saw on the surface, but a full dozen levels underground, of which their own living area was only one among many. Similarities to the architecture he remembered from the television show came through clearly, though they weren’t allowed to see most of the lower levels. Because they were “too damn tall.”
They did get to see the mirror room, albeit behind a layer of protective glass as thick as an aquarium tank. Jacob couldn’t help but imagine the gate room from SG1, it was hard to see anything else with so much circuitry and defenses all centered on the portal. It was bigger than he had expected, fifteen feet of worked metal and glass. As they watched, fresh produce appeared from glass that rippled like water, rolling along a conveyer waiting and into several receiving carts. He wondered if the apples had come from Sweet Apple Acres, but didn’t dare ask.
Of course, far more interesting than buildings and even magical gates were the other people. Unity was nowhere near its capacity, which made it feel a little like a school during summer break. Yet what people they did meet were almost universally friendly, men and women that were all generally on the younger side but not always. Hair and eye colors ranged the same spectrum as the show, though a significant majority had the “normal” shades he was used to. A handful had wings, though a stranger section still had horns. The growths looked like they had to hurt, no matter how cheerful the ones who had them acted. He wasn’t brave enough to ask about them, though he had no doubt they could serve for wands given the way their bearers could levitate objects. Though there were no crazy skintones or insane proportions, the Equestria Girls movies had been right about one other thing: the Cutie Mark symbols everyone wore on their clothing. Lots of people had them, even otherwise ordinary humans without wings or crazy hair or anything.
It was about this Jacob had to ask, no matter how embarrassing it was. He caught Harley alone in the hallway leading to their temporary living area, stopping her with a gentle touch on the shoulder. “Hey Harley, can I, uh… ask you something?”
“Yeah.” She folded her arms. “If it’s to confess your love, I should warn you—”
Jacob shoved her, glaring. “Not funny. Actually, it’s…” He lowered his voice, blushing. “I think I might have a Cutie Mark.” He glanced down, where the strange pattern like a bright tattoo was covered by the jumpsuit. “Is that normal?”
“Really?” Despite what she had just said about love, her hands went straight for the zipper of his jumpsuit. Jacob was too fast, and was out of her reach.
“You’ll have to trust me, it’s there.”
“Well…” Harley folded her arms. “Guess I lied that you’d have to wait a month to choose. Getting a Cutie Mark is what makes you a legal adult in Equestria, so it’s what Sunset uses to gauge when a refugee is ready to decide what to do. You could leave tomorrow if you wanted.”
“I don’t actually know anything!” he insisted, his voice a harsh whisper. “And I don’t want to leave. Right now Eric and Danni are the only part of my old life I’ve got left. I know they’ll want to stay together as much as I do.”
She nodded. “I’ll get you an appointment with the quartermaster. You probably noticed how much ponies like their Cutie Marks.” Again she sounded bitter, though it didn’t seem like her feelings were for him.
“What are you Harley?”
She turned away, acting like she hadn’t heard the question. “I’ll see you all tomorrow for the first day of class. We’ll transfer your quarters in with another group after that… try not to burn the place down tonight.”
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Yay! You got featured!
Poor Harley. She needs a friend.
Harley is a changeling.
The evidence is stacking up.
Ah right, that "strange sensation".
All right then, magic school time. And more Sunset!
I really want to see Government's perspective.
And ponies want to bring magic to the Earth? Looks like governments don't like the idea. Why governments? I guess that USA wasn't the one who started the witchhunt. I think we should take a careful look at the UN...
Colony is an interesting word there, as is bringing magic back. Was Earth at some time in the past colonised from Equestria? How much of mythological references to unicorns or pegasus or gryphons or dragons or changelings were originally based in fact?
7432649 She knows how her people are depicted in the show. That'd be why she doesn't want to tell them: they'd freak out.
Knew it. Harley's got some chitin somewhere...
And I can't blame Jacob one bit. Dude knows he's going to need to be a rock for a while.
7432718
A little bird tells me you won't have to wait too long for it.
I have to admit to not knowing what this means. Is everyone around him blonde?
7433956
You caught a typo! That should've said "normal"
Yep. Harley is a Changeling. GO TEAM CHANGELING! AWWWWWWW YEEEEEAAAAAAA!
Me thinks Equestria bit off more than they could chew with Earth. No idea why they thought pouring magic into a magic-less society, no matter how gradual they'd do it, was a good idea. Maybe they just didn't know how different humanity's disposition is compared to that of a subdued Equestrian? I'd hate to think of the Celestial sisters as incompetent. I generally think thousands of years would give them a good head on their shoulders, but this seems like it would have been a bad idea from the get go. Why would they go through with it?
Questions, questions.
...
wut?
Wut?
WUT!?!?
I'm so confused and amazed and my mind is twisted in a knot and I love it
7432649
I'm only just now realizing that apparently that wasn't common knowledge. It was implied very heavily when her character was first introduced, and she's made some rather overt comments in the interim.
Bullshit. You queue up, go through the mirror, set up a conveyor belt on the other side so there's not a traffic problem, and walk through.
7638229
Paperwork, colliding with provisions, high-priority movement between dimensions, maybe high-mana requirements for a function...? Any of that occured to you? :3
Wait, when did he sprout a cutie mark?
Oh come on! Hand in your official Brony badge, Jacob, 'cause if you still have to ask at this point, you clearly aren't a real brony at all. It was obvious right from her introduction. Do you even remember chapter 3?
• Predominantly black colour scheme
• Fishnet stockings (which are basically more holes than stocking)
• Drives a VW Beetle
• Amazing, quick-change disguise artist
Clearly she must be a Diamond Dog.
I guarantee you we're probably locking up FSB officers in rooms full of Equestrians and MLP right now lol
You know SOMEONE actually took those words to heart and waited for one of those magical Tuesdays
7945502
SILENT REEING
that HAS to be a quote, but i don't get the reference...
10941509
Generic pointer towards 'the fae' or fairies.
Here are two links that give you the right feel.
Link 1
Link 2
It's a sort of an aesthetic being pointed to here, not a specific reference as far as I know.