Chapter 46 - Stark Realizations
Knowing how late it was in Equestria relative to local Earth time, Twilight wanted to keep the audience limited to those who would be of immediate assistance in assessing her plan. Instead, Pinkie Pie was still awake and insisted on rousing the others. Only Rainbow Dash was absent, as she was still in the Griffon Kingdom trying to track down Derpy's biological parents.
"No offense, sugarcube, but ya look like ya were bucked ta Tartarus and back," said Applejack.
"I feel that way," said Twilight. "And I am terribly sorry everypony for the lateness of the hour, but this is very important, and time is something I don't have a lot of." She levitated Sunset's scroll from her saddlebags and presented it to Sunburst.
Sunburst took the scroll in his magic, adjusting his glasses. "What is this?"
"An incomplete spell for a permanent magical conduit between Equestria and Earth in the form of a magic mirror."
Sunburst's mouth dropped open as he read the spell. "Thaumic entanglement? That's actually possible??"
"Please assume that it is, as that represents our only hope to stop this."
Cadance stepped forward. "Auntie mentioned you needed the Crystal Empire for your plans."
"Yes, but I need Sunburst to tell me if my plan is even feasible," said Twilight.
Sunburst blinked in surprise and looked up. "Twilight, this spell is beyond my knowledge."
"I've got that spell covered," said Twilight. "Or at least I hope I do. What I need is your knowledge of the crystal ponies. The first part of the plan is relatively easy. I want the Equestria end of the conduit built near the Crystal Heart. Then I want the crystal ponies to pour every last bit of hope into the Heart. I'll then start casting the transformation counterspell into it as well."
"I think I see where this is going," said Cadance. "You then want me to redirect the Heart's power through the conduit and to Earth."
"Yes." Twilight turned to Sunburst. "Will it work?"
"W-well, as far as shaping the energy and projecting it, yes," said Sunburst. "I found an account in the archives recently of the Heart being used to create directed beams of energy to ward off a dragon attack some centuries before Sombra's conquest. The spell scroll is still intact."
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
Sunburst lowered Sunset's spell scroll. "But all that will do is give you a single, directed beam. If I'm understanding the situation as Princess Celestia explained it, you need a wide distribution."
"Can I help with that?" said Shining Armor. "Can you link it somehow into a shield spell so I can spread it over a wide area?"
Twilight shook her head. "No, that would cover only the area in the immediate vicinity of the portal. This is an entire world we're talking about. Even the nation that's hardest hit is several times bigger than Equestria."
"Tarnation!" Applejack exclaimed. "An' I thought Manehattan was pretty far. That don't hold a candle ta this!"
"The sheer scale is the problem I've been facing from day one," said Twilight. "But I have an idea, and that's what I need Sunburst for."
"I'll do anything I can, of course," said Sunburst.
Twilight stepped up to him. "I know crystal ponies can take magic generated from positive emotions and focus it in one place. Can the opposite be done? Can magic be projected into crystal ponies and have it spread out from there?"
Sunburst's eyes widened "I-I don't know. I've never heard of such a thing being done before." He pushed his glasses up his muzzle with a hoof. "Moreover, how would you so perfectly split the beam to precisely target each crystal pony?"
"Wait a moment," said Rarity. "Perhaps I am not as knowledgeable in magic as you are, Twilight, but am I to assume that some of the natives are becoming crystal ponies?"
"Yes," said Twilight. "Not very many, but they're more or less evenly distributed."
"But were crystal ponies around when Sunset conceived of her spell?"
"No, they were not," said Luna. "A mistake on Sunset's part, perhaps?"
"That's what I had initially thought," said Twilight.
"I am not as versed as you concerning Sunset's transformation spell," said Sunburst. "But I can tell you it is virtually impossible to have crystal ponies by accident. Yes, they share a root genetic and even magical stock with earth ponies, but their abilities could not come about by chance. Her spell would have to be crafted specifically to create them as assuredly as it would for the other pony tribes."
"That's what I'm coming to believe as well, which is why I am sure this will work."
"I'm sorry, I don't follow," said Sunburst.
"But I believe I do," said Celestia. "Twilight, you suspect Triss is behind the appearance of crystal ponies, don't you?"
"Triss?" asked Fluttershy. "Who's that?"
"An entity in the other universe similar to an alicorn," Twilight explained. "I don't have time to go into much more explanation than that right now, but she was instrumental in helping Star Singer see why Sunset's plans are catastrophic to this species in the future. She appears to have an interest in seeing this resolved, so I strongly suspect she can assist at her end in seeing that these plans will work."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "I don't need no learnin' in high magic ta know when I hear suspicion in yer voice."
Twilight frowned. "Because I am suspicious. Something doesn't add up."
"I don't get it," said Pinkie. "Triss sounds like a good friend if she's already helped and wants to help more."
"I understand," said Celestia. "This goes back to our discussion about alicorn abilities."
"Exactly," said Twilight. "If she could break her normal limits with such precision and modify Sunset's transformation spell, then why didn't she just stop Sunset from the start? Why let her get this far and only then seek to intervene again?"
"She may have taken a great deal of time, focus, and energy to use her power in such a controlled manner," said Celestia. "Luna and I could have likely done the same thing, but we felt the risk was not worth it."
"You and Luna have a universe of limited size in which to experiment, but the other universe is unimaginably vast. There were likely locations where she could safely experiment. And she's been around and completely alone for billions of years."
Fluttershy gasped. "B-billions??"
"And she's been all alone all this time?" Pinkie cried. "That's horrible! Who helped her celebrate her birthdays? She's got billions of them to catch up on now! Is there even that much cake in the universe? The metaverse?"
"My point is this," said Twilight. "If she really is capable of such power, and she could have stopped Sunset herself, then she may have a hidden agenda. I don't like going forward with this plan until I know what it is. Either that, or we figure out a way to do the last part of this operation without her."
"I'll start working on this at once!" Sunburst declared. "Perhaps there is a way to make the magic stream have an affinity for crystal ponies and seek them out. How much time do I have?"
"Two days," said Twilight.
A collective gasp went up among Twilight's friends. "Sweet bouncin' apples, that ain't a lotta time!" exclaimed Applejack.
"Tell me about it."
"I have get back to the Crystal Empire at once!" Sunburst said.
"We all do," said Shining Armor. "We need to start preparing as soon as possible."
"We have to explain to our subjects what we need of them," said Cadance.
"Just wait an apple-buckin' minute." Applejack stepped up to Twilight. "Twi, yer expectin' ta finish Sunset's spell, build a magic mirror portal thingie, keep a buncha nervous natives from losin' their cool over this here disaster, an' deal with Sunset Shimmer. Ya already look like yer gonna drop."
"Don't you think I know that?!" Twilight exploded. "I know I'm at my limit, but I have to keep pushing. I can't afford to let up!"
"When ya had to go through the portal without us, we understood that," said Applejack. "Ya didn't have much choice. Now ya do. We wanna help. There's got ta be something we can do."
Twilight wanted to protest that what she needed was a copy of herself, somepony with all the same knowledge and abilities. Celestia and Luna had the ability but not the knowledge. Starlight had the knowledge but not the ability. Yet she remembered the debates she had over the mental state of the transformed. The natives were ready to declare them mentally incompetent if they didn't start showing more signs of thinking on their own.
Twilight firmly believed they were not as "brainwashed" as the natives would think, that they were fully capable of breaking out the mold that Sunset had set for them. Whether they remained ponies or not, she believed they could and should choose their own destinies.
She glanced at her friends: an earth pony who didn't tend food crops; a unicorn who didn't practice advanced magic; a pegasus who didn't shape the weather; another earth pony who had a sister whose future no longer lay on the apple farm.
She looked back at Applejack. "Yes, you can help, all of you."
The next morning, Kevin had just finished his morning shower when the lights abruptly went out. A few seconds later, the emergency lights came on, and he heard a distant rushing noise. He hastily finished his morning ablutions and grabbed a cup of coffee before heading for the morning conference.
Kevin saw Sandra up ahead and jogged to catch up. "What happened?"
"You know as much as I do at this point," said Sandra. "Power went out, the diesel generators cut in when it didn't come back. There's no reports of storms, fallen trees, or damaged transformers."
"Has anyone seen Twilight yet?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if she slept in a bit this morning considering how exhausted she was last night."
They entered the conference room and found Anthony conferring with several agents as well as holding his cell phone to his ear. When he saw Kevin and Sandra and their inquisitive gazes, he said, "More fallout from ETS. Cascade power failure."
"How bad is it?" asked Kevin.
"Most of Colorado, parts of Wyoming, Nevada, and Idaho. A fault in a major power line caused a sudden back-flow of energy because there were insufficient staff at a key relay station."
Kevin sighed and rubbed his eyes as he sat down. "Great."
"Mr. Heller, I saw army soldiers unloading fuel at the generators a few days ago," said Sandra.
"Yes, you should have enough for a week," said Anthony. "The rest of the emergency zone is similarly supplied."
"I'm more worried about those outside the zone," said Kevin. "Right now, there's far more ETS there than here. The zone is almost a moot point."
"Other than it gives us a continued base of operations."
"Then I would say this is another argument in favor of releasing the transformed, as we're already going to be taxed to keep up with dwindling supplies."
"That decision is now in the hands of those much further up the chain," said Anthony. "And I do mean hands and not hooves. This decision will not be made on the basis of the wishes of the transformed."
A pop sounded outside, and the door suddenly glowed and burst open as Twilight applied her magic. Behind her, footsteps thundered towards her as her Secret Service contingent struggled to keep up. Twilight narrowed her eyes and slammed the door in her wake.
An agent opened the door and gave Twilight an exasperated look. "Miss Sparkle, please do not teleport from us again. We're assigned to you for a reason."
Twilight uttered a windy sigh. "Fine. I'm sorry. I'm a little on edge right now."
"Did you sleep okay, Twilight?" Kevin asked.
"Mostly. Thank you for asking." She approached a chair. "Mr. Heller, I overheard the last part of your comment in the hall. Not giving the transformed a voice in the decision is precisely the wrong thing to do."
"Twilight, perhaps you're not aware of the change in perception of the transformed," said Anthony.
Twilight hopped into the chair. "I'm perfectly aware of your perception of them, and I am taking it seriously. The only way to counter that perception and -- I will add -- make the prospects of changing them back easier is to help prove that they are capable of thinking for themselves."
"While I don't share Mr. Heller's black and white view of this," Sandra said cautiously. "I do agree there are definite mental changes that came with at least the transformation itself. We're still sorting out how the shared dream affected them."
"Then I ask that you see this as a way to counter that," said Twilight. "We can't counter the fact that being a pony feels natural. What we can counter is the idea that they have only one path to follow."
Kevin leaned forward. "If you have a plan, Twilight, I want to hear it."
"Why do we even need to entertain this idea?" Anthony said. "If we can simply change everyone back to human, this becomes a moot point. If I'm understanding how this morphic resonance works, once they change back, it will again be natural to be a human."
Twilight thumped a fore-hoof on the table. "Because I have no damn clue how long it will take before I can even think of changing them back! Even if I manage to cast the counterspell in two days and halt further spread of new ETS cases, I then have to deal with reversing those who are actively transforming. Only then can I start to think about changing the completely transformed back. Casting the counterspell is almost easy compared to that!"
"And if we just keep them from forming their pony society in the first place in the interim?"
"You're failing to understand a very basic point, Mr. Heller: you won't be able to keep them confined much longer. Not unless you want to risk harming them, and I'm sure you don't want that. Blame Sunset's vision if you want, but it's still the basic fact of the matter."
The more Twilight spoke, the more Kevin felt like she was a kindred spirit. She wasn't a physician, but she cared just as vociferously for many who were once his own patients. Had that been what had biased his perspective? He tried very hard to see it from Anthony's point of view. Kevin had to remind himself that the untransformed were being affected by this as much if not more than the transformed. Certainly the millions who woke up without electricity across multiple states would understand that.
"Is there any magical means to keep them in the shelters?" Anthony asked.
"The only way I can think of to do such a thing without forcefully confining them is to have Princess Luna give them a different vision, but I think this may make the matter worse. Where your kind is not used to the application of dream magic, we'd be substituting one spiritual figure for another."
"I would feel better about letting them go if you had time to talk to them as you suggested."
Twilight smiled. "Then I think you might like my idea: have my friends talk to them instead."
"Your friends?"
"In the magic lecture I gave, I mentioned how the pony tribes were specialized in what they could do," Twilight explained. "Yet I also said that it doesn't necessarily dictate what they should do. Yes, many earth ponies farm and many pegasi manage the weather. But some don't, and my friends are the embodiment of this. They can talk to your transformed humans and show them that while they may feel a need to come together for a greater good, it's not all they have to be."
"I'd like to voice support for this," said Kevin. "Mr. Heller, realize that Sunset's vision was based on the premise that the entire world population would transform. Thus they would have no choice but to live exactly as Sunset dictated. Yet if this is not the case, perhaps at least some of them could be made to realize they don't have to do it."
Anthony was quiet for a long moment. He finally leaned forward and laced his fingers together under his chin. "I think I need a clearer idea of just how difficult transforming people back would be, and that's regardless of cutie marks."
"Remember that the morphic resonance tells the body -- and indirectly, the mind -- what the creature is supposed to be," Twilight explained. "The transformation spell Sunset crafted examines both the genome and the psyche, and from that determines the best fit along with a set of other criteria to ensure a balance of the tribes. It then selects the proper resonance for that fit and begins the change." She looked around. "Are you all with me so far?"
A nodding of heads followed. Kevin stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"What this means is, in order to change a person back, a counter-transformation spell if you will must craft a new human resonance. I don't know how to do that yet. I could create a generic one, but then everyone winds up looking the same."
Kevin's eyebrows rose.
"This is not like dealing with a computer," said Twilight. "There is no convenient 'backup resonance' that I can just reload. How do I restore the original human form? How much of the original psyche is left? The mind likely does have memories of their human form, but with that being irrelevant information now, how accurate will it be? And if that fails, what then? Do we use recent photos as a cue? Descriptions from relatives? What about those who had serious questions and struggles with racial, cultural, sexual, or gender identity? How will that affect the reverse-transformation? What if we're off enough from their old form that now they have new priorities and drives? Do we consider them still 'brainwashed' but in a different way? How 'good' is 'good enough?'"
A long silence followed before Sandra asked, "Twilight, are you familiar with the concept of 'reverse engineering?'"
"Yes, I am."
"At the risk of sounding like I'm treating the human body as a machine, could that be done here? Work back from the selected pony form to the original human form?"
"It could work as a start," said Twilight. "But where the original transformation made tweaks here and there to achieve balance in the tribes as a whole, it would require more information. I am not saying it's impossible. I'm just trying to make you understand the huge undertaking this is. I could get lucky and it will take me days. More likely weeks. Or it could be so difficult, it would take months. Realize that it took years for Sunset to perfect her transformation spell in the first place."
Kevin turned to Anthony. "Yesterday you said it would be easier if we just didn't have to worry about having a pony society in our midst. I don't think you have that option. Perhaps in the long term, if Twilight is successful at changing people back, all will be well and good, but we have a short term problem that I feel is being swept under the rug."
Anthony leaned back in his seat and wiped his face with his hand. "I have to be honest with you. I feel the President backed himself into a corner with his loud claims that the transformed are still considered American citizens."
"But it's a correct statement."
"Yes, but there is such a thing as the right time and place," said Anthony in a sour voice. "I'm also concerned about taking any action that could possibly lead to cutie marks."
"Yes, it's a risk," said Twilight. "No matter what you choose to do, you have risks. I personally told Sarah Tanner to seek her own destiny. I could very well have consigned her to be a pony forever if she gains a cutie mark. Your species is fond of term 'the bottom line.' Well, here it is, Mr. Heller: you're very likely going to have a permanent pony population on this world, the only question now is how big will it be. You can either have one slavishly following Sunset's vision, or one that recognizes the need to remain integrated in your society. Which will it be?"
Kevin saw the way Twilight's eyes shimmered despite the firmness of her voice and stance. He could sympathize with her situation. He often lamented over that moment when he received the bad news about his wife's condition, or the feelings he had when having to be the bearer of that sort of news. Nothing could ever make it go over easier.
"All right," Anthony said with a sigh. "I'll take this further up the chain. In the meanwhile, I need to change the subject. Within the hour, we will be starting Operation Frozen Sunset."
"The thaumic pulse, you mean?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. We need to know what to expect when the counterspell is cast."
"Well, I can try to describe that, but why do you need to know now?"
"Because the President has decided to use the EAS system activation to deliver an actual Emergency Action Notification message. He wants to inform people that an effort will be made to stop further spread of ETS."
"The most noticeable effect will be light," said Twilight. "Arcing beams of light as the spell seeks out crystal ponies, and expanding shells of light from where the spell will spread out from them. And if the President is going to address the nation, he should tell people not to be afraid of the transformed. In fact, the closer they are to fully or partially transformed people, the better. More people will be covered by the counterspell that way."
"That last part will be a tall order, but I'll relay your recommendation," said Anthony as he stood. "I need to attend to the final preparations for the operation."
Kevin watched him go, and he heard a long sigh from Twilight of mixed relief and frustration. He turned towards her to find her gaze downcast, her ears drooping slightly. "You're doing your best, Twilight. It's all anyone can expect."
Twilight raised her glistening gaze to Kevin. "I just want what's best for everyone. I hate the position Sunset has put me in. I can't offer the solutions that your species wants. I can't wave my hoof and make the problem go away." She looked over to Sandra. "And there's yet another problem that Sandra made me aware of earlier this morning."
Kevin glanced from Twilight to Sandra. "Oh?"
Sandra turned to him. "If we allow the transformed to come together as a group outside the shelters, they'll likely have the means for more privacy. Privacy could lead to sex, sex could lead to pregnancy."
Kevin stared at Sandra as if she had grown a third eye, but it was more directed at himself for not seeing something as plain as that. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. "Dammit."
"That will mean unborn foals who have no direct connection to being human," said Twilight. "What can of worms will that open? The best path to a reverse-transformation spell is to seek what remains of the human psyche and build on that. What if I can't come up with that for the unborn? What then?"
Kevin did not even want to think about that.
Celestia waited until the doors at the end of the throne room had closed behind the noblepony before she let out a long sigh and let her head and ears droop. She wished she could spend the recess taking a nap, but with as tired as she was, she'd likely sleep right through the rest of Day Court.
The unexpected arrival of Cadance and Shining Armor from the week before had already started rumors flying in Canterlot, and the excitement from the night before had been noticed by a now watchful nobility. Several of their ilk had already begun demanding answers as to what was going on.
Fortunately, none of them had a clue as to the reality of the situation. Most of their worries lay with some new threat to Equestria itself. A rumor began that Discord was out of control again, not at all helped by the draconequus deciding to have some fun with the situation by playing practical jokes on the nobles while appearing in a black cloak and thin mustache and saying simply "soon" before uttering diabolical laughter and vanishing.
Had the situation been any different, Celestia would have found Discord's antics amusing.
She did not intend to keep the nobility in the dark forever; contact with another world demanded the nobility be informed. Yet where it was tied into the memory suppression spell -- which was still in force until the immediate crisis was resolved -- she needed time to plan how to explain everything.
She looked up at the sound of hoofsteps and saw her assistant Tight Schedule approaching, the ever-present ledger held in her magic. "Princess, you said you wanted me to alert you when certain ponies requested an audience with you."
Celestia rose from her cushion and turned more fully towards Tight. "Yes, I did. What name has come up?"
Tight adjusted her glasses as she looked at the ledger. "Sunset Glow."
Celestia sighed. "If the day could not get any worse."
The last time she had contact with Sunset's mother was when she had to break the news that Sunset Shimmer was alive. Yet it had not been good enough just to tell her that. Celestia had to go into at least some detail of what Sunset was doing. It had not gone over well, and it had ended with Glow screaming at Celestia to get out of her house.
"It just might," said Tight. "She's not alone."
"If her husband or son is with her, they are welcome to see me as well."
"No." Tight lowered the ledger. "Prince Blueblood."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Both Sunset Glow and Prince Blueblood have petitioned to see you jointly."
Celestia took a deep breath. Canterlot law allowed a subject to employ a noblepony as an advocate, lawyer, or general counsel, but the nobility took up such causes only if there was something in it for them. "Did they say what this was about?"
Tight frowned. "Yes, but where Blueblood was doing all the talking, he took fifteen minutes to get his point across, by which point my brain had shut down. I can sum it up with a name: Sunset Shimmer."
Celestia could have guessed. "Very well." She returned to her cushion and sat. "Send them in."
Tight raised an eyebrow. "Now? You don't want to wait until the end of recess?"
"The sooner we get this done, the better. Please do as I say."
Tight rolled her eyes. "Fine. Hope you have more brain cells in play after listening to him than I did."
Tight cantered off, and in the ensuing silence, Celestia could hear her own heart pounding. Over a thousand years ago, she and her sister had faced off against Sombra, and she had not felt this anxious.
When the doors to the throne room glowed, Celestia held her head up high and steeled herself. The doors swung open, and two ponies entered.
Celestia tried not to let her gaze linger on Sunset Glow, for it only made the pain worse. All she could do was remember a better time, when Glow was always smiling, knowing full well that her daughter was happy and successful. That had been irrevocably destroyed several times over.
Glow's eyes were bloodshot, but whether from crying or lack of sleep, Celestia had no idea. Most likely a combination of both. Blueblood held himself in his typical regal stance, his jewelry polished to a shine that would blind most ponies had a shaft of sunlight hit him.
Glow's eyes caught those of Celestia and narrowed slightly even as they shimmered. Celestia saw anger that had no outlet, and grief that had no end.
Blueblood came to a stop. Having been distracted by her eye contact with Celestia, Glow stopped only when Blueblood pointedly cleared his throat.
"Sunset Glow," said Celestia in a cordial voice. "Prince Blueblood. I am at your disposal."
"Princess Celestia," said Blueblood in a voice both haughty and crisp. "We will get right to the point."
Celestia quelled the urge to respond, "That would be a first for you."
"We are being told that both you, Princess Celestia -- Diarch of the Equestrian Crown -- and Princess Twilight Sparkle -- Bearer of the Element of Magic and Princess of Friendship -- have accused a citizen of Equestria of a heinous crime which amounts to -- despite all attempts to dance around it -- genocide. We are also to understand that said suspect -- Sunset Shimmer --"
Glow shivered and swallowed hard, her eyes glistening.
"-- is currently in a foreign land and is thus unable to defend herself against such charges that may be no more than scurrilous and shameful lies. We demand that she be returned to Equestria so she may properly defend herself against her alleged crimes or, more likely, expose them for the terrible libel that the are."
Any hope that Blueblood might indeed be Discord in disguise like last time were dashed in those few seconds. Discord would never have gotten halfway through such pomp without bursting out laughing.
Yet this was no laughing matter, and Celestia was at the limit of her tolerance.
"Prince Blueblood," said Celestia in a voice of forced calm. "Do you even have the slightest idea what is really going on?"
"Perhaps I would know more, Your Highness, were I able to remember it."
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"
"I have been informed that many of the nobility -- nay, the entirety of Equestria and beyond -- are under the influence of a spell that is interfering with their memories--"
"Of events twenty years ago," said Celestia. "I seem to recall you were still a foal back then."
"That is beside the point!" Blueblood declared. "The point is, subterfuge is in play here, and that quite muddies the waters. Surely you cannot let a crime continue to be held against a pony in her absence, one who I am told was an outstanding member of the community? Surely she deserves the right to face her accusers in accordance with Equestrian law, law which you yourself have written."
Celestia risked a glance at Glow. Glow kept the same hard face she had when she entered, as if she were intent on wearing it like a mask. She must have vented herself to Blueblood already, which would be the only reason she was letting him be her mouthpiece.
"At the moment, Sunset Shimmer is beyond my ability to recall," said Celestia.
"And why is that, Princess, if I may ask?"
Celestia had every right to refuse to answer. Yet now a crack had appeared in Glow's mask. This should be a conversation between Celestia and Glow, not Blueblood. "At the moment, Sunset is being held by the authorities of the foreign land."
Glow's eyes widened. "Y-you never told me that!"
Blueblood thrust a fore-hoof out. "Quiet, please. We discussed this possibility."
Glow glanced at Blueblood and subsided.
Celestia clenched her teeth briefly. They were talking about the life of a pony, and all this protocol made it sound so trivial. "This is a very recent development. I had heard this only last night. There has not been time to disseminate the information."
Prince Blueblood nodded. "Understood, Princess. Of course, you will insist she be extradited to Equestria at once."
Celestia had been informed by her sister of Twilight's reluctance to make such a decision. Celestia and Luna had it within their rights as the Diarchy to take up this responsibility, but Twilight understood the situation far more than they. Yet she could not state that Glow's own granddaughter was going to decide her daughter's fate.
"The situation is complicated, Prince Blueblood," said Celestia. "There are the wishes of the foreign government to consider."
"Yet can we be sure she would get a fair hearing, Your Highness?" said Blueblood. "What do we really know of these foreigners? Can we trust them to get at the truth?"
"Prince Blueblood," said Celestia in a curt voice. "If a pony willfully and knowingly committed a crime in the Griffon Kingdoms, or in Zebrica, or any other nation in the world, I would fully expect and support that pony being tried for that crime under the laws which were broken."
"But the nations of this world are a known quantity! Who knows what sort of barbarous practices may be in play in this foreign land?"
Celestia almost visibly bristled. "You can rest assured that Princess Twilight is acting as our ambassador to this land, and she is on top of the situation."
Glow's eyes glistened, and she said in a choked voice, "Sh-she just can't turn over her own blood to--!"
Blueblood thrust out a hoof again. "Let me do the talking."
Glow snapped her mouth shut and trembled.
Celestia narrowed her eyes at Blueblood. Did he not clearly see that this was not what Glow needed? Did he even truly care about her predicament?
"Princess Celestia," said Blueblood in a low, serious voice. "While I greatly respect and admire Princess Twilight, I feel I must ask: is she taking into account the distinct lack of magic in this other land?"
"And of what relevance is this?"
"It is extremely relevant, Your Highness. This world has magic. All other nations understand how it works. Our society and our laws are built around them. I am given to understand that the other world does not have magic. Can they be a fair judge in that case? Would it not be better to hear her case here in Equestria?"
Celestia glanced at Glow. Her mask was coming undone. Either she was reconsidering, or Blueblood was going off on a tangent. "Prince Blueblood, taking something that does not belong to them is called stealing, and that would be a crime regardless of whether magic is in play or not. This is no different."
"And yet, a pony who steals because they feel they have no choice can be granted leniency," said Blueblood.
"You cannot equate such a thing with what Sunset has done!"
"As you yourself have just done, Princess?"
Celestia bolted from her cushion, and Glow whimpered and backed away. Celestia marched up to Blueblood. "Enough. This is a smokescreen. What is it you really want?"
Blueblood hesitated. He glanced at Glow, and for the first time since he had arrived displayed at least a faint modicum of sympathy. "Sunset Shimmer is at the forefront of my mind. Not only is she being accused of a heinous crime under unknown circumstances, but she is at the center of a great mystery."
"I have every intention of revealing all, Prince Blueblood, but only when I feel the time is right. We are embroiled in an attempt to fix the damage that has been done, and we do not have time for distractions."
"Perhaps I can be persuaded to go along with this continued ruse if you agree to bring Sunset Shimmer to Equestria at least long enough to answer some questions about her actions and motivations and take certain steps to ensure timely resolution of the matter. We need to hear from her own lips what--"
Celestia's patience was holding by a thread. "I beg your pardon? 'Go along with the continued ruse?' 'Take certain steps?'"
"By ruse I mean I will not share what I know with my fellow nobles. Your secrets will remain safe. As for those additional steps, well ..." Blueblood smiled. "I would not at all be averse to being named head of the committee investigating Sunset's alleged crimes, since I am sure the nobility will want a more impartial--"
The thread snapped.
"WE WILL NOT TAKE A COURSE OF ACTION BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN BULLIED INTO IT!" Celestia bellowed, the floor shaking with the full might of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
Prince Blueblood's pupils shrank to near pinpricks as he backed up a step. "I-I-I didn't mean it that way, Your Highness, I j-just--"
"THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT THOU MEANT. THOU SHALT TAKE THY PETTY THREATS AND REMOVE THYSELF FROM OUR PRESENCE AT ONCE!"
Blueblood whimpered and took off at full gallop. Celestia's horn glowed, and the door slammed behind him in his wake.
Celestia took a deep breath and let it go. She looked down and saw Glow with her head lowered to the floor, her forelegs covering it, quivering from hoof to tail. In a soft, calm voice, Celestia said, "Sunset Glow, please, look up."
Slowly, Glow lowered her fore-hooves. She swallowed hard and raised her head but remained seated on her haunches. She lifted a tear-stained face to Celestia.
"How much of what Prince Blueblood said were really your words?"
Glow wiped her eyes with the back of a hoof and glanced towards the door. "M-most of it," she said in a low voice. "Not the stuff about getting you to reveal everything else you know or him being head of some committee. That was his idea."
"But you went along with it."
Glow let out a ragged breath. "He seemed to care. He acted like he agreed with me."
"He likely did," said Celestia. "He can be obnoxious on occasion, but he's not as bad as some ponies paint him. I was more upset that he had taken advantage of the situation to further his own agenda."
Glow sniffled and said nothing, her gaze averted.
Celestia stepped up to her. "You don't need him to talk to me."
"I didn't know whether I could face you," Glow said in a halting voice. "I didn't know whether I could get myself to say all that without just breaking down into either tears or more screaming, and then I'd sound like a mad pony."
Celestia sat on her haunches before Glow, paused, then settled down on her belly like she did so many times with Twilight when she was upset over something during those first few weeks as her student. "I know you feel a lot of this is my fault--"
Glow hesitated, her face betraying surprise at Celestia's gesture. She finally shook her head. "I don't know what to think anymore. It ... i-it was actually easier when we thought Sunny was dead. We could convince ourselves of what the truth was, and nopony would be able to tell us anything to the contrary." She swallowed hard. "Maybe we could still do that if anypony other than Twilight was dealing with this."
"Twilight has an enormous responsibility on her hooves," said Celestia. "And I fear it is tearing her apart as much as it is you."
Glow's lower lip quivered. "She can't turn Sunset over to them. She just can't!"
"Sunset Glow--"
"Everything Blueblood said was true!" Glow cried. "What if she won't be treated fairly over there? What if they don't understand what she was trying to do? What if they just plain hate her and don't care about the facts?!"
Celestia uttered a heartfelt sigh. "I feel I must make something very clear to you. If your daughter were brought back to Equestria, she would still face justice."
Glow's eyes shimmered as she stared at Celestia, and she trembled again.
"What she has done is wrong," said Celestia. "I would not let this go unpunished any more than the natives of that world would."
"But here we'll have a chance to talk to her! We can ask her what she was thinking when she did this! We can ... w-we ..."
"We?"
"I want to know why!" Glow wailed, tears flowing down her face. "Why did she do this?! She had everything! She was wanting for nothing! She had all the love and support a mare could have ever wanted, and she ruined everything for herself and her family!"
Glow collapsed onto her belly, giving vent to the real feelings behind her grief. Celestia's heart lurched, her own eyes threatening to tear. She tried to tell herself that this was a good thing, that Sunset Glow had finally come to accept that Sunset Shimmer was solely responsible for her own actions, but it did nothing to assuage the grief now.
Celestia lay down next to the grieving Glow and wrapped a wing around her. Instead of pulling away as Celestia feared she might, Glow instead pressed against Celestia's side, tears soaking into Celestia's fur.
"I-I just want to know why," Glow whimpered. "I want to understand. I want her to understand. I want her to understand what she did wrong. What's the point of justice if she doesn't understand what she's being punished for?"
"Twilight wishes the same thing," said Celestia in a slightly quavering voice. "It disturbs her as well that Sunset does not understand."
Glow squeezed her eyes shut. "There has to be a way, Princess. Even if she can't be brought back to Equestria one more time, there has to be a way."
Celestia thought back to the conversation she had with Twilight concerning the alicorn-like creature named Triss, and the way the creature contacted Star Singer to explain her vision. This in turn reminded her of when Twilight entered the ethereal realm just prior to her Ascension.
"Sunset Glow," said Celestia. "I cannot promise you anything, but ... I may have an idea."
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Well things are beginning to spiral out of control for Celestia. She really needs to inform more ponies of what is going on and hopefully inform some of the other countries about the basics of the situation.
...crap, I hadn't thought of that. That's scary as all hell.
Actually, that puts into question the 'human connection' with that one baby still in the womb that was transformed along with the mother. Does the baby there have it or not?
...goddamnit Sunset. This is all your fault.
And as for Blueblood and Glow, I'm sorry, but Sunset's trial has to be held on Earth, lest Celestia risk permamently damaging future human-pony relationships. I don't see why she can't come over to Earth to see her daughter for herself though. I'm fairly certain that Glow would be allowed at least that small mercy.
As for Blueblood, shove off.
8361423 Informing everyone before everything's settled on Earth sounds like a whole other can of worms, though. The griffons will probably be absolutely pissed if they learn about Derpy and demand to put Sunset on trial according to their own laws.
As for the ponies... Even if they get past the massive problem of proving that Sunset's responsible for the whole mess, a significant portion of the population might actually support Sunset's vision if they learnt of it. Especially the nobles. Sunset can't be the only pony supremacist out there.
Holy throne... This just got out of hand....
Remind me, why they have only two days? Now they can get as many magic gems to enchant as they want. Or do antennaes themselves will fry up from overcharge from pulse or something.
Though it's understandable if you account other countries beyond the reach of pulse/noise.
8361450
If the circumstances eventually arise that demand a treaty between Equestria and Earth (specifically the U.S. at least at first) before the crisis is resolved like if the nobles might demand a formal treaty or they won't support continued efforts to help humanity on off the conditions of the treaty might be to return Sunset to Equestria and since the human just can't afford to lose Equestria's help they would have no choice but to agree, while this might strain Earth-Equestria relations in the future it is a very possible scenario depending on just how much actual power the nobles have.
8361645
They want to stop the spread of ETS as soon as possible and thus have given themselves a two day deadline.
I have not read chapter 47 , but I guess....
Maybe Triss gave Sunset a vision so Sunset wanted to study that how do turn a creature to pony.
And let Sunset built a portal to the human universe.
So that the "magic devour" will come to Earth.
Then let Twilight aware the Thaumic from the "should be sealed portal" , and go to Earth to prevent all human transformed to ponies.
So that human and those " human transformed to ponies " can use technology with magic for destroying the "magic devour" .
The method is so cruel for Sunset and Twilight, but this will destroy the "magic devour" forever ..
=========
oh gosh, other reader had thought that..
Anthony continues his proud tradition of making every possible wrong decision out of paranoia. A true G-man through and through. "Let's crack down on the people who don't owe us anything and show absolutely no hostile intentions towards us, treat them like criminals or animals despite having done nothing wrong, deny any and all of their requests out of hand, and expect them to show perfect loyalty to us! What could POSSIBLY go wrong!?"
I think I know what Triss's deal is. She's doing the Princess Celestia thing: exerting the absolute minimum effort to ensure everyone else can fix the problem, then when it's all over she'll come striding out of a sunbeam saying, "Well done. I knew you could do it."
And then Twilight will deck her in the face because she's had enough of that shit from Celestia and refuses to take it from some extra-dimensional lizard queen.
I never liked Anthony Heller. Now I dislike him even more - the fact that he's this paranoid and willing to do something without the consent of those acted upon makes him almost no better than Sunset.
And that's not at all the point of justice. Otherwise we could never imprison sociopaths who are incapable of empathy. Justice is to protect everyone else from further criminal actions and to hold the guilty accountable for their illegal actions, NOT to make them feel sorry for it.
Stupid ponies.
I love you for this play on quantum entanglement.
The whole thing with it being extremely difficult to return the pony to the correct human form again is clever. Imagine millions of 'clones' if that goes wrong... clones that, thanks to the properties of the morphic field, all think this is their correct form. And on top of that the unborn, who never were human? Can they even be changed by a spell that is meant to change a human back? Worst case scenario: thousands of identical human women giving birth to pony foals. Nightmare stuff.
I love this story.
8361423
Wasn't the reason for the memory/history wiping spell so, 1, the Gryphons wouldn't go to war with Equestria, and 2, the knowledge of how to create a bioweapon similar to Sunset Shimmer's would be suppressed?
Those sound like very good reasons for keeping the spell active. But hey, if we want to see Celestia lose her cool and go all Day Breaker on the Gryphons because they want all out war and won't stop until she glasses the country in a fit of rage. And then there's the other lovely problem of some unicorn, or any magic using being, coming up with Equestrian Anthrax or weaponizing Cutie Pox. Sure, they might not use it but there's plenty of less than friendly beings out there that would, or threaten to if their demands are not met.
Um, because she's desperate? Maybe she predicted that someone from Equestria would be able to discover what she was up to, would be drawn to seek a way to stop her, and in that search, that pony may have found Triss. This may be her way to connect with Celestia, or at least with someone. She has said that she's dreadfully lonely.
F*ck yeah, President Apple Bloom saves the day again.
My fellow Americans, if you value your humanity, go hug a pony!
8421432
I approve.
And here we have the basis for another problem. If these transformed Humans decide they want to do their own thing, living outside the laws of the country, they will literally be invaders. They would be subversives of the Human and American way of life (I listed those in order of importance as I see it). They would be occupying owned land without any positive influence on the economy no import or export, nothing except sustaining themselves. As if there aren't enough people on welfare as it is, the situation will be effectively the same. They will be liflving somewhere for free while giving nothing in return.
I'm not saying this to be a dick for no reason. I'm trying to point out obvious problems.
As of yet, we have seen little to no evidence of there being ANYTHING of a human mind left in any of these Transformed people. We have seen plenty of evidence that each one can still be an individual, but there is a VAST difference between being an individual and being a Human. Furthermore, individuality is not what Sundet was going for when she created the spell/virus. She never once inquired what anybody wanted to do. She didn't want individuals, she wanted Ponies (or as close as she thought she could get) only to act as magic bolstering fucking batteries. She designed her spell to alter their minds to 'do the stereotypical job of the tribe' and left no room for individuality. That is part of the entire problem. She has been actively trying to erease their individuality into the perfect little drones she wanted.
her friends fit sunset's mold.
I beg to differ. Starlight has the ability, based on actual show canon.
9122805
Starlight has what ability, and where is it shown?
9214788
Timeline fuckery.
Wait, Twilight really doesn’t think that the transformed humans are really all that brainwashed? Really? From what has been in this story, they’re very different from Equestrian ponies. Some of their behaviors are completely different from what they were when they were human, they have powerful “instincts” telling them things that they shouldn’t know, and Sunset herself even said she made the transformation spell change certain aspects from even what a regular pony has.
Their minds are fucked up. Twilight’s making assumptions even though she has only met one of the transformed so far. A little pep talk isn’t going to change what’s been magically altered. If a speech is really all that’s going to happen for their minds, then this won’t seem like a happy ending for me. Their behaviors and thought processes will have been permanently altered against their will for the rest of their lives. There’s nothing happy about that.
They’ve been magically brainwashed, even without the vision, and the protagonists are like, “Oh, let’s just talk to them! All brainwashed people need is a lecture, right? That’ll solve everything!”
This could completely ruin what has otherwise been an amazing story for me.
10072871
There is a difference between brainwashing and instinctual change. Ponies in Equestria are communal and affectionate toward eachother. They just have already learned they CAN follow their own path. These ponies haven't yet done that.
10072871
I'd say it's a borderline case. Instincts, even empowered, are still instincts and can be beaten by the will. That part which kept them calm effectively run out as soon as transformation finished, so it isn't in place anymore and it haven't told them what they supposed to do. Just prevented panic which wouldn't be productive anyway. This could be considering as brainwashing into accepting their new body, but it doesn't control their decisions past that point. New knowledge how to use their bodies is close to brainwashing too, but it doesn't actually tell them what to do. Hell, I'd like to have a tech which can download new skills directly in my brain. The only instance close to mass brainwashing is that vision and even that was done in form of a dialog to convince everyone rather than force them into obedience. So, yes, this can be beaten with a dialog and good leadership since there's actually nothing that actively controls their behavior and forces onto specific path.
Well, there might be more to that vision if it persists. Perhaps it should be removed somehow, but it seems it can be combated with arguments.
Oh boy it's almost like sunset's spell did one of these things listed down below. (The textbook definitions of brainwashing, some obviously don't fit with sunsets ideals but i wanted to list more than the correct answer)
1)Intensive, forcible indoctrination, usually political or religious, aimed at destroying a person's basic convictions and attitudes and replacing them with an alternative set of fixed beliefs.
2)The application of a concentrated means of persuasion, such as an advertising campaign or repeated suggestion, in order to develop a specific belief or motivation.
3)The process of forcible indoctrination into a new set of attitudes and beliefs.
4)Forcible indoctrination into a new set of attitudes and beliefs.
Can people at least search up what it means to be brainwashed before arguing about it, if your mind on a physical/mental/magical level is changed without your consent or knowing. ITS LITERALLY BRAINWASHING.