Spectrum

by Sledge115

Act I ~ Chapter Two ~ Friends on the Other Side

Spectrum

The Team

TheIdiot
I’m not just a leader, I play one on TV.

Jed R
Spectrum Is Green

DoctorFluffy
“Your next words will be ‘is that a Jojo reference?!’”

VoxAdam
Sub Voce Sola Sidera

Sledge115
Until the End

The Void

RoyalPsycho
For His Majesty

TB3

Kizuna Tallis

ProudToBe

Chapter Two
Friends On The Other Side

* * * * *

“Did your eyes see the planet of our origin, the true home of our race? Was it beautiful? Was it covered by oceans? By sand? Were there nine moons above your head? Were there none?”
— Forra Gegen, Star Trek: Voyager, ‘Distant Origin’

“The Truth is out there.”
— Tagline to The X-Files

~ Canterlot, Equestria ~ First Day of the Month of Rophon, Year 3 of the Era Harmoniae ~

Even as she picked off the last crumbs from her dinner plate, Princess Celestia was hard at work, pondering the various crises, half-crises and not-quite-crises-yet that still remained for her to deal with today. It was, as one might imagine, a long list. Following the windfall of events that had visited Equestria in the last two years, almost to the day, since the Summer Sun Festival upon which Luna had made her return, the renewed negotiations with the Kirin of Ryuppon seemed nearly a welcome respite. It was a promise to simply move forward to new friendships, hopefully without trials and tribulations.

And, happily, with the Crystal Realm’s return and King Sombra’s permanent vanquishing, the ancient city-state’s reintegration into the greater realm was well underway. Here in Canterlot Palace, renovation on the throne room was making progress, plated by fresh crystals brought in from Princess Cadance’s new domain. It still gave Celestia a tiny glow in her heart to think that Cadance – having set for herself the task of ruling a faraway principality so many leagues from home, an island of green amidst the Frozen North – would not be shouldering her duty alone.

Who knew what may come of wise old Sint Erklass and the Reindeer tutoring an alicorn princess once more, in this new age...

‘After all,’ the Sun Princess thought as she finished reading a report on the negotiations, ‘Cadance is still young, and only newly come into her heritage. She deserves time enough to spread her wings gracefully.’

There was still much to be done beyond that, however. Discord had yet to report back from his mission, and though Fluttershy had vouched for his good intentions and Luna had, after a brief examination, agreed with her, he remained an unknown variable.

‘If he fails, we act accordingly,’ Celestia tried to reassure herself. ‘If he does not… we’re golden.’ She sighed. ‘Would that we weren't relying on his help.’

Her musings were interrupted by the ‘pop’ and sudden flash of green flame which heralded the inevitable arrival of a scroll. Witnessing it land on the table between her glass of rosewine and a half-eaten cinnamon bun, Celestia peered at it curiously. Twilight did not normally write at this hour of the day.

She picked up the letter and began reading.

Dear Princess Celestia,

A situation has arisen requiring your attention. A creature I’ve never encountered before, of unknown origin, has arrived in Ponyville. If we are to rely on the testimony of Lyra Heartstrings, who found it in the Everfree Forest, we believe it to be called a ‘human’. It is injured and currently recuperating in Ponyville Hospital, but we don't know how it came to be injured, or if it is hostile.

We have left the human under Lyra’s care until otherwise notified. Any advice on this matter that you could provide us would be most welcome, as we’re currently working in the dark.

Your faithful student,
~ Twilight Sparkle

P.S.
Research on the Alicorn Amulet, thus far inconclusive, is currently pending.

Celestia set down the letter, a frown worming its way onto her face.

She had met many different species over a thousand years, right from her younger days. Sometimes, excitingly, her little ponies had been the ones to meet unknown species, and bring back tales, which seemed to be just the case here. Yet, as with all first encounters, none knew what to expect. And something about the word ‘human’ rattled her subconscious...

Friend, or foe?

While it was vital to tread lightly, a matter of this importance warranted more than attention from her alone. The whole of the Royal Family deserved to be informed. Luna, no question. Cadance… It would be unfortunate to recall Cadance from the Crystal Realm at this time, but this was another of her duties. At least Shining Armor, being a Prince by marriage, had no such obligations and could stay to oversee matters in the North, though Celestia disliked the idea of pulling the newlyweds apart so soon. And last of all, even if it made Celestia want to groan, there was Prince Blueblood.

Not, mind, for the usual reasons when it came to young Astron.

Celestia remembered how, around a hundred years ago now, preceding his rather sad slip into that new-age fad mentality, Blueblood the Challenger had flown the Mother of Invention on a variety of different explorations. She’d felt proud of him then, and regretted how he’d gone to substitute one ‘fix’ for another. Bluebloods were always thrillseekers, adventurers or adrenaline junkies. The old rumour – the fable that every male of the Blueblood line had a gap in his heart which no love could fill – might not have been literal as far as she knew, but was an apt metaphor for what they made of themselves. Astron had been showing the tell-tale signs of restlessness since Cadance’s departure for the Frozen North. She wondered what it’d mean to bring him news that Lyra the oddball had, apparently, caught her Questing Beast.

Regardless, they would all be told in due time. Celestia’s first order of business, taking priority before all else, was to let Twilight know she’d been heard. This evening, of course, Luna was next. And it might be late morning before Blueblood roused himself.

She swiftly reached for her private quill-and-scroll reserve, and began drafting a reply.

* * * * *

Basking in the light of her rising Moon, Princess Luna drifted above Canterlot, watching the lights turn on one by one like twinkling stars.

As far as moonrises went, this one had gone off without much of a hitch. At least, that’s what Luna hoped. Goodness knew that she could go without seeing another hyperbolic opinion piece in the morning paper, bemoaning the Moon’s face being in the wrong time of the month.

Brushing away the the lingering annoyance and embarrassment, with mighty beats of her wings, Luna gracefully descended upon Canterlot Palace. She passed by her tower, continuing all the way down ‘til she reached the palace gardens.

Much felt unfamiliar to her, even now that a good two years had passed since six mares wielded Harmony and freed her from the darkness. Far, far too many years had gone by, and few of Canterlot’s sights outside of the Palace were familiar to her at all. But the calm of the palace garden had always been so welcoming to her, as it welcomed her now.

She landed with nary a sound. A whiff of the garden’s smells, all the flowers she’d planted, and the tranquil sounds of flowing water soothed her nerves. Here was a sanctuary that would have done her old mentor Lady Mistmane proud, and Luna could just picture that serene smile of hers so vividly.

Passing by telescopes and star-charts she had set up, past bamboo growing tall and firm, Luna sat herself down at her beautifully carved mahogany desk at the centre of it all, where a wicker basket of lavender had been placed besides her inkpot and quill.

She spared the lavender a longing look, as with one fluid motion she put on her gardening hat. The local florist Miss Blush had provided the bulbs, the castle gardener Mister Greenhooves had advised her, the new variety she’d cultivated had grown so lush and pleasant. Now it lay neatly in a gift basket, as lovely as they always had been for her.

Part of her wondered if she should have ruminated harder on which flowers to choose. Perhaps she ought to have given it further thought, figure out a more special flower.

But lavender had provided her with much comfort over long nights, over the centuries. As it would provide for the friend she had made one Autumn night.

‘Now, for the hardest part,’ Luna thought bemusedly, her lips curving into a tiny smile. ‘Come now, this is only a letter.’

Adjusting to the newer diction had been one thing. Putting it into writing would be another. The letter itself ought to be simple enough, all in all. But the mare she was addressing it to, if Celestia’s warnings were no mere sisterly tease, was one for fine writing.

She had just pressed her quill against the parchment when she heard a rather insistent squeak. Luna looked to her right, a tiny frown forming. There stood a little possum, his head tilted, standing with his paws held out.

“Not now, Tiberius,” said Luna. She paused. “I gave you crackers already, did I not?”

Her little companion squeaked again, pointing to his empty bag. Luna sighed, massaging her temples. “Tiberius, you know very well to eat it in moderation. But fine, fine–”

Her words were interrupted by the sound of the back door opening. She turned ‘round, just in time to meet the castle majordomo face to face. His red waistcoat and grey cravat looked as old as he. His thick bushy moustache, once brown, had turned as grey as his neatly-combed mane. But for a stallion of sixty he was still sprightly, holding his head high and with sharpness in the eyes behind his ever-present monocle.

“Your Highness,” he said, bowing down.

“Ah, Kibitz!” Luna exclaimed. “Just in time, excellent. Tiberius wants more crackers, could you fetch us some more?” She pointed to Tiberius, who looked up at Kibitz with pitiful little eyes.

Kibitz paused, halfway through opening his mouth, then raised an eyebrow.

“Er, I’ll put it on the list, Your Highness,” he said, neither looking nor sounding sure about it, “but we’ve got a situation. Your sister has called for you.”

Luna let out a weary sigh. It hadn’t been the first time, of course, but at the very least this time around she hadn’t learned about whatever mistakes she made with the Moon from the morning paper.

“Was it the Moon? I am rather out of practice, so please relay my apologies to my sister.” She tipped her hat. “Now, If you would excuse me, I shall tend to my flowers first, Mister Kibitz.”

But then Kibitz shook his head. “No, no, it has nothing to do with that, Your Highness. I believe it’s best if you meet with her directly. It’s… something to do with ‘Ponyville’.”

Luna paused, mid-turn, the word resonating in her head.

Ponyville. The town had not been an old one, yet its name still struck Luna. The little backwater had witnessed a few pivotal events in such short time, from whatever that business was with the Amulet to the seat of Discord’s brief reign.

It had also welcomed her return. Nightmare Night felt like only yesterday...

Tiberius let out a squeak, snapping Luna out of her stupor. She cleared her throat, nodding along.

“Ah. Ponyville, you say,” said Luna. She took off her hat, exchanging it for the crown she’d left on the table. She beckoned Tiberius to join her. He squeaked, dropping his empty bag, climbing up her to nestle snugly on her mane. With a fond little laugh, Luna turned back to Kibitz and nodded. “In that case, lead the way, Mister Kibitz.”

She spared the lavender and parchment one last glance. There would be another time, so much time. Neither Twilight Sparkle nor that library of hers would be going anywhere.

So, with renewed vigour and cheer, Luna followed Kibitz, Tiberius perched on her crown, and down the path they went, closing the door on the garden of the night.

~ Ponyville, Equestria ~

What had happened earlier, in the late hours of the afternoon, was as follows. Having been summoned by Lyra Heartstrings to investigate her mysterious encounter in the Everfree Forest, Twilight and friends had lost no time in ascertaining this was no mere whim of the odd little green unicorn’s. Faced with the unknown creature, lying passed-out and helpless, yet curiously daunting in its alien nature, a decision had to be made quickly.

For Twilight as for Lyra, and indeed for all seven of them, there was no question. Here lay a stranger in distress, who needed their help.

Between the three unicorns’ magic and the assistance of one strong pegasus and earthpony each, without even so much as makeshift stretcher, moving the human had proven scarcely a problem, careful though they had to be not to unbalance it. Even Fluttershy was swift to scout the Forest for any potential waylaying predators, of which fortunately, there were none.

The true challenge had been how to get the human into Ponyville with minimal fuss, but this was where Pinkie’s skills came into their own.

* * * * *

‘Wonder what’s going on?’ Blossomforth had mentally asked. ‘I thought I heard about a monster attack of some kind, but it can’t be! It’s been less than a week since the last one.’

She had looked up at the podium, to see Pinkie waving to the crowd, a huge smile – what else? – on her face. Standing next to her was Mayor Mare, looking moderately worried.

‘Ah, well. How bad could it be if Pinkie Pie looks happy?’

“Mares and gentlestallions!” Mayor Mare had said, a foreleg around the microphone. “I have gathered you all here to announce…”

She looked at Pinkie pointedly, who shrugged both forelegs in almost a ‘W’ shape.

“The, ah, that we’ve been selected as a possible location for the honeymoon of Shining Armor and Cadance!” Mayor Mare said, smiling.

She looked over to Pinkie. The pink pony’s eyes went wide, and she dashed off the stage.

“They said that our town is so picturesque...”

Pinkie ran back across the stage, now yoked to a cart bearing a massive barrel labeled ‘Hunni’ in what looked like giant-sized crayon, so incredibly large it would fit in as a small water tower.

“... calm, serene, green, and peaceful...”

Pinkie dashed back the other way, inexplicably wearing her Great Galloping Gala dress.

“... and full of happy, friendly residents...”

Pinkie returned, carrying a cartload of clattering tools, which juddered and banged against each other so loudly that barely anyone could hear what Mayor Mare was saying. There was a strange warbling noise coming from the cart, like a singing saw.

“... with the banana shoes!” Mayor Mare said, the first half of that sentence lost in the commotion of shaking tools. “But they say, we can be trusted to show the best hospitality they–”

On the fourth go-round, Pinkie came running on her hindlegs, carrying a large, confused-looking black bear in a chef’s hat.

“I-know-I’m-sorry-I’ll-tell-Fluttershy-I’m-sorry-I-needed-your-help-it-was-an-emergency-bye!” Pinkie yelled.

Mayor Mare just sighed, one hoof to her face. “And while they’re here, I expect that we’d treat them like we would any filly or colt of Ponyville. Nothing but the best for each of them–”

Pinkie walked behind Mayor Mare, drinking a milkshake.

“And that everyone will–”

The slurping sound rose to a crescendo.

“Pinkie Pie!” Mayor Mare exclaimed. “I can understand the last couple interruptions, but this is just getting... silly!”

“But everyone knows that’s what I do!” Pinkie answered, almost pouting. “Anyway…”

She reached offstage, pulling in a cart with one hoof. Its contents were covered by a large blue tarp.

“To celebrate this occasion, mares and gentlecolts, I give you… an actual honeymoon!” Pinkie yelled, sweeping the tarp off the cart, revealing a large, glassy-looking crescent covered in honey.

Blossomforth gaped. “That looks delicious!” she yelled. “Too bad we can’t eat any…”

“Ah, I made…” Pinkie’s eyes darted from side to side. “I made lots of them! Go ahead, you can all sample them if you want! They’ve got pecans!”

“I have to ask, though,” Mayor Mare said, “What was the milkshake for? The honey was for the moon, the bear was a taste tester, the tools were to help you make the dessert…”

Pinkie shrugged again. “It was thirsty work!”

* * * * *

And this was how they’d got safely to the hospital, leading into the events based on which Twilight was to write her letter. It had paid off to bet the hospital staff wouldn’t bat an eye at housing an unusual patient. Even so, much remained unanswered.

It hadn’t escaped Twilight that Lyra, a notepad out, was scribbling down everything the nurse was saying, next to the oversized bed that housed the injured human. Twilight didn’t know what exactly her fascination was with humans – as myths went, Twilight found them rather one-note and featureless, not unlike the stories about belligerent Yaks in the Frozen North – but here Lyra was, furiously scribbling away like Redheart had revealed the cure for horn rot or some other deadly malady.

Weirdly, out of the group who’d found the human, apart from Lyra, Rarity of all ponies was the one not keeping a safe distance. Hovering over the bed, she seemed to have a particular fascination for the being’s strange accoutrement. A sight which made Twilight feel like she was putting her own petty needs ahead of finding answers.

“I have to say,” Nurse Redheart commented as she tapped the little vial of blood, “that I’ve never seen anything quite like this. I didn’t even know it was possible.”

Twilight split from her friends to take a closer look.

“What makes you say that?” she asked the nurse. “Is there something unique about the creature’s blood?”

“Well, yes and no,” Redheart said, holding up the vial for her to see. “The blood itself is thaumaturgically unreactive.”

“You’re joking.”

Redheart gave a wry smile, adjusting her nurse’s cap. “Wish I were.”

“But…” Twilight said, staring at the vial as if it were nitric acid, “I’ve only seen that in the library’s oldest books. Almost every creature on Equus is thaumically reactive. Except for maybe a few uncharted regions…”

The scribbling of Lyra’s pen came to a halt. “Or maybe,” Lyra added hushingly, “it’s from a world without thaumaturgons.”

“I’m not…” Redheart said, lowering the vial, “entirely sure of that.”

“Thauma-wha’now?” Applejack asked, turning from her watch at the door next to Pinkie.

“The fancy word for magic is ‘thauma’,” Rarity explained, not stopping her inspection of the human’s garments. “Thaumaturgons, or thaumatons, depending on who you ask–”

“Or ‘thaumaturgus’, Pinkie chipped in, “if you’re a silly-filly,”

“Yes. They are ‘units of magic’, in a sense.”

Pinkie wasn’t done yet. “The way Granny Pie told me, without the thaumaturgons, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of magic. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of Harmony.”

Rarity glanced at her, scowling. “Actually, it kind of takes away all the mystique when you put it that way.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie agreed, nodding her head vigorously, “I always liked to think of them like Breezies or fairy lights. Though I guess it sort of explains where the musical numbers come from...”

“That’s never been proven. And it’s not quite so all-encompassing as that,” Redheart corrected. “They’re extremely unreliable measuring units of magic, remember. We can measure the difference between ‘plenty’ versus ‘hardly any’, unicorns versus earthponies, and sometimes, barely, measure them based on quality over quantity. So, at a pinch, I could measure the difference between Miss Sparkle and Miss Heartstrings, but otherwise, it’s a case of telling when something reacts to thauma, and when not.”

“And its blood can’t?” Lyra asked, scribbling again.

Redheart advanced on the bed, setting down the vial on the table. “Its blood can’t,” she nodded, “but here’s the interesting thing.” She motioned to one of the strange markings on the human’s body. “You see, as far as I can tell, these… let’s call them tattoos, these tattoos, can.”

“Artificial thaumaturgical reaction?” asked Twilight.

Redheart smiled. “Like I said, I didn’t even know that existed, but it seems so.”

Twilight placed a hoof on the bedspread. “That implies a level of advanced magical understanding, if not from it, then from whomever put the markings there.”

“Quite,” Redheart said, and she chuckled almost ruefully. “Your new friend is… interesting.”

Rarity snorted, finally backing away from the bed to join Dash and Fluttershy in the corner. “I’d hardly claim it’s our friend. Coming out of the woods like that and scaring us all silly is not exactly an act of friendship.”

“It was injured,” Fluttershy said quietly, scrubbing her dirt-covered saddlebags. “Injured creatures, even sapient creatures like, well, like us, when feeling backed into a corner, tend to lash out.”

She paused, her statement, and where it had come from, sinking into all present.

“So,” Twilight mused, “it is sapient?”

Dash folded her forehooves. “Hey, it can speak, right?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t prove anything,” Twilight said, ears flicking. “Each of us only heard it speak a few coherent-sounding words. For all we know, it could simply be a very sophisticated mockingbird.”

“Some mockingbird,” Dash huffed.

One of the ponies at the doorway had her two bits to throw in.

“I dunno!” Pinkie exclaimed, startling Applejack. “But, look forward to whatever it has to say. Bet it’s a great story!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “He’s in a lot of pain and did not seem pleased to see us, how would that make it ‘great’?”

“It’d sure be a heck of a story,” Pinkie said knowingly. “Nearly all the best stories are about how you get back on your hooves.”

“Well,” Rarity said, sighing, “for what it’s worth, the clothes are machine-woven, and seem to be made of reinforced cloth, with some attempt at a kind of impact-resistant material I'm not familiar with. This implies civilisation.”

Now Applejack snorted, tugging her hat. “Rarity, you’re the only pony Ah know who’d see clothes as a sign of civilisation. Fashion’s all well n’ good, but clothes is for useful things, like keepin’ the Sun outta your eyes, no offence to Celestia.”

“Clothes are civilisation,” Rarity said haughtily. “They imply culture, fashion sense, a common frame of reference with other beings like it. And you said it yourself, clothes have practical purposes. So do tools, by definition. All civilisations use tools.”

“Fascinating supposition!” Lyra remarked happily, tapping her pen to the bedstead.

Dash was looking pensive. “If it’s tough stuff, then it could be some sort of survival gear?”

“What about the patterning?” Lyra asked, scribbling to her heart’s content. “Is there some kind of significance to it?”

“I’ve made similar patterns for birdwatchers and naturalists,” Rarity said, “to conceal them from view so they don’t stand out against the thickets. Camouflage, basically. Except, this one is coloured in greys, whites and blacks, almost as though it were made for more urbanised environments. Such as Hoofington, or Manehattan.”

“Bird-watching in a city?” Dash snorted. “Yeah, the pigeons must be really interesting in Humanville or wherever this fella’s from.”

“They could be,” Lyra said from behind her notepad. “For all we know, there could be giant pigeons where he's from.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Dash laughed. “With giant splats of pigeon–”

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight warned.

Dash shrugged. “Just saying.”

“Would be messy,” Pinkie reasoned, while Applejack, for her part, just listened with some interest. “Wouldn’t a splat like that be three or four times the size of a regular–?”

“Pinkie,” Rarity cut in, “no one wants to discuss that particular mathematical conundrum.”

“But it’s so interesting,” Pinkie said with a smile. “And it’s all dependent on angles, speed, weight, proportions, diameters…”

“The pattern does look a bit like pigeon splatters,” Applejack remarked mildly. “You can’t tell me that ain’t true.”

“Well, leaving aside this fascinating discussion on pigeon… leavings,” Nurse Redheart said dryly, “I’m not sure what we can do for it. Half our staff aren't familiar with non-pony physiology at all. We can’t risk accidentally killing it because we don’t know where everything is.”

Fluttershy made herself heard, meek as ever. “Um, but you do have staff who’re familiar with non-ponies, right,” she said timidly. “Don’t you? The other half?”

“Yes, Miss Posey,” Redheart said slowly, “but usually we’re limited to our donkey cousins, or on rare occasions, Miss Zecora. We only started learning more about Spike after his… growing pains.”

“And this human is completely different,” Twilight nodded. “The donkey and zebra physiologies are not all that dissimilar from ours, as fellow equines.”

“Perhaps we can make logical guesses,” Fluttershy suggested. “I mean, there’s much about Spike which isn’t like us, there being more fire than water in his body, for example.”

“And if this human isn’t naturally thaumically active,” Lyra supplied helpfully, “that’d mean its physiological baseline is less complex than ours, wouldn’t it? There’s a lot we can estimate. Mammalian, bipedal–”

“That won’t tell a surgeon where its heart and kidneys are,” Redheart said grimly. “Or the bone density, or how much blood it can stand to lose. It certainly won’t replicate its blood type if it needs a transfusion. And it won’t tell us if there’s internal damage, though I suspect there might be. We can make approximations of its physiology, educated guesses, but they’ll be just that, guesses. And external examination can show so much about its injuries. They may be more extensive than they appear.”

“What are its injuries, exactly?” Twilight asked.

Redheart sucked in a breath. “Here’s the part that may be the most unfortunate...”

* * * * *

Bonbon checked the clock above the shop door.

Seven o’clock, on a Monday. Time to pack up the counter and call it an evening. Smiling, to herself as much as to the customers, she passed her last order of the day, a bag of crystallised rock candy, to Dinky and Sparkler. The littlest of the Whooves daughters gave a small squeal of delight as she got hold of the fresh import from the Crystal Realm. Her older sister, by contrast, was eyeing the bag with a keenness that seemed oddly, well, ‘scientific’ to Bonbon.

“Now what do we say, Dinky?” Sparkler teasingly reminded the filly.

Dinky flipped her mane, letting it fall over her eyes. “The sweets are only half at low-calorie fat this year,” she said, winking conspiratorially at Bonbon, “and the bugbear flies South in the Winter.”

Seeing the bewildered expression on Sparkler’s face, Bonbon had to hold herself from laughing then and there.

“Just kidding,” Dinky grinned. “Thank you, Miss Sugarbean!”

“Less of the ‘Miss Sugarbean’, Dinky,” she said amiably. “Just call me ‘Bonbon’.”

“Thank you, Miss Bonbon.”

Spirits were high for her as she waved goodbye to the sisters before closing shop.

The sensation rapidly began to dim within Bonbon, though, when she made her way to the living room, to be confronted with the facts – Lyra was not there. Which was just so typical. Get under her hooves while she was at work and Lyra wasn’t even out looking for her own job, then, when she’d have welcomed a beloved’s company, disappear unannounced for hours upon end. That was Lyra.

Why, who else could have snaffled those fifteen oats she’d been saving that one time!

‘Some marefriend I have,’ Bonbon thought irritably.

Lyra being away did not mean her stay wasn’t felt, however. As she tiredly slumped down on the couch, Bonbon’s eyes, as always, trailed to the huge cork board which occupied half the far end of the living room. Same as every day, the darned thing was a confusion of post-its, red string and photographs. Yet, live long enough with the mare who’d had it set up, and you could discern a method in the madness. Amongst other things, the varied, blurred pictures of what resembled a grey stallion wearing a bowler hat stood out, under which Lyra had written in red ink, ‘Who is this guy?’

The billboard wasn’t the part of the wall which made her cringe when she saw it, though. No, that dubious honour belonged to the tabloid newspaper cutouts adorning the whole right half, a number of select headlines screaming out at her. ‘Princess Celestia Runs Cake-Smuggling Ring!’, or ‘Moon Prince: Prince Blueblood Gets Cheeky at Palace Window’, or ‘Yes, The Wedding Invasion Was An Inside Job’. In fact, the last of these showed up twice on that wall, not that you could tell, as it was the second-page title on the cover’s back which Lyra had so proudly got framed: ‘I Was Mind-Controlled By A Bug Queen’.

Just below the billboard, however, was a haphazard stack, or should that be a pile, of books that seemed to shift in height and width like sand dunes. Respectable books, like Dusty Tome’s An Analysis on the Erratic Nature of Equestrian Technological Development and Nonmagical Beasts and Where to Find Them, but also the eccentric, such as Ponyland: Fact or Fable? and The Dream Valley Conspiracy: What They’ll Never Tell Us. Or else Laconic’s Argument For Humanity and Against Catseye, which wasn’t necessarily disreputable, but it’d been written mainly to spite someone, an act rarely conducive to insightful, thoughtful commentary.

Then again, Bonbon knew Catseye was not exactly innocent, either…

One of Lyra’s books, a first printing of her old college professor Shriek’s Ponyland: Dispelling the Myths of Dream Valley lay on its back, dog-eared and held open with a plushie of a llama in a hat. It was tragically obsolete since the reappearance of the Crystal Realm, but Lyra still treated it as one of her most prized possessions. Despite herself, Bonbon felt drawn to read the page she’d left it on, or at least those passages not obscured by the plushie.

The fact is that there are many beings of Equus who were ancient when we were young. With their existence, why, then, is so much of our history forgotten? Why do names like ‘Dream Valley’ or ‘Firefly’ raise questions rather than certainty? Many do not believe our mythical homeland was real, and yet the fossil record and the ancient mounds found in the Undiscovered West put the lie to this assertion.

Once, when I burnt with a need for answers, I resolved to make the trip to remote Zamok Uystag and ask for myself. I took the train to Rainbow Falls, making the perilous journey through the Crystalline Tundra. According to legend, it was once a temperate land where it was almost Summer. Impossible given the climate, but then many have made similar claims about my home of Canterlot, so I suppose I’m not one to judge. I flew across the tundra, braving the worst storms I’d ever seen.

I soon found myself in Yakyakistan for weeks and weeks. While I was there, I learned how to ski, how to climb a rock face without the use of my wings, and how to dig myself out of an avalanche. The Yaks are an inflexible people, yet they opened their hearts to the frostbitten, smelly thestral who showed up outside their doors, and for that I will be forever grateful. I still have fond memories of the scented baths, and the pelmeni dumplings that my kind, warm-hearted host…

Bonbon didn’t feel like turning the page after that, least of all this nonsense about Yaks. That, and according to Lyra, the next couple pages consisted of descriptive anecdotes about Shriek debauching himself during Yikslurbertfest until he left for the Reindeer Land of Adlaborn.

Apparently, the good professor was retracing his hoofsteps, no, wingbeats, with the reappearance of the Crystal Realm, ready to incorporate new data into a heavily edited version of his book.

Lyra was positively giddy at the thought of how her old professor would change the story with the new lessons he’d learned. Bonbon… not so much. She scrunched her snout at the thought of the more-or-less renowned historian, mythologist and mycologist.

Her next reaction was sort of a logical followup.

“Lyra!”

She was not the sort of mare to whom yelling was second nature. In fact, it could hardly be called third, or even fourth. She didn’t like yelling, she didn't like confrontation, and she did not like living with other ponies. When choosing a life for herself after… difficult circumstances had necessitated her moving, these were the factors she’d had in mind.

“Lyra Heartstrings, where are you!”

So, naturally, she had ended up living with another mare – one who required constant rebuking just to get her to do anything, and to top it off, was generally slovenly at home.

“Where has she gone?” Bonbon said, more to herself than anypony else. “Ohhh, she’d better not have got herself into trouble. The rent’s due in two weeks.”

* * * * *

Redheart trotted to the human’s side and lifted the sheet gently, motioning to its chest, and the arms. Fluttershy gasped, Rarity looked away, and even Applejack looked sick. The wounds were second-degree burns. Yet, astonishingly, lines of more-or-less healthy-looking flesh criss-crossed these same burn sores, in patterns matching the markings elsewhere on its body. As if, somehow, these areas had been fireproof...

“Horrible,” Rarity murmured. “This poor… being.”

“Is there something special about the injuries?” Twilight asked, looking at once curious and repulsed.

“Some of these are standard spell-burns,” Redheart replied grimly. “Any unicorn with an axe to grind could’ve done those, though they take some practice and application. It’s these,” she continued, motioning to a pair of black burns on its arm, “which bother me.”

“Why?” Twilight asked. “What's so special about those burns?”

“They’re not burns,” Redheart explained. “It’s necrotic flesh.”

“Necrotic?” Fluttershy repeated, looking even more horrified. “But how did it…”

“Royal Guard and Night Guard unicorns are taught a spell that flash-necrotises flesh, killing the target almost instantly with a direct hit, or even most glancing hits. And only the Guard are taught it. It’s expressly forbidden to teach it to non-Guard ponies under any circumstances. I remember seeing the results of improper application close-up during my time with the Home Guard.”

“So… so a Guardspony did this to it,” Lyra said waveringly.

“So it’d seem,” Redheart said, “or possibly an ex-Guardspony, which is more likely.”

“Lemme get this straight,” Applejack put in. “We have a mythological bein’, hurt by a spell only a guardspony can know, appearin’ in the middle of the Everfree? Spouting stuff about how ‘you won’t change me’, whatever that’s supposed to mean?”

“That’s about right,” Twilight said.

“Well,” Applejack said, blowing through her nostrils. “This is definitely a pickle. Somethin’ here don’t add up.”

“I suspect the only one who could give us the truth,” Redheart said, “is the one on that bed.”

There was a moment’s pause as all considered this and what it could mean.

“I need to find Spike and get a letter to the Princess,” Twilight finally said. “As soon as I can. Then maybe we can find out…” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t know what.”

Lyra stood up, her expression resolute.

“I’ll wait here with the human,” she told them, “make sure it’s okay. I’ll let you know if anything changes. Um, Twilight, mind if you or the girls would send word to Bonbon? She’ll be worried sick about me. Tell her I’m fine, I just need to spend the night at the hospital… Well, you know what I mean.”

Twilight nodded. “I appreciate you doing this, Lyra. And don’t worry, we will. Come on, girls. Let’s see what Princess Celestia has to say.”

She trotted out, the others filing behind her.

Except, it turned out, for Fluttershy. Some inner conflict appeared to rage inside her head, expressed by her looking from the bed to the door and back, clutching her saddlebags. Then, as Pinkie was the last to exit, she made up her mind. Fluttershy made her way back to the bed, retrieving a jar from her bags.

“What’s that, Fluttershy?” Lyra enquired, before Redheart could.

Left in the presence of two near-strangers, Fluttershy’s eyes retreated beneath her mane as she placed the jar on the bedside table.

“Strawberry jam,” she said, in a whisper. “It was meant for Trixie’s care package, but… this human’s need seems greater than hers...”

Lyra mulled over this for a second, then nodded. “Okay,” she said, smiling wistfully. “I’ll… I’ll let it know you left it, if… when it wakes up, Flutters.”

Fluttershy just mumbled something inaudible and beat a hasty retreat. Lyra sighed, rubbing her head with sudden fatigue.

“My shift’s nearly over,” Redheart said gently, “but I’ll be back tomorrow to help you, and Nurse Sutra Cross is a highly qualified xeno-surgeon.”

“Thanks, Nurse Redheart.”

* * * * *

Outside the hospital, Twilight released a breath that she didn’t realise she’d been holding. The Sun was setting over the halls, casting a long shadow over everything. Before anything more was to be said, Twilight gathered her friends in the shade of the hospital-sign block.

“Well,” she commented, “how’s that for a doozy?”

All five of the others exchanged glances.

“Hm, might be a seven out of ten.” Pinkie frowned. “Maybe even a six.”

“Just a seven?” Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow. “Heavens, if that thing and all the questions it brings is only a seven, perhaps we should be grateful we’ve not–”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Applejack cut in. “Ah don’t reckon temptin’ fate’s a good idea.”

Twilight snorted. “Only if you believe in fate.”

“Even if you don’t, ‘s’all fair to still be cautious-like,” Applejack retorted. “Derpy’s Law, Twilight.”

At this, Twilight rolled her eyes. “Come on, girls. Let’s get back to the library so I can write that letter. I’ve no idea how we’re going to explain this…”

“Successfully?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight let out a soft chuckle. “Here’s hoping. But here’s something else, everypony. It might be best if you all spend the night with me and Spike at Golden Oaks.”

A collective murmur greeted this serious statement.

“I mean it,” said Twilight. “We need to stick together. Applejack, Fluttershy, if you want to get word to your families, I can have Owliwiscious carry them a letter. That is, unless Peewee would like to take it. That baby phoenix really wants to follow in Spike’s footsteps.”

“Sounds good, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, not without sorrow.

“Aye,” Applejack said decisively. “We better stick together.”

Twilight smiled gratefully. “Who wants to go and tell Bonbon?”

“I will,” Rarity said promptly, drawing all eyes on her. “I still need to drop off that new overcoat I was working on for her anyway. It’ll give me a chance to pass by the Boutique.”

“Meet us at the library when you’re done.”

“Back before you know it,” Rarity said softly, and with that she trotted off.

“There’s something going on with all of this,” Dash said grimly. “I’ll bet it…”

“Dashie,” Pinkie said, pressing a forehoof to the pegasus’ lips. Dash might have spluttered, hadn’t she been so surprised by the forwardness. “Breathe, and relax. You’re looking way too serious. Ain't a doozy yet.”

She pulled her forehoof away. Rainbow Dash took a breath.

“Serious face, serious business,” Dash replied solemnly. “And you said it yourself. ‘Yet’.”

Applejack looked at Fluttershy. “Hold a sec, Flutters. Your critters can read letters?”

* * * * *

When a knock sounded at the front door, Bonbon was accosted by a wave of something mixed between worry and relief. She raced to the door and opened it, fast as she could… only to find Rarity standing there.

“Hello, darling,” the seamstress said with a small smile, holding up a small brown package. “Your coat’s ready.”

Bonbon sighed. “Thanks, Rarity,” she said, accepting the package. “There was no trouble with the extra pockets I asked for, was there?”

Rarity shrugged. “I’m not sure why a trench-coat should need two extra hoof-warmers and an extra inside pocket, but I’m not one to judge.” She paused. “Also, I ran into Lyra earlier.”

“You did?” Bonbon’s eyes widened. “She didn’t tell me where she was going today…”

“Well, it was the Everfree, and she’s currently at the hospital,” Rarity said. At Bonbon’s expression, she held up a forehoof. “She’s fine, we’re just having… well, it’s one of those days, and she’s watching over somepony… well, something... for us.”

Bonbon blinked. “Some… thing. That’s not exactly descriptive.”

“Lyra seems to think it’s called a human,” Rarity said tiredly. “Beyond that, I really don't know much about it.”

“A human.”

“That’s what Lyra called it, anyway. Now, if you'll excuse me, darling, Twilight wanted me to meet her back at the library with the others. I hope the coat’s to your satisfaction. Do let me know if anything needs tweaking.”

Rarity dashed off, leaving Bonbon alone.

A moment passed, and Bonbon closed the door. Another passed, and she turned, raced up the stairs as quickly as she could, and opened her bedside cupboard, taking out a small, unmarked book.

She flicked through to the back, where an index awaited.

“Human, human…” she murmured. One more moment later, she closed the book. “Nothing. Darn it.”

For the second time that day, Bonbon hoped Lyra hadn’t got herself involved in trouble. Except now, it seemed altogether likely that she had.

* * * * *

Nurse Sutra Cross, the xeno-surgeon promised by Redheart, arrived some ten minutes after the other visitors had left. She was a cyan-coated mare, with silky white-and-blue hair, a green cross on her flank, and a soft smile. Lyra liked her immediately.

Upon entering, her first action had been to delicately shine an illumination spell from her horn in the human’s eyes. It had been unresponsive to this, but its irises had subtly dilated. Seeing this, the nurse declared, with a twinkle in her own eyes, that she thought it was dreaming.

“Dreaming?” Lyra asked.

Cross smiled. “Oh, yes.”

“Wow,” Lyra said. “You’re sure?”

“Definitely,” the soft-spoken nurse said, examining the movement of the human’s eyes. “Rapid eye movement is almost universal to any sentient life, and it’s one of the best indicators of dreaming.”

The two observed the human in silence, watching its eyes twitch beneath the lids.

But Lyra felt compelled to ask something. “Do you think we could ask Luna to look through its mind? Whatever it’s dreaming about doesn’t look pleasant.”

“No, it sure doesn’t,” Cross agreed quietly. “And yes, I suspect we’ll be asking the Princess to employ her unique talents in this respect.” She sniffed. “Nicer than some means of learning about it that I can think of...”

Lyra glanced her way, surprised. “You’re talking about mind-delving. Would that be necessary?”

“I don’t know,” Cross admitted. “I’d hate to think about it, to tell you the truth, but if Redheart’s right and it was attacked by someone with Guard training, there’s rogue Guard out there, or…” She looked at Lyra soberly. “Forgive me, but it could be your human friend here is somehow a threat some patrol felt a need to try and kill.”

Though there was no hostility in the nurse’s tone, Lyra felt herself stiffen.

“I can’t imagine how,” she said. “I saw it arrive.”

“Yes,” Cross agreed. “But from where? Maybe it was attacked, wherever it came from?”

“That’s impossible! Why would ponies attack it in any part of Equestria?”

“Self-defense?” Cross suggested, sounding apologetic as Lyra’s eyes hardened. “We don't know anything about this creature…”

Lyra snorted. “And so we’ll assume it’s violent and aggressive right off the bat, that he had to have been the aggressor? It’s not nice to make assumptions. We in Ponyville learned that lesson the hard way.”

Cross nodded sadly. “Yes, I’d heard about Miss Zecora’s less-than-brilliant reception right after I took this position. You're right, of course, we can’t make assumptions about a being we don’t know.” She gave Lyra a look. “Except this works both ways.”

“I know,” Lyra assured her. “That's why I’m keeping my eye on it, and taking notes.”

Cross motioned to the notepad with an inquisitive expression, and Lyra passed them to her.

“Interesting,” the nurse said, passing the notes back. “There are a lot of conclusions you could draw…”

“But I’m refraining,” Lyra finished. “Like you said. No assumptions.”

“Quite,” Cross agreed. “Still, I’m curious, what conclusions could you personally draw?”

Thanks to sharing notes, the sense of bonhomie had come back to the room. Lyra smiled. “I tend to go on a bit. You sure you wanna hear this?”

Cross chuckled. “Before today, I’d never heard of humans. Xeno-surgeon or not, I’m willing to acknowledge that you probably know more than I do about its species.”

Lyra’s smile turned bashful. “Sociologically, maybe…”

“Society and culture both help define us,” Cross said. “I’d like to hear what you think.”

‘This,’ Lyra found herself thinking, ‘is a mare I could be great friends with.’

* * * * *

“... Thus, valour will triumph in the face of those with nefarious hearts,” Spike read aloud, his eyes poring over the comic-book panels, that depicted a stallion in Royal Guard armour, a clear thunderbolt embossed on the breastplate. Peewee was perched overhead, able to see the panels equally well as Spike in the fading sunlight. “For victory is won by bravery and courageous action, never through vices like cruelty and oppression.”

Even though this wasn’t a Power Ponies comic, Spike found Colonel Spark and the Revolutionaries to be a decent read. It had been printed in Fantastical Conflict Tales, a collection of stories featuring characters Spike had only heard of before. Even if this particular tale was from ages ago, and Spark himself was a bit preachy, it was clear to the young drake why the character was so fondly remembered.

‘And why Shining has that massive collection,’ Spike thought, hopping off the windowsill. He closed the comic and put it back on the magazine rack. ‘I sure wonder if he’s ever going to sell it.’

His musings were interrupted by the sound of the library door opening. Spike turned towards the source of the noise.

“Hello?”

“Spike?” he heard Twilight’s voice call out. “Are you there?”

Spike went to the open doorway, seeing Twilight and the other Element Bearers – sans Rarity, to his chagrin – standing in the entrance hall. They were in the midst of conversation.

“Sure she’ll know what it is?” Fluttershy was saying. “I mean, I don’t wish to question...”

“She’ll have some idea,” Twilight was replying. “And if she doesn’t she’ll know who will. She’s never not known what a thing is before.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said. “She’s gosh-knows how many years old, she’s probably seen one of these human critters somewhere.”

“Here I am!” called a fourth voice.

To Spike’s delight, Dash and Pinkie parted at the back to let Rarity through.

“There, that’s done,” Rarity said, scarcely out of breath. “And you’re probably right, Applejack,” she added. “Still, I... oh, Spikey-wikey!”

The Bearers noticed Spike, who waved sheepishly. Twilight smiled.

“There you are! I need to write a letter to Princess Celestia, quick.”

“What happened?” Spike asked, frowning. Something serious must have happened if they were writing to the Princess, but he’d heard nothing from town, so it couldn’t have been a monster attack. Some friendship conundrum?

“Just hurry up and fetch a quill,” Twilight said seriously, “please. This thing, whatever it is, is a little beyond us.”

Spike nodded slowly, before going to fetch a quill. ‘Beyond Twilight? She’s not had to go to Celestia for help in ages… and even when she has, I don’t think she’s ever said anything’s ‘beyond’ her before. Not even that blasted Amulet...’

He returned to Twilight a moment later, quill and scroll at the ready. It was only now he recognised the look on Twilight’s face. One of irritation, like a problem was vexing her far more than usual. He’d seen it before, when Twilight had been trying to find out what made Pinkie’s ‘Pinkie Sense’ work.

“Are you okay, Twi’?” he asked sincerely.

From a nearby bookshelf, Peewee had caught the concern in his voice and was staring at them anxiously. Even the habitually placid Owliwiscious on his perch looked a bit intense.

She smiled, but it was strained. “There’s something bothering me about all of this, is all. Ready?”

Spike held up his quill. “When you are.”

“Alright,” Twilight began. “Dear Princess Celestia. A situation has arisen…”

* * * * *

As it turned out, Lyra Heartstrings had a lot of theories, even if she wasn’t willing to commit fully to any of them yet, least of all at this late hour.

“... So I’m sure it's from a harsher culture than ours,” she finished saying. “Survival gear at minimum means living in a world that’s harsh. Then there’s the artificial magic. If it’s using artificial magic, that must mean they evolved without magic, even the subtler kinds like earthpony magic.”

“Quite,” Cross nodded thoughtfully. “I can’t imagine living without the amenities magic provides.”

“Exactly, which means its society’s not had those amenities,” Lyra continued, “and that means a lot of the control we take for granted, weather, crops, the works, that simply does not exist.”

“I’m surprised you can deduce and conjecture so much about an essentially mythical race.”

“Well, there’s a lot of stuff to sift through,” Lyra said sheepishly.

“I wonder,” Cross said suddenly, “How did they pick up the slack?”

“What do you mean?” Lyra asked.

“One of the first things I learned was, ‘different doesn’t mean primitive,’” Cross said. “And the clothes it’s wearing… I don’t even know what this material could possibly be. It’s like it’s entirely synthetic. And I’m not sure it’s survival gear as we’d think of it. The amount of covering makes me think armour, not survival gear, though. I wonder what sciences they must have where it came from…”

“I guess we can ask it,” Lyra suggested. “When it wakes up?”

“Perhaps,” Cross said. She checked her watch and clipboard. “Nine o’clock. I’d best go fill in some paperwork. This is an important case for the hospital, perhaps the most important case of our generation. We need all the information we can get.”

She turned back to Lyra. “You must be tired, Miss Heartstrings. Sure you’re still set on waiting ‘til it wakes?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Lyra said immediately. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for a moment like this. And I found it. That makes it my responsibility.”

“Okay, then,” Cross said understandingly. “I’m afraid it’s against hospital regulations to give a bed to someone who isn’t checked in. But to make your stay on the chair more comfortable, I can arrange to have sheets and pillows sent up here. Maybe a fold-up camp bed, if we’re really lucky.”

“That sounds great,” Lyra grinned, suppressing a yawn. “I’ll holler if anything changes.”

Cross pointed at a small red button on the wall and winked at Lyra. “Just press the button, my dear. Hollering makes a racket.”

Lyra felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment, but she smiled.

‘Well, Lyra,’ she thought, leaning her head back, ‘this has been one heck of a day.’

* * * * *

Celestia’s written reply didn’t take nearly as long to arrive as Twilight had expected. But when it arrived, it was far shorter than she’d been anticipating. While Spike rubbed his stomach from the irritating procedure, Twilight held the letter up by candlelight, reading its contents to her friends.

Dear Twilight,

Given what you have described, I have decided to come attend to this matter personally, right before dawn tomorrow morning. Please be at the hospital then and await me at the entrance.

I shall ask Luna to keep an eye on you all tonight, Madame Heartstrings included.

~ Princess Celestia

Twilight rolled it up without another word.

“Huh, I’ve never seen her write such a short letter,” Spike commented, burping. “You think she knows what a... hoomin is?”

“Human, Spikey,” Rarity said softly. “And if she does, her reaction suggests they’re not a good creature to have around. I mean, listen to the tone of this letter. She sounds… worried.”

“How can you get ‘worried’,” Dash demanded, “from a letter with only three sentences, a salutation and a valediction?”

“How do you know what a salutation and a valediction are?” Rarity retorted.

Dash smirked. “I read this book about… I think it was called Stable of Leaves? It was about a place with a Minotaur hiding inside, or something. Or maybe I was the Minotaur? Weird book. You have to turn it upside down and sideways a lot, no different from doing a barrel roll. And you haven’t answered the question.”

“Rarity makes a good point,” Twilight interrupted. “This is very brief and straight to the point for her. That means she’s worried, if I know her.”

“Well,” Pinkie said, very calmly. “This is getting to be an eight on the doozy scale.”

A demure cough cut short whatever direction the conversation may have taken.

Fluttershy looked at them all. “We should get some sleep,” she said. “All this has been just so… exhausting. And we don’t even know the half of it yet.”

“Agreed,” Dash said, coming to her oldest friend’s support. “Let’s turn in for the night, guys. But,” she added sagely, “We should probably take turns keeping watch. Just in case.”

“In case what?” Applejack asked derisively, though she joined Twilight and Rarity to fetch spare mattresses and sheets. “The human decides to go rampagin’?”

Dash had a hard look in her eye, feeling her wings. “You said it, not me. I’ll go first.”

After that, each of them, even Pinkie, took to sleep with unusual silence.

~ Shattered Dreams of a Warrior ~

In his dreams he could smell barbecue.

And for a moment, he thought, maybe it was the old family barbecue. Maybe he’d see Mom’s old shepherd dog trotting along, trying to mooch off some of the meat from his niece. Or a certain fuchsia mare, trotting up with a smile to give him his helping.

But then he realised. How could he be smelling that? In what world would the ponies of Equestria willingly envelop themselves in the scent of roasted meat...

Newfoals were burning all around him. The PER had holed up inside. So he’d taken flamethrowers to the building.

The PER sane enough to leave had escaped the back way, right into PHL guns. The ones that hadn’t, the Newfoals…

They’d stayed there, manning guns even as the building collapsed and burned around them. One PER Newfoal had been firing some kind of large crossbow, aiming and firing even after their legs had been crushed.

“Why don’t you run!” he remembered yelling as he emptied the Remington ACR’s magazine into the crossbow turret at the window. “Run! Goddamn you, run! Scream! Anything other than this!”

He knew damn well how that quote sounded on paper. How the same accusations he’d see in a PER or HLF circular would be levelled against him, using that as evidence. ‘Murderer,’ they said. ‘Monster.’

But what he could never quite admit was, he’d been begging them for some kind of reaction. Imploring them. They’d pushed the damned things well past the point that anything else would have retreated, or died, and the Newfoals had done none of those things.

His old drill sergeant had praised any ability to keep fighting under fire, but he assumed that the old buzzard would throw up, knowing the pain the Newfoals put themselves through. Their skin had melted off their bodies like molten wax. Their eyes looked as if they’d been boiled out of the sockets. Another one had kept firing one of those giant crossbows, after their eyes were gone. And yet they still smiled, skull-like before the flesh peeled away to reveal their skulls.

It wasn’t discipline. Everything the Tyrant Sun didn’t need had been sandblasted out of them.

“This is what they’d do,” he remembered saying. “To all of us. What they’d turn us into.”

~ Ponyville. Equestria ~ Second Day of the Month of Rophon, Year 3 of the Era Harmoniae ~

The night had been a long one, probably. But to Lyra, it felt like no sooner had she sat down for her kip, she was waking again. Bleary, a bit stiff, maybe, and missing the sweet touch of her Bonnie in the morning. Yet at least she’d been given a pillow. That, and more.

She looked to the still-sleeping human, its eyes still darting about hither and thither beneath closed lids. She rested a forehoof on the bed, near his exposed arm.

So much come true. So many unanswered questions.

“What have you seen?” Lyra asked softly. “What's your world like? Is it ours, or another? If it's another, is it like ours? Are you one of many races or are you alone? What's the sky like? The stars above your head, the Moon, the Sun… who moves them, without magic?” She sighed dreamily. “So much I could ask you when you wake up. So much…”

She moved away. Only to feel a soft, hairless grip on her hoof. And a whisper of her name.

“Lyra…”

The human’s eyes, deep blue as the sea, were wide and expressive, full of what might have been shock. Its expression was one of surprise and… relief?

She gaped. “You’re awake,” she said, immediately regretting it and feeling foolish.

The human said nothing for a moment, but his body started shaking and tears pooling in the corner of those blue eyes.

“Lyra…” it whispered, staring up at her. “Lyra. I wasn’t dreaming.”

Words from an alien being. Words that, while accented, Lyra recognised. The human was communicating with her, not in any language of its own, nor even the Common Tongue, but the most spoken language in Equestria. Modern Equish.

“Yeah,” she replied, still taken aback on how it knew her. “How d’you–”

“You’re here…?” it whispered, interrupting her. “You found a way, didn’t you? Learned some secret… some secret spell?” It looked, for a moment, almost hurt. “Why didn’t you tell me? Would’ve saved us all a lot of… nnnngh!”

The human clenched its teeth and hissed in pain.

“I… I don’t know what you mean,” Lyra said, frowning at the human.

“You… you’ve come back,” it said to her, eyes widening slightly as it looked at her. “From… from the dead.”

Lyra felt the blood drain from her face. “The dead?” Lyra repeated. “I’ve never been... dead.”

The human’s frown deepened. “Oh, no.” It paused. “This… you’re not… did you forget, or…”

“I’ve never been dead,” Lyra repeated.

But by the look in its eye, saying it a second time made her throat tighten, and doubt herself.

Just why had she appeared at the bottom of that chasm, instead of the other side? If she had crossed over as she meant to, she never would have found this creature lying by the Tree. A cold sensation began to creep over her, as if she were stuck in some in-between, moving neither forward nor backward.

“What day is it?” the human hissed tersely. “The date!”

“Um, Second… of Rophon...” Lyra said slowly. “Tuesday,” she added, for good measure, though she had no idea if it even knew what ‘Tuesday’ was. Which seemed silly, because if it did, it’d also know that every second day of the month was a Tuesday.

“What year?” the human insisted, its voice getting stronger. “Is it the Anno Imperator or is it still Era Harmoniae?”

Lyra frowned. “Anno what? It’s the third year of the Era Harmoniae, I’ve never heard of an ‘Anno Imperator’.”

It blinked. “I have to go. Right now.”

“Go? Go where?!” Lyra asked.

The human’s certainty seemed to slip away. “I… I don’t know. I don't even know where I am.”

“Ponyville Hospital,” Lyra said quietly. “You were injured when you arrived, so we–”

The human bolted up. “Ponyville?”

Lyra skittered back in shock, and the human held up one of his hands in what might have been a placating gesture.

“I’m sorry,” it said, “I just… here, of all places…” It looked at its hands as though surprised they were still there, then, to Lyra’s surprise, it chuckled. “Well, damn, so many people are gonna laugh when they hear about this. Turns out the bitch was...”

His face twisted in rage, and the first thing Lyra thought of when she saw it was molten wax. The sheer hatred in the human’s eyes was so intense she took a step back.

“Lying,” it snarled.

For a moment, things were quiet, when it suddenly burst out.

“Dammit, dammit all! Fuck!! Years of being stonewalled! Of people giving up and turning themselves into those, those goddamned things out of fear! Years of R&D, of bigwigs brushing our work, your work off, out of fear! Because she fucking lied to us!!”

Through its rant, the human slammed a fist against the table nearby, actually lightly cracking the wood’s surface. Lyra almost had to wonder if it was actually holding itself back. She knew she had to calm it before it could do something really stupid, or hurt itself, or did something it could regret.

“You’re kinda scaring me,” Lyra whispered, backing away slowly. “Are you… are you going to… hurt m–”

A spike of fear ran down Lyra’s spine, and she shivered lightly.

The rage faded from the human’s eyes. Followed by… guilt? Remorse? Self-loathing?

“Never. Not in a million years. I’m sorry,” the human said, taking several deep breaths to calm itself down, although it was still shaking with rage. “I shouldn’t have lost control like that, especially not in front of you. It’s just… That this, right here, goes against damn near everything I know.”

“I still... don’t understand what you’re talking about...”

The human looked up at her. “It would take too long to explain… all I know is, I'm somewhere I’m not supposed to be, and there are… a hell of a lot of bad things that are about to happen to you, if I’m right.”

“If you’re right?” Lyra parroted.

“Yeah,” the human said. It frowned. “The Second Day of Rophon… the third year of the Era Harmoniae, you said? Alright... I need to know a few things.”

“Why?” Lyra asked.

“Because I’m from your future,” the human told her bluntly. “Or what could be your future. And it is filled with... terrible things. But maybe, just maybe, I can prevent them before they ever happen.”

Celestia gazed at the horizon as her Sun began slowly rising, concentrating as best she could on the duty in store. She had spent the night reading as much as resting, looking up ‘humans’ as best she could, but those researches, apart from brief mentions in books of cryptozoology, had been frustratingly lacking in anything useful.

Luna trotted to stand beside her on the balcony, Philomena and Tiberius perched on her.

“You’re sure you want to go without me?” her sister asked quietly. “This could be more complex than we realise, a harbinger of...”

“We will know,” Celestia interrupted tightly, “whether it is a harbinger soon enough. And I would not place both of us at risk, when we don't know what this creature is capable of.”

“I would prefer to have your back,” Luna replied, frowning. Tiberius squeaked along, and Philomena flew over to rest on Celestia’s outstretched hoof.

Celestia smiled at them, giving Philomena a quick nuzzle. “You do have my back. Who do you think I’m relying on to come save me when this all goes horribly wrong?”

“Very funny,” Luna said with a chuckle, but it faded quickly. “Then Kibitz and I shall handle the Palace matters. Be careful.”

“I always am,” Celestia smiled. “Besides, this means you’re the one who gets to put Blueblood up to speed, once he wakes up.”

The human had listened to Lyra rattle off historical events without batting an eye. The Elements of Harmony, the return of Princess Luna, Discord’s brief insurrection, even Trixie Lulamoon’s incursion into Ponyville wearing the Alicorn Amulet… When she had got to Discord’s recent reappearance and – according to local gossip – redemption, the human had gone squint-eyed, but hadn’t said a thing. By this point, Lyra was able to tell, though it tried not to let it show, that its injuries were reclaiming their toll. Its eyelids were drooping, its head was nodding. Still it listened to her, wordlessly.

Until finally, she reached the end.

“So,” it said, voice slurring. “There’s been no… no conflict. No secret police, no totem-proles, no Hand-in-Hoof riots, no Bureaus or potion. No Great Battleship Strike. No Disharmony Act? The Crucible? Not even the Changeling Purges? The Storm King? The Crystal War?”

“I… I don’t even know what in Equestria half of those things are,” Lyra said, slowly. Just hearing them, however, made her blood run cold.

“Tsh, I bet if I walked out right now, I wouldn’t even find a mnemosurgery clinic,” the human chuckled forcibly, cut off by a wheeze. Something seemed to snap deep inside its body, and there was a terrible wet sound.

‘Redheart was right,’ Lyra thought, ‘there probably is some internal damage…’

“No, you wouldn’t,” Lyra said, unclear on what ‘mnemosurgery’ was, but judging by everything she’d heard previously, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “Should there have been?”

The human waved the question off. “This… this shit’s more complex than I ever cared to learn about. There was a guy I met once or twice, who rattled off crap about time travel and multiverse theory ‘til he was blue in the face, and Doc Whooves had a few opinions…”

“Look,” Lyra said, grimacing at its language, “you’re still injured, and you’re tired. You need to–”

“I need to go!” the human answered back vehemently. “This… this whole thing is impossible. I need to find a way to get back to them.”

And with that, it moved to stand up, wincing as it did so.

As Lyra watched, it began limping out of the hospital room, almost at a snail’s pace. Lyra followed, not knowing what else she could do. Should she try to stop the human, or would that only enrage them? That brief glimmer of anger it had regretted… that had been worrying.

Almost immediately, nurses and doctors stopped what they were doing to watch the human walk out, many of them too shocked to react.

“Uh, pardon me,” one of the nurses managed. “You… you should be in bed…”

The human simply ignored the nurse and pressed on, Lyra following cautiously.

“What should we do?” the nurse asked, as she brushed past, in a hushed whisper.

Lyra stopped and pondered a moment, temporarily at a loss on how to respond. But this was when it became clear to her. Sometimes, it’s she who hesitates that is lost. She took a deep breath.

“Get everypony out of its way,” she said calmly. “I don’t think it means us harm, but it’s best not to take any chances.”

The nurse nodded and rushed off, whispering hurried instructions to others as she passed them by. Lyra went after the human, whose pace had picked up a notch. She hoped it wouldn't hurt itself – or indeed, anyone else.

* * * * *

Rested and refreshed from the night, but scarcely relaxed, Twilight and the other Element Bearers arrived on the hospital’s doorstep in no short order, and Twilight found herself all the more beset by an acute sense of anxiety. There was definitely something uncanny about the whole thing, she thought as she stared at the dawn.

Celestia’s brevity in her letter had confirmed it.

“How long do you think it will take the Princess to get here?” Rarity asked Twilight nervously.

“Not long, hopefully,” Twilight replied. “I mean, this whole thing’s feeling more and more… ominous. Don’t you feel that?”

Dash looked distinctly unhappy. “It was the Death Tree, I bet. That thing’s cursed us with some monster.”

Twilight scowled. “That’s really not helpful.”

“Well, you’re getting an ‘ominous feeling’,” Dash pointed out, waving her hooves to make little air quotes. “You, the mare of rationality.”

“There’s nothing irrational about evidence pointing towards a less-than-pleasant conclusion,” Twilight said grimly. “Some mysterious creature we’ve never heard of appears, injured and suffering spell-damage it could only have taken from a Royal Guard. Now Princess Celestia feels the need to come here personally. That alone should be setting off warning bells.”

“Plus, the doozy’s hitting eight point five this morning,” Pinkie chimed in helpfully, a shiver running through her body as she spoke. “Definitely gettin’ closer!”

“Pinkie?” Dash asked. “Does that go up to eleven?”

“I think we’re about to find out,” Pinkie said, and for a second she looked… darker, her mane a little flatter than normal.

‘That can’t be good,’ Twilight mentally noted.

As she thought it, from above, there was a rustle of air that turned into the sound of flapping wings, and a moment later, Princess Celestia landed in front of them, gold-clad hooves clattering to the ground elegantly. She was followed by two of the gold-armoured Guards who seemed to accompany her everywhere.

“Twilight,” Celestia greeted her student. “Everypony. It's good to see you all.”

Twilight bowed, the others following suit.

“Princess,” she said, raising herself. “I hope this isn't an inconvenience.”

“Not at all,” Celestia said quietly. “You've done well with an extraordinary circumstance, Twilight. You should be proud of how you've handled yourselves.”

“What do we do now, Your Highness?” Fluttershy asked.

Celestia took a moment to look pensive. “That, I’m not sure about. First, I should meet this ‘human’ for myself, to learn about what we’re dealing with.”

“Well, that’ll be easy,” Pinkie said, pointing behind her. “Since it's standing right there.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. The other Element Bearers gasped in shock, and the Princess turned, to spot the bipedal figure of the human standing there, its own expression somewhere between horror and disbelief.

“You,” the human snarled, teeth bared and body shaking.

Despite the bandages and the clear injuries, the rage in his face was more than enough to make him look quite threatening. But what grabbed Twilight’s attention most was the strange, subtle blue glow of… some kind of magic surrounding him.

“You lying little murderous bitch. I should have guessed you’d… Argh!”

It keeled forward, clutching its side, and behind it came Lyra Heartstrings.

* * * * *

The stranger was angry again. Lyra could feel the waves of pure unadulterated rage roiling around it, even as she took note of the barely-perceptible glowing that flared up, as it had before.

“Sir,” Princess Celestia began gently, stretching a wing sideways to hold back her Guards, “I stand before you in Harmony...”

It gave a harsh bark of laughter.

“Try another tack, Your Majesty,” it hissed. “Those are the very words you used that day, when you first set your fucking hooves on my world. Your… assurances... can go to hell…” He coughed raspingly. “This… this is the past… or another past… but you...”

The Princess glanced at Lyra, who shook her head subtly. She knew the human was in no condition to attack anyone, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still dangerous in some way.

“I don’t know what you have seen,” Celestia said slowly, “but I have no hostile intent towards you. None of us do.”

“No, you don't, do you?” the human sneered, pushing itself to its feet. “You just want to fix us. Make us more like you.”

‘What does it mean?’ Lyra thought, frowning in confusion. ‘It claimed to be from the future, but this doesn't sound…’

“But I said it before, and I meant it,” the human continued, breaking Lyra’s chain of thought. “You won't change me, Tyrant Sun.” It raised its chin, and gave an almost ironic grin. “I am Alexander Reiner. And I am human.”

Its glow started up again, and there came a slow rumble, the ground trembling beneath Lyra’s hooves. Daring herself to edge closer, she looked to the human and saw its expression lay somewhere between pained and beatific.

The Guards drew themselves up, and Celestia’s pupils dilated in horror–

Like a light switch going out, the human simply collapsed to the ground, a trickle of blood running from his nose. At once, Lyra swept to its side, checking for its pulse.

“What happened?” Twilight asked, trotting up, the other five Ponyvillians and the Sun Princess converging in a semicircle on Lyra and her, for lack of a better term, ward.

One of the Guards, a grey-coated fellow, looked at his dirty-white companion in confusion. Obviously, this had nothing to do with either of them.

“I don’t know,” Lyra admitted. “I don’t know what it was trying to do.”

Celestia’s tone was grim. “It was trying a sort of self-combusting spell. Attempting to destroy itself and take us down with it, but the power must have overwhelmed it in its weakened state.”

“De… destroy itself?” Twilight repeated, dismayed. “But… but why?”

“Hatred,” Celestia said, so softly they almost didn’t hear. She gazed down at the human with a sad, confused, yet compassionate expression. “It was consumed by hatred… for me, for all of us.” She paused. “But never have I seen its like before.”

If there was a time to speak, it was now. Sensing her cue, Lyra coughed.

“Your Highness,” she said, measuring each of her words as she addressed her Princess. “It claimed to be from the future.”

Celestia looked up from the human, uncustomary puzzlement on her face. “The future.”

Lyra swallowed. “Yes, Highness.”

“Alright then, Madame Heartstrings. Please tell me everything.”

* * * * *

Redheart groaned as she pulled herself up in bed, wiping her forehead. She checked the alarm clock. Six in the morning. That was early when it didn't have to be. Her shift didn’t start today until twelve. Mind you, after the strangeness of yesterday, it was a wonder she’d got any proper sleep to speak of.

She let herself fall back onto the quilt, closing her eyes, but a minute’s tossing and turning left her no doubt; she wouldn’t be dozing off anytime soon.

Well, at times like this, a lass made the most of what she had. A quick rinse, a nice cup of tea, and she’d have time to think things over. Her mind made up, Redheart waddled out of bed, yawning, grabbed a towel and headed for the shower.

As the warm, steaming water poured over her, Redheart, running a soapy forehoof through her wet mane, considered the strange being she’d left in Miss Heartstrings’ care at the hospital. Secretly, she felt relieved to have woken so early. A tiny voice was chiding her for just up and leaving the little green unicorn alone with the creature. Perhaps she’d go in early today, off-duty, to have a look in.

Happily, the village seemed all in one piece when she’d awoken.

… But something felt off.

Her latent Guard instincts were twinging beneath her skin, making it crawl, and Redheart tensed up. Instinctively, she reached to turn off the taps, then withheld. If there was someone lurking, no need to tip them off...

Enveloped by the sound of running water, Redheart, her mane still soapy, carefully pulled back the shower curtain. Lo and behold, the bathroom was empty, yet the feeling in her skin did not abate.

Redheart took a step forward. All of sudden, her vision blurred.

‘What? Why…’

She slipped and fell, noisily, pulling the curtain down with her. But the bathroom floor was not at all wet. To her horror, she felt the strength leave her muscles. All her nervous stimulus was leaving her, except for a burning itch in her scalp...

Even as her sight dimmed, Redheart managed to spot a pair of forehooves appear in the doorway, clicking together with militant precision. That was how the truth dawned on her.

‘Sedative,’ her nurse’s mind thought as a cold feeling snaked through her system. ‘My brain… They put a sedative in my hairwash…’

'Why this way? Why not chloroform? wondered a remote part of her. A small, dim hope flared up that, whatever else, they wanted her alive, without risk of struggle.

With a last ounce of strength, Redheart found the will to look up at her aggressor, and found herself facing...

… Herself.

The mare was identical to her, save for a hard, grim expression. She wore a muddy scarlet cloak, inscribed with what might have been the symbol of the Eighth Home Guard. Redheart’s old regiment.

From far above, her copy locked eyes with her, a gleam of regret shining through. Then the light from the surface of the waking world winked out, and Redheart drifted into dreamless sleep, of such depths as not even Luna could have dived in after her.

Author's Note:

Spectrum 2021 - Autumn 2021

VoxAdam:

• Alexander Reiner, whose name is still not given at this point, gets referred to by the narrative from the Sunny Equestrians’ POV as an “it” rather than “he”, as they are unaware of his biological sex or self-identified gender. The word “it” may potentially sound dehumanising, but it was that or “they”.
• Luna’s revamped introduction scene contains additional character detail, including the appearances of her pet possum Tiberius, the Canterlot Palace majordomo Kibitz, and Philomena.

Spectrum 2.0 - July 18th 2017

JedR: So, yeah. That’s a thing.

Hello all, Jed here.

So, for those of you who’ve never read Spectrum Classic, as we call it amongst ourselves, the name “Alexander Reiner” has no particular significance. For those of you who have read Spectrum Classic, it has significance not for who Alex is, but for who he isn’t. Namely, he isn’t Marcus Renee. Now, here, you'll have to permit me a slight indulgence in this AN whilst I explain. There are a few reasons Alexander Reiner stepped in to replace Marcus. The big one for me, however – and prepare to be astounded by irony here, guys – is this: Respect. Not for Marcus, necessarily, but rather for Red.

See, it’s no secret that the vast majority of the crew parted from Red on acrimonious terms. A lot of us have strong feelings about Red’s conduct over the years, myself included. However, there is no denying that without Red, we would not have worked with one another. We would not have made what we have together. I personally would not be on this site at all. And I respected Red for a long time, even as I disagreed with him on matters of storytelling and other things. I even dare say the opposite was once true as well, though it seems obvious how Red feels now.

Red doesn’t like most of us. He thinks we’re assholes he’s well shot of, save to throw shade in our direction once in awhile. At the point of me writing this, I have every reason to believe he would be happy to see this rebooted story entirely fail. And I respected him enough to think that, with that being his feelings on the matter, us using Marcus Renee would be insulting. 

Red liked Marcus, you see. Marcus is, or was, a very important character to him, judging by what I’ve seen happen over the course of the three years I worked with Red, and by what others have said. That being the case, I and some of the others felt like a bunch of people Red doesn’t like using Marcus Renee in a story Red doesn’t like would be akin to sticking our middle fingers up at him, and, while this story in and of itself is probably doing that to him anyway, I don’t particularly want to do it any more than we have to. 

We didn’t stay with Spectrum to spite Red or because we wanted glory, no matter what he thinks (and no doubt he’s more than happy to share his opinions on us if you ask him, or even if you don’t; I, for example, am apparently a hypocrite who can't write and makes bad music). We stayed because we cared, we enjoyed working together, and we wanted to carry on telling stories in what became a magnificent, multi-layered sandbox (however flawed that sandbox ended up becoming).

I realise some people will see replacing Marcus with Alex as its own kind of spiteful, as well. Between you and me, I’d considered that point when we made the call, and it's a best of two bad choices kind of thing. Ultimately I feel like we made the right call. It’s what I would want if I were in Red’s position.

Red, if you do read this, consider the incorporation of Alexander Reiner to be our last mark of respect towards you as the man who started Spectrum. Or don’t. Think what you want, really, I don't care anymore, because as Fluffy says in a minute, either way I don't think we’d have had Marcus Renee in this story. I’d just rather think we’re doing it to be kind than spiteful. Personally, I’m sick of spite. 

To everyone else: I hope Alexander Reiner’s story grips you as much as Marcus Renee’s ever did. Rest assured, he's in no way a carbon copy expy. Though he fulfills a similar narrative function for now, it's our intention that his role be far different in many ways, and I’m really excited for you to see what we have in store.

DoctorFluffy: Should point out, the name “Alexander” was my idea based on the rich meaning behind it. Felt like something that’d work perfectly in a story. The surname “Reiner” was Jed’s idea. Personally, I’ve different reasons for making Alexander and doing something new here, on the basis that… that writing Marcus is just painful for me at this point. 

I mean it. You want to know what I associate with writing him? I think of war crimes. I think of him shouting at people as if he’s always in the right, abusing them. And never getting called out. I think of an overpowered character who’s not badass, but just regular ass. I think of every shitty thing Red has ever done, and how inseparable he is from Red being a dick. I can’t write Marcus, I can’t write Convergence, I can’t write anything with him in it cause I’m always thinking of it. 

This is actually part of why I wrote Reiner trying to (*PFFFT*) rein himself in – I wanted to establish we were doing something different. I wanted to make someone with self-control. Unlike Red or Marcus. So actually this has nothing to do with respect on my end (Gorrel my spyt kak, Red!) and more to do with trying to move past something bad. It’s a new kind of Spectrum protagonist (OR IS HE?!) for a new kind of story.

“Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.”

OOH, AND I ALMOST FORGOT! You know how I always complained about Celestia’s characterization in the original story, and you probably did too? Well, not anymore! Coming in this fic, a new and better version of her! Written by people that actually like her! With depth, and resemblance to her show persona! WOW! I have consistently told my friends that if there was anything I could change about the main story, it would be that. And now I can!

YEAH-BOYIIIIIIE!

VoxAdam: Me, I’m simply glad and thankful to be given the opportunity to write at a leisurely pace, in such fashion that the care each of us put into this next chapter will hopefully shine through.

And for the chance at turning a new leaf on Celestia. Definitely Celestia.

TheIdiot: Rather well said you three, here’s hoping we have some idea of what we are doing, after all, seeing how we still have ways to go and much work ahead of us. Thirty-two days is not that much of a gap and our little monthly quota seems to have been met regardless, but it is not in our hands to decide that.

Hoping you all have enjoyed the chapter,
TheIdiot.

Comments

[Mr cold ghost]

I am intrigued by this chapter. I like that the evil redheart character came along and I can't wait to see how she impacts the story here. I don't know what to say of the acrimony between you guys and red so I won't. Thanks for the update.

[TheIdiot]

8305376 You're welcome and thank you for being the first commenter of Chapter 2.

[Doctor Fluffy]

8305376 Jed asked what we could do to create a unique dynamic to set this story or Convergence apart from the rest... so I thought back to Terminator 2, where a hero and a villain come back to the past.

[Mira Starlight]

I can say for sure that this story is going to be amazing. I look forward to reading more of Alex Reiner's adventures.

[Jed R]

8305477
We hope not to disappoint 🙂

[Astorius]

I am excited to see the new version of Celestia.

In the last version she never visited the other side of the portal (even if she was the counterpart of the evil Queen) or discussed anything with their leaders other than Marcus or Stephan but they were military commanders.
I really disliked the whole banter between her and Discord and Marcus memories torturing her this stunted her own growth in my opinion and made her look weak.

I hope her role in this story will charaterize her more as the leader of Equestria.

But enough with this ramble and good luck with this new tale

[TheIdiot]

8305521 Many thanks, and don't worry she will be great.

8305477 I hope you enjoy yourself.

[Jed R]

8305521
Your concerns are our concerns, and one of our chief objectives has been to address them 🙂 Make no mistake - this Celestia will be the leader that she deserves to be shown as.

[ultrapoknee]

The name Alex threw me off a bit, But I'm curious as to how this goes.

[TheIdiot]

8305597 Oh bare with us, for we have only just begun.

[EchoWolf31]

Wow, wasn't really expecting you guys to not use Marcus like that. He was such a big part of Spectrum it just feels weird for him to not be around. Does his character actually even exist in this new!Spectrum, or is he completely gone?

Also happy to see that Celestia is getting a better deal here. She's always been my favorite princess and I didn't really like her personality in classic!Spectrum. She always seemed so weak and vulnerable, or throwing temper tantrums ever other chapter. Like when she let Blueblood get turned into a statue.

[TheIdiot]

8305680 Marcus is gone and ain't coming back.

As for Celestia, I'm glad you approve.

[More Dakka]

Hmm... Alex seems to be weaker than Marcus was. Hope this won't be the standard for all of the in story humans.

I'm very intrigued about this other Red-heart.

[VoxAdam]

8305751

Alex Reiner, not so much a weaker man as one permitted to show vulnerability and less prone to ridiculous machismo, I would say. As with simply letting Celestia be a competent and decisive female leader, whether that alone makes him a good character is something time will tell, but I'm convinced it has the quality of raising the bar, at least.

Have no worry, though, I'm sure Chapter Three will show we don't intend to make Reiner "that guy who faints all the time".

8305680

Aye, I'm happy to find someone else who thinks Celestia standing by while Blueblood got turned into a statue was a major low point for her. Don't get me wrong, Blueblood is a pompous oaf and if I have my way, he won't pass through this story without some considerable bumbling, but right off the bat, I took care to write in here that Celestia does believe him worth keeping in the loop.

[Jed R]

8305751
I wouldn't have said weaker, physically. He's severely injured, having taken a fair few nasty hits, and yet he's managed to push himself to attempting an escape. We've yet to see Alex in his prime, and when we do I'm sure his strength will prove adequate. Though, unlike with Marcus, Alex's physical strength isn't really a focus, not his - as Vox calls it - "machismo". I'm hoping that Alexander proves a far more layered and nuanced individual than Marcus was, and one we're not afraid to find the flaws of, exploit the flaws of and generally put through the wringer til he's a crying mess on the floor. Kind of the way, isn't it?

As for the other humans - that quality of layered, nuanced portrayal is one I demand, from myself and everyone else. That is, to me, a character's real strength. You may not see characters with quite Marcus Renee's capacity to beat up or shout down everyone and every pony who opposes them. Frankly, that isn't a bad thing in my view.

As for the other Redheart - time will tell where that goes.

8305751
I'm going to concur with TheIdiot here - Marcus doesn't exist. In this world, Alexander Reiner takes his place. As I said - people Red hates using Red's favourite character in a story Red wants to fail would be a middle finger, one I don't want to stick up.

As for Celestia - again, our plan is to make her as layered and nuanced as we can, but also to remember that she is a millennia old leader, not... well, I can't think of a charitable way to describe the unstable crying mess of a wuss that was Classic Spectrum's Celestia, so basically, our Celestia is not that.

[EchoWolf31]

8305760
Glad to hear it.

[More Dakka]

8305821 Fair enough, but I will ask does that nuance extend to the ponies? I got a bit of a red flag on that front when it mentioned the vanilla equestria pony guard are supposedly are able to throw insta-death ‘necrosis’ spells around as standard.

[Jed R]

8305862
Equipping individuals with magic in an army with a spell that kills in one hit is no different than human soldiers having weapons that can blow out organs, tear holes through bodies and shoot through armour, never mind humanity's more excessive weapons that are capable of levelling buildings.

It is our intent that the Solar Empire and the Equestrian Guard should be competent, rather than needing to be taught how to fight wars by oh-so-superior human warriors, or being incompetent idiots relying on plot armour and the Barrier to get by. This is not GATE, where a "magical" nation doesn't use magic in conflicts and is content with Hollywood tactics that get them mown down by heroic modern soldiers.

To answer your point then - yes, there will be nuance. I am determined that the Solar Empire will be a threat, one the human race is actually in credible danger from. And that means giving them weapons and spells that a magical society's military would credibly have. A spell that kills people is no different than any magical society having a spell that kills people (the Avada Kedavra from Harry Potter comes to mind). The military of a nation training their spell-wielders in that spell is no different than any soldier being taught how to use a gun. It's already evidently not an "instakill", since Alex was clearly hit by it and is alive. It's a weapon. One of many.

[Doctor Fluffy]

8305862
8305885
We added the spell because, long story short, we were really, really tired of the story using the Solar Empire the same way David Weber uses the Solarian League - that is to say, a bunch of pop-up targets that are apparently threatening, for reals guys, but the story never takes them that seriously in the first place.
8305680
I'm glad you approve too! I hated the classicsverse version of Celestia!

[Drake1703]

8306419
I think you posted a comment with... well, no comment in it.
Update: Nevermind...

8306206 8305821 8305708 8305760
I'm absolutely glad that you're taking efforts in making Celestia the wise ruler she's suppose to be.

[Doctor Fluffy]

8306804
You and me both. I know, I've been very subtle about this, but Classicsverse Celestia just bothered me every time I saw her.
8305821
Plus, he's also suffering from severe internal bleeding! And, we've all come to the conclusion that starting the main character out with everything in a story... is just kinda eh. Sure, Kelsier starts out as a Full Mistborn in, uh, Mistborn, but he's still gotta do work. Meanwhile, I can't think of places where Marcus had to do serious work. Or... where it was shown that the work was work?

[VoxAdam]

8306824

Meanwhile, I can't think of places where Marcus had to do serious work. Or... where it was shown that the work was work?

Well, once in a while, there were the allusions to the tedium of paperwork, a realistic burden which, let's speak fairly, anyone can sympathise with, be they military or otherwise.

But that isn't the stuff that epic tales of struggle are made of.

[Chillean]

Definitely like the new direction so far, and first contact seems to have been established in a believable way for the characters. Looking forward to what comes next!

[TheIdiot]

8306921 Thank you for the support; I hope you enjoy what we have planned.

[Crow T R0bot]

Wow, wasn't expecting that follower to be Evil Redheart, though I'll admit it would probably be premature to bring Weaver into all this.

In the meantime, while I still think this is a tad on the slow side, at least more stuff is happening. We know Alexander's name, and he managed to be a more "properly" flawed individual than Marky-Mark. I hope he measures up as protagonist material, basically taking what worked with Marcus and ditching what...didn't. I'll admit it's hard to imagine Spectrum without him, but in a sense, we haven't really "lost" him.

Also, was I the only one expecting Alex to flip out over that jar of strawberry jam Fluttershy left for him? You seemed to focus on it for a bit, but nothing's come of it.

Also, I seemed to pick up a little more subtext from that story Spike read earlier. Symbolism of the reasons for rebooting much? :P

[VoxAdam]

8308181

Not everything has to be a Chekhov's Gun, but it's pleasing that you noticed Fluttershy leaving the jar of jam she had meant as someone else's care package. When I went back over this chapter in the proofreading stage, I actually wondered to myself if Reiner should spot it, then I figured all his attention would be taken up by Lyra. I am a believer in tiny character details that needn't add to the plot so long as they add to the character.

Yep, although it'll be something to go through introducing Weaver and seeding the mystery around her all over again, it's been deemed for the best that the Empire's aura of menace not be placed on her shoulders alone. And TCB!Redheart is a case of adaptational villainy, since her character in Spectrum Classic was a member of the PHL. You can tell that not all the ponies we like are going to be "good" in this incarnation of the tale...

As for the slow pace, to the extent it doesn't start inviting comparisons to Gareth Edwards' Godzilla, we're going by the principle that the monster is scarier if you steadily build up to it. Besides, Spectrum has always loved taking its time.

[Mr cold ghost]

On another note. I see a reference to House of Leaves. It's been years since I've read that book, but I remember loving the read all those years ago.

[Doctor Fluffy]

8306921
Wow, thank you so much!
8308512
I just picked up a copy a few months ago back in Portsmouth, and I couldn't resist the joke.
8308209
Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaah, I got a bit tired of the PHL and Resisty getting all the cool ponies. Here's an excerpt from our facebook chat where I complained about it:

Fluffy:But please, for the love of god, we cannot let the PHL get all the background ponies and one episode wonders that everyone likes.
It was like a minor itch compared to several broken bones but it still annoyed me.

Sledge (Sarcastically) They have a name, ergo, they must be good

Fluffy: I don't know how I can respond to that. But it dampens the effect of EEEEVIL coming to Equestria if only the nameless faceless masses fall in line, the jerks seem to have always stayed, and the mane cast (and celestia) are there because brainwashing.
Anyone can fall victim to the lies of an evil person. It's not just people you don't care about, it could even be your friends.

By the way, to anyone out there who's just coming back from classic Spectrum: If you have to ask us "were we tired of (Thing I didn't like?)" the answer is probably "Yes, we're working on it."

[TheIdiot]

8308181 Also, the bit with Spike is just him reading a comic book that is based on WW2-esqe comics.

[Jalaras]

He definitely was more restrained than Marcus but with the same suicidal sense of duty/finish the fight. I feel like many of my comments are just going to be lists of questions that can't be answered until the next chapter. Like how he'll react to being woken up and still being human? Does Celestia have any knowledge of what a human is?

I will say that it was interesting to hear the characters talking about him and making suppositions about what humans are like based on his clothing and tattoos. I imagine a creature not naturally attuned to magic would be an intense conundrum to them.

Also, nice little reference to Catseye. Serves as good setup to what I assume will be her antagonist role later in the story. I admit I kind've fell off the bandwagon of the original fic before her arc ever got an adequate conclusion (at this point I never read beyond where Trixe was looking for her human lover who'd been capture by canon-Equestrian rebels, and Weaver had used mental suggestions to make her think that she was destroying an enemy compound, and hopefully make her kill her lover.) I'll probably one day finish the original, or what of it there is.

Thanks again for taking this up, I hope it goes well for you guys!

[Vibrant lies]

8326594
Lmao, you are absolutely correct, I wish you luck on getting it perfect. Hopefully you don't need to buy a whole new tile, or a whole new set.

[CroakyEngine]

Oh, I seemed to have missed a lot since I last checked 'Other Side of Spectrum'. I have about 8 chapters unread on that one. Should I read them or just start with this rebooted version?

[TheIdiot]

8331338 Do whatever seems right to you.

[Vibrant lies]

Celestia remembered how, around a hundred years ago now, preceding his rather sad slip into that new-age fad mentality, Blueblood the Challenger

Wait, the prince is immortal?

[Sledge115]

8333265

Nope, just an ancestor with the same name

[DeKar]

Wow, I have been living under a rock or something because I had no idea this reboot was a thing. Well better late than never!

I shall be keeping tabs.
Good luck to the whole Spectrum crew!

And now just waiting for the next chapter.

[TheIdiot]

8348448 Better late than never.

[DarthEquus]

Pinkie wasn’t done yet. “The way Granny Pie told me, without the thaumaturgons, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of magic. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of Harmony.”

I know you're not sorry, but did you have to reference the abominations that are Phantom Menace, the Midi-Chlorians and the prequel trilogy, you heartless bastard monster?

[TheIdiot]

8350897 It had to be done, for everything must be explained.

[Jed R]

8350897
I like the prequels 😛

[Solo Wing of The Abyss]

Kinda mad at myself that I didn't know this was happening until now. But hey what can you do.

Overall I'm really liking this over the original. First Contact is believable and all the reactions/actions from the pony characters are believable. I'm kind of leaving Alexander out of that mostly because we don't know all that much compared to the others. Though I'm fine with that seeing as he has to be built from the ground up and from what we've seen in these two chapters his actions are believable.

8308209
Trope busting par-excellence with that jar of jam.

Besides, Spectrum has always loved taking its time.

I'm all for taking the time to make the final product excellent but there's a point where you've just got to say, "It will be done by X"

[TheIdiot]

8358881 Well, this is why we have an "update once a month" quota system set up for this kind of thing. Also, thanks for joining us.

[Solo Wing of The Abyss]

8358945

Well, this is why we have an "update once a month" quota system set up for this kind of thing. 

I cannot express my immense gratitude for this in the English language. So I will turn to my somewhat limited vocabulary of German.

Du bist wunderbar! Du und Ihre Freunde ist sehr gut! Ich bin dankbar und sehr glücklick! Viel Glück!

Seriously this is awesome, Now I don't have to sit in a limbo of wondering whether the story is dead or not!

[TheIdiot]

8358985 Danke und herzlich willkommen.

[Sunken EldritchSpires]

I'm surprised to see the original um... imploded, so reading this should be an interesting experience. I imagine it's given you guys the chance to iron out some of the aspects of the first one that either didn't work or went nowhere (As well as, hopefully, gratuitous references to other works in canon - like that weird bit with GTA characters which came out of nowhere and disappeared just as fast.)

It's been a long time since I dug into something with MLP involved - drifted away from it massively - so I dunno if I'll still be invested, but I figure I'll give it a chance given I got fond memories of the original.

[TheIdiot]

8373576 Well, welcome just the same.
I hope you enjoy the story.

[Doctor Fluffy]

8373576
Yeah, the GTA thing wasn't really that well-liked. Red just put it in because there was a future AU of this story with Trevor Philips, and he took them and ran with it.

Uuuuuuuunfortunately, there were a lot of little ways they didn't really fit, and a lot of big ones. One of my gripes being that Viktor Kraber, the crazy Afrikaner guy, could do pretty much everything characterwise that Trevor did, but better.

[McNess]

8403949
I'm going to guess we also won't see Armacham again? Don't get me wrong, I love F.E.A.R., but the idea of our pop culture coming to life in a world that's, essentially, a parallel of our own puts me off. It feels unnecessary.

[TheIdiot]

8405227 Shhhh... spoilers