Chapter 40 - Endings And Beginnings
Water Wings landed outside the entrance to the bunker buried into the side of a hill just beyond the borders of the pony community east of Grand Junction. A light rain pattered down, running off his fur and feathers as if they were oiled. Only his mane and tail managed to catch any moisture, and he paused to shake himself dry after stepping under the shade of the entrance.
He stepped into the darkness and pressed a fore-hoof to a specific spot in what looked like a featureless stone slab. He heard a faint crackle as a spell activated, and the stone slab began to slide to one side.
He slipped through as soon as the opening was large enough to pass, and he bucked his rear hooves against the slab. It immediately reversed and slid closed with a thud.
He continued on into an old mining shaft, magically glowing lamps shining from niches near the ceiling. The light flickered off walls that had been shored up with stones by a team of earth ponies, ensuring the old tunnel would remain stable. As he continued on, stone gave way to cinder block and concrete, until he arrived at another slab, much larger and heavier than the first.
He turned around and bucked it hard several times, the sound of the impact echoing in the passage. After a few moments, a voice crackled over a decidedly non-magical intercom. "Please identify yourself."
"Water Wings," said Water.
"Identification code?"
"Water seven seven five alpha."
"Recognized. Stand back, please."
Water stepped back. The slab shuddered and moved outward and to the side, revealing the two earth ponies moving it. Behind them stood the unicorn Long Distance. Water smiled and said, "Good to see you again, Long. Didn't think you'd be back so soon."
The yellow-furred and tan-haired unicorn smiled as well. "Fortunately, they didn't charge me with anything serious, since I was only in a support role. I pleaded guilty and paid a fine, plus some community service I start next month."
Water stepped into the bunker once the earth ponies had moved far enough to the side to allow him passage. He could have flown over their heads, but all ponies had agreed to respect the security protocol. "I take if you've been back to work on the Farhearing Stone."
Long nodded. "It's about the only thing we have of any use down here."
Water's ears drooped slightly. "I was afraid you were going to say that. You and your cohorts have finished evaluating the information Blueblood gave us?"
Long waited for his friend to come alongside, and they both headed down the corridor deeper into the structure. "They did most of the work, since I was busy being incarcerated. But, yes, we finished analyzing it."
"And?"
"Totally useless," said Long. "At least as far as transformation spell research goes."
Water refrained from admitting he was not as concerned about that. While the Shimmerist community of the west had rallied behind Water as their new leader, he was still not on board with the priority they gave matters like the transformation spell. He decided to keep his disagreement low-key until he could bring them around to his way of thinking, if at all possible. "Glean anything else from it?"
"Some. We were able to at least confirm that some of our math was right concerning the thaumic power curve when applying higher resonance to achieve a more consistent power output."
"You realize I have no idea what you're talking about," Water said with a small smile. "I don't speak nerd."
Long gave him a wry grin as they entered one of the practice chambers. Within, another unicorn was focusing all his attention on a glass of water, his horn glowing brightly while two other unicorns watched, both levitating notebooks and pens. "It means we now know that a unicorn can consciously control the resonance at which their magic operates in order to power more advanced runes." He pointed a hoof towards the others. "Observe."
Water looked at the others again, tilting his head in confusion when he could not figure out what was going on. He was about to ask when he saw frost appear on the outside of the glass. The unicorn uttered a tired sigh and slumped back on his haunches, the glow from his horn subsiding.
One of the other two unicorns stepped forward and examined the subject. The other levitated the glass, turned it over, and a frozen chunk of ice slid out and into the unicorn's magical grip. He nodded in approval and jotted down some notes.
"Impressive," said Water. "I don't think I've seen a freezing spell before."
"Taking heat out of a substance apparently requires a different approach than imparting it," said Long. "We at least learned that much from some of what Blueblood had provided." Long glanced at the others before motioning for Water to follow him out into the hall. "Frankly, we've learned more examining that Farhearing Stone."
"Yeah, about that," Water said. "Have you tried to establish contact again with Equestria?"
"Several times," said Long. "Nopony answers."
"And it's been, what, almost a week now?"
"At least."
Water actually felt a sense of relief. He had never wanted this sort of entanglement with Equestria in the first place. Over the past few days, he had learned that support for Strong's idea of a protectorate was not as solid as he had thought. Yes, there was still the sentiment among the Shimmerists of the west that perhaps the ponies would be better off as a separate nation, but under their own direction rather than the Equestrian crown.
Long led him into another chamber where several unicorns worked at desks, some with paper and pen, some with laptops. On the walls were large white boards with intricate diagrams of magical runes. In the center was a small pedistal whereupon the gem sat. Another unicorn scrutinized it, his horn occasionally glowing as he jotted down notes.
"We're starting to gain more insight into low-level thaumic structure," said Long. "But we've reached the limits of our understanding without risking damaging the spell that allows it to work."
"So you want permission to take the next step," Water said.
"Yes. If you want my opinion, even if we were to be contacted by Blueblood, what he's given us is not worth the risk he wants us to take in requesting protectorate status."
Water nodded. "I agree. I doubt even Strong Hooves would have accepted this. All right, go for it. Do whatever you need to do."
Long turned towards the room, where a few unicorns had already pricked their ears and turned their hopeful eyes towards them. "You heard him, folks. Turn it up to eleven."
Water grinned. "So, one last question for you. What about the stuff they gave us concerning the Tree of Harmony?"
Long shrugged. "I suppose it makes for some interesting reading, or if you wanted to tell some bedtime stories to your foal. Beyond that, there's not much we can analyze and derive any hard data from."
"But is there enough to interest Bright Future?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Where she's desperate to latch onto anything concerning Harmony in Equestria, she may find something worthwhile."
"I guess we'll just have to let her decide for herself," said Water.
Long started towards the hallway. "I've made copies of the information we were given, plus the notes we made. Want me to fetch them for you?"
"Yes, please. Meet me back at the entrance, if you would. I have a lot to get done today."
"Will do."
They parted ways, and Water headed back along the main corridor. He wondered if any sort of good would come out of any alliance with the Harmonists. Despite Bright's talk, he still saw them as having different aims in the end.
When he arrived at the entrance, he found the two earth ponies at the large boulder laughing, and one of them turned to the intercom and said, "No, come on, seriously, who is this?"
The response crackled over the speaker. "I told you already! I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
Water stopped dead, his pupils shrinking.
"Suuuure you are," said the earth pony with a chuckle.
"Come on, Daisy Fields, is that you?" said the other earth pony.
"Hey, that's right!" said the first. "She did a really good Twilight impression at that party a few weeks ago."
"Well, that was admittedly after she had, what, three margaritas?"
"Yeah, Daisy, you having your own little party out there?"
"Save some of the tequila for us!"
"Uh, guys?" Water said in a wary voice.
"I am not Daisy, and I am not drinking!" came the voice again in clear frustration. "I am indeed Twilight Sparkle, and I insist you open this up!"
The first earth pony smirked and said, "Prove it."
The boulder was suddenly enveloped by a purple glow.
"Whoa, what the--?!"
"Hey!"
Despite the boulder being as large as Water and the two earth ponies combined and then some, and likely weighing several tons, it was lifted almost effortlessly and yanked back, causing the earth ponies leaning against it to tumble to the ground.
"Oh, shit," Water said in a small voice.
The boulder was lifted to the side and let down with a thud that shook the ground and reverberated through the corridor, kicking up a cloud of dust. Water was about to use his wings to clear the air, but the dust parted on its own, and a familiar purple alicorn stepped through.
"Who's in charge here?" Twilight demanded as a little dragon accompanied her. The two earth ponies were back on their hooves but had backed off, giving her a wide berth.
"Uhh, that would be me," Water said in a resigned voice.
Twilight marched up to him. "First, I want to make clear that I'm not interested in what you're doing at this facility."
"You're not?"
"I can guess, of course, but I feel the less I know, the better."
"Um, okay. Thanks ... I guess?"
"But there is one thing that you do have that I want, and I'm not leaving until I get it," said Twilight.
Water sighed. "Yeah, and I can guess what that is."
Before Twilight could reply, hooves galloped towards them from further down the corridor. Long cried out as he approached, "What's going on here?! I felt a magic surge and--" He skidded to a halt, blinked, and glanced between Water and Twilight. "Well ... this is awkward."
Water turned to him. "She's here for the Farhearing Stone."
Long paused, glanced at Twilight, then cleared his throat and said, "What Farhearing Stone?"
"That's not going to work," said Twilight. "I already know that it was given to Strong Hooves, and I've tracked its thaumic signature to this place. I can easily track its specific location inside this facility."
Long's ears drooped. "Of course you can."
"You have two choices," said Twilight. "You can force me to find it myself and let me have a good, long look at what you're doing at this facility, or you can fetch it and give it to me here, and I can't report back to any human authorities on what I didn't see."
Water did note a distinct lack of human law enforcement accompanying her. She had even somehow managed to convince her Secret Service contingent to hang back. He turned to Long and said, "I think we ought to take the second option."
"Yeah, I hear you," said Long as he turned away. "I'll be right back."
Water watched him go before turning to the Princess. "I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised at this, uh, generosity."
"Part of it is the fact that I don't believe pony magic can be suppressed forever," said Twilight in a softer voice. "But mostly it's the fact that you appear to be a lot more moderate in your approach than your predecessors ever were."
Water ran a hoof through his mane. "Um, I don't know how much you know about, well, what we were doing with that artifact--"
"Everything. You should know that former Prince Blueblood has been called to answer for his crimes."
Just the fact that the word "former" was used before his title spoke volumes to Water. "If it helps any, I wasn't very keen on this to begin with. I don't think our future lies with Equestria. We have to find our own way."
To Water's surprise, Twilight smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. It's unlikely Celestia would have ever agreed to extending her dominion anywhere on Earth. You need to decide for yourselves what you want to do and not have someone else decide it for you."
"It's probably no news to you that there's still a lot of separatist sentiment among this faction," said Water.
"I'm aware of that. But what do you think about it?"
Water hesitated. He had not expected so direct a question in this regard. "Can this be off the record?"
"Of course," said Twilight.
"Even if we never declare ourselves an independent nation, I feel we will always be somewhat apart from humans," Water explained. "And that goes for all ponies, not just the ones in this part of the world."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Princess, but even on your world, various species live apart. The griffons have their own kingdom, and the dragons have their own lands."
"I was hoping the situation would be different on Earth," said Twilight. "Since you were all originally human."
"Yes, but I suppose Sunset Shimmer did her work too well," said Water. "It's not a case of just believing we're different. We feel different. We can argue all we want about right or wrong, but it's the reality of the situation."
"I just don't want ponies to feel they need to live completely apart from humans."
"If it helps any, I don't intend to widen the divide. I want to heal the wounds that Strong Hooves caused, however well-intentioned he thought he was at the time."
Twilight smiled faintly. "I suppose that's better than I thought I might hear from you."
"I don't want Shimmerism to be known as the faction of hate," Water explained. "I don't hate humans in the least. I do think they would be better off if they considered transformation, but I don't advocate forcing it upon them."
Twilight glanced past Water as hoof-steps approached, and a glum Long Distance returned with the gem in his magic. "Here you go, Princess," he said in a resigned voice.
"Thank you," Twilight said as she took the gem from him. She examined it closely for a few moments, and Water wondered if she were checking to make sure it wasn't a fake. He doubted that they could have fooled the Princess even if they had tried.
Satisfied, she passed it to her draconic assistant. "That's all I wanted from you, Water Wings. I know you're likely disappointed that you won't be able to unlock all its secrets, but the American government simply won't allow this to remain in any pony's possession."
"I understand," said Water. "And I thank you for doing this in as gentle a manner as you could."
"I managed to convince them that you simply inherited the problem from Strong Hooves, so he'll likely bear the brunt of any charges leveled on this side of the portal. Once I tell them that you were cooperative in relinquishing the artifact, I don't think anyone will want to press charges against you or your friends."
"I appreciate that, Princess. I'm trying my best to pick up the pieces after Strong's ill-advised actions."
Twilight smiled. "As much as I would like to stay and hear more about what your future plans are, I have someplace else to be, and I'll be late if I don't head over there right now. I wish you well, Water Wings. Even if I don't agree with your philosophy, I hope you'll realize you can do more reaching out to others than you can being an exclusive group."
Water slowly smiled as well. "Thank you, Princess. I wish you well also."
"Come on, Spike, we have to head over to Pony Hope."
"Right with you," said the little dragon as he followed the Princess out.
Long stepped up to Water and sighed. "Well, that sucked."
"It's for the better in the long run," Water said. "Otherwise, we'd always have this hanging over our heads. If she were to come to us, say, a year from now, I think human authorities would be less forgiving."
"At least we had it long enough for one breakthrough."
Water turned towards him. "Oh?"
"I was going to mention it once I brought those notes to you," Long explained. "We think we've cracked the theory behind the shield spell."
"Really?"
"It's just in the preliminary phases of testing now. So far all we've thrown at it are softballs. We're gradually working our way up towards faster and harder projectiles."
Water recalled what Twilight had implied, that she didn't think ponies could be prevented from developing advanced magic on their own. The analogy he made in his own mind was that it would be like asking a human to go around with their hands tied all day. "So there was some good news to come out of all this."
"That and the fact that we've had our first human migrant into the community."
Water's eyebrows rose. "Seriously?"
"Yep," said Long.
"And he wants to follow Shimmerism?"
"Oh, yeah. He said it was largely the fact that Morning Glow was here and had a lot of influence that he held off. Once he heard she was gone, he was more than happy to approach us."
Water smiled. He wished Strong could be here to see this. While he had never actively gone out of his way to hurt humans, he could have been more accepting of them and reined in his sister more.
Water felt a sense of hope for the first time in a long while. Perhaps the cause was not as dead as some might have thought. This was bigger than any one pony or human, and it had finally become something he could believe in again.
Despite the excitement that news of Bob's research had generated in town, he had managed to keep the gathering limited. Left to their own devices, the entire town would have wanted to come out of a mix of both curiosity and that pony drive to be supportive of each other. The other factor was their "celebrity" guests, one of whom approached him now, trotting across the clearing that had been prepared for the experiment, the cinder block wall some twenty yards or so behind her.
"I'm really looking forward to this, Bob," said Starlight. "I hope our being here won't make you nervous."
Bob glanced to the side, where about forty or so other ponies had gathered, including Whisper Touch and his friends, as well as his adoptive parents, Sunny, Tina and her family, and some of his fellow students from the school. He had included that final lot at the last moment; many of them had been very encouraging of him when they suspected he knew more about magic than most adult unicorns.
"Not really," Bob said. "Either this will work, or it won't."
"Twilight is setting things up so that we can have a better look at what you're doing."
Bob peered past her towards where Twilight stood with Spike, the Secret Service detail having retreated to the edge of the clearing. Unlike the others, they did not have the cinder block wall between them and where he intended to try creating the crystal. "Are you sure you want to stand there?"
"We'll put up a shield," Starlight explained. "One that will automatically darken if it detects a bright light so we won't be blinded if there is indeed an explosion."
Bob heard another set of hoof-falls as Starlight spoke, and Twilight approached, smiling. "I don't think this will fail, Starlight. I can't find a single flaw in Bob's research. It really does look like he reproduced Starswirl's theory, and it's been put to the test many times in Equestria."
"But I've never heard of any pony doing what Bob is trying to do," said Starlight.
"Only because we have no need of it back home," Twilight explained. "Where almost all material is thaumically aware, there's no need to do this sort of transformation. Which reminds me, do you have the quartz crystal you're going to use?"
"Yes, my Aunt Sarah is holding onto it until we're ready," said Bob.
"Are we going to get a chance to examine it before you start?" Starlight asked.
"I want to avoid us handling it at all, Starlight," said Twilight. "I don't want anyone thinking that we've helped him in any way."
"Ah, good point." Starlight smiled at Bob. "I have to admit, I knew you were pretty smart when it came to magic, but I had no idea you were up to something like this."
"To be honest, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Trixie's help," said Bob.
Starlight's smile faded somewhat. "Yes, well ... less we speak about that, the better."
Bob could tell he had touched on a sore point, but before he could apologize, Whisper trotted over to him. "My cohorts are ready to begin soon as you give the word."
"Thanks, we'll be starting soon," said Bob.
"And I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating," Whisper said in a more somber voice. "I am utterly sorry for having brought Susie into your midst. Had I even one iota of suspicion about her--"
"Really, it's fine. I've recovered my magic completely. There was no harm done in the end."
"You're being much more charitable about this than most would be, and I can't help but admire you for it."
Bob didn't think it was anything worth admiring. He simply didn't want to waste time and energy working himself up into a lather over what that pony had done. She would face her time in court, and he would have his say as testimony against her, as the government had seen fit to level charges of attempted murder against her, among other things.
"Anyway, give the word, and we can start," said Whisper.
"I'm waiting for one more person to show up," said Bob.
"Of course."
At least Bob hoped she would show up. She had said she would, but as much as he wanted to believe she was trying to change, this would not be the first time she said she would be there for him and never came.
Whisper glanced around. "Yes, I see Tina isn't here."
Bob refrained from correcting him. She was not who Bob was waiting for. Tina was actually in the air on the lookout for the one Bob was hoping to see.
He glanced over to where his adoptive parents sat, and they smiled at him. Sarah's smile was a little more bittersweet, as she knew who Bob was waiting for.
"If we're going to start soon, we better complete our preparations," Twilight said, saving Bob from a potentially awkward moment.
"Good luck!" Starlight said before turning away.
Bob smiled faintly in return. "Thanks."
As he watched them head away, he felt the first flutters in his stomach. He had tried not to think about the implications of what he could accomplish today, nor the wrenching feeling of failure that also might result. His confidence in his calculations could take him only so far.
He spotted a glimmer of yellow in the sky, and Tina flew in over the treetops. Bob tried not to let the twinge of disappointment show on his face, yet when Tina was close enough, he could see she was smiling. She hovered before him and jerked a hoof towards the trees. "She, ah, got a little lost."
Bob was already peering past her, where an earth pony mare emerged from the trees, followed soon by his mother. Bob broke out into a huge smile and galloped past Tina.
"I swear, you ponies need to put up more signs or something," Eileen said as she stepped into the clearing. "Not everyone is as attuned to nature as--" She stopped short the moment her gaze fell on Bob. Her eyes glistened, and she smiled as she crouched down in time for Bob to leap up and throw his forelegs around her neck.
"Thank you for coming, Mom," Bob said in a quavering voice.
Eileen hugged her son back. "I wouldn't miss this for anything," she replied, her own voice catching.
As Bob broke off the embrace, Sarah trotted up to them. Eileen was about to straighten up when Sarah motioned with a fore-hoof. Slightly bemused, Eileen remained close to the ground, and Sarah embraced her sister. "I'm glad you're here, too," she said in a soft voice.
Eileen closed her eyes and hugged her sister tight, sniffling once.
Bob heard another set of hoof-steps, and he turned his head to see Harold approaching. For the first time in many years, Bob witnessed a smile on Harold's face upon seeing his sister-in-law. As a human, there had not been much love lost between them, and Bob was grateful to see that perhaps all those old attitudes could be set aside.
Eileen even managed a smile in return. "You're looking good, Harold. The life of a pony has treated you well."
"Thank you," said Harold as he draped a fore-leg around Bob's shoulders. "And I thank you for coming as well. He hasn't wanted to admit it, but I think this means the world to Bob."
"It does," Bob said in a soft voice, not afraid to show his feelings for once. He had come to realize that he had buried a lot of emotions over the past two weeks. His single-minded pursuit of his magical research had also been a coping mechanism, as otherwise he would have had far too many family members to worry about.
"Jenny is sorry she has to miss this," Eileen said. "But between the counseling sessions and having to tie up loose ends with the government concerning reassessing her PREQUES rating, she didn't have a lot of time to spare."
Bob nodded. "I understand. From what she's told us, she's got her own magic to sort out."
"She promised to visit Pony Hope as soon as she can, though."
Sarah and Harold smiled. Bob knew from some of the conversations he's had with them that they missed Jenny more than they tended to let on. Bob confessed to missing her as well, despite the fact they had never really been that close before ETS.
"I know I must be the one holding things up," Eileen said. "So let's get this done."
Bob smiled broadly. "Dad, Aunt Sarah, can you show her to where you were standing?"
"Of course," said Sarah.
Tina flew over as the others headed away, her own eyes glistening. "Seeing all that almost made me cry, you big softie."
Bob blushed. "I missed my family more than I realized."
"Oh, I had a feeling you did, but you just didn't want to admit it."
"I should've figured you would've known."
Tina smiled and wing-hugged him. "Good luck, and don't get yourself hurt this time."
Bob chuckled "I won't, I promise."
Tina winked and flew off to join the others. Bob stepped towards where Whisper had organized the crystal ponies, all standing around three unicorns who had volunteered to supply the necessary magical energy.
Whisper turned at his approach. "Ready?"
Bob glanced at Sarah. She immediately levitated the large quartz crystal from her saddlebags and sent it over to him. He grasped it in his magic. "Ready."
The unicorns' horns began to glow, and soon the crystal ponies glowed as well. Bob stepped towards the cinder block wall, stopping about a yard from it. He felt a few more flutters in his stomach, but managed to quell them. This was going to command so much of his concentration that it would be easy to forget all the eyes upon him.
He took one last deep breath, and levitated the quartz crystal behind the wall and out of sight.
He closed his eyes. Holding the crystal perfectly still was now easy for him, as he could sense its structure on a more basic level than mere x, y, and z coordinates. He had to be aware of every facet of its existence down to the quantum level. It appeared in his head not as discrete formulas but as a unified gestalt that defied description.
He reached out a magical feeler and sensed the flow of energy from the crystal ponies. He was impressed at its steadiness, far more than that first experiment. He waited until its power level had peaked so he knew exactly how much he had available to him.
Bob let out another slow breath and reached into the crystal with his magical senses. At once its structure leapt into his mind. Yes, the power would be enough with some to spare.
He began preparing the spell. At once he heard several soft gasps behind him, and from the glow through his closed eyelids reflected from the wall, he could tell his horn was likely blazing with light. He needed to cast the spell in a reasonable amount of time if he didn't want to suffer mana burn.
It took him a little longer than he had wanted to verify that he could sense all of the quartz crystal's structure, and that he had compensated for its shape when he went to apply the spell. His horn tingled a bit, but he wanted to take as much time as he dared.
Finally, he was ready.
He imagined the last rune in his head, and sent it along his mana channels. His mouth fell open at the feedback from the quartz crystal. He could almost literally see the individual atoms rearranging themselves. He felt a brief surge where he didn't want it, but smoothed it out quickly. He made one last tiny adjustment, and then it all fell into place. The last thing he sensed before exhaustion started to take its toll was the first spark of thaumic resonance, and the entire crystal abruptly made a loud noise like that of a set of musical chimes all struck at the same time and silenced but seconds later.
The spell was complete.
He opened his eyes and took a breath to settle himself before raising the crystal back into view to see the results, but he already had a clue when a wide-eyed Twilight suddenly cried, "Great Celestia, he did it!"
Bob raised it into view. Where an ordinary piece of rose quartz had been moments before was a slim crystal of a clarity that rivaled that of the most precious diamond. It gleamed brightly in the sunlight, and glowed from within with the excess energy it had absorbed from the magic channeled by the crystal ponies.
Bob pulled the crystal towards him, almost oblivious to the celebration that had broken out around him. He stared at it, the cinder block wall appearing fragmented and faceted viewed through it.
He was broken out of his reverie when two ponies pulled him into hugs at the same time, Harold on one side and Tina on the other. Sarah and Eileen soon joined in, and Bob almost lost his grip on the crystal. Fortunately, it was quickly scooped up by Starlight as she and Twilight approached.
"Bob, that was incredible!" Starlight gushed. "I think I would have fainted dead away if you had done anything like this in class."
Twilight smiled. "I can already tell just by looking at it that it's almost as good as anything you'd find in Equestria. And I agree with Starlight, that really was amazing."
"Of course it was," Eileen said. "Anything my son does is amazing."
Bob blushed. "Mom, please."
"Even when he was little, when other kids would be banging their toy blocks around, he'd study them like the budding Einstein he was."
Bob face-hoofed. "You're embarrassing me, Mom."
Eileen grinned. "Hey, I missed out on so many years where I could've embarrassed the hell out of you, I have a lot of catching up to do."
Bob actually smiled at this.
The others had backed away slightly, and he knew what they were looking for. No one would say it, of course, as it simply was not polite. A sort of etiquette had developed over such things, especially after hearing how it factored into the Equish language, where even differing inflections signaled a pony's status in that regard, and it was considered a social faux pas to get it wrong.
Then, he felt it.
It waited nearby, like a newcomer to a conversation who didn't know quite how to involve themselves without it appearing as an intrusion. It bided its time, in no hurry, like someone who had just asked him to stop by when he had a moment. No insistence, no sense of urgency, no absolute need to have it. Just as if it were saying, "I'm here if you want me," and nothing more than that.
Bob's smile widened, and he let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you for letting me make the decision."
"What was that?" Eileen asked. "What decision?"
Bob could have explained, but a picture was worth a thousand words. Rather than say anything, he let it happen.
At once the feeling washed over him, but it was not quite the same as other ponies had described. To many of them, it had come with a sense of finality and closure that they had so keenly wanted, a final affirmation that they were on a path that they did not want to be turned away from, for there was always that chance, that tiny remaining doubt that someone could build on and convince them to give up their new life.
Instead, Bob had already made that decision with his own will, for his own reasons, out of his own mind. To him, this step was more akin to being handed a diploma on graduation day. It was a formality, for he had already learned the material, passed the tests, and proven himself. He could take it because he chose to, and not because he needed it.
A collective gasp had gone up from those around him when it had started, and once the glow from his hindquarters had faded, celebration abruptly burst out once more, even more raucous than before. Bob had the good sense to turn his head quickly to get a look before he was swamped with family and friends.
It took only one glance at his cutie mark to know that it was perfect. It appeared at first like a stylized representation of an atom, with the electron orbits in neat ovals, but at the center sat not a nucleus of protons and neutrons but a shard of crystal.
As he suspected it would, it became hidden a moment later as his family closed in around him. Perhaps he should not have been surprised that Twilight and Starlight had joined in as well. Despite the fact that everything that had brought them to this point had been forced upon them, receiving a cutie mark was such a deeply ingrained part of their culture that they could not help but join the celebration. It likely helped they knew Bob had already made his decision before this point ever came.
The collective hug started to break up, but Eileen lingered, and Bob felt a damp spot on his fur near her face. Only when some of the others had retreated did he hear her sniffles and sobs.
"Mom, are you okay?" Bob asked.
Eileen drew back, tears still trickling down her face, but with a smile spread across her lips. "C-can't a mother be happy for her own son?"
"I just want to make sure that ... I don't know how to put this ... Now that I have my cutie mark, I can never--"
"Stop," Eileen said firmly as she wiped her eyes. "It has nothing to do with that. I knew even before you did that you were going to stay a pony. Maybe I haven't been as involved in your life as I should've been, but I know you well enough."
"I just know you were so worried about connecting with me."
"Yeah, and I've learned since then that I can connect with ponies just fine, so why not my own son?"
Bob slowly smiled. "Mom, can you stay a while? Please? I want to catch up with you. Letters can only convey so much."
Eileen ruffled her son's mane. "Of course I'm going to stay for a bit. I'm done with just flitting into town to grab some quick face-time with you before heading off on some other dumb lark."
Sarah stepped forward. "Eileen, you're more than welcome to stay with us while you're here."
"Yes, of course," said Harold.
Eileen stared at them for a moment before chuckling. "Wow, yeah, you two really mellowed out as ponies."
"It has nothing to do with that," said Sarah. "We've heard what you've been trying to do the last few weeks. I'm really proud of you."
"Seriously? I thought you'd read me the riot act for dragging Jenny into my stupid schemes."
"If you hadn't, you wouldn't have been there for her when Fuller eventually came after her. And despite how helpful ponies were along the way, she needed someone human to help ground her." Sarah exchanged a look with Harold, her expression turning somber. "As much as it had pained us at first when Jenny told us she wanted to rehumanize, she has to do what's best for her. She chose to live with you, and we respected her decision."
"I thought you would've regretted it instead," Eileen murmured.
Sarah placed a hoof on her sister's knee. "We'll talk. But with each other and not at each other like we've been doing up until now."
Bob felt a wing wrap around his barrel. He leaned into Tina and said, "Maybe everyone is celebrating my cutie mark, but I think what just happened with my family is more important."
"I was thinking the same thing," Tina said softly. "I'm happy for you. Not many people with mixed-species families get to see this sort of thing."
Twilight stepped over to them, the crystal levitated before her. "I just finished examining this. I've found only the very slightest impurities in it, not enough to prevent it from being used to store magical energy. I imagine with time and effort, you can eliminate even that."
"Thank you," said Bob. "If you can detail what those impurities are, I would appreciate it."
"I will." Twilight hesitated, then added in a lower voice, "And despite the fact that I'm technically not supposed to be encouraging things like cutie marks among the ponies of this world, I am really happy for you."
Bob smiled. While he enjoyed the sentiment, he knew what was really important in the end: that he was happy with it.
"That was absolutely amazing!" Gina cried as she and her friends slowly headed away from the clearing once Twilight and Starlight had left. "And we got to see a pony get their cutie mark at the same time! How cool is that?!"
Juan smiled broadly as he trotted alongside Gina. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting that."
"Well, I was," Gina said in an imperious voice. "I mean, come on, it was, like, overdue. If he could do stuff like that, he shoulda had that a long time ago."
"Maybe it took doing this for him to get one."
"If that's the case, then whatever's behind cutie marks is a helluva tough crowd to please. Hope I don't have to bend reality just to get mine." She smiled and turned to her other friend. "And what's even cooler, Molly, is that you got to see it, too!"
Molly gave her a wan smile and shook out her wings. Her mother had helped her preen them that morning but had been in something of a hurry once they found out Molly could attend Bob's experiment, and some feathers still felt loose. "I hadn't even intended it, really. Mom had to come back to Pony Hope to get some of Dad's stuff, since he's going to be laid up in Grand Junction for a while longer."
"Oh, yeah, I wanted to ask, how's he doing?" Gina asked.
"Better," Molly said, though her voice was subdued. "His leg doesn't hurt quite that much anymore, and the MRI they took yesterday showed that the pins took."
Gina grimaced. "I don't think I could stand having to go around with a bunch of metal holding parts of me together."
"He didn't have a whole lot of choice."
"Too bad unicorn healing spells can't do anything for that," Juan said.
Gina grinned. "Yet." She threw a fore-hoof back towards the clearing. "You can't tell me that's not gonna be the start of something big. No way they can keep telling us what magic we can and can't do. Imagine what I could do when I get old enough to start casting some serious magic!" She looked at Molly. "And when you get older, you'll be making weather like there's no tomorrow!"
Molly's smile faded a bit. "Well, about that--"
Gina waved a hoof. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you want to be a prodigy like Bob, but even he had to start somewhere."
"No, I don't mean that," said Molly in a more insistent voice. "I mean, I don't know what I'm going to be doing yet."
Gina tilted her head. "Huh? I don't understand."
Molly sighed. She had hoped not to broach this subject with them quite yet.
"Is something wrong?" Juan asked with concern.
"Sort of," Molly said.
"Well, come on, tell us," said Gina. "That's what friends are for. Friends forever, remember?"
Molly swallowed. "Would you say that even if I wasn't a pony anymore?"
"Well, of course, what do ... uh ... what?!"
"Gina ..."
"What do you mean not a pony anymore?!"
"Gina, stop it, you're freaking out again!"
"I am not ... er ..." Gina took a deep breath and let it go. "Okay, okay. Calm. Serene. No freaking out. There. Now what in Luna's name did you mean?"
"I don't know what I'm going to do yet," said Molly. "I may stay a pony, and even if I do--"
"But why is that even a question?" Gina asked. "When you left for Grand Junction, you were upset that your father would pressure you into rehumanizing." She paused. "Did he?"
"No, he didn't. He's letting me make the decision."
"Then you should be good. Um, right?"
Molly wasn't sure where to begin, as she was still sorting it out in her own head. "It's not that I want to become human again, it's more like I want to make sure I'm a pony for the right reasons."
Gina nodded sagely. "I get it."
Molly tilted her head. "You do?"
"Yes!" She whirled around to face Juan. "I call this emergency meeting of the Go-Pony Crusaders to order!"
Molly blinked. "The what??"
Gina gestured her fore-hoof towards Molly. "We have here somepony who needs to be told of aaaall the good stuff that comes with being a pony. You got the checklist, Juan?"
Juan gave her an embarrassed look. "Um, no, I left it at home. I didn't think we'd need it here."
"Aw, no worries," said Gina. "We'll play it by ear. Do you at least remember the song?"
"Song??" Molly cried.
"Yeah, that I remember," said Juan. "My sister helped me get better at it."
Molly face-hoofed.
"Great!" said Gina. "And-a-one, and-a-two, and--"
"Gina, stop!" Molly cried. "No song!"
Gina's ears drooped. "But it's a really good song."
"No songs, and no checklists, either."
"Well, we can't do the checklist, since Juan didn't bring it, so--"
"Stop missing the point!" Molly said. "I don't know what this Go-Pony Crusaders thing is, but I can take a good guess, and it's not what I need. What I need is for you both to listen to me."
Gina gave her friend a sad look. "I'm sorry, Molly. What is you want to tell us?"
Molly had to pause to collect her thoughts. She tried not to be upset with her friend, as Gina was doing this only out of the kindness of her heart. "You deserve the truth," she began in a soft voice. "I was taken to the Rehumanization Center in Grand Junction."
Gina gasped. "I knew it!"
"Gina, stop."
"But it's what I worried about when--!"
"Again, just hear me out," said Molly. "I was taken there once, and I was told I didn't have to go back if I didn't want to. But I went back anyway."
Gina blinked in shock. "You did? Why??"
"Because I wanted to remember more of my life as a human."
"Um, okay," Gina said in a confused voice.
Molly stepped forward and pressed a fore-hoof to Gina's chest. "Do you remember anything about being human?"
Gina looked taken aback by the question at first, and she glanced at Juan before replying, "Uh, sure I do."
"Okay, what do you remember about it?"
"What, you want me to give you an autobiography right now?"
"No, just name something that comes to mind," Molly said. "Something you really liked to do or something that made you happy."
Gina looked thoughtful and rubbed her head with her hoof. "Um ..."
"See? You can't remember, can you?"
Gina frowned. "Give me a minute, willya?!"
Juan gave them a concerned look. "I kinda have trouble remembering that stuff, too."
"Look, what difference does it make?" Gina said in a plaintive voice. "We're supposed to be living new lives anyway. That was the whole point of going pony in the first place."
"But to make us forget what life was like before that?" Molly said.
"Hey, my parents sometimes talk about when they used to be human," said Gina. "So somepony remembers."
"But why don't we?" Juan asked in confusion.
"The counselor tried to explain it to me in our last session," said Molly. "Everypony has some sort of damper put on their past memories, but it works best in children."
"But what if I don't need to remember all that stuff?" Gina asked. "Maybe there was something bad in there that I don't want to remember anyway."
"When I started remembering more about when I was human, I remembered more about you two as well," said Molly. "You were both pretty happy, as far as I could tell. I didn't know what your home life was like, Juan, but I do remember yours, Gina."
"You should, I invited you over enough times." Gina smiled. "See? I do remember some of that stuff!"
"Fine, but when you remember it, do you see us as human or pony?"
"Well, pony, of course ... um, wait ..."
"Again, see?" Molly said. "Same problem I had. Even when I could remember the past, I couldn't see myself as human."
"But why is that important?"
"Because it's what you were for most of your life. Do you remember the time I went with your family to the Grand Canyon?"
"Um, no ... wait, yes, I do!" Gina beamed. "Yeah, you had your own vacation canceled. Something about your Mom."
Molly shook her head. "No, it was my Dad."
Gina waved a fore-hoof. "Right, right."
"Do you even remember that?"
"Uh ... kinda." Gina looked thoughtful for another moment, then rolled her eyes. "What difference does it make?" She smiled. "And I do remember something about that trip. That was when we became best friends!"
Molly managed a tiny smile and felt a small sense of relief.
"And then when we got back, Juan became our best friend."
Juan smiled faintly. "Yeah, I do remember that, but only after you reminded me."
Gina's pupils shrank. "You forgot that??"
"Well, not that we all became best friends. I knew that happened. I was just fuzzy on the details of how."
"Admit it, Gina, you had forgotten, too," Molly said. "I had to remind you about it."
"Yeah, well," Gina muttered.
"And you still don't remember why my vacation got canceled."
"Was it important?"
"Important enough for us to talk about it for a while. My Dad had some emergency come up and had to fly out to New York."
Gina pointed a fore-hoof at Molly. "Now I remember! Boy, you were really upset about that. You even cried about it when we were alone."
"And you don't think that's something you should have remembered without having to be reminded of it?"
Gina gave her friend a flustered look. "What's your point, Molly? I don't mean that sarcastically, I really want to know."
"It means none of us have really made any sort of informed decision about being a pony," Molly explained.
"But I like being a pony," Gina said. "Juan, don't you?"
"Well, yeah," Juan said in a subdued voice. "But I kinda see Molly's point."
"But we have it better as ponies!"
"But how do we know that if we don't really remember what is was like before then?"
"That's exactly what I mean," Molly said. "Look, I'm not telling either of you to stop being a pony. I'm just asking you to understand why I have my doubts now."
"But what about you?" Gina said in a worried voice. "Are you going to stay a pony?"
Molly was about to reply when she thought back to that moment before she had to leave for Grand Junction. She had been thinking about it more often after her mother told her they would have to return to Pony Hope for a short time. "Before I answer that, I want to ask you something."
"Of course."
"Did you really mean it when you said 'friends forever'?"
Gina blinked in surprise. "Of course I did! We all did!" She looked over to Juan. "Right?"
"Of course," Juan said, his voice betraying confusion.
"When I was in Grand Junction, I met a pony who took a liking to me," Molly explained. "He acted really protective of me. After my father got hurt, I was scared of being in that town anymore because of all the Shimmerists there."
"Yeah, I don't blame you," Gina said. "My mother says those ponies have a few screws loose."
"But this one pony pledged to protect me," Molly continued, her eyes glistening at the memory. "And he specifically said he would do it whether I was a pony or a human. His name is Water Wings."
Gina nodded. "Okay, but what does--"
"Water Wings?" Juan said. "Isn't he the new leader of the Shimmerists out there?"
"He's what??" Gina cried.
"Yes, he is," Molly answered. "A Shimmerist said that he didn't care if I was human or pony."
"Why are you bringing this up?"
"Because I need to know," said Molly in a choked voice. "Does it matter to you?"
Gina's own eyes glistened for a moment, and she stared at her friend as if indeed trying to envision her as a human girl again. "Of course it doesn't."
Molly slowly smiled.
"Look, did you care that I was black as a human when we became friends?" Gina said.
Molly shook her head.
Gina threw her fore-hoof at Juan. "Did you care he was from Mexico?"
"Of course not."
Juan smiled.
"Do you care we're all from different tribes now?" Gina asked.
"No, I don't," said Molly in a more confident voice.
"Then why should any of us care if some of us are human?" Gina said. "If I'm at all upset about it, it's only because of what I said before, that I think we're better off this way, and we're gonna be able to do amazing things like what Bob just did."
"Humans have done amazing things, too," Molly said. "Just saying."
"Yeah, they have. The important thing is--" Gina wrapped a foreleg around Molly's barrel. "--when I said friends forever--" She pulled Molly over far enough so she could wrap her other foreleg around Juan. "--I meant it!"
Molly smiled and closed her eyes, pausing to take in the welcome and familiar scent of her friends. She had needed this reassurance. She wanted to make her decision free from any obligation, free from any pressure. While she was leaning towards remaining a pony, she didn't want to do it just to please someone else or spare her the pain of a lost friendship.
"There is one little problem, though," said Gina as she let go.
"What's that?" Molly asked.
"We were gonna make you a part of the Go-Pony Crusaders. You don't sound like you'd want to join."
"I really think everyone should be allowed to figure it out for themselves."
"Yeah, I get it, but the Are-You-Sure-You-Want-To-Be-A-Pony Crusaders just doesn't have as nice a ring to it."
Molly giggled.
"Not to mention we'd have to redo the song!" Gina cried.
"Don't forget the checklist," said Molly, still giggling.
Gina smirked. "Forgetting the checklist is Juan's job."
Juan grinned. "Which I did very well!"
Molly fell over laughing and rolled onto her back, her wings spread and quivering. What had started as a difficult and potentially painful moment had turned into a reaffirmation of her most precious friendships. She had gained a sense of relief she had not felt in many weeks.
It helped ease her worries about her family. Just the other day, her father had laid bare all the resentments and bad feelings he had let fester for so long, and it had been all Molly could do not to bawl her eyes out. It had taken her some time to realize that her father was in more than just physical pain, and those feelings were simply part of it. It had left her in the end with a greater understanding of what he had been thinking all this time. It made some of their disagreements in the past make more sense now that she could see it from his perspective.
Yet she had to have an anchor, something she could cling to in what she knew would be more difficult times ahead as they all tried to deal with the feelings of alienation that had been dredged up. She looked up at the smiling faces of her friends and knew she had found that anchor.
Molly snapped her wings to her side and rolled onto her hooves. "Come on, let's go do something."
"What do you want to do?" Gina asked.
"I don't know, something fun!" Molly said. "I have to go back with Mom to Grand Junction tomorrow, and I want to make the most of the time with my friends."
Gina tapped her hoof against her chin for a few moments before uttering a gasp. "Let's go find Sunrise Storm!"
Molly's pupils shrank a bit. "Wh-why?"
"Because maybe she'll give us all the cool details of how she single-hoofedly took down all the bad guys at that FBI facility!"
"She didn't do that all by herself, you know."
"Yeah, but what she did do was really cool, aaaaand I'll bet anything that a certain pegasus filly wouldn't mind hearing about it."
Molly blushed but managed a small smile. "Well ... I certainly wouldn't mind meeting her."
Gina grinned. "That's the spirit! Let's go and let you fan-filly all over her."
"Oh, I am not a fan-filly!" Molly cried, but she was laughing at the same time.
"Suuuure you're not." Gina winked. "Come on, let's go."
Molly tagged along as they headed back towards town. No matter what the future held for her, she would not give up moments like this for the world, for they transcended such concepts as being human or pony.
For once, the choice didn't even matter to her. All that mattered were friends and family, and she felt she had an abundance of both.
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Not a problem, we've all been really enjoying the story- even those of us, I suspect, who've been critical of it. The scene with Molly was especially heartwarming, and it was nice to see Bob bring forth truly new knowledge. I'd love to see the world's reaction to him advancing knowledge beyond even what Equestria has.
Nearly at the finale... Really enjoyed reading this story.
Good chapter! Looking forward to the end.
Ohh wow. Please please please say sequel in the future!!
Also thank you for wrighting this.
9658106
He's already announced that there is one more story in the series. He'll start it up sometime after summer.
well done Bob, im proud of you man.
Except they didn't develop advanced magic on their own. They needed most of their original research from what Trixie and Blueblood brought over and essentially reverse researched from it and the magical items.
By most regards, had Trixie not done what she had done they would not have developed advanced magic.
Unless I'm just wholly misunderstanding the context of how she means it.
Good job Bob! I just wish he could go to school in Equestria. I think Celestia would have a new student very fast.
Hopefully water wings understands that just because he wants succeed does not mean that every pony wants to.
Also bright future is a problem because she is living her life like her future sight is the pinkie sense when it is actually sounds like it lets her see one timeline that has the brightest future based on her beliefs no matter how unlikely it is. As time passes and her visions fail to happen she will snap.
9658088
Oh definitely. This story has been an absolute blast to follow.
9658269
Trixie boosted the process, but they would have figured it out eventually. Humans learned how to use hands to tie knots without aliens telling them how to do so. Sure, they would have figured it out quicker if they were told how, but they figured it out on their own anyway.
Same thing for ponies. Even before Sunset's meddling spiked their instincts up to eleven, magic is a natural, instinctive part of a pony's life. They would have figured out how to make it work and dig into its potential even on their own. Trixie merely gave that cart a little push.
This is exactly the kind of chapter I was hoping for. Twilight and Water Wings, Bob doing his thing and Eileen being supportive, and especially the scene with Molly. Asking the real questions, reaffirming friendships. All good feels here.
I'm a bit of a lurker. But I just want to say I love your writing. You have some of the most stellar characterization I've ever seen, and you tackle complex issues really well. I don't think I've waited for a story to update more eagerly since Murky Number 7. ^^
Not a fan of the night warden OCs thing. The concept just is too Ludacris for me to take seriously at all. Powers and abilities that just seem well over powered to be awesome sort of thing.
Doing great with the story. Looking forward to the next story as well.
I wish I could like this story multiple times, it's just such a great read!
I have enjoyed this story very much and am looking forward to the final chapter and then epilogue.
Molly I hope actually chooses to stay a pegasus but that her efforts to get her friends to remember being human makes one of them decide to rehumanize. I don't want to see the right answer always to be just go back to being human, and I want to see characters that make conscious choices doing both. Something they decide for themselves at the end of the day.
I also want to see Theresa and Tom find a way to make their interspecies marriage work. I can tell that Theresa still loves Tom, and I think there is still love for Theresa in Tom if he can get past the fact she is a pony.
I am a little wary of the Narrative. We don't know exactly what it can or can't do yet or what it will try to encourage Jenny to do. It's a big question mark. I have read all the side stories so I understand the limitations of what Dreamwardens , but I don't understand the limitations on what this thing can do or what lengths it will go to do them. That makes me more comfortable with them than the Narrative. I'm sure it will get expanded upon in future stories, but right now it is a huge question mark.
Billy I have sympathy for what happened to him, but he still made his own decisions. We don't see hundreds of night ponies that Sha'am terrorized doing the same thing. He deserves to be punished. Maybe put him in with some counseling to deal with PTSD as well, but he needs to be locked up tight right now.
Fuller needs to get the worst done to him. He is a traitor to the US government plain and simple and a genocidal racist.
It is interesting how the different branches of Shimmerism are growing and changing. It really is the most diverse group of new philosophies that have grown out of ETS. One thing that seems to be constant between all the groups is the quest for magical knowledge. I'm guessing a lot of the best mages in the near future are actually going to rise out of the Shimmerists.
I'm a little disappointed in Sarah in not insisting on going to see Jenny at this point as a worried mother. I can't help wondering if a little bit of Shimmerist thought has crept into her especially with who pays her bills.
I don't expect any final closure with Sha'am to happen in this story, but I'm sure that something will happen down the line with her knowing both ASGeek and Halira.
Things I would have done different:
1: give more background on the Dreamwardens and more face time with them. I understand the fact that they aren't the center of this story, but they are a big part of the universe as well as a big contributing factor to events in this story, and readers really shouldn't need to rely on side stories to get most of the information on them. While Sha'am is portrayed as she's been presented in them to this point I'm disappointed that ones like Yinyu and Phobia who really give a more caring look at the Dreamwardens got the shaft in favor of her and it left the group as a whole looking like villains. I read all the side stories so I understand they aren't these big bads, and in recent stories their weaknesses have been highlighted. I wish we could have a seen a little more of that here. I don't agree with everything about the Dreamwardens themselves, primarily not the need to have the looming threat of the primordial in their absence, but their power level isn't one of the things I mind, especially when it has been made clear how much those Oaths of theirs really do neuter what they can do even more than what Luna can do. It is just that they have this extra element that seems unneeded with the primordial. In all fairness that's a small nitpick and I have enjoyed the moments when the Dreamwardens have actually dropped the whole behind the curtain act and actually shown their personalities.
2. I would have liked to have seen Sunrise Storm get more time in this story, she felt more a background character. Small nitpick.
3. Molly's arc was sweet, but it also felt like a whole different story at the same time that only limitedly impacted the bigger. I had the same complaint with the Devon storyline in Picking Up the Pieces only Molly's storyline felt even less relevant to the overall plot. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but it felt a little disconnected from everything else.
Given how much Equestria morally and legally owes America for the actions of Sunset on the one hoof and now the Equestrian nobles on the other hoof, Twilight Sparkle is being wonderfully hypocritical in deciding to support the "moderate" terrorist faction here.
You don't want Shimmerism to be known as the faction of hate, but you are unironically taking the exact same position that moderate Nazis -- the actual historic ones -- took. "We don't actually hate Jews, we just want lebensraum for we superior Aryans, without any of them contaminating it!"
9660225
And why exactly Equestria should answer for the actions of Sunset Shimmer? Imagine a country being forced to pay reparations for the crimes of a runaway declared terrorist just because his nationality.
If anything, they have been more than generous. Without Twilight, Stalight and the support of Canterlot arcane division, Shimmer would had effectively turned Earth into Equus 2.
Also they have provided all help they could to support the converted, creating the rehumanizing procedure and counseling the american government about how to handle its new pony population.
its baan a very enjoyable read
9660479
Because America literally has no reason other than Equestria's say-so that this wasn't a state sponsored terrorist action on Equestria's part, and a substantial part of Equestria's actions since then have continued to support that interpretation of events. Which, in case you forgot, is exactly why Celestia was so absolutely angry over the situation and STOMPED on Blueblood in a way that was pretty much inconceivable for the norms established in domestic Equestrian politics.
Twilight taking conscious, malicious action to subvert American government authority "because she doesn't think it's fair" strongly reinforces the factual basis for concluding that the entire thing has been an Equestrian state-sponsored WMD attack.
9660634
American paranoia is not a good argument to say that Equestria is required to answer for Sunset's lone wolf actions. Celestia stomping down hard on an overly ambitious politician is a mark in Equestria's favour, not a mark against it, and if anything an event America can relearn a lesson from. Celestia cleaned house and removed one of her office's highest ranking officials and a personal relative from office, stripped him of all titles and protections, and threw him in front of a court. No closing of ranks, no trying to shield him, no excuses, no covering up.
America is not really in a position to criticize that level of commitment. Not without whoever makes that claim getting eviscerated by the press and fellow politicians.
As for Twilight... well, technically she did exactly what the authorities asked her to. She was sent to retrieve the Farhearing stone. That was the extent of her mission. She's not allowed to interfere in earth's domestic magical research and/or education beyond what is asked of her, so that's exactly what she did: not interfere.
9660225 Your blatant misrepresentation of Water Wing's and Twilight's actions would merely be eye-rolling, if you weren't also trivializing one of the worst eras of modern history in the process. Falsely comparing them to the actual Nazis is not just wrong, that's downright offensive to anyone who truly remembers.
9660753
It's not paranoia, it's the fact that America exists in the real world whereas Equestria exists in a childish utopia. Stories like Pandemic crack the difference and that's what makes them so interesting! Still, the fundamental naivete of ponies other than the utterly fanatical Sunset and her brainwashed pseudoponies shines through, both for good and for bad. More to the point, it's literally the job of intelligence services to be professionally paranoid and consider all the options, and what Sunset did is very literally a textbook "state sponsored deniable WMD op".
The United States government, to its credit, chose to extend considerable trust to Equestria in taking their version of events largely at face value; that's exactly why undermining that trust is a big deal. Again, that's why Auntie Celestia did not mete out the expected, "Naughty Blueblood, but you meant well so apologize and give auntie a hug." to "I am disowning you and pronouncing a social death sentence on your entire family. Now get out of my sight before I decide to put atomic disintegration back on the table."
9660479
It's not, "just because of his nationality". It's, "You seriously believe us that your head of state's personal protegee single-handedly engineered and deployed a weapon of mass destruction as a completely rogue operation which just happens to advance Equestrian interests, engender its victims with fanatical loyalty to you, and makes us dependent on you to handle the aftermath?"
From any realistic point of view -- especially without native knowledge of how magical engineering works -- that is a huge stretch to believe.
9662281
Except, as I pointed out, that is specifically identical to the "moderate" Nazi political position. "We don't hate Jews, we just want lebensraum for Germans, we support them living peacefully somewhere else." That is exactly the moderate Shimmerist position; they want to carve a 'peaceful but isolated' pony nation out of American soil and throw the native humans out.
9662321
A childish utopia that they manage to make work. You've found one of the reasons why Shimmerism, Lunism and Harmonism exist.
But yes, still paranoia. Because if Sunset converting and brainwashing the populace was part of a government sponsored plan, it makes zero sense for one of the ruling caste's members to personally travel to the world being targeted, personally go looking for the people in charge and put every ounce of trust up to and including her own life in the hands of the nation currently being targetted, all for the sake of stopping this supposed "state sponsored deniable WMD op". Anyone showing that much dedication to stopping what they claim to be a rogue member of her own society is deserving of being listened to. Which America did, because they're not idiots.
I'm not saying that undermining that trust isn't a stupid thing to do. It is, and Celestia reacted appropriately. Which America would have seen and at that point... really can't demand further compensation, because the odds that they would act so swiftly and decisively were one of their own caught in such an act is questionable to say the least.
As for the moderate Shimmerists, Water Wings wants to attract humans, not throw them out.
9662321 Yes, you "pointed out" something that was completely wrong. Even your cherry-picked out of context quote showed that Water Wings is not after what you claim he's after. And if that was all, you would merely be a joke. But on top of that, you are also trivializing one of the worst eras of modern history in the process, which makes you outright despicable.
A utopia that works by act of plot in the original canon, and *doesn't* work in the Pandemic spinoff. Lunists, Harmonists, and especially Shimmerists are all literally brainwashed, delusional, and irrational. That's an established fact in the story, not a point of debate.
9663396
Feel free to debate with other people in the comments, but kindly keep your insults to yourself.
9663562
It still works even in Pandemic's universe. Which is why it's one of the reasons why Shimmerism, Lunism and Harmonism persist and even attract human followers, which you can't claim to be brainwashed by ETS. Because each of those religions can take some of their core aspects, point to Equestria and go "there's your evidence that it's possible. If they can make it work, so can we."
9663647
Will the next chapter deal with the trials to Trixie, Blueblood and Spoiled? And what about Fuller?
9662321 I personally advocate for exiling all humans to the Moon! I'm sure they'll be juuuuust fine!
And then my army of genetically-engineered clones will CONQUER THE UNIVERSE!! MUWAH HA HA HA H- is this mike still on? SHI-*click*
9660753
Virtually every nation on Earth could learn that lesson. Start reading world history. Most leaders tend to be dirt bags to one degree or another. They're simply forgotten afterward because they're not bad enough in comparison to the worst.
Frankly, I alone possess the ABSOLUTE PERFECTION to be Supreme God Emperor of Mankind... I'm half-way through building the suit already!
9665472
I'll be covering the aftermath of much of that. I hope to post the last of the story this weekend (the last chapter and the epilogue).