Chapter 29
“Uh…” Ocellus spoke up from the front of the group, raising her imitation human hand to get their attention. “I really don’t want to make this more difficult Princess, but when you say ‘everypony’ what about…” She looked down, struggling to complete the thought. She’d been so brave over the course of this whole adventure, but Ocellus was running out of energy. She’d already saved the world her fair share of times.
Twilight waved a wing dismissively. “Oh, uh… I think that’s better for…” She nodded to the human woman. “They’re her citizens.”
“Well, not from my constituency, but yes. I’ve been sent partially to see to their well-being.” She raised her voice just a little, and seemed to speak at the human foals more than to them. “Obviously the two of you will be remaining here. You both have families that have been zealously interested in seeing you returned. And you, Marie… the alien ambassador here promises she will do everything in her power to cure your condition. But the best help available is on their island, not ours. We’ll be sending a volunteer from base to keep you company for the duration.”
“There is no cure,” Ocellus thought to Marie, her heart racing. “Equestria has been trying to ‘cure’ the ponies we converted in the invasion for almost a decade. It’s not possible. You can get your color back, not depend on harvesting love any more, but that’s it. You’ll still be one of us.”
She looked up, meeting Twilight’s eyes. The princess had to know that. She had been at the forefront of much of the theoretical magic they tried. All her spells had failed. Twilight met her expression with a harshness that communicated its own message, without the need for any magic: I know, be quiet.
This is more politics. They’re doing this for diplomacy. Maybe the humans know too, and they just want to get rid of her. Unfortunately for them, the children weren’t cooperating. As her friends obeyed Twilight’s instructions, Helen and David locked arms with Marie, glaring at the soldiers all around them.
“You can tell our parents we chose to go with her!” Helen yelled, as though she thought she were still being recorded. Then again, we probably are. “We weren’t pressured into it, or forced, or even suggested. In fact you can tell them we went under all the bloody duress in the world. Tell ‘em you kicked and screamed and begged us to wise up, and we wouldn’t have a wee bit of it.”
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible,” MP Henrietta Prescott said, walking past Ocellus’s friends and closer to the children. She no longer seemed as afraid of them as half of the soldiers in the room. She lowered her voice as she got closer. “Your parents are the ones who get to make that decision.”
“I don’t believe for one second that Marie’s mum said she could go,” David said. “So why should ours? We’re old enough to know what we’re doing. We’ll be, like… ambassadors for the human race. It’s like Star Trek, we can do it. They’ll already be getting their information about humans from the way we acted.”
“Get over here Ocellus,” Twilight hissed. All her other friends were there, along with the Elements, all standing in the diagram that Twilight had chalked out onto the floor. But Ocellus hesitated. She took a step back, towards the others. David offered her his other arm as she got close—Ocellus took it.
Twilight’s going to be furious. But my family isn’t back there anyway. I’m not going to let them do this. Her motivations certainly had nothing to do with the flood of emotion she felt from David—admiration, pride, and something else. Something he had felt for Marie, not too long ago. Don’t even think about it, Ocellus. You will not.
She was though.
The human winced visibly at David’s rebuke. “Your friend here is a unique case. I know her mother would have her remain—but there the safety of all Britain is implicated. We don’t know the consequences of her… alteration. The best thing for everyone would be for her to go to their homeland and receive the treatment she needs.”
Ocellus almost interrupted right there to tell them the truth. But Twilight was already glaring at her. If she did much more to show her frustration, the princess might very well think she had betrayed Equestria. Then they won’t take my advice about avoiding a war. What if they think it was all a lie? Keeping Equestria safe was important to her. Maybe that meant staying behind.
She could see her own friends’ looks of desperation. Even Smolder seemed to be pleading her silently to just cross the room. Once she did that it wouldn’t matter what the humans did. Escape from this island was only a few steps away.
Ocellus refused to take it.
“So tell my clan the same thing,” Helen said. “Tell ‘em we all got real knackered with the horse flu, needed to see horse doctors. We’ll be back right quick, as quick as Marie.”
Commander Blackburn stepped up beside Prescott, speaking just loudly enough for all of them to hear. Well, the humans and Ocellus. Her friends and the Elements were on the other side of the room. “Do you want me to force this, ma’am? My men could… take steps.”
The woman’s eyes seemed to be entirely for Helen. A mixture of complex emotion boiled there, and eventually she settled on Ocellus. “What about you? I thought you were one of them. The shapeshifter, correct? Don’t you want to go home?”
Ocellus blinked. The human had actually asked what she wanted, while Twilight just gave her instructions. But what did she want? She didn’t actually care what the human diplomat thought, no matter how much the other humans respected her. It was these new friends she was concerned about. “If you’re worried about them not letting you come back, Marie, I could stay behind. They’d want to get me back, I’m sure. Like… trading hostages.”
“You can right shut up,” Helen interrupted. “No need to be martyr for the cause, mate. We got yer back too.”
Marie might be new to her powers, but Ocellus could see at one glance that she could feel herself becoming the center of conflict for the entire room. Here I am upset that Twilight didn’t ask what I wanted. “What about you, Marie?”
Maybe the human had enjoyed being on the sidelines, because she squeaked quietly at the pressure, and struggled to answer. But then she did. “I want to see your world. And I know that everyone here hates me. They’d rather just have me gone—I make negotiations scary and awkward. Better to just disappear.”
“We don’t,” Helen said, squeezing her arm. “We’ve been with you this long, Marie. Not gonna turn around now.”
Prescott glanced to the side again, and Ocellus could feel her deliberating. Where the human warriors kept their minds disciplined, this one was only hard to read because of how much emotion she felt at once. She was under the pressure of an entire country, maybe a whole planet depending on her. And now they’d thrown a wrench into her perfectly negotiated plan.
“We could stay,” Smolder said, walking slowly across the room until she was beside Ocellus. “I was eager to get home. I’m sure everycreature was. But if we’re here… that means the big ponies are going to be rushing even more to get something worked out, right? Pressure negotiations are great. They stopped dragons from invading Equestria. Could work out great to keep ponies away from this place.”
“We were never going to…” Twilight began, watching in horror as one by one Ocellus’s friends crossed the room. They weren’t going to leave her behind. Some felt frustrated, or frustrated that they weren’t going back. But they also felt loyalty, for her as well as Marie.
“There’s nowhere else to keep you,” Prescott said, her voice desperate and rushed. “I’m told you haven’t enjoyed your time here in Armitage so far. It could be some days before an agreement is reached. The Prime Minister doesn’t even arrive on the flotilla until tomorrow.” But then she seemed to realize who was listening, and she trailed off.
“Eh, I’ve lived in worse.” Smolder flopped to one side on the cement. “Not having the sun is pretty rotten. But maybe you could get some of those guys with weapons to bring some big lamps or something.”
“Or movies!” Silverstream supplied. “Your movies are amazing! The one about the princess who almost cursed her kingdom with eternal winter… that’s so relatable! Maybe you have more movies about that?”
“Eh, could’ve had more dragons,” Smolder muttered, feigning disinterest.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather make this simple for all of us?” Twilight asked, desperate. “Almost everypony would be back where they belong. It would be the most direct resolution for all involved.”
“We’re sure,” Gallus said, resting a wing over Silverstream’s shoulder. You’re only staying because she wants to. But Ocellus found she didn’t even care. Their relationships were what made them friends. It didn’t matter that some felt a little different than others.
“Yona wishes we were outside,” she declared. “But friendship is more important. She knows what it would be like to get separated from her friends. Wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
“I…” Prescott glanced to Blackburn one last time, then turned away. “I need to make a phone call. Princess Twilight Sparkle, if you’d come back with me for a moment…” And they left.
Ocellus couldn’t hear them from across the room, though she could feel the roller-coaster of emotions from Twilight and a confusing mess from the human woman. She couldn’t guess who they were talking to that would be more important, but it didn’t surprise her a phone was involved. The most powerful magic in the human world. I bet if ponies had phones they wouldn’t be half as afraid of us.
Commander Blackburn folded his arms, watching their group while Prescott talked. “I’m glad she didn’t want me to separate you,” he said. “It would be unhappy all around if we were ordered to… well. We still might be. The safety of our nation is in jeopardy. Perhaps two nations, or more. I apologize in advance if we’re asked to do anything.”
“Oh, you’ll do more an’ that mate,” Helen said. “Me family will be right furious if that happens. The ethics complaints you’ll be gettin’, you won’t believe.”
Blackburn was unintimidated. But while his face remained flat, Ocellus could sense a little of what he hid. He actually admired Helen’s loyalty. When he said he didn’t want to hurt them, he meant it.
“You realize we’re going to friendship kindergarten for this,” Sandbar said, conversationally. “And we failed our exam.”
“You think?” Silverstream asked. “I think we did pretty good. No wars yet!”
“I don’t know what’s the big deal with the exam anyway,” Gallus said. “What happens if we fail, we stop being friends? Who cares about the dumb grade.”
Ocellus cared—but not as much as she cared about her new friends.
“Alright, troublemakers…” Twilight said, crossing the room a few moments later. Ocellus winced in preparation for the worst—but it was mostly frustration she felt. “Apparently the rescue has been canceled. Unless you’re willing to change your minds and go to all the right spots…”
They all shook their heads.
“Yeah, I thought not,” she sighed. “Negotiations are… well, none of your business. But we both agree that we have more to gain from friendship, and you’re all safe enough here…” She didn’t look happy as she said it, though. “I’ve received a promise that you’ll be brought to the flotilla after all the peace agreements are signed. That should be more than enough time to work out all the details about who is going where. Maybe for you human foals to get your permission. I’m… not really party to that process. But you need to know…” Now she looked away from the humans. “If you stay behind, we won’t be mounting another rescue. You’re all past cutie-mark age. You have the right to decide this for yourself. I would be no Princess of Friendship if I broke yours.”
“I’m sure,” Ocellus said. “And if that means no more rescue, I’m okay with that.”
But they wouldn’t be rotting away in the Armitage facility forever. Less than a week later, Commander Blackburn arrived to announce they had a ride waiting. “Hope you’re all ready to look pretty for the cameras! It’s time to sign some treaties.”
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Whoa, a week's time skip? Just like that?
Well, at least everyone is talking and acting reasonable now.
Sandbar is being very quiet, more then Yona. I would think he would be backing Ocellus up, but he's been a real background guy.
Well, they tried the easy way but "the best laid plans of mice and men..."
9540757
Like Applejack
At least theres an awful lot of movies to get through, a week just aint long enough.
At least if youd wanted things to go downhill instantly and permanently, just bring Rainbow Dash?
Yeah, seriously, a 1 week jump with barely a mention in the very sentence that stated it...?
All us readers can clearly picture things like "Yona SMASH!" and Smolder finding out that concrete tastes delicious happening and what it takes to settle things down again!
9540879
Give them Netflix and food for a week and they'd be fine.
I find myself with mixed feelings about Twilight's reaction to the group's insistence on staying. And handling the whole process. It makes sense, given the stakes, but it still feels disconcerting to see her in full political mode and treating this interdimensional friendship as nothing more than an untimely monkey wrench in her carefully laid out plan. It works, yes, but I'm not sure how I feel about that.
In any case, looking forward to seeing where you go from here.
Yeah, but that sure as heck doesn't mean that Twilight wouldn't still try as hard as she can to change that. She's Twilight Sparkle, after all. She'll see it as a challenge, spend several sleepless nights researching, start to go Twilinanas, require a quick intervention from Spike and friends, and then keep at it at a more reasonable pace for a brief while before the cycle repeats, up until she gets somewhere worthwhile with the project.
Granted, that's all still no guarantee. But darn it, Twilight would certainly prefer to be the judge of that if she can.
I know the chapter presents it as more a promise made more for politics than anything else, but honestly, I can't see Twilight not trying to make good on her word however she can.
Actually, I don't know if Star Trek is the best comparison, because I'm pretty sure that the Prime Directive would apply to this situation in some manner...
Besides, Marie is still going to need instruction on how to adapt and use her new abilities, and Ocellus, you're the only changeling around now who can do it, and do it right, and you know it. Wherever Marie goes, you probably should too.
Heck, that movie would be relatable to all of Equestria, wouldn't it? Their own origins as a nation was due to basically that same sort of scenario, after all!
She does have a point there.
Well, I'm glad they're not going to stay in that base too terribly long, because I'm pretty sure everybody was getting real tired of that little arrangement. I know I was. Too much potential there for a disastrous incident, as we already demonstrated earlier in the story.
9540886
Yeah, I would've liked to see some of that too, and I feel that time skip is a bit too abrupt. If anything, I would've at least saved it for the first line of the next chapter, rather than sticking it at the end of this one almost like an afterthought.
But at the same time, I can see how the time skip is a good thing too. Plenty more story to get through, after all, and it's important to keep things moving. As entertaining as the gang's antics at the base might have been, it's ultimately not that key to the story at this point, not unless somebody stepped out of line and created an incident. But everybody's making it a point to try and move away from that now, so I wouldn't've expected that to transpire now. So probably better to keep the story moving by jumping to the next key event.
9541127
If this was a realistic story, I'd give them a week to fix that little oversight. ♪♫
9541153
Ha-ha
I just realised, if Britain got hit by a massive wave from the appearance of Equestria, then every nation that has a coast on the north sea probably did as well. Norway, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, and France all probably have massive damage to their coasts as well.
Reaslising that makes this whole situation far worse, because it's not just one nation talking to one nation. Of course the EU could probably step in to create a more unified front for Europe, which would simplify things a bit.
Yep. The friendship class on a friendship cruise decides that sticking together as loyal friends is more important than going home.
9541249
This is Brexit UK in the future :P
Ahhh, I see some shared world-building.
Yeah, Twilight knows you as a teenager.
They can probably find ones with dragons.
That's a pretty low bar to meet, and we still don't technically know that it's true.
Yeah, no further rescue as the price for this group decision makes sense.
I want 100 million stories about converted former ponies in this universe, STAT. >:V
Oh. That was a time skip. Uh. Okay? This happened.
She has a good point.
Yay!
Good to see everything seems to be working out here.
9541022
I agree. It feels kind of ooc for the princes of friendship to be encouraging people to break up their friendship.
I just realized that the commander name is Blackburn and I just got flashbacks to the battlefield games also I love how this story is going towards