Day One, Afternoon: Something Inexpressible
The train pulled into the station, with a small crowd of its residents looking on at the special train carrying the town’s most famous inhabitants. With the recent pool tournament now over, some semblance of normalcy was returning to the now-small city, but the recent announcement that Ponyville was playing host to some special delegates for the week was too interesting an opportunity to miss.
Having arrived earlier via naval airship, Divine wasted no time in having his troops get to crowd control. “Good citizens of Ponyville,” he called out via a voice amplification spell, “I know you’re interested in meeting our guests, especially as news from Canterlot has likely arrived. But please, give Princess Twilight and her retinue and guests time to debark the train! I’m sure there will be more information to come later!”
But as he spoke, Applejack hopped out of the train, a scowl on her face, something he took note of immediately.
“Everything okay, Applejack?” he asked her.
“No, it ain’t, Div,” she told him. “An’ if’n you have any lick o’ sense in wanting t’ protect yer fillyfriend, you’ll arrest that damn changeling!”
“Changeling? But I thought that both Miss Pommel and Mr. Versatile were cleared by Twi?” he asked her, ignoring yet another implication that he and Twilight were already an item.
“Not them! That damn changeling pretending t’ be mah counterpart!”
“Huh?”
“That’s it – Ah’m done with this farce!” Before he could ask anything further, she ran through the crowds and towards her farm, barely dodging any pony in her path as she beat an angry retreat from the station.
Princess Twilight was the next to debark, watching sadly as the farmmare vanished into the distance. “Don’t worry about it, Div,” she told him. “She’s just…well, let’s just chalk it up to cultural clash and leave it at that, okay?”
“As long as you’re okay, Twi,” he told her.
“I am; I promise you that,” she insisted, giving him a smile that she hoped would set him at ease.
“Well, we have the chariots ready to take you to the castle,” he told her. “Just say the word and we’ll get going.”
“Thanks, Div. It looks like it’s going to be a long week,” she sighed.
“Well, I’ll be glad to help in any way I can.”
“I appreciate that,” she told him as she heard the others step out of the train car. The alicorn turned to look at the human Applejack first. “Well, I had arranged for you to stay with the Apples, AJ, but I’m afraid that might be out of the question now.”
“That’s okay, sugar,” Applejack replied. “Ah do appreciate the effort, though.”
“Fortunately, I’ve got plenty of room at the castle,” the alicorn said, gesturing towards her home in the distance.
The humans all looked at it as one, but it was Pinkie’s initial comments that started it off. “Wow, it looks like a gaudy Chinese-made toy!” she commented.
“I think I had something like that for my Fairy Princess dolls when I was a girl,” human Fluttershy added.
“So did I,” teen Twilight chimed in. “Did yours come with the magic dragon that shot NERF fireballs?”
A chiffon-haired head nodded. “I think so.”
Rarity turned to Rarity. “Well, I have plenty of room for you at my place,” she told her counterpart. “Usually Sweetie Belle stays with me, but since I knew you were coming, she’ll be staying with our parents this week.”
“Thank you,” the teen fashionista replied. “I’m honored.”
“Well, I already told Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and they’re absolutely peachy keen to meet you!” Pinkie told Pinkie.
“Cool,” the teen replied as she grabbed her bag. “Lead the way.”
“Sure, just follow me!” the pony said, bouncing off merrily. The human, however, had to jog to catch up with her counterpart.
Meanwhile, pony Fluttershy looked at her taller human counterpart with some trepidation. “Um…my cottage isn’t very big, but I’m sure I can find some arrangements for you, if you want to stay with me…if that’s okay with you.” She tried to hide behind her mane and it would have been adorable if it wasn’t for the fact that she was shaking like a leaf.
The human girl looked at the smaller, quavering pegasus and felt both sympathy and recollection. It wasn’t that long ago that I was just as bad as she is, she had to admit to herself. And if Sunset and the others had helped her to get beyond that, maybe she could do the same for her counterpart. Bending down to look at the mare eye to eye, Fluttershy gave her most disarming smile and said, “That would be great, thanks.”
“Oh, I hope you’ll like it,” Fluttershy said as she trotted over to assist her counterpart with her bags. “It’s cozy and while some ponies say it’s too close to the Everfree, I like the peace and quiet.”
Rainbow, on the other hand, looked at her pegasus counterpart. “I guess I’m staying with you?”
The pegasus shook her head. “Naah, you don’t got wings! And only the coolest of ponies can live in cloudominiums,” she explained. “Besides, there’s no way I’m staying in that ugly-ass castle of Twi’s!” She then realized that said owner of castle was there and with some embarrassment, added, “Uh, no offense, Twi.”
“Rainbow,” Princess Twilight reminded her friend, “you agreed that you would stay at the castle this week—”
“Not now, Twi; gotta fly!” the Wonderbolt shouted as she rocketed off towards her home. Within a second, both a sonic boom and a prismatic explosion of light filled the sky as the pegasus continued to move at a speed that surprised the humans present.
The human Rainbow raised her hand over her eyes to block out the glare of the sun as she tracked her counterpart. “Wow, she’s fast,” was all she said.
“Lt. Dash is one of the fastest fliers around and a capable Wonderbolt,” Divine told her. “She’s got a few flaws, admittedly, but we all do. We are only pony, after all. Or, well, human in your case, Miss Dash.” He then turned to one of his guardsponies, instructing him to get the chariots ready.
Princess Twilight looked at the clock on the nearby tower, then to the chariots as they approached a few seconds later. “Well, if we all get aboard, I can get you settled into your rooms at the castle. Then I can give you all a short tour around the city before tonight’s welcome dinner.”
“A welcome dinner?” Rarity asked, looking more than a bit starry-eyed about it. Her counterpart, long used to it, gave a simple smile, recalling when she was as young and idealistic.
“The mayor insisted on it,” Princess Twilight explained. “I like to be informal, but as she likes to point out, I forget from time to time that I’m a princess and some things just require a more formal and diplomatic touch.”
“Formal dinner, huh? Should be interesting,” teen Twilight admitted.
“Ugh, I hate vegetarian, though,” Rainbow gagged.
“Don’t worry, Rainbow. I hired a griffon chef to cook for the duration while you’re here, and I asked Sunny to send me some human cookbooks. Plus, as I understand it, the royal kitchens at Canterlot Palace will be teleporting the human food items they’re making for your week here, and if nothing else, I do remember what little food I had while I was there.”
“Plus, I’m here, if you ladies remember,” Raspberry, who had been silent all this time, reminded them. “So I recall some recipes as well.”
Twilight blinked. “I know you’ve been to Earth before, Razz,” she told the mulberry unicorn, “but you’ve been to Earth, Twi?”
It was Rainbow that answered: “Uh, remember that ‘mysterious exchange student’ we mention every now and then? The one that kicked Sunny’s ass?”
As if on cue, a magenta flash encircled the alicorn, and when it faded, Twilight Sparkle stared at a near-copy of herself, with the only differences being that the new Twilight was about the same height as her sister and had a slightly larger bust than Twilight’s own. She wore a sky-blue blouse and a poodle skirt, compared to the scholar’s own current black hoodie and jeans.
Seeing her counterpart looking more like her than ever, the human plum-haired girl commented, “This…is weird. And given that I’ve put up with seeing my sister and her, um, ‘twin’? Yup, definite weirdsville. I can see why Shimmy was overwhelmed at first.”
“Sorry about that,” the princess apologized. “I can change back, if you prefer.”
“That’s entirely up to you, Twi. Besides, to be honest, looking at you gives me a sneak preview of how I’ll look when I reach my college years.”
As if on an unspoken cue, a thought came to the alicorn’s mind: “Girls, it just dawned on me: how did Celestia cover my tracks for the time I was there? Sunny said that my spell made sure that no one really remembered me, but they had to remember something, didn’t they?”
“Well,” the human Rarity answered, “as I understand it, since both Ms. Celestia and Ms. Luna are friends of Twilight’s mother, having two Twilight Sparkles in town would have obviously caused some confusion, even though Twilight is a fairly common name. That being said, I recall Ms. Celestia mentioning that she had to backdate quite of bit of paperwork to explain the exchange student everyone remembered.”
“I remember,” Fluttershy chimed in. “She listed you as Purple Smart, an exchange student from a school in Rhode Island.”
“Purple…Smart?” the princess echoed, and the girls nodded.
“Is there something wrong, Twi?” pony Fluttershy asked.
“No, just an interesting coincidence,” Princess Twilight stated, as a wry smile came to the humanized alicorn’s face. “Purple Smart is a cousin of mine that lives in Las Pegasas. Despite her name, she’s kinda flighty and goes more on her looks than her brains, which is a shame, because she’s got so much potential.”
The teen Twilight giggled. “Now that’s weird.”
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me privately,” Princess Celestia said to Night and Velvet as the trio walked away from the chariot that had transported them back to the palace. “I’ve arranged for a lunch in my private tea room in the garden, so we will not be disturbed.”
“That sounds lovely,” Velvet said as the three entered the garden spaces. As they walked through, the two humans noted the pristinely manicured grounds, from the perfectly-formed topiaries to the shining marble paths and statues, the breathtaking fountains that playfully created dances of water and the still and reflective ponds. Undoubtedly for both, it was probably one of the most wonderful views that the couple had ever seen.
“It’s absolutely breathtaking here,” Velvet stated, clearly awestruck. “I can see why Sunny wants to try to recreate some of this at home.”
That caught the alicorn’s attention. “She is? Odd, she was never really one for the outdoors.”
“The girls tend to the garden on occasion, even though we have a landscaping service,” Night explained, “and now that Sunny’s revealed more about herself, she says it helps for her to get in touch with her ‘earth pony aspect’, whatever that means. Plus, she’s also gone camping with her friends and the family has gone stargazing on a few nights. It’s just another facet of the young woman she’s become, and we’re very proud of her.”
“I…see,” the solar alicorn said in a wistful tone, but added nothing more.
The trio walked a bit longer in relative silence until they reached a small building that looked it was made from rice paper and the finest bamboo wood.
“It was a gift from the then-Empress of Inari,” Celestia told them. “When Sunset was nine, Empress Gōkana-o had come to pay a state visit and had commented that it was a shame that we didn’t have a proper tea house. Sunset had then regaled her with a haiku recital by an Inarijin author that my little sunshine had come across. I certainly hadn’t expected it, and needless to say, neither had Empress Gōkana-o. She was more than suitably impressed, and as a result, she had this tearoom commissioned for us in gratitude for Sunny’s accomplishment. I often come here when I want to remember that time,” the alicorn said softly.
She used her magic to open the doors, and allowed her guests in. “Please, make yourselves comfortable. Would you care for some tea?”
Velvet and Night looked around the room and were once again entranced. The worksmanship (worksponyship?) of the interior was incredible, with gold inlay and the finest bamboo mats available. The two once had dinner at a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco, and as ornate and detailed as that location was, it paled in comparison to this one. The pair then sat down on two massive pillows made of the finest silks available, while in front of them, a table seemly made out of a living bonsai tree sat there, the middle portion of it being where the tree rushed out and became the central pillar for the building. The wall was decorated with various Japanese-like sculptures, paintings and other artwork, and in one corner, as if taking up the most significant spot in the room, was a picture very unlike the remainder of the décor present: an unsightly blob of white and pastel colors against what might have been a sky, complete with stitches of clouds and a potato-shaped sun.
“I remember that day,” Celestia said as she brought tea to her guests and saw what they focused on. “Her art teacher had assigned her to do a painting of what she loved most, and naturally, she wanted to paint me. We spent all day doing it, and by the time she was finished, there was more paint on her than on the canvas.” Celestia smiled as she set down the tea, but it was a sad, melancholy motion. “To this day, I consider it one of my most precious items. It’s a reminder…of what I lost.”
“Your Highness,” Velvet began, knowing where this was going.
“Please, just Celestia or Celly will suffice,” the alicorn insisted. “After all, we are all parents to a very extraordinary mare, though admittedly, you have a far more official claim than I.”
“Celly,” Velvet said, her tone slightly firmer. She’d seen this particular display dozens of times, though usually the person doing it was human.
“Given that you adopted her, of course,” the alicorn continued, as if not hearing Velvet. “I know she calls me her ‘biological’ mother, but in truth—”
“Celestia….”
“—I know I’m really not. I never foaled her and she is not of my blood, nor did I ever officially adopt her, though I love her as much as if I’d been her dam.” Celestia turned her neck down so the humans couldn’t see the tears welling in her eyes. “I love her so much and I know I don’t—”
“CELESTIA!” Velvet said sharply, and the princess’ head snapped back up. “I’m sorry for yelling,” Velvet stated once she had the regent’s attention, “but you sound exactly like Tia when she gets in the dumps and that gets to be a chore as well. I don’t let her do pity parties, so I’m not letting you do one either.”
Night chuckled. “What my wife means in her usual brusque fashion is that you are just as much Sunset’s parent as we are. You were there for her whole life, and there are many questions we still have about our daughter, the kind of answers that can only come from her mother.” Celestia was about to open her mouth, but Night raised a hand, a request to let him finish. “We’re not here to claim her over you, Celly. We’re here so that we can learn more about the precious gift you’ve shared with us.”
Tears began to flow freely from the princess. She had feared, despite her sister’s statements, that she would lose Sunset forever to these two. And yet that not only did not happen, but they had stated that they were here, thanking her for sharing such a priceless treasure with them. Shame welled in her heart at her own inadequacy; if these two were typical humans, then the stories her mother had told her about the Megan made that mythical figure seem like a very commonplace individual.
Velvet got up from her seat and, ignoring propriety, put her arms around the princess’ neck. “You and I are the mothers of a wonderful individual. And regardless of whether she is a thirty-year-old mare or a seventeen-year-old girl, she will need our love, our wisdom and our counsel.” Velvet let go so she could face Celestia, her light-blue eyes gazing into lilac ones. “Now is not the time to doubt yourself, Celly. Now is the time to rejoice in your strength as a mother, because our daughter will need us very much during this week, if I understand things correctly.”
Celestia found herself suddenly smiling. “You two are entirely like your counterparts. I have always valued Velvet’s advice, even when it was more direct than I expected; and Night has always known the right words to say.”
Night nonchalantly shrugged as he set down his teacup. “What can I say? It’s a talent.”
In his office at the Palace (as Twilight’s crystal eyesore had become diplomatically known by the Friendship Guard), Divine Right looked over some of his paperwork. He would have joined Twilight escorting the humans around town, but with everything going on and some unfinished business still remaining from when he took over command of the Friendship Guard, he reluctantly had to find time to attend to all of it, and right now was as good a time as any. At the moment, he was reading over a request from his senior sergeants to increase the budget for combat training when a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” he said, not looking up from the report.
Hoofsteps sounded as the person came in. “Did I come at a bad time?” a voice sounded out.
Seeing who it was, the stallion immediately got off his seat and stood at attention. “No, your grace, though I am surprised to see you here. Or should I just start calling you Your Highness?”
Sunset chuckled, waving a dismissive wing. “No thanks. You and I are technically cousins even though we’ve never met, so Sunny is fine.”
“I see. Then what can I do for you, Sunny?” he asked, gesturing to a chair by his desk.
“I came to apologize about yesterday,” the maize alicorn admitted; Divine, in turn, decided not to remind her that she’d done so multiple times already. “I forgot to tell my entourage about you and it caused a great deal of issues for your troops, as well as you personally, no doubt.”
“It’s quite alright,” he assured her. “While I can guarantee that my guardsponies are the finest of caliber, I’m sure that being in the presence of humans must have been a shock for them as well. Ancient myths have a way of just getting into your subconscious, especially for us ponies.” He turned away from his paperwork and looked her in the eyes. “If I may be so bold, I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been to get over that fear when you first arrived in the human realm.”
“I had to learn to adjust, and I’m glad I did,” Sunset told him. “I’m sure in your duties, you’ve likely had to adjust to things as well, have you not?”
“Indeed, very much so.” He then thought about it a second. “I am curious, though, why your entourage was disconcerted by my presence. I hope it wasn’t anything I did.”
Thankfully, Sunset had the whole of the previous night to think about what she was going to tell him, and it was true…even if not the whole truth. “Humans don’t hear on the same level that we do, so things tend to sound very similar even if we can distinguish the differences. And from what I’ve been able to tell in my years living there, there’s a human instinctive repulsion for certain sounds, tones, et cetera.”
“Oh?”
“Like fingernails – or hooves – scratching against chalkboards, for starters. To us, that may be an annoyance, but to humans, it’s an instinctive irritant that bothers just about everyone, and even though I’m not human, I learned to loathe that sound as much as any other human would. In your case, your vocal tones contain a similar depth, and while we ponies consider that tone as that of an experienced, admirable stallion…human traditions have engendered that same vocal quality as being sinister and somewhat diabolical. It’s nothing you’ve done or you’re at fault for; it’s just a cultural thing and something they will need to get used to.”
“I assure you, I would never do anything to—”
“You don’t have to explain; I know you wouldn’t. It’s just like griffins eating meat – we know they wouldn’t harm us, but we’re still too used to the old stories of griffins attacking ponies for food even if those old mare’s tales told us differently when we were foals. Fortunately, my entourage is intelligent and they’ll adjust in due time, I’m sure of it. They’ve had to deal with worse, you know.”
“How much worse?”
“I really don’t know if I should mention it,” Sunset stated.
Divine looked at her. “On my honor as both a prince and a guard captain, I will keep the confidence of the Crown,” he swore solemnly, as he raised his right hoof. He then put his hoof down and said, “but more importantly, as we are family, I vow on that even more.”
“I appreciate that.” The alicorn moved to take a seat in front of his desk, pausing for a second before continuing. “I take it you know one of the general rules of ascension for alicorns?”
“I take it you’re referring to the traumatic discorporation of your mortal body as a new immortal one is formed from the very essence of magic?” When she looked at him oddly, he gave her an awkward smile. “After…I heard what happened to Twi, I, er, felt the need to research it. Just in case we ever had another incident of an ascension here in Equestria, you understand.”
Something seemed a bit personal about that answer, so she didn’t pry. Instead, she continued with, “Well, coming from a mostly-magicless world like the human realm is, there’s no knowledge about that. So instead, a divine discorporation….”
“…looks like disintegration,” he finished for her. “And I take it they saw that?”
“I died in my sister’s arms, Divine; I literally disintegrated in her arms.” The look in Sunset’s eyes was pained, and she seemed to grow disquiet at her admission. “Between you and me, I am never going to be able to forget that. I broke my sister’s heart in ways I never meant to, and even though it all worked out, I think it’s given both of us some shared trauma.”
“I am sorry to hear that. I would never want to see a mare go through that kind of pain,” he said softly. The look in his golden eyes was sympathetic, and just alone from seeing that, Sunset knew the stallion before her would never be the monster his counterpart was. “If there is anything I can do for her, I assure you, all she needs to do is ask.”
“Thank you. I truly appreciate that.” Sunset shifted uneasily in the chair. “I just wanted you to know; it’s nothing personal, obviously. It’s just….”
He nodded sagely in understanding. “I would suppose it’s kind of like spending years being hated as Equestria’s biggest traitor, when the truth is that you were anything but? I can understand that. Sometimes we as royals have a thankless duty to our realm, even more so when it’s in situations like the one you were in. But I am sure that if you could bear being the most hated mare in the realm, I can bear having an unintentionally evil voice to them. I will just have to make sure that your family and friends know that they have a friend in Equestria and a friend in me.”
“That is good to know.” She looked at him. “I guess I can see why you and Twi are an item, if I heard Cady correctly.” She then looked at the clock on his wall. “Anyway, I need to head back to Canterlot and prepare for a meeting. Thank you again for everything, and I hope we get a chance to talk about more pleasant things later.” She then immediately winked out, teleporting away.
“But we’re not an….” He didn’t bother to finish his sentence as he would be addressing nothing more than empty air. I wish I didn’t have to qualify that statement, he mused silently.
He then reached in his desk drawer and pulled out a small picture of the two of them, taken the night of her coronation ball. She’d looked absolutely radiant, and at the risk of being vain, he didn’t look too bad himself. Unfortunately, he’d been on an undercover assignment that night and had to pretend to be “the Count of Monte Cristrot” instead of himself, which was why Twi had not recognized him.
Someday, he told the picture. Someday I’ll….
He sadly put away the picture and then went back to work. The duties of the Captain of the Friendship Guard took precedence over his feelings and he wouldn’t deserve to tell her what he felt if he couldn’t ensure her safety or that of her court and guests.
Sable followed the internal map that Sunset had jotted down on a PDF and mailed to everyone’s phone; after Octavia’s getting lost and subsequent incident, her parents had asked that they be covered and the young princess was all too willing to oblige. As he moved along, he noted that the Wi-Fi setup was working better than expected so far, although several ponies were wondering why there were strange plastic devices set in strategic corners of the palace, especially as they were told not to touch them. He would have to see about having Sonata make new shells for them that would allow them to blend in with the palace walls if they were going to do this on a regular basis, but for now, the repeaters gave them all access to the web (linked through the portal by some spell cast by Sunset that Sable tried not to think too hard about), especially the vital data they were going to need for their part in all this.
He departed the main building of the palace complex, walking across the courtyard towards his goal: the Headquarters of the EUP Guard. As he walked in, he looked at the pony at the desk. “Good morning,” he said politely. “Is the Vice-Captain in?” The guard he spoke to was engrossed in a magazine, ignoring him, so Sable repeated himself. After a second lack of response, he noted the rank stripes on the guard’s duty uniform and said, “Private, get me the Vice-Captain and tell her I want to see her. That is an order.”
The guardstallion, a deep-blue unicorn with a greasy-looking amber mane, looked briefly at the human and yawned. Seeing that, Sable frowned; he knew there were shitbags back when he was in the Army, and unfortunately it appeared that even ponies had sad sacks in their own military as well.
“Oh, one of you freaks,” the stallion grunted. “Don’t worry, I’ll find your foalsitter for you in a second.”
“Guardspony, I gave you an order,” Sable warned him. “You will act or there will be repercussions.”
The guardspony looked him straight in the eye and scoffed. “Listen – unlike the rest of these chickens here, I’m not afraid of you hyumanns, got that?” he spat. “So unless you want to end up cooling off in a cell, I would go sit your butt over there on the bench. Just ‘cause you’re all part of Princess Sunset’s entourage doesn’t mean you get to be all so high and mighty like you were Faust Herself, got that? So shut your yap, go park your plot and wait your turn!”
“Then you can listen to my orders, Tpr. Washout,” a testy voice spoke. Both males turned to see a large pegasus mare standing there, glaring at him. She had a tan coat that contrasted with the olive of her duty uniform, and a short gray mane.
Washout jumped to attention instantly, rendering a salute. “Good morning, Capt. Arrowswift!” he told her. “But I’m a private, not a trooper.”
“You were,” she told him, “until you decided to be insubordinate to a flag officer.” She then turned to Sable and offered a hoof. “You must be the new Navy admiral Capt. Armor told me about. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Admiral?” Washout blurted as a sinking fear came over him.
Sable bumped the hoof. “Pleasure to meet you as well, Captain. Capt. Armor told me about your exploits.”
“Absolutely none of it is true, I assure you,” she said with a laugh. “Anyway, I’m glad to be able to meet with you. We can talk further in my office, if you’ll follow me.” She then turned back to Washout. “Trooper, go find Pvt. Steadyhoof and have her relieve you. Then report to Sgt. Grindstone and tell him you’re going to be on heavy duty for the rest of the week, understood?”
“But I was supposed to be off for the rest of the week after my watch!” he cried.
“If you ever want to make private again, you will do as I say, Trooper,” she seethed. “If not, well…you might just find yourself the first stallion to be kicked out of the guard in decades. That won’t go well for your future prospects.” He looked at her with the gaze of the doomed, then loped off to meet his fate.
Arrowswift looked at Sable. “I apologize for that, Admiral; usually our guards are much more responsible than this.”
Sable nodded. “It’s understandable, Captain; sometimes there are people who just aren’t fit for the military and it shows no matter what you do. We have that issue in our services as well.”
“I don’t know if I should be discomfited by that or not,” she said lightly as she ushered him towards her office. “In any case, I had a chance to talk to Capt. Armor last night. Apparently your subordinates have already made quite an impression with the Fishes.”
“The fishes?”
“Our nickname for the Princess’ Hooves. As opposed to the other Guard divisions, the Solar Guard’s main duties are law enforcement and ceremonial duties around the palace, in addition to some minor bodyguard duties for authorized dignitaries and politicians. However, when it comes to Princess Celestia’s main protective detail, the Hooves take care of that role, and I have to admit, they do a great job of that, so they’re not easily impressed. And yet they took to your three like a hydra to a swamp, so that speaks a lot for the skills of the three soldiers you sent.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Sable replied, feeling a bit of pride in what his three subordinates had accomplished. Things seemed to be working out.
“Anyway, what can I do for you? The Captain’s asked me to do whatever I can to assist your needs, Admiral, um…sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
“Sable Loam. Please, just call me Sable. And yes, I’ve been told about my ‘interesting’ name.”
“I would imagine so!” Arrowswift said with a chuckle. “But anyway, what can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if we could borrow the parade grounds for tomorrow morning, around ten hundred,” Sable told her. “I’m planning a readiness demonstration for Adm. Tumblehome and the other senior naval and military officers, so they can make a final decision on SIREN.”
“I’ll be in attendance, along with the others,” she told him. “Capt. Armor is obviously with his counterpart back in the Empire, so I’ll be attending on his behalf. And while we usually have practice drills at that time, we’ll be clearing off the western half of the grounds so they can start setting up the seating and displays for the coronation next week.”
He did some quick calculations in his head. “I’m going to need the full grounds, if you don’t mind.” When she looked at him oddly, he added, “for safety reasons. We don’t want anyone setting up to be injured by any projectiles.”
“The full grounds? Why? Your archers are that good?” she asked him.
In response, he got up and walked over to a rack of weapons. Looking at one of them, he recognized it, or what it was the equivalent of: a fire-lance, though clearly of more modern make and likely built with pony hooves in mind. Pointing to it, he asked, “What’s the range on this?”
“So you’re familiar with shootsticks?” When he nodded, she smiled. “Captured that from a band of griffins out in Featherstone last year. It’s one of the most recent models out there, so I’d say the range is about fifty yards, give or take.”
“I see.” Sable then reached into his jacket, withdrawing his sidearm from his shoulder holster. “This is a pistol. It’s a standard human weapon, similar to a shootstick. But it has the range of one thousand yards, give or take,” he told her with an even face.
Her jaw dropped. “A thousand yards? No way! That outpaces some of the Army’s best artillery!”
“Oh, that’s nothing,” he assured her. “We’re also displaying another human weapon that shoots—” He did some quick math in his head, “—about four thousand yards, if not farther.” Seeing the sudden look of absolute horror on her face, he said, “From what I understand, ponies are some of the best equipped military forces on this planet. But in terms of weapons development, no offense, you’re centuries behind humans. And now that SIREN is going to be integrated into the Equestrian military in order to protect Princess Sunset, that means this level of technology will eventually be made for pony consumption.”
She looked at the object sitting on her desk, both afraid to touch it and yet wanting to test it out at the same time. She finally turned to look back at him and said, “It sounds like you could sink a naval airship out of the sky with one of these.”
“Well, maybe not with one of these,” he said, picking it up and reholstering it, “but I suspect one wouldn’t last long against a single MANPAD.”
Arrowswift thought about his words, and then thought about how Tumblehome would react to that. She suddenly relished seeing the pompous pegasus come unglued.
“Sable,” she purred as she leaned over the desk, a huge grin on her face, “just let me know what you need and you’ve got it.”
Laughter filled the tearoom. “And while at the time she felt completely humiliated, I hope that years from now she’ll remember running around in nothing but a towel, soaking wet and trying to hunt down Spike as a pivotal moment in her life. Who knows? She might even remember it fondly,” Velvet said with a giggle.
The alicorn tried hard to picture the whole image, and while she couldn’t precisely do so, the entire concept seemed absurd enough to have her chuckling as well. “Well, this calls for a good one,” she said with a mischievous smile. “Has she ever told you about the time she nearly blew up the palace’s main kitchens because she wanted some cookies?”
Velvet’s eyes lit up like a child on Christmas. “Spill!” she said, excited.
The alicorn then went on about Sunset’s misadventures in trying to find a cookie, which involved using a fire spell (given that at the time, she hadn’t been taught the general light spell and pyrothurgy was natural for her), then instinctively using a compression spell in the kitchen’s flour pantry, which was in dire need of cleaning.
Being a scientist, Night winced at what he knew, and sure enough, as the sun alicorn explained the aftermath of the explosion, he felt sympathy for his frazzled daughter.
“Needless to say, Sunset was okay,” Princess Celestia stated. “Instinctively, she’d somehow created a force field for herself; otherwise, she would have suffered some very serious injuries. As it was, the explosion was dire enough that it completely destroyed the kitchens and took several hours to reconstruct the whole thing with magic.” The alicorn gave a bemused smile, as the memories flooded back in. “And while now I find it amusing, back then I was horrified. I restricted her from using magic for the remainder of the week and told her that she was no longer allowed to go hunting in the kitchens for cookies at midnight.” The alicorn laughed richly, as did the two humans.
It was at this time that a page opened the door. “Dr., uh, Light?” he asked, nervous about the humans in the room. “His Grace, Lord Night Light has requested your presence at the Royal Observatory at eight this evening,” he said, reading from a scroll. “He would like to exchange scientific views regarding the cosmos.” Closing the scroll, he sat there, following his orders even if completely terrified by the alien beings before him.
Velvet, ever the mother, noticed that. “Relax, young man,” she told him gently. “You are among friends, and the princess would not let you get hurt.”
“Besides,” Celestia added, “they are from the same species as the Megan, and as noble and wise.” To the humans, she then explained the legend of the Megan and everything about it, including the fact that said individual may have actually lived and may have been a close confidante of Celestia’s mother.
“Well, that would explain why she was so comfortable around us.” Night then explained their run-in with Celestia’s mother, and from the look on the alicorn’s face, she was at a complete wonderment of her mother’s full story in the proceedings.
But it was the page that was the most excited by the news. “You…you knew the Megan? And Her Majesty?” he spoke, his voice filled with awe.
“Well, we’re not familiar with the Megan, aside from what the Princess here has just explained,” Night replied, “but we do know more than enough legendary warriors of our history. Have you heard of the Knights of the Round Table?” When the young stallion shook his head, Night gave a smile and patted a spot next to him, suggesting he sit down. The next hour was filled with tales of epic and wonder and human chivalry and bravery gone by.
“Is it bad,” Luna said aloud, “that I’m expecting to see a UI pop up at any moment?”
“You Eye?” Princess Luna asked her.
“User interface,” Octavia explained. “It would be…complicated to explain in detail right now, Your Highness.”
As the open-air carriage that the group was riding in continued on, Luna leaned back in her seat and tried to square what she was seeing with the earliest years of her childhood. She looked wordlessly at her sister, wondering if Celestia was having the same issues.
As if to answer her sister’s unasked question, Celestia commented, “This place reminds me of where we were born in some ways.”
From where she sat, Princess Luna looked up at that. “Oh? There are places in the human world that look like this? From what Sunset’s shown me, I thought the human world’s architecture was vastly different from ours.”
“There are some parts of the world that still have the architecture from centuries ago,” Celestia explained. “Luna and I were both born in a town called Cavalcanti in a country called Italy. We later moved to the United States with our parents and older sister to a town named Cardiff, which is a suburb of San Diego, and that’s where we met Velvet. In any case, we go back to Italy enough that we’re more than familiar with how the old country looks, so to us, architecture like this isn’t exactly out of the ordinary.”
“That sounds fascinating,” the princess said, her voice holding a tone of melancholy. “My…public absence caused me to miss a lot of what had come about. I regret that,” she said softly, looking around at the city. “This city wasn’t here during my convalescence, and generations had sprung up while I was gone, to the point that I was all but forgotten. Things have improved since, but….” She then gave a wan smile, trying to cheer herself up; it wouldn’t do to be maudlin in front of guests, after all. “Let us not worry about such trifles at the moment. If you would, please, tell me about my niece. How has she fared over in your world?”
Both the human Luna and her sister shared a brief glance; they’d seen the look in the princess’ eyes on far too many parents over the years – the sign of someone suffering trauma of some sort and had opted to go without treatment because too many depended on them. They chose to say nothing, but instead decided to speak on Sunset’s behalf. “She’s doing wonderfully,” Celestia began. “Ever since her readjustment to how she’s handled things in the human world, she’s gone from being a student of concern to one of our best and brightest, and I couldn’t be prouder of her,” the educator said in all honesty.
“It’s a shame that Tia is no longer in charge of the high school, because I think she can rightfully say that Sunset has been one of our best success stories as a student and a person. And I hope that her final two years under my wing – metaphorically speaking, of course,” Luna added, “will be just as fruitful for her as this past year has been.”
As if to bolster her words, Octavia spoke up. “She’s my cousin, but she’s more than that. Ms. Luna, Ms. Celestia – you know how we girls were brought up. We’re more sisters than cousins, and having Sunny in our lives now is no different. I love her dearly as much as I do the others and I wouldn’t want it any other way.” She then turned to face the royal alicorn. “I don’t care what she was born as or what she is now, only that when I need her, she’s there for me and vice versa. She is a both cousin and sister to me and that means the world, as far as I’m concerned.”
“That’s good to know,” the princess told them. “My sister has worried greatly about how Sunset has fared in your world, especially after she explained to us everything she’s been through and showed us as well – via magic, of course. But from what you’ve told me, if that’s anything to go by, perhaps that will ease her fears.”
“Well,” Octavia mused, “I hope that Aunt Velvet and Uncle Night can assure her that we love Sunny dearly.”
“As do I, young one. As do I.”
The laughter and smiles went on into the night hours, and Velvet and Night were amazed as Celestia lowered the sun; ever the scientist, Night had a billion questions, which the alicorn did her best to answer. The trio afterwards had a pleasant dinner together, where they talked about the commonalities in their lives, finding that the worlds of humans and ponies, magic and technologies aside, weren’t very different at the core, and that in many ways, there were more similarities than differences.
But it was the most common thing the three parents shared that was the main topic. Celestia shared all she could about her daughter’s foalhood, while the humans covered their concerns and points about the once-troubled teen. Both sides talked as parents and as friends and as the hours grew long, they found themselves in concert with their shared parentage of a very special girl.
At last, the page came back to retrieve Night. “Well, as much as I’d love to stay and talk more about our daughter’s various misadventures, I do have a meeting with my counterpart.”
Celestia looked at Night with sincerity and respect, thankful that this strange being had taken in her daughter and accepted her as his own. “You’re a good parent, Night.” She then looked at Velvet and added, “Both of you are. Sunset is more than fortunate that she has two parents that love her more than anything.”
“Three, Celly,” Velvet insisted. “Don’t forget about yourself as well.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.029 seconds
Total duration
1,147 users online
2,418,445 hits today, 2,571,732 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
*sigh* Do we wanna start a pool on Pony!AJ doing something stupid(er)? At the very least she's likely to stir up a mob if she keeps yelling 'changeling' everywhere.
9559118
Is this before or after Thorax hid in the Crystal Empire?
9559185
I don't think that's happened yet, if it will at all.
I hope that Granny can knock some sense into AJ, I really do.
9559185
9559202
This story takes place at the equivalent time to early season 5. Thorax is still with Chrysalis's hive (we actually saw him along with Ocellus and Pharynx back in GAoA book 1)
Interesting description of how the ascension process works, never thought about it that way before.
I just remembered this is way before “The Perfect Pear.” Silly pony gonna be eating a lot of crow afterwards...
9559799
"The Perfect Pear" doesn't apply here anyway, given that Blue created parents for the Apple kids long before that episode came out. Appleseed and Cornflower are not Bright Mac and Pear Butter.
And now I’m thinking about the Tantibus?
so friendship games has not happend or will not happen given twilight is now in the loop and starlight has been stopped by div so that leave the sunny's coronation going like slice of life and the cmc getting cutie marks or and cadence getting pregnant mmh....
9560260
?
??
?
???
? ?
9560396
musing on flynts statement about where the story is in the time line he said early season 5
9560417
He was referring to G3.5 S5.
9560420
There was no 3.5 season 5.
Changeling .
9560867
You clearly missed those episodes.
9561120
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va-v89P7M6E
You mean this heresy.
9560260
The first Equestria Girls movie is the only reference to the Berylverse. Everything after the first movie is not cannon to these stories. As for whether or not Starlight turns up we'll have to wait and see.
9561905
She exists; she was mentioned in 7DSJ Book III.
She's a friend of Discord, a musician, and currently on tour in Europe.
9562507
I believe the original question referred to pony Starlight Glimmer. I think. Didn’t really make much sense.
9563115
Picky.