Chapter 34: With Mixed Results
For the second time, Summer found herself on the edge of a pool in the palace, staring down at the clear water’s surface. Only this time she wouldn’t be relying on someone else to change her, or fearing that she would run out of air halfway there. Instead she had other worries. “Why does the court want to see me, Princess? Did we do something wrong?”
“Oh, no.” She bounced past her, grinning a little wider with every step. “You know how stuffy old creatures can be. They like to feel like they have their claws in everything. And the Queen has to humor them, or else they get antsy. You didn’t do anything wrong while you were here, but you did get around. There are creatures worried about what will happen when you, uh…” She stopped on the edge of the water, glancing over her shoulder. “Do you need help with this? Or can you get in on your own?”
She hesitated for a second, reaching up to clutch the pearl around her neck. Instead of answering directly, she learned forward, letting her weight take her down over the edge, and breathing out as she hit the water. She changed as she fell, and struck the water with a tail, letting the bubbles rush around her. Had that been graceful? She couldn’t even tell.
“Nice!” Skystar swam around her, leaving a trail of bubbles as she went. “You’ve been practicing, haven’t you? You didn’t fight it like the hatchlings do.”
She flushed, drifting awkwardly back and forth in the water for a few seconds. There was that reminder of how different their biology was all over again. I should’ve thought about that. It was obvious I’d be going back. “A little,” she admitted. “Cloudhunter said I should go back and forth a few times each day. I used the bathtub. It’s hard when there’s not water around.”
“Well yeah.” Skystar led the way down. “That’s just common sense. You need water to swim, and your guts know it. Like jumping out of a tree before you’re ready.”
Summer couldn’t help but grin as she followed the princess, despite her embarrassment. She might’ve been able to practice the magic up in a bathtub, but there was barely enough room to get her head under the surface. It was a kind of life she’d never even known she wanted, and she reveled in it. Wherever I settle down, I hope it has a lake. Or at least a swimming pool.
Of course, it went without saying that if she ever did make it back to Earth, she’d never be able to do this again. Even if the pearl didn’t turn to dust or whatever as soon as she went through the portal, she couldn’t risk using it. What if it only knew how to make a hippogriff, and she ended up back in this body on the wrong side of the portal?
The current was already carrying them that way, draining downward the way it had done before. This is a royal elevator, not a trap. It’s a luxury. I bet she can ride this up too. She’d have to ask to take it on the way back, instead of that awful hike.
Soon enough they were back in the reef city, with its living walls and energetic activity. “It feels like there are more creatures down here than up there. Like every home has someone living there, instead of just… an empty place.”
“You’re not wrong,” Skystar said, her voice turning wistful as they made their way to the palace. “We’ve been down here for so long that most creatures haven’t spent much time on the surface. Going up there is a change, it’s scary. Their grandparents probably lived up there. I like visiting, but I think I’m an exception. My mother almost never goes.”
But now they were reaching the palace itself. The throne room wasn’t empty this time, but packed with fish of all sizes. Most of them were old, with jewelry of shells and mother-of-pearl. They watched her with disapproving eyes, eyes that made her wish she’d been able to bring Sharp after all.
But that hadn’t been an option, and she was much too far to ask for it now. There was little more for her to do but follow Skystar to the throne, and lower her head in what she hoped was a bow. It wasn’t quite so scary this time, and the strange sphere behind the stone seat didn’t make her sick just to look at. If anything it seemed to draw her towards it, like a moth to a porchlight.
“Visitor to our realm, traveler from the First Inheritance, Summer Ray,” the Queen said, gesturing for her to rise. Or… drift the other way? The quick swim down here was enough for her to float comfortably, without the constant drift that had made her feel like a child last time. “The court recognizes your attendance in the matter of contact with the Ancestral Land.”
Skystar flitted over to her, guiding her to an empty box near the front. It felt frighteningly like the witness stand. She whispered into her ear as they swam. “That shell on the counter there, you can hit it if you want to say something. You don’t have to hit it to answer questions. Just… whatever you do, don’t interrupt anyone. Especially my mom.”
She nodded appreciatively, keeping fearfully silent under so many watchful eyes. The box had her back to the Queen and princess, facing the nobles of the court. But it had been the nobles who wanted to speak to her, hadn’t Skystar said that?
If she had any doubt, it wasn’t the Queen who finally spoke, but a figure near the front of one of the boxes. An old fish, with scales missing from his tail and his eyes clouded. Apparently the hippogriffs couldn’t correct cataracts.
“Arrow, House Wavebreaker,” he began, then: “The court of Mt. Aris is endeavoring to glean enough information to know whether it is right to contact the creatures on the other side. There is… great dispute among this court, as to whether the creatures there are our ancestors, or else the enemies that drove us from the First Inheritance.”
Apparently the rules that applied to her weren’t for the nobles, because a female voice from the other side of the room interrupted him. Rival factions, maybe? “There’s only dispute because we’re stupid. Witness, swim up so that imbecile from Wavebreaker can see your pearl.”
She obeyed, though she didn’t swim very far, holding out the necklace. Arrow didn’t seem interested in looking in her direction at all, though plenty of the other creatures in the room did. Many gasped when they saw it.
Arrow cleared his throat. “That objection was improperly made. It will not be recorded.”
The female fish was all black and white scales, without any jewelry to be seen. “Marina, House Ripple. Extensive research has been collected of all hippogriffs who have ever departed from our lands, and the reader of records has determined no creature matching Summer Ray’s description has ever left us. There are only seventeen birds living outside Seaquestria at this moment, and every one of them is accounted for. Given her age, Seaquestria would’ve still been under Storm King occupation, and would remain so for at least four decades.”
What the hell are you talking about? Summer glanced between them, trying to gauge which of the many factions might be friendly to her. But she wasn’t even sure what courses of action they were pushing forward. An obvious mistake about her age didn’t seem worth objecting to if it helped them believe her.
She rang her shell anyway, then stared up and around the room with confidence. “I am not from Seaquestria. Without my translation spell, I would not even be able to speak your language.” She reached down, removing the necklace, then went on. “This is what I sound like speaking German. If you don’t hear any similarities, it’s because there aren’t any.”
The reaction was extreme. Creatures gasped and pointed at her, whispering to one another. Had she done something wrong? Or… no, that couldn’t be it. They didn’t seem to be upset with her. They were yelling at each other. By the time she slid the necklace back on, the elderly fish was shouting.
“Order, order! House Wavebreaker accepts the evidence. This creature is not a hybrid born of Equestria, or a transplant from Seaquestria.”
They’re only identifying themselves the first time, she realized. Maybe she could make sense of how their strange court worked after all.
“Coralita, House Seaspray,” said a green fish with an almost snakelike tail. “We have to accept the claims, or we can’t reach any meaningful conclusions on them. We brought her here to decide if the creatures of the First Inheritance should be contacted, or whether any traffic between our worlds could be permitted.”
The weight of her words settled on Summer’s shoulders abruptly, and her eyes widened. They might not let me go home. She might’ve been having her own doubts for a week or so now, but those thoughts were strangled in an instant. It was one thing to decide she’d rather live here. But to have her home and family stolen from her, by creatures who didn’t know a thing about her world…
Now she was angry.
But she kept quiet. She still didn’t know who was on which side. Should she make humans look dangerous and scary, or friendly and wonderful?
Tell the truth, stupid. Are you going to trade a whole planet for your own stupid life?
“In the opinion of our witness,” Coralita went on. “Does she believe those of the First Inheritance would be hostile to Seaquestria? Would they wish to initiate friendly contact with lost relatives, or… perhaps she’s the scout of invaders? Now that she has seen our kingdom and knows where to find us, she will return through the Doorway and plan our destruction.”
Shouts filled the hall again, and a few fish actually swam at each other. It was the Queen who finally quieted them. “It is absurd to claim Summer is hostile to Seaquestria,” she said. “Unless House Seaspray is suggesting that the Pearl of Transformation has lost its ability to determine whose heart belongs to the sea.”
Coralita grumbled, her tail twisting tighter about her. “House Seaspray… does not make such a claim. If not an invader, then… a dupe. Perhaps they have been keeping some of our ancestors captive, and will obtain the same information from her by force that she would’ve willingly given as a traitor.”
There were fewer objections this time, and soon enough the room fell silent. From all the eyes on her, Summer guessed that she was actually expected to answer this time. At least Queen Novo is on my side.
“I know with certainty that Seaquestria will not be invaded, unless you made some hostile action first. Which I…” She stifled a laugh, which came out as a choking cough underwater. “I wouldn’t suggest it.”
“The witness does not seem certain,” observed Arrow. “On what is she conflicted? How can she be sure that those in our ancestral homeland will not try to capture Seaquestria for themselves?”
She floated a little straighter, though in reality she still had no idea how body language worked for these fish, and couldn’t be sure she wasn’t really showing weakness. “The creatures on the other side are called humans. We wouldn’t want Seaquestria because we can’t breathe water, or transform.” Also the military industrial complex would turn this place into a pile of rubble in a few hours.
There was more conversation this time, as fish repeated the name she’d told them. But if human meant anything to them, the next fish to take the floor didn’t say so. “Salina Blue, House Waterlily. You can. Perhaps these humans really are our ancestors. What other creatures live on your world? Have they tried to kill you as they slaughtered us? Perhaps you are a… related remnant.”
More murmuring, though far less hostile this time. The court seemed to think this was a plausible explanation. Which, in fairness, it might be. If they were completely ignorant about Earth.
“There are many nations and factions on Earth—that’s what we call our world. There have been large wars over the years, but nothing big for…” She counted it off on her fin. “Sixty years?” She wasn’t going to touch the cold war, there wasn’t a chance in hell she could explain something so complex with an audience like this.
Her usual calming techniques of deep breaths didn’t work when she didn’t have lungs. The gills didn’t hold water exactly, there was just a constant motion to draw water down her throat and across them, then out. She was used to it by now.
“Not even two generations,” Arrow said. “Could we find any greater evidence of the danger here? Can we afford another front?”
“Would it even be ours?” asked another noble, after introducing himself. “Equestria holds that territory, and many miles besides. If the natives there were hostile, would they ever reach us? There are four Alicorns now, that’s what the consul says.”
She wasn’t called on to say much of anything for a good long while, as the court debated with itself over how a war in the north was likely to go, and how far into Equestrian territory their ancient enemy would be able to push, assuming it still lived. Skystar seemed as bored of the whole thing as she was, because she swam up to the stand while the nobles were screaming at each other, her voice low. “You don’t think your world would invade ours, right?”
“No,” she said, without thinking. “I think if we could get a stable bridge, one that didn’t transform the ones who used it, maybe they’d want to come here to visit. Equestria is beautiful, and Seaquestria is too. But becoming a hippogriff is a high price to pay. If that’s all the Doorway does, then we’d probably want you to come to us.”
She frowned, considering the implications all the way through. Would the magic reverse itself for other creatures when they went through? Would Sharp become human with her, or stay a pony? “You don’t know how Doorways work, do you?”
“No…” she whispered. Even with the court arguing all around them, she seemed careful not to make too much noise. “But it makes sense it would’ve changed you. Lots of really old magic is powered with your piece of the pearl. I don’t know how, exactly, you’d think it would’ve run out over all these years. But it’s not really a thing, it’s more like a creature. And maybe we feed it by taking the sea? I don’t know.”
There was probably some rule they were breaking just by talking. But if the court wasn’t going to care about it, then neither would she. “I’ve been in the library for days, Princess. But I can’t figure out why there’s ancient ruins on Equestria’s side, but not on mine.”
The princess frowned a moment, then lowered her mouth right up to Summer’s ear to whisper. “There were… expeditions, a long time ago. I don’t know much, but… a long time before Equestria, they went north and never came back. No bird or fish knows what happened, but it’s part of why everyone here is so afraid. It showed how dangerous our old home still was.”
“We’re going in circles,” the Queen declared, so loudly that the bickering abruptly fell silent. As she said it, Skystar darted back with a few flicks of her tail, so sudden that most in the room probably wouldn’t have seen. “Summer Ray, you know more about your world than we could learn from you in a thousand questions. Tell us what you think will happen if we contact the creatures on the other side of the door.”
It was exactly the sort of question she’d been afraid of. These other nobles she felt like she could ignore. One of them had basically accused her of being an evil spy. But Queen Novo had been nothing but respectful to her since she arrived. Given them a place to stay, resources to fix the Horizon. She could do nothing but return that respect.
“I think that it would be world-shattering for everyone. My return is going to do that, if it spreads. We never thought… It’s going to sound stupid to you, but we didn’t think there were any other kinds of life. They’ll probably want to meet you, see how your world works. Maybe set up an embassy, and start trading. We’re a very curious people, eager to learn more about the world. We would want to learn more about yours.”
“Why commit to any course now?” asked Arrow. “We know the ancient passage remains open. We need not be brash. Swear the witness to secrecy and be done with it.”
“You heard the story,” Coralita said. “She’s been gone for months. Even if we could trust her to keep her word, which we cannot do, she also just said her people were curious. Keeping her here may be the only option to prevent an investigation.”
She winced, then went on before she could stop herself. “The experiment that brought me here is going to end in another month or two. If I don’t return before that, you may never get another chance to cross. Your ancestral home could be cut off forever.”
“Objection,” Arrow said. “The witness did not signal. Let it be stricken from the record.” But no one seemed to be listening. Everyone in the throne room seemed to be watching the Queen now, waiting for her response.
She took a long time. But eventually, she drew herself up, floating away from the throne. “We cannot allow our history to be lost to us. Summer Ray’s arrival was… a rare opportunity, perhaps once in a hundred generations. Besides, Seaquestria is not the feeble kingdom it once was, fleeing from its enemies. Our navy is brave, and the ponies have already proven they will be our allies in violence if it comes to that. It might be better to say we would be their allies, given their territory would be struck first. But I believe the account of our visitor.
“I nominate a course: let us prepare a message for our ancestors, along with a few fine works to represent Seaquestria. She will bring them back for us. While she travels, we will prepare a comprehensive diplomatic envoy, to wait on our side of the door. We will let her kind decide if our worlds should be bridged.”
There was more argument, but none of it involved questions to her. A few hours later, and all their bickering brought them back around to the Queen’s proposal.
It wasn’t perfect. Considering the difficulty they’d had getting the doorway to work last time, she would’ve preferred a crew of hippogriff engineers to go with them—or maybe an entire airship escort in case Feather attacked.
But considering how much argument had stood between her and that much, Summer didn’t ask for more.
There was a chance she might arrive to find the machine wouldn’t work, and everyone’s time had been wasted.
But she would still get to try. She couldn’t ask for more.
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The lack of specific inclusion of Feather's actions and goals (I'm of the opinion that Kate is not the only influence in that corporate entity) is an interesting omission. We know that Summer was thinking about it, but why wasn't it mentioned?
9881226
I agree, she definitely should have mentioned Feather and the threat she poses. Especially knowing the kind of technology she might posses.
Summer should also let them know that Kate is also was once a human. While there are some villains around Equs that are not of the MLP super villains there are more that would do for selfish gain and she knows that Feather would try to keep many away as she makes herself a behind the scenes powerplayer.
I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out.
She should have extrapolated her claim of 'many nations' and explained that the place the portal is in is about the best place it could have been, as nations with more hostile intents could not invade to reach the portal without causing a massive war. So it won't happen. But if it was in some small country, maybe somewhere in Africa or the middle east or eastern Europe, there wouldn't be much way to protect the portal from hostile nations.
Though, now that I say this, it would likely just confuse them.
9881258
It's possible that she's going to tell the queen about Kate in private, while not being interrogated by obnoxious nobles. Though the wording suggests she's not planning to.
But keeping that information from everyone would be pretty dumb. Kate has an interest in preventing anybody from traveling through the portal and lots of resources to try and accomplish that (like, y'know, private military airships). It would be polite to warn the queen that any diplomatic mission she's planning to send might experience "unfortunate accidents" on their way.
If she doesn't tell anybody and then interference from Kate is used as the last source of dramatic tension before the final resolution, it's going to look like a massive idiot ball in retrospect.
Ancestral land? Maybe all of the hippogriffs are from human stock originally.
Honestly, these nobles are fairly appropriately hesitant in making contact with Earth. It's not something to rush into lightly.
A good point.
If only they knew that the experiment ending isn't the pressing concern.
It might be a good plan, or it might be a disaster, but that's really entirely dependent on people who were not involved with this decision. Which actually probably means it's a terrible plan.
A reasonable decision by the council. Not too guarded. Not too reckless.
If humanity was neither the great enemy nor the hippogriffs, there might have been an interstellar war and humanity might have aided the hippogriffs and have been rewarded for that. A reason for the pearl to react to Theo.
This seems to suggest that humans aren't descended from hippogriffs or the other way around. Though it doesn't discount intermingling and this is perhaps another reason why the pearl reacted to Theo. Might be the hippogriffs simply never came back because they wanted to stay. There might be no great enemy.
The decision will certainly be yes. Curiosity is a strong thing and humanity will not waste such an opportunity.
9881226
Maybe it's a sort of cat-out-of-the-bag sort of situation. All of Kate's attempts have been subtle. Contact with Earth would utterly ruin her plans as Equestria and Sequestria begin contact. Any sort of overt action will delegitimize her and mark her as a terrorist. She only has so much control. She's irrelevant to the situation now that people know. Still yeah, Theo should have said something. It won't look good to humanity's image if Theo tried to hide the fact that there are humans like Kate. It won't be good if Kate pulls off some desperate action or attack and claim humanity as responsible.
9881595
If the portal was in a hostile country, that might be grounds for an intervention and invasion. There's no way the other nations of the world will risk the start of an interstellar war (since they'll know who built the portal) because some idiots wanted to shoot at some technologically advanced bird ponies for stupid reasons.
Well, that could've gone a lot worse. Though hopefully Summer brings up the corporate elephant in the room at some point. It could get awfully awkward otherwise.
9881812
Wouldn't be the first time a character got to hold the stupid ball for the sake of drama. And some personalities would lead them to clam up unless asked direct questions despite being smart.
Something else Summer missed out was that the gate opened directly above one of humanity's most capable scientific instruments, and started the moment she turned some equipment on. Which implies not only can the gate be opened from the human side, and that the human's may have gotten some very useful info about the gate, but that someone may have designed the modules she installed to do just that.
In any case, she should know, and share, that reopening the gate may no longer be their choice if they wait too long.
Given what we saw in the last chapter... They may find humans have already set up a base camp and trying to learn equestrian by the time they get back.
9884597
Im not sure you're aware of this but Oxygen is vastly available and tends to interact with the hydrogen used in any given task when things have already begun to go wrong.
9882859
I can't wait until Theo meets Granny Smith. Then he'll learn she's got the financial backing of Princess Luna and the Element of Generosity.
I'm sure that somebody else has mentioned this somewhere, but I noticed something interesting: our MC has only referred to herself as "Theo" once in the narration of the last three chapters, and as "Summer" or "Summer Ray" the rest of the time. I wonder if that is subtly implying that she is accepting her change?
9890458
All that is more/less true, but I'd like acknowledgment of this stuff in the story it's going to suddenly becomes a romance or even hint at potential romance. I mean it's not a tag, might want to fix that BTW. We don't even know if he was gay or not from the start, but the way he's written one could infer he wasn't gay, certainly not trans otherwise he'd been thrilled he had a sex change and simply not want to return, which wasn't the case.
Now, I know I said Emerald felt shoe horned in and I mean it but I also think he has some big plans for her. He just glossed over so much with her, that it REALLY feels that way. I wouldn't be one bit surprised if that other person with a female name who came across from the human world also had a sex change and turns out to be Emeralds father.
I don't intend to find out either way, just needed to put some examples and thoughts on the subject out there and I'd consider it an okay thing, but the fact he's still trying to get back home, rather retardedly might I add, one could infer that he has not given up on the life he had before being dropped in Equus, which is to say he's not giving up on being a male, and since they've given no indication he was gay the only possible explanation he would have for seriously consider a romantic relationship with another male is that he's hoping that bringing said male through to his world will turn said male into a female, which is still weird. Arg. see you just can't leave soo much speculation on this kind of thing for characters, it's off putting.
9889993
You are absolutely correct on that assumption, though what I have learned from reading all those comments. People are guessing the storyline completely differently from their own experience, ultimately it's the reader which decides how they want to interprete said story.
9890529
And I can gurantee you that none of the three main characters got added in way later into the story line, the same goes for the romance. Everything was planned from the Prologue on, but with minor changes to be honest. You simply are not able to predict those 100.000 words, the story is evolving.
I still respect your opinion and can see where you come from on certain points, but ultimately as I wrote above, it often comes down to the reader, and not every story is for every person.
I call BS on this statement. When you know there'll be enemies and bridge is partially broken not mentioning these two minor facts is dumb and quite suicidal. Or at least very counter productive.
I do understand why you did this, but it sticks out like a sore hoove.
9885176
They spent four chapters at Sweet Apple Acres. I'm pretty sure that meeting happened, even if we didn't see it.
Yeah, now would be an EXCELLENT time to mention Kate and how thorough her attempts at sabotaging this whole endeavor could be...doubtful that will happen but...
Holy shit the depth of this story is incredible. I really have been fully ensnared; hook, line, and sinker!
10407772
Imagine the lawsuits from Apple that will come from Feather running "Apple".
Oh no, how terrible.