• Published 6th Oct 2019
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Ponies on Earth and their New Horizons - TikiBat



All actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences can lead to new and exciting things!

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Chapter 9: Settling In

The trio was back in the Observatory, a room that they were starting to get well acquainted with at this point. It had only been a few days since they had arrived in Equestria, but they were already starting to fall into a nice routine. Following dinner, Tyler and Sarah would work with some of the other astronomers from around dusk until late into the evening, and then Scarlet would take over with another team until sunrise.

The nature of their work schedule afforded Scarlet the chance to actually interact with her human companions and enjoy their company, something that she felt she wasn’t able to really do all that often back home. While she wasn’t due to start her shift until a few more hours, she still liked to keep the two humans company in the Observatory. Even without having a hooves-on role, she was still able to keep herself occupied in the large circular room. From her note taking, to her questioning, and even to her simple observations, it was enough to keep her busy until it was her turn to take over.

The unique mix of Earth and Equestrian technology was something that Scarlet found great interest in and she could often be found pestering some of the maintenance staff about it late at night, more often than not resulting in her being shooed away without a second thought. She never let this bother her though; to her, it just offered a new challenge to master and learn about, and that’s exactly what she was doing now. Where most of the people she knew back home would find this place boring, Scarlet could spend hours in here and still find something that piqued her interest time and time again. Tonight she was jotting down notes on the large telescope that sat in the center of the room, curious about how it differed from the one she had back home. She knew that it wasn’t too far off from Earth designs, but the Equestrians had made their own modifications to it and she was determined to learn as much about it as she could while she had the chance.

The large wooden double doors could be heard opening, causing Scarlet to pause for a moment. She glanced over to see Princess Luna entering with Crescent Shadow and Starry Skies. Luna said something to Crescent who chuckled and nodded, turning around and leaving her and Starry.

The princess calmly walked towards Tyler, who was currently making some finer adjustments on the telescope’s control computer. “Good evening Mr. Anderson. Are you having a productive night?”

Tyler smiled and nodded his head, “Evening Princess, so far we are. And yourself?”

“It’s been quiet, but peaceful. So what is on the schedule for tonight? Anything particularly interesting?”

Tyler shrugged, “Oh you know, a lot of the same. I think we just about got the hang of operating this baby, now we’re just working on finding the more prominent constellations and using those as a reference point to map out the less prominent ones.”

Luna nodded, “I trust you’ll find the best method. Please do have fun with this project.”

Tyler smiled, “Oh we will!”

She returned a smile and moved on to Sarah, “And you Miss Conners? How are you adjusting so far?”

Sarah looked up from the charts she was plotting out, “Huh? Oh, yeah we are. It helps that this outpost is a little more… accommodating for us. If I’m going to be honest, I was kind of worried that we’d be getting tiny beds to sleep on and cramped quarters when we first got here, it’s so nice that it’s been the exact opposite.”

The princess smiled, “I am glad to hear that. We designed this outpost with more than just ponies in mind, and I’m happy to hear that the accommodations are acceptable. Though, is there anything that could make your stay more enjoyable?”

Sarah shook her head, “Aside from missing the entertainment back home, not really. If we were living here year round then maybe, but for a research outpost that’s only housing us for a month, it’s more than comfortable enough.”

Luna nodded, “If you think of anything else that would make your stay here better, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Sarah smiled, “Thanks Luna, we certainly will.”

Luna moved down and calmly approached Scarlet, “And a good evening to you Mrs. Eclipse.”

Scarlet bookmarked her notes and smiled, “It’s been a wonderful evening so far. I’m not actually scheduled to come in for a few more hours but it’s just so… exciting being here.”

Luna took a quick look down at the open notebook and smiled, “What is it that you were working on?”

“Just some more notes. This is kind of my life back home. I’m sure you’ve already read through my other notebook, this is just adding onto that.”

“Are those drawings of the new telescope?”

Scarlet nodded. “They sure are! This is based on a standard design from Earth, but it obviously incorporates magic in its design. It's similar enough to make operating it here a lot easier, but I’m just curious about how it works and what exactly you guys changed. Starry said that it was mostly the same but used some Equestrian materials and a few special components in its construction where they had to fill in some of the gaps. This is something we’ve been trying to do back home and I was kind of hoping to at least note down some of my own observations on it. I know we’re probably years away from ever doing anything like this, but it’s still just cool to learn about. You know, just as a reference for the lab boys back home.”

A warm smile spread across Luna’s face, “Your fascination really is insatiable, isn’t it?”

Scarlet smiled, “Yep! I know it’s a lot to take in for me, but I want to learn as much as I can here while I’m here. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to do something like this again so I want to make sure I have thorough notes on this, if anything just so I can educate some of my team back home.”

“I’m glad your concerns over working with more experienced astronomers from our first meeting was unfounded. Your devotion to gaining knowledge on something you are passionate about is admirable and I hope you’re able to share it with your fellow ponies back home.”

Scarlet gave a quick nod, “Thank you Princess, all of this really does mean a lot to me.”

“Now Starry Skies has told me about your plans to visit the caverns under Canterlot next week, during the scheduled maintenance here at the Outpost. Given that you will already be in the city, I would be most honored if you and your companions would join me for dinner.”

Scarlet’s eyes widened in glee, “You would?!— Honored? I mean yes! I’d love to.” She looked over towards the two humans, “I mean you two wouldn’t mind coming along right? I don’t want to speak for you.”

Sarah smiled, “It might not be the most comfortable for Tyler and I, but we’re up for it.”

Tyler nodded in agreement, “How can I refuse dinner with the princess?”

Luna smiled, “Then it is settled, Starry Skies shall accompany you next week and direct you where to go. I look forward to seeing you three again.”


Scarlet sat by the window in the train, watching as the Equestrian landscape far below slowly passed by as they rose up following the terrain up the mountainside to Canterlot. The week up to now had been mostly uneventful, with the team working away on their assigned jobs until the telescope’s scheduled maintenance. Most of the outpost’s staff had taken the opportunity to take a few days off, visit their families, or take a short vacation, the latter of which Scarlet was currently doing. Though calling it a short vacation was a bit of a stretch, in reality it was only a quick trip to Canterlot for a few days, but for her, everything here felt like a vacation.

Coming around one last bend, the capital city came into view hanging off the side of the mountain. Majestic and whimsical with its tall towers in bright white, golds, and purples, like a literal fairy tale castle brought to life. Pressing her muzzle against the window, keeping an eye on it as long as she could, they entered into a tunnel briefly before it suddenly opened up again to the sky and they were pulling into the station. Scarlet turned away from the window and towards Starry Skies, “We’re here, right?”

He nodded, “Indeed we are, however our destination today lies beneath the city itself.”

Scarlet nodded and began to collect her belongings, “Is it a long walk to the Caverns?”

He shook his head, “Not at all, a short flight away in fact. There is an entrance into the caverns from the nearby mountains..”

He stood up and waved her towards the exit. Breaking into a small dash, the two began to fly towards the city gates, chatting along the way as they soared through the sky.

She smiled, “I’m excited to see it. We’ve got a cavern hangout back home, but it probably doesn’t even hold a flame to this place.”

“Is it common for night ponies to gravitate towards caves back on Earth? I haven’t had the chance to visit it yet.”

“I honestly don’t really know. The place where I'm from, the Oasis, is kind of separate from the rest of the pony communities around us. The others are still largely stuck following Sunset Shimmer’s vision of what a pony community should be like, but we’ve got our eyes set on the horizon. Then there’s the ponies out east and up north that are integrating back into human society a bit more, I guess you could say that we’re the closest in regards to them. Haven’t really noticed if any of either group winds up hanging out in caves like we do back home, there’s so few night ponies that sometimes it’s easy to forget that we’re around.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Why is there such a large divide? The information has been known to us for a while, but there has never really been a good explanation why.”

“It’s… hard to say. The United States was kind of already divided a bit before ETS. Each region was kind of different from the rest, that might play a part of it but I’m sure there’s bigger things at play too, like politics and just the overall climate. The night pony situation out east in particular seems to be a lot worse than out where I am. There’s lots of mares fighting for a handful of stallions and it’s not a good situation at all. It’s a problem all around but I’ve only really noticed the worst of it over there.”

Concern carried in Starry’s voice as he replied, “It sounds as if it’s a dire situation, it must seem so different here.”

She nodded, “It is, but what can you do? There’ll always be fighting and issues, but hopefully it’ll fade with time. I’m just happy that it hasn’t cropped up at home as much. Still happens every once in a while but it hasn’t been a problem in a long time. But when we travel over there as much as we do, we still have to deal with it.”

“I never would have imagined that there would be so much division back on Earth.”

Scarlet shrugged, “There always was, and always will be. It’s just a part of life there. We’ll all move on, the world will keep spinning, even if it seems dire now it won’t always be.” She paused for a moment, “I’m sorry if this got kind of off topic, is the entrance just up ahead?” She asked as she gestured towards the large mountain that was quickly approaching.

Starry nodded, “You do not need to apologize, it is fascinating to hear about your world’s culture. There are many parallels between our worlds, even if they have diverged over time. The Cave isn’t too much further ahead, I know you are curious to see what’s inside.”

The pair began to slow their approach as they neared a landing in front of a cavernous opening in the mountain, and with a well practiced grace they made their landing. Shaking himself off, Starry led Scarlet into the large cavernous area. At once the radically different environment of the city beneath the city became ever more clear to her. A cool blue glow lit up the cave just enough for the few day ponies present to see without trouble. All around were buildings and stands that differed wildly from each other, all set on different levels and tiers. Her own enhanced night vision let her see the area with relative ease and immediately noticed that the cave was home to more night ponies than she had ever seen at one time back home.

She stared around in awe, earning a laugh from Starry. “This… this is amazing!”

“So is this similar to your caverns back home then?”

She shook her head, “Uh— no— .”

Starry smiled and waved her along with a wing, “This is just the entrance, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

“We have time to stop at some shops, right? I’ve been hoping to pick up a souvenir or two for my family back home, this might be just the place I’ve been looking for.”

“Of course, I believe there may be a few shops that could pique your interest. Were you looking for anything in particular?”

“Well Silver’s into old antiques and collectible stuff like that, Orion’s really too little but he likes stuffed animals.”

Starry nodded, “I actually know a shop that deals with just the kind of antiques that I think he would appreciate.”

“And for Orion?”

“There’s a hoof made toy shop not too far from it, we can stop by there if you’d like.”

Scarlet smiled, “That sounds perfect.”

Starry pointed towards a round building set into the side of the cave on one of the upper levels, “Canterlot Curiosities, the shopkeeper is a little eccentric, but I believe you’ll find what you’re looking for in his shop.”

“Oh believe me, we’ve got our own eccentric antique dealer back home, I don’t think this will be a surprise to me at all, I’m excited to see it.” Scarlet added as she started to follow Starry.

The two trotted along and stepped up a short flight of stone stairs and onto the upper level where the shop was. As they approached it, Scarlet took note of the odd assortment of statues and items that sat just outside, almost acting as an advertisement for the shop in itself.

She looked over towards one of the statues that resembled a hippogriff, “This actually reminds me of an old statue that Silver and I saw on vacation a little while back. I’m gonna assume that they’re not just mythological creatures here?”

“For a time we thought they might be, though they resurfaced not too long ago. Now they live in both the sea and the air, their kingdom isn’t that far from the outpost actually. If we had more time here I would consider bringing you there, but alas, we simply won’t have the time before your trip here is done.”

“Oh well, I’m sure there’s plenty of things that I’m missing, at least I have the chance to see what I can now. Maybe I can make it back here someday, you never know.”

Starry nodded, “Shall we enter?”

Scarlet smiled, “After you.”

As the two trotted in, Scarlet couldn’t help but take note of the strange artifacts and caged creatures that seemed to line every square inch of the place. An assortment of statues were arranged around the room, strange masks and trinkets lined the walls, and the sounds of unearthly animal noises echoed throughout the room. It was obvious that this pony had gone to great lengths to amass this collection, and Scarlet was absolutely hooked.

Scarlet looked at her reflection in one of the strange glass terrariums, jumping back in surprise as a large fruit bat swung out of the shadows and into the dim light, hissing at her menacingly. Taking note of the two visitors, the shopkeeper turned from behind his desk and lowered a pair of goggles, dramatically bowing in greeting, “Welcome my guests to Canterlot Curiosities, home to one of the most comprehensive assemblages of rare artifacts and creatures in all of Equestria. I am Mystic Ember, humble collector and proprietor of this den of antiquities. What curiosities have called you to this place today?”

Scarlet smiled at the strange stallion’s theatrics, “Nothing specific, I was looking for a souvenir for my husband back home, this place seemed like the kind of place that would be right up his alley.”

“In that case, is there anything specific that you were seeking?”

“It’s hard to say, Silver’s into old antiques and other strange artifacts… I don’t suppose you have anything like that here?”

Mystic nodded, “I believe I might have something that would intrigue your husband, strange and old antiques are my specialty after all.” He flew up to one of the inset shelves that lined the circular shop and reached for a strange wooden mask that resembled something of an exotic bird, “This is an old mage’s protective mask. In it’s time, it was imbued with a strong enchantment that protected its user against magical maladies, though that magic has long since faded. That isn’t a problem, I hope?”

Scarlet shook her head, “That’s actually perfect, I’m from Earth and we can’t bring anything magical back home.”

A warm smile spread across the night pony’s face, “I am pleased to hear that. The true magic doesn’t lie in what this antique can do anyways, but rather the memories and stories it holds.”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow, “And what’s its story?”

“I’m glad you asked, it was passed down from master to apprentice for centuries before the magic within it began to fade. By the time the last master had acquired it, it’s magic was fully depleted. Seeing that the true magic lay not within the mask, but within himself, he chose to pass it on to others who might find their own use out of it.”

“And how much is it?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Normally eighty bits; however, seeing as how this is being given as an interdimensional gift, I would be honored to part with it for a single bit.”

“For one bit!? You’re basically giving it away to me just because I’m bringing it back to Earth?”

“To me, continuing the story of an item holds more value than the actual item itself. Every object has a life of its own, countless stories that can be told… that is, a value that transcends the mere material realm that we ourselves exist in. This item in particular has passed through hundreds of sets of hooves only to be deposited in a dusty antique shop where it very well may have come to the end of it’s journey. But never in its entire existence did any of its owners think it would pass from one realm and into another. I myself long feared that it wouldn’t ever leave my shop if I’m being perfectly honest with you. As a collector and historian, I would see no higher honor than allowing something from my collection to bridge the divide between our realities.”

“I never thought of it that way, but if you’re willing to offer it for such a low price I would be honored to carry on it’s story. My husband is going to love it even more because of that.”

Mystic smiled, “Then in that case I believe we have a deal.”


Starry led Scarlet through the crowded walkway and over towards one of the higher parts of the cave. As they pushed their way through the crowd he gestured towards a small staircase, leading her down into a less crowded walkway.

As they continued down the new path Starry looked back towards Scarlet, slowing his pace slightly, “I apologize for the crowds, the main walkway tends to get a bit busy in the evening… I hope it’s not overwhelming for you.”

“Oh it’s perfectly fine, I’m no stranger to crowds.”

Starry nodded and resumed his pace, “Well in that case I am happy to hear that it’s not getting to you. To tell you the truth, I enjoy this part of the cavern more than any other, the toy shop happens to be close by so it works well in our favor.”

“So Starry, do you have a family or something? You don’t exactly strike me as the toy collecting type.”

Starry smiled and nodded his head, “Oh most assuredly not. Mystic’s shop is more my style, but to answer your question, yes. I have a wife and two wonderful foals. One’s a night pony and the other’s a pegasus, and both mean the world to me.”

Scarlet stopped and jokingly jabbed his side, “You never told me you were a family man, so do they live in the outpost or somewhere else?”

“They live just outside of Canterlot, that’s actually part of the reason why I like to visit this place so often. The months I spend away in the outpost can be crushing at times, but these regular excursions out here help mitigate it. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve arranged for you to stay at a nearby inn. I would normally be more than happy to host you in my own home, but I’m afraid that the little ones have long since taken over permanent residence in our spare room.”

“Starry, I can imagine that that’s got to be the most adorable thing ever. I’ve only got one foal back home and believe me, it’s probably the cutest thing I think I’ve ever seen when he makes little nests and forts in his room. I’m more than happy with staying at an inn.”

Stary smiled, “I’m glad to hear that,” He paused and gestured towards a bright purple building with a happy looking sign brightly painted on it’s side. Velvet Aura’s Hoof Crafted Curios

“Cute. So I’ll take it your kids like this place?”

Starry grinned, “They love this place, I’ve spent my fair share of bits here for them, but it’s all worth it.”

As they trotted in, Scarlet noticed a purple night pony working away at the top of a staircase in a small loft section that overlooked the entire shop.

The mare took sight of Scarlet and stood up, cheerfully greeting her with a warm smile, “Greetings and welcome. I’m Velvet Aura, please let me know if you need help finding anything.” She looked towards the side, noticing Starry, “Oh Starry Skies! Welcome back! Here for more gifts for the little ones?”

Starry smiled and shook his head, “Not today I’m afraid, but my friend here is. Velvet, this is Scarlet, a visiting astronomer that’s helping out with Princess Luna’s program.”

“Well welcome, any friend of Starry is a friend of mine, is there anything specific that you’re looking for?”

Scarlet began to glance around at the various toys and trinkets that were seemingly crammed into every inch of the place, “Just browsing for now. I want to get a present for my foal back home, this is the first time he’s been apart from me for more than a few days.”

Velvet nodded, “How old is he and is there anything that he enjoys in particular?”

Scarlet smiled, “He'll be turning one next month actually so I can't wait to get home for that. It’s hard to tell if he’s really into any one thing more than others right now, but he does seem to enjoy plush toys more than anything.”

Velvet nodded and glided down from her loft, “We have a wonderful assortment of those to choose from, he is a night pony I presume?”

Scarlet nodded, “Yeah, and like I said, he’s not really into anything specific yet.”

“Not to worry, in that case let me show you my specialty line designed with night pony foals in mind, I myself am well aware of how rough and rowdy they can get. Follow me, they’re just over this way.” She gestured towards a large shelf full of different plush toys with a wing.

Scarlet took a few steps closer and began to browse the selection, smiling as she took in the different plush animals that lined the shelf. Right away she noticed a large snake-like plush that she could already envision Orion snuggling up with, and excitedly grabbed it off of the shelf.

“How much for this one?”

Velvet eyed the snake plush and smiled, “That particular item is twenty bits. However, I am offering a deal with those particular toys.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

“If you’d be interested in buying another plush I can offer that one for half off.”

Scarlet looked around and grinned in delight as she saw an adorable looking spider plush sitting on the shelf. Silver would never approve of this existing in their house, he was absolutely terrified of spiders, but she figured that a harmless plush would be fine, he only seemed to hate actual spiders after all, a fake one that was clearly a toy should be perfectly okay. Plus it was a present for Orion, and if there was really an issue with it she could just keep it away in the colt’s room where Silver would never need to see it.

Scarlet grabbed the toy off of the shelf and approached the counter where Velvet had retreated back to. She gently set the two plush toys on the counter and reached into her saddlebags for the bits she had earned so far.

“So Thirty bits?”

Velvet nodded, “Thirty bits. Would you like these in a bag? Or perhaps we can ship them to your home?”

Scarlet looked towards Starry. “What would work best for this?”

Starry turned towards Velvet, “We’ll take them to go, there is no courier route to the outpost unfortunately.”

Velvet nodded, “That’s perfectly fine. I hope your foal enjoys these. They are hoof-made, but designed to be durable enough to withstand any kind of play, and considering he’s a night pony I’m sure it’ll be well worth it.”

Scarlet slid the bits across the counter and smiled, excited to give Silver and Orion their gifts, even though she’d still have to wait a while for that. A sense of longing came over her as she thought back to her family. She was happy to have the opportunity to be here in Equestria, but she’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t feeling a little homesick. Normally this was mitigated by the fact that she could always be in contact with them, but the lack of that opportunity was definitely starting to get to her. Her new friends at least gave her a feeling that she wasn’t completely out of place here, and the fact that everyone was seemingly so friendly and cheerful made her feel more at home.

Velvet passed a bag over to Scarlet and smiled, “Would you like a receipt?”

Scarlet shook her head, “I think I’m okay. This might sound weird, but I’m from Earth, so I don’t know when or if I’ll ever be back here.”

Velvet’s eyes widened in intrigue, “From Earth? Fascinating. So I’m assuming that you’re not just here on vacation then, right?”

“I wish, this is still an awesome experience. Like Starry said, I’m with the astronomy program, but we finally have a break, so I decided to do a little sightseeing while I had the chance.”

“Well in that case I hope you enjoy your trip, hopefully you’ll have the chance to make it back over this way someday.”

Scarlet nodded, “I hope so too.”

Starry smiled, “Take care Velvet.”

“And you as well.”

The pair trotted out of the store and over to a low wall that overlooked the rest of the caves. Scarlet gazed around at the crowd of ponies, most of which were night ponies.

Starry followed her gaze, “Is it really that strange seeing so many members of your tribe in one place? You’ve mentioned it before but it’s just hard to imagine.”

Scarlet turned towards Starry and nodded, “For a guide that works so closely with a princess I would have thought that you’d know more about Earth… not that I can really fault you on that, it just stands out to me more than I thought it would.”

“I suppose I never really saw a reason to learn more. Call it anxiety, a fear of the unknown… whatever the case may be, it’s kept me from delving further into it.” He perked up, “Though perhaps someday I’ll make the journey myself. It all sounds so… different.”

“Believe me, this place is beyond different for me. If you’re afraid of feeling like a fish out of water, you won’t be alone, even on Earth it’s easy to feel out of place. I guess I never thought of it much, but after coming here I just feel like everything’s so perfect. The world’s built for us, there’s no one or thing telling us that we’re wrong for being different, it’s just an eerily odd and endearing feeling at the same time.”

“I presume that Earth is the opposite?”

Scarlet shrugged, “It’s hard to really say. For most people it’s a matter of perspective. I can choose to see only the bad and that’ll make my experience, or I can choose to look beyond that and find what I’ve found here… if that makes sense.”

Starry nodded, “I believe it does, though I suppose that the matter is far more complex than that. Equestria isn’t perfect either, there’s still prejudice, fear, anxiety… just look at our relations with the griffons following one horribly misguided unicorn’s actions, that may be something that will hang over us for many years to come.”

“We’re really not all that different— Earth and Equestrian ponies that is, it’s just different worldly circumstances.”

“And your world did just suffer what could be perceived as a very real apocalypse only a little over a year ago. That will likely leave scars that won’t fully heal for many years, if ever.”

“Nothing ever fully heals, there’ll always be reminders and visions of the past that help remind us of where we came from.” Scarlet paused for a moment, gazing back out over the random ponies that made up the unassuming crowd. “Thanks for the insight Starry, I didn’t mean for this conversation to get so personal… it’s just, I feel like we’re still figuring everything out and it’s sort of desensitized me at this point. Like this huge unbelievable trip has barely even phased me.”

“Maybe that’s for the better? That you’ve taken your experiences and created something positive from them.”

Scarlet smiled, “Maybe it is… so what’s next?”

“Well, we should probably go check in at your lodging and drop your gifts off, after we can head over to a quaint café for some dinner, it’s not the most ornate place, but the owner is an old friend of mine and I’d like to catch up with him.”

Scarlet nodded, “Lead on then, I can’t wait to check it out.”

Starry smiled and waved her along towards a small inn that would serve as her home for the next couple days.