Chapter 45: Masking
Twilight rarely had cause to remember the time leading up to the return of Nightmare Moon. But looking back on those few months now made them feel almost quaint by comparison.
Back then, she had known Equestria was about to collapse under a terrifying invasion. As Celestia's personal apprentice, she had easily obtained an audience with important ponies across Canterlot. But despite their politeness and enthusiasm, they'd barely even listened to her. Only the princess herself had been willing to hear her out—because of course, Celestia knew what was about to happen.
But now that the stakes were far lower—with a single pony at risk, instead of their entire civilization—she found there was almost no resource she could not have. Did she want to move the mirror portal up north to study? It arrived in less than a day. A dozen references in transformation magic, including Equestria's current foremost expert? Not even a question.
Would I do things any differently if my child were at risk? But however much Twilight doubted Cadance’s continued competence to lead, it was hard to argue with her methods. Without the vast expense of time and resources, Flurry Heart might not be recovered for years.
Flurry's Vigil had plenty of large research buildings, almost too many of them. It seemed more like the crystal ponies Cadance brought had been given her same access to unlimited resources, and been told to bridge the gap as fast as possible. Most hadn't known what they were doing, so there were lots of empty labs with the same early steps figured out. She cleared away the half-finished copy of the mirror portal, and made way for the real thing.
Of course she wouldn't be traveling through it—as much as the world on that side made more sense, it wasn't where Flurry was located. Rather, Twilight removed the thin metal skin from around back, exposing the spells that made it up to detailed scrutiny.
This time it wasn't the portal that she needed to copy, though. Equestria had grown beyond the understanding of ancient Starswirl, building on his foundation. But they didn’t just need to get across to the other side.
Even a small number of locals had brought them to a halt, terrified and uncomprehending. There was no chance they would be able to do a meaningful investigation if they had crowds of staring people following them everywhere they went. And if being seen by so many people upset the Body Invisible, they might revoke their invitation.
Once that happened, it would be a war. Cadance wouldn't take no for an answer.
It took Twilight a full day to extract the spell, and another to reproduce it. Transformation magic wasn't entirely unknown to her—but every other time she'd used it, the process just converted one Equestrian being into another. This was something else.
"How long do I have to stay like this?" Rainbow shifted nervously back and forth inside the spell's circular casting field, her nearly hairless body covered in goosepimples. She shivered, wrapping both arms around her bare chest. "And can I get a blanket? These things are not very good with cold."
A laboratory aide rushed to obey—most of them just hovered in the corner of the room, conscious of the importance of the study taking place within but having no idea how to help.
While within the field, Rainbow Dash had become an exact copy of her mirror-portal self, right down to the cyan skin and multicolored hair. For reasons Twilight did not fully understand, no clothing had appeared when she stepped inside. But that was a taboo of the other world, not Equestria, so it didn't concern her much. Rarity could probably whip them up something once she had measurements.
"Until Thorax gets here," Twilight said. "He should have landed already. If I know Cadance, he'll be rushed straight here."
The enchantment circle was at the center of a raised stone pedestal, the same one Cadance’s scientists would've used to build a portal if they ever finished it. An entirely mundane mirror stood within, along with a few stolen cushions for Rainbow to sit.
"I mean, I'm sure the changeling is the expert on this... but isn't this close enough?" She stopped beside the mirror, glancing up and down at her reflection. "I look the same as those aliens on the other side, don't I? Too tall, too thin, no wings... at least we know why Flurry Heart made it. These things are too weak to be dangerous."
"It might seem the same," Twilight interrupted, before her friend could accidentally say something that would make its way to Cadance’s ears. "But the proportions seem off. I saw a few of them get out of their cars—their legs weren't so long, and their waists weren't as narrow as yours. Also maybe your skin is the wrong shade? That might not matter, we only saw a few. They might have the same range as the mirror-portal universe."
She had a few drawings sketched, recreating their proportions from memory as best she could. Rarity had added most of the details, outlining rough measurements that she had apparently memorized just by looking at their clothes. Twilight could only be grateful for the help.
"Psh, doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Just put on some big dress or whatever so they can't see too much. Rarity would love an excuse to make dresses."
"Technically I think she already started. She just won't be able to get exact until she can measure how the spell will actually behave."
The doors banged open, and several Crystal Empire soldiers emerged. They were marching in tight formation, around a single individual so small and shy that Twilight could barely see him. Despite Thorax's apparent welcome into the Crystal Empire, the army clearly was not going easy on him. "Here is your assignment," someone said. "Do not try to leave without your escort."
"I won't!" Thorax said, annoyed. "You're worried about nothing, I'm here to help!"
But the guards were barely even listening. One dropped her spear, several others stared. "What in Celestia's name is that?"
"Who," Rainbow snapped, before any of them could move. She stalked forward towards the edge of the platform, arms folded. "I'm still Rainbow Dash. Just... helping Twilight with the weird spell for when we cross back over. I'm gonna have all the practice, so I'll be faster and stronger than Applejack." She trailed off, mostly talking to herself at that point.
The strangeness of it was enough for the soldiers to move away, letting Thorax slip through unmolested. He approached the spell, holding out one hoof to the edge. "That is a remarkable species. I've been lots of things, and I've never seen anything like that. I don't even think the old Queen would recognize that."
"Probably not." Twilight greeted him with a polite hoofshake, gesturing in at Rainbow with her other hoof. "This species is from another universe. They call themselves 'human.' But so do lots of creatures that look almost identical. That's... part of why I asked for you to come here."
Her ears flattened, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. She didn't know Thorax well, and she certainly couldn't read emotions like he could. But she didn't need powers to recognize that her expert hadn't had a pleasant trip. "I thought they would just give you an airship ticket or something. They weren't supposed to drag you here like a prisoner. I'm sorry. Stay with my friends from now on, we'll make sure that doesn't happen."
"Yeah..." Thorax's transparent wings buzzed. "It's not like I'm not used to it from ponies. But I feel like the soldiers get a little worse every month."
They feel like something precious was stolen from them. Instead of mourning and moving on, Cadance has the whole city focused on it. Preparing for war against nopony. "Well, I only had a few questions for you. Rainbow, could you pose for us? Maybe spin around so Thorax can see?"
"Sure, whatever." Rainbow's face flushed, something far easier to see on human skin. "Just don't think I'm here to perform. I'm getting an advantage for when we cross again."
Thorax watched closely, his strange insect eyes unblinking. "Very unusual. So little magic compared to a pony. But I think I can... I assume you want me to copy her for something?"
Before Twilight could answer, Thorax changed. It looked nothing like a pony passing into the spell—the strange green magic of changelings was an entirely different phenomenon. Soon Rainbow had a twin, completely indistinguishable from her right down to her hairstyle and nervous posture.
"There. Not so hard. Easier than being a rock."
Rainbow stared, eyes widening. "Even when I look like an alien, that's weird."
"That's not the reason I asked you here." Twilight took a few steps to the side, towards her workbench and the many human sketches. "Look at these, then look at Rainbow. Notice anything?"
Thorax didn't change back, taking lengthy, uncoordinated steps over to the table. He had to reach way up to see onto it, legs hanging up over the edge. Despite their oversized legs, humans were so small. "She, uh..."
There was a flash of light, and suddenly Thorax was back, able to look back at the drawing and Rainbow clearly. "These sketches are wrong. These aren't the same species at all."
"That's why you're here," Twilight said. "If we had more time... a few months, or years... we could talk to the aliens on that side, take measurements, and work out a pony transformation spell so it was a perfect match. But Princess Cadance won't wait. We have until tomorrow morning to alter this spell here."
She levitated the spell over, settling it directly in front of Thorax. "This is what I used on Rainbow. How close can we get this to these sketches in one night?"
"Yikes," Thorax squeaked. He covered his mouth with one hoof, flushing greenish. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud. What you're asking is..."
He flipped between the sketches again, wings buzzing in a constant, low hum. "Your transformation spell here isn't the way we do it. Our powers are innate, and as much biology as magic. You could send a group of changelings across? Except I'm the only one here. I don't think I'd be very good at a secret mission."
"We would never ask you to do that," Twilight said. Some part of her had already feared an answer like this. "Maybe you could do your best to imitate the sketches? Then I could change my spell to try and copy you. It won't be perfect, but... it doesn't have to be perfect. We're not trying to copy anyone in particular, just look convincing enough that we can pass in a crowd."
"Sure!" Thorax lifted one of the drawings in his magic—the child from the car, who had called Twilight a unicorn. "They do have a lot in common. I'm sure you could at least improve your spell in a night. How much... hopefully a lot?"
"Good." Rainbow settled onto the cushion, her body wrapped up in an oversized-looking blanket. "Are you done with me? I kinda want my wings back."
Thorax meekly shook his head. "It would be better if you came back over here, uh... if you could? Please? Having you in front of me will make this easier. Changelings aren't... super big on making things from scratch. I was one of a few who learned from the queen herself. But even I'm only okay."
Rainbow groaned, getting back up. "Fine. But I'm keeping the blanket."
Hey, just wanted to share another awesome piece of fanart. We can thank Dogman15 again for having this done. Artist was StellarDusk, so props to them. Things aren't going well for Kara, but I do think this captured her image really well.
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Huh, so we're dealing with horse-sized ponies here. Yes, I could've extrapolated that from Kyle, but I still wasn't expecting it.
In any case, transmutation R&D is going as well as it could. Though the other members of the rescue party will want to get to their ape legs before going back to Earth, time permitting. And Twilight might want to enable her magic in case of emergency, but that kind of biomantic rejiggering definitely seem infeasible given the timeframe she's working with. (Indeed, I can't help but wonder if a long-term invisibility spell might be easier than blending in, but it's not like there's a convenient cloaking device Twilight can disassemble.)
And as a side note, since we appear to be mid-Season 6, if Chrysalis tries to abduct Cadence right now, she is in for a very nasty surprise.
Now I'm picturing Twilight & gang as basically the Coneheads - almost but not quite right, firmly in the uncanny valley.
We are from Prance!
Uh, yeah. If anyone over there saw someone with cyan skin, they'd probably think you were harboring some kind of disease. Best get that spell right, Twi.
Cadence is going nightmare this is bad she might start a fight. The problem is these version of ponies might win.
10435631
oh, that makes me think of a story where Cadance nearly went nightmare...because Celestia and Chrysalis were lovers!
if i remember, it's called "of princesses and changelings".
Nice, Finally got a glimpse of Kara as a Crystal Pony
10435615
It is possible to develop blue-tinted skin, either from overdosing on colloidal silver, or from complications due to weird inbreeding. Although I do have to point out that the former is more of a Maud-ish or Limestone Pie sort of grey-blue, and the latter has mostly passed from the modern gene pool. At least, I couldn't find any pictures of any Blue Fulgates...
.....
I am trying my best to not focus on the fact that Thorax is ogling a naked lady.
If only Cadence had patience, they could ask their aunties to help her with patience, had a chaos god that can do anything, or just wasted a hour under a invisibility spell observing the humans...
Alas, silly, stupid and imposible ideas
they're bringing rainbow dash, a pony notorious for being the one to strike first and ask questions later in fanfics with humans arriving in equestria. I think this will one of the few times she's not going to be the first one to attack first.. Good chance its going to go to cadance.
Also nice to rainbow dash to offer to be a test subject for an untested spell. Either rainbow dash's loyalty acted since twilight might choose another of their friends/ some innocent background pony or that's friendship of magic at work there and not coercion or anything unfriendly going on there.
Yeah too bad they didn't have a photographic image acquisition device. Going off memory is going to be pretty... Interesting...
i just hope they come to the conclusion that limiting their ability to defend themselves would be a bad thing. hopefully the use of the transformation field from the mirror is not to use it as a base for the spell itself and just the image for a illusion of some kind.
10435762
Actually yeah, I did know about the former. If you've ever read or seen (though it was a TV movie, I believe) The Five People You Meet In Heaven, one of the characters is a man who spent his childhood drinking colloidal silver for some reason or another and it turned his skin blue.
10435572
Can't say I'm a fan of the size discrepancy. I'm still ignoring it as much as I can. The ponies in this story are twice as big as they should be.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/2/11/1085178.png
But like I said, I'll ignore/overlook it and focus on just the story.
10435577
The uncanny valley actually makes it far easier for us to determine fake humans.
This doesn't bode well for EQG pregnancies if their heads are just as big as ours at birth. But maybe they're biology is different, more elastic for one.
Time crunches can either lead to incredible progress or waste even more time. And with how things are, I'm pretty sure it'll be better to be the humans Cadance is planning to wage war against than be Thorax. Can't imagine what treatment he'll receive for failing to deliver.
Never underestimate threats. It'll get you killed one day.
Of course the request for help would resemble more of a kidnapping.
Not good that the soldiers are starting to think like their leader. The only thing worse than war with the humans is war with the humans and changelings at the same time.
It is good to see Twilight is being caution during an emergency situation.
Twilight, just put Cadance in petrification time-out already. Her being all psycho momma bear isn't helping anything.
10436100
I've taken to calling that species "humanes" myself... Even accounting for artistic variance or local "magic", the skull structure is far too different to be full human.
10435577
It's now time for comedy relief.
10435767
If she's a copy of what Twilight ran into in the EQG world, a naked teenager.
Imagine them transforming just enough to trigger the hell out of uncanny valley and instead of fitting in just stick out more
Having the ponies in the story be so large seems weird. The show isn't called "My Big Pony", is it?
If Luna gets banished to the Moon and Celestia the sun, where does love go?
10439161
We’ll know for sure if everything with a heart has a heart attack due to being clogged by a pony princess.
Oh boy. Stuff's getting real now.
That's good, invading even a magical earth as naked, pastel colored humans is going to be an interesting experience for everyone involved.
It's really quite concerning.
It's definitely less lewd with the blanket.
10435572
Even better, the second Changeling invasion begins after Flurry Heart returns, Cadence hears Flurry Heart's cries while attempting to fend off her own personal swarm, and she blows all her assailant's away with a concussive wave spell while screaming 'never again!' Then the drone serving as lookout in Flurry's room is like 'wait. I feel a dark presence somewhere in the castle, coming this way'. Then a blur of pure, pink speed to make Pinkie chasing down Rainbow Dash look slow by comparison ends with Cadence in the middle of Flurry's room looking around the room wearing the kind of face she did in Season 9 Episode 1 after Sombra's 'defeat' but before it clicked for her that Sombra was gone, and she growls/screams 'where's my baby!'
She needs the spell to make it mimic the other side's dominant life form.
I bet she does a good Inigo Montoya impression
"Hello. My name is Cadenza Mi Amore. You took my daughter; prepare to die."
Just until Rarity got your measurements, so she can get to work on something to dress you with
That's... not right for is other world though
Ah, and that's what they want Thorax's help with. Right.
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Uh, sure."
"Well, so can I~"