Verse 51
Magic shed off Starlight’s skin the way water dripped off when one leapt from a swimming pool. Without her modifications to the mirror portal, travelling between realms was quick and natural. She was following the flow of magic meant for the mirror, not projecting another portal over it.
But this world was not like Daybreaker’s. Magic leaked from Equestria into it, but even so, Starlight felt like she left a piece of herself in the castle as her body changed and adapted to a world devoid of its own magic. She felt sick to her stomach. The portal spat her out on the ground.
Her limbs were shaky, her palms were sweaty. Her stomach gurgled so much it felt like throwing up a bunch of spaghetti.
Beside her, Luna took a tentative step, treading carefully, testing out the new gravity with her new legs. Two long poles atop tiny soft feet and bony nubs called “toes.” But to Starlight’s surprise, Luna didn’t stumble like most ponies did in the new world. She was uneasy in her new body, but not unfamiliar.
Luna noticed Starlight staring and then gave a shrug. “I’ve been in Twilight’s dreams. I know how this world works, more or less.”
“Well, that’s gonna save me a lot of exposition,” Starlight said, wiping the dust off her knees. She checked her ripped jeans and adjusted the beanie on her head. “Still don’t know where these clothes come from though.”
“It’s better not to ask.”
The first step when crossing into the human world: find a phone. Starlight spun quickly around, taking a good account of her surroundings. It was midday, and there were students crouched over desks on the other side of the windows of the school that sat just beside the portal.
“How will I explain myself to these students?” Luna wondered. “Their vice-principal is an alternate version of me, is she not?”
“Luckily, we’re not going into the school,” Starlight said, turning the other way around and walking across the parking lot to a bus stop just across the street. On a short metal pole at the stop, a sun-faded map showed the entirety of Canterlot City, at least as far as the bus routes were concerned. She pointed Luna to their next destination. “Here, this is where you’ll find your new guitarist.”
Luna squinted at the small map and read out the point of interest. “Canterlot City Community College? What, is it some kind of place of learning?”
“Yeah, it’s a community college. Solid foundations for higher-level education, but without the exorbitant university fees. But we’re gonna need to get a few things on our way there.”
“Such as?”
Starlight felt around her pockets and pulled out a small wallet that the portal had conveniently added during the transformation. “For starters, we’ll need enough cash for two bus passes and a flip phone so I can text Sunset Shimmer once we get there.”
“Text? Can we not just find her ourselves?”
“In this world?” Starlight looked at Luna as if she was crazy. “I know I’m not an expert, but humans can’t seem to operate without their trinity of technology: cell phones, the internet, and a perfectly blended mocha cappuccino. Coffee is very important to them.”
“It seems Twilight’s dreams of this world are incomplete,” Luna said.
“Yeah, well, how much could she possibly know? She went through two weeks of human high school, I wouldn’t call that the full tour. Oh hey, our bus is coming. Check your pockets, see if the portal gave you enough for the fare.”
Luna tapped on the screen of the electronic portable communication device, “cell phone,” as Starlight referred to it, with the tip of her pointing finger. So dexterous human hands were, no wonder they could survive without the use of levitation and magic. But as useful as the device was, it did not come cheap.
Fortunately, it seemed the human world was decades ahead of Equestria when it came to commerce. While trade with Mount Aris was only just allowing the use of magically linked bank cards in place of hard currency, the “credit card” that sat safely in Luna’s wallet seemed so commonplace it was expected. As to what it drew money out of, Starlight assured her not to worry. She guessed that the portal had made a perfect duplicate of the things that belonged to this world’s Luna.
“It’s just one phone. Well, a phone and a pre-charged phone plan.” Starlight had said when they left the electronics shop and boarded their next bus. “She probably won’t even notice. She’s a vice principal, after all.”
“Does that position pay well?” Luna asked.
Starlight simply shrugged. “Should be good enough, if it’s anything like being a Headmaster.”
Luna frowned and immediately began tapping the digital keys on the phone screen. The speed and function of the device was astounding. With just a five-gigabyte prepaid plan and a short span of a fifteen-minute bus ride, her search history was filled with a library’s worth of results.
What is credit card fraud? Coffee shops near me. Average price of a phone. How much is a vice-principal’s salary? Median income per household. Housing market crash? Government financial cover-ups. Conspiracies. Are vaccines safe?
“Starlight,” Luna murmured, “maybe we shouldn’t use my credit card. Or the other me’s credit card.”
If she heard, Starlight didn’t seem to show it. “Hey, we’re here!” She pulled Luna by the shoulder as she buzzed a button on the side of the bus, signalling for the next stop. Just across the street were two square buildings, five floors high, judging by the windows. A large sign on the corner of the road read “Canterlot City Community College.”
“So this is where humans go to achieve higher scholarship?” Luna gazed at the concrete campus.
“That’s what Sunset says.” Starlight reached out and pulled the phone from Luna’s hands. “Lemme give her a call and figure out which building she’s in—what the heck?” Starlight opened to the fifteen web browsers Luna had open on the device.
“Ten signs your child has been affected by radio frequencies?” Starlight read out loud. “Luna, what is this?”
“Oh, it’s really interesting,” she replied. “That blogger says that vaccines have been engineered by someone named ‘Big Pharma’ and have tiny machines that can control people using radio towers.”
“Okay then,” Starlight took a sharp breath, slowly releasing it, and then very urgently closed all the browser tabs. “We’re gonna need to have a talk after this.” She switched to the phone’s calling feature and tapped in a series of numbers before pressing the screen and letting out a loud ring from the speaker.
“Hello?” a voice answered after a few seconds.
“Yo! Sunset, it’s Starlight. Where you at right now? We’re just outside your school.”
“Oh, was that today?” Sunset’s voice echoed distantly. “I’m actually on my way to a class right now. I’ll be done at about four, but I can meet you at my place later. Sorry for making you wait.”
“Nah it’s aight, Luna and I are just chillin’ right now. We’ll grab some boba at the mall and meet you later. Want us to get you something?”
“Uh, if you’re getting boba I’ll have a jasmine tea with grass jelly. Okay, I gotta go, class is about to start.”
“Right, see ya soon.” Starlight tapped the phone off.
Luna looked oddly at Starlight as she took it back. “So, we’re chilling?”
“Yeah, I forgot Sunset’s schedule. But the good news is she only has one more class. Shouldn’t take too long. Think of it as a chance to experience the wonders of a human shopping mall.”
“Is it any different from an Equestrian shopping mall?”
“Well, for one thing, humans don’t eat hayburgers.”
The city seemed to come alive as the day faded. The spring days had not yet fully lengthened and the purplish five o’clock sky was inviting out the streetlights and neon signs. Luna passed the time playing around in her cup of ice, shovelling a thick straw around for the little black tapioca orbs that had been put into her ice tea.
Human food seemed like an enigma to her. With their small jaws and limited set of teeth, chewing was exhaustive work. And yet the favoured drink of young humans seemed to be those flavourless starchy balls that stuck to the teeth and gummed up the mouth.
“Wheth isth zee comig?” Luna asked, siphoning up her boba as they waited near the bus stop by Sunset’s apartment complex.
Starlight turned to her. “What?”
She pulled the straw out of her mouth, effortfully swallowing the boba that had turned soggy from melted ice. “I asked when is Sunset Shimmer coming? Did she not say she would be here at four?”
“She said her class ends at four. But the buses are always packed around this time.” Starlight checked the clock on her phone. “I don’t think it should be that much longer.”
Another bus teetered past their stop before Sunset’s bus finally arrived. The overloaded bus lurched to a crawl, and inside, Luna could see young humans packed and crowding near the exits of the vehicle, rubbing shoulder to shoulder as they clutched their book bags and groceries tightly. Sunset was pressed up against a window, her backpack bumping into seated passengers as she pushed her way to freedom.
The supposedly banal ordeal seemed unnecessary. And if the internet was to be trusted, human cities were sprawling and massive, each one as complex and metropolitan as Manehattan or Fillydelphia. All other aspects of the city must’ve been quite orderly, Luna reasoned, if so much effort could be wasted on a public commute.
“Sorry for taking longer,” Sunset gasped when she finally made her way from the bus stop. “I had a few questions about an assignment and then I ended way at the back of the bus line.”
“No problem. Need to get your things?” Starlight said, following behind Sunset.
They entered a refurbished brick building five stories tall, one of a few buildings of an apartment complex so that Sunset could change into a warmer outfit. Even with a change of seasons, the spring nights were still as cold as ever. Luna noticed the small differences in human’s buildings; the halls and door frames were slightly narrower to accommodate their vertical bodies and the doors themselves had knobs, which needed to be gripped, rather than levers or handles which could be turned by a push.
Sunset asked Starlight and Luna to wait outside as she grabbed her stuff. A moment passed, hardly enough time for Luna to inspect a sign nailed to the corner of the hallway which read “no smoking,” before Sunset returned. She had on a black leather jacket, its cuffs and collar lined with white faux fur, and a guitar case slung on her back.
“So you do play the guitar,” Luna noted. “Must be easy with these.” She held up her hand, awkwardly wiggling the bony appendages that jutted out from a fleshy palm. “Think you can do it with a horn?”
“Won’t be a problem,” Sunset said, locking her apartment. “I kinda got the hang of switching bodies. Wow, not something I ever imagined admitting. Sounds kinda weird out loud.”
The two of them spoke as they walked, with Starlight leading them down the street to their destination. Luna was lost in the winding streets of the city, though Starlight assured her it was worth it to find a music club for Sunset to show how well she could play for the Knights. Her talent wasn’t the only problem on Luna’s mind, however. Working around a student’s schedule was difficult, but working with a schedule from another realm was another set of difficulties.
Sunset, however, assured Luna she had been balancing her own schedule to be able to visit Equestria. “Of course, after Twilight was crowned I just had to swing by and give my best wishes. After that, I’ve been making quick trips through the portal to hang out and stuff. Luckily, time between our worlds are synced up, so I just have to keep an eye on my watch.”
“This is going to be a job, you know,” Luna reminded her, “how exactly are you expecting to get paid?” She patted her pocket where she kept her wallet. “I don’t think credit scores take Equestrian money into account.”
“Maybe, but this world doesn’t have a lot of gemstones,” Sunset answered quickly again as if she had thought up the answer already. “I’m pretty sure I can stick a hand in Ponyville and pull up enough jewels to cover my rent. There are a few brokers in this city who buy supplies for jewellers. I spoke to a few of them, and once I start showing them some goods, I’ll be set.”
Luna raised a brow and then looked over to Starlight, who was fixated on the street signs and finding the right path. “That’s quite the workaround. You’ve been preparing for this, haven’t you?”
“I mean, not really,” Sunset sputtered, “it was just an idea Starlight mentioned a few months ago. I was actually surprised when she said she was going through with it. Not that I mind the chance to play in a power metal band.”
They turned the corner of the street and walked not much further until they arrived at a flashing sign that read “The Under Den.” An unmistakable strumming of guitars echoed against the acid-rained concrete steps. The familiar smell of bourbon and whiskey hit Luna’s nose as they entered the music club, and she was immediately reminded of Svengallop.
“You play here?” she guessed, turning to Sunset, who shook her head.
“Sometimes. I just help out when I can. Fluttershy’s working at the zoo most days, and AJ’s out of town getting an agricultural degree. The band isn’t what it used to be, so Rainbow usually needs an extra guitar to fill out her songs.”
They stepped inside and grabbed seats along the bar, though none of them bothered to order anything to drink, afraid of what it might do to them on the way back through the portal. The band playing were a set of three, two guitarists and a lead singer, all of them still young students dressed in the formal uniform of the Crystal Prep High School.
Waving from the other side of the bar, Luna spotted the person who could only have been Rainbow Dash’s human counterpart. The hair gave it away. She signalled to Sunset with her wrist and then held up two fingers. Two minutes, Luna guessed. She checked the clock on her smartphone as well. Fifteen minutes past five o’clock, they had been in the human world for almost half a day.
“Starlight, if you wanted me to hear Sunset play, we could have done this in a studio,” Luna said.
“Yeah, but touring another world is more fun,” Starlight replied.
“We’re going to get an earful from Svengallop when we get back. He’s probably packing up to go to Rainbow Falls right now.” She smirked. “That or pulling his hair out trying to find us.”
“He needs to loosen up,” Starlight waved Luna’s concerns away. “I can teleport all of us to Rainbow Falls instantly. I actually know how to do magic instead of relying on a teleportation platform.”
“You have to admit, it’s pretty clever to have preset locations for teleporting,” Luna murmured under her breath, catching the odd stares from the other humans around the club.
A round of applause stirred the attention back to the small stage, lit by a small ring of spotlights from the rafters above. Sunset walked up, plugging her guitar in while Rainbow Dash adjusted the microphone. Other versions of Twilight’s friends emerged on the stage. They may have looked different, but Pinkie Pie and Rarity, taking their places behind the drums and keyboard respectively, were unmistakable even in their human forms.
“Alright, alright,” Rainbow called out through the mic, “while we’re finishing our set up, I just wanted to give a shoutout to our friend Fluttershy, who’s too busy to be here with us tonight. Strap in for a treat, ‘cause we have a new song for you all tonight thanks to her.”
“Fluttershy’s their songwriter?” Luna leaned over and whispered to Starlight under the gentle applause of the audience. “I thought the Rainbooms were a rock band.”
Starlight simply grinned and nodded. “Yeah, well, it’s always the quiet ones that end up surprising you, isn’t it?.”
Luna looked back over to the Rainbooms and noticed Sunset’s guitar, sporting eight strings as opposed to the usual six. She admitted to in her own mind her technical knowledge was lacking compared to Starlight or Svengallop, though she understood it would deepen the range of the guitar. She imagined it was the best substitution they could manage; Applejack, their bass player, was unavailable.
Of course, the tone of a bass could never be replaced, but as soon as Pinkie picked up the pace on her drums, Luna figured nobody in the club would even notice, so she sat back in her seat and enjoyed it as well:
A rainbow fast as she is bright
Like cosmic fire, awesomeness
Is shining with the light
Born from the magic sorcery
Too fast for human eyes to see
A hero dressed in jewelry
Enchant to beat the enemy
At any hour
She's ready to fight
Can you feel her ire,
See the anger in her burning eyes
She's the Super Sonic Rainbow Dash
With magic power she's ready to fly
She's the Super Sonic Rainbow Dash
Laser beams firing high up to the sky
For the Super!
Super!
Sonic Rainbow Dash!
The bifrost streaking through the sky
Booming rainbows comes
Rushing with a blade of light
Ascend from the burning seas
Assassinate your enemies
From the forest she will come
Before the end she will return
At any hour
She's ready to fight
Can you feel her ire,
See the anger in her crimsoned eyes
She's the Super Sonic Rainbow Dash
With magic power she's ready to fly
She's the Super Sonic Rainbow Dash
Laser beams firing high up to the sky
For the Super!
Super!
Sonic Rainbow Dash!
She's the Super Sonic Rainbow Dash
With magic power she's ready to fly
She's the Super Sonic Rainbow Dash
Laser beams firing high up to the sky
For the Super!
Super!
Sonic Rainbow Dash!
“And that’s why Sunset’s here.”
Inside the Castle of Friendship, the band sat around the library where the portal had been left activated, its hum of magic filling the room’s silence. Tempest sat back, more interested in the guitar Sunset had brought with her through the portal than the story Luna had just shared.
“All that, just for a new guitarist?” The same could not be said for Svengallop, who was pacing around the centre of the library, shuffling his hooves along the rugs.
“Why’d you have to do it now?” He threw his head around indignantly as he sputtered, his frantic eyes darting around the room as if he was simply yelling into a void. “You know what? I’m done asking questions! We’re all here now, we’re behind schedule, but that’s fine as long as we can get to Rainbow Falls before noon tomorrow to check in and put our equipment away. So everything is fine now!”
“Lightning’s not here,” Tempest reminded him. “She’s still hanging out with her new best friend Rainbow Dash. Or are they old best friends since they knew each other already?”
“That’s going to take some time to get used to,” Sunset chuckled to herself, “I forgot you were talking about a different Rainbow Dash for a moment.”
Svengallop combed his hoof through his hair, pulling at his frayed ends and hissing. “Well, Miss Fizzlepop Berrytwist, I don’t care anymore. We are all here. Starlight is going to teleport us. Lightning Dust can fly her own damn self to Rainbow Falls.”
“Alright homie, chill,” Tempest held up her hooves in surrender, “I was just saying.”
“And I’m under a lot of stress right now! So I would appreciate a little less banter from the peanut gallery!” He gasped, allowing himself the first real breath of air in the last few minutes.
“Hey, if this is a bad time,” Sunset started but stopped when Svengallop came up to her and put his hoof on her shoulder.
“Are you old enough to drink?” he asked.
“As a human or a pony?”
He shut his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I—I don’t even know what a human is. Whichever one works best for you.”
“Yeah, I’m a little older than Twilight so I should be good.”
“Perfect, welcome to the Nightmare Knights. You’re buying me whiskey the next chance you get.”
Fluttershy's song is an homage to the band Victorious and their song "Super Sonic Samurai."
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Oh wow they're in our world aka Equestria girls and I feel like I know who they're going to get
As sad it is it's true the thing is I don't drink coffee so I can live without that an especially with the technology what we saw in My Little Pony new generation apparently Equestria really did evolve
It's alright
Although there was some theories about how the human world time moves slower than Equestria while it moves a little faster but that was just a theory
Ok so it looks like Starlight and Luna went to the human world to get Sunset Shimmer to be one of the new guitarists which she is pretty good and it's pretty interesting seeing how Luna is taking spride of being a human and it looks like they finally got to Sunset and talk to her what she does and everything and now she joins the band boy this should be very interesting can't wait to see how this will work out very interesting songs and to be honest I thought Super Sonic it is like the actual super Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog
but I guess I was wrong still cool song
11042711
Youth slang nowadays is "aight."
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Oh I guess I'm that old huh 😅
They need to sing paint the moon red the book won't be complete without it