• Published 31st Jan 2021
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Forbidden Places - Starscribe



A group of clandestine explorers stumble into Equestria, emerging from the portal in strange new bodies. Riches and fame await them, if only they can find a safe way home before the magic becomes permanent. It's not as easy as it sounds.

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Chapter 79: Blake

"Two weeks of community service."

Blake had a lifetime of stupid things to his name. He had the entire walk to the throne room to imagine ways the ponies might punish them. He hadn't considered anything like that. Prison, execution, banishment... maybe something weird and magical like being turned to stone.

They'd done more in half a dozen different countries. Or at least, they'd been sentenced to more, before they found a way to get out of it. Here that was part of the equation.

"Fair," Vesper said, from just beside him. "I'm sure everypony here will be happy to pay back our debt to pony society. But before we do, while you're here... there are some things we didn't talk about. I think you should know."

Blake winced. But he couldn't stop Vesper now, assuming she was even wrong. Is now really the best time to tell her about us? She already knows we're not from Equestria, isn't that enough?

Princess Twilight teleported back down to ground level again, in a single flash of magic. I wonder if I could do that.

"I am already familiar with your origin," she said. "There is another case like yours in Ponyville, though that one had Discord's direct involvement. None of you signed a contract, did you?"

Blake shook his head. The others followed.

"Not that," Vesper said. "There are hundreds of worldgates between our worlds. We found one by accident, and we weren't the first. Humans just a few centuries ago knew about you. Once that information gets across to the other side, it won't be able to contain..."

The Alicorn princess stared at Vesper, expression unreadable. Nothing as uncomplicated as anger. "What exactly are you saying, pony?"

"We planned on telling our world about yours. We would stop if you told us not to, we don't want to start some kinda... interdimensional war. But even if you don't want us involved, I think you should take some control. Right now you're the ones with the information, and the magic. You can make contact with Earth on your terms, and let both worlds benefit. Or you could hide and pretend this isn't happening, and wait for someone else to stumble through a Worldgate. It's up to you."

The princess settled back on her haunches in an abrupt thump. Her expression remained stoically unreadable. Blake looked away, unable to maintain eye-contact. What could be going on in the mind of a creature so powerful? How long until she—

Someone started laughing, but it wasn't Twilight. This voice was deeper, echoing through the vast space despite its size. Blake took a step towards Vesper, scanning the room.

"What did I tell you, Twilight? Your first real test as Princess of Equestria! You wanted that crown, didn't you? Heavy hangs the head!"

The princess's stoicism vanished, replaced with real frustration. "Discord. What do you want?"

"To watch." There was another flash of light, far brighter than anything the princess had done. Someone appeared beside them, though his feet didn't actually touch the ground. "You're making history, Princess! Imagine the thrill! New innovations, incredible discoveries, or maybe smoking craters and endless war."

He looked like an old-fashioned Hollywood director, sideways cap and sunglasses and rolled-up white shirt. Except that he wasn't human, or anything Blake had yet seen.

This creature was chaos, as bad as anything Dr. Frankenstein had sewn together in his mad fits of creation. The limbs of a half-dozen different creatures, mismatched and poorly sized, yet somehow none looked rotten.

"If you're going to just barge in on us, maybe you'd like to offer some insight," Twilight said. And just like that, all her neutrality and grace was gone, and she sounded like she was speaking to an old rival. "You have to live here too. You think Fluttershy would appreciate hearing that you started a war?"

Without a word exchanged between them, Blake and his group huddled closer, so they could all watch the strange alien. But Blake didn't speak, and so far none of the others did either. Why risk angering a creature with power like that?

The strange alien laughed again, annoyance on his face this time. "You think you can pressure me into interference with a developing civilization? Don't you want to solve your own problems? Just pretend I'm not even here." His body faded, until it was just a spectral outline in the air. Blake could still clearly see it, and there was no chance the princess couldn't too.

"Well." Twilight cleared her throat, straightening her ethereal mane. She stood, clearly flustered. "I think Equestria should probably handle this the way we've dealt with other nations. We're not unprepared—we've befriended the dragons before. That's a country of nearly-immortal monsters who could all fly here and leave our cities in smoldering ruin, if they wanted. All we have to do is visit, exchange embassies, develop an understanding of each other. This can't be that different."

Discord's voice was as transparent as his body right now, thin and reedy like it was barely meant to be audible. Or maybe not at all. "You're not going to..." He cleared his throat. "Oh, sorry. I didn't say anything!"

"What?" the Alicorn asked, head snapping in his direction again. "Spit it out."

"Oh, okay. Since you asked." The creature extended his jaw, so far down that Blake looked away in discomfort. That was not natural. From that transparent outline, a roll of normal cloth extended, dripping wet but printed with bold letters.

We don't belong here, he realized. This is what we wanted—being part of the decision about how to connect our worlds. But it's completely out of our league. At least on the Earth side of that equation, they could give advice from a human perspective about how to handle the aliens of Equestria. The powers that moved in this world were too far beyond them to be understood. What was even going on in this conversation?

He looked up anyway, unable to resist. “CONTROL THE GATES” was written there, with a stylized decorative border.

The princess read and reread that scroll for a few more seconds, before tossing it aside. It clattered wetly to the polished stone floor.

"You know what, fine. That's a good idea. I'm rethinking your community service, creatures. If there are any days left unused when this is over, I'll still send you where I was thinking. But there's something more important for us to do right now."

"Where were you going to send us?" Kaelynn asked, the only one brave enough to interrupt the conversation so far. Maybe because she wasn't actually a criminal here, unlike the others.

"I know you have an airship," Twilight said, without missing a beat. "I have a little seapony who hasn't even met his tribe before. I was going to send you to deliver him, make sure he finds his place there." She glanced toward the little fountain again. Blake did too, and saw sudden motion from down there. A shimmer of scales, and a pair of eyes vanishing back under the surface. Tellin had been here all along?

"I'll find somepony else to do it, if it comes to that," she continued. "But in the meantime, we have another task. You are going to lead me and an expedition of my wisest unicorn scholars to the nearest Worldgate. Then you will take a few ponies I choose through to the other side, to meet with the princess of your world. Help us secure a friendship between worlds, and Equestria will thank you."

She lowered her voice, dropping the formal tone. "But between us, I would probably stay away from Canterlot when this is over. Your faces are out there, and not in friendship and appreciation. That's the real reason I wanted to send you away. That and Tellin's sake. Ponies liked the old way too much, they don't want strangers coming in and upsetting it."

"They liked thinking they could get away with evil, you mean," Blake said. "Do you worry there might be more happening in Canterlot, like what happened to Kaelynn?"

The princess fixed him with a sudden, intense glare, almost as sharp as what she gave to the strange creature. "I am quite certain I have not found the cure to all evil. Is it different in your world? Perhaps we could learn from you."

Blake couldn't meet those eyes for long. "No, it's... a lot worse."

Twilight cleared her throat. "Well then. That's no reason to be satisfied or get complacent—but leave that to me, please. Social change takes time. It will take a few days to gather a team of experts... I imagined I would be sending you all off on that airship of yours. I'll make accommodations available to you here in the castle until then."

Blake stepped forward again. "Respectfully, Princess, do you think we can be ready to go within... three days?" This was all a little hard to keep track of, but he was fairly certain he still remembered.

"Why?"

"Because we have friends waiting on the other side," Vesper said, speaking up from beside him. "Hopefully a whole film crew. They were going to help us make records to help the creatures on our side understand and appreciate ponies better. There's also a griffon who was traveling with us waiting on that side, and a hippogriff named Janet. I think you might know her?"

The Alicorn shrugged her wings to either side in frustration. "You know what? Fine. Preliminary team then. Three days."

"And you know—" Discord began. He had remained silent for the last few minutes, transparent enough that Blake almost forgot he was there. Apparently the princess had too, because her annoyance returned in a rush. But this time, he wasn't speaking to Equestria's ruler.

"You creatures should think about your own futures. I have no obligation to tell you any of this—I didn't summon you here. My older self may've taken advantage of this opportunity to bind you, but I don't think the old Ball and Chain would appreciate it." He gestured, becoming fully solid again. A heavy steel ball appeared attached to one of his legs, covered in butterfly marks. It dragged him down through the air, crashing to the stone floor heavily enough to crack it.

The princess started tapping one hoof, impatiently.

"So take this warning for free. Travel between a world of magic and a world of causality cannot be undertaken without consequence. Eventually, your home will change. But you are not members of that future species, with magic flowing through your veins. At least a few of you still have choices left to make about where to live. If you value the way you used to be, you should stay on the other side of that Worldgate when you get there. Otherwise, your decision will be made for you."

He vanished, leaving the heavy steel sphere and the damage to the floor behind. Princess Twilight sighed, shaking her head once. "Now you see what I deal with," she said. "But he does make a good point. The last visitor from your world didn't realize he was making his choice about staying by using magic and making friends. When the consequences came, he felt cheated. You creatures still have a chance to decide."

She looked away, suddenly distracted. "If creatures are going to be traveling back and forth, we should really come up with a system for measuring that. Something worn on the body from arrival, perhaps. We just need to know what level of saturation causes a full transfiguration of the creature's essence..."

"I volunteer!" Vesper bounced forward, spreading both wings dramatically. "If you want to take measurements from me. And, uh... if you'll let me stay around." She looked away from Blake and the others. But this wasn't exactly a surprise. Vesper had made her wishes clear enough in the last week. "Equestria's amazing and I hoped to stick around. Maybe if we get an airport or whatever going on the border I'd make some calls back to my side, or lead tours. But otherwise, I don't want to give up magic."

Princess Twilight smiled at her. "Very well, Thestral Vesper. What is it about bats from your world..." She shook her head once.

"You may remain behind a few minutes, while I devise a sensor for you to wear. We won't force a change before it should happen, that might skew the results. But my guess is we won't have to wait long to get the data we're looking for. The rest of you—I'll send a message to my steward to prepare proper guest quarters. A few more days should be long enough to have you restored to full health before we visit the Worldgate."

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