Chapter 16: A Great and Powerful Rider!
So, my rider’s sister is a scaredy pony? This is new! She’s screaming at the top of her lungs, and Noah is trying to calm her down! Why is she scared? Did I say anything, do anything to upset her? She tries to run away from us, but Noah is trying his best to restrain her.
“Becca, don’t go anywhere!” He cries, worried for his sister’s health and wellbeing. Rebecca slaps him in the face, furious. “Go anywhere? I am clearly high, drunk, or worse! Why are there pastel horses who can talk outside our home? Hell, one of them has wings, and both of them have horns! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!” She says, quite alarmed by our arrival. I am a bit tempted to tell her everything right now, but Trixie just has to make things about her. She sits down on her hind legs and smiles.
“Trixie is a friend of Noah’s. He came to Equestria on an official exchange program to learn the Magic of Friendship! The Great and Powerful Trixie was his first friend ever!” She says proudly. Rebecca is too stunned to say anything in response. After a few awkward moments of silence, I finally break it, explaining why we’re here.
“What Trixie is saying is true. We’re both from another world, and Noah was with us for almost a week.” I explain, trying to keep Rebecca calm.
“Another world?! How can you be from another world?! How can my big brother, who has special needs, go to another world?! Hell, I am basically his older sister, with how much I need to take care of him. Our mother works all the time, and I have to watch him every single minute of the day!” Rebecca says, furiously at that. Why is Noah’s sister treating him like an invalid? I don’t get it. Noah is a very capable human, and he should have just as much agency as anyhuman else!
I am slightly offended by Rebecca’s infantilization of her older brother. I want to say something, but I remember that Noah cares for his sister, so acting on my rage would not go well with him, or with Rebecca, either!
Noah takes his sister by the hand and brings her closer to Trixie. Trixie looks at the adolescent girl again and smiles.
“Trixie doesn’t bite. Do you want to see a magic trick? Trixie just wants you to have a friend!” The showpony says, trying to be kind for once. Rebecca’s face turns white like a ghost.
“Friends? Friends?! Unlike my brother, I am an incredibly popular person. I have lots of friends at school, I am loved by everyone, and I don’t get into trouble!” She says, furious. I understand where she’s coming from, but Noah wants his sister with him in Equestria. I am not going to foalnap her. She has to agree to these terms herself!
“Look. I’m running a Friendship School. My fellow ponies want to help neurodiverse humans learn social skills. Our princess, Twilight Sparkle, personally selected your brother to be the first human student of Friendship. He’s learning so much, and he even made a friend. Wouldn’t that be exactly what you’d want for him?” I say, trying to reason with Rebecca. I am really trying to be logical when dealing with Noah’s sister, but she doesn’t seem to get it. There’s something else bothering her, and I want to know what it is.
She scoffs at my earlier comment. “Of course, I want my brother to have friends. Why do you think I’ve basically had to babysit him since I was old enough to realize he’s delayed? Even with my friends at school, I don’t have a life! All-day, every day, it’s ‘Watch Noah, make sure he doesn’t say anything crazy. Keep him company, play a board game with him, blah-blah-blah!’”.
Trixie feels really bad for Rebecca and places her head on the human’s shoulder; in an act of empathy. “Trixie gets it, she really does. Trixie is a magician pony, and she wants to make everypony around her smile. Sometimes, her ego gets in the way, and she thinks of herself first, before other ponies. This could interfere with Trixie’s goal of making as many ponies as happy as she can. While Trixie doesn’t have a sibling with autism, she does have a friend with it.”
Hearing the word “autism” makes Rebecca turn her head towards the blue unicorn.
“P…Pastel horses have autism, too?” She asks, not knowing that we’re called ponies.
“Yes, ponies can be neurodiverse, too.” Noah says, answering his sister’s question.
“Huh…that still doesn’t answer the question of why you vanished.” She says, going back to the subject at hoof. Noah’s disappearance is a real sticking point, that’s for sure!
Noah was about to answer the question, but Trixie wanted to keep explaining her friendship with Maud. Noah put a finger up in the air, alit with magic; quieting Trixie down. Rebecca noticed this and got scared.
“Did, did these ponies hurt you? Why do you have superpowers now?” She asks her older brother. I guess I have to spill the beans! There’s no other way of explaining it.
I sigh and trot closer to the human girl in front of me. “Well…Noah is a bit more than my friend.” I say, blushing at the thought. Rebecca takes a minute to decipher my inference, before coming to the realization that her brother is in a relationship with me.
She looks at me, and then looks at Noah, before looking at me again, with disgust. “You…you did what with Noah?” She says, trying not to lash out, or hurt me. I mean, let her try! I am a bucking goddess, and she’s a human with no magic! Darn, my ego’s in the way. This is serious!”
Noah chuckles, before looking his sister in the eyes. “Starlight is my marefriend. Yeah, we cuddled. So what? She’s not an animal, Rebecca. Starlight can talk, she can verbally emote what she wants, she can fly, but most importantly, she’s a kind pony. She’s been nicer to me than anyone else I’ve met; besides for you and Mom.”
I am getting the impression that Rebecca is disgusted with Noah that he’s in an intimate relationship with another species.
“Noah, you’re insane. We’re both going insane. There are no pastel ponies. Horses can’t talk. They don’t have horns or wings, you’re not dating one, and tomorrow, we’re both going to wake up, and laugh about this.”
Denial is a common reaction to seeing something that doesn’t conform with your standard perception of reality. Heck, I’m still somewhat in denial that I am an immortal alicorn, but I digress. How exactly am I going to prove to Rebecca that Trixie and I are real, and we don’t want to hurt her brother? We both came here to pick her up and prove to her that her older brother is in good hooves! I don’t know how much Trixie cares for Noah, but I fused souls with him. We’re inseparable!
“I don’t know how else to explain it, Rebecca, but Noah is my soulmate,” I say sternly. I cast a spell, and Noah and I both lit up with lilac magic. Our hearts become visible to Rebecca, and she can see that they are both beating in perfect synchrony. Her mouth opens wide in shock and awe.
“The spell that I just cast shows you that our two life-forces are literally intertwined. Noah asked me to teach him magic, and the only way for me to do that was to merge my essence with his. Your brother is a very kind boy, and the fusion of souls expedited my affection towards him. He loves me, too! There aren’t any humans in Equestria, but Noah convinced me to allow him to ride me around places! That’s how much I love him!” I say, deactivating the “Heartbeat” spell, reverting our two bodies to their normal state.
Rebecca is in utter disbelief. I take it that in her sixteen years of life, she’s never seen somehuman outside of her immediate family that showed care towards her brother. Maybe some specialists treating his autism claimed to, but they did it in a way that treated him “less than”, more like a pet or a terminally ill patient. Trixie taps me on the wing, and I notice that Rebecca has tears forming in the corners of her eyes. I guess that little magic show I put on with the two hearts beating as one was riveting!
“You, you do care for my big brother, don’t you?” Rebecca says, trying not to cry. I take it that older humans avoid crying in public, as it tends to show immaturity? Noah cries a lot, but he’s different. Rebecca is “neurotypical” as Noah would call humans without a neurodiverse condition.
“Well, duh? Trixie cares for Noah so much! He’s funny, incredibly smart, and-.”
“Not you, blue pony, I’m talking to the one with wings! She looks authoritative!” Rebecca interrupts Trixie, causing her to pout. Nopony likes being interrupted, but Trixie was at fault here. She should have known Rebecca was talking to me!
“Y…yes, I do care for your brother. I care for him deeply. I want him to be happy. In fact, I have a secret to tell you. Want to hear it?” I playfully ask Noah’s sister. She nods, wondering what I could possibly want to tell her.
“I’m actually a Princess!”
Rebecca lifts her head up at me and smiles. “When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess. I had dolls, toys, all the stuff a little girl would want to play with. Do, do I have to kneel or bow at you now?” She asks, half-joking.
“Nope! I am a Princess of Justice. Hay, I didn’t want the job in the first place! I was a unicorn, just like Trixie until this week. Teaching Noah empathy was what gave me these wings, making me an alicorn and a princess; all in one fell swoop. Besides, you’re Noah’s sister. That makes you royalty, too!”
Noah looks at me and shrugs his shoulders in confusion. “Wait, I thought my Rider of Justice title was honorary?” He asks me, wondering what kind of game I could be playing with him right now.
“Well, I wasn’t the one who gave you the title. It was Princess Celestia. To me, you’re just my student and rider, but on paper, you're a Prince, and that makes Rebecca a Princess! We both know you aren’t going to do jack with that title, but it’s a legal technicality.”
Noah grins at the thought, and then focuses his attention on his younger sister. “Well, what do you know? Rebecca, the princess after all this time! Mom is going to freak out when she comes home. Speaking of which, where is she?” Noah asks his sister, who takes out a weird box from her coat pocket. The box lights up, and Rebecca pushes it a few times, before placing it on her ear.
Noah taps me and smiles. “That’s a phone, Glimmy. Humans use them to communicate with each other. It’s like your UniPhone system, but outside of the body.” He tries to explain to me. I nod, vaguely understanding this concept. Rebecca is talking on this “phone” for a few minutes, before putting it back into her coat pocket.
“Mom’s on her way home. She’s going to freak out when she sees you two “ponies”.” Rebecca says, a bit scared of the maternal retribution that is to come her way. Oh, I remember messing up as a filly, getting myself into trouble. It didn’t go well; not one bit!
Trixie is starting to feel a bit left out from the conversation, so she gently taps a hoof on Rebecca’s shoulder. Rebecca turns around, and Trixie seems to be interested in asking a question.
“Trixie has a weird question for you, Rebecca.” The showpony asks. Wonder what’s up her tail today? Her questions are sometimes insightful, but more often than not they are annoying!
“Sure. Mom’s going to be home in five minutes, so make it quick.” Rebecca says, awaiting to hear the unicorn’s query.
“Well, as Princess Starlight told you a few minutes ago, Noah has the honor of being Starlight’s rider! Ever since Trixie met Noah, she’s been fascinated with the concept of having a human companion. If you do decide to come with us, can Trixie be your steed?”
***
What a day I’m having. First, my brother comes back from a week of nothing. Then, he comes with two talking horses, one of whom is a god. Said god pony is dating my autistic brother, and fused souls with him, while the other pony asked me to ride her? 10th Grade exam season is nothing compared to the crap I am dealing with right now! Some people have easier lives, I guess?
I was moments away from telling “Trixie” that she was out of her gosh darn mind before I see Mom’s car pulling up. Trixie, Noah, and Starlight move back onto the sidewalk, trying not to get hit by the SUV in front of them. Once the white RAV4 finally parks in the driveway, my heart starts racing. I told Mom that there would be a surprise when she got home, but I didn’t get into the specifics!
Mom opens the driver’s door of her car, and gets out, noticing me and my brother first. Closing the door, she seems relieved, but not upset.
“Hi, Noah! Where did you go five days ago?” Mom asks him, seemingly uninterested in doling out a punishment of any sort. Noah gives Mom a hug, before telling her everything.
“If I told you where I was, you wouldn’t believe me. Heck, even Rebecca didn’t believe me until I showed her! Promise me that no matter what I tell you, you won’t think I am crazy.” He pleads with her.
“Noah, I’ve dealt with your idiosyncratic behaviors for eighteen and a half years. I think you telling me where you went is the least of my worries. Go on, I won’t be mad.” Mom says to him, reassuring my nervous wreck of a brother.
It was at this precise moment that my brother’s “girlfriend” began to trot out from behind the bush line, seemingly invisible from before. I guess the goddess pony can use magic or something. She sheepishly waves to Mom, and Mom smiles.
“Oh, you’re Princess Starlight Glimmer, right? I heard about you on the news in the car on the way home!” Mom says, totally at ease with the talking pony in front of her.
“Wait, Glimmy was on the news?!” Noah says, shocked and horrified. Oh god! If these ponies were on the news, then-. I quickly whip out my phone and Google “ponies”. The front page shows pictures of the two mares in front of me, in front of a majestic castle! What kind of crap have I gotten myself wrapped into?! The hashtag #FRIENDSHIPISMAGIC is number one trending on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, even TikTok! This is nuts!
“Yeah, you don’t remember Twilight telling you before the quantum jump that she sent letters to human governments?” Starlight says to him condescendingly. Trixie revisualizes, coming out of hiding, as well.
“Don’t know who you are, other pony, but I know that the radio said two ponies were coming to Earth, so, hello!” Starlight and Trixie both shake my mother’s hand with their hooves. To be completely honest, this sight is truly something to behold. My mother, a special education teacher, is totally unfazed by two extraterrestrial creatures, one of whom is a deity, coming to Earth! I show Noah the Google search I made moments prior, and he uses his new superpowers to show it to Starlight.
“Woah, I’m famous! My little rider did something good for once!” Starlight says, pecking him on the cheek with affection.
Mom smiles and gives the pony goddess a warm embrace, totally devoid of hesitation or fear. The lilac pony was stunned, and her maw went pale.
“You finally taught my boy how to socialize. I am forever in your debt, Princess.” Mom says, with tears in her eyes.
The winged pony returns the embrace, with her purple feathered wings wrapping around mom.
“No need for debt or anything superficial, Noah’s mom. I just want to take him home with me. He’s got a school to open with me, Trixie, and Princess Twilight!”
“That’s right! The School of Friendship! I heard about it on the radio. You’re probably going to need a teacher or two! I work with special needs students all the time, so I am more than happy to provide assistance!” Mom says, leaving me totally stunned.
“Mom, what the flying f*ck has gotten into you?! You have a job, I have school, Noah has, I don’t know what! We can’t drop everything and go to a magical pony planet! You’re out of your mind!”
Starlight finally exits her embrace with my mother, before patting me on the head with her front hoof.
“Nopony said you have to drop everything and run! Only Noah’s coming back with me permanently. Besides, Princess Twilight fixed the portal, allowing for unfettered access between our two worlds. If either of you wants to come and visit, you can, and come home in one piece! Ponies aren’t a warmongering race. We harbor love and Friendship!”
Huh, so like a vacation? It is Sunday today, and I have nothing to do…maybe this is worth a shot? I walk towards Trixie and look at her carefully.
“Do, do you have a saddle, Miss Trixie?” I ask the blue unicorn, a bit embarrassed!
Princess Starlight smiles, and her lilac horn ignites with magic. Two saddles and two bridles are conjured into existence. One pair is handed to Trixie.
“You just need a human to help you with the bridle, Trixie. The saddles are easy, just like a t-shirt! Besides, we wore these to the Grand Galloping Gala last year!” Starlight says, with a smile. What the hell is a Grand Galloping Gala? I’ll find out later.
Trixie bounces up and down with glee, before putting the saddle on. She uses a spell to hand me the bridle and smiles.
“Trixie finally has a Great and Powerful Rider! Isn’t this fun! She’ll show you magic tricks when we get back to Equestria, Rebecca!”
Well, one thing’s for sure, I have a big ego, so hearing Trixie call me Great and Powerful put me in a much better mood. I’ve been horseback riding a few times, unlike my spaz of a brother (who I assume just learned this week). This means I know how to bridle a horse. I don’t want to hurt Trixie, so I wait for her to open her mouth before I insert the purple bit into her mouth. Finally securing everything in place, I notice that the saddle matches her blue coat! It’s pretty!
I just realized something. What about Mom! Who’s going to carry her to this alien planet?
“Uhh, do either of you two know how my mother’s going to get to this planet, err. What’s it called?” I ask, honestly not knowing what it’s called.
“Equestria. Our kingdom is called Equestria.” Starlight replies, before whispering something into Noah’s ear. Once she’s done, Noah approaches Mom and taps her on the shoulder.
“Yes, dear, what do you want?” Mom asks him.
“It’s actually a bit of a personal question, ma. You see, Princess Starlight is a strong pony. She can lift up to 400 kilograms! Obviously, you don’t weigh 400 kilograms. I weigh 77 kilograms, but I need to know how much you weigh. Starlight has to factor in weight to determine how fast she can fly!”
I want to punch him! Noah should know by now to never ask a woman how much she weighs; especially your mother! Even if it is a practical question, like weight distribution, asking such an intimate question is highly inappropriate!
“Noah…silly boy,” Mom says, clucking her tongue. She approaches Starlight, and whispers a number into the god-pony’s ear. She nods.
“Yeah, I can do that. Buck, I’ll be under half my weight limit. My rider gets the front seat, though!” Starlight says as Noah equips his “marefriend” with the bridle.
Starlight casts a spell, and I feel weightless! My body is being thrust into the air, and is being moved towards Trixie! Trixie claps her front hooves together in glee, before putting them back on the snow-covered sidewalk. My legs are spread apart gently, and I am plopped onto the blue unicorn. She squirms in discomfort for a moment, before sighing in relaxation.
“Ah! Trixie sees why Starlight likes this activity so much. You’re like a weighted blanket, Rebecca!” Trixie says, casting a quick spell. This spell levitates the reins of her bridle and places them into my hands. To be honest, riding in the snow is something I’ve never done before, so holding reins with mittens is new!
I turn my head back and see that Noah is mounted on his “marefriend”’s back, with Mom holding his waist behind him.
“Trixie. Don’t gallop fast, please?” I ask the unicorn. She nods eagerly.
“Sure thing, Great and Powerful Rider! No fast riding for you! Besides, Princess Starlight is the only pony who knows the return spell. We have to ride behind her, anyway!”
Return spell, huh? I wonder if traveling in a quantum rift is painful? It doesn’t matter anyway. I am too far into this to back out now. Starlight trots off the sidewalk, eyeing the road to see if anybody is coming.
“No flying this time, Noah. I don’t know how your mom handles motion sickness. Besides, we don’t need to use these wings for the jump!” Starlight says, galloping ahead. Trixie slowly joins her, carrying me along for the ride! I feel warm and fuzzy. Trixie is nice and warm. That's an added bonus.
“You’re nice and warm, Trixie!” I say in praise. She grins. “Of course she is! Look, Starlight’s horn is lighting up! The quantum jump will start soon. Hold on to Trixie’s Great and Powerful body!” She says. I wonder why Trixie speaks in the third person? It reminds me a bit of Elmo from “Sesame Street” if we’re making comparisons.
Starlight’s horn lights up. “Quantum jump in three…two…one!”
I listen to Trixie’s “Great and Powerful” advice. I firmly grasp the mare’s neck, and the “god-pony” leading our caravan spreads her wings, and her horn zaps all five of us into, something! My body is completely atomized, but I still maintain consciousness. Whatever my mind is right now, it’s observing the vibrant colors and sounds around me. I see shades of every hue imaginable, it's truly magnificent!
After two long minutes of this, I feel my body’s molecules coming together once again. Everything’s back where it should be, and Trixie’s back, too! I’m still astride her, and Noah and Mom are still with Starlight. Way ahead of me, near the horizon, I see a glass mirror.
“Trixie, what’s that mirror doing?” I ask the blue unicorn with curiosity and wonder.
“Oh, that’s the final gate to Equestria! Once you breach it, your home-free!” Trixie exclaims as we all get closer and closer to the pink mirror. After another thirty seconds or so, I see the winged pony in front of me, along with my mother and brother, vanish through the mirror.
“Five seconds to the Equestrian frontier, Rebecca!” Trixie says, casting a spell removing all of our winter clothes. Apparently, she’s still wearing a funny conical magician’s hat, though.
“Three, two, one…”
The two of us breach the glass, and we’re spat out into a large, majestic hall. Finally coming to a complete stop, Trixie grins.
“That was fun, Rebecca! We’re going to do that again sometime!” She says, clearly pleased with the experience. I, on the other hand, still need to make up my mind. I spot my brother and mother, along with Starlight a few paces ahead of me. Trixie trots towards them. I carefully dismount her once we make it to my family; with Noah and Mom doing so as well. Starlight casts a spell, removing both Trixie’s and her own riding gear. She gently places them at the corner of the room.
“I’ll get those later. In the meantime, look around, newhumans!”
Mom and I hold hands, and we listen to the Princess’ request. I see six stone thrones in front of me, each engraved with a unique logo of some sort on the head of them. There’s also this weird table with a projection on top of it? Huh, neat! Maybe this place isn’t as weird as I thought it would be?
A few moments later, I hear the loud clobbering of hooves. I see yet another winged unicorn pony run into the room. This mulberry pony, who I assume is also a deity, looks elated for some reason. Is it because of our arrival?
“Thank Celestia you two came back, Trixie and Starlight. Oh, more humans! I know about Rebecca, but who are you?” The other pony asks my mom, pointing a hoof at her.
Noah answers on mom’s behalf. “Oh, that’s my mom, Princess Twilight. She’s a special-ed teacher, so Starlight thought it would be a good idea to at least show her the Friendship School before she agreed to lend her support.”
Twilight smiles, and flutters in the air with glee. “Hello, Noah’s mom; hello Rebecca! I’m Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. We have so much to talk about!”
Starlight and Noah both sigh. “Here we go again, more expositioning.” Starlight says, playfully nudging my brother.
“Oh yeah, that'll be fun.” He replies as the interspecies couple sits down at two of the thrones. I take it I’m allowed to do so, as well? Trixie and I sit down on two of the other thrones, and my mom and Twilight sit down as well. Twilight sits at the head throne, with a funny-looking mark that matches the ones on her flanks!
“Welcome to Equestria, newhumans! The honor is mine!”
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11167079
Oh, groovy! I do Hatha Yoga and light cardio for physical training myself... I'm extremely flexible and could probably wrap my body around you! I can also form into a little ball with no problem and even put my foot behind my head... If I ever did get into a fight, I think just jumping on them like a spider monkey would be my best bet? I'm just saying, I could pull it off! :P
11167088
nice!
Personally from the sounds of his sister it's a wonder he not worse off. Depending upon how bad neurodiverse folks can be just as capable of getting things done as anyone else. And from what I've seen he may not get emotions but he just as capable as anyone else at tasks.
11167098
Spot on.
I am one of the luckier ones, being able to get some things done on my own, but there is a problem that we're always infantilized.
Even higher functioning autistic people, like me, are still treated as subhuman by those who claim to care for us. Sometimes, it's done intentionally, but more often than not it's out of ignorance.
11167100
Yeah my pdd makes hard for me to remember the hundreds of little details that you to have. I so hate paperwork. When I got diagnosed In high-school that paperwork was the worst of the worst.
I love how blasé the mom is about everything.
“Well I couldn’t have put it better myself!”
- Top Hat, 1920s
11167294
That's not Noah's mom. That's Noah's sister.
11167308
I was referring to lines like this
11167311
Lol. Noah's mom is based on my mom. She's like that, to a T.
Very blasé, upfront, and most importantly, kind.
Love you, mom!
Why is the description butchering our species name but the title doesnt?
11167325
Sweet Moon Mom...
You're right! I am changing it now!
11167327
It was a joke
11167312
And best of all she is more willing to let her son grow. Maybe he won't be the same as everyone else but with a little help from those around him he can manage.
11167364
Especially from a pony goddess of Justice, a showpony, and a book pony11167369
Yeah and it's not like we all don't need help sometimes.