Chapter 2 - The Incident
[Helping Hooves Shelter - Twilight’s Room]
Twilight lay on her canopy-style bed early the next morning, fully enraptured by one of the books Gregory had given to her. She’d read many fantasy books and novels before and had gotten caught up in many of them, but none of them had the same impact as the human one she was reading. It was so engaging. She would even say it was more thrilling than the books she’d read up until now. “How could I have missed this?” Twilight asked herself.
Twilight sighed while turning the page. Of course, she knew why she missed out on this great literature: her fear and preconceived notions of humans. His knee-jerk reaction had caused her to miss out on so much potential knowledge. Even if Jason hadn’t come fully packed as it appeared Gregory had, what he could have told her about human accomplishments would have opened up so many possibilities.
Looking over at the clock hanging on her wall, she saw that it was almost seven in the morning, the time when she had promised to meet up with Gregory to show him around. Twilight bookmarked the page she was on, set it on the end table next to her bed for later that night, and went to her mirror. She slapped her cheek with her wings before growing determined. “Okay, Twilight, here’s the deal,” She said to her reflection to help psych herself up, “You’re going to go to Gregory’s room and properly welcome him to Equestria. You may not be the Princess of Friendship anymore, but being a good friend doesn’t require a title! Got it?” Twilight stared awkwardly into her reflection before she shook her head and moved to the door.
As she began approaching the bedroom where she’d let Gregory stay, Twilight spied a group of about five ponies peering into Gregory’s room. Confused, she inched her way closer as she began to hear the chatter among them. “See? See! I told you I wasn’t lying!” One of them, a younger earth pony mare, said to the others.
“Sweet Luna above, there’s more of them!?” A unicorn stallion whispered with a hint of disgust in his voice.
“What was the princess thinking, letting that thing in here?” A pegasus stallion added.
Twilight instantly frowned as she started marching to the crowd. However, the closer she got, the more her frown morphed into a scowl from the conversation. “I have half a mind to kick the freak out myself!” A unicorn mare said, lighting up her horn.
“You idiot! You can’t do anything to it,” an earth pony stallion said, putting his hoof on her and pulling her away from the door. “Did you forget about that horn from the trial? If we try anything to do it, whatever we try will happen to us! Remember the guard?”
“I don’t care!” The unicorn mare spat. “I lost my home because of that other human! We need to let it know that it’s not welcome here!!!”
Twilight had heard enough. She made her presence known by stepping on the stone floor loud enough to be heard. “And how will you be doing that?!” All the ponies jumped at Twilight’s tone. “I don’t recall breakfast being served in the halls. Do you ponies have a problem with our newest guest?”
The ponies looked amongst themselves before one of them, the pegasus stepped up. “Princess–”
“Stewardess, or just Twilight!” Twilight corrected. Despite the ruling of the tribunal, ponies insist on still calling her a Princess. It was something she hated as it felt like everyone was excusing her action or felt like her punishment was unwarranted, but it was anything but that. With Gregory, it was different, of course. He apparently knew her as a Princess, and he still didn’t know any better. It still hurt whenever he called her that, but she didn’t hold it against him.
“Erm, yes. Twilight,” the pegasus said before turning slightly and pointing towards the slightly open bedroom door with his wings. “Do you know what’s sitting in that room?”
“Yes, I do, as a matter of fact. His name is Gregory Graystone,” Twilight replied, “and as long as he’s in this castle-no, as long as he’s in Ponyville, he’s my guest.”
“But it’s a human,” the unicorn mare who had threatened to kick Gregory out said as she stepped forward and pointed towards the door. “It’s the same race as the one that ruined our lives. The one who’s coming again to take our bits from us soon!”
“Gregory, isn’t it? He’s here because I offered him a place to stay for a while and I was planning on showing him around.” Twilight walked to the door as the crowd moved behind her. Turning, she faced the little gathering. “Moreover, Jason and Gregory didn’t ruin our lives. We did that ourselves. Now, clear out of the hallway before I cut the breakfast hours!”
The ponies reluctantly complied with Twilight’s order, all turning and heading down towards the cafeteria all while muttering something Twilight couldn’t hear. Once they left, Twilight turned to Gregory’s door, suddenly a bit nervous when she fully realized that the door was slightly open. ‘Did he hear all that?’ she thought to herself, ‘we were awfully loud. Actually, it’s really quiet in there. Those ponies didn’t do anything, did they?’ Twilight’s rising panic got the better of her as she burst through Gregory's door. She frantically looked around and spotted a lump in the bed. The lump shifted to reveal Gregory sound asleep with a bit of drool coming out of his mouth. Twilight sighs in relief, then giggled a bit. He looked strangely adorable sleeping like that. Now that she wasn’t panicking, she got a good look at his facial features. He had a messy head of hair that she remembered had been a bit long the day before. His skin was a similar color to Jason’s own, a slight white-pinkish. She remembered from the day before that his eyes had been a strange piercing bluish green.
In the middle of her observations, a loud ring that came from the side of his bed spooked her. “GAH!?”
“Huh?” Gregory slowly opened one eye and looked around sleepily. He sat up and faced Twilight. “Oh, good morning,” he said tiredly, seemingly oblivious to the strange sound coming from his bed.
“What is that?!” Twilight shrieked while covering her ears.
“What’s what? Oh, this?” Gregory asked as he reached over and picked up a strange looking rectangular object. He looked at it and touched it without hesitation. The strange sound immediately stopped and he sat up, stretching. He wore a dark blue tank-top, if what Twilight knew about clothing was any good. She wasn’t too sure how to judge how fit and in shape a human was, but if Bulk Bicep was any indication it seemed as if this human was in pretty decent shape. “Sorry if it startled you,” he added as he stood and arched his back before grabbing a nearby brown bathrobe that was hanging on a hook next to the bathroom door. As he quickly put it on, he looked back at her and asked, “Am I late?”
“No. I was coming to get you,” Twilight said, having sufficiently recovered from the noise. “What was that racket that little rectangle thing made, and what is it?”
He raised an eyebrow and held the strange device up for Twilight to see more carefully. “It’s called a smartphone,” he replied. “More specifically, it’s a brand of smartphone called an iPhone. Haven’t you seen anything like this in the human world? It’s like a miniature computer. I can store tens of thousands of songs on it along with audiobooks and hundreds of thousands of books. The only problem is I need to keep the battery charged or else it will eventually stop working and I won’t be able to access the books. That racket you heard was my alarm. I tend to sleep heavily on more comfortable beds so I needed to set an alarm or else I wake up very late. Once I get used to it, I’ll start waking up on my own, but having an alarm is a good backup.”
Twilight gasped at his words and looked at the smartphone with scientific curiosity. “T-That’s impossible!!! Over a hundred thousand books on that device?! That’s more than what any library beside Canterlot can hold. What kind of magic lets you do that? And you said audio books? This thing can make sound?”
Gregory nodded. “It’s not impossible, and there’s no magic involved. Humans don’t have wings or magic. We don’t need it. We don’t care. All we’ve got’s imagination, new inventions everywhere.” He smirked, and Twilight got the impression that he was quoting something. He cleared his throat and continued, “It’s all science. Now, I can’t claim to know the intricate details, but this little device here has enough space to hold possibly every book written on this world. And yes, this phone can produce sound. Watch.” He began tapping it, making swiping and tapping motions with his fingers, Finally, he pulled out a white cord and connected it to what looked like a speaker. He tapped the phone again and sound began coming from said speaker.
An orchestral piece began playing. Twilight could hardly believe her ears. It was as if she was at a live concert. She could clearly make out several instruments, such as parts of the string section and a horn that came in later. The piece he was playing had a peaceful sort of ambiance to it. Even so, she couldn’t see them. She listened, enraptured by the entire piece, which lasted for about five minutes.
‘And, all this is done by science, not magic!’ she thought as the piece continued. ‘I never would’ve dreamed this was possible!’ A wave of guilt hit Twilight as once again, her actions in the mirror world and even more so with Jason continued to haunt her. ‘I missed out on such innovative devices and stunning orchestral pieces because of my fears. I wish I could take it back.’ Twilight shakes her head. ‘Come on. Twilight. Stop spacing out or he’ll get suspicious.’ She looked back to Gregory and gave him her best smile as the song finished. “That smartphone is truly amazing. And that song…I don’t know why, but it resonated with me.”
“I had a feeling it might,” Gregory chuckled as he tapped on his smartphone, unplugging it from the speaker and putting it back on his bed.
“Unfortunately, I was too focused on getting my crown back to analyze anything too closely in the mirror world,” Twilight explained. “I hope you won’t mind a research session about it later. For now though, I want to start your tour.”
Gregory nodded. “Oh, of course. I didn’t just bring this, but I do have some spare smartphones and some ebook readers, all full of books. Anyway, let me just put some other clothes on and I’ll join you.” He looked out of the window. “Say, what’s the weather supposed to be like today?” he asked. “I’d like to know so I know what to wear.”
“Not to worry. We’re scheduled for some clear skies for the rest of the week,” Twilight replied.
“Sweet. Perfect Cinco de Mayo weather,” he said, confusing Twilight further with whatever he was referring to. He began digging through one of his bags and pulled out some clothes before heading into the bathroom. “That’s one thing I wish our world had,” he said from the bathroom as Twilight heard the rustling of clothes. “Complete weather control. Our natural order isn’t something we really can control. It’s a lot like the Everfree Forest.”
Twilight frowned a bit. She remembered that Jason had said something similar at the trial. “O-Oh, well, the Everfree may be dangerous, but I bet it has its own perks. I’ll let you get dressed, then. We’ll start as soon as you are finished.” With that, she walked out of the room to give Gregory some privacy.
[Badlands - Changeling Hive]
Chrysalis marched through her hive with purpose and a little trepidation. After her drone had informed her of the latest news from Ponyville about the second human the night before, she’d slept on it before going to Jason about it. ‘Another human in Equestria again? Faust knows how well Jason will take the news. He’s going to be so pissed,” she thought. She made it to his room and an opening appeared in the wall. Jason was sitting in the center of the room in a meditative posture. It was something she’d suggested some time to help ease his mind, and judging from how he looked, it had appeared to work somewhat. He was in better health than he had been even a year ago. Chrysalis walked in and the opening behind her shut on its own. “Jason?”
“Hmm? What is it?” Jason said without looking back.
“I brought news from one of my drones in Ponyville,” she said.
“What about Ponyville?” he replied without opening his eyes. “We’re not due to collect payment until the end of the week.”
“Yes, I know,” she said, “But, there’s been a new development that I think you should know about.”
Jason glanced back at her with his good eye. He instantly raised an eyebrow when he saw Chrysalis. “Well, something big must’ve happened if you’re this shaken up,” he replied as he leaned back against his bed. “What? Did those merry gaggle of xenophobes get the band back together?” he asked with a slight sneer.
“Jason. I want you to promise me something before I tell you anything,” Chrysalis said in a tone she hoped was placating. “No matter how bad you think this news is, you can’t overreact.”
Now Chrysalis could sense that Jason's interest was truly piqued. He leaned forward. “Now, I don’t know if that’s fair,” he replied with narrowed eyes. “This is Ponyville we’re talking about. Just the name alone makes me want to drive my fist through a wall. I make no promises.”
“Just attempt to curb your worst instincts,” Chrysalis said. “I don’t have all the details yet, and–”
“Just tell me already!” Jason said impatiently.
Sensing his annoyance, Chrysalis sighed. “As of last night, another human has entered Ponyville.”
There was a long and pregnant pause in the room. Jason stared at Chrysalis with an unreadable expression. Slowly, he stood up before looking into a nearby mirror. Chrysalis swallowed a lump down her throat as Jason removed it from the frame and, without any warning, smashed it violently against the ground, all while wearing the same blank expression. The shards scattered all over the black floor, reaching one corner of the room opposite the direction where Jason was standing. Chrysalis felt the rage radiating from him like a furnace as he stepped toward her. “You knew about this for the entire night and you’re only telling me now!?” he demanded.
His anger was enough for her to take a half step back, but she gazed into his good eye with defiance as she replied, “Can you blame me?” she asked hotly. “Look what you did to that mirror. Those aren’t cheap, you know? And, that’s seven years of bad luck.”
“This. Is. Not. A. Joke!” Jason snarled, getting closer to Chrysalis. “Did you honestly think that if another human stumbles into Equestria that they wouldn’t be in danger?!”
“Excuse me for trying to avoid this reaction from you!” Chrysalis shot back. “As I said, I don’t have all the details. I have my drones watching him covertly. Other than a couple of ponies hovering outside his room, there’s been no harm to him.”
“Him? So, he’s male? Do you know his age?” Jason asked, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself.
“I only have you to go off of when it comes to human ages,” she said, “but from what my drones showed me it looks like he’s an adult like you around the same age range.”
“And you are one hundred percent sure that none of the ponies hurt him?” Jason asked.
“Right now, they’re all keeping their distance,” Chrysalis said, which earned a scoff from Jason. Unperturbed, she continued. “They believe that this human is under the effects of the Gjallarhorn as well even though he's strangely not. He doesn’t seem to know what happened yet, but I don't know how long that will last.”
Jason scratched his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the wall for a few seconds, then back at Chrysalis. “What about Sparkle?”
“Ah, yes, the former Princes,” Chrysalis said with a frown. “She’s currently taking him on a tour of the castle and asking him question after question about some items he brought with him. She seems to be getting along with him well.”
Chrysalis felt the rage building in Jason, more than she’d felt within him for a while. There was also another emotion she hadn’t detected from him since she’d known him: jealousy. She felt him quickly bury it deep down as he straightened and turned to face the changeling queen. “Get everything ready. We’re leaving right now.”
Chrysalis’ jaw dropped in surprise. “Are you serious?” she asked with astonishment. “ Even if we leave now, it is still a two-day trip.” Chrysalis flinched slightly at Jason’s look, a mixture of rage and determination wafted off of him which scared even her. Sighing, she rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. Just go and inconvenience us all, why don’t you? I’ll make the necessary arrangements…”
Grumbling, Chrysalis left the room, leaving Jason to stare down at a broken shard of glass. He knelt and picked a larger shard up carefully, looking at his reflection through it. He traced his fingers along the scar on his face as he muttered softly, “...Never again…”
[Rock Farm - Pie Family Residence]
It was another productive day on the Pie family rock farm. Pinkie wiped her brow as she smiled down at the sparkling geodes she’d discovered during her first few hours of work.
She’d gone through a lot of change in the year, and unlike her friends, a lot of her changes had been positive. For one, her physical appearance had greatly changed. Her mane wasn’t as puffy as it was a year prior. Instead, she had straight bangs similar to the type she had after seeing her sins thanks to the Gjallarhorn. Not all of her manes were straight, however. The end of her mane had regained some of her traditional bounce which she tied into a ponytail. Her tail wasn’t curly anymore but instead was a bit wavy. Being on the rock farm for the past year also helped her get into better shape. The pudge she’d once had slimmed out. She felt a lot stronger than before, too. She wasn’t sure if she was as strong as Applejack yet, but she could now easily crack open geodes the size of Holder’s Boulder. Her mother had even said that she’d become quite a beautiful young mare who any stallion would be lucky to have. She couldn’t see it, but she thanked her mother anyway for the compliment.
Over the course of the past year, she had learned more about how to be a proper adult. Limestone had been right. Being on the rock farm had built up a lot of her maturity. She wasn’t the mare she had been even before the trial. She’d like to think she’d become a better pony than what she had been. There were a few things she still had to work through, but she felt like she was getting better. She learned the proper balance between her old persona and the hurdles of being an adult. She’d grown more mature but had still retained that spark that had made her Ponyville’s premiere party planner. She’d even planned the birthday parties for the birthdays of all of her sisters and her parents. Each party had been a bit more subdued than those she’d planned in the past, but they were still enjoyable.
When her birthday had come around, she’d been surprised to find that her entire family had planned a party for her in the style of her very first party. It had been the first time she’d cried from happiness in a while and she had enjoyed herself immensely.
During that year, she’d also grown closer to her sisters. Maud had been the sister she’d been closest with, but she grew closer to Limestone and Marble as well. She learned that Marble had developed a crush on Big Mac during that first year they shared Hearth’s Warming together. She learned that Limestone had actually secretly taken up crocheting after overhearing Applejack mentioning it at their first Hearth’s Warming. She learned much more than just those, and it helped them all grow as a family.
The biggest hurdle she’d had to overcome so far was accepting the fact that she had made a mistake and that Jason might not be able to forgive her for it. She had been so desperate to try and make things right at the trial that she’d defaulted to the only way she knew how to cheer people up and make them smile. However, she’d learned during her year at the farm and from traveling to the nearby farming town that there were other ways to make ponies smile than parties and playing foalish games. Giving out useful presents was one of the first ways she’d learned how to make ponies smile, and she’d learned more from there.
As Pinkie was coming back from the field with another haul, her hoof began to tingle. She stopped in her tracks while the tingling sensation began to move up from the hoof all through her body. It ended with a flick of her tail. Alarmed, she took off the harness around her and broke off in a full sprint back to the house. She burst through the door, scaring her family in the process who were all finishing breakfast before the day’s chores. Limestone turned to her, a scowl on her face as she hollered, “Hey! What’s up with you? You know Pa doesn’t like it when you slam the door!”
“Sorry, Pa. But, I have to go!” Pinkie quickly ran up to her room and came back down with a suitcase, stunning the family in the process.
“Where are you going, Pinkie?” Maud asked with the same tone she’d always used, albeit one mixed with some slight worry.
“I know you’re not going to like this, but I’m going back to Ponyville,” Pinkie replied.
Her parents and siblings all looked concerned at this sudden decision. There was silence as they digested what she’d said. Unsurprisingly, it was Limestone who spoke up, putting her spoon down and putting her hooves down on the table hard.“What do you mean you’re going back there? You finally stop being depressed and you want to go back to the cause?!”
“Why, Pinkie?” Marble asked softly.
“My Pinkie Sense flared up again” Pinkie explained, “and, no, I’m not just doing this as another whimsical impulse. This is serious. I haven’t had anything go off for a whole year. I don’t know what this one means, but it’s a big doozy. I really think I need to go back now.”
“But, you’re going to listen to it now?” Limestone asked skeptically. “Do you even know why? Or is this an excuse to see those rotten friends of yours?”
Pinkie sighed as she finished packing. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t planning on checking up on them as well.” she said. “Some of their punishments might’ve put them in a bad spot. I spent a year getting better myself and I think I’m at a good place now. But, if you think differently, then I’ll ignore it.”
Cloudy Quartz slowly approached her daughter as she analyzed her. Pinkie stood up straight and gazed back into her mother’s eyes. Cloudy turned to Igneous with a nod. He returned it stoically. Cloudy turned back to her daughter and put a hoof on her withers. “You have our blessings, dear. But, we ask that you use caution.”
Pinkie smiled and went around the room, giving everyone a big hug and kisses on their cheeks. “I know, thank you, Ma. Thank you, everyone. I’ll write as soon as I can!” With that said, she quickly ran out of her home and to the nearest train station.
[Helping Hooves Shelter.]
Twilight was feeling anxious. Gregory was carefully walking behind her as she led him through the hallways. Every time they passed by the occasional pony, Twilight tensed up. She caught a few glimpses of some slight glares that many ponies sent his way, some of which sent shudders down Twilight’s spine at the amount of animosity behind them. However, Gregory seemed too enraptured by the castle tour itself to notice.
“So, here at the Helping Hooves shelter, we strive to aid each and everypony through their current hardship,” Twilight explained as they walked down the crystalline hallways. “We have all the up-to-date utilities needed for every pony’s comfort and convenience. Almost every room in the shelter is large enough to house a large family of ponies. Each room typically has a max capacity of eight ponies, with your room being an exception. We also have plenty of room for storage of any personal items. Also, we have everything for toiletries, silverware, utensils, and a fully stocked fridge. Right now, we’re coming up to the library.”
Gregory’s eyes widened in anticipation as they approached the doors leading to the library. “Well, I’m glad this castle can be put to good use,” he said as he looked down at Twilight. “Hey, on a brief subject change, I’ve always wondered something.”
“What is it?” Twilight asked.
Twilight watched as Gregory gestured to the tall corridor they were walking down. “This castle seems bigger on the inside than the outside. Is there some magical reason for that? Interdimensional magic or something?”
Twilight giggled as she opened the door. “You’re not the first to ask that. I’m still not sure myself, but I have a working hypothesis that when the Cutie Map grew bigger, so did the castle. Even before that, though, the castle seemed to respond to its occupants and shifted to accommodate them. It did spawn from the power of the Elements of Harmony, which came from the Tree of Harmony. So, technically speaking, you could say that this castle is alive.”
“Huh, so kind of like the TARDIS,” she heard him muttering.
She almost asked what he meant, but thought better of it. As they entered the next room, Twilight flew up in a dramatic fashion to display the library, spreading her hooves wide with a proud smile. “Behold, the library!”
Gregory raised both of his hands and began clapping, a gesture Twilight guessed was like a hoof stomp type of applause for humans. Only, he was looking at Twilight instead of the library itself. “Every time I hear about it, it boggles my mind that those wings can support flight for you, but I guess that’s magic for you.” He put his hands on his hips and looked around the library, whistling in appreciation. “I have to say, though, this is an amazing library. It might very well put the lost Library of Alexandria to shame!”
Twilight’s ears perked up at the mention of this Library of Alexandria. She resisted the urge to ask about it as Gregory walked over to a nearby shelf, picked up a random book, and opened it to look at the front page. A smirk formed on his face as he read the title. “Hmm…Plays Of Sir Shake Peer Volume 3. Never heard of him. Who was he?” he asked as he looked at the table of contents.
“Sir Shake Peer? Oh, he’s considered one of Equestria’s best playwrights,” Twilight replied as she flew down and landed next to Gregory. “His plays are very well known across Equestria. I’ve seen a lot of his plays performed before when I lived in Canterlot.”
“Well, I’d love to read or maybe even see some of his plays at some point,” he said as he put the book back with a carefulness that Twilight immediately respected. “Anyway, as much as I’d love to spend as much time in this place as possible, I don’t want to take up too much of your time. What else can you show me?”
“Right this way.”
Twilight held the door open for Gregory, but to her surprise, he pushed his hand against the door and gestured toward her. “Ladies first,” he said in a respectful tone.
Twilight smiled up at him. “Such a gentle colt,” she said as she walked in front of him, Gregory pulling the doors shut behind them.
They walked for a short distance down the corridor once again to their next destination. Soon they were standing in front of a double-arched doorway at the end of another hallway. She opened the door, revealing a massive storage space that had once been a space meant for a museum. “This room is where we store everyone's personal effects,” she explained. “As you can see, everything is neatly organized and labeled so that there’s no confusion about what belongs to who.”
Gregory looked inside the large room. “Oh, this place is really big,” he said, then his eyes widened when he heard an echo. “And it’s big enough for an echo!” he added with a gleeful expression. “Shame there isn’t a door to the outside. I could place my car in here before it gets damaged by any animals from the Everfree.”
“Well, I’d have to see how big this car of yours is to see if we can store it in the castle,” Twilight replied. “Anyway, let’s continue.”
The pair walked a little more as they entered another hallway with Doris on either side. “This wing of the castle is dedicated to recreational activity,” Twilight said. “We have games for foals, teens, and adults. There’s even a pool here somewhere. There are a few spare empty rooms here, too.”
Gregory looked around, then smiled. “If there’s a larger empty space here, that might be a cool place to set up my projector and have a movie night. Unless I see some other place…hmm…” Twilight watched as he stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Twilight arched a brow at his words. ‘Projector? I wonder what the human version of those looks like? Does it use film as we do? What other wonders do humans have? Oh, I’ve got to hurry this up so we can get to his car.’ Twilight cleared her throat, leading him down another hallway. They went upstairs to a massive domed room with a large telescope. “Here is the observatory. A nice quaint little spot for stargazing. The roof can retract and get an unfettered view of the sky.”
“I love stargazing,” he said as he walked around the telescope and took it in, keeping a respectful distance from it. “I could never get a good view of the night sky from when I was looking at your world through the portal. I have a map of our night sky and all of our constellations sitting in the car right now. That, and a planetarium projector. I’d love to compare some time.”
“I’d love to hear more about those later in our research session,” Twilight replied with some more excitement at the thought of comparing astronomical data between worlds. “But, I do have a question. Is that portal easily accessible to other humans? I only ask because it might be dangerous if it’s in the Everfree.”
“Oh, I think the portal shut down the moment I drove through it,” he replied. “And it wasn’t in the Everfree. It was in the castle’s backyard. I can show you where some time.”
Twilight internally sighed with relief. ‘Good. That means no more humans can get mixed up in our world and potentially get hurt,’ she thought, ‘but, that might also mean Gregory is stranded here like Jason.’
After another inner sigh, Twilight started moving again. The two walked down the hall until they reached another set of double doors. She motioned for him to stop as she opened the door slightly. “Right here is the cafeteria. It’s where we serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The kitchen is also beyond these doors. We have a dedicated staff that cooks and cleans this space so everypony can be fed. We’re not going inside as some ponies can be a little grumpy this time of the day. But, it is up to par, I promise.” Of course, that was another lie. Twilight didn’t want to chance another hostile reaction from the ponies inside. Especially in the morning.
Gregory peaked through the door and looked at the massive cafeteria within. After a few agonizingly tense seconds, he stepped back which allowed Twilight to close the door. “That is a big space, and I’ve never seen so many ponies before. But I have a question. Can I see the kitchen sometime?” Gregory asked. “I brought some food from home that I probably won’t be able to get here anymore and I’d love to also try making foods from my world for you all to try. You also mentioned a fridge earlier. I brought some drinks with me that I wouldn’t mind having cold. Either that or having one in my room. I’d pay for it after I get a job, of course.”
“I’ll – uh - see what I can do,” Twilight replied a bit nervously,” but that concludes the tour. Can we go and see your car now, please?”
“Hehe, you’re an eager beaver,” Gregory said with a good-natured chuckle. “Sure, let’s go.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys, one of which was attached to a black square of some kind. “Lead the way to the door and I’ll show you where I parked it last night.”
Twilight trotted down towards the castle entrance at a brisk pace as excitement washed over her. The pair made it to the door as Twilight held it open for Gregory, only for him to once again hold it open for her. Once outside, Gregory led Twilight to his vehicle. It was a dark red box-shaped vehicle of a type she hadn’t seen before. It had windows around it, most of which seemed to be tinted. It was made of shining metal. The wheels were unlike any she’d seen before, appearing to be made of some sort of thick rubber. In front was a small metal plate with six random numbers and letters stamped into it. On the very top was a black rack of some kind that Twilight assumed was for extra storage of some kind.
Gregory pulled up the key with the black square and tapped something on the square. This made the car chirp, earning a squawk from Twilight. She also heard a noise that sounded like CLUNK at the same time. Also, she saw two lights on the front flash briefly with a bright light she hadn’t anticipated. “Ah, sorry,” Gregory said as he gave Twilight an apologetic look. “I was just turning off the alarm and unlocking the doors.”
“Ah, I see,” she said as she slowly walked along, getting a good look at the car itself. She took in more of the details. The vehicle had four doors with a hatch in the back. On the two front doors, there were two small mirrors with the words OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR written neatly on the bottom. The paint job was impeccable. Inside she saw more of his belongings, boxes and suitcases, and other objects.
When she rejoined Gregory, she looked up at him with curiosity. “So, do all cars have those noisy alarms? What are they even for? And for that matter, I did see that there were different types of cars in the mirror world. Why is that if they all do the same thing?”
“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down, let me get a word in edgewise,” Gregory chuckled, causing Twilight to blush in embarrassment. “Well, let me answer your last question first.” He opened up one of the car doors and stepped aside, allowing Twilight to look inside. “It probably doesn’t mean much to you,” Gregory began, “but the car in question is known as a 2017 Ford Explorer. 2017 is the year it was manufactured by our calendar, Ford is the name of the company that made the car, and Explorer is the name of the car type itself. There are other car companies on Earth that compete to get the most customers, companies like Chevrolet, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Tesla and more. Capitalism at its finest.” He gestured for Twilight to enter said door. As she did so and after he closed the door behind her, he walked over to the other side, opened the second door and got inside, closing that door as well.
He turned to her and continued his explanation. “This vehicle runs on a liquid fuel called gasoline, something I don’t think Equestria has. I have a few cans of spare gas in here and I have some instructions on how to make some homemade stuff, but once it’s gone, the car won’t run anymore. The instruction manual is in the glove compartment and you can read it anytime.” He touched a wheel in front of him. “This is what I use to steer the car itself. It’s sort of like a wheel on a boat. This controls the two front tires so I can steer. These buttons and levers control a lot of different settings, everything from the environmental controls to certain gears the car can drive in and the lights for driving at night. As for the alarms, yes, lots of newer cars on Earth have them. They’re a theft deterrent.”
“Hmm, I can see how all that noise would ward off thievery,” Twilight said, still reeling from all of the new information thrust at her, “but how would anypony take this monstrosity? It looks too heavy to pull.”
“Well, they can either steal the keys or they can do something called hotwiring,” Gregory explained. “There are ways to make this car start without a key if you know what you’re doing. Sometimes people don’t steal the cars. Instead, they break the windows and take what’s inside. It’s one reason why I was a bit hesitant to leave it outside, but you gotta do what you gotta do, I guess.”
A small part of Twilight felt some validation that humans did indeed have nefarious tendencies, but the voice was quickly shot down when she reminded herself that ponies were no better. Ponies had committed crimes in the past as well. Theft and other crimes had only been on the rise this past year in Ponyville alone. She shook her head clear of these thoughts and sat on her haunches on the seat, facing forward. “Alright then, let’s see this thing in motion.”
Gregory raised an eyebrow. “Really? I mean, I doubt your streets are asphalt like our roads are. From what little I saw earlier, they’re cobblestone or dirt, so the ride won’t exactly be smooth. And won’t ponies be a bit afraid of this?”
“As long as we go slow, I think we’ll be alright,” she replied. “Besides, I’d like to see what it’s like,”
Gregory’s face melted into a smile. “You ponies are too darn cute. Alright, I guess we can go for a small ride. But first, you need to have this on.” He reached over and pulled on a strange strap to Twilight’s right, then pulled it down over her and snapped it into place inside some other strange latch. “Gotta get that seatbelt on. Safety first. Sorry if it’s a bit uncomfortable. It wasn’t really designed with ponies in mind.”
Twilight nodded her head appreciatively. She recalled from her brief glimpses of cars in the mirror world that they could move very fast. Even if the seatbelt as he called it felt strange around her barrel, having some sort of protection felt reassuring.
Next, Gregory checked the mirrors that were inside and outside the car. When Twilight asked what he was doing, he explained that he was checking to see that no one was in the way behind him before putting the keys in what he said was called the ignition. With a turn of his wrist, the vehicle roared to life with a sound that caused Twilight to squeal in alarm. Even in the interior, the sound of the vehicle starting was alarming.
Unfortunately, the sound also caught the attention of some nearby ponies, who jumped back at seeing the car. Gregory began maneuvering some controls and then pressed his foot down on something in front of him. To Twilight’s utter astonishment, the vehicle, without any help from anypony, slowly began backing out of the awning he’d parked it under. When it was back on the grass, he pulled on a strange lever. Twilight heard a subtle shift in the humming from the engine as the vehicle began moving forward. He turned it so it wouldn’t hit the awning, and away they went.
The ride was a rather bumpy one, but Gregory seemed to try and find the smoothest path possible. They drove down a street that was mostly dirt and that was more or less a residential area of the town. Twilight marveled at how Gregory concentrated on the road and everypony around them. At one point, he had to press lightly on the center of his steering wheel, which caused a loud horn sound to come out of the front. This startled the ponies who had jumped out in front of the car and made them run.
Twilight’s mouth was open in astonishment during the entire brief drive. She’d always used hot air balloons, fancy blimps, or even trains to travel, but she had never considered something like this. It was like an advanced form of horse drawn carriage that didn’t need a pony to pull it. Gregory kept a moderate pace as Twilight watched the scenery pass by them in awe.
As they drove, the bumping caused Twilight to begin feeling a bit sick. Gregory must have noticed it because he touched something on the panel in front of him. To her surprise, cool air began flooding in from some of the vents. He then touched something on his door. The window beside her rolled down automatically. Twilight flinched from the sudden airflow before she tentatively stuck her head out while her mane flowed in the wind. She heard Gregory chuckle a bit when she did that, but she was too enthralled to ask what he was laughing at.
After a few more minutes. Gregory turned back toward the castle. During their entire drive, Twilight had been paying attention to the ponies around them. Many of the ponies didn’t seem to know what to make of the vehicle. The only reason there wasn’t any panic was that they presumably saw Twilight inside and giggling like a school filly.
After returning to the awning and parking the vehicle, Gregory turned off the car, got out, and opened Twilight’s door. He undid the seatbelt and helped her out. Twilight was as giddy as a filly when she got out.
“That was amazing!” she said with a wide smile on her face. “I mean, I thought I was going to get sick there for a bit, but the wind in my mane and the hum from the car was all wonderful. Can you imagine how this could revolutionize land-based travel? We might not need to commute by train anymore!”
Gregory chuckled. “Yes, yes you could,” he replied as he closed the door.
Twilight was about to ask some more of her burning questions until she noticed that they were drawing a crowd. The ponies themselves were slowly getting over their confusion and began to regard Gregory with suspicion and contempt. “I think that’s enough for now,” she said quickly. “We don’t want to freak anypony else out. Come on, I can go for something to eat. But, first, I have to make a note of my findings so far.”
“Oh! That reminds me! I have another gift I forgot to give you last night!” he said as he quickly exited the vehicle and ran to the back. He opened the hatch in the back and peered through some of the bags that were still in there. “Aha! Here we are!” He pulled out a mid-sized box and set it on the ground before he closed the car door and tapped his keys, causing another chirping noise to come from it. He lifted the box and carried it over to her. He opened it, showing her a large assortment of strange-looking cylindrical objects. “I brought a bunch of pens from my world. I know you still use ink and quills here, but these don’t need to be constantly dipped in ink. Watch!” He grabbed one of the pens, then grabbed a small slip of paper from his pocket and began writing on it. There were no ink blots that formed from the advanced pen, and the lines of the ink itself were more pristine than anything she’d seen before. “I bet you could recreate these easily!”
It took all of Twilight’s discipline not to scream out in joy. She graciously accepted the gift as the two went inside. “Thank you, Gregory. I’ve had so much fun today. But why do you head back to your room and I’ll come get you when it's time to eat.”
“I hope I can find my way back,” he joked. “I was hoping to see more of Ponyville, but you’re the expert here. I’ll see you later.”
As he waved and headed back down the corridor with an apparent spring in his step, Twilight looked around at the gathered ponies. She winced at their hate-filled expressions that were directed toward him when he wasn’t looking. Picking up the box with her wings, she followed Gregory in but not before giving the crowd a glare of her own. This caused them all to disperse. As she entered the castle, she sighed heavily. What was she going to do?
[Helping Hooves - Gregory’s Room]
Gregory slowly opened his eyes after a particularly wonderful dream. In it, he’d been sitting down with Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres taste-testing the difference between the apples he’d brought from Earth and the local apples. Since he’d brought a large number, he’d been able to give one to Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. In the dream world, everything was still a cartoon to him with the exception of Twilight who appeared as her real self. The apples that he’d tasted in the dream already were exquisite and far surpassed anything he’d tasted on Earth before.
Just before they were about to taste Earth apples, he woke up after feeling the urge in the dream to relieve himself, the same urge he felt now. He’d had too much local apple cider to drink at dinner, which he’d had with Twilight in her room. They had eaten some rather delicious stew which contained potatoes, carrots, cabbage, peas, and other vegetables that had all been stewed in a savory vegetarian broth. They’d also had steamed rice, much to his surprise. There’d also been a few baked potatoes with butter and slices of warm, freshly baked bread and sliced cheese. They’d been given water and apple cider to drink. Gregory now realized just why Rainbow Dash was so addicted to the cider. He doubted that the Martinelli’s sparkling cider bottles he’d brought would compare.
During the dinner, Twilight had asked Gregory many questions about his world, and his world only. She’d been stunned to hear about the population of Earth is over eight billion people, had asked plenty of questions when she learned of humanity reaching the moon, and she’d nearly had an aneurysm when he described other methods of travel, such as airplanes, bullet trains and faster methods of naval travel. He’d gladly answered her questions. He hadn’t gotten a question of his own in edgewise, but he didn’t mind. There would be time later, after all, once he answered Purple Book Horse’s questions.
After using the bathroom, he walked over to his window and sat down in his camping chair, looking out at the night sky. His window faced east, and he saw the waning gibbous moon still in the eastern sky. The phases of the moon here might have matched the phases of Earth’s own moon, but the features on this moon did not. It looked a lot more uniform than the moon back on Earth. There were craters and mountains, but no maria like Earth’s moon had. He had no idea just how this universe had been created, but it wasn’t quite up on his list of priorities to learn. He could see a faint unicorn head outline on the moon itself, however.
The stars were brighter than anything he’d seen on Earth. The night sky didn’t have that purple hue it had in the show. Instead, he was greeted by the same inky blackness studded with bright stars that were all-too familiar to him. The constellations, on the other hand, were completely foreign to him. He made a mental note to ask if he could borrow an astronomy book so he could relearn his constellations. Navigating by the stars was a universal constant, after all, and he needed to learn how to not only survive in this new world but thrive.
The moonlight shone down on the lake, the ripples from the nearby waterfall causing its reflection to scatter and illuminate some nearby trees. A slight breeze blew across the lake as well. Gregory sighed in contentment as he took in the peaceful sight below. It was so relaxing that he felt himself starting to drift off. The window he’d left open let in a cool breeze that washed over him, blowing his hair back as he closed his eyes, a soft smile on his face.
Until a sound that shouldn’t exist began blaring, waking him up. He stood and looked out of the window. He couldn’t see his car from this angle, but he could still hear the alarm going off. Earlier that evening, before curfew had begun, Gregory had gone out for a brief walk in the backyard. He had gone into the water up to his knees, enjoying the cold refreshing water. During his brief stroll, he had found the metal pole he’d first pushed through the portal months earlier. Not wanting it to get lost, he’d brought it back in.
He rushed over to where he’d placed his car keys, grabbed them, flung on a pair of shorts and a hoodie, then grabbed the metal pole. He’d have grabbed one of his pistols but there was no time and they were packed away securely. If there was a wild animal out there trying to attack his car, he wanted to be prepared to chase it off. He didn’t want to kill it, since that would upset Fluttershy and he didn’t want to get on her bad side only one day in. He grabbed a flashlight and jumped out of the window after putting on some shoes and rushed towards the sound of the alarm.
As he continued to approach, he began hearing something else: panicked voices. They were indistinct at first, but as he continued running, he began hearing coherent sentences.
“What in Faust’s name is it doing?!”
“Shut it up! Hit it harder! Maybe that’ll dent it!”
“Sweet Celestia, somepony make it stop!”
When Gregory reached the corner of the castle, he turned on his flashlight and aimed it at the awning. In the light of the flashlight along with the lights from the alarm, he saw about seven to eight ponies, each of different races, all either holding their ears or doing their best to ignore the loud noise and hit his car. Only, to his astonishment, it seemed like their hits did absolutely nothing. Not even to the windows.
“Hey! Get away from my car!” Gregory shouted, approaching with his flashlight and metal pole raised. “What are you doing?!” He didn’t turn off the alarm as it seemed to be deterring the ponies who were trying to vandalize his car.
“Ahh! Make it stop!!!”
“It’s scrambling my brain!!!”
“I’m going deaf!!!”
Gregory watched on in utter confusion, unsure of how to proceed. However, before he could move, Twilight came rushing out of the castle with several night guards in tow. Unfortunately, they too were unprepared for the audio assault on their ears as well, covering their ears with their hooves. Gregory hit the disarm button on his keys and switched the alarm off. “Seriously, what in the actual he-heck were you ponies doing?!” he shouted, his control over his language almost slipping just a bit. “Did I seriously do something to make you want to destroy my car?!” He rushed over and looked over the car with his flashlight, looking to see what kind of damage it had suffered. However, strangely enough, he saw absolutely nothing. No dents, no scratches on the paint job, nothing. Slowly, he turned back to the group of ponies. “I’ll ask again. Why did you try and destroy my car?”
Gregory didn’t get much of an answer as many of his assailants were still recovering. Twilight and the night guards recovered quickly though as they were only subject to the sound for a few short moments. Twilight pointed to the group of ponies. “Guards. Place them under arrest for attempted vandalism!” she ordered.
“Alright, get up! You’re all coming with us.” The night guard said, placing suppression rings on the unicorn members, wing clamps on the pegasi, and shackles on the earth ponies
As they were being pulled away, one of them turned and glared at Gregory. “A-Ah! This isn’t over, you freak!” he shouted as the night guard carried him and the other ponies away. “We won’t let you ruin our lives again! Leave just like that other monster!!!”
Gregory frowned at that. ‘Ruin their lives again? Another monster? What do they mean?’ he thought. Slowly, he turned back to Twilight, only to see a look of utter fear on her face. “Princess? Hey, are you okay?” he asked.
Twilight flinched and shied away. She felt the all too familiar feeling of panic rising inside her. ‘No. No, no, no! Why did this have to happen?’ she screamed internally, ‘why would they do this? Did they learn nothing!?’ Twilight took a small breath, sighing. ‘Okay, think, maybe you can salvage this.’ Twilight shook away her anxieties and approached Gregory. “I-I’m sorry Gregory,” she said apologetically. “I didn’t account for other ponies' reactions to your vehicle. My guess is that they thought it was some kind of monster. Good thing it’s sturdy. We should get back inside and let the guards handle this.”
Gregory frowned internally. There was something in her tone and body language that seemed to indicate she was hiding something. He knew that the one pony had been shouting at him, not his car. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, he couldn’t help but think that Twilight was outright lying to him about something. However, he was too tired and cranky now to deal with this as an intelligent person should. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he said, “Before we go inside, I’d like to find a place to store my car inside where nobody else can get at it. I don’t care if it withstood attacks that would normally destroy it. I’d like to have it inside and away from prying eyes.”
Twilight nodded. “Right, that would be a good idea. There’s a spot around the back of the castle that nopony but the royal guard can use. I’ll notify them of your want to store your vehicle.”
Gregory nodded, got into the car’s driving seat, and turned on the lights, startling the ponies around him. He started the car and began backing up. “Just tell me where to go,” he called out to Twilight.
Twilight hovered in the air and gestured for Gregory to follow. They moved around the castle without incident until they came to a large set of double doors. They opened to reveal a large space that looked like some kind of warehouse to Gregory’s eyes. As the guards began moving some boxes away to make room for his car, Gregory watched as Twilight informed the guards stationed there of the situation. “We understand, Twilight,” one of them said, “however, we will have to inform the Princess of this incident as well. I suggest writing to her. It won’t look as good if she hears it from somepony else.”
Gregory saw a slight look of dread forming on Twilight’s face. “...Right, I’ll get right on it…” Twilight said.
Gregory, having just gotten out of his car and having locked the door, nodded. “I’ll bet Princess Celestia would love to hear about it,” he said as he got out of his car and locked the doors. “Anyway, thanks for the help, Princess. Same to you ponies, too. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’m gonna go back to bed.” He grabbed his flashlight and metal pole. “See you at breakfast tomorrow?”
Twilight nodded, wincing a bit as Gregory mentioned Celestia. “R-Right.”
“Same time? Seven?” Gregory asked.
“Yes, seven in the morning,” Twilight replied with a nod.
“See you then,” he said as he turned and headed back the way he’d come. He quickly found his still-open window, climbed in, and this time closed it. He quickly got undressed for bed and climbed in under the covers. As he began drifting off to sleep again and the adrenaline in his system began to slowly dissipate, he found himself thinking back to the events of the past few minutes.
Something had happened here. Something that Twilight wasn’t telling him. It was like she was afraid for him to know. He yawned, turned over, and decided to ask her about it very soon. Those were his last thoughts before drifting off to sleep.
Twilight sighed deeply as she made her way back to her room. Opening her door, she trotted over to her bed and buried her face into her pillow, letting out a loud scream in the process. It was one of the few times she was glad she didn’t have her alicorn magic. If she had, it was almost a certainty that everyone would’ve heard her. Moving the pillow, she turned around, lay on her back, and stared up at the ceiling. “There’s no avoiding it now,” she said forlornly, “if this happened once, it can happen again. It could’ve easily been Gregory on the receiving end of that assault. What was I thinking? I can’t hide the truth forever!”
Twilight frowned deeply as she sat up and walked over to her desk. Ironically, now she had the opportunity to try out one of the pens that Gregory had recently gifted her. It took her a little bit to figure out how the one she grabbed was used, but eventually, she held it in her wings. Without her magic to manipulate things, she’d become quite an expert on using her wings to grab objects. Ironically, she’d gotten so good she’d begun using them a lot like how humans used hands. She gripped the pen in her wings and began writing several letters. She didn’t like the fact that she was using a gift for such a reason, but she didn’t have time to get a quill and ink.
Dear Princess Luna,
I regret to inform you that an incident has occurred at the shelter. For reasons I cannot fully explain, another human has stumbled into Equestria. Don’t worry, he came under no harm and I was able to engage in a pleasant dialogue with him. His name is Gregory Graystone.
It also seems that, just like Jason Wright, he is a fan of the program that displays our lives. He hasn’t mentioned it to me yet, but he knows a lot about us already, so it seems like it’s a reasonable assumption to make.
Everything was going fine up until some ponies attempted to destroy his property a few hours before sunrise. I thought I could handle things and keep things from escalating, but now I realize that I was merely hiding from taking accountability. I know I don’t deserve it, but for Gregory’s sake I am formally requesting aid from the crown to help in ensuring his safety.
Your loyal subject, Twilight Sparkle
Satisfied with the letter, Twilight sealed it in an envelope and took out a vial from a drawer next to her bed. Popping the cork, she poured one drop of its contents onto the letter. The letter was instantly engulfed in flames before the embers flew out to Canterlot in a manner similar to how Spike’s flames worked. Twilight got another letter ready and she sighed again. “This is going to be a big headache. Dear Spike…”
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Sparkle better enjoy finally learning about human innovations and culture(s) while it lasts. But it still won't change anything if all she has are "what if's" of the now very clear missed opportunity for what could have been Equestria's golden age.
Not to mention what she and her kind did to Jason, so I'll give her a half-hearted "good luck" when she eventually has to tell the truth to Gregory about what the hell is actually going on since he got there. And then her guilt intensifies even more once she witnesses his world shatter once he learns what she (and her "friends") did. Especially the former Princess' "actual" reaction to humans in that mirror world, and the horrific consequences she brought instead.
She is finally growing up. She is seeing where she went considering she knew that she wasn't supposed judge others without knowing them.
She be lucky Spike even gives her an answer
ONE OF US. ONE OF US.
And Twilight's on the right track, but she taking action seriously and urgently enough.
If anything had happened to Gregory, it would have been her responsibility and her deliberately avoiding addressing the issue
But if anything happens to Gregory now, after ponies actually took violent action of their own?
Not a good look, Twilight, just going to bed and leaving it to the real princess to handle later.
Having royal guards at her command (and even giving commands that very night!) but very curiously not issuing any protection commands for her demonstrably-targeted guest?
Ponies (and humans) might draw unpleasant conclusions.
She's doing so much better than she did with Jason that she's falling into a trap of complacency. The day-to-day disheartening grind of her life - now the new normal - probably isn't helping.
I hope she musters up her old proactive behavior before something worse happens.
I wish I could say I was surprised this happened…. It was inevitable though, thankfully Gregory wasn’t directly attacked…. It’s easier to be angry then feel guilty, can’t imagine what they thought attacking his car would do… then again when people are upset they don’t tend to be rational. I’d like to say Twilight is being “better” but she was still trying to hide from taking responsibility for what happened. Subconsciously, I think she was trying to rewrite what happened with Jason, using Gregory as a prop.
The moment he showed up, for his own safety she would have written a letter… but she didn’t. She potentially put him in danger just so she could play pretend “Friendship Princess”. Though thinking about it, I’m worried that letter won’t send properly because of part of her punishment… regardless, she messed up again. It’s going to break his heart when he learns the truth… I’m hoping though he’s not unrealistically forgiving like his counterpart in other versions of this story. Twilight having to live with “what could have been” especially after getting a taste of all he’s shown her only to pull it all away… would be a great punishment to help nail it home. She could have led a new Age of Enlightenment…. Instead she’s a disgraced former princess effectively exiled to a crumbling racist backwater…
Not much time till Chrysalis and Jason arrive. Hope nothing goes wrong.
11606116
Yeah, no chance of that. Jason seeing Gregory being treated far better by Twilight than he was. He's going to be totally fine with that.
I just wonder if the changeling spy will be outed before the queen and Jason arrive.
11606166
Somehow I doubt it
So if the Gregory finds out about the CFE and that cozy glow is leading the movement. What will he do? What can he do? How is he going to explain to everyone that this literal child somehow managed to almost end equestria by stealing all the magic, without sounding crazy. Plus cozy glow hasn't done that yet so you can't really convict her. Unless he somehow finds the letters to tirek
11606002
Regardless of whether it's easier to feel anger over guilt, there needs to be someone to talk sense into them. Twilight may not have any political power, but the town still calls her "princess", and just because she can't judge any of them doesn't mean she can't remind them of their crimes against Jason and the penalties for them. They got off with a slap on the wrist compared to what the law and the Horn (by extension, their God) could've done, especially when no one refuted Jason when he said to the Six (minus Pinkie) and Discord that their crimes were grounds for execution, implying it is legal in Equestria.
As I said before, the amount of money he could've won in the criminal lawsuits alone would be more than what they're giving for 3 years, that's not counting legal fees and reparations, then there's the jail time for crimes up to attempted murder. It probably wouldn't matter if he was a pony or not, the town would basically be the world's largest prison, or at least its conviction rates would go through the roof.
Someone needs to ask them this, would they rather:
A. Go through an economic depression for 3 years, which is the only thing they've expressed they care about thus far. Not what they did to him, Spike, Cranky, or other non-ponies.
B. Have similar punishments to what the defendants received.
C. Be punished to the fullest extent of the law, as if the plaintiff was a pony, meaning jail/ execution or essentially signing you and your children to be debt slaves, which is probably legal in a society like theirs.
D. The punishments I would've gone with, and I would consider whether or not I should be indiscriminate in who suffers.
11606669
The abuse extends to even their own kind, remember Trixie and Lightning Dust?
11606772
Fair enough. I don't know about Dust since I haven't watched the show since season 5 or 6, but what if Trixie wanted to press charges or sue? The crown compensated her, but they weren't exactly obligated to do so, the town still owes her. Hell, given the severity of many of their crimes, the victims don't even need to press charges, Luna and Blueblood can do that on their own, not that Blue is usually portrayed as the kind to care.
In regards to Blue though since he's in this story on the side of corrupt nobles, I'm half expecting him to betray them if only because the Horn didn't go off when he was called up.
The Horn didn't call him out on any bullshit, so there's reason to believe he's not an ass.
11606804
I'm sure he's still an ass but his conniving probably doesn't contradict the horn somehow, meaning that its entirely possible his motives are completely selfish, just more gray in terms of morality
The ponies can't fathom the idea that they are in the wrong. Their ego and Id has been putting up to many walls. It's no wonder they're like this though the ponies have never had anything to challenge their own egos never had to face real adversity. 90% of them have have never even seen another race. Most of them have been raised to believe that they were the best race in the world because of that bullshit friendship and harmony philosophy
But reality has finally rung the doorbell and now they have to choose to either throw a tantrum, or humble themselves.
11607330
Will the ponies improve?
11607979
That's their choice, it's always been their choice
11608144
I mean it’s the only way they can get out of their magical Treaty of Versailles
11607330
The reason why I call it the Magical treaty of Versailles is because thats what the Gjallahorn effectively did to Equestria.
11607979
They have to. Their own hypocrisy and crimes (legal or otherwise) have been beaten into their heads, they lost a princess, their greatest heroes have been proven to be frauds, their history a lie, the entire world hates them enough for reasons good enough to justify war or inflict decades of economic depression as a result of reparations, they lost their closest ally, and the Wendigos as well as Tirek are coming. Their very survival is at risk.
11607330
Right now a lot of them are choosing tantrum. They don't want to face the truth that underneath the sunshine and rainbows that everyone gets to see are some monsters and it's past time they grew up and became better people. Humans have tried to learn from their mistakes and yes we have rotten eggs but we work hard to get rid of them to the best of our abilities. They chose to hate humans because we eat meat and are different from them. If twilight hadn't chosen to forget everything she learned things might have been different for all of them. She going to have to tell the guy what happened and why his car was attacked.
11606899
That’s my favorite in fiction, when someone does the “right” thing for the “wrong” reasons”. I’d would be hilarious if he was setting those nobles up, and while we’re expecting him him be a knight in shining armor… it’s cause the ambassador (his canonical role at least) has particular “taste”.
11611446
I swear, if some of those nobles are changeling plants no one was ever aware of...
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I don’t even think most ponies knew Jason ate meat until after the trial. They just followed Twilights lead, though I’m sure their own prejudice helped plenty too. One thing ponies probably have humans beat in is mob mentality, as they are a prey/herd based society. While I don’t think it’s been explicitly mentioned he’s a “meat eater” I’m sure they are just using it as a weak justification. I’m also sure the fact that Jason isn’t even using their bits for himself, instead just destroying them so “they” can’t use them isn’t helping their simmering bitterness either.
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Don’t hold your breath, people often put royals in general on a high pedestal. When the reality is the idealized life people imagine they live is actually incredibly toxic. You’re micromanaged from cradle to grave, you’re told how to act at all times, you can’t even eat what you like at times because it would ruin the “image”. Fun fact, then Queen forbid her family from eating garlic because royals weren’t allowed to “smell”…. Like even a tiny bit and she would go into a rage at them.
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True that they didn't know why twilight hated him but they chose to hate him because twilight is never wrong even though they have seen evidence of this. Celestia certainly should have had twilight stick with facts when writing what she learned considering her reports would never let anyone know exactly how she learned the lesson of the day. And twilight should have put her foot down on applejack and stopped her especially after the food poisoning of the town. Rainbow is going to have learn what responsibility means and that isn't going to be easy with her parents unwilling to face the truth about her and doing everything they can deny it and let her off the hook.
I'm not sure about rarity considering vanity got her into this mess and only by losing it will she have a chance. I am glad that spike crush was ended and that twilight can't overwork him. And the fact she never ever even tried to find out anything about dragons says that she is been shortsighted and lazy when it comes to her responsibilities. Fluttershy should have gotten help for her social anxiety issues years ago. Pinkie crime is ignorance of empathy. Celestia unfortunately had a bad habit of playing out of sight out of mind and forgetting about others if they aren't around or she doesn't need them. She used very risky plans the only ones worse were Anna's in the frozen movies considering how many times that girl lived only because of luck she definitely had worse planning skills.
Hopefully cozy doesn't destroy Equestria considering she is going down a similar path to the show. What would Jason use money for considering the changelings provide for him and certainly don't need money. Celestia doesn't even realize that her people have the perfect spies and all they had to do was grow up and accept them. She trying to fix everything with Luna help but this isn't going to be easy considering she let much of the rot in.
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I mean…. Jason could at least get food that doesn’t wiggle and squirm when he eats it (canonically he’s mentioned to have eaten grubs while living with Bug Waifu). Even just some preserves or jerky would probably be better…
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He can expose her contact with Tirek. Princess Luna would jump in it and squash it and she'd be very grateful to Jason.
I see what you done there e,e
Looking great the story my dude.
A little note to those reading this chapter: the original video was deleted. Here's a mirror: