Rebirth Through the Planar Divide

by Gabriel Arkanym

A True Friend and Family

I wasn't sure what would happen once we passed through the barrier and onto Earth. Fluttershy had said she was a normal human in the larger multiverse, but Luna was an alicorn and that might give her a special status.

I brought us down to a spot my parents had told me about, they had gone scuba diving there on their honeymoon. It was a small crescent Island in Hawaii which tour boats often passed by.

I was wearing the same clothes as I had before my first 'walk: white shoes, jeans, a grey jacket over a blue tee, and a white fedora.

Luna's clothes were based on her coat, and matched up to her status as royalty: a flowing black dress which fell all the way to her silvery slippers, gloves just as silvery running up to her elbows, and a necklace capped by a single diamond shaped as a lunar crescent.

It seemed that some aspects did carry over though. I looked to her sides smiling. "congrats on being an Angel."

Her wings spread out for several meters to either side, black as night but speckled with small white stars. Her hair was just as wispy and impossible as her mane had been, more like a liquid than any normal human's.

"Will this not pose a problem Gabriel?" She seemed slightly worried. "You did say that humans were the only intelligent species on this world correct?"

"Yes, but its not a problem. Lets how well you can fold them up."

She pulled them closed and they appeared almost to be hanging from her shoulders rather than extended from her back. They also wrapped a little around her sides.

"Alright that should be simple enough to hide." Even with the minimal mana available, there was still more than enough to disguise her wings as a simple black jacket.

"Where exactly are we Gabriel, unless you happen to be far wealthier than you let on…"

"Oh its nothing like that. This is just a little island my parents told me about, no one lives here." I glanced at her 'jacket' again. "It seemed better than popping into a populated area when we didn't know what you would be yet."

"Ah. I understand completely, I might have caused a panic or some form of incident." She stared up at the night sky with a joyous grin. "I design the night sky very night back home, but I've never seen constellations like these before. I must thank you for bringing me here, for the new ideas if nothing else."

"I think you'll like it here more than you know Luna." I motioned towards a light on the horizon. "Thats the city of Honolulu, the largest city in these islands. Its past midnight Luna, but the city is still alive and moving. We humans adore the night, some of us even prefer it to the day."

Luna looked towards the the distant glow, unmoving for several minutes. I silently walked over to her and saw her shaking as her eyes watered above her small smile. It was all she had ever desired, to have the night be loved the same as the day. I reached out and hugged her, and for the first time since she was banished to the moon, Luna allowed herself to cry, hugging me back.

"Just give it time Luna, you saw how some of the younger ponies were acting back in Equestria." I let go and looked into her eyes. " Night life in Equestria is just beginning. With your influence all their fears will be washed away. I know I'm only a few decades old myself, but my memories run back farther than even your own. So I tell you Luna, this happens on almost every plane, the eventually equality of the night."

She nodded and her tears fired up quickly. "I just wish it would come sooner."

"We all wish for things to come sooner, or to delay the inevitable. Its just that Urza was the only bastard crazy enough to actually succeed at it." And he paid the price for it too, now didn't he?

"Thank you again Gabriel, there will always be a spot in Equestria's sky for you when you pass on."

I let a hearty laugh escape me, the first true laugh since I received my spark.

"Let us hope thats still a ways off Luna." I turned away and gazed at the stars as well, one memory sticking out above the others causing my heart to sink. "Let us hope."

After a few hours of stargazing in Hawaii, I decided to give Luna a tour of Earth.

"How would you like to see some of my home Luna?"

"Wasn't I supposed to help you to convince your family of the truth behind your powers?" She frowned at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes but I'd rather wait until evening before we confront them." I went on. "Waking them up like this really won't help, and if we do it at midday they'll be at their most active - much more likely to react without thinking first. So its best to discuss this in the evening, preferably over dinner."

She thought this over, then nodded.

"Very well then Gabriel. I must admit I have found myself interested in what else you humans have to offer."

"Then just grab on, and please call me 'Nym. It's what all my friends call me." I held out my arm and she lightly placed her hand upon it. We're a lot more alike than she knows.

"'Nym it is then. I would ask you to call me Luna, but you seem to have already caught on to that." She smiled slightly as we disappeared.

OoOOoOOOoOOoQ

I began our day in no particular order with a visit to the Louvre in Paris. Luna was most fascinated by the paintings and sculptures of pegasi from ancient Greece.

The guards were perhaps slightly off put by the cloud which wandered around the museum. It was far easier than going completely invisible, and caused enough chaos to make up for any downsides. It wasn't technically open yet, but what the hay.

We then stopped for breakfast in a small cafe beside the London eye.

Of the two princesses, Luna had always been the more adventurous of the two, but she surprised me with her order.

"You do realize bacon is a meat product right?" I asked as the waiter moved off with our menus. "Its made from pigs."

"I do, but there are many races in Equestria who eat similarly." She giggled nervously. "I'm not currently a pony after all, so I might as well see why they like it so much. It will help me to understand them better for future negotiations." Well she is a human now after all, as long as she doesn't start craving it back on Equestria it should be fine.

"Well alright Luna, just as long as you know what you're getting yourself into." I shrugged and began a short and abridged history of the world as we waited.

While our own history was far more war torn than Equestria's, it did compare to the constant struggles between the dragon and griffin kingdoms.

Our orders arrived just as I was explaining about the fall of power within England's monarchy.

Luna hesitantly reached out with her fork and bit into the thick cut bacon. Before I knew it she had finished the whole slab and was staring at the spot it had been intensely.

I picked up my own piece and set it on her plate. She looked up at me and then down at the meat guiltily. I just laughed and motioned for her to dig in.

"Like you said Luna, you aren't a pony at the moment. Enjoying your meat is nothing to be ashamed of among omnivores."

The other customers were beginning to stare at us as she tucked in.

I suppose I couldn't blame them really, she was dressed like royalty after all.

When the bill came I brought out some american cash before quickly realizing my mistake and swapping it for an equal value from our neighbors pockets. It really wasn't stealing, just a simple exchange really.

I led her onto the London eye for a better view before offering her my hand at its apex. She took it and we headed off to our next destination.

It was a few hours past noon in Egypt, but the heat never really bothered us. Ah the benefits of being able to summon a personal cloud.

the large fluffy white cloud in question floated a few miles above us, blocking the sun and following our movements perfectly. It may be a little bit conspicuous, but damn is it useful.

It also happened to be the only cloud in the sky.

She was fascinated by the pyramids and temples, but only looked at the Sphinx with scorn.

"We have a few of them on Equestria you know. They are by no means the most pleasant of creatures, always intent on having you solve some riddle or other. To tell you the truth I've always thought they merely asked the riddles for which they could not find an answer."

I brought us up to the top of the great pyramid at Giza. Perhaps the teleporting cloud was a bit much… oh well its done now. A slightly manic smile made it to my face as I looked down to see several people staring at the suddenly dark pyramid in awe. Likely expecting an act of God.

I brought up a few slices of pie from a restaurant several thousand miles to the north, startling a chef in the process.

"Here." I handed her one of plates along with a fork. "I've never tried it myself but this is supposed to be the most luxurious food on the planet."

It was the single most expensive pie ever. It came in several flavors - this one being apple - and was baked with gold leaf. Turns out the gold was actually edible in these quantities.

She seemed skeptical at first but eventually we each took our first bite.

It was better than I expected… but certainly not my favorite. Luna agreed with me.

"Most of the 'upper class dishes' in Equestria are similar really." Luna looked down at the pie with a slight amount of distaste. "They only seem to be good to those who can't afford to try them." She set hers down and looked down the pyramid at a small group of people forming as close to the base as they were allowed. Several of them were looking towards us and pointing.

"It seems we've been sighted." I stood up, noticing them as well. A mischievous smile suddenly made its way across my face. "You up to giving them a little show? I know I was careful when we first materialized, but they can't get cameras close enough to make out any details here." I paused. "We may be the talk of the world in just a few hours."

"Oh dear, but who knows what people will think if they see two apparent celestial beings and…" She looked up meaningfully. "a very strange cloud disappear before their eyes?"

"Well why don't we find out?" I motioned for her to unfold her wings, kneeling semi-mockingly. "After you, your majesty."

She left her wings extend to their full length and began to slowly ascend towards the cloud. We shared a look and snicker as I levitated up after her. We continued so for about a minute before reaching the cloud. I can't wait to see how they react to this later.

I took luna by her hand and teleported away, the cloud disappearing at the same instant.

We arrived in Japan still giggling. Luna already had her wings folded.

"This may be the one spot on earth where people wouldn't even blink at your wings." She rustled them and I hastily continued. "Lets not though, just in case. I think we've caused enough for one day."

"Well as long we didn't really do any harm now did we?"

"True enough."

The rest of the day went much the same, but without any more public displays of magic. We jumped across to every natural wonder I could bring to mind, seeing most of them for the first time myself. I tried to keep the mood light, but there were some places and dark spots of our history which I wouldn't feel right skipping over. There was so much death, and so many horrors to go along with our art and innovation. You could not truly appreciate the human race without understanding everything about those terrible times in our past, present, and future.

Soon enough it was nearing mid evening in Portland, Oregon.

OoOOoOOOoOOoQ

We walked up the front door of the small river-side house and stopped just outside the door.

"Thank you again for doing this Luna."

"Its not a problem Gabriel. I've enjoyed my time here, your planet is just as beautiful as Equestria in its own way." She gazed off towards the Columbia river, but her eyes were focused on something else. "They did need some time to think things over anyway."

I nodded and rang the bell.

It was only a few moments before the door opened to reveal a very surprised gray haired man.

"Good to see you dad. I hope you don't mind if me and a friend stay for dinner?"

"No… of course not Gabriel." He looked over at Luna with something between awe and inquisitiveness. "I'm sorry but I don't think I've had the pleasure. I'm Richard, Gabriel's father."

Luna curtsied slightly. "I am Princess Luna of Equestria, It is truly a pleasure to meet the father of my dear friend."

I turned to her and couldn't help chuckling through my glare.

"And just what happened to bringing it up slowly Luna?"

"I have found that it is best not to lie if you can avoid it." Her eyes twinkled like the stars. "Besides, I figured it would be a rather amusing way to start off the evening."

"You've let your sister's pranking rub off on you you mean. I noticed it earlier today as well."

"Perhaps just a little."

Richard had been almost motionless through the entire exchange, only snapping out of it when I nudged him slightly.

"Ah, well please come in then…" He seemed lost for words, so simply turned around and walked back into the house. His first instinct was probably to yell at me for leaving college. Now he doesn't know what to do.

"Who was at the door dad?"

"Its your brother and a friend, they're staying for dinner."

A dish clattered onto the counter. And Julie stormed out soon after, not quite yelling at me.

"What the hell are you doing here Gabriel? I can't believe you would be so reckless! Its a wednesday for God's sake, you should be at College studying for finals! What could…" She was staring menacingly and walking towards me until she saw Luna standing behind me.

"Julie, allow me to introduce Luna, Princess and co-ruler of Equestria." She stared at Luna for second before turning to me again.

"You know theres no country by that name, Gabriel."

"Well I can explain that actually." I interjected. "Why don't you both have seat on the coach. All this might come as a bit of a shock to you."

Richard was taken aback for a moment, then seemed to receive a sudden surge of defiant energy.

"We've been around awhile you know Gabriel, I'm sure we can handle whatever you--." He stopped and gawked as Luna unfurled her wings. Causing me to snicker again.

"We're not really sure that you can." We responded together.

I flicked out some of the minimal mana I'd collected that day to levitate them into their chairs."You know you don't have to waste mana on that 'Nym. I can easily use my native magic, its still just as strong here as at home." There had been other Planeswalkers who had visited her plane in the past, and Luna had often taken the time to get to know them, so she knew more about normal magic than anyone else in Equestria.

"I'll remember that for next time then Luna." We sat in chairs across from them, Luna's wings draped behind her. My Father as still while my sister fidgeted about, both waiting for one of us to begin.

It took them a few minutes to stop looking on in fear, and only a few after that for Richard to speak.

"What do you want?" I raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, only to have them lean back.

"Well as your son I was hoping to talk to you about some new… abilities I received recently." I inclined my head towards Luna. "Luna here actually is a princess by the way. Just not on this planet."

"You're making it sound like I'm some form of alien Gabriel." She almost looked indignant as she accused me.

"Different universe or different planet; the point is that you weren't born on this Earth."

"Fair enough." She sighed. "We just don't have any other planets in our plane Gabriel. The word alien is used to describe something which has no place in Equestria, like discord."

I nodded and smiled in apology. Then Julie chimed in with a question of her own.

"What sort of abilities exactly?"

"I'm glad you asked. To keep it simple I'll stick to the basics." I raised my hand and extended fingers as I counted off the main points. "Well firstly theres immortality, which I'm still trying to label as blessing or curse. Then theres an awareness of magic and its many uses." I conjured up my fox Glacial in front of me, where he immediately proceeded to leap onto Luna's lap and sleep as I continued. "Next Is a vast store of knowledge from an ancient being who had had enough of immortality which I can call upon just as easily as my own memories." I refrained from explaining that me and that being were nearly one and the same - keeping it simple was best. "Fourthly is a rare power which one in every trillion would be lucky to have called planeswalking. Essentially - by simply thinking about it and using some power - I can move between different Universes at will."

I paused for a few seconds before saying in a light sarcastic tone. "So I'm terribly sorry if I don't feel my finals are important anymore." Luna laughed.

Richard seemed more frightened by my answers than he had before, but Julie was merely interested. Glacial's ears suddenly flew up and he jumped off Luna's lap and into the waiting arms of my second sister Rika.

"Thats amazing Gabriel!" She said as she brought over a chair and sat down as well, scratching behind Glacial's ears. "I love your wings Luna, they remind me of a raven's."

Julie was still in high school, and was thus still living at home. Rika was taking a gap year to finish a novel. I totally forgot Rika was home. Thankfully she's taking it - as she put it - amazingly well. She wasn't done yet either.

"Oh, do you think we could travel with you some time?" Her eyes grew hopeful, and her words shocked even Luna. "Of all the places you could have gone to 'Nym, I can't believe you went to Equestria. Did you meet Twilight and her friends and find your cutie mark?"

Luna ruffled her feathers, and looked on quizzically for a few seconds.

"How do you know all about us?" She looked at me. "You didn't tell her already did you?"

"Oh no, its nothing like that." She began explaining.

Turns out that there was a show called My Little Pony which actually followed the adventures Twilight had in Ponyville and Equestria. My sister was a big fan of the show and knew everything about the characters. A few of my memories did mention something about stories having power beyond the norm, and taking inspiration from things the author has never even seen. In essence, nearly every story ever written is true somewhere.

"I've always wanted to live there." She concluded with a smile.

"Well I suppose some things must have bled through the barrier." I mused aloud. "It is possible someone was connected to the multiverse in a way which allowed them to peer through the divide. It happens in dreams all the time after all!" Whatever the case, Rika's obviously excited about it.

Richard and Julie were looking even more confused, but Rika had eyes for Luna only.

"Are you still having problems adjusting to modern life Luna?" She was smiling but seemed worried. "I know Nightmare Night was hard for you, but it seemed you got the hang of it in the end."

Luna tensed a little bit as Rika spoke.

"Thats… rather creepy that you know all of that." She paused. "But I thank you for your concern, rest assured I am doing fine."

Julie apparently decided this was the perfect opportunity to join the conversation.

"So you're telling us that she's a pony princess from a cartoon? Are you all insane?!" As she screamed this at us and stood up shaking her fist, Luna's forehead began to glow. Magic pooled there in the shape of a translucent blue horn and the Royal Canterlot Speaking Voice rang out clearly for the first time on Earth.

"Whether thou believe us about our heritage and home doth not matter to us citizen. We have come to aid in thou acceptance of our dear friend." Her eyes were hard as she stared down Julie, who's hair was stuck in a spike from the force of her voice.

Julie quickly didn't really sit back down so much as fall back. I cleared my throat and motioning for Luna to join me, stood up.

"We should probably be going soon. If you wish to accompany us you are more than welcome to, just know we will be spending a few days on Ravnica before returning to Equestria." Rika looked disappointed but nodded her head in understanding, and got up to join us.

Richard reached out a hand reaching toward her.

"Wait…" The look in his eyes was sad, but determined. "Is this place we're going safe?"

"No where is safe dad, but you'll be with four of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. I cannot guarantee your safety any more than you can guarantee you'll wake tomorrow to see the sun. I can promise that you will have guardians more potent than anyone on Earth can offer."

"Then I'm going with you Rika."

Julie looked up at us from the coach. She wore an unreadable expression as she spoke.

"I've put years of my life into this novel Gabriel. You can't expect me to abandon that."

"You won't have to, just change the names and a few words here and there. I'm sure it will be a bestseller in Equestria, they don't even have science fiction yet. You'll be the first and only author for some time."

Her eyes sparkled as she took that in, and she smiled more genuinely than she ever had before.

And so, we left.

Author's Note:

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING --- MLP is owned by hasbro, MTG is owned by Wizards, and any other universes belong to their respective creators or patent holders or Gods or whatever.