Especially if you were uncomfortably placed in the midst of two armed camps.
Lǐ Tóngshān (李彤杉) was staring at the smothering ZhōngZhèng road of New Taipei City, from her room over this 20-story apartment.
She was on the phone with her relatives in Taichung.
"So, what'd the Biimers (保馬派 Bǎo mǎ pài, Pro-ponies faction) do this time?"
Li shrugged. "Shùntōng (李順通 Lǐ Shùntōng), that's pretty simple. Just substitute them for the greenshirts and the other side with the blueshirts, and voila! Instant chaos."
"Huh. That's what you get for living close to one of those Veteran villages... you know how those mainlanders (外省人, descendents of the Chinese emigrates in 1949) can be..."
Li didn't quite agree.
"Oh really now." She was quite dismissive. "This pony thing is tearing apart the pan-green and the pan-blue at their seams. The reds next door could only ever dream seeing this... and they don't want that nowadays."
A dry cough came from the speaker.
"Well, what'd you think the color-code for the ponies will be?"
"Does that really even matter?" Li was really not willing to entertain the thought too much. "They come in all shades. I think that "ponies" will stick. The pun with Former President Ma (馬英九, Mǎ Yīngjiǔ) is too dear to let loose."
Taiwan proved a microcosm of the world when it comes to the ponification issue. When Equestria made landfall, the island was still deep in its divisive self-struggle over the nominally communist regime next to the Strait of Taiwan. Granted, the old veterans that came to establish the Kuomingtang regime on the island were mostly dead, but the blue political stripes were fresh and vibrant as they battle the green sovereignists on a daily basis.
Li switched topic. "Well, how's the relatives over the States been doing?"
"Oh... panic, hysteria over there. Rumors of pro-ponies committing acts of terrorism by dousing ponification serum bombs over people... lynch mobs are kicking in and such. None of that apparently in Seattle as of yet."
\---/
The call had ended, but Li had to turn her mind inward.
The island did not seriously think of the ponification issue until the Americas started to be reel from the effects of the barrier. In fact, the spread of the barrier was this Atlantic affair that involved the continental Europe and the American states, leaving the Orient to their devices.
Li recounted that most of the pony dramas are from Europe and the Americas. United States was the most prominent. Not a day goes by without some news trickling to Taiwanese wires about the ills to America.
However, as Washington D.C and Brussels were embroiled to with pony-related terrorism, the gravity of the situation had to move across the hemispheres. With Beijing stanchly refusing the establishment of the Conversion Bureau on Chinese soil, the island of 21 million souls found itself at the center of global attention.
"Now, where'd I put that teacup..."
Li was seen fumbling around to fetch her cup. It wasn't really an issue to her mind though.
The ponies had presented a very frustrating issue diplomatically speaking.
The status of Taiwan had meant that any sort of international dialogue with the political establishments on the island would be an affront to People's Republic of China. Ever since the United Nations had recognized the Beijing establishment as "China," the world would generally defer any Chinese question to Beijing.
I can't defer anything when I am on my bloody own, can I?
Li thought to herself.
After the failure of the Stockholm Conference on the status of Equestriani Emigrate, Equestria had decided talk to the UN major powers directly for any sort of concessions to establish conversion bureaus. The Russians were not receptive, and the ponies had made zero progress with Beijing, nor with the regional powers such as Australia, Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, India and Japan.
The United Nations was in no mood to negotiate; the world was at the brink of war.
I am just at the brink of thirst, and I just need some kind of container to keep the water in...
The Equestriani crown felt that Taiwan may be approachable, for it was the largest of Chinese settlements outside the control of Beijing, and that it was not a part of the United Nations.
The ponies had stirred up a hornet's nest when Twilight Sparkle had appeared in the former Portuguese and Japanese colony of Formosa as an Extraordinary Envoy; the princess said gingerly (in English) that Equestria was to treat the Taiwanese Conversion Bureau as the de facto embassy of Equestria, should the bureau come to pass.
It was unclear as to what sort of intelligence that the Equestrian crown had access to in making the call, but the move was quite shrewd politically. Equestria was under no threat when humanity cannot retaliate beyond the barrier, nor was it really possible for commercial trading to take place, for there was no way for human to be in the land of ponies.
Forget it, this will do. I will drink out of a bowl.
Moreover, this act was a direct challenge to China. Here was a country that represented 1/7 of the world's population, and it had been able to exert itself geopolitically as a leading power. The very notion that the renegade province that carried the remnants of a past regime would be used against the Middle Kingdom in this fashion was an insult beyond measure.
Japan had taken very significant interests over this development. The Taiwanese lobby in Japan had grown since China's ascendance onto the world stage by the turn of 21st century, and inklings of former glory wouldn't totally go away. With Japan unwilling to entertain the ponies during this point in time, seeing where the dominos may fall on Taiwan had became a matter of national importance for the land of the rising sun.
Li poured out some Calpis, and took a long gulp from her bowl.
The Taiwanese Executive Yuan came to a virtual standstill, as the Kuomingtang controlled department went into vicious infighting over accepting the Conversion Bureau. The Democratic Progressive controlled Legislative Yuan was the same story.
It could be said that every single electorate from Penghu to Kaohsiung went into a state of pandemonium overnight.
It was in this political quagmire that Lǐ Tóngshān had finished her senior years and was beginning her university education. The freshman was a fairly typical Taiwanese, with Japanese and American affinity but knew about the weight of the Chinese elephant next door... her father's in Fuzhou at the moment.
The girl listened to the lavender pony's impassioned plea for the humans to choose life on live TV. The intelligent pony struck quite the impression on the freshman, and she had pondered about what the ponies would have really felt of humanity. In fact, ever since that televised address, the girl had devoted her attention to see this whole cataclysm from the vantage point of the dramatis personae and not the hoi polloi.
This meant that much of the public banters were mind-numbingly frustrating to the girl.
The girl took another gulp as she savored the flavor.
Television was feeding to the frenzy and all the channel flavors were divided on familiar battle lines. Papers were the stuff of gossips, without a lick of serious analysis or sound editorial around. It was almost as if that the rumor mill on the island had decided to take the existing infrastructure made for party infighting and apply it all over the pony affairs.
Lǐ Tóngshān, now replenished, went back to an instant chat messenger app when she was reflecting to herself about the turmoil over this little island. Her alias was akaisugi, and she's waiting for sekaisugiru_2 to come online.
"You won't believe me Sugi-nee, but we don't have to be ponies to survive!"
"What!" The sheer naivety of that statement would have warranted a spit-take.
Remember how I told that miracles and magic is real? You can't prove me wrong with flying ponies on the magic part so..."
"It's about miracles. What did you do?" The freshman caught on the very pointed semantics with the younger girl's words.
"How does Mahou Shoujo Sekai-chan sound to you?"
"I don't know what to say to you about that. Seriously. This isn't anime."
"I am going to fix this. I will prove your point."
"Sekai-chan..."
The freshman facepalmed. She was talking to a girl that was in her senior years. No senior should be this disillusioned as to suggest that they can magic their way out of a global crisis.
Without any warning, sekaisugiru_2 had logged out.
Seriously. We have enough trouble without becoming pastel-colored ponies...
The girl with shoulder-length hair sighed to herself.
\---/
Gloomy Fields, outskirts of Mitakihara
The world was ugly, which the young girl wasn't ignorant of. However, to throw away all of this beauty just for humanity to survive was not acceptable to the child.
Sugi-nee was right. Ponies were the new "white devils," and human were the new "savages." Things have come full circle.
The child was not grudging against the ponykind. The ponies were doing no worse than what humans would have done in their stead. They were trying to save lives, regardless of what motive they had. Conquistadors and Juntas were likely to be worse than the equines when it comes to their track record.
On the other hand, there was too much that humanity has done to be simply thrown away by the ponykind. The wonders of technology and culture which human paid with blood, sweat and tears shouldn't be denied of their values.
This girl remembered how that Sugi-nee had reminded her of how the victor would write the history books. The ponies would go as far as any human regimes had done in that endeavor. It didn't require much logic to conclude that Japan and PRC would share this behavior with the Equestrian regime.
Those wonders of technology have saved her life before... the girl was willing to bet on the greatness of humanity for the future.
Another way to salvation was needed.
What an easy choice to make as a human.
It just require one simple wish, and humanity can simply coexist with ponies. Isn't that a good solution?
It just require making one wish.
The answer was obvious to Miss Sekai (瀬介智乃, Sekai Tomono) a girl with crimson eyes and auburn hair. "I wish that..."
The girl took a breath, her heart heavy with the thoughts of humanity on the brink of destruction, and the ponies that ran across the continents to convert humanity to ponydom.
Funny to get stage fright at this moment.
"I wish that Equestria isn't lethal to our world, so that we don't needs to be ponified and the barrier would be harmless."
A powerful, primal wave of magic came forth as this deluge consumed everything around the girl. It stretched endlessly, from coast to coast to coast. Not even the lands behind the Equestrian barrier was immune. It was colorless, yet it had a green aura for some inexplicable reason.
The entire planet was blanketed by this magical quake. The reverberations went on and on, as the shock-waves circumvented the world four times and onwards without any sign of stopping.
"Your wish has surpassed entropy, Tomino" What a blend response this was.
The girl experienced a soul-rending sensation in her chests, but it was over rather quickly. By the time when she recovered, she was presented with a glowing Fabergé egg-shaped gem, and that was all.
It was quite a beautiful arrangement from where Miss Sekai was concerned. Humanity won't have to become ponies. Sekai just had to make a wish and become a magical girl in exchange for the salvation of humanity.
Whatever 'magical girl' may mean didn't matter. The important thing was that humanity will not be erased by the magic of Equestria, and history can take its course after that.
\---/
Twilight Sparkle's Study, Ponyville
Twilight Sparkle felt magic of global proportions washing itself across whole worlds.
She didn't know what had happened, but she knew that it wasn't part of the purification. The enormity of this reaction wasn't something that ordinary unicorns can possibly trigger, especially not over a magically dead place as the world outside of the barrier.
The lavender pony was left stunned for a good minute in her study. During the course of this magical storm, the princess poured her might to focus on the origin of this flood, but all that she could do was to determine that it came from beyond the barrier.
What was this storm? Why did it occur? Where did it originate from? How could it have happened? Who was responsible?
Something deeply unsettling had transpired, yet one of the premiere minds of Equestria could not get any handle on it.
"Spike, take a letter. This is urgent."
Twilight called her confidant, friend and younger brother forth.
"This goes to The Princess?"
"That's right. Ready?"
"Go ahead..." The dragon was at the ready with parchment and quill in hand.
Dear Princess Celestia:
I am at a loss as to what could have caused this enormous magical reaction.
No Unicorn could have made this tidal wave of magical energy that have washed the worlds.
I don't know anything on the matter, not even the point of origin.
I just simply 'felt' the aftershock, as it rippled across the ethereal realms.
The magical reaction must have in the gigaunits.
I shall contact the Conversion Bureaus and see if they can shed some light on this phenomenon.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
The unicorn paced about as the little dragon dispatched this knee-jerk reaction of a note to the sovereign of the land. It was certain to Twilight Sparkle that her princess was not the instigator of this grand spell, but she honestly had no lead as to what could have done this.
Truth be told, Twilight did not have high hope for the staffs at the Conversion Bureaus to give her any help on the matter. This arcane disruption would need no less than the Archmage's Office to investigate.
I have to figure this out.
As such, Twilight did the typical Twilight thing.
The Earthern Globe stood witness to the pacing pony, as she went into a flurry of activities.
No, Lord! I find, as always, it couldn’t be worse.
I’m so involved with Man’s wretched ways,
I’ve even stopped plaguing them, myself, these days.
Faust I, Prologue, Prologue in Heaven
In Li's apartment, bedroom
Lǐ Tóngshān was pondering to herself as she read about the eyewitness reports that were circulating around the Internet over the state of the barrier.
One or two brave souls had claimed that they were not affected by the barrier at all, and that human buildings were starting to make it into the bubble, but they were just that, anecdotal reports.
The thing that bothered her was that she was feeling something after Sekai-chan had logged off, but it was a rather brief episode. She was not dismissing it only because of the fact that the existence of Equestria had given the girl reason enough to not treat magic as mere fairy tales.
The reason for the girl's fixation on the state of the barrier stemmed from her conversation with Sekai. She did recall having mused to Sekai that the ponies would lose a leg to stand on if everything human can go through the barrier without trouble.
The freshman had this glimmer of hope. The girl hoped that co-existence was possible. It will be troublesome, but it would be far preferable than how things stand at the moment.
Lǐ Tóngshān:
The footing's just not equal.
Humans cannot venture and peer into the magical land of ponies as human beings. Everything that has been said about the land of ponies came from the horses' mouth. Whereas the ponies were able to come and go as they please, and humans would have no avenue to present themselves as they were to the ponies.
Misunderstandings and bigotry went hand-in-hand. This was depressing.
The entire island's farcical tale revolved about the claim. Whether it'd be the aboriginals, the Japanese, the Portuguese, Koxinga, the Qīng Manchu immigrants or the ones that had migrated in 1949
The girl decided to not let this historical melancholy get in her way.
There was a symposium over the Taipei World Trade Center about the economic ramifications of the Conversion Bureau in Taiwan. Much of the topic would have delved into how ECFA (trade agreement between PRC and Taiwan) may fall apart as cross-strait legal guarantees to the corporate entities might become null and void overnight.
Only members of TAITRA (Taiwanese Trade Association) would have been invited. Lǐ Tóngshān knew that her father would've gone, and frankly, she would've too... but she wasn't a member.
That left the girl without much to do but to try and get a hold of Sekai so can she can explain herself better about what her cryptic messages were really about.
\---/
Li was admitted into the Taiwan Normal University (which was admittedly confusing for the non-Kanji speaking people to comprehend.) She really should've attend more classes, but the freshman didn't have her heart set to coursework.
Confound those ponies, for they make me think of humans.
The girl forcibly turned her mind back to political daydreaming.
It was clear that the guarantee of legal due process, consul and jurisdictional sovereignty had been the underpinning of cross-strait trading. If these were to vanish, than Taiwan would be in a dire strait economically speaking.
The girl was not ignorant of the fact that the Taiwanese were among the first to heavily invest in China. Mainland China by then had accounted for a good half of Taiwanese trades. Given that the island had no natural resource to speak of, any sort of trade disruption could prove fatal to the well-being of the islanders.
The girl's mind revolved around how that the Chinese will use their clout to seriously hamper and discourage others from trading with Taiwan if the island would ever open up a Conversion Bureau. China had the ability to sway ASEAN+4 and APEC nations to this course, and they did have the naval might to press those points home.
Taiwan can't feed on the Philippines, India and Japan. Those wouldn't have been enough. Besides, it would be questionable for the Taiwanese in power to have that sort of political acumen. What bargaining chip did the island really possess, come to think of it?
Lǐ Tóngshān was feeling quite uncomfortable about all of this.
She turned her air conditioner to around 25c. It was May, and the air's humid and hot. That was typical Taiwan. The girl continued as she pulled a chair over to jot down her thoughts. She shared these opinions with Sekai usually. Language wasn't an issue, for Lǐ Tóngshān was a Japanese speaker.
"Being at the mercy of the makers and movers of history yet again, huh..."
Equestria would have had no interest to hold Formosa. There was no benefit in having this island when it lacked natural resources. Moreover, Equestria was not interested in using this island to contain China.
Unlike the United States or Japan, Equestria had no such need to extend itself and secure its interests through maritime force projection. The barrier would do everything in time, and there was nothing that humanity could do about it.
Equestria was involved with empire building, and the girl knew that the route to the Middle Kingdom would not jump off from Taiwan.
This act of political expediency really was a litmus test for the entirety of the Pacific rim.
Princess Celestia the Genghis Khan would run over us. What's the use of shooting the messenger?
The issue had to return to the "what then?"
Just as Lǐ Tóngshān sulked in her chair, she caught sight of sekaisugiru_2.
Video conferencing mode was on.
"Sakai-chan..."
"Sugi-nee, how are you?"
Sekai was in a rather fancy dress. It looked like it was ripped from some JRPG.
"You... really have taken this magical girl thing seriously, haven't you. How much did that dress cost you? 30000 Yen?"
"What's with that ridiculously serious figure. And I'd not buy this unless if's around 25000, but that's beside the point!"
"Here! Take a look at this fluffy white fellow!"
Lǐ Tóngshān was presented with the figure of a cat-like beast that wasn't a cat. Its two orb-like red eyes pierced directly at her from across the East China Sea.
"This would be Kyubey that you were talking about, right?"
Lǐ Tóngshān's ability to suspend disbelief wasn't bad. She grew through the chuunibyou (中二病, second year syndrome.) phase during her middle school years where she would allow her mental fascinations run wild. The ponies came afterwards and it was then that the girl had to admit to herself that she'd better be careful of what she'd wish for when it comes to magic and fantasy.
The creature didn't pay the freshman any heed. It did gaze at the video camera for a second or two.
"Yep." Sekai confirmed.
「李彤杉氏? 」 (Is this Lǐ Tóngshān?) The creature asked in Japanese pronunciation.
Lǐ Tóngshān acknowledged the question before Sekai did.「そうよ、だが...」 (That's right... although...)
「妳聽得見?」(You actually heard?) The being looked somewhat puzzled as its head sharply turned toward the camera.
「這...等等, 日本人是不懂中文的. 為什麼你會刻意用中文跟我對話? 」 (Eh... hold on, Japanese don't understand Mandarin. Why would you speak to me in Mandarin on purpose?)
Lǐ Tóngshān was rather immediate in response, although slightly agitated.
A rather level-headed response was uttered.「それは適切であろう？」 (Isn't that more appropriate?)
"What is it? I thought you two were just greeting each other." Sekai interrupted.
"Sekai-chan. I was asking Kyubey here as to why he would automatically switch to Mandarin when he spoke to me. Did you notice any difference whatsoever?" The older girl raised.
"No. I didn't think that he was speaking in Mandarin." Sekai remarked.
「心靈會話嗎? 」 (Telepathy?)
「そういう訳でもないけど」(Not exactly.)
"I guess whatever language doesn't matter to you. That's good." The freshman had left the matter at that. There's more important things to ask.
"Should I really be seeing you, Kyubey?"
"No. It is inexplicable as to why you can see me. I did not intend for this."
"Sekai-chan... does this have something to do with what you did yesterday?"
Lǐ Tóngshān knew enough of the usual tropes to think that Kyubey wouldn't pop up in front of her... his dealings were with Sekai.
"Well, I made a wish that we can make it through the barrier just fine."
The cityscape of Mitakihara was visible from the girl's vantage point. Lǐ Tóngshān was there when she spent some time in Ibaraki Prefecture following the great earthquake and tsunami...
The freshman found her mind wondering off again. She had to rein it in.
"You... what... "
"I used my wish to save humanity! If that barrier can't kill us, then we'll be fine, wouldn't we?"
The freshman's brain was nearing meltdown. It looked as if that the tide of events have swept her off her feet.
\---/
The girl returned to the discussion after having fetched herself a Popsicle. Her brain was overheating on her.
"So... you have been granting miracles for human beings here and there, and in exchange they would become 魔法少女 (magical girls), the embodiment of hope and would have to fight 魔女(witches), which are the embodiment of despair."
"Correct, and I can give you the same offer, Li Tongshan."
"I can see why you'd offer it to Sekai-chan... but I digress."
"Why haven't you gone into the magical land of ponies and whatnot? They'd be far better equipped to deal with magical things than us humans."
"It wasn't possible for me to pass the barrier, but now it is."
"Well, I am kind of old for this... I take that it'd be younger kids that would actually believe you in the first place..."
"That is correct. My success rate does diminish as the age cohort gets older."
That doesn't give me any relief...
The Taiwanese girl had to think about how this one event may impact the entire game across the board, but this was not the time to do that. The strange being that was Kyubey was the thing to look at.
"Kyubey, what is that gem-like thing that Sekai-chan had shown me?"
The little creature's long, fox-like tail waved about. "That thing is the soul gem."
The sound of it doesn't give me any encouragement whatsoever about what it is.
"Soul gem in the literal sense?"
Sekai was a bit taken aback. "What..."
Kyubey was a little bewildered. "Human bodies are rather frail, don't you think?"
This pretty much left Lǐ Tóngshān in a seriously worried state. "That would have meant that those witches are nothing to sneer at, and you are waging a private war on them..."
Kyubey was undeterred. "The witches spread despair and malcontent. They prey on human beings. They had to be stopped. These girls are given the means to fight them. This had worked before and it continues to work."
Sekai looked resigned to what she had signed up to. "It's worthwhile. I wouldn't mind fighting the witches if humanity can survive contact with Equestria. Who knows, maybe the ponies can do something against these witches... it makes sense to fight magic with magic."
I don't really know what to say about this.
The freshman chose to abandon the train of thought.
"Sekai-chan, what are you going to do then? Fight witches just as Kyubey had mentioned?"
Sekai nodded. "I will keep to my end of the bargain, Sugi-nee. I will fight the witches." She vowed with determination.
\---/
Lǐ Tóngshān did appreciate Kyubey's frankness.
The situation before her however would give her no rest.
If the human world had been plagued by the blight of witches that the magical girls had to fight in the dark, then it would only mean that Sekai's not in some isolated incident at all.
Moreover, Kyubey couldn't reach Equestria, just as it were with humans. The situation had changed however.
"You are thinking if the witches may reach Equestria, aren't you, Lǐ Tóngshān?"
Kyubey...
The snow white beast that stood no larger than a cat appeared before the freshman. This was a magical creature, so its unannounced presence didn't really surprise the girl.
"I was... I am."
Without further ado, a barrage of questions followed. The first salvo fired by the Taiwanese.
"Have you actually tried before?"
"Disintegration upon contact."
The being was quite cheerful in noting this gruesome way to go.
"So this whole thing's that important to you..."
"More important than you know."
The freshman composed her thoughts as she sat down on a computer and began typing down what came to her mind.
"All right. If human and you can make it through, then there's a chance that witches will make it through."
"I don't know of any witch that operate beyond the barriers. I will make my way beyond the barrier and see if I too, will be able to cross it." Kyubey had this to say.
"You can simply wish that the witches will not survive contact with the barrier." The little cat-like beast replied in a chipper tune.
"You said that human beings don't normally perceive witches. I wonder if that has changed."
No reply on this question.
"You think that you'll be contracting ponies and whatnot?"
"I do want to explore such potentials."
"And that I was not supposed to see you." The freshman purposely changed course.
"You were not on my short-list as candidates. I am not sure why is it that you can see and hear me even now."
"So you do selectively approach candidates."
"Yes."
The creature scampered a bit around the confines of Li's apartment.
"Did you teleport here or..."
"No."
"I don't follow..." Li posed.
is he projecting himself?
The freshman walked to Kyubey as she attempted to pet it. Her hand felt the sensation of soft fur as the strange beast's head wobbled a little.
"Not projection. Physically here. And you're in Mitakihara as well... wow. So it's what? Many bodies to use?" Li continued unabated.
"Yes."
No wonder he can run himself to the bubble of death.
"People usually don't ask this much about me." Kyubey was completely neutral in tone. "Normally it is a straightforward exchange."
"Well, what do you think of ponies?" Lǐ Tóngshān had this to ask.
"Sentient ponies, griffins, zebras, deers and various forms of livestock are worth investigating. I am highly interested with their habitat and what potential they exist in emotional response."
The freshman paused on emotional response.
"That emotional response is valuable to you then..."
"Yes. Magical girls are fueled by emotions. It is the major prerequisite in allowing miracles to manifest." Kyubey was artificially cheerful without fail.
"So you want to sign contracts with them..."
The girl looked at the little white Questing Beast before her.
"Yes. It would be best if such acts were possible."
"Well.. guess you're already sending copies of yourself through just as we're talking away! How's that going for you?"
Li immediately made the assumption that Kyubey would have gone ahead at the earliest possible moment with the kind of 'business potential' that he may have on Equus.
Kyubey's answer tugged the freshman's heartstrings.
"Successful entry to Equus. Conditions nominal."
"Wow... if he could make it, then everything really has changed," thought Li aloud.
You call yourself a part, yet seem complete to me?
Mephistopheles
I'm speaking the truth to you, and modestly.
Even if Man’s accustomed to take
His small world for the Whole, that’s his mistake:
Faust I, Act I, Scene III
The Library, Ponyville
Twilight Sparkle was heavy with the weight of her crown.
The proverbial Sword of Damocles hung low as of late (human expressions were apt;) Equestria drew the ire of her neighbors, and of the much larger body of humanity.
Fortunately, the ails of that other world was a barrier away. So thin was this demarcation line, yet so vivid and so absolute was its distance.
Interglobal problems can wait... the international problems were more than enough as it were.
The Conversion Bureaus have yielded promising, delightful newfoals that seek only better lives for themselves. They were no puppets of the Equestrian state (contrary to Griffin accusation,) but that of living beings that had all the dignities of any Equestriani equine.
"I really despite anypony that accuses The Princess of making mindless drones out of the humans! I am sick and tired of it."
The newfoals were far from perfect beings, as were the case with ponies.
"The newfoals are all sapient! I've heard them curse in words that we didn't think could be used as capital offense in bold letters! They are rather like you, Spike."
The dragon was clearly unamused.
"You mean that they breathe fire out of their mouths? Well some do, but not in emerald."
The winged unicorn paced back and forth.
"It's not as if that we aren't working on serums that can turn humans into griffins, zebras or other species... but let's be realistic! How many of these races have significantly contributed to the research? The kirins and the deers of Neighpon and Sima are the exception! Nopony else would trust us!"
Twilight was in a fit of righteous rage.
The rainbow-colored mane of Rainbow Dash waved about as she lets forth her own torrent of complaints.
"Yea! That's right Twi. Seriously, buck them! Gilda can't get back to Griffonia just for arguing that it would make sense to work with us on the conversion serums! She's a hardcore patriot! What gives!"
Dash wasn't done.
"And don't get me started on the snobs all over Canterlot. I really want to drop them off of the mountain cliff! Seriously! I've HAD IT with them!"
Applejack coughed to rein in Rainbow Dash.
"Well RD, blowing off steam here is fine'n dandy, but we'd have somethin' called decorum when we' get back to the mud pit..."
Pinkie loathed the realities. Her mane sunk.
"McMeanies McPants really should have cupcakes stuck up in their potty mouths. I'd put one in every single one of these ponies (and I can,) but I don't have the time to make the cupcakes to do it anymore!"
Fluttershy was dejected.
"Twillight... I don't know how to sound friendly to them... they won't listen to us. It's not just them... the humans are like that too..."
Rarity looked as if she bore the weight the world upon her back.
"Twilight, our country simply cannot afford any fiscal concessions. The treasury cannot address newfoals indefinitely. We need those louts on this land to have some semblance of collective duty if we are to save those humans from impending doom... "
The lavender Princess extended on Rarity's point.
"We need real friends of the humans as well. Newfoals aren't enough... we need actual political players count for something! Urgh!"
The youngest member of the Equestriani Triarchy nodded in gratitude. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash..."
Most of the group were on their haunches in the library. Armed guards were posted outside, but that's unavoidable. The barrier crisis had ripped the remaining five of the six from their daily lives, and forced a transplantation to Canterlot.
Everything was at stake. Twilight needed her comrades to wage this battle on multiple fronts.
"I am sorry, everypony." Twilight was rather deep in remorse. "None of you would've wanted to deal with the ugliness of making fertilizers like this..."
The ponies all knew about the ugly pun of turning dung into something worthwhile.
"Ah reckon' that they dun wanna smell dat fine stuff that we call immigration." Applejack was uncharacteristically snide. "All of them passed the buck, be they dragons or griffins..."
Rainbow Dash had to add her own flavor.
"Thought they were proud warriors. Look at this! They tucked in their tails and went for safe grounds! Seriously. Buck'em all."
The alabaster unicorn glanced at Ponyville from a windowpane.
"Oh Twilight, I've never thought that I've grown to despise attention... the eyes that cast their glance upon me saw not of wonders and adoration, but that of sheer filth."
She paced.
"Even here, being confined to this quarter, I feel love and relief. This is indeed my home, Twilight. Perhaps I am turning into Applejack."
The orange mare snorted.
"Ah've always known that ya'll will see the light, sooner or later."
Pinkie Pie was munching on a doughnut.
"So Twilight, are we here just to talk about happy things? Or You want us to talk about some new danger for Equestria? My Pinkie sense was tingling, but I don't know if it's either/or!"
"What if I tell you that it's both, Pinkie Pie? We need to get away from Canterlot for both counts!"
Fluttershy asserted herself.
"I agree. The air at Canterlot is toxic."
"In more ways than one." Spike can't refuse a chance to add his two bits.
"Well everypony. Time for me to lecture." Twilight got off her haunches as her comrades listened in.
"We've always assumed that the barrier is going to transform Earth, correct?"
The group nodded.
"I am beginning to think that there's more to it."
Twilight moved about.
"The humans have told us that their Earth is a round object in space. We originally thought that Equus somehow appeared on their Earth, and was turning the Earth into something similar to our lands, filled with ambient mana in everything."
Twilight's reasoning continued.
"But the thing is, what if Equus is also a round object in space?"
Rainbow Dash was puzzled.
"You mean to tell me, that Equestria sits on a large, round..."
"Planet, Dash. Planet. It's not hard to imagine. We've been to our moon before. It looks very flat to us when we're on the moon's surface, since it's so big. I think it's the same with Equus."
"Ooo! So we are too balls flying in space that are tethered somehow?"
Twilight allowed air to escape with a sigh.
"Yes Pinkie. I think so. A tether that's large enough to cover all of the landmasses that Equestria and our neighboring countries."
Applejack had a question.
"Hold on sugarcube. Humans are sayin' that we kinda popped up in the middle of an ocean!"
"We did. The diameter of the Equestrian barrier is around 2300 kilotrots." Twilight added. "Our continent is the second largest island on their planet, second to Antarctica, beating Australia. Other islands don't count into this."
The ponies looked at Twilight, being a bit puzzled.
"I am thinking that the barrier is actually expanding out , making Earth overwriting or overlapping our ... planet. Think about it. The islands that we have assimilated so far changed from Earthern skies to Equestrian skies. We know that our sun is nowhere as massive and as far as the one that circles... "
Twilight had to correct herself.
"that Earth circles around."
"It's damn crazy, I tell ya." Applejack winced at the celestial mechanics of the Solar system.
"We don't know for sure. We ponies can't go into space like the humans can. They despise us unfortunately, so we can't ask them on whether or not if their Earth is leaving their sun. We just don't know about space as the humans do!"
"Both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have said that they can't leave our world far enough to see it as the humans have. Our moon's too close to see more than our... continent and Princess Celestia hasn't ever seen us from the Sun."
Twilight groaned.
Continent. Never thought that I'd use this term. The lavender mare said to herself.
"As much as ponies have problems with humanity's utter lack of magic, they have better tools! I can't imagine how long it'll take for us to get those skills after the purification process!"
Twilight looked out to the clear sky.
"One example. Humans don't just fly with machines. They get out of their planet with machines. Do you even fly as high as the human airplanes?"
Rainbow shook her head.
"I can go 2 kilotrots. Most pegasi won't." We walked the magical rope to our moon last time. Not possible to get there on wingpower alone. Those human planes can go 9 kilotrots regularly. No airship can ever touch that."
Fluttershy looked as if she had some things on her mind.
"What is it, Fluttershy?"
"Urr... Twilight, did you... think about this after... that magical quake?"
Twilight looked at Fluttershy and gave a nod.
"Yes, Fluttershy. I haven't told anypony about any of this actually."
Dash was very proud.
"Twi's the best egghead in all of Equestria. Course she's gonna be the only one that would have thought of it."
Spike was also swelling with pride.
"Twi's really the most smartest unicorn in the world!"
Twilight suddenly paused.
"Wait, you felt it?!"
Fluttershy was slightly baffled.
"Yes... some of my animal friends also felt it at the Canterlot garden."
Rarity was pondering something.
"Well dear, I had this nauseating sensation of a magical maelstrom washing over me as well, but none of the attendants had shared my bout of sickness. I've brushed it off then, but it's clearly no isolated incident..."
"You felt it too, Spike."
Spike talked.
"Well, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all felt something. They were together when it struck..."
Rainbow dash turned to Pinkie Pie.
"I had a terrible doozy just before that tsunami. I knew that it was from some crazy miracle... but that's all I know!"
Applejack spoke next. "Ah thought ah was jus too overworked... it was big. Ah wasn't in Canterlot, was back on the farm. Big Mac was fine'n dandy. He caught me and forced me to bed."
"Ah gave the I am in adequate condition, and I am not feeble to him. Ah've been spendin' way too much time in the courts..."
Rainbow Dash spoke last. "I was flying back to Canterlot when I felt it. The other Pegasi went on as if nothing was happening. I was in panic mode. I had to land ASAP and didn't fly for a good half an hour after that."
Twilight was deep in thought.
"Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have confirmed the sensation. Our Conversion Bureaus have turned up nothing. It's really been bothering me. I know that it's from beyond the barrier, but where exactly?
She cringed.
"It was rather universal in direction. I know that it would have come from the Americas if it were approaching from the west, and Europe if it were the East, but..."
"This is why I've been thinking about how that the Earth is round. A ripple that came out of somewhere that's on the other side of this sphere might be the reason as to why we're feeling it everywhere, and not from one direction."
"Whoa Twi', ah I need see this... it's hard to imagine this."
Applejack asked Twilight to give a better visualization of her finding.
Twilight obliged. The turned to the Earthern globe.
"Take a look at this globe." Twilight added. "Equestria sits over here in the Atlantic, and you can see that a wave that comes from either North America, Europe would have a direction."
She motioned her hoof on the surface of the globe while her friends studied the globe intensely.
"It it came from what's opposite of us though... I can't be sure as to where, but it'd be somewhere around the Pacific Ocean, or one of the countries that are over the area."
Twilight was spent.
"With none of the bureaus reporting this kind of activity, I can't pinpoint where this magical shock had happened. I mean we can only say that it's not the Americas or Europe. That leaves 2/3 of humanity to cover! That scope is massive! So what if we can technically teleport to Kuala Lumpur... the area is just too impossibly huge."
Spike dryly added. "Not that you can do this without the humans up in arms... and hold you at spearpoint."
Twilight retorted. "Gunpoint. They have guns."
The Element bearers all had a moment of silence.
"Well Twi, ya think that it's really somethin' fierce?"
"I don't know Applejack. It's not usual at all, and it's not something that the humans have done. It wouldn't have been this severe were seismic reactions from their nuclear explosions or their massive earthquakes."
Rarity was frustrated.
"Oh Twilight, my dear, this is an event that has befallen upon us at the Worst Possible Time! Our state has nary the resource to address it, and we are chained to our stations."
The alabaster mare paused dramatically.
"I believe that I speak for all of when I say that we would have devoted our collective might to address this ill omen, had we not been committed to the affairs of the state."
Pinkie Pie grimaced.
"I think that Lyra may be able to help... she can look around and see if the humans are finding anything odd."
This advice came oddly from Pinkie Pie.
"I'd go out too, but the newfoals need to have somepony to help them out against the meanies! I'll go with you girls if things got really bad, but protecting ponies from being bullied is really important!"
Fluttershy was in full agreement with Pinkie Pie.
"Newfoals and the ponification serum are really big projects..."
Applejack's shoulders drooped low.
"Ah've been might busy with land surveying. The Grand Vizier that is Blueblood is a varmint that doesn't do one bit of work to help! Ah have ta go and take a look at'em new territories at home and over human Earth. Can't leave ya all by your lonesome, Twilight."
Rainbow Dash concurred.
"I've been hitting way too many books for my taste, Twi. Seriously, Lyra knows more about human gadgetry than any living pony. The newfoals of course do know, but none of them are in any shape to be real help..."
Twilight solemnly looked at her closest friends, comrades, sisters and advisers all-in-one.
"What choice have we got... I am just thankful that Princess Celestia is there to handle the diplomatic storms... and Princess Luna with intelligence when she can. I find it ironic that us six have become a court of our own..."
Spike rolled his eyes.
"The Royal Ponyville Court of Harmony, huh?"
Applejeck kicked a hind leg.
"Royal Ponyville... ah'd never thought I'd see the day. Kinda not foalin' round with that statement anymore."
Rarity touched her growing horn with a degree of trepidation. Ever since Twilight's coronation, both her and Twilight's horn have been extending in length. Rainbow Dash had remarked on her increase in stamina as well.
Our shared experience was no coincidence...
Rarity left this unsaid.
Twilight concluded as she turned to her comrades.
"Equus gives us more than enough to worry about. The Princess had protected us from all the dirty works, but she needs our help now. All of us felt the same way... or we wouldn't be here today."
Pinkie Pie's mane puffed up a little.
"We'd giggle at ghosties in Tartarus if we needed to go there! They don't like fun... you know, just like those McMeanies!"
Rainbow Dash was uplifted by Pinkie's remark.
"That so random. I miss Pinkie being Pinkie."
Pinkie waved at the door.
"Let's go and have some cupcake, muffin, pie and whatever! To Sugarcube Corner! It's on me!"
She dashed out the door as Rarity was about to say that they should have the billed it to the treasury.
Twilight was ushered by Rainbow Dash to follow Pinkie Pie. It's time to eat, drink and be merry.
