Shores: Homecoming (Closed)

[Monfrox]

"Hmm?"

Samantha stirred from her sleep and sat up. The sun, the sand, the salt water...yuck, salt water. She stood up and looked around.

"I don't remember much but...I...oh dear..."

She took the mans hand and stood up proper.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

---

---

Meritari had been surprised about the cream-colored pony's behavior at first, tilting her head ever so slightly until it was revealed that Rmwtyliin had followed her out here and snuck up behind her. Still oblivious to the prank, she smiled to the younger woman before turning back just in time to see another pony dart from behind the stand, her friend explaining that humans had been in the realm of myth until recently before the mint green pony released a battery of questions. Feeling overwhelmed, in no small part because she knew few answers, she was happy to let Rmw take the steering wheel - that mysterious artifact that controlled modern chariots - and simply stay quiet. That is, until received an invitation.

"We'd love to go to your party!" The Kemetian declared with enthusiasm. "Ah, well, I cannot speak for Rmw here, but I would be delighted, myself." She corrected herself a moment afterwards with a sheepish smile to both Rmwtyliin and the ponies. "Thank you for the invitation, Lyra and Bon-Bon. There may be some hyoo-mun friends of ours that would like to attend as well, would that be alright?" She asked, chuckling to herself as she used the same pronunciation as the ponies. "And how can we find your place?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

Cafe, Cloudsdale, Equestria

This earned yet more laughs from the other bullies, who summarily dumped much of their own trash on the clouds near the group before flying off.

Sandy returned to his human form as the bullies departed; if the waitress fled in terror, they'd just have to find another place to eat. But she seemed unflappable: she didn't think Amanda was too odd... or maybe she decided turning away customers, however strange, was bad business.

The Belas took their seats as best they could in chairs built for another species. It seemed reasonable that a large town? Small city? Wouldn't as well-equiped for xenos as the main port in a cosmopoltian center of trade.

"It is, but every country has individuals in it, Giovenith. Ponies are kind overall, but we still have the odd asshole."

Chuckling, Sandy glanced between the two of them. “You could be talking about us, even back home.”

His expression shifted, became more serious. “But if they've been like that since school... Has anybody tried to help them? Uh, find out what their underlying issues are and address them? Maybe refer them to Social Services or, um, whatever-- Do you have mental health care provided to people at taxpayer expense?”

“He's not entirely wrong,” Amanda added, gesturing at Sandy with pointed finger. “Better they get straightened out before they run into somebody like me in court or in a dark--

“How do people like that survive here? Starlight Glimmer could take them apart with magic if they caught her in a bad mood, and there are spellcasters here, in Cloudsdale, that powerful, right? If the wrong person having the bad day witnessed that incident, those guys might regret being born. Even if somebody was being nice, I'm sure they could find ways of helping those guys along the path of virtue, helping them see the error of their ways.”

[Giovenith]

Island

"That's okay," the man reassured. "You're safe now. Here, I'll help you to your hut, and you can get settled in."

The mysterious greeter gently lead the young soldier across the beach and towards the living area, where several beach buildings stood. They stopped by one and he handed her a pair of keys.

"If I might ask Ms. Fairbairn, are you from the place called Galli?" he asked.

Market

"Yes, bring all of the hyoo-muns!" Lyra excitedly declared, before being gently shoved aside Bon-Bon again.

"We were just about to close up shop here and start getting things ready," she explained. "Maybe you could come over to our place and help us, and we can introduce you to everyone who starts showing up? It's be less awkward than walking into a crowd, probably."

Cloudsdale

Sandy's shapeshifting didn't cause anyone to scream or panic, but it did earn a few more nervous stares and whispers. Much like Starlight though, most people seemed to reason some conclusion amongst themselves, and carefully returned to their meals, occasionally sneaking glances at the group.

Willow figured that at some point he would have to explain the issue with shapeshifting, but it aside for now to focus on the Belas' current question.

"They survive here for the same reason jerks survive in your world despite the fact that you can riddle them with flying bits of metal in a second at any time," he subtly gestured toward Amanda's bag. "Or mow them down with one of your fast metal carriages. Or how I have yet to tackle and stomp a human to death despite how easy it would be when they irk me. You can't just go around getting violent with others for being rude to you, even if you have strong magic."

"But what if they lost control?" asked Giovenith.

"Same response if I lost control and started beating someone," Willow answered. "Except in the rare instance where you could argue that it was somehow justified, you're just expected to control yourself. Fists, weapons, or magic."

Giovenith thought about it. "What about the therapy?"

The pegasus took a sip of his water. "Sort of the same principle: What do you guys do in your world? Of course we have therapy and social services, but you can't exactly drag someone kicking and screaming into a doctor's office, not unless they do something particularly disturbing. You gotta want to change, and all that. Like I said, they're jerks, but they're not dangerous. At this point, it's kinda just on them and their circles to decide what to do with themselves. And call me heartless, but I'm not personally jumping at the opportunity."

Giovenith supposed that made sense. It wasn't much different back home. Like Willow said, this may have been an unusually prosperous and peaceful country, but it was still just a country full of regular people. There was only so much you could do about people like that before getting into dystopic territory. It did bring up other questions though.

"What if someone is really bad, though?" she asked.

"Well, how really bad?"

"I don't know. Like, end of the world bad?"

Willow considered a moment. "There have been a few threats to the kingdom over the millennia, but the Princess always protects us. She doesn't like killing, but she's imprisoned some pretty heavy stuff. Funny enough, that's what this holiday is partly about."

"Is it?"

"Yes, but they'll tell the story at the actual parties. It might be better to wait till then. I can't do it a lot of justice here and now."

[Northwest Slobovia]

"They survive here for the same reason jerks survive in your world despite the fact that you can riddle them with flying bits of metal in a second at any time," he subtly gestured toward Amanda's bag.

A corner of Amanda's mouth crept up at Willow's gesture.

Of course we have therapy and social services, but you can't exactly drag someone kicking and screaming into a doctor's office, not unless they do something particularly disturbing.

“But--!” Amanda's objection was cut off by Sandy reaching out and touching her hand. When she looked up, he mouthed, “Let him finish.” to her. Amanda replied with a fractional nod, but careful observers could tell she was working at keeping her mouth shut as Willow and Giovenith discussed the matter.

For his part, Sandy raised his eyebrows a number of times; Nick could tell (if he wanted) that Sandy was trying to mesh Willow's words with many systems of government, ancient and modern, but mostly just squirreling the information away for later reference.

After Willow and Giovenith finished talking, Amanda took a deep breath, and started quietly. “Let me start with the easy part. There's no reason you should know that I haven't carried the Walther for almost two years. The equalizer I have with me isn't dangerous unless I want it to be. If we had ones like it at home, it would revolutionize policing.

“What people should do, and what they actually do when pushed too hard are two different things. We used to take the same attitude towards bullying as you do: adults put up with it to the extent they can, and children were either expected to laugh it off or fight it off. That was an established American storytelling tradition: boy is harassed by bullies, boy finds sympathetic man who teaches him to fight, boy beats up bullies, learning lessons about strength and responsibility in the process. When Sandy and I were kids, there was a movie like that, though it was sanitized by staging the boy's triumph at a sport-fighting tournament, and the bully's conduct was blamed on a bad adult.

Amanda switched to a conversational tone, starting to gesture as she spoke. “Now, after a series of events you're better off not knowing about, we take bullying more seriously. Harassment of all sorts, actually. Schools try to prevent it; in some states, they have a duty to do so. In some cases, they can force children into therapy, with judicial approval. Adults are treated more strictly. Back home, I'd recommend you get a no-contact order against those guys. No-contact orders have their flaws, but they're better than nothing.

“But you guys have magic, a real double-edged sword. You can do better we can.” Amanda's tone was now forceful, almost accusatory: her normal courtroom style, with quick, sharp hand motions. “Magic is more flexible than the technology we have, and more effective than court order. But... how do you deal with serious crimes? Starlight is a very powerful caster; more powerful than most of you. There must be others like her. How would you stop them if--?"

She looked away from Willow, shaking her head, and speaking just above a whisper. “Sorry. You hit a nerve. I shouldn't put you on the spot like that, Willow. Especially on a holiday. I'll shut up now.” Amanda looked abashed, chastened even.

She looked down at the table, then off into the distance, where something caught her eye. “Oh, there's the waitress with some menus!” The waitpony finished collecting them up from the hostess stand, and headed over the to table.

[Giovenith]

Cloudsdale

Unlike the previous confrontation Amanda had had with Giovenith, Willow didn't seem insulted or struck by the lawyer's criticism. He sat patiently, waiting for her to finish, calm but not condescending. Once she was done, he held up a hoof to indicate a pause in the topic, before turning to the waitress.

"I'll just have one slice of red velvet cake and a cup of coffee, black," he told her, politely.

"And I'll haaaaave..." Giovenith thought, skimming through the menu. "Uhhh, that daffodil sandwich looks good!"

The waitress took everyone's orders, gave them a little more ice water, and then flew off on her way.

Willow turned back to his companion. "I understand, Amanda. I'm not unaware that we, on average, have more of a threat from a normal citizen than where you come from. And I'm not saying that we just blindly trust people not to go off the rails and do crazy shit, of course we have police, law, and order. What I'm trying to say is that like all societies, it generally takes a little more than just some occasional rudeness on the street to bring the hammer down."

The service here was swift, as the waitress soon came back with all their orders. She also produced a little can, peeled it open with it's tab, and sat it down for Nick - cat food. She gave him a little pat and wink before moving on.

Giovenith carefully tried a bite of her sandwich, and found nothing wrong with it. Though being that she could eat forest animals and be fine, she perhaps wasn't the pickiest of eaters to begin with. "But, what if someone does need the police called on them or something?"

"Well, I guess I've never really seen an issue that was big enough for police but too small for the princesses..." Willow remarked thoughtfully. "But if, say, a unicorn went rogue or something, probably they'd send somepony who was law enforcement and a better magician than them. Princess Celestia runs the school for all the most powerful unicorns in the country, so it's not like she has a short supply of them loyal to her. I don't know a whole lot about spells and stuff, but I doubt the species has gotten this far without developing something to disable ponies like that. Once taken down, there's a few things they could do to keep them out of trouble..." He pointed at his roommate thoughtfully. "At major sporting events, sometimes the unicorns attending are required to have their magic locked temporarily in order to prevent cheating. So you can take magic away."

[Monfrox]

"Uhm....y-yes..."

Samantha took the keys gingerly and opened the door to the hut. She noted her suitcase from earlier was inside, which was good. She needed to slip into something lighter weight for the tropical climate.

"Wait who are you?" She turned to the man next to her.

[Giovenith]

"Oh, well, it doesn't matter much who I am," said the greeter, with a smile. "I'm just hear to show everyone their new homes. You can call me Mr. Roarke, though. And, I've also been told to tell you..." He hesitated a moment, clearly wondering how to best put the news sensitively. "... that Galli fell apart. I don't know much more beyond that, or if it will pull itself together again. I am sorry though." He smiled again. "But it's best not to dwell on things that are out of our control, right? Please, take the time to get to enjoy your new home."

With that, he gave Samantha a handshake before walking off back to who-knew-where.

A few minutes later, while the soldier was getting settled, two sets of eyes quietly peaked over the edge to gaze at her, secretly. Neither was quite sure what to make of her, but they were both fairly amused. Sallow looked up to Ms. Prism, who took an unspoken cue, and handed him a small bouncy ball, which he promptly tossed along Samantha's floor. It bounced harmlessly along before settling.

[Northwest Slobovia]

A cafe, Cloudsdale, Equestria

“You said unicorns!” Sandy's expression shifted as Willow handed him a piece that made the rest of the puzzle fall into place. “Pegasoi are associated with the air and control the weather; the wingless, hornless ponies are associated with the earth, and maintain the landscaping... and I'll guess raise most of your food; and the unicorns have flexible magic. Well, well, well!”

He searched the skies, but whispered without bothering to rest his gaze on anything in particular. “What are you thinking, making your children different that way?”

Amanda whipped her head around to look at him. “Wait! What?” Not getting a reply, she turned back to Willow. “Is that right? He Saw what they were doing, and now he's rarely wrong about that.” She seemed to take in her surroundings with new eyes, but tried to avoid staring at the people passing the street. She lowered her voice. “That does give a new meaning to 'separate and unequal'.” And what is this place? Cape Town? Birmingham?

[Giovenith]

Cloudsdale

Willow took a moment to stare at Sandy, a little thrown off by the apparent non sequiturs and the talking to the sky. He slowly raised an eye. "Riiiight..." He shook his head out of the confusion and clarified. "Right, actually. Earth ponies maintain the plants and animals, pegasi steward the weather, and unicorns used to move the sun, moon, and stars to make day and night, but the Princesses took that over when they came to us. Now they specialize in general magic.

He took a bite of his cake. "We're not separate or unequal though. Anypony can live anywhere they want to..." He gestured to the surrounding city. "... even here, if you wanted to keep spelling yourself and be careful about where you step. And there's nothing against being friends or family with other kinds of ponies. My aunt is married to a unicorn, and their daughter is a unicorn and their son is a pegasus. Back in Ponyville, the Earth pony couple that owns the bakery have twin babies that are a unicorn and pegasus because they have members of those races in their family trees. We can do different things, and sometimes we cluster around certain places, but that doesn't mean we're treated differently."

Giovenith nodded along. "Everyone is different in some way. It's okay to be different, you can still get along." She held her arms up. "Like all of us!" Well, perhaps Nick, Willow, and the Belas...

Willow nodded solemnly, before staring ahead for a moment. He had really helped make sure of that, hadn't he? "That's why the Princesses are alicorns. They have all three of our traits, so everypony is represented in them."

He might have told them the story of the founding. But he wasn't ready for that. Not yet.

[Monfrox]

Samantha decided not to press the issue and took to the inside of the hut. It was quaint. Comfortable. And, of course, full of bookcases. Samantha was a very avid bookworm, ever since she was a kid. She stepped into her bedroom with her suitcase and unpacked. She still didn't wear anything short-sleeved, despite coming from a more temperate climate. A light, long sleeved button up shirt in a dark purple shade with medium length black skirt. Her thigh-high socks went up past it and thus ensured that her scars were fully hidden. She put her glove back on, too. Her shoulder rig with her PPK and other magazines remained off, though. She wasn't doing any detective work so she saw no need to put it on. It was hung up around a coat rack for the time being.

Samantha stepped back out of her bedroom, wondering if she should make something to eat, when she had noticed a small and colorful ball sitting in the middle of the living room area. Well it wasn't here before, and she had been around enough to know that things were really weird around these places, so she knelt down and poked it. It seemed normal enough. She picked it up and studied it before looking around to see where it had come from.

[Northwest Slobovia]

A café, Cloudsdale, Equestria

Sandy followed Willow's explanation of the Equestrian specialties with half an ear as he gently blew on a forkful of lasagne, hoping to cool it. Other than the name “earth ponies”, Willow just repeated what he'd just said. Amanda spent the time watching both of them, judging Sandy's reaction to Willow's description. As expected, he knows what he's talking about.

Both of them paid rapt attention to Equestrian social issues. Amanda's intense, unmoving gaze could be unnerving, however.

Giovenith nodded along. "Everyone is different in some way. It's okay to be different, you can still get along." She held her arms up. "Like all of us!"

Amanda gave Giovenith a long, sidelong look, as though she was weighing her reaction up along with everything Willow had said. Which she was.

"That's why the Princesses are alicorns. They have all three of our traits, so everypony is represented in them."

“You're literally made imago dei! Well, well...” Sandy fell silent for a bit, eyes defocused. Then: “But there are no alicorns among you?”

Amanda, meanwhile, was silently counting people she could see, then she turned to Sandy. “Dear, are there any others using a cloudhopping spell here?”

He shook his head. “I can't tell like this. Our own magic drowns out distant spells." He glanced around, realizing someting. "Umm, and I don't See anybody, but that means little."

“I, um, couldn't tell you even with... other ears. There's a, umm, chorus of weather magic coming from a cluster of buildings in the city. It's all... mortal music, but it's many voices-- polyphonic, like nothing I've ever heard. Collectively, it's much more potent than-- It's many small spells – active magic – working together, rather than the set of staggeringly-potent, interlocking enchantments on the Mouseion, placed by teams of casters, but sustained by the Muses.

“Cumulatively, in terms of the amount of ousia being manipulated and the overall artistic effect, well, it would be better if even the artistically inclined didn't try to compare themselves to it. But they'll improve as they mature.”

Sandy's warm smile for Giovenith was outshined by the twinkle in his eyes. He'd Heard her work before, and Equestrian weather-control effort suggested how much more she'd grow as she matured into godhood. If mortals could still outdo her, she had a while to go. His admiration faded to wonder What will watching a goddess grow up look like? Will I be around to see it?

“Thanks, dear, that's more...” Amanda's voice faded away as the implications hit her: there was nothing on Earth to rival what the Equestrians did every day. Once, perhaps: the building of the Great Pyramids, the Apollo Program, and other things called 'wonders', but each was a one-off.

But first things first. She turned back to Willow. “I count 15 people I can see, besides us, but including the restaurant's staff. All are pegasai. In practical terms, this is a pegasai-only community. It doesn't need gates or laws to keep out the others, it's simply part of its nature.

“But Sandy raised some good points. If you're made this way, it's hard to blame you for that.”

“The Nuremberg defense, Amanda? Really??” Sandy seemed more amused than the term would make possible.

She waved that away. “Pure several liability. If you do find their creators, blame them. They bear most of the responsibility.

“Anyway, what Willow said suggests an absence of mens rea, not an excuse for it. They appear to intend no harm, mitigate what harm they may do to the extent possible, and, frankly, why would they harm their own potential children?” A wry smile crossed her face. “But you know my line: don't ask any questions--”

“...unless you already know the answers. You mean to check.”

“You're not the only one interested in exploring this world, Dr. Bela.” Her expression indicated a lingering doubt about something, and as the light went on, she turned to Willow. "Sorry for talking about you as though you weren't here, Willow." She paused, changing topics, and looking at her husband. “How's your lasagne, dear?”

Sandy patted his stomach. “Rich. Every layer of cheese is different, and the sauce is very good.” Amanda zipped in and swiped a bite with her fork, provoking a grumbled, “I should let that dissipate.”

She mmm'd for a while. “You'd like the soup: it's hearty, like a cross between dal and barley vegetable soup. The sandwich is the same way, an FLT: falafel, lettuce, and tomato. It's a bit sweeter than we'd make it. And you have to try this holiday lemonade. It's not like the mixed fruity drinks we make.”

She pushed the glass towards him, and he took an experimental sip, and then a significant gulp, provoking a "Hey!", which Sandy ignored as he reached for his soup spoon, and tried some of that too. After a thoughtful consideration, he cast the Wolf's Nose on himself, and tried it again, sniffing it first. "Yes, I think you're, uh, precisely correct. Even without the recipe, we should be able to make this at home... along with a variation for trips."

[OOC: The babblefish would provide a translation/explanation of the legal terms and cultural references.]

[Giovenith]

Island

"Good morning, miss," Sallow greeted, not bothering to play mysterious as he stood in the doorway. "We overheard that you're another old friend from Galli."

Ms. Prism glided behind him. Literally glided, as she hadn't appeared to have a gait when she moved and instead smoothly slided to her current position. As usual, she was unblinking and always smiling.

"This is my friend, Ms. Prism," Sallow introduced, unperturbed. "And I am Sallow Slashes. We live here too, though we more take care of this place when others are gone than fully utilize it ourselves. We are, however, having an event right now. You should come. We'd love a kind, pretty lady like you there to brighten things up."

Cloudsdale

"Only Princesses are alicorns," Willow confirmed. "And they don't tend to go walking around where anypony can just run up to them."

The couple seemed to have pretty big plans regarding marching up to the Equestrian gods and prodding them with questions. Unlike many religious followers might have been, Willow wasn't insulted, since the Princesses weren't the type to feel insulted over such insinuations. Though admittedly, he regarded them as somewhat out of their depth, the same way one might towards someone who seriously thought their email had a good chance of being read and responded to by the President of the United States. He thought it more polite to keep that to himself though.

Giovenith slowly lowered her arms with Amanda's look, quickly abandoning the enthusiasm she had mustered. The older woman was upset with her again, and she didn't know why. She was just trying to say the right thing. But not realizing when she did bad things seemed to be a recently discovered theme for Giovenith. Maybe, retrospectively, that explained a lot more than she thought.... Sandy's smile and reassurance didn't have quite the effect he intended. Giovenith briefly stared at him with a subtle mix of fatigue, sadness, and confusion, before looking back down to concentrate on her sandwich again.

Once, maturing into her purpose had been her primary concern, back when all she had was her purpose. Now, after she had seen what more there was to life and being, there wasn't any going back to that time, you couldn't shorten your scope again after it has already been widened. Giovenith had better scope - but she had no way to move towards it anymore. Couldn't go back, no reason to go forward. So she was stuck, with nothing. No amount of divinity could remedy that.

Who cares about living forever and being able to do anything when you're too stupid and unlovable to even be worth it?

Willow watched his roommate, ears folded sadly with concern. His expression suddenly brightened as he carefully took his fork to his cake again, cutting off a small bit, and carefully transferring the bigger piece to Giovenith's plate. She perked up in surprise, and he nudged it closer with his snout. The gesture managed to coax a smile from her, and they shared a brief hug before moving on to the rest of matters.

"Sure, Amanda," said Willow. "I don't think that matters much so long as we're kind to everyone we meet though." He turned to Sandy. "You must be sensing the weather factory. Cloudsdale is the control center for all the meteorological duties in Equestria. They're very open to tours, so we could go there any time while we're here."

[Northwest Slobovia]

A café, Cloudsdale, Equestria

Giovenith slowly lowered her arms with Amanda's look, quickly abandoning the enthusiasm she had mustered. [...] Sandy's smile and reassurance didn't have quite the effect he intended. Giovenith briefly stared at him with a subtle mix of fatigue, sadness, and confusion, before looking back down to concentrate on her sandwich again. [… Willow] turned to Sandy. "You must be sensing the weather factory.”

Sandy raised a finger. “Just a second, Willow.

“Giovenith, are you OK?” Sandy's eyes searched upwards as he tried to recall his words. “It was meant as praise, for you and the pegasoi.”

Amanda, deciding that glaring daggers at their handlers standing in the wings for screwing up the cuing for a simple conversation was too much, also turned to Giovenith, confused but sympathetic. “Giovenith?” Her tone was sweet – she was brought up well – but wasn't sure what-- And then a penny dropped. Maybe not the penny, but a penny. She grabbed Sandy's wrist to pull him closer, and then leaned in to cup her hands around his ear to whisper to him. “Blasphemy? Comparing her to mortals?”

She let go, and Sandy returned her baffled look, shrugging with complete helplessness, palms turned forward. I... Um, she may have a point. The Olympians would have wrought vengeance on me for the suggestion, but Giovenith's pantheon doesn't seem that way. Taking it personally? She is young, and if she thinks I'm dismissing her as immature, or... not worthy of godhood... He mouthed a silent, “Oh, boy!”

[Monfrox]

Samantha had no real idea what to say. Kinda and pretty? Well, perhaps but she was a rather solitary sort. And she also wasn't sure what to make of Sallow and Ms. Prism. A talking pony and a silent girl were rather odd, and the latter definitely didn't bode well with her paranoia. Things that never stopped smiling and didn't blink made her think of the many horror stories she had read. But, they were friends. Or rather, friends of friends, perhaps.

"I'm...not sure what you mean. But...I...have been at the Building before. Long before...I don't remember seeing...you two there..." She tip-toed around the conversation like ballet dancer, or maybe more like an ice fisherman.

[Giovenith]

Island

"Oh, we came later," Sallow clarified. "But we've still got a place here. Come on!"

He trotted back towards the door, looking at her expectantly like a dog excited to go for a walk.

Cloudsdale

Giovenith internally panicked at the accidental attention on herself. She kept cool as best she shook, smiling and shaking her head with a handwave. "Oh no, I'm fine, I know it was a compliment! I appreciate it. Don't worry about me, something just crossed my mind." She turned to smile at the grey pony. "Besides, we've got to make everything about Willow!"

Willow looked critical for a second. He had heard the small exchange between the Belas and wasn't one to be fooled by Giovenith to begun with. However, he smiled. "Yeah, thank you, Geo-puzzle. You're really helping me through this."

"Uh huh!"

"In fact, you wouldn't mind doing me a big favor, would you?"

Giovenith was relieved to apparently have the subject changed. "Of course!"

He pointed towards the cafe. "Could you go in there and ask somepony about the tour hours for the weather factory? It's been a long time and I don't know them offhand anymore."

Seemed to make sense. She got up, nodding, and carefully made her way across the springy cloud ground and in through the open back door of the cafe. Once she was out of ear shot, Willow turned to the couple.

"Alright guys," he said, raising an eye. "I'm not offended or mad or anything, but I think we should probably get on the same page when it comes to, her." He gestured towards the cafe. "Just hear me out for a few seconds, for the context... when I first came to your world, one of the first things I learned about was your history and your various gods. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty horrified. The concept of your 'alicorns' getting away with hurting you was something I never even imagined could happen, let alone something that people could justify as a good thing or just part of life. I didn't like it at all, and I judged humans pretty harshly from it. I guess part of me still does."

He frowned with a brief sideglance, clearly not pleased with this information.

"I especially didn't like your gods. They struck me as bloodthirsty psychopaths, and I wanted to get out of that dimension before ever having to meet them. I only tolerated Giovenith at first because she seemed harmless, nothing happened to me even when I made her mad. But even then, I didn't entirely trust her, for being 'one of them,' as it were." Willow looked at the Belas again. "I guess that's a long-winded way of trying to say, I'm not naive about how dangerous and fucked up your gods can be. You guys have a good reason to feel like you need to walk on eggshells around them or get mad at them. But, you've also got to understand that I've done more than just hear about and glimpse at them, I've lived with Giovenith, closely, for years now. Not as a follower, but as a friend. I know who she is. And I've learned that she is more than just a god, that not every little thing that goes through her head has something to do with that. I'm not sure other people tend to understand that.

He pointed at Amanda. "Like, Amanda. Did you know that she probably sees you as better than her?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Meritari chuckled at Lyra's enthusiastic response, nodding in appreciation - she was sure the Belas would appreciate it if they were received with this sort of enthusiasm. "Alright, alright! I'll be sure to bring them along, then." She said to the psyched pony, making a mental note to use the Operator later to let the others know about the party.

The Kemetian then shifted her gaze from Lyra to the more collected earth pony next to her and listened to her proposal. It made sense, getting to meet their guests one by one would make it easier than arriving late and having to meet all of them at once. Plus, she was very curious about what the ponies' party would be like, and helping set it up would be the perfect way to satisfy her curiosity.

"I'd be happy to help out. Lead the way, Bon-bon." She told the creamy pony.

[Fvaarniimar]

Cloudsdale

As his first friend departed Nick's ears flattened, and he glared at the woman he'd kept trying to befriend.  Still, he let Willow talk, and thought back to the conversation - and this was fortunate as he had time to cool off a little.

'Racism' that they aren't at fault for, but oh by the way their highly revered deities are, just because they don't all have identical powers or forms?  Speaking of racism, Amanda, you're pretty convinced that Giovenith and the Princesses are like others of, ah, their race...sure you aren't prejudiced.  Suuuure.  Have you ever seen her be cruel?  Has she ever even been a little condescending?  You weren't there when I - except, hey, you were there for other stuff! Weren't you in the Building when it originally started crumbling, and weren't you, too, protected by her containing the explosion?  She certainly doesn't feel any owe her - but at a bare, bare minimum she deserves the chance I had to fucking beg you for!

Continuing to seethe, the cat glimpsed up to see his friend calmly pointing out Giovenith's virtues.  Not knowing what to think, he took a large bite of the food he'd been picking at.  This is rather nice, actually.  Cat food typically wasn't highly appetizing; the cat would put up with kibble because it was a crunchy, nonperishable snack, but canned...nope.  Not usually, anyway.

...maybe he'd try the fancy varieties from Salmi, the sort which claimed to have real pieces of fish or meat along with full nutrition.  After all, humans ate out of cans too...And now I've lost my train of thought.  Maybe that's for the best?

But why wasn't the Pegasus furious?  Nick thought back to the conversation.  He'd gotten caught up with his friends' interpretations, but, thinking back...Amanda had said some rude stuff, but not much ruder than Sandy.  None of what had been said was actively nasty...unlike, the embarrassed cat realized, his response would have been.  Oops.

Okay.  I'm still furious.  I really, really don't want to make things worse.  Let's try seeing this from your perspective.  Power scares you.  You're in a world of supers....I suppose maybe that alone is making you anxious.  Maybe that's why you got a bit confrontational about justice.  Nonetheless Willow wasn't offended much, and frankly being irate that friends were being rude tourists - he snorted.

...and of course Willow's done, everyone's quiet, and they all heard me.  Double oops.


"Er.  The snort was because - well, I was furious, and then I figured out I'd gotten some stuff wrong which I'm sorry about, and then I realized that I was annoyed because you were acting like tourists.  Which, honestly, was funny.  But..." His tail lashed from side to side.

"Amanda, powerful people scare you, mainly because you're worried about what they'll do and if they're in control.  I believe you once mentioned that you judged the powerful by their use of that power.  Let's look at the actions of our friend.  She's saved our butts on multiple occasions, and she's done it with a smile.  She doesn't use her powers to hurt or control others.  She gives people a lot of respect - for instance her utterly loyal actual creation Pippa-Michelle, who any god from your world including the Christian one likely would have seen as their personal servant."  He met the woman's eyes.

"She's never condescending, not even when someone's being an idiot. She doesn't look down on you, Amanda - that's absurd.  She's probably the least cruel person I know.  She often has comforted me, and also quite a few others. She's done the same for most here, I believe.   If it weren't for her, I honestly might be pretending to be a normal cat." Taking a sizable bite of food, he went on.

"She is my first ever friend.  I'm really not happy that she's upset, and I'm mad at you.  It feels as though you've been picking at her insecurities, Amanda - both you and Sandy, to be honest.  That's not totally fair, I know you didn't mean to hurt her, but that's still really not helpful, not now.  She has lost friends, we all have lost friends, we lost a home, we lost some security...and we still have each other.  We are trying to rebuild together, so let's be gentler, please.  And I do mean let's - I almost messed up too, very badly."

Nick's eyes seemed glued to his feet.  "I'm sorry, Amanda.  I initially blamed the whole mess on you, and would've said some stupid stuff if Willow hadn't talked first. I'm still hurt from our previous...dispute, but it's a time for new beginnings.  I've wanted to move forward and rebuild trust for awhile, but haven't known where to begin.  But perhaps that's the answer.  Can we attempt a restart of our own friendship?  I'll go first."  He held out a paw.

"Hello, interesting blonde lawyer lady whose name I ostensibly do not know.  My name is Nick.  I am a cat.  I do enjoy playing with string, I Iove reading, and I have mementos from everything ever squirreled away in my room.  I also have powers I thought I understood, but then they grew and I'm still relearning some things, which can be scary.  I am, of course, letting you know this because otherwise you might get startled."

----

Ponyville
"Hmm?  Oh, of course."  Rmwtyliin quashed some guilt at her distraction - of course she was distracted! "I will happily help out!" With a grin, she surrendered to the enthusiastic whirl that was the pair of ponies.

[Northwest Slobovia]

A café, Cloudsdale, Equestria

"Alright guys," he said, raising an eye. "I'm not offended or mad or anything, but I think we should probably get on the same page when it comes to, her."

The expression slid off of Amanda's face, leaving behind just a conversational smile. Oh, looking for trouble, thinking I won't make a scene in public? Try me, kid! Sandy was interested but puzzled: the matter seemed to be closed, and Giovenith seemed to want it that way. Sandy further perked up at Willow's claim that he'd 'done more than just hear about and glimpse at' Earth's gods, but no, he meant Giovenith.

He pointed at Amanda. "Like, Amanda. Did you know that she probably sees you as better than her?"

Right! Sandy abruptly developed new interest in his lasagne; not only was the situation more confused than he could figure out, it seemed to be Amanda's problem, and she could more than take care of herself.

Amanda started to reply, but...

[Nick] snorted. "Er. The snort was because - well, I was furious[...] Amanda, powerful people scare you, mainly because you're worried about what they'll do and if they're in control.

Amanda's gaze slid to her new playmate. “Scared? Oh, you have no idea! Read my mind for a sec' and you'll know, cat!" A sore spot? Oh, Nick had hit more than that, and he could easily feel Amanda's building anger at him, along with an undercurrent of terror and the creeping sensation that it might be best not to find out what Amanda was offering him a glimpse of.

”I believe you once mentioned that you judged the powerful by their use of that power. Let's look at the actions of our friend[...]”

Amanda's annoyance peaked, and then dissipated: Nick wasn't looking for a fight either, he was just too dumb to leave well enough alone.

Nick's eyes seemed glued to his feet. "I'm sorry, Amanda. I initially blamed the whole mess on you, and would've said some stupid stuff if Willow hadn't talked first. I'm still hurt from our previous...dispute, but it's a time for new beginnings. I've wanted to move forward and rebuild trust for awhile, but haven't known where to begin. But perhaps that's the answer. Can we attempt a restart of our own friendship? I'll go first." He held out a paw. [...] I also have powers I thought I understood, but then they grew and I'm still relearning some things, which can be scary. I am, of course, letting you know this because otherwise you might get startled."

Amanda gave Nick a warm smile. “Aw, that's sweet, Nick!” She reached over and began scratching between his ears, then started stroking his fur. “But we're fine now. It's ok.”

She shifted her gaze and her posture to take in both Nick and Willow. “No, Willow, I wouldn't have suspected that in a million years, and I have trouble believing it. But she and I worked things out, and we have an agreement. I'm not going to talk about her behind her back, regardless of how well-intentioned the subject. I'm sorry.

“Of course she's a person. We once had her and Marcus over for dinner. The immediate context suggested she reacted to something Sandy said, but it's fine. She seems to want to drop the subject, and you've found a way to do that. I'm not sure there's a reason to belabor it.” Amanda was firm, but she was trying to be graceful about it. Giovenith wasn't the only one not interested in talking at the moment. She settled into an uneasy silence, then returned to her lunch.

After a looong few seconds, Sandy swallowed what he was eating, washed it down, and wiped his mouth. He turned to the Equestrian. “Willow? Uhhh, you mentioned, um, knowing something about our gods. How much do you know about them? Have you met any?

“And... a little while ago, you mentioned the founding of Equestria, 'thousands of years ago'. Is that-- Do you mean historical thousands of years ago, the way I might describe Classical Greece to a casual audience, rather than '2640 years ago', or legendary thousands of years, for 'a long, long time ago'?” Perhaps not the best said gambit, but perhaps sufficient.

[Giovenith]

Marketplace

"Good!" Bon Bon flipped a board over her display, closing up shop. "Lyra will take you ahead, while I close up."

Lyra didn't waste any time, pulling on the two slightly with her magic as she lead them down the street.

Bon Bon, meanwhile, dropped her smile as she watched the three leave, taking on a critical and suspicious expression instead. These "hyoo-muns" were not like anything she'd ever seen while working for S.M.I.L.E., and that was saying a lot with the information the organization had. At first she'd feared that they were changelings and been tempted to call in back up agents, but thought better when she realized it wouldn't have made sense for the changelings to take on unfamiliar forms - unless that was precisely their plan, hiding in plain sight like a purloined letter. Still, it wouldn't do to antagonize them if they really were just peaceful travelers. Bon Bon would just have to keep them in her sight to be sure, especially with F.R.O.W.N. out of town and unable to protect Ponyville.

Finishing her close, the Earth pony caught up with the group.

Lyra, on the other hand, didn't share any of her best friend's suspicions. This was exactly what she had been waiting for, for years! She wanted to bombard the two with more questions, but knew that would be poor sport when there was a party to get to. Still...

They arrived at one of the many thatched cottages, Lyra quickly unlocking the door to let them in. "Welcome to our super awesome pad!"

The inside of the ponies' homes held a lot of the same old fashioned quaintness that the outside had, all polished woods accented with comforters and doilies, with a weak technological presence - the most advanced thing Lyra and Bon Bon seemed to own was a gramophone, which had been dragged into the living area and was surrounded by various half-done party decorations.

"OH!" Lyra seemed to realize something in excitement. "I can show you things from my collection!"

"Lyr-" Bon Bon tried to intervene, but was unable to before the green unicorn was dashing up the stairs. She sighed. "Well, we might as well get started putting this party together, right? There's still some snacks to make, do... hyoo-muns have any special diet needs we should consider?"

Cafe

Willow watched Amanda patiently, expression decently unreadable. He didn't rise in anger with her nor shrink back, and his acquiescence to her request was signaled with a calm sip of his drink and a refrain from following up on the subject. Truthfully, he didn't think that she did understand, but that didn't matter. There was no use in trying to make someone understand something they were unwilling to, and in fairness, Amanda was under no obligation to do so. He wouldn't find an ally in them when it came to helping Giovenith - that was fine, though it made his job a little harder.

Willow finished his coffee about when Sandy spoke up. "I know as much as I've read out of basic mythology books. I've only met Giovenith and Klaus personally, as far as I know anyway." He considered the second question. "Both, in a way. Equestria is extremely old. I don't know the precise number since I'm no expert, but it's enough that a thousand years ago is considered relatively recent."

[Northwest Slobovia]

A café, Cloudsdale, Equestria

"I know as much as I've read out of basic mythology books. I've only met Giovenith and Klaus personally, as far as I know anyway." [Willow] considered the second question. "Both, in a way. Equestria is extremely old. I don't know the precise number since I'm no expert, but it's enough that a thousand years ago is considered relatively recent."

Sandy nodded along during the answer, and kept nodding, though at a slower pace, for a few seconds afterwards while he considered it. “So, your history may be as old as ours, possibly with the same gradual emergence from legend.”

He nodded again. “That's probably too much for the guidebook, and possibly for the history Starlight let us borrow – uh, with everything else. I guess you didn't hear that offer.

“And I can't honestly say I know much more about the subject than you do. Oh, plenty of, um, 'advanced mythology'...” He momentarily broke into an amused grin. “...but it's hard to say what of that is factual.

“Even the Trojan War, which seems to be their last appearance, is a mix of fact and fancy. I can tell you a great deal about their effects on the society that believed in them, and a tiny bit about their rituals, but as for what they're like as people...?” He held his thumb and index figure a tiny distance apart. “You've named the two... special people... I could claim to know at all, though with Ford's help, I know a bit about Naomi's magic, which tells me something about her personality.”

Not that Sandy's mind was much better constructed: a gear must have slipped. “Thoooooough... if I can find I detailed enough history, I might be able to learn something about your 'Americans' and this very familiar architecture.” His eyes held a bright glint, and it had nothing to do with the position of the sun.

[Monfrox]

Island

Samantha didn't really know what to make of the pair, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to humor them. She nodded and followed along after Sallow out of the hut. It was certainly par for the course as far as she remembered. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. She closed the door behind her.

"So...wh-where to?"

[Fvaarniimar]

Ponyville

"Lyr-" Bon Bon tried to intervene, but was unable to before the green unicorn was dashing up the stairs. She sighed. "Well, we might as well get started putting this party together, right? There's still some snacks to make, do... hyoo-muns have any special diet needs we should consider?"

"I'm not really - wait, that is hay. You eat hay. Humans cannot eat hay." She frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I think we can nibble a little. It's just that it doesn't feed us and it's hard to chew. We like sugar! Do you have any desserts without hay? Milk and eggs are good, too, and we should be able to eat some of the same plants. Anything soft that does not harm or poison you. If you have oats or other grains, we prefer them cooked - the bread looks tasty. We should be able to have anything you're drinking. I don't know for sure but I don't think Willow or... local equines eat anything that hurts us."
--
Cloudsdale
Fur ruffled, Nick busied himself with showing appreciation for lunch in the traditional, cross-cultural manner: cleaning the dish. Once he finished, it was *almost* reusable. If one didn't mind saliva.

[Northwest Slobovia]

A café, Cloudsdale, Equestria

Seeing that Nick was done eating, Amanda resumed stroking his fur. The details eluded her, but Sandy had said something about Nick's telepathy still being better by touch. "Sorry, Nick. The problems with people abusing power are personal for me, not political theory. I will show you why, if you want, but look with care. It's not pretty."

Sandy finished his lasagne, and even managed a taste of Amanda's FLT. He stretched out in his chair, and patted his tummy appreciatively; that was good. He turned to Willow. "I have a question about this weather factory tour. I've Heard it from a distance, and I'd like to get the full effect up close. How will people there react to a little shapeshifting?"

[Giovenith]

Cloudsdale

Willow managed a smile and nodded to Sandy. "We've got plenty of time, Sandy. We'll be able to figure a few things out."

He perked again as Giovenith returned. She didn't seem to notice the underlying tension with the group.

"The people inside said there should be a few more hours for tours," she said. "But we have to hurry, because they'll be closing early so the workers can go home for the holiday."

Willow nodded. "Sounds about right. I guess it wouldn't hurt to drop in real quick..." Truthfully, anything to hold off the shock of meeting his parents again for a little while longer, until he was more ready.

The waitress came back, and Willow paid for everything. Their remaining food and anything else they ordered at the last minute was packed up, and they were asked to come again. As he folded up the boxes and handed him to Gio to store in hammerspace, Willow looked to Sandy.

"Probably the same as the ponies before," he said. "They might be wary, but because you're doing it right in front of them they'll assume you're safe. To make a long story short, a few years ago we had a terrorist attack on the capital by a shapeshifting species called changelings. Their pro quo is stealing identities and blending in, attacking from the inside. Since neither of your forms exactly blend in and you do change right in front of them, most of them will logic out that you're not one of them. Just, try not to get too crazy with it, I guess. I, sure you know that common sense isn't always common..."

The Factory

Approaching the weather factory was a strong experience, even if you weren't able to sense the magic emanating from it. It wasn't flat and bluntly shaped like you'd expect a factory to be, it had all the same spirals and columns as the rest of the city's architecture, with many towering parts and wide open spaces bove high gaps in preference to the workers' flying abilities. Willow made sure to nudge everyone close to the middle of the elevated road as they walked forward, not wanting anyone to fall off and go plummeting into one of the lower levels or straight to the ground.

Dark clouds circled around the sky above and from various exits in the spirals, but these were not smog, but rain clouds. Pouring out from over crevices in the lower levels were what appeared to be (to Giovenith's utter delight) glowing, liquefied rainbows. The whole place had the faint smell of ozone. In fact, also unlike a typical factory, there was no grime or general smoggy filth to be seen; the opposite, the whole place had a clean, pristine, almost soapy look and feel. Even the many workers who walked or flew past (all stopping a moment to stare at the monkey people) were wearing spotless white coats and hard hats. One might suppose that working so closely with water and being detached from the ground might have that effect.

To Giovenith, the clockwork thumping of Equestria's magic was much louder here, not unlike the gears of an average factory. This was one of the hearts of the Order. It was like smelling a room caked in bleach - pure and sanitized, so much so that it could be deadly, especially if you came the messier side of the spectrum. To her, it was fine, albeit intense. To many children of chaos, she imagined, it would be violently unholy.

Following the signs that guided visitors, they soon found themselves inside in a well furnished lobby, dotted with a few waiting visitors with tickets who took the opportunity to stare at the newcomers. Upbeat, triumphant sounding music softly played from a subtly placed gramophone somewhere.

"Well, well!" a pegasus mare in a dark purple suit flew up to the group. "Last minute additions to the tour?"

"Yes," Willow answered with a smile. "Sorry for cutting it so close."

The mare looked the humans up and down, critically. "Hmm. Well, I'm not sure if we have coats that can fit you... ponies. Coats are required. But I'll tell the guys to figure something out..."

Damn, Willow hadn't considered that. He scatched his head thoughtfully as the tour guide made her way back to the front of the lobby. "Giovenith?" he asked. "Maybe you could..."

"Already on it!"

The godling had produced three raincoats from her pockets, one for her and two for the Belas, along with three hard hats. Nick would be a bit more tricky. She gently picked him up, considered, and began rummaging in her pockets for sewing material.