Shores: Homecoming (Closed)

[Giovenith]

Island

"Oh, doesn't matter much who I am," said the main, shaking his head with a smile. "I'm just the greeter. I apologize for the confusion though, I understand that this must be very confusing. Welcome to the Shores." He gestured around him. "You're not dreaming, this is where you'll live for a while. You have neighbors, but most of them are preoccupied..."

The main pointed toward one of the trees.

"... except for the ones behind that tree. I hear there's some kind of carnival going on back there. Perhaps you'd like to join them? I can take whatever things you have to your cabin."

[Solisian Union]

Shores. Interesting name. She looked away, exploring from her place upon the warm sand, her shoes digging into the grains settled beneath her and around her. Her Asian eyes quietly studied the expanse, the blueness, the brightness and the darkness, and the fading and approaching voices of waves crashing and folding back into the unlimited basin of salt and water. She then returned her attention to the greeter and told him: "If I....live here for a while, will I be able to come home once I am done here?"

She then realized how...rapid and how thoughtless that question was. She hoped she had not offended the man, but somehow, in the corner of her mind, she hoped he was offended, at least a bit, because she really did want to make it home. When she came here, all she had was her backpack and the stuff inside it plus some food she brought from a local restaurant that she wanted to share with her mother. And she worried, above all else, of how her mother is faring. She hoped she was not dying of worry that she had vanished in thin air.

The writer sighed, shook her head, and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you like that." She then bit her bottom lip a little and then let it go, saying then, "Co...could you please show me the way? I'd like to see where I'd stay for now."

[Northwest Slobovia]

Weather Factory, Cloudsdale, Equestria

"The substance is essencent," the worker explained. "It looks like it's in different parts when it's settled, but all the colors are within every drop. See?"

They carefully dipped the end of their mixing stick into the orange part of the spectrum in the pool, and it came away dripping with a full swirling spectrum.

A delighted expression filled Amanda's already girlish face, making her radiate childlike joy. “Oooh! So I just have to shake it up to get miniature rainbows? How long will the jar of rainbow stuff last? A few days? Weeks? Forever?”

"As long as you keep the bottle properly sealed, it should last," the worker explained. "But if you open it up, it'll eventually fade away."

Amanda nodded; that seemed consistent with the little she understood of enchantment. “Do you know if it will last if we take it out of Equestria? We’re from very far away.”

"Hm." The worker tapped their chin. "I'm not sure, honestly. I don't see why not though. Ponies can still do their own magic in other lands, so the products of our magic should last too."

“I think that’s as much of a guarantee as I can ask for.” Sandy probably doesn’t know either, but he might have a better guess. Amanda carefully submerged the bottle to fill it as much as possible, then tightly screwed on the lid. “Thank you!”

[Giovenith]

Island

The greeter smiled and shook his head at Domenica, holding up a hand reassuringly. "There's no need to be scared of offending, ma'am. I'm here to help with those emotions. Follow me, and I'll answer your questions."

With that, he gathered up whatever luggage she had and lead her away to a quaint little hut among the other ones.

"You'll find everything you could need or want in here," he explained, handing her the keys to the hut. "And if you are lacking something, just give a holler. I'll hear you, and I'm never too busy. As for going home..." He pointed back towards the sea. "... that's no ordinary ocean, ma'am. Those waves over there are a gateway to any place or time you could possibly wish for — use it wisely. You can go home at any time, but I do hope you'll stay a while. Everyone is brought here for a reason."

[Giovenith]

Cloudsdale

The statue didn't radiate any magic. It was simply a statue, a statue of an important figure, but simply a statue nonetheless.

"Don't feel too bad about it," said Willow, bringing them back to the floor. "They're always been pretty hush about the rainbows. I think they don't want private companies using it for some kitsch, you know?"

Sandy returned to human form as his rear hooves touched the ground, a smooth, confident motion. “Some things they can’t hide.” Sandy’s face lit with a canary-eating-cat smile. “They’re liquified sunlight, which tells me a little more about how things work around here.”

Willow snorted a bit, and rolled his eyes in a good natured way. "Yes, soon we'll all learn the secret that light and water make rainbows." He was skeptical of Sandy's ambitions, but otherwise not bothered by them. There was certainly good reason to be curious. "So how's it going not being the only bird-horse in the room for once?"

Sandy chuckled. “Oh, obvious to you too?”

“Bird-horse? Winged horse, perhaps, but Pegasus is the archetype where we’re from; the others are called by his name.

“But Uncanny Valley is an interesting place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here. Pegasus is far too tall to fit in, and he’s mute. And a kid said something about a ‘cutie’...” There was a brief silence. “‘Obvious to you’...? Are rainbows being condensed sunlight something you learned in school, or something you See and Hear?” I’m not sure I ever asked him or Sterling if they have the Sight as well as the Art.

"Oh, we don't actually call ourselves that, I'm just joking," Willow dismissed in regards to the 'bird-horse' label, gesturing for the professor to stroll with him. "A cutie mark? Those are the symbols on our flanks."

He gestured to the black and white star superimposed on black paint patterns on his hip.

"They symbolize who we are, and what we do," he explained. "We're not born with them, though..." He gestured to some of the children among the tour, pointing out their blank flanks. "... they magically appear around pre-adolescence, once we reach self-realization. It's a maturity milestone. It would be weird to them why you don't have one when you're clearly an adult. You know, if they weren't preoccupied with all the other weird parts."

All Sandy could do was nod and wonder at that claim: getting a straight answer would take divine contact. No late bloomers? No polymaths? Nobody ever changes careers or is inspired to change the course of their life?

Willow stopped them at a pool near the view, and tilted his head at the next question. "It's basic that light and water makes rainbows. One would assume that if you can somehow melt all that color down into a liquid, the light must be in there somewhere." He ran a hoof along the surface of the pool. "I did go to Flight School though. Not all pegasus ponies do, but we all have to have some education about meteorology, so that we can help with the weather of our hometowns if we need to, and so no dumbass has an excuse for sending a tornado smashing through everypony's houses."

Sandy’s canary-eating smile returned at Willow’s opening statement. “Yes, that’s true here.” He reached into the pool, and scooped up a handful of rainbow juice, which he idly poured from hand to hand. “This is just sunlight — still bearing traces of Celestia’s magic, even — water, and, uh, a fair amount of pegasoi magic. But where we’re from, rainbows are just water. I can’t explain how clouds... interact with light to make rainbows, but there is an explanation. Figuring it out was a triumph of science— it’s another feather for Issac Newton’s cap.”

Sandy let the last of the rainbow sauce run through his hands, then shook them to dry off the last drops. “But that does remind me: you all are, uh, ‘encouraged’ to surrender your towns’ water to make the year’s weather? I can understand the, um… persistence of relict traditions, but it seems contrary — opposed — to the rest of how your society acts. Why not something else? Do you have an expression like… I guess it would be ‘many hooves make light work’? Divide up the task of making the weather among all of you every year.”

Willow shrugged as he leaned against the pool platform. "It's complex, like most things. The water itself isn't an issue, there's still plenty to go around in your town if it's chosen, the water they use is specifically gathered over several years and reserved for that purpose. It's more the tornado service that can be a bitch. Technically, it isn't mandatory to help with it, but you're kind of seen as a lazy asshole if you don't help without a good reason, because somepony's got to do it, you know?"

He hopped onto the platform to scoop some of the liquid up high and pour it back into the pool, illustrating.

"When the tornado succeeds, it instantly shoots all the gallons into Cloudsdale in a matter of minutes," he said. "They need it all at once because water is used up fast, and we don't have anything else that efficient. Why spend money on some complex machinery to slowly suck it up and fly it all the way up here, or coordinate a bunch of disparate towns across the country to each do a little bit of the work all at the same time, when most of us already have the natural ability to do the job within an afternoon and you only need to coordinate one location to do it? It sucks, sure, but it makes sense, and it's important for the country. Like jury duty."

Sandy’s smile changed: less satisfied and more darkly amused. He rolled his eyes with a smile, repeating Willow’s gesture as a way to tease him. “We consider our jury system unfair and unjust, sooo… perhaps that’s not the best example.” He raised his hands mock-defensively. “But ask Amanda about that, if you really want to know. But expect to spend a while listening to her, um, explain.” Something in Sandy’s expression suggested there were better courses of action to follow.

As his hands returned to his sides, he started to gesture conversationally, and his tone shifted to match. “It sounds to me like you’re saying that your water-gathering system is the best you can do, despite its apparently limitations. Right?

“Because I’m not seeing that it’s, ummm... “ He twirled his fingers as he sought a word. “Not much more complex than any of our solutions to difficult problems.”

Willow shook the rainbow from his hoof. "Not everything can be perfectly just or fair. Sometimes you've got to put up with little injustices for the sake of the bigger picture, don't you?" He hopped down from the platform. "And I'm simplifying it. I'm not a weather expert, but I know that there's a lot more regulation and circumstances that goes into this stuff than meets the eye. We're not serfs y'know, we do get the whole 'consent of the masses' thing, but every world's gotta weigh its ideals with its limitations. Besides..." He pointed once again to the tour group. "... like you just saw, most of these ponies are convinced it's some big honor to do it. There's a bunch of record-breaking associated with it and stuff, so if you want to rally the masses to send a complaint to the manager, you're on an uphill battle."

Sandy nodded. “If people are satisfied, nothing will change. But how willing are people to put up with the little injustices? Sometimes... people tire of the daily grind, and start to wonder if there’s another way. Other times, inspiring individuals convince people there’s other ways— um, better ways, or least ways unjust to other people.

“Societies change, or rather, people change their societies. People want different things, material culture changes, magic changes — artists, writers, scientists, spellcasters change their crafts… In a hundred years, a thousand years, this could all be unrecognizably changed.” He swept his hand around, encompassing the whole weather factory. “It could even be gone. America’s had some dramatic cultural changes since the end of the Second World War, and that was only 75 years ago. It could happen here too.”

Sandy seemed to be done, and had even reached down to scoop up a bit of the rainbow liquid, when a recent memory finally chased him down. He smiled a crooked smile at the pegasoi artist. “Yes, Amanda and I are from a nation, a uh, nation-state called the United States of America. I don’t know if there’s any, ummm, significance to that being the same as the origin of Equestria’s founders, but it would explain the architecture, and perhaps much else.”

To this, Willow gave a spat pffft! bereft of awe. He gave a dry smile.

"This place has changed more than you know."

There was a grim firmness to it, indicating that that particular subject was closed for now. There was a moment of silence as he seemed to center himself once again, taking in the burbling of the falls and the smell of clean moisture in the air.

"I don't know much about America," he admitted. "But if there's one thing I've learned from travelling around, it's that coincidence is a more present friend than you might think."

Sandy nodded once, puzzled by Willow’s reaction. Yes, of course it’s changed more than three hours of casual tourism can reveal. He searched the crowd for Amanda, who he found chatting with a small group of pegasoi. Nick was harder to find until. Sandy started looking for foals.

He aimlessly let his eyes trace the outlines of the factory. The tour guide said that the factory — or at least an earlier factory — dates to the founding of the country. Willow visited about then, too, and that apparently didn’t go well. His gaze firmed up, became searching. How old is this building? How old are these customs? Something isn’t adding up, but I’ll hazard that the ‘official version’ is further from the truth than whatever’s on Willow’s mind.

[Solisian Union]

The Filipina was...shocked, but not as much as before. Yet the residue of such an emotion weighed down on her shoulders as she followed the man into one of the huts.

She barely registered the words he spoke for her, because her ears were filled with the natural motions and noise of the waves of this new world's sea, and her eyes brought her forward to nothing but what was in the hut they both stood in. Then the man said something that struck her, and at this moment, the spell broke, and she was set free to doubt and to wonder aloud, "What will my mother do if she were here? Could I tell her about this world? What if I am taken for madness possessing my body?"

She only thanked herself for keeping such thoughts, for their ridiculous nature, under the volume of a whisper. And the man left, the Filipina now alone.

Inactivity would kill her will. So she set herself to work, unpacking her things. She looked for an electric outlet but didn't notice any, if there was any. She decided to leave the distractions and focus on exploring this world. And if her mother was at home, she prayed she would understand that she was busy.

Without seeking out the man, she left her hut, bringing with her only her powerful pens and her notebook. Or two. She brought two. And she looked around, hoping that the man had forgotten there was someone else besides her. If not, she wished she could break a rule here by looking for people on her own.

Hopefully, there would be signs or paths.

[Giovenith]

Cloudsdale

There was suddenly a scream that caught the attention of the courtyard. One of the young adult tourists fanned at her mouth as her face rapidly changed different colors, making heavy panting sounds and sticking her tongue out.

"Dammit!" the guide unexpectedly swore, marching towards the tourist angrily. "I told you not to taste the rainbow! Somepony bring me some milk!"


Once the tour was over (after a quick trip to the gift shop), the group was back on the city streets. To Giovenith there seemed only one place left to go, and started ahead expecting to be followed.

"Let's go find your mom and dad," she told Willow, urging him along.

Her pony friend stayed put. "Giovenith," he said carefully, pausing for a moment to take a breath. "I really appreciate you coming all this way to support me, but... this part is really something I'd rather do myself."

She pinched her brow in concern, walked back over, and knelt in front of him. "But why?"

Willow squeezed his eyes for a moment to clear his head. "I know I'm supposed to be working on this vulnerability thing, but I've still got to take it little by little. I know that I'm not going to react very... cleanly, when I get there, and I just don't want to do that in front of you. Not yet."

Giovenith considered for a moment, before nodding and smiling and placing a hand on his head. "You'll get through it. You're strong and brave. I believe in you."

They shared another hug before Willow pulled away and said, "I'll meet up with you guys again either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Or maybe more the afternoon, since we'll need some sleep after watching the sunrise. Sandy, you should have no problem pulling the balloon back to Ponyville, and other ponies will return the balloon for you once you land."

With that, the grey pegasus parted ways with the group, taking off into the sprawling cloud city. Giovenith sent out a paper bird to lead them back to the balloon, and on the way, Sandy (godmoded with permission) mulled over a few things and ventured a question.

"Gio," he asked. "I don't want to impose, but, Willow was acting a bit... reserved, back in the factory. You're the closest to him. Did something happen with you guys, regarding this culture?"

Giovenith wasn't surprised by the question. "He disappeared for a long time with some staff, I figured he was on a mission or something. He hasn't told me a whole lot about it, I think it bothers him too much right now. I'm not pushing it though, Willow really likes to bottle these things up." She thumped her chest a few times, illustratively. "He'll talk when he's ready. Don't be sad or anything if he seems cold though, he can be very sweet."

Sandy took note of this and stowed away as he transformed back into Pegasus and repeated the same balloon ride before back to Ponyville. By this time, the sky had taken on an orange color, and the town was bathed in shadows. Almost time for sunset, and almost time for the real parties to begin.

They were soon joined once again by the grey mailmare, who was this time accompanied by another pegasus with spunky blonde hair and blue highlights.

"Helloooooo!" Derpy, the grey one, greeted. "You're Willow Streaks' friends, right? Lyra Heartstrings sent us over to take you to her house, where your other friends are. That's where everypony is meeting up before all go over to city hall to party and watch the sun rise."

[Monfrox]

The outcome was never really in doubt. Well...okay, maybe a little. Samantha smiled a bit as she saw the replica doll of herself. She moved the hair off of the one eye and her smile disappeared as she saw a more purple-ish fabric underneath, and then moved the hand under her own hair and felt the leathery skin, contrasted to the soft and smooth skin that showed on her face. She spaced-out a bit before the sirens brought her back to reality. Those sounds were never good, and she saw Sallow and Prism acting frantic.

"Okay, let's go." She said.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Cloudsdale, Equestria

Giovenith wasn't surprised by the question. "He disappeared for a long time with some staff, I figured he was on a mission or something. […] He'll talk when he's ready. Don't be sad or anything if he seems cold though, he can be very sweet."

Sandy nodded, and the group continued to walk for a short while he considered Giovenith's answer. Without taking his eyes from the scenery, he finally replied. "I think he's been here before... uh, dipped into his world's history-- his world's ancient history, the same way Nick and I did in Alexandria. I... I think he-- I think something he saw upset him... something went wrong, something not in schoolbook histories.

"It's possible he's the only living person who knows what happened then."

Ponyville

"Helloooooo!" Derpy, the grey one, greeted. "You're Willow Streaks' friends, right? Lyra Heartstrings sent us over to take you to her house, where your other friends are. That's where everypony is meeting up before all go over to city hall to party and watch the sun rise."

Sandy gave Derpy a wry smile. "Yes, still Willow's friends. Ok, let's go! Might as well join the party."

[Giovenith]

Island

Hopefully, there would be signs or paths.

Faintly, on the air, there was a continuous high-pitched whining like a siren going off. If followed, the sound got louder and louder the closer one came to a particular palm tree near the shore.

Something rushed past her in a blur, and in a flash of black and white, it disappeared into the space behind the tree.

The outcome was never really in doubt. Well...okay, maybe a little. Samantha smiled a bit as she saw the replica doll of herself. She moved the hair off of the one eye and her smile disappeared as she saw a more purple-ish fabric underneath, and then moved the hand under her own hair and felt the leathery skin, contrasted to the soft and smooth skin that showed on her face. She spaced-out a bit before the sirens brought her back to reality. Those sounds were never good, and she saw Sallow and Prism acting frantic.

"Okay, let's go." She said.

There was a CRASH! right near the trio as the table for the game stand exploded into splinters. The cause of the explosion? A wrench, wielded by a helmet-wearing man seemingly made of black and white scribbles.

"It's THE MAN!!!" Sallow screamed, launching himself at the villain in order to buy his friends time.

Said figure responded by swinging the wrench again, barely missing the greaser-pony. It seemed for naught, as the rest of them were quickly surrounded by similar shaded-sketchy figures, all wearing helmets and wielding various tools menacingly.

[Giovenith]

Ponyville

Giovenith smiled and nodded as the ponies lead them on. She processed what Sandy had said.

"Did you go all the way back to Alexandria?" she asked. "That's a really big place to have been in. No wonder you were gone for a while."

It was fascinating, but terribly shocking considering how many other anomalies speckled their lives. She would have to ask him how he managed to navigate the inevitable attention of the many "Fortune 900" pantheons of the time and region later. The subject of Willow, on the other hand, made her sad. She looked down pensively.

"Willow is a part of lots of bigger things now," said Giovenith. "He didn't choose to be, and he wouldn't have if he could have. But I believe that if anyone has to be, he's one of the ones that deserves to be. He's special - that's why I need to be there for him." She smiled and waved a hand. "Don't tell him I said that though, he'll get all into huffy denial. But, if he did see something that changes history, I believe he'll bring out the truth in his own time."

Giovenith turned to look at the ponies leading them. The grey one, Derpy, seemed to be off in her own little world, humming and unaware of the surrounding conversation. The spunky-haired one was staring at the four, which caught Giovenith off guard. Rather than suspicion or confusion though, the blonde pegasus simply smiled and bowed her head to the godling before flying along.

By the time they reached the house, twilight had set in. There was a small crowd of already rowdy partygoers, including Rmw and Meri, who all greeted the hyoo-muns (and cat) with much jubilation. They set off collectively down the winding dirt roads towards the center of the village, where a tall, circular building with many balconies stood.

Inside, the foyer - another tall, circular room with several balconies leaning over and above the floor - was decorated with streamers, flowers, and banners depicting intricate tapestries of cosmological landscapes, and winged-and-horned figures of a similar style to the statues at the weather museum. There were also long tables filled with snacks and food, all vegetarian and all made from local ingredients (though notably, once again, there was a lack of alcohol), and a large, curtained, box-like structure in the front of the foyer by an official's podium. The room had just enough lighting that everyone could move about safely, but low enough that the dark night sky peaking beyond the balconies above and it's subsequent sunrise would not be spoiled.

"Hey there," greeted a familiar voice, as Starlight Glimmer peeled from the crowd to meet the Earth group. "Back so soon?"

[Solisian Union]

Faintly, on the air, there was a continuous high-pitched whining like a siren going off. If followed, the sound got louder and louder the closer one came to a particular palm tree near the shore.

Something rushed past her in a blur, and in a flash of black and white, it disappeared into the space behind the tree.

The Filipina almost crouched down upon hearing the whining. It reminded her of the alarms her university had whenever there was a drill or a real emergency going on. So she did that and looked around, trying to look for the source of it. When she did, she followed after it and then---

ZOOOM!

She gasped and fell on her buttocks and on her left foot, spraining it, causing her to cry out in a brief moment of pain. She saw a glimpse of it but she couldn't really concentrate on that now that she had injured herself. She groaned as she got up, lifting her bad foot off the ground as she used her good foot to hop over to a tree and lean on it, taking cover from the rest of the trees behind it as she looked for where that thing went.

[Giovenith]

Island

In a flash, the world around Domenica seemed to fold over, and she suddenly found herself in a new world.

It was the beach, and yet not the beach. More specifically, it was a hyper-detailed, hyper-shaded drawing of the beach on top of a wide void, not quite 3D it not 2D either, like scratchy lines resting in midair. That was the main part. But further ahead the location differed, as the white slowly faded into color and true 3D, and formed the bright, colorful, musical noise of a large island carnival held in the distance. The ferris wheel glowed against a twilight lit sky, striped tends rose beneath it, and warm, buttery smells wafted. The whole display looked like someone had oddly photoshopped a live photo into the sketch, only if photos could, you know, be real, touchable places.

Here, in this place, the sirens were louder, wailing throughout the dimension.

In the distance, someone was running at her. It looked a bit like a pencil scribble getting bigger and bigger, but quickly it took a slightly more specific form: that of a man, in racecar driver get up, wielding a huge wrench and coming right towards her.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Ponyville, Equestria

[Giovenith] smiled and waved a hand. "Don't tell him I said that though, he'll get all into huffy denial. But, if he did see something that changes history, I believe he'll bring out the truth in his own time."

With the briefest nod of agreement, Sandy acknowledged hearing it. But he cocked his head in the direction of their horsey companions, gave them a significant look, and switched to Arabic. His whispers were a bit choppy, as he tried to recall seldom-used vocabulary. "I'm not certain if history can be... Uh, altered or... only..." There was a long pause as he furrowed his brows in concentration. "Fulfilled."

They set off collectively down the winding dirt roads towards the center of the village, where a tall, circular building with many balconies stood. […] There were also long tables filled with snacks and food, […] and a large, curtained, box-like structure in the front of the foyer by an official's podium.

Amanda looked around, her gaze lingering the most on the decorations and the food, before turning to her husband. "It looks like we've found the party. It's been years, do we still know how act at a dinner party?" He tone suggested she was kidding, but she took a deep breath and held it for a moment as she steeled herself for the night.

Sandy's answering smile was full of mirth. "With this crowd, it hardly matters. We could tell them about our dullest days, and they'd still be rapt, we're so unusual." He studied the architecture, and brought his hands close together and started to gesture, but his casting was interrupted.

"Hey there," greeted a familiar voice, as Starlight Glimmer peeled from the crowd to meet the Earth group. "Back so soon?"

Amanda's expression warmed, and she smiled at the unicorn sorcerer. "We had a full day in Cloudsdale: a little lunch, a tour of the weather factory, and then we saw Willow off."

"Thanks for the book-borrowing offer, Startlight. I took-- checked out, a uh, towering stack of books. I'll find a way to return the favor." Sandy's gestures, tone, and posture indicated complete sincerity, the way he held his arms open suggested he was close to being overwhelmed by the gift. "It's... umm, very generous of you-- of your town. Thank you!" Did they have a larger-scale government? Did they even need one?

[Giovenith]

Ponyville

"Sounds like a day well spent." Starlight nodded, and waved Sandy off with a smile. "Hey, it's the library, it's what it's there for! Heck, I'm sure Princess Twilight would just be thrilled to know there's somepony in Ponyville now who loves books just as much as her."

"Is she still not here?" Giovenith asked, looking around to see if any of the colorful forms around them had both wings and horns.

"No, she's part of the sun raising ceremony with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," said Starlight. "And of course her friends are there for support. I stayed behind to help oversee the Ponyville celebration, and to help update the holiday story..." She gave a nod to the spunky pegasus, who fluttered over. "... thanks for help with the show by the way, Goldie. You sure you can't stay for the whole party?"

"I wish I could," said Goldie, smiling up at the big box up front. "But I've got to get some sleep tonight, with my busy schedule. I guess I just wanted to get to see the new arrivals." She smiled and looked up at the human group. "You all seem very kind."

Starlight turned back to the group. "Twilight told me that human legs' tend to get tired when they stand for too long, so I brought some seats for you for the puppet show."

In a flash of turquoise light, several large bean bags appeared out of thin air, levitated by the unicorn's magic. She sailed them over the heads of the other patrons and close to the box.

"I hope those are big enough."

"They look fine," Giovenith nodded. "And I love puppet shows!"

There was a sudden tap-tap of a hoof being stomped on the ground along with a cleared throat. Everypony looked up front to see an older mare, beige with short white hair, reading glasses, and an official looked ruffled necktie standing at the podium near the box.

"Mares and gentlecolts," she greeted. "And esteemed new friends from far away lands, welcome to the annual Summer Sun Celebration. It's only been a few years now since this day took on a whole new meaning for us, and for our fair country. Much has changed in a short amount of time, and the challenges of today will become the comforts of our children. So, I do hope you will be satisfied with our new extended Story of the Two Sisters, and with the catering prepared tonight by our lovely locals. Please, come round, and enjoy..."

Lyra Heartstrings, the mint green unicorn who had hosted Meri and Rmw before, bounced up to the human group. "That was the mayor!" she explained. "Come on, come on, you can sit next to us!" Her telekinesis pulled the visitors along towards the bean bags, Starlight trotting close behind to keep an eye on things.

Bon Bon, still displeased with the situation, started forward with purpose only to be intercepted by Goldie. The pegasus leaned in to whisper something into the Earth pony's ear, and it seemed to both surprise and calm her. Bon Bon gave her a surprised looked, but followed it with a serious nod.

After everypony was gathered round the large box up front, the lights dimmed slightly. Somepony back stage began to play quaint instruments, a piano, a flute, and chimes it seemed like, as the curtains on the box pulled back to reveal a colorful miniature setting made out of layered paper cut outs. The cut outs moved around on wires and gears, creating the movement of the theater. Tiny paper clouds rolled back to reveal a stylized view of the Equestrian landscape, with Ponyville, the mountains and Canterlot, and Cloudsdale all in intricate detail.

Giovenith, needless to say, approved.

"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria," a narrator from somewhere spoke. "There were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land..."

Two shining styled alicorn figures, like those of the statues and the tapestries, took center stage, one painted in white and pink and the other in brooding shades of blue.

"To do this, the eldest used her alicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn."

A cut out of the sun rolled forward from behind the white and pink figure, dragging behind it beams of sunlight and rolling clouds.

"The younger brought out the moon to begin the night."

On the opposite side, the moon rolled out from behind the brooding figure, bringing with it stars made of foil and precise drawings of constellations.

Starlight nudged the Belas and whispered, "I drew those!" proudly.

"Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies," the narrator continued, as the figures danced around each other high above the smaller figures of little Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, all dancing playfully and reaching up at the figures in the paper sky. The brooding figure, however, was soon pulled away as the music shifted. "But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night..."

The background of the show pulled away to show a new background, this time depicting the same landscape at night, but with all the paper citizens below asleep in their homes.

"One fateful day, the younger alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her..."

The white figure stood in front of the brooding one, now drawn to look sorrowful.

"... but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon."

Somepony in the staff used their magic to produce a small crack of light in the stage to imitate lightning, during which the set-up was quickly replaced: the brooding figure was replaced with one drawn in sharp, antagonizing angles, with the little pony figures on the ground below now reeling and looking up in horror at a sky painted in shades of black and red.

"She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her away within the moon."

The white figure came back, a flurry of colors (represented by rainbow streams) following her, and the brooding figure blew away to be replaced by a cut-out of the moon now with the bust silhouette of a sleeping pony drawn on it. The scenery changed again to show the pink figure glowing over the once again happy ponies, sun and moon drawings in the background.

"The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony was maintained in Equestria for generations after..." the narrator trailed. "This used to be where our story ended, but a thousand years later, it went on. "Over the centuries, memory of the younger sister faded. However, a prophecy was foretold: That on the longest day of the thousandth year of her exile, the stars would aid in the Mare in the Moon's escape, and she would return to once again bring about nighttime eternal. By that time though, ponykind only saw the Mare in the Moon as an old tale meant to scare children. Everypony, except for one little unicorn."

The scenery continued to shift, following along with the rest of the narration.

"The little unicorn was a student at the magicians' school in the capital, and she believed that the Mare in the Moon prophecy would come to pass. She was determined to find the Elements of Harmony, which had since been lost to time, in order to save her country from Nightmare Moon. She pleaded her quest to her sovereign and mentor, the elder sister of the day, and was sent here to Ponyville to watch over the anniversary festivities. The student was skeptical of this decision, but did her duty. There, she met five kind strangers: two Earth ponies, two pegasi, and another unicorn like herself, each different in strengths and temperment. Together they attended the celebration, whereupon the prophecy was fulfilled. Nightmare Moon descended upon the township, commanding the ponies to prepare themselves for her reign before disappearing into the dark beyond.

"Seeking the Elements of Harmony, the unicorn student and the five strangers journeyed to the Everfree Forest, the unnatural and unholy wood, heedless of the danger within. As they braved their way, Nightmare Moon sent obstacles in their way: She shattered a cliff beneath them, but they were saved by one of the Earth ponies' daring yet truthful instruction. She set a manticore upon them, but one of the pegasi tamed the beast by showing it kindness. She sent ghoulish apparitions to haunt them, but the other Earth pony banished them with songs and laughter. She caused a sea serpent to block the way, but the other unicorn ceased the creature's troubles with a generous gift. She tempted the other pegasus with promises of glory if she abandoned the quest, but the pony stayed true to her comrades.

"Finally, the six ponies reached the place of the original battle between the celestial sisters, where the Elements of Harmony were said to be kept. But they were too late, and Nightmare Moon appeared before them and smashed the artifacts to pieces, promising that the reign of the sun was over. However, the unicorn student came to a realization: The artifacts did not matter, for the spirits of the Elements existed within each of the six quest members through their virtues and comradery, and indeed, may exist within the hearts of any creature big or small. The six were no longer strangers, but friends, and the power of their friendship shone through and vanquished Nightmare Moon, just as the elder sister had before.

"The sun rose on the new day, and the elder sister arrived to hail the successful questers, and to look upon the ashes of the dark one. Small and weak amongst them was the younger sister as she had originally been, stripped of the corruption that hatred had given her. The young one quaked in terror, certain that more retribution would come. But instead, the elder sister knelt down and said:

'It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. It is time we put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?'

"The younger sister wept, begging forgiveness, and mourning the centuries apart from her family. The sisters embraced, and together with the six questers, returned to Equestria for jubilation. The sister of the night was reintroduced to her subjects, and she made a promise to them to earn their forgiveness and to restore their faith in her, never again putting selfish desires before harmony. But the student did not seem happy, and the elder sister came to her.

'Why so glum, my faithful student?' she asked. 'Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot, as you had wished?'

That's just it,' the student said. 'Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them.'

And so the sister, smiling, thus declared: 'I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville.'

The citizens cheered, and the student wept with joy.

'Oh thank you, Princess Celestia! I'll study harder than ever before.'"

The curtain finally closed as the narration finished up.

"And so today, we no longer celebrate the defeat of Nightmare Moon, but the return of Princess Luna," they said. "And for the new era brought about by the six friends and their courage."

The audience erupted into applause as the lights turned up again.

[Solisian Union]

Island

In a flash, the world around Domenica seemed to fold over, and she suddenly found herself in a new world.

It was the beach, and yet not the beach. More specifically, it was a hyper-detailed, hyper-shaded drawing of the beach on top of a wide void, not quite 3D it not 2D either, like scratchy lines resting in midair. That was the main part. But further ahead the location differed, as the white slowly faded into color and true 3D, and formed the bright, colorful, musical noise of a large island carnival held in the distance. The ferris wheel glowed against a twilight lit sky, striped tends rose beneath it, and warm, buttery smells wafted. The whole display looked like someone had oddly photoshopped a live photo into the sketch, only if photos could, you know, be real, touchable places.

Here, in this place, the sirens were louder, wailing throughout the dimension.

In the distance, someone was running at her. It looked a bit like a pencil scribble getting bigger and bigger, but quickly it took a slightly more specific form: that of a man, in racecar driver get up, wielding a huge wrench and coming right towards her.

The wounded author gasped at her changing world, and she didn't close her eyes on it, for she was, although surprised, was slightly expecting it when she drew close to the siren, which sharply wailed throughout the new dimension she found herself in.

And it surprised her even further that someone was running towards her, a certain scribble in motion, in the form of a man in a racing attire with a huge wrench. But the Filipina writer quickly thought of a plan to protect herself. She looked around and then at her things, the pens that she had and the notebook or two that she was carrying. Without delaying herself needlessly, the Filipina adjusted so that she was sitting down, her injured foot resting on the ground, away from the running man, while she opened up a notebook and began to swiftly write something down in one of the pages she had decided on writing on. And the pen she had chosen was the one devoted to magic; it showed itself to be magical because of the glowing violet aura it was producing around itself as she used it on the page she had chosen for this situation.

She ripped off the page of that one and recited what she wrote down in a loud voice,

"Cast this spell: PROPELLED FIREBALL! Target: RUNNING MAN!"

And in a second or two, a fireball burst out of the piece of paper she wrote that spell on, burning it in the process as it hurled itself in a straight arc directly towards the running man, imitating a tracer round coming out of an anti-tank gun!

[Monfrox]

Samantha wasn't really sure what to make of everything. Who was this "man" and why was he here? Or were they all "the man". She still held the BB gun, though. Well, BB gun as it was, it might work. She looked around and saw others around them too. It didn't look good, but she didn't have her pistol with her this time. Samantha racked the pump on the BB gun, took aim, and fired at one of the scribblemen.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Ponyville, Equestria

Lyra Heartstrings, the mint green unicorn who had hosted Meri and Rmw before, bounced up to the human group. [...] "Come on, come on, you can sit next to us!" Her telekinesis pulled the visitors along towards the bean bags, Starlight trotting close behind to keep an eye on things.

Amanda struggled against the spell, infuriated that that pony bitch would treat them as pull toys. "Hey! We can walk just fine!"

Sandy got Adonis' Boon up as he was being dragged along; it allowed him to dig in his heels against the spell, but after a few seconds looking like he was walking backwards against a strong wind, he relented enough to simply let himself be pulled along while he added a copy for Amanda. Holding hands, they were able to make their ways to the bean bags as though they were being forced at gunpoint, rather than being dragged bodily along. Amanda glared daggers at Lyra the whole way.

[T]he curtains on the box pulled back to reveal a colorful miniature setting made out of layered paper cut outs. The cut outs moved around on wires and gears, creating the movement of the theater. Tiny paper clouds rolled back to reveal a stylized view of the Equestrian landscape, with Ponyville, the mountains and Canterlot, and Cloudsdale all in intricate detail.

Amanda was charmed: the set-up reminded her of a kids' Christmas show. All it needed was a manger in the foreground. After a little consideration, her expression returned to neutral: for adults, it seemed rather lacking.

Starlight nudged the Belas and whispered, "I drew those!" proudly.

Amanda leaned back and turned her head to whisper back, "They're very detailed!" She wasn't sure what else to say that was both true and complimentary.

"Seeking the Elements of Harmony, the unicorn student and the five strangers journeyed to the Everfree Forest, the unnatural and unholy wood, heedless of the danger within. [...] She set a manticore upon them, but one of the pegasi tamed the beast by showing it kindness. She sent ghoulish apparitions to haunt them, but the other Earth pony banished them with songs and laughter. She caused a sea serpent to block the way, but the other unicorn ceased the creature's troubles with a generous gift.

Sandy's interest was piqued by the mention of an "unholy" area, and he grunted softly: that their religion would even have such a concept was surprising.

Amanda rolled her eyes at the various harmless threats thrown against Our Heroes, and leaned over to whisper something suitable to Sandy. She found him leaning forward intently, his hand resting on his chin, index finger almost touching his nose.

The holocam vibrated once, Damn! The memory crystal's almost full. Well, Sandy will just have to manage without the end.

"And so today, we no longer celebrate the defeat of Nightmare Moon, but the return of Princess Luna," they said. "And for the new era brought about by the six friends and their courage." The audience erupted into applause as the lights turned up again.

Amanda used the cover of applause to turn to Sandy again. She switched to whispered French, in case any of the pony spellcasters was nosy. "What did you think? It seemed a bit much 'baby's first solstice', with staging to match."

Sandy glanced sidelong at her for a while before replying in barely audible Arabic. "I'll guess it's as, uh, factual as their history permits. And the staging may be-- Their Princesses may not seek glorification the way our gods do."

Amanda gave him a funny look, but drew the right conclusion, leaning back to whisper (in English/ModPon) to Starlight. "How long ago did Princess Luna return?"

[Giovenith]

Paperworld

Domenica's enemy burst into flames and quickly shriveled away as easily as the paper he was made from. But in the distance, several more squiggly figures charged, apparently undeterred by her destruction of their comrade.

Meanwhile, at the carnival game, the BB bullet shot through one of the squiggle men, briefly staggering him back. He looked down at the hole in his chest before continuing to close in on the group. Ms. Prism was on the crowd in a flash, two pairs of scissors twirling, but she quickly disappeared in the frenzy.

Back over by Domenica, something else had appeared to her, this time by her feet: A small, white, pudgie creature roughly the size of a little dog, with multiple legs and no eyes. It was a giant tardigrade, otherwise known as a water bear. It gave a friendly but frantic toot and motioned for her to follow it away from the ambush.


Ponyville

"Hm," Starlight thought as she stood up, the rest of the crowd dispersing around them. "Probably about five, seven years now. She's made good progress too, though we don't see her very much since we're all usually asleep when she's working."

The student turned to the other humanoid next to her, and was a bit taken back to find that Giovenith was sniffing and dabbing her eyes. Grimacing, Starlight nudged the girl awkwardly.

"Hey, uh, are you okay there?" she asked, carefully. "You're not hurt or something, are you?"

Giovenith shook her head, wiping away a tear with a sleeve. "I'm okay. I just feel so sorry for Princess Celestia. She protected everyone first even though it meant losing the one who was supposed to stay with her. She put all of you before staving off the futility of eternity. She did the right thing, she's a good and strong goddess."

Starlight blinked, a bit confused and still awkward. "Well, yeah, yeah she did. It's okay though! They're together again now, it had a happy ending."

"That's right," Goldie helped the godling up with a smile. "There's no more need for tears. Would a treat make you feel all better?"

Giovenith sniffed, smiled, and nodded. Goldie pulled Lyra and Bon Bon aside and waved them off towards the snack table with the girl, before standing beside Starlight to regard the humans.

"It's so nice to meet you," she said. "Your names are Sandy and Amanda, right? Starlight told me that you love to read. Are you scholars?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

Ponyville, Equestria

"Hm," Starlight thought as she stood up, the rest of the crowd dispersing around them. "Probably about five, seven years now. She's made good progress too, though we don't see her very much since we're all usually asleep when she's working."

"It's contemporary?!" Sandy turned to stare back at the now-dark puppet theater. "That... entirely changes my interpretation of..." He trailed off, gazing through the theater. Amanda stood and extended a hand to help him up. Eventually, he noticed, and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "How long ago did Twilight undergo apoth-- become a Princess?"

"I just feel so sorry for Princess Celestia. She protected everyone first even though it meant losing the one who was supposed to stay with her. She put all of you before staving off the futility of eternity." […] Goldie pulled Lyra and Bon Bon aside and waved them off towards the snack table with the girl, before standing beside Starlight to regard the humans.

As Goldie talked to the other Equestrians, Amanda turned to Sandy and mouthed, "the futility of eternity?" to him.

He shrugged and shook his head, just as confused as she was, replying with a cock of the head and a nod in the godling's direction, before tapping his chest. He'd talk to her.

"It's so nice to meet you," she said. "Your names are Sandy and Amanda, right? Starlight told me that you love to read. Are you scholars?"

Amanda smiled back, lips pressed tightly together in amusement. "No, I just like to read. Many of us do. Now Sandy..." He turned to her husband, a warm glow starting to fill her face.

"...is a historian." He continued, turning from Amanda's face to Goldie. "I study and teach at a university, a uh, school for adults. I'm as scholarly as they come: reading and writing are my life."

[Giovenith]

Ponyville

"Oh, probably about two, three years ago," Starlight answered their first question, setting the bean bags out of the way to the far side of the room. "It was a pretty big shock to us all, but believe me, according to everypony in this town she's still as much of a neurotic egghead as she was before." She said this with a sly but gentle smile that assured it was a friendly mockery. "You can put the wings on the nerd, but you can't take the nerd out of the pony."

"Nerds make the best princesses," Goldie said, tilting her head with a smile. She turned her attention back to the Belas, her smile becoming more warm and wide-eyed. "So you're a teacher? How lovely."

"You don't say? My dad is a historian too. He's the head of my hometown's preservation society," said Starlight. She considered for a moment, and rubbed the back of her head. "We actually, uh, just recently reconnected. He can get a bit overly caught up in the past sometimes."

[Northwest Slobovia]

Ponyville, Equestria

"You don't say? My dad is a historian too. He's the head of my hometown's preservation society," said Starlight. She considered for a moment, and rubbed the back of her head. "We actually, uh, just recently reconnected. He can get a bit overly caught up in the past sometimes."

"Oh?" That got a raised eyebrow. "A bit too dedicated to the subject?"

Amanda gave him a playful nudge, grinning. "That would be you, dear."

He turned to her just long enough to reply, momentarily raising a wry corner of his mouth. "Never denied it." And then back to Starlight. "But how so caught up? Too much time deciding which old buildings need to be renovated?" Or is Willow just one of many time travelers here? They can cross the Void, and turning back the clock isn't that much more work.

[Giovenith]

Ponyville

Starlight rolled her eyes. "He once tried declare several shops in our town as 'sites of historical significance' to the point where nopony could actually shop at them, and tried to get everypony to eat this rock hard form of bread because the founders ate it," she explained. "Plus he tends to get stuck in my past and still treat me like a baby. Don't worry, we worked through it."

Goldie snickered at this, eliciting a good natured smile from Starlight. Soon though, tons of other citizens began to crowd around, all staring up at the couple.

"I uh, guess we won't hog you anymore," said Starlight, backing up with a smile. "If you need anything, just give a holler."

[Solisian Union]

Paperworld

Domenica was about to cast another spell, to write on another page of her notebook, and to stand her ground against the paper threats that were coming at her, if not for the gestures of the tiny creature which appeared by her feet, her eyes tracking it as her body automatically followed it and her hands firmly holding her things closely to her breast; and she forced her legs to get moving with the strength of mighty pistons, despite the injury of one of her feet, her mind ignoring it as it overwhelmed her senses with adrenaline, her inner magic powers doing their best to keep her focused on getting out of her alive, just as her thoughts wandered towards interpreting the shot which she heard come from the carnival game, and trying to make sense as well of the sudden presence of a female creature, one that pounced upon the crowd, and vanished into the mass.

But most of all, she was just glad to follow a friendly little thing out of the way of the coming mob.

[Monfrox]

Paperworld

"Oh no..."

Surely the BB gun had been useless, but Samantha had been willing to take the gamble. Unfortunately, it did not pay off. She backed up, debating whether to swing wildly or to try to get another shot in on a different area. But Ms. Prism went all-in, and Samantha was not worried about her in the slightest given her behavior. Instead, she wondered about where the other one went. She looked around for Sallow real quick, noticing another woman running off in a different direction with some kind of weird, large wormy thing.