One year ago in Equestria...
A snow-white unicorn with a triple-gem cutie mark closed her shop for an early lunch so she could walk down to the old library. Rarity didn't know what to expect when she got there. She didn't even know if Twilight would be inside or not. All she knew was that her friend, who had been gone for several weeks, showed up at her boutique without warning twenty minutes ago. She told Rarity that she needed to get to the library as soon as possible, where Twilight would explain to her why. Then as quick as she appeared, she took off.
Rarity arrived at the library and knocked on the door with a front hoof. When no answer came from inside, she used her magic to slowly open the door. She peered inside, but could see nothing because all of the shades were drawn. With a little trepidation, she stepped through the doorway.
"Hello?" Rarity called into the darkness as she closed the door behind her. "Twilight?"
"Sur-PRISE!!!" a pink pony exclaimed as the lights came on, loud noisemakers were set off and confetti was fired into the air. Rarity jumped a little and skittered backward into the door.
"Pinkie Pie!" she yelled, "You scared the living daylights out of me! What in Equestria are you doing here?!"
"Well I thought I was supposed to be throwing somepony a surprise party!" Pinkie explained. "But I guess it's not for you either. Twilight wasn't very clear on the details."
"Oh, my," a timid yellow pegasus spoke up from behind a table stacked high with dusty books. "Pinkie, you scared her more than me or Applejack."
"I was not scared, Fluttershy, just startled," Rarity told her before she realized, "Wait a second, you're here too? And Applejack?"
"Ya got that right," the country pony said as she trotted down the stairs to join the other three. "Jus' as Ah thought. Everythin' here's been untouched ever since Twilight left way back when. Did she tell ya ta come over here too?"
"Yes, but I cannot possibly imagine why."
"Well, yer guess is as good as mine," AJ said.
"Wait a second!" Pinkie interjected. "If Twilight told all of us to come to the library, then shouldn't Rainbow Dash be here, too?"
"I would have thought that she would be the first one here," Fluttershy reasoned.
Just then everypony heard a rush of air from outside, followed by a loud thump against the door. "Ha! Made it!" came Rainbow Dash's muffled voice from the other side.
"Speak of the-" Applejack started.
But no sooner than she started to speak, a bright light glowed in the middle of the room. Then a brilliant white flash blinded the ponies for a second. When they could see again, they looked where the light had been and saw their long-absent friend, purple wings spread, wearing a set of saddlebags emblazoned with her six-pointed star cutie mark.
The rainbow-maned mare burst through the door, saw the purple alicorn and stopped. Her mouth dropped open and she could only mutter, "No way..."
"Not quick enough, Dash!" Twilight said playfully.
"Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed and tackled her to the floor with a hug. "You're back, you're back!"
Everypony followed suit and hugged her together. Twilight, stuck in the middle of her friends' affections, was probably the happiest of all. "It's so good to see you again, girls!" she said. "I've missed you all so much!"
"We've missed you too!" Fluttershy said as everyone peeled themselves off of Twilight.
"So, Princess," Rainbow Dash said, nudging her, "what the hoof have you been up to? Last we saw you, you said you had some work to do on Earth with Lorenzo."
"Is he here, too?" Rarity asked.
"No, he isn't," Twilight answered. "He, Princess Celestia and I have all been very, very busy. But I'm happy to say that all of our hard work has finally paid off!"
"Well that's great, Twi," Applejack said. "Does that mean you're here ta stay?"
"How come you brought us all here just to tell us that?" Rainbow asked.
"Did you bring any snacks?" Pinkie inquired.
"Hold on, girls!" Twilight said with a raised hoof. "There's a lot I need to tell you, and we don't have a lot of time. Just let me explain and you'll be ready by the time we go."
"Go?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Go where?"
"Princess Celestia must need us in Canterlot, as per usual," Rarity said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Not exactly, Rarity," Twilight clarified. "This time, I'm the one who needs you."
"Well, wherever you need us, count us in!" Dash said as she flapped her wings excitedly and hovered above everypony. "We go where you go, just name the place and we'll be there!"
"I thought you'd say that," Twilight said as she used her magic to open her saddlebags and lift out five bundles of paper tied in red string. She laid them on the floor in front of her as she proclaimed, "Pack your bags, girls! We're going to Earth!"
"Earth?" Applejack asked. "Are ya serious?"
"Absolutely!"
"When are we leavin'?" AJ asked again.
"Tonight!"
"Tonight!?" Everypony echoed loudly.
"Talk about short notice!" the country pony exclaimed. "How're we supposed ta get ready before then?"
"Don't worry," Twilight assured her, "I have it all covered in your itinerary!"
"Well thank ya, princess of organization..." Applejack muttered under her breath.
"I understand how overwhelming it must feel right now," Twilight said, "but I couldn't wait another minute on Earth without my friends. The Earth-Equestria Resolution literally just became law on Earth hours ago, which means I can finally give you all these!"
Twilight motioned to the bundles of paper. Each packet had one of her friends' names written on it. She tapped a front hoof on one of the tied bundles and said, "These are your boarding passes for Chalk 815, the first commuter Blink transport to Earth. It leaves tonight at nine o'clock."
"Nine o'clock?" Rarity asked. "Why, that only gives us about six hours to get ready, eight at the most! How will I be able to decide what to pack for the trip before then?"
"You won't have to," Twilight explained, "because I have it all outlined in your instructions: what to bring, what not to bring and things to expect on Earth, plus travel fare and directions to your final destinations."
"Our final destinations?" Fluttershy asked. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, there's another thing," Twilight said. "I kind of already made special plans for us. Each of you has a special assignment at a certain location on Earth, where you will spend an extended amount of time assisting the humans."
"Whoa, back up," Rainbow Dash cut in. "What do you mean, 'extended' amount of time? That sounds like a lot."
"The decision to go is completely up to you," Twilight said, "but if you do decide to then I'm hoping that you will stay on Earth for at least six months."
Everypony let out shocked gasps, as if their friend had just asked them to gallop to the end of the world. Rainbow jumped high into the air and bellowed, "WHAT?! Six months?!"
"That's if you decide to go. But I really hope you'll consider going, because either way I need to go back to Earth."
"So let me get this straight," Rainbow Dash said as she hovered above Twilight. "One day you come to us saying you have to go to Earth with Lorenzo for awhile, and you end up going away for weeks! Then from outta nowhere you show up again, just to tell us that you're going back? And you want us all to go with you for months away from home?! To drop everything and go, just like that?!"
"Yeah, Ah don't know, Twi," Applejack said with apprehension. "That's a long time ta be gone. Ah mean, Ah've still got a whole farm here ta manage."
"Yes, Twilight, and what about my boutique?" Rarity asked.
"And my animals?" Fluttershy concurred.
"Don't forget my weather detail!" Rainbow Dash said.
"And what's Ponyville to do without a Pinkie Pie?!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Girls, I know this is a lot that I'm asking of you, more in fact than anything we've ever done together," Twilight explained. "But this is bigger than parasprites, bigger than the Crystal Empire, even bigger than Night Mare Moon. This is Planet Earth, the human homeworld. And the entire planet is in trouble. A lot of bad things have been happening to the humans, some of which are complete mysteries even to them. It's been Lorenzo's wish that with our help, our natural abilities and fresh perspective on the situation at least some of the damages can be repaired."
"Um, no offense, Princess," Dash said, "but how do you suppose we do that? I mean, what could we possibly do that they haven't already figured out how to do with their fancy technology and stuff?"
"I've often asked myself that, Rainbow," Twilight said. "I've learned all about what the humans have done and what they're capable of. They may have built machines that tell them where the clouds are in the sky and what they look like, but they can't fly up to one and stomp some rain out of it. They may know what the apple is made of and why it grows better in some climates than others, but they can't find fertile soil just by scooping some dirt up and looking at it with the naked eye. And they might have mastered electricity and learned how to use it throughout their daily lives, but they can't generate it out of their own body. These are our natural talents. This is what we bring to the table."
Twilight took a moment to look at all of her friends as she told them, "When the EER was ratified, another special consideration was made. As of now, I am the Equestrian ambassador and leader of all ponykind on Earth. That means my word on Earth is as good as Celestia's word in Equestria. When I speak there, everypony listens. I have pledged to the humans the full support of Equestria during their difficult times."
Everypony was silent for a moment as Twilight let the words sink in. Then she continued, "I wouldn't have done that if I didn't have faith that you all, my friends, could do your part to help the human race. That's why I'm asking for your help once again. We have accomplished so much together: taught others the true value of friendship, thwarted the plots of tyrants, and even saved a kingdom from certain destruction. But this task will be the greatest and most difficult that we will have ever undertaken: to save a nation and, if necessary, an entire planet. Can I still expect you all to stand by me as we take this on?"
For a few seconds nopony said or did anything. Then they all looked at each other and one by one they smiled, as if they knew exactly what each other was thinking. They all looked back at Twilight and nodded their heads in agreement.
"Thank you, everypony. Now, first things first. Fluttershy?" Twilight began as she levitated one of the bundles and passed it to her. "Included with your boarding pass are instructions for getting to your final destination. It's a zoo, where many of the animals are sick. A lot of animals on Earth are getting sick and no one knows why. The humans need someone who understands animals the way you do to help them get better."
"Oh my," Fluttershy said as the caught the papers with a front hoof. "That sounds like a big job, but I'll do my best to help the poor creatures."
"Atta girl," Twilight said before switching her focus to the cyan pegasus. "Rainbow Dash, you have worked under Spitfire's direction before. Right now she's on Earth working a special assignment that will hopefully repair some of the savage weather patterns the planet is experiencing. I would like you to join up with her and assist with the mission. First follow my instructions, then when you are asked to provide orders show the humans the additional papers."
"All right! I was wondering where she went all this time." Dash snatched the floating papers out of the air and scoffed, "So, weather detail? Easy peasy lemon squeezy!"
"I sure hope so. Now, Rarity," Twilight started as she picked up the next bundle, "you are without a doubt one of the best seamstresses in all of Equestria. I need you to bring your skills to Manhattan and-"
"Um, Twilight?" Rarity interrupted and asked, "I'm sorry, dear, but did you mean to say Manehattan?"
"No, Manhattan," she clarified. "It's an island in the northern United States."
"Ah, I see," the white unicorn said. "What a clever pun. Anyhow, please continue."
"As I was saying, you're going to Manhattan to adapt your fashions to the human race. You're also going to see if anyone who needs clothing can afford it. Many of the humans are too poor to afford the clothes they need, especially during the winter months."
"Good gracious!" Rarity exclaimed as she used her blue magic to take the papers from Twilight's pink magic grip. "Not enough clothes for everyone? Sounds like a job for generosity to me."
"I agree," Twilight said before she moved on to the country pony. "Applejack, I'm putting your green hoof to work. There's a region in Midwestern America that the humans call the Heartland. This is where they usually grow all of their food, but for some reason their crops are failing. I'm counting on you to work with the farmers and restore the dying crops necessary to feed the population."
"You got it, Twi," AJ said as she bit the papers in midair. She set them down at her hooves and added, "Ah'm ready ta get mah hooves dirty and help."
"And last but certainly not least," Twilight said as she picked up the last bundle of papers, "Pinkie Pie."
"Present!" she piped up.
"Pinkie, Lorenzo has told me that most people on Earth aren't as happy as they used to be. It's probably on account of everything their planet is experiencing right now. But whatever the case may be, I need you to connect with the humans - especially the kids - and help them find reasons to smile again."
"Um, no offense, Twilight," the pink pony said, "but if you want to help out the baby goats, shouldn't that be a job for Fluttershy?"
"What? Goats?" She thought for a second and added, "Oh, goats and kids, I get it. No, I meant children, as in human girls and boys. Kids is short for children on Earth."
"Ohhh!" Pinkie said in realization as she bit the papers and put them down. "That makes more sense. Okie dokie lokie!"
"Great!" Twilight said. "That should be everything!"
"Wait a second!" Pinkie interjected, "That's not everything! What are you going to be doing while we're off saving the humans?"
"Well," she explained, "since I'm the Equestrian authority on Earth, most of my work will be at the United States' capital. It'll be government work mostly, not nearly as interesting as what you all will be doing. But remember that I'm just one step away from meeting with the top human leaders. So if you have something you need to pass on to them, just let me know and I'll carry the message."
"But if we're hither, thither and yon all over the country," Applejack said, "then how're we gonna talk to ya?"
"I've got that covered, too," Twilight assured her. "I have instructions in your packet for how to buy and use a cellular telephone, and for establishing an email account."
"Email? Do what now?"
"That means electronic mail," she clarified. "It's how most of the humans communicate over long distances. It's not dragon fire, but it's still reliable."
"Hey, speaking of dragon fire," Rainbow Dash said, "how come Spike isn't here with you?"
"Spike's on his way from Canterlot right now," Twilight said. "He wanted to see you all off." She stopped to stifle a yawn, then continued, "Whew, I'm exhausted. That reminds me, everypony should go home and try to get some sleep before we leave tonight. There's a huge time difference between right now in Ponyville and the time of day on Earth at the Blink Facility. I'm normally asleep right now."
"How big of a difference is the time?" Rarity asked.
"It's about thirteen hours later there than it is here."
"Good heavens!" she exclaimed. "You're absolutely right, Twilight! We should go rest for awhile. A pony needs her beauty sleep, after all." Rarity fluffed one of her curls with a hoof.
"So what's the plan, Princess?" Dash asked.
"Well, it's about noon now," Twilight said. "You all should go home, get a little shuteye, read over my instructions and get your bags packed. Then be back here no later than six o'clock so we can walk to the Blink Facility together. Don't oversleep, or else we'll have to leave without you."
"Don't you worry, Twi!" Applejack declared. "We'll be here!"
"Great! Then I'll see everypony at six!
Twilight's friends took turns hugging her again and telling her how much they missed her before they all filed out of the door. When she was alone, she trotted upstairs and looked out her window to watch everypony walk home. At that moment she remembered the events that brought them together: how Princess Celestia had assigned her to Ponyville to make friends, how she met her friends, how they worked together to stop Night Mare Moon's return and the lessons she learned along the way. Since then they have all learned more about themselves and each other, which made their friendship even stronger. Now she feels as if she is following in her teacher's hoofsteps: now she is the princess, and she is putting the same faith Celestia has in her into her most trusted friends.
All she hoped for was that the humans would try to exercise a similar faith.
The intrepid group of friends walked down the winding path at the outskirts of Ponyville. With all of their companions in tow, the group seemed to resemble a small parade of characters: Applejack trotted along with her siblings Big Mac and Applebloom, plus her Granny Smith; Rainbow Dash walked with her number one fan Scootaloo, who pulled a couple of suitcases in her wagon behind her; Rarity with her sister Sweetie Belle, plus the doting dragon Spike, who carried her numerous suitcases; Pinkie Pie hopped along with all the Cakes in tow, Cup, Carrot, Pound and Pumpkin; Fluttershy with her furry companion Angel Bunny tagging along; and out in front, Twilight Sparkle, leading everypony along.
As the group crossed into the bright white light of the modern streetlamps lining the path, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "Here are the streetlamps, everypony! The Blink Facility is just ahead!"
"They sure make 'em bright, don't they?" Applejack remarked as she squinted in the strong light.
"They sure do!" Pinkie said as she climbed up a lamppost and tapped on the shining glass. "What kind of lightning bugs are they keeping in here?"
"Pinkie, come down from there!" Twilight called up to her. As her friends slid down the lamppost she explained, "Those are electric lamps. The Facility supplies power to them."
"Electric, huh?" Rainbow nudged Scootaloo and remarked, "Check it out, the stuff we use in Cloudsdale for the storm clouds is the same thing the humans put in their lamps!"
"I know, right?" Scootaloo said. "What'll they think of next?"
"That's just a glimpse of what's on Earth, girls," Twilight said. She then glanced behind her and saw Spike straining Rarity's teetering tower of bags like a pack mule. She stopped to let the group walk ahead a few paces, then started walking next to Spike.
"Spike, you shouldn't have to carry Rarity's bags for her," she said. "There's still room on Scootaloo's wagon with Pinkie's bags."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Spike said as he dreamily gazed at Rarity, who turned to look at him and smiled.
"It was so gracious of you to help," she said. "I just wish I could take my Spikey-Wikey to Earth with me."
"Yeah," Spike said in a more dejected tone, "me too..."
"I'm sorry you can't go to Earth yet, Spike," Twilight said. "It was hard enough to get to approval for the ponies to go. But once we get dragons and the rest of Equestria's creatures approved, I'll make sure you're the first in line!"
Spike smiled. "Thanks, Twilight," he said. "There's no rush on that, though. After all, someone needs to watch Owliscious, Tank and Gummy while you're all away."
Fluttershy trotted up to them and spoke up, "You're free to stay at my cottage with them anytime, Spike. Angel Bunny could use the company too, right Angel?" She she turned to look at Angel, who wore kind of a scowl on his face.
Everypony walked along for another minute or two and chatted amongst themselves as they watched their shadows stretch out and crisscross each other in the light of each streetlamp. Fluttershy was looking down at her own shadow as it did this when she asked, "Um, Twilight? You've been around humans, right? I mean, other than Lorenzo?"
"I have," she answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, uh," she started. After a moment of thought, she continued, "Oh, I don't really know how to ask this, so I'll just ask. Are they nice? At least as nice as Lorenzo is?"
"I suppose so," Twilight said. "I honestly don't think I've met anypon- I mean, anybody as nice as Lorenzo, but the people I've met have been friendly enough. All I can say for sure is that people are different."
"Just like how ponies different, right?" Applejack asked Twilight.
"Just like that," she answered.
"Ah don' think we got anythin' to worry 'bout, Fluttershy," Applejack reassured her apprehensive friend. "Ah'm sure we're gonna make friends out of at least some of the humans we meet. Even if we can't make friends with everyone, that's okay too. After all, there's always gonna be at least one bad apple in the bushel."
"That is true," Rarity said. "I'd venture to guess that for every ten people we see, there will be at least one human equivalent of, say, a Prince Blueblood."
"Yeah!" Pinkie piped up. "Or a Trixie!"
"Or a Flim an' Flam," said Applejack.
"Or a Night Mare Moon," Rainbow Dash said.
Everypony fell silent at the mention of the last name. Fluttershy's eyes went wide and her pupils grew smaller. "Oh, my," she said, her voice as tiny as a mouse. "I-I sure h-hope there's not one of th-th-those on Earth."
"Now I can be quite sure that there isn't one of those on Earth," Twilight said. "If there were, I'm sure I would have run into her by- hey, everypony, look!"
Not far ahead of them was a gray stone path. It connected to a set of wide stone steps that led up a small hill. At the top of the hill was a large building with a domed roof. More of the Earthling electric lights shined upon the wooden Equestrian-designed building. The group could see lots of other ponies walking up the steps into a few arched entryways into the building. Next to the path ahead of them was a large wooden sign with deep-carved letters. It read,
PONYVILLE BLINK FACILITY,
YOUR GATEWAY TO EARTH.
"We're here," Twilight said.
At that moment on the other side of the Blink Facility property, an impatient businesspony and his assistant waited to be let into the building through a secure access door. The businesspony knocked loudly on the door for the third time to be let inside.
Filthy Rich's patience was growing thin. He was waiting for nearly fifteen minutes for somepony to let him inside the building he paid for with his own bits. As the principal investor in the Blink Facility project, he did not enjoy waiting on other ponies to get inside of his own building.
Finally, the door opened and an earth stallion with a yellow coat and silvery mane stepped out.
"You're late, Graham," Filthy said sternly.
"My apologies," Graham answered as he adjusted the square glasses on his face with a hoof, then held the door open for the impatient pony. "Please come in. Everything is set up for our tour. I guess I was so wrapped up in the preparations that I forgot which entrance you'd be waiting at."
"Uh huh," Filthy muttered as he trotted inside with his unicorn assistant. "Copeland?"
"Yes, sir?" His assistant replied.
"Pay close attention to what you see in here," his supervisor instructed. "Write down anything we might be able to minimize or eliminate entirely."
"Ready, sir," Copeland said as he magically levitated a notepad and a quill.
As the three of them walked down a long corridor, Filthy remarked, "So this is the fancy Blink Facility, huh? Doesn't look like much to me."
"Have you not been here before, Filth- er, Mr. Rich?" Graham asked.
He shook his head and answered, "Nope. I'm a busy pony, Graham. I don't have time to admire every little PR tool I build around here."
"I'd hardly call the Blink Facility a public relations tool, Mr. Rich," he said. "For the last few months the Facility has been the gateway to planet Earth, home of the human race. Have you ever seen a human before, Mr. Rich?"
"Can't say that I have," he replied curtly. "What's your point?"
"They're quite the remarkable species, sir," Graham said. "I have personally worked with Dr. Lorenzo Faust, the man who created the technology that creates the Blink itself. Their knowledge of science and energy is leaps and bounds ahead of anything we've been capable of."
"Is that right?" Filthy asked, not really paying attention. As they continued to walk through the service corridors he looked around and inquired, "So this Blink thing is a transport, right? Where is it and how exactly does it leave the building?"
"In time, sir, I'll show you," Graham said as they came upon a door at the end of the hallway. He pressed a front hoof against the bar latch and pushed the door open. "Our tour begins here, at the ticketing and check-in area."
The ticketing area was a noisy open area where several ponies milled about. Its construction was a blend of contemporaty Earth and classic Equestria. The hoofsteps of the hurrying ponies clicked on the smooth granite floor and echoed throughout the spacious area high above their heads, where wooden rafters crisscrossed like barn beams. At the front, several sallyports let in ponies who either stood in line to purchase tickets or check in their boarding passes at the booths on the other side or relaxed on the couches in the middle of the area.
Filthy looked around and noticed the number of security ponies inside the building. Each of the four sallyports had a pair of guards posted, one on either side of the entryway. "Graham," he said, "why do we have all of these security guards in here? Is having them all here really necessary?"
"Absolutely, Mr. Rich," Graham answered. "Their services are critical in maintaining the integrity of the Blink project."
"Hmm." Filthy leaned over to Copeland and muttered, "I didn't throw so many of my bits into this place just so they could employ so many ponies who stand around and do nothing. Remind me to prune this 'security detail' of theirs, will you?"
"I've already made a note of it, sir," he replied as he finished passing his quill over the notepad he held in midair.
As the three of them observed the multitude of ponies filing into the ticketing area, the six guardians of Equestria and their entourage entered through one of the sallyports. "All right, girls," Twilight said to her friends, "have your tickets ready. All we have to do is go to that check-in desk over there and-"
"Hey everypony, look!"
Twilight's instructions were cut off by a mare who spotted the group and caught the attention of everypony in the ticketing area. "It's Princess Twilight and her friends!" she called out. "They're going to Earth!"
"Uh oh," Applejack said. "Looks like we're gonna be real popular tonight."
The other awestruck ponies clamored around them. The air around the group was a flurry of questions about their travel plans and excited remarks about their own. Twilight and her friends politely pushed themselves through the torrent for a few minutes until two burly stallions in security uniforms arrived and put themselves between the two groups.
"All right, listen up, everypony," a brown security stallion said firmly. "The princess and her friends are going the same place you are. If y'all can't back up give them some space then we're gonna have a situation on our hooves."
"That's right," a gray security stallion agreed. "A disturbance like that inside the secure area is a direct violation of Blink Facility protocol and will not be taken lightly. So please back away and let everypony get where they need to be. Move along."
A couple of ponies uttered disappointed moans, but nonetheless the crowd was compliant. Everypony backed off and resumed what they were doing earlier. Brown turned to Twilight and asked, "Is everything alright, Your Highness?"
"Quite alright," she replied. "Thank you, sirs, you did your job very well."
"I think it would be best if we escorted you all to the chamber ourselves," Gray said. "Everypony please follow us and have your tickets ready at the check-in counter."
The group followed their escorts to the long, wooden check-in desk. Across the room, Filthy Rich observed the security ponies' efforts. He leaned over to his assistant at his side and caught his attention. "Copeland?"
"Yes, sir?"
"About the last note I told you to make?"
"The one about cutting the security detail, sir?"
"Let's forget about that one."
"Right, sir."
The security ponies brought them to a counter where they presented their paperwork. One by one, they checked in for the first of several transports that would be leaving that night. The ticketing area became nosier by the minute as more ponies entered the building to check in or purchase tickets. Finally, Rarity checked in and they were all cleared to move forward.
"Well, I suppose this is goodbye for now," Rarity said to Twilight and her other friends. She tightly hugged her little sister. "Sweetie Belle, tell mother and father I'll miss you all dearfully."
"I will," she replied.
"And please make sure Opal gets her weekly spa treatment," she added.
"Of course, Rarity," she said.
"Don't forget her mani-pedi's as well!" she continued.
"All right already!" Sweetie said in exasperation.
Applejack hugged Applebloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith. "Ya'll take good care of the farm and Winona while Ah'm away. An' as soon as Ah kin help them humans get their crops growin' again, Ah'll be comin' on home."
"You can do it, sis!" Applebloom said. "Why, you kin practically plant some wood an' nails an' grow a barn!"
"And ain't nopony kin grow food like the Apple family," Granny said. "You show 'em how it's done!"
"Eeyup!" Big Mac agreed.
The Cakes took turns hugging Pinkie Pie. "Goodbye, Pinkie," Carrot Cake said. "Come back soon."
"We hope you make lots of friends," Cup Cake said.
"Miss you," Pumpkin Cake started.
"Pinkie," Pound Cake finished.
"Aww!" Pinkie exclaimed and hugged all of them at once. "I'll miss you all so much! Twilight says I can still write to you even on Earth, so I Pinkie primise to write you all lots and lots!"
Rainbow Dash ruffled Scootaloo's mane with a front hoof. "Take care of yourself, kid," she said.
"Thanks," Scootaloo answered. "I will."
"And remember, I'm not going away forever," she said, "so I'm gonna expect you to remind everypony of my awesomeness even when I'm not in Equestria!"
"Are you kidding?!" the little pegasus exclaimed. "Forgetting how awesome you are is about as easy as forgetting about the sonic rainboom!"
The two of them laughed. Then Scootallo asked, "Hey, Rainbow?"
"Yeah, Scoot?"
She wrapped her forelegs around her idol's neck and pushed her face into her multicolored mane. "Come home soon, will you?"
Rainbow Dash smiled, put one of her forelegs around her and said, "I will."
Fluttershy took off her saddlebags and put them on a luggage cart one of the security ponies brought for them. As other bags were piled upon it, she looked at Twilight and asked, "You're really not coming with us?"
Applejack tossed one of Rarity's suitcases onto the cart. "Can't ya get a ticket at one of them other desks?" Applejack echoed hopefully.
"I'm afraid not, girls." Twilight said. "Today's transports sold out before the ink on the EER could dry. But don't you worry, I'll be in Washington sitting by my email and phone by the time you get yours set up."
"Well, ya better be!" Applejack said. "Starting another life on another world ain't gonna be easy."
"I promise, Applejack," she assured her friend, "whenever you need me, just call or write and I'll answer right away. I'll even make time to come and see all of you. Now you girls need to get moving, you still need to go through a security check before the transport leaves. Safe travels, everypony!"
The five travelers waved and said their final goodbyes to their loved ones, then followed their security escort as they joined a line of ponies waiting to have their bags searched. At the same time, Graham, Filthy and Copeland walked ahead of them to observe the next part of the process. Graham brought them to another desk that served as a work station for the inspectors.
"So what's going on over here?" Filthy asked as he saw Blink Facility staff opening ponies' luggage and looking through the contents.
"This, Mr. Rich, is the baggage security area," Graham explained. "Our staff carefully inspects each piece of luggage that is brought into the Blink chamber to ensure that nopony brings any prohibited materials to Earth. This includes but is not limited to animals, large amounts of metal, fruits, vegetables and other consumables. We try to be as thorough and as quick as possible to expedite their waiting time."
Filthy looked at the line and frowned. "It looks like your baggage search has hit a snag, Graham," he said. "The line's not moving."
Meanwhile at the head of the line, an inspector patiently searched through a third piece of Rarity's luggage. Rainbow Dash grumbled, "Oh, come on, Rarity! Eight suitcases?! Seriously?!"
"I don't see what the fuss is about," Rarity reasoned. "I followed Twilight's packing instructions to the letter."
"But look at what's happening!" Rainbow exclaimed. "You're holding up the line with all of your stuff! We were supposed to pack light for this trip. I mean, even Pinkie settled on bringing just two suitcases."
"Only the barest of party planning essentials!" Pinkie remarked.
Just ahead of Rarity's pile was Pinkie and her two suitcases, each of them with an inspector pulling out all kinds of objects.
"Let's see here," one said to himself. "Here's some confetti..."
"Some balloons..." the other remarked.
"Streamers, paper plates..."
"A ball..."
"Pin-the-tail-on-the-pony..."
"Another ball..."
"Pinata..."
"Another ball..."
"Some eye patches..."
"One more ball..."
"A baker's dozen of cupcakes," one of them finished, "and that's it."
"So is everything okie dokie lokie?" Pinkie asked.
"Pretty much," one of them said as he and his coworker packed everything up, "except for these cupcakes. Blink Facility regulations prohibit them inside the transport chamber. Sorry."
"Oh," Pinkie said. "Well, can my friends and I each have one before we go in? We'll eat them before we leave, and you guys can keep the rest!"
"Well, little lady, that's mighty nice of you," he replied. "Sure, that's okay. Here you go."
The inspector divied the cupcakes up between Pinkie and her four friends, then took the rest back to his station. As he munched on one he offered the box's contents to Graham and his visitors. "Gentlecolts, a cupcake?"
"Sure, I'll take one," Graham said. "Would you like one, Mr. Rich, Mr. Copeland?"
"Okay," Copeland replied as he magically picked one up and took a bite.
"No, thank you," Filthy answered. "I'd like for us to move on, please."
"Certainly," Graham said through a mouthful of cupcake. He finished and continued, "Let me take you this way."
While the three left through a secure staff exit, Pinkie's and Rarity's bags were loaded back onto the luggage cart. The group gathered their luggage and trotted toward the transport waiting area down a long, wide hallway. They walked with the other travelers as they finished their luggage checks and listened as they chatted with each other about their future plans. One family of earth ponies walked alongside them as a red filly asked her pink mother questions about their final destination.
"So they have the same kind of food there, right?" The little one asked.
"Yes, darling, I'm quite sure they do," her mother answered.
"And they have places where we can play?"
"Mhmm."
"Mommy," she asked in more of a concerned tone, "will there be other ponies to play with there?"
Her mother was silent for a moment, then she said, "I don't know, sweetie. There might be later on, but we're some of the first ponies to go to Earth. You can play with your brother."
"But he's just a foal!" she exclaimed.
"You can play with me and Daddy," her mother reasoned.
"It's not the same," she pouted. "I just want somepony my age to play with."
Applejack trotted up alongside them and remarked, "Well, somepony sure sounds excited about going to Earth!" she looked at the little filly and asked, "Are you excited?"
She nodded.
"What's your name, sugarcube?" She asked. "Ah'm Applejack."
"My name's Tulip," the little filly answered.
"Well Tulip, Ah can tell ya that mah friend just came back from Earth an' told me she had such a good time that she wanted all of us ta go back with her," Applejack told her. "So here we are, all mah friends and Ah, goin' to Earth for the first time. Are you maybe a little scared about goin'?"
"Yeah, a little."
"Well, Ah'm a little scared, too. But don't ya worry. Earth may be a strange and new place, but it's not dangerous. My friend would've told me if it was. She said a lot of the humans there are nice. And before ya know it, other fillies her age'll be there, too."
Tulip looked up at Applejack with hopeful eyes. "You think so?" She asked.
Applejack smiled at her and said, "Ah know so."
Shortly they all reached the terminal at the end of the hall. In the wide open atrium were several couches lined up where ponies sat to chat with each other, read books and newspapers, or lay down for a quick nap. There was also a small snack bar that served sandwiches and beverages, and sold toiletries and other travel necessities. The two security ponies lead the group of five to two empty couches and pulled the luggage cart to a stop next to one of the couches.
"All right, ladies," Gray remarked. "Here's the terminal where you'll wait for your transport. Rest your hooves, get a sandwich or a drink and when they call your chalk make sure you get in line right over there." He motioned to a set of wooden double-doors against the wall with a small desk next to them.
"Is there anything else we can help you with tonight?" Brown asked.
"I don't believe so, sirs," Rarity said. "Thank you so much for your help."
"Not a problem, ma'am," Gray said. "Good luck to you all."
The security ponies turned and left the atrium. Shortly thereafter, the ponies heard a new noise echo through the room.
"Attention everypony," a loudspeaker announced. "The Chalk 815 transport will depart in approximately one hour. Once again, Chalk 815 will depart in one hour."
"Well, that's good to know," Rainbow Dash remarked, mostly to herself. She took another look around and said, "So, no place to go and nearly an hour to waste. What would humans do with this kind of time?"
At that moment another group of ponies were keeping themselves busy. Graham led Filthy and Copeland through a maze of corridors toward a high-security area of the Facility. They came to a set of double doors made of heavily reinforced metal. Two signs were printed upon the doors. One read, EYE, EAR AND HEAD PROTECTION MUST BE WORN INSIDE AT ALL TIMES. The other read, POWER STATION AREA OFF-LIMITS TO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL. Graham cantered up to a set of shelves next to the doors and pulled out a few sets of hard hats, goggles and earmuffs.
"Here, gentlecolts," Graham instructed. "Please put these on while I let them know I'm taking you inside."
They did as they were told while Graham went up to a thick glass window in one of the doors and waved at somepony on the other side. A moment later a unicorn technician pony inside opened the door, and the loud sounds of machinery burst out from the other side. As everypony put their ear protection on the sounds became more muffled, and once they had their hard hats and goggles on as well Graham led Filthy and Copeland inside. As they passed row after row of large metal turbines, Graham explained their purposes.
"These turbines create electrical energy for the Facility," he shouted over the noise. "Right now they're working pretty steady, but when we create our first Blink tonight these machines are going to shift into quintuple-overtime."
"What kind of a power source do we have making all of this electricity?" Filthy yelled. "Don't tell me there's a team of stallions turning a big wheel somewhere in here."
"Oh Celestia, no!" Graham replied. "There are two main power sources at work here. First there's a collection of windmills - kind of a windmill farm, actually - about half a mile from here. There is also a collection of devices called solar arrays mounted on the Blink Facility's roof. They turn the light from the sun into electrical energy during the daytime, then we keep the energy stored in a massive power bank ready for us to use. The human engineers had the solar equipment sent all the way from Earth for us. And in case either of those power sources fail, we have a small cadre of unicorn technicians who are able to supplement the station with magical energy."
"It seems like the humans have given us a lot of their stuff to make this place work," Filthy remarked.
"It was quite necessary, Mr. Rich," Graham said. "As far as technology goes we are far, far behind the human race's achievements."
"True, Graham." Filthy countered, "But do you think it was wise of us to let these strange beings in on our planet? We just went ahead and allowed them to plant their contraptions all over the place here, what with these turbine things and the lights outside. I'm starting to wonder why I invested so much money in something we were barely able to make ourselves."
"I understand your concern, sir," he said as they reached the exit on the other side of the power station. "Believe me, if I were you I'd want to know where my money went as well. Which is why it's the perfect opportunity for me to take us to the control room. Our first commuters should be getting ready to leave soon."
Back in the terminal, another announcement was made over the loudspeakers. "Attention, passengers of Chalk 815," the voice echoed through the atrium, "we are now ready to begin preboarding procedures. Please collect your baggage and form a line in front of the chamber access doors. Have your ticket ready for the attendant to confirm your transport reservation."
Soon a long and multicolored line of ponies formed in the terminal. Most of them waited with their tickets clenched between their teeth as they inched their way forward to the desk where the attendant verified their reservation. One by one, they filed into the chamber. Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy entered the chamber as Rainbow Dash brought up the rear pulling in their loaded luggage cart. As everypony entered the chamber, they observed their surroundings.
"Oh, my," Fluttershy breathed in awe.
The Blink chamber resembled a rotunda crafted out of dark wood with a framework of metal around the ceiling and the walls. A spiderweb pattern of steel plates covered the curved ceiling and flowed in a patchwork pattern along the round walls down to the concrete floor. Inside of the wooden sections of the ceiling were recessed fluorescent lights that cast a soft white glow upon the room.
But what awed the ponies most about the chamber was the object in its center: an enormous column of glass that towered high above the ponies' heads and connected to the ceiling. It contained a metal core and glowed its own blue and white light. The light pulsed softly, and as it did a strange hum seemed to come from the pillar. It caught the attention of everypony in the room as the five friends found a place to put down their luggage so they stop to look up at the immense, monolithic device.
"So," Applejack said, breaking their silence, "that's what's gonna take us ta Earth."
"It's quite strange," Rarity noted, "how the thing that will take us someplace else doesn't move at all and has only one way in or out."
Meanwhile, on the other side of a thick glass window at the opposite end of the chamber, an access door opened and Graham led Filthy and Copeland inside. The large room they entered was bustling with activity as unicorns trotted from end to end to push buttons, turn levers, check gauges and test equipment. Between the back wall the entered from and the Blink chamber window in the front were several consoles, some of which were occupied by ponies who almost religiously adjusted and readjusted controls. Long scrolls of paper magically carried around by the technicians dragged along the floor as the unicorns were mindful not to step on each others paperwork.
"What's this room supposed to be?" Filthy asked.
"This is the control room," Graham answered, "the nerve center for the entire Blink operation. From here we monitor and control everything from the lights outside to the Blink reaction itself. Right now everypony is getting ready for the transference of Chalk 815 from PV One - that's code for our station - to SL Echo on Earth."
"Everypony looks real busy," Filthy noted as he saw a flustered unicorn gallop from one end of the control room to the other. "Is it normal for you all to be this busy?"
"Right now it is," Graham explained. "Everypony is working extra hard to make sure our measurements are right on target as we prep the reactor for the Blink. Unlike the Earthlings and their digital technology, most of our equipment is analog and lacks the automatic adjustment capabilities they have."
"Aha!" Filthy interjected. "That's another thing, Graham. Not only are we working with technology beyond our means, but we're doing so without the adequate equipment. I knew there was something about this place I didn't like, and I think I figured it out. This Blink of yours is like fire in the hooves of a foal, Graham. It doesn't belong here."
Filthy's remarks garnered the attention of a few technicians who stopped what they were doing to listen to the exchange between their supervisor and the businesspony. Now they were all looking at Graham and waiting patiently for his rebuttal. He took in a deep breath, exhaled and spoke.
"I can assure you, Mr. Rich," Graham said, "that although our hardware is old and maybe a little rusty, the ponies operating it are top-notch. These technicians represent some of the best scientists and mathematicians in all of Equestria, and I have total confidence in their abilities. Now if you excuse me, Mr. Rich, I have a door in the fabric of space and time that I need to open."
Graham then sat at his own console at the back of the room, which held more dials and switches than anypony else's. He started checking gagues and flicking switches as fast as the unicorn technicians, and as he did so Filthy Rich stood behind him and eyed his every move.
Inside the Blink chamber, Tulip and her family walked around the strange pillar and found Applejack and her friends. They cantered up beside the group and put their luggage down. Applejack turned to them and smiled. "Well howdy again, Miss Tulip!" she greeted her. "Well, here we are, ready ta go ta Earth. Ya excited still?"
Tulip looked around the room, then back at Applejack. "How are we gonna get there?" She asked, puzzled. "There's no train or anything to take us."
"Well, um," Applejack started, "that's kinda hard ta explain..."
"It's all got something to do what that big glowy thing in the room with us," Rainbow Dash said. "That much we know."
"Really?" Tulip asked with wide and curious eyes as she studied the odd device. "What is it? Do you know how it works?"
"Yes!" Pinkie Pie interjected excitedly. Then she added, "Well, um, no. But kind of, except not really."
"Maybe she'll tell us about it," Fluttershy said, motioning toward the entrance. The mare who checked their tickets earlier was standing in the doorway and watching everypony become situated. After a moment, she spoke.
"Okay everypony, may I have your attention please?" The attendent asked. When everyone looked at her she continued, "Thank you. You are now in the Blink chamber. The object you see in the middle of the room is called the actuator. That is what will create the Blink reaction that will send you all from Equestria to Earth. Please note that there are painted lines on the floor, and that you all should be standing in the area painted in yellow. Also note that the area right in front of the actuator and along the back wall is painted in red. Do *not* stand in either of the areas because the Blink is optimized to occur where you are standing right now. In about ten minutes the transference will begin. When this happens it will become quite loud in the chamber and the actuator will glow very brightly. Those with little ones may want to hold onto them during the transference and reassure them that the light and sound are normal. At this point please remain where you are standing until you are directed to exit after the transference is complete. At this point are there any questions?"
Everypony in the room gave the attendant a blank stare, as few of them could understand her directions much further beyond, "stand still and listen to directions."
"All right then," she finished. "Then I wish you all the best of luck on Earth. Have a safe journey!"
She backed out of the room and the doors swung shut. Inside the control room Graham took note of this and started adjusting more controls.
"Now that the chamber doors are secured," Graham said, "it's time to link up with the Earth station. Let's get this show on the road, everypony!"
At his command several technicians took their positions at various consoles and started adjusting switches and dials more furious than ever. Filthy and Copeland stood still behind Graham's station as to stay out of everypony's way.
Graham adjusted a set of controls with a hoof, then leaned over a panel with a speaker on it. "Blink Station SL Echo, this is Blink Station PV One. Pre-transference checks for Chalk 815 are complete, now transmitting particle signature. Awaiting signature confirmation, over."
"What's that?" Filthy asked, motioning to the console. "What are you doing? Who are you talking to?"
"This, Mr. Rich, is a multidimensional wavelength monitor," Graham explained. "It measures, receives and transmits subatomic data between the Blink stations and aids in the creating a precise transference."
"Graham, I'm an investor, not an engineer," Filthy retorted, "so don't patronize me. What does this dohicky do? In laypony's terms, please."
"Well, it's kind of like a radio right now," he said. "It lets us talk to the other Blink station."
"The one on Earth, you mean?"
Graham nodded. "Yes, and right now," he continued, "Earth is like a friend's house that we're going to visit. This monitor - this dohicky, as you so eloquently put it - is our way of knocking on the door and asking to come in."
At that moment the speaker on the monitor began to crackly loudly. After a couple seconds of static, another sound broke its way through.
"PV One, this is SL Echo," a voice called back. "We have identified your signature. Do you copy? Over."
Graham leaned into the monitor again and said, "Copy that, SL Echo. How's it going over there, Greg? Over."
"Not too bad, Graham," the voice answered. "Everyone here's excited about the first batch of tourists coming in. When're you going to make the jump yourself? Over."
"Soon as I get some time off," Graham said, smiling.
A unicorn technician approached Graham and said, "Mr. Graham, we've completed our final checks and we're good to go. Here's a copy of the manifest." He magically floated a scroll of paper in front of Graham, who took it in his hoof.
"Thank you," he said to the technician before he turned to Filthy and Copeland, then continued, "Here, you can hang onto this manifest. Call it a souvenir from an incredible moment in Equestrian history."
"Hmph," Filthy huffed as he took it and gave it to Copeland. "We'll see."
Graham turned his attention back to the console. "SL Echo, PV One's checks are complete. Are you ready to receive? Over."
"Affirmative," Greg called back. "Transmit when ready, over."
"Roger that. Energizing now, stand by for Blink transmission." Graham started adjusting the controls and said to himself, "Knock knock. Who's there? Ponies! Ponies who? Ponies of Chalk 815, that's who!" he chuckled at his own joke as he flipped a set of switches.
Inside the Blink chamber, a red ceiling light flashed and a short horn noise sounded. The light flashed and horn sounded again, then stopped. A dull hum of machinery began to fill the Blink chamber and the control room.
"What's that?" Filthy asked, concerned.
"Just a signal that the room is powering on, perfectly normal," Graham said. He threw another set of switches at the console.
Inside the chamber, the ponies saw the actuator begin to glow a soft blue light. A minute later the glow grew brighter and began to pulse with flashes of bright blue.
"Oh wow," Fluttershy said. "It's kind of pretty."
At that moment the hum grew louder and higher-pitched. The actuator glowed even brighter, and a spark of electricity shot off from it.
"Eeep!" she shrieked, crouched down onto the floor and his behind Rainbow Dash as more bolts started to discharge from the glowing pillar.
"Aww, yeah!" Rainbow yelled. "This is awesome!"
"Are ya kidding me?!" Applejack shouted over the electrical torrent. "This is like bein' in a storm cloud!"
"I know!" she shouted back.
The sparks of electricity crackled and sizzled more as they started to cascade across the ceiling. The sparks started to heat up the panels enough to raise the air temperature of the room. Even the air itself started to smell like it was burning.
Nearby little Tulip pressed herself against her mother and put her face into her mother's mane. "Mommy, I'm scared!" she protested.
Tulip's mother put a foreleg around her. "It's okay, sweetie," she assured over the noise, "It's just loud, everything's going to be okay!"
The sizzles became louder and louder, and the blue light shining from the pillar became blinding.
"Here it goes!" Rainbow Dash yelled over the roar of the machine. "There's no turning back now!"
"Oh, sweet applesauuuce!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Find a happy place!" Fluttershy whimpered as she lay on the floor with her hooves over her face. "There's no place like home!"
Rarity, mute with her mouth open, could only stare up at the sight of the lightning as it seemed to crawl across the ceiling.
"Wheeee!" Pinkie Pie squealed with delight.
Back in the control room, Filthy and Copeland stared into the flood of blue light coming out of the chamber while Graham kept his eye on the gagues and his hoof over a large red button. He watched the needles as they edged farther and farther to the right. "Come on, come on," he said to himself. "Almost there..."
The needles moved a couple of millimeters more, then the big red button lit up flashing. This was Graham's signal.
"Okay, SL Echo!" he yelled into the speaker. "Transmitting on my mark...three, two, one, MARK!"
Graham brought his hoof down on top of the button and it glowed a steady red. At that moment a single blinding flash of light erupted from the pillar, followed by the sound of a lightning strike. Almost immediately after that, the room powered down.
Filthy stared in disbelief and horror as the glow of the room faded. The ponies and their luggage had disappeared. All that was left were clouds of sparkling blue dust.
"What have you done?!" He bellowed at Graham. "You just vaporized them! All of them! I swear to you, I'm gonna have your flank-"
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Graham exclaimed. "Calm down! They're fine!"
"Fine?! Look at that, they're nothing but dust!"
"I was about to tell you," he said, "that the dust is just residual material created by the transference. It's perfectly normal, everypony's fine!"
Filthy leaned into Graham's face until their noses nearly touched and growled through grit teeth, "Then prove it!"
"Here, let me show you." Graham adjusted the controls, then leaned into the speaker and said, "SL Echo, this is PV One requesting transference status, over."
"This is SL Echo, transference appears successful, over," Greg's voice answered.
"SL Echo, stand by," Graham spoke into the speaker before he looked at Filthy and said, "Check the manifest I gave you, Mr. Rich, and look for the total number of passengers." He turned back to the speaker and said, "Greg, can you give me a headcount, over?"
"Hold one," Greg replied. There was a minute-long pause before he spoke again, "I count fifty-eight very confused ponies in my chamber right now. Is that the number you sent? Over."
Graham turned and looked at Filthy. Copeland was magically holding his copy of the manifest, which Filthy quickly read over before he looked at Graham and nodded.
He turned back to the speaker and said, "Roger that. Chalk 815 had fifty-eight passengers. Over."
"So that's fifty-eight ponies on our side now," Greg answered. "Keep 'em coming, Graham. We'll be standing by for the next chalk. Over."
"You guys take good care of them, Greg," Graham said. "Over and out."
He tapped a couple of controls on the panel, then looked at Filthy and asked, "Satisfied, Mr. Rich?"
"Yes," he answered, "but I don't think I'll ever understand why in all Equestria we need this."
Graham smiled before he turned to look through the window at the empty room and glowing pillar, then said. "I guess you'll just have to buy a ticket and find out."
It was about 10:30 a.m. when the fifty-eight ponies of Chalk 815 appeared with a blinding flash and a loud crack in the Blink Facility known as SL Echo. Most of them had their eyes closed, and those who kept them open could only stare frozen in place.
As the five guardians of Equestria opened their eyes and took in their surroundings, Rarity was the first to speak. "Good gracious! What happened to the room?"
The others looked around to see what she was talking about. The room they entered was constructed of mostly wood with a dull and rigid metal framework that crisscrossed the ceiling dome. But the room they now found themselves in had no wood to speak of, just tile floors and marble walls. The domed ceiling seemed to be made of one single piece of brightly shined metal, and it also appeared to be much higher up than they remembered. The actuator in front of them also looked even more massive than before.
"Everythin's diff'rent in here," Applejack said. "Lookit the doors we went through earlier. They're diff'rent, and they're taller!"
Everypony noticed that the wooden doors they went through earlier were now metal and beige-colored. They also stood a few heads taller than the wooden doors.
"Why is everything...bigger?" Fluttershy timidly asked.
Pinkie Pie gasped, then exclaimed, "Maybe it's because instead of going to Earth, we got shrunk!"
"Don't be ridiculous," Rainbow Dash reasoned. "It's because we're on Lorenzo's planet now. You know, with them."
The other passengers around the five friends we also engaged in a concerned discussion about where they were and what had happened.
Suddenly a loud voice spoke, and its words echoed through the chamber. "Passengers of Chalk 815, the transference is complete and you have reached your destination. Please take note of the exit doors as they will open automatically toward you in just a moment."
A few seconds later, the doors started to slowly swung inward. As they did, the passengers saw what was on the other side.
Some of them gasped. Some of them made hushed remarks. Some of them just stood silently and stared. Even Twilight's five friends stood in awe at their first sighting of such a creature other than the one who came to them two years ago.
One of them, dressed in a gray uniform, walked into the room. As he did, the other ponies started to make comments to each other:
"He's so tall!"
"That is a he, right?"
"Only two legs? How doesn't he fall down?"
"Where's all his hair?"
"Are those things claws or tentacles?"
The man stopped, then looked down at all of the colorful, wide-eyed equines in the room with him. With a smile he greeted the passengers.
"Good morning, ponies," he said in a friendly voice. "Welcome to Planet Earth."
"Good morning, ponies. Welcome to Planet Earth," the man said. "My name is Vincent, and it will be my honor to assist you with your inprocessing. Please follow me out of the Blink chamber and down the hall."
A moment later several more humans entered the chamber. Some of them approached the ponies, several of whom backed away at the sight of the towering beings. "Don't be alarmed," Vincent said. "My associates here are just taking your luggage to bring to the baggage terminal. After you've finished upstairs you'll come back down to claim it . If anybody - or anypony, as it were - has any questions at any time, please don't hesitate to ask. Follow me, please."
Vincent and a few of his coworkers turned and walked out of the chamber. The ponies cautiously followed him as their baggage was loaded onto carts and taken out of the room. Everyone walked out of the chamber and into a large atrium. It was a waiting area like the one in the Ponyville Blink Facility, except this one was much larger. The floor was a deep brown, the walls were white and clean with various pieces of artwork and photographs hung about. It was furnished with tables, chairs and couches just like in the Equestrian counterpart. As they walked down a connecting hallway, the carpet ended and the ponies' hooves clicked loudly against the marble floor. They echoed against the walls and high ceiling as they made their way down the corridor.
Applejack trotted alongside Rarity. "Is this real?" She asked her friend.
"Pardon, Applejack?" Rarity responded.
"Ah mean, is this actually happenin'?" The country pony asked again. "Did we really leave Equestria? Are we on another world?"
"It sure seems like it," Rainbow Dash chimed in as she looked about. "Everything looks different. The chairs are bigger, the ceiling's higher. I'll admit, I'm a little weirded out."
"I suppose we just need some time to adjust," Rarity reasoned. "Oh, would you look at these!" she exclaimed as she observed the pictures on the walls around them.
The art alternated between paintings of picturesque landscapes and photographs of towering cities. First a beach with rolling waves, then people walking through a sprawling metropolis, then gigantic mountains that stood like snowcapped sentinels. Fluttershy gazed at the images. "Oh, my," she breathed. "Are all of these pictures of Earth? I wonder where we are now..."
The group finally reached the end of the hall. In front of them was a security station like the one they went through on Equestria, except this one was empty and blocked by large gates. To their right was a set of three shiny steel doors. Vincent walked up to the doors, turned around and stood before the group.
"At this point I should let you all know that right now, you are on Floor One. Because all of you are new arrivals, you will be required to go upstairs to Floor Three for your inprocessing," he explained. Vincent pressed a button on the wall behind him. It lit up and all three of the doors slid open to reveal empty rooms. "These elevators will take you up to the inprocessing area. I hope none of you are claustrophobic, in which case we will take you up the stairwell. Come along, now."
Vincent and his associates escorted the ponies into the elevators. After a few trips, everyone arrived on Floor Three and entered a round room in between two hallways. Directly across from the elevators was a large plate-glass window. Vincent stood in front of the window, faced the group and said, "Before we get into all the boring paperwork and stuff, I want to show you all something very few Equestrians have seen so far. On the other side of the window behind me is your first glimpse of Planet Earth. My home. Come and take a look."
The eager ponies walked past him and up to the large window, which stood like a glass wall against the outside. They stood right up against it to the point of fogging up the glass, and the fillies and colts looked out from between their legs or upon their backs. As they gazed out Vincent introduced his city.
"Fillies and gentlecolts," he said proudly, "welcome to St. Louis. The Gateway City."
Before them flowed the wide Mississippi River, which looked like an immense moat in front of the tall concrete and glass buildings on the other side. The Great Arch reached up into the skies, and the ponies tilted their heads up in amazement.
"Wow," Rainbow Dash breathed as she hovered over the ponies' heads. "What I wouldn't give to fly over that!"
"Impressive, isn't it?" Vincent said, "The Great Arch is a symbol of the first journeys west the early Americans made nearly two hundred years ago. St. Louis was their starting point then, and it's where you all will begin your experiences here on Earth."
"Amazin'," Applejack whispered. "It's really happennin'..."
"Alright everypony, listen up," Vincent said, turning their attention from the view. "The next hour or so for you is going to be pretty dull, so let me help you move things along as quick as we can. We're going to start by going down this hall to our left. This is where we'll create your citizen profile and issue your identification card, which allows you to legally live and work in the United States. Just get a number at the ticket station and wait for a desk clerk to call you up. Make sure you have all of your personal information ready for them."
A team of four clerks processed the multitude of ponies in the waiting room one by one. To pass the time they all talked to one another about their future plans. Some of them asked Vincent questions, and some of the fillies and colts raced each other up and down the hallway while their parents filled out their paperwork.
When the last pony finished at the desks, Vincent rallied everyone together. "All right then, glad to see you all survived that," he joked. "Next up we'll take care of your sponsorships. Those of you who aren't aware, your sponsor is one or more persons who have volunteered to help you become accustomed to life on Earth. Sponsorship isn't required, but is highly recommended so that you don't become overwhelmed during your first weeks here. Whether you have a sponsor already or not, we'll help you link up with one."
"Thank goodness," Fluttershy sighed with relief. "I was starting to get worried about that."
"Do ya have a sponsor listed in yer paperwork?" Applejack asked her friend. "Cause Ah do."
Fluttershy took out her paperwork and checked. "Let's see...is this it?"
"Yep, that's it," AJ confirmed. "Ya got a sponsor, too."
"Me too!" Pinkie Pie said, waving her papers about.
"And I as well," Rarity echoed. "Do you have one too, Rainbow Dash?"
The cyan pegasus fumbled with her paperwork in her hooves. "Um, I dunno," she said as she flipped through the folded pages. "All this stuff doesn't say."
"Let's ask for help," Rarity suggested. She turned and called, "Mr. Vincent, sir! Could you assist us, please?"
Vincent walked over to them. "Certainly, Miss Rarity," he said, "how can I help?"
"Well, our friend Rainbow Dash here is having a problem finding her sponsor's name in her paperwork. We all found ours but," she started explaining until she stopped for a moment. Then she asked, "Wait, how did you know my name?"
"Your reputations precede you here on Earth," Vincent explained. "Everyone here knows of your friend, Princess Twilight, so naturally we knew in advance of your arrival."
"So when you say 'everyone here,'" Rainbow Dash asked, "you mean?"
"Everyone," he answered as he walked over to a flatscreen TV mounted on a wall. He pressed a button on it and continued, "Once the press found out, there was nothing stopping everybody in the country from finding out. Practically half of America is waiting for you right now."
As the screen came to life, the sounds and images of a live news broadcast flowed out from it. "We're still outside of the Blink Facility," a female newscaster shouted over the roar of a crowd gathered around her, "where hundreds, if not thousands of people have gathered to get their first glimpses of the Equestrian visitors."
The screen then showed an aerial view of the facility. At the front of the building was a sea of bobbing heads gathered around the front of the building like hundreds of colored dots. Subsequent camera shots showed closeups of people smiling and yelling their support. Some of them held up large hand-drawn signs over their heads in support.
"You're all famous here," Vincent said, "and your hooves haven't even hit the dirt yet.
Everypony gazed up at the screen in awe. Most of them were speechless, except for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
"Famous already?!" Dash yelled, "That's totally awesome!"
"Hundreds of people?" Fluttershy squeaked, "Thousands of people? All watching for us and waiting for us? Oh, dear..." She fainted.
"See, everypony," Vincent said as her friends helped her come around, "this is why we have sponsorships. To minimize the culture shock and, well, shock in general as demonstrated by our friend Fluttershy. Anyhow, Rainbow Dash, let's have a look at your papers."
"Here you go," Rainbow held them out and Vincent leafed through them.
"Hmm," he said as he looked them over. "Aha, here's why. These are military orders. Your sponsor is going to be your military unit, right here." He pointed to a spot on the pages. "I'm glad you got my attention on this. Listen up and I'll explain."
He turned his attention to the group again. "Alright, everypony, show of hooves," he called out. "Who here has any kind of military orders?" Rainbow Dash and several other pegasi each put up a front hoof. "Okay then, here's what I need you all to do. Take out your orders and go show them to one of the desk clerks you saw earlier. They'll bring you all to see the military liaison. She'll take care of you from here on out."
"Aww, you have to leave us?" Pinkie asked dejectedly. "Bummer!"
"It'll be alright, guys," Rainbow said. "I'll let Twi know when I make it there, then I'll talk to you all again soon."
"Ah'll get in touch with her too," Applejack said. "Talk care now, Rainbow."
"See ya later, Dashie!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Safe travels, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said.
"Goodbye, Dash," Fluttershy said. "We'll see you again."
As Dash and the other pegasi left, Vincent said, "Okay, now for those of you have sponsorship or need it, please follow me this way."
The group walked back toward the elevators, then passed them to continue down another hallway to another set of offices.
"Those of you who need sponsors, of of my clerks will be able to search our database and locate one who is registered in our system. If you have a name and phone number already, feel free to use one of our telephones to call them. Oh, and make sure you all get a free leg pouch and stylus. It'll come in handy - I mean, be useful - for dialing those numbers, and you can hold it with your magic or your teeth."
While most of the ponies stood in line at the desks, Applejack and her friends went to the row of telephones lined up against one of the walls. At one end of the row was a large bin full of black objects wrapped in clear plastic bags. In the front of the bins was a sign that read:
COMPLIMENTARY STYLUS AND POUCH PROVIDED BY
HORSELAND CO., WFU
"'Horseland Co., WFU?'" Applejack asked quizzically. "Who the hay are they? And what's 'WFU' mean?"
"Beats me," Pinkie said as the picked up a bag with a hoof, then tore it open with her hooves and teeth. She spat out the plastic and added, "Ew, don't eat the clear stuff!"
For the next hour, the office was full of chatter: ponies and clerks talking about placement and sponsorship options, newly sponsored ponies using the phones to call their human contacts, and everypony else talking about how anxious they were to go and meet them. Once every everypony had contacted their sponsors, Applejack called Twilight to inform her of their arrival.
"Okay, everypony," Vincent said, "now that you've reached this point, guess what? Now we get to go back downstairs to get your luggage and move on from here. Let's go!"
Everyone walked back down to the elevators and to Floor One, where the previously barricaded security checkpoint was now open. The group stepped through the checkpoint, turned a corner and found their luggage set in a neat, orderly arrangement in front of several counters. Vincent explained:
"Okay, my new friends," he said, "this is the transportation hub, your last stop before leaving the Blink Facility. These counters around you are transportation services available to you for reaching your final destinations. There are taxi and other regency services if you aren't traveling too far from here, and we also sell train tickets here if you need to travel across several states. You're, of course, free to hoof it to where you need to go as a cost effective option as well, but that may cost you time and a few hotel stays. Oh, and a note to all you pegasi: long-distance flight for you is currently prohibited under current EER guidelines due to concerns for your safety. I'm aware that you don't have airplanes or cellphone towers in Equestria, so we wouldn't want you flying into one of those and having an accident here. Before you buy any tickets, though, make sure you have the right funds by exchanging your Equestrian money for American dollars at the counter over there. Are they any questions?
Applejack raised a hoof.
"Miss Applejack?"
"Uh, yessir, mister Vince? Ah just wanted to ask ya somethin' about yer money here. Mah friend Twilight gave us each one of these debit card thingies with some money already on 'em. What Ah wanna know is, is five thousand dollars a lot?"
"I think it's enough."
About half an hour later, everypony had their travel arrangements made. Due to the proximity of her final destination, Applejack decided to make her journey on hoof. Pinkie bought herself a bus ticket, and Fluttershy and Rarity purchased train tickets. Once everypony purchased their tickets Vincent brought them together once more and led them out of the hub. As they neared the bus and shuttle platforms, the ponies could hear something that sounded like a dull roar at first but grew louder as they walked toward it. When they reached the three sets of glass double doors that led out to the platform, everypony heard the sound of triumphant cheering rattling the windows. They looked through the glass doors and saw why.
A multitude of humans were crowded around the doors. They yelled, screamed and pounded on the glass for about a minute until several security guards stepped in and cleared them away.
"Your public awaits," Vincent proclaimed. "From this point on you all are on your own. I hope that my staff and I were able to set everypony up with everything you need to start off your experience here on Earth right. I wish all of you the best of luck. You may leave when ready."
"I'm not ready!" Fluttershy cowered and hid her face in her hooves. "No no no no, I'm so very not ready! I want to go home!"
"Oh, sweet applesauce," Applejack whispered, and let her mouth hang open.
"Um," Pinkie said as she smiled nervously and raised a shaking hoof up to the crowds. "Hi?"
"Oh for goodness' sake, everypony!" Rarity exclaimed as she stomped a hoof and looked at her friends. "Pull yourselves together! We're not fighting Discord after all, we're just meeting humans. Now look out there: they're ecstatic to see us! I say we go out there, introduce ourselves and maybe even pose for some pictures before we part ways. Now who's with me?"
Her friends looked at each other, then outside at the people. They all smiled, looked back at Rarity and nodded.
"Very well then!" Rarity proclaimed. "The four of us will lead the way for everypony else. Applejack, will you push this other door open with me?"
Applejack put a front hoof on one of the glass doors in front of them. "You bet, Rarity, ready when you are."
"Okay," Rarity said as she took in a breath, exhaled and put a front hoof on the door in front of her. "On three. One...two...three!"
They pushed the doors open, then the four of them stepped out into the blinding, deafening fury of the humans crowded around them. They took pictures, jumped up and down and yelled their support.
"There they are!"
"They're here! The ponies are here!"
"Welcome to Earth!"
The four of them took a few steps forward, stopped and introduced themselves to Earth, one by one.
"Howdy, y'all!" the country pony proclaimed. "Ah'm Applejack!"
"Um, hello, everyone," Fluttershy said meekly. "I'm Fluttershy, and you all seem very...nice."
"People, behold!" Rarity said dramatically. "For the incomparable Rarity has arrived!"
"Hiya, I'm Pinkie Pie!" the energetic pony declared. "We're from Equestria! We come in peace!"
