Chapter 8: Bombshell

The Conversion Bureau: A New Age, A New Life Chapter 8: Bombshell ===== ----- ===== ----- ==== 

[ Earth, May 1, 2080, 7:30 AM CDT ]

          Kyoko was flitting about the lobby, happy as a humming bird. Her best friend, and most definitely not-but-maybe-would-be boyfriend Andre was finally coming up from Baton Rouge and was going spend the whole day with her in the flesh and blood. Andre, despite all his protestations about getting up and leaving to go anywhere, eventually got over himself long enough to pack a couple of high-density holodisks and get on the Mississipi River MegaTrain. The Megatrain would have him in Saint Louis in about two hours, which was good for him because Princess Celestia and the UN had agreed to have her address a full assembly in New York City at 2 PM local time. He wondered if Celestia had gotten a bit caught up in being an international celebrity and forgot to do whatever negotiations she had come over here originally for. Only a relative handful of people would know why Celestia would be speaking to the world on this day.

"Two hours, he's gonna be in two hours, ooh I'm so excited." Kyoko said, barely managing to contain said excitement.

"Hrm, for someone you only talk to online, you sure are getting geeked up for this meeting.", a magenta Earth Pony said, watering a fairly large batch of potted flowers.

"Hrm, what would you know Quiet Walker, don't you have a stallion that'd make you bounce up and down off the walls before meeting?", she said jokingly, while ruffling the her peach-pink mane.

Hrm, maybe when I get over there I'll find one, Quiet Walker thought to herself; she and the other 'newfoals', as Luna called the recently transformed Ponies, would be due to leave for Equestria in a couple of day's time.

"Hey I wonder where Spiral Light and Ash Drifter are, he'll be here in a couple of hours and I'd like him to see that there are males over there," Kyoko said.

Dr. Jun walked in with Spiral Light, taking every chance he could to lift some unused object by telekinesis. His trainers had told him that Magic was a skill to be practiced, and practice makes perfect.

"See the object. Grasp the object. Hold the object. Move the object. Release the object. Just think of the magic like a ethereal hand...," he said to himself.

Ash Drifter was in a more sour mood, a whole week cooped up in the labs with barely any room to stretch his new wings was making him a tad jittery. Despite the anxiety, he decided that he could at least get some natural sunlight before going to watch the speech with the others.

"Ugh, I wish I could get out and try these wings out, but how am I gonna look as a big gray Pegasus flying around the middle of nowhere...,", he said to himself as the elevator went up.

          At the same time, deeper underground in the laboratory proper, Celestia, Luna, and the Doctors Isegawa were all around a secure video-phone link to the President of the United States. President Aguillar had been given the preliminary data for the transformation serum a couple of days before, the only human aside from the Doctors and their technicians to know of the serum's existence, at least for the next few hours anyway.

President Aguillar leaned back in her chair, she was sitting in a soundproof room to make sure that nothing leaked before due time. "I've seen the video. I've read the reports. To be perfectly honest, I got an argument going on in my head. Between the fact that all of this cannot possibly be real, and that it's damn real and you are getting a sneak preview at something even more Earth-shattering than the events of late March."

Princess Celestia replied with a tenor of someone hopeful yet concerned. There were far too many variables floating around, combined with the lack of first-hand knowledge of human behavior patterns, for her to be definitive in any divinations of the future, a position she hated being in. "Yes, I have still found it hard to believe that in such a short amount of time, relatively speaking, we could be this far along. From all we can see of our 3 trial subjects, there is absolutely nothing aberrant about them except the fact they were humans at the beginning of the previous month."

She took a short breath, ready to get to the meat of the subject for these discussions. "In other, related matters, I trust you have also gone over my draft remarks to the General Assembly at the United Nations? I want to talk to you personally before I make my speech, in order to gauge your opinion."

Aguillar leaned back in her chair again. She had read the remarks Celestia were set to deliver in a few short hours, and frankly, she agreed with a lot of it. But there were other concerns roaming around in her head. "Not to make this sound too selfish Princess Celestia, but while I may agree with the content of your speech, I cannot exactly full-throatily embrace it. As you know, the Elites are chafing at the fact that I intend to pass as many reforms as I can. So much so that they are, for the first time in quite a while, having to run a legitimate campaign to win office instead of just coasting in on general apathy. I would like to be able to preserve my position."

While the others were somewhat sad that they could not get official validation; in their minds they knew that no government entity that wasn't in the full thrall of the Elites could throw their arms the Equestrians in solidarity, at least not yet.

Aguillar then began to speak again, "Now while I cannot offer an official endorsement of what you plan, Princess Celestia, it might not be such a bad thing. In fact, I believe that it would be better this way." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts again. "Yes, I believe I know some contacts among the Elite who aren't like the others, and would be able to offer more... material support, if you will."

Celestia and Luna loved the way this human thought. Although only a fraction of either of their ages, they could see the eyes of a leader wise beyond her years. They also knew that other leaders in the major nations were chafing under the constant beck and call of Dome-dwelling so called Elites, and they would relish the chance to be able to institute some real reforms, or at least some kind of brakes to their greed.

Princess Luna then spoke, "As I have been looking through various records and gauges of economic health, I cannot help but notice a lot of land not enclosed under the prospective Domes is incredibly inexpensive. Would it be too much to ask of your theoretical contacts, to set up some kind of entity to purchase this land and the necessary mechanical workers to erect facilities?"

Aguillar responded with a bit of mirth, "No, that would not be too much to ask Princess Luna, although the environment outside of the Domes is badly damaged. I would project quite a bit of work from your end to clean up the building sites, should plans lead down that road."

Princess Celestia concurred, "That would be correct President Aguillar, especially considering the fact that any large channels of magic from Equestria would be dangerous to humans. While the work would be hard, long, and constant, it would be, nevertheless, doable."

As the call ended, President Aguillar sat back in her chair some more. She had a lot to contemplate before attending the speech at the U.N. in a scant few hours. Please, to whatever higher power might be out there...Give the rest of them at least the ability to see past themselves long enough for those Ponies to help us... she prayed inwardly to anyone who'd listen.

===== ===== ===== =====

[ Earth, May 1, 2080, 1:55 PM CDT ]

          It was almost time for the speech. Andre was safely inside the Isegawa Clinic outside of St. Louis. The so called clinic seemed to be far bigger than any potential clientele would warrant. It possessed a staffed cafeteria, guestrooms, a recreational room, and a computer lab; like it was as much an inn/dormitory as much it was a clinic. Much to his surprise, he was having a pretty good time considering he was in a city he had never visited; and with a girl who, until a couple a days ago, he didn't know anything about except what she told him. At the same time, he was laughing it up said girl's parents, and the parents wondering why their daughter seemed to resist wanting to engage in a serious relationship this supposedly fine young man. Everything seemed like it was normal, like this girl wasn't the daughter of 2 of the most premiere scientists that hadn't forsaken the Outsiders. Like the world hadn't been visited by talking, brightly colored Pony-aliens. It was this feeling of relative normalcy, even including the three unassuming Ponies there with them, the he missed. It was this feeling of relative normalcy that made him think that the whole world was about to be turned on its head, yet again.

          Everyone was in the recreational room to watch the speech. Quiet Walker, Spiral Light, and Ash Drifter sat on some cushions in a spot out of view from the door. The Doctors Isegawa sat at the bar, not deciding to pour themselves a drink just yet. Kyoko sat with Andre on a nice comfortable couch. Andre marveled at how this out of the way clinic-inn could be so well furnished, how the area around it so be clean and seemingly free of pollution, and how the plant that Quiet Walker was attending to seemed at least 20% bigger than it had any right to being.

"Ok shhh, Celestia-hime is about to give her speech.", Kyoko said, the irony not lost on anyone there it was Kyoko that was trying to get everyone quiet.

          Pretty much every nation and peoples who managed to survive this long was represented at the General Assembly. The full house of dignitaries, having sat through several opening remarks and speeches, were rather anxious and wanted to know what this creature from another dimension had to say to them. Celestia, for her part, again looked all the serene and calm of someone who was in firm control of the situation; to which some extent, she was. The entire world was about to hang off her every word, and she knew it. This also made her nervous to some extent; because she had little to no knowledge of human nature and how they respond to certain cues, she had absolutely no idea of what reaction she would garner with the words to come. She had to be incredibly careful, lest she start a firestorm that could end everything before they could begin. There was no backing out now though, she and the rest of Equestria was going to see this out however it played.

It was now 3 PM sharp, and right on time, Princess Celestia, Avatar of the Sun, Co-Ruler of the Realm Of Equestria, was about directly confront Elite, and some extent, all of humanity. With a large breath, she strode to the podium, and began the speech that'd change two worlds; to what end, no one could know.

          "Good Evening, Denizens of the Planet Earth. As you may know already, my name is Princess Celestia, Avatar of the Sun, and Co-Ruler of the Realm of Equestria. I come before you today to fulfill a promise I made during my statements more than one month ago. I stated then that I would bring to you all news that would be of interest to all of humanity, regardless of race, class, or creed. But before I come to that particular point, I would like to make brief remarks on what myself and my cohorts have learned throughout our brief period here to this date.

          "Our world once shared a link, a bridge if you will. Before this point, as far as myself and my sister could tell, our ancestors and yours lived in relative peace and harmony with each other. However, this peace was not permanent. A great cataclysm befell the bridge, and the resulting fallout nearly ended both our species shortly after. This was eons ago in our respective histories, and the evolution since could not have been more divergent. While our species retained the ability to affect our environment, we were able to survive more or less intact. The ancient humans, however, were apparently not so lucky. Their civilization collapsed quickly after, and the world was plunged back into an Ice Age. This dramatically altered human evolution, in a social sense. Humanity became more and more tribal and fractious, the desperate need to survive a cruel world taking precedence over anything else.

          "Despite these cruel conditions, mankind eventually began to build a new civilization. Where tool making, technical prowess, and the ability to rally others to one's cause were what won the day. This world, did not have any type of greater morality, though. Instead it was, and to a large extent, still is, a world with one very simple rule: survival at all costs. As such, cultures that could not meet the rigors of the time eventually fell to the dustbin of history. Egypt, Macedonia, Rome, Byzantine, Mongolia, Zulu; how many names have risen and fallen? Even to this day, many nations exist as merely vestigial homelands of once great Empires: England, Germany, Italy, China, Japan, even the United States have seen their empires, whether in name or influence, degenerate back to their original borders. But Nature abhors a vacuum, and something new has arisen to replace it.

          "Desire... what is desire truly? Desire, to my estimation, has many forms. The need to attain something that one does not currently posses, the need to leave a legacy that would outlive their current existence, the drive to become something other than what you are at the current point in time. This is what drives mankind, this is what drives Ponykind; in fact, I should be so bold to say it drives all sentient life forms, regardless of form. To lose desire is to lose the very spark of life itself. Yet, like with anything else, to let desire grow beyond a healthy level is to watch it mutate into something corrosive and destructive: Greed.

          "To weave these concurrent threads of history and sociology brings us to our current state of affairs. Certain humans, in their greed for all manners of things, have decided the normal communities, and even the nations that have formed could not satisfy their hunger. So it has grown beyond the bounds of such things. These humans have become a power unto themselves, amassing so much in resources and capital that the world itself now appears to revolve around their axis instead of the axis of established governing bodies. Their gravity, in terms of political power, so great that no other entity can escape it's pull. This is very troubling to me. In this universe, as it is in countless others, when gravity becomes so great and so concentrated, it eventually becomes a black hole. It inexorably draws in everything, even light itself, into its maw and crushes it into oblivion.

          "This is how I view the state of the sheer power these particular humans wield; a gravity so great it is beginning to crush everything around it. One can see its effects already underway: the earth has grown fallow, the waters grow fetid, the winds poisoned, and the fires rage out of control. This is to say nothing of the very souls of many of those without the resources to live within the protective Domes. Their hearts and souls are also being crushed under this weight. Few outlets exist for them creatively; their labor, be it active or potential, goes unrewarded or unwanted. It is as if desire itself is being sucked out of them, sucked into that nascent black hole. What does that leave for most people? Already, you see the great masses become inactive politically and socially, retreating into virtual worlds or any other avenue. They wish to escape this pull of this gravity, to have some kind of avenue to where their flower of the soul might bloom again.

          "This now brings us to the current day, and the core reason of why I am giving this speech. I saw the state of this world, and I could not ignore it. I saw the want in your people's eyes, and I could not ignore it. I could hear the yearning for a new beginning in your people's hearts, and I could not ignore it. So we began to devise plans, plans for rebuilding, plans for rejuvenation, of both the physical and the metaphysical. Yet, there were, complications. No matter how many simulations we ran, no matter much we massaged the data, it kept saying the same thing: a human emigrating to Equestria would be suicide. Your bodies, for reasons we cannot determine, cannot function in an environment laden with raw magic, or as your scientists have termed it, thaumatic radiation. Cells rupture or burn out, organs fail; it would be as if the body was struck with the most powerful radiations your cosmos could produce. Not a preferable way to move to the Great Beyond, in our estimation.

          "Therefore we began to revise our plans. We needed to develop some means to allow humans to survive these harsh radiological conditions. There was something within the human's physical makeup that no other species shared that made them react so horribly to thaumatic radiation. No matter what our or your researchers tried, we could not escape that fact. So eventually, the alternative was reached.

Celestia then took a pause that seemed like an eternity to herself and anyone listening or reading her words.

"The solution we have arrived at... is the complete rewriting of the physical form of a human, in order to mirror our own form. Or to put it more succinctly, Ponification.

Celestia somehow managed to, twice in six weeks, bring a planet of 9.5 billion humans and innumerable machines to a cold and dead silence. Celestia couldn't help but be unnerved slightly by the total lack of reaction of... well anyone.

Regaining her composure, she began to conclude her remarks. "While this is not the proper venue to discuss Ponification in scientific terms, rest assured the process has been deemed safe in both the physical and metaphysical respect. All memories and cognitive ability are retained. All that changes is the physical form that you exit the process with. I, nor my Sister, intend this to be some sort of ultimatum. We do not intend to forsake those who would not take this opportunity; we know there are those that would not seek this option, and they should not be left to a world spiraling out of control. This is simply meant to be another avenue, a way for those who see no path forward in this world to be able to continue forward on the great journey of Life. To conclude, we also intend to remain in this world so long as we are welcome, and we will attempt to assist you all in any way that we can devise, going forward. We in Equestria believe, that our two people's together, hand in hoof as it were, can move forward and forge a New Age, together. Thank you for your time and consideration."

With that, the white Winged-Unicorn walked off the stage. The assembly left to gather their thoughts about the seemingly infinitely massive bomb that the alien-Pony had just dropped directly into their laps.

===== ===== ===== =====

          To say the internet was set on fire would have been an understatement. To say that every pundit from New York to Hong Kong and everywhere in between had an opinion would have been an understatement. To say that Celestia and her cohorts didn't just basically accuse the ruling class of actively causing the very demise of an entire planet of 9 billion other people, and countless other living things, would have been an understatement. The impudence, sheer audacity, absolute temerity, the gigantic, brass balls on that woman, or mare (debate still raged on what generic noun to use for her), walking onto the biggest stage any politician could walk on and effectively dress down the whole of human society absolutely flabbergasted the Elite. It stunned them, it shocked them, it astonished them. The vast masses of Outsiders on the other hand... well their reaction was anything but uniform. Some were just as shocked, shocked that some alien, some entity that they didn't even believe existed could pass judgment on Humanity in all of 2 months. Others frankly wondered what took them so long to see just how screwed up everything was and why the whole planet wasn't being razed to the ground out of fear of them getting into space. Still others just wanted off this rollercoaster any way they could.

          A couple of weeks had passed since Celestia's speech to the UN and the wider world. People went on with whatever lives they were leading up to this point, but now a new thought was gnawing at the back of their minds. Is what that White Princess said was true, that the gravity of the Elite were threatening to smash everything to bits around them, in a metaphorical sense? Was Ponification the only way to escape this fate, or could some middle ground be found? None of the Ponies made any public appearances since then, apparently allowing the news to sink in and gauge their collective reaction to it.

[ Earth, May 17, 2080 ]

*Bzzt* Time Over: Final Score -- Red Gravediggers 55 - 57 Blue Dragons

"Andre, how you got that last goal I never figure out, " Ethan said, somewhat in disbelief.

Andre, for his part, was also still in disbelief, "Hey man if I could pull something like that off all the time, our teams would be tied 2 games apiece in this best of 5 Match."

"Hey I'm just glad we're able to play together, it's been nice getting to know you two, Kyoko and Andre.", Natasha chimed in, all four now comfortable enough to use their real names while online.

Kyoko was certianly feeling a lot better about the game now that the match was tied 2-apiece. "Wooo, this is really fun, I don't know why I didn't start playing sooner. Me and Ao-chan make the best team~!"

Natasha went to her water bottle for a long drink, settling herself in for the last match of this particular game. "I have to say for someone that's only been at this for a few weeks you've gotten the hang of most all the basic and intermediate stuff, heck I've seen you pull a few moves it took me months to learn."

"Man sometimes I wonder what it was like during the summer when it wasn't triple digits every day, and it's only halfway through May on top of that," Andre said, wondering if he should take a semi-cold shower after the final game to help cool off.

"I heard people would actually play recreational sports without keeling over sick halfway through the games,"  Ethan said, thinking about the time his father claimed he hit 2 home runs in a single inning to win a baseball game at his rec league.

Kyoko began to think out loud, her voice intoning concern through the statement. "Yeah you're right, this air pollution makes it hard to do anything outside of the Domes during spring, or summer, or fall, or winter even... wow, no wonder they make you so mad Ao-chan."

"Ugh don't get me started, please. Everything those Dome retards do just makes it worse for the rest of us. Now they are trying to get President Aguillar to ban Celestia and the rest of the Equestrians from appearing on US soil, I guess for daring to tell the truth to their smug, prick faces.", Andre said, wondering what was hotter, the air inside his apartment or his blood getting riled up thinking about those Dome-dwelling idiots.

"Can they even do that? I mean, it seems like Celestia and her sister, I think it was Luna, they just seem to show up whenever they damn well please. Can't think of any way we'd stop them even if we tried," Natasha asked, somewhat annoyed at the idea of an alien that could just poof in whenever and wherever (s)he wanted.

"Ooooh, You mean like the Great Gazoo, from that really really really really old cartoon, um... the Flintstones I think it was?" Kyoko tried to recall without having to verify it.

Ethan took a couple of moments to look it up on his mobile holo-pad. "Just looked it up and yeah it was the Flintstones, funny looking little sucker there."

"Anyway Ethan are you gonna re-enlist? I heard your service tour was up this month.", Natasha asked Ethan.

"Oh God no. I'm gonna take my little stipend and probably just bum out for the next God knows how long.", Ethan answered, glad he could finally be able to spend time with Natasha on his own terms.

Andre inquired about any benefits he got from his completed tour of service, honestly not knowing what anyone got out of the deal. "Dont they give you free MegaTrain rides for life or something if you complete your service without getting deep-sixed or drummed out?"

"Yep, It took every ounce of self-discipline I had not to tell somebody off on my last day. Then again it's not like the MegaTrain is that expensive. Most of the problem is that there really isn't much point in leaving where you are unless you are trying to visit somebody, isn't that right my little undertaker." Ethan replied, making a little kissy face towards Natasha through the camera.

Kyoko wondered what was stranger, the public display of affection through the 'Net, or the fact that undertaker was being used as a pet name, apparently. "Heyy, when are we gonna start the last game, you know we had a bet."

"Yeah, losers had to pay for a full new outfit for the winning pair's avatars right?" Ethan said, getting his proverbial game face on.

"And me and Ethan already know what we want gifted to us," Natasha said, making a sleeve rolling motion even though she wasn't wearing a shirt with any sleeves.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch my dear Natty," Andre said, pressing the button on the screen to start the final game of the Match

MATCH 5 OF 5: Red Gravediggers (2) - (2) Blue Dragons. Game Begins in 3... 2... 1... *Horn blows*

Elsewhere, another group were meeting over the 'Net, although for decidedly less pleasant reasons.

"Ugh that stupid bitch is making a fool out of us, we cannot stand for this!"

"Yeah which one though, the President or that White Winged Horse that decided now was a good time to pay us a visit"

"Both of them, really. I mean honestly, don't they know how much trouble we went through to get to where we are"

"And that stupid horse had the unmitigated gall to tell us WE were ruining the Earth. Maybe if those rats outside the dome stopped breeding all the time we wouldn't be in this situation"

"Now now, some of those rats have proven quite useful to us, I mean we still have the legislature in our hip pocket."

"Yeah all we gotta do is keep stalling everything, those idiots that even bothered to vote in the last election won't even give a shit coming up, then our guy will skate in."

"We got bigger fish to fry, though, I heard one of the Domes near Oklahoma City is starting to run low on water."

"Can't they just restrict water to their slums, I mean it's not like anyone cares about them"

"Yeah but they will care when the rioting starts, better to wait for Winter and start slowly cutting them off then"

===== ===== =====

[ Equestria, May 17, 2080 ]

          It was another day in Equestria. Luna was sound asleep during the day for the first time in weeks. The Element Bearers had time to get back to their daily lives in Ponyville as best they could given the circumstances. Celestia had given them a few weeks leave, knowing that their mortal minds and hearts needed time to rest and really couldn't go full tilt 24/7 with the plotting and scheming like herself or Luna could. Speaking of which, Celestia had already begun drawing up plans for the new facilities on Earth, as well as drafting early versions of volunteer and eventually paid staff recruitment letters, for both Humans and Ponies. Officially, they would be known as called the "Human Conversion Bureau And Pony Rehabilitation Clinics", although to call these places mere clinics didn't do them justice.

           They were designed to be mostly self-sufficient, Celestia did not want to leave supply lines up to the fickle human governments, and having to teleport in supplies constantly would be a hassle. At the behest of her sister, she provided for classrooms for both Pony and Human of all ages, to be able to give crash courses in Equestrian History, Culture, and the abilities of the 3 races in general. There were also to be the Earth Pony Greenhouses, landing areas for various air transports should clients need emergency care to or from the facilities, underground storage facilities, so many things.

I'm glad I found texts for drawing architectural plans according to Earth standards. Their information networks are so extremely useful. I'll have to be sure to keep an eye out for any Information or Computer Science-types that come through these doors, we could definitely use something like this Equestria... Celestia thought to herself.

She then thought, ... Though some of the user generated content concerns me. Luna and myself are be able to handle it, cannot live millennia without seeing some things, but can the Bearers handle it?

          Over in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie was walking towards Twilight Sparkle's house-tree, giggling something fierce and trying her best not fall over laughing. She knocked at the door, and seeing it was open, went into the library proper. Truth be told it was more a book repository than anything, since few Ponies if any actually stayed there to study or the sort. She scarcely managed to make it to the room Twilight was in before falling over laughing, with Twilight wondering just what in Tartarus was so funny.

"Pinkie Pie, I do believe I've told you not to come into my study making a ruckus like that, not that you ever listen when I say that...," Twilight said, exacerbation in her tone as this had clearly happened many times before.

Pinkie Pie was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe, but managed to restrain herself long enough to speak anyway. "But.. oh man... everywhere, ahahaha, it got everywhere... and in everything..."

"Care to indulge me on what you've found this time on the human's info network this time?", Twilight asked, figuring it was something she found while scanning the human networks since nothing in Ponyville had blown up recently. It then immediately dawned on her how strange this town and her life was, where something not exploding would be news to her.

"Oh, it was just this television program I found in their archives. Oh man, these humans are hilarious, I hope they are even half this funny when they become Ponies.", Pinkie said, only now managing to get a hold of herself.

"I'm fairly certain humans wouldn't lose their sense of humor in the Conversion process."

"Yeah you're right, I'm pretty sure they can still be this funny despite how bad it is over there."

"You really think that Pinkie."

"Well, the way I figure it... you gotta find a way to laugh and smile even in the worst of times."

Twilight Sparkle thought about what Pinkie said just then, Laughing even in the worst of times, yeah that's definitely something Pinkie would say. It seemed like ever since forming the New Light Bridge, she had begun honing her comedic timing far more sharply; although to some, her humor was still random, to the refined eye, she seemed to be able to find something appropriate to the situation, regardless of the situation. She also had begun to make a real name for herself as a party planner throughout all of Equestria, probably taking some cues from the humans she started interacting with.

"Anyway Pinkie, how did you even find those 'programs'? I mean it's not like we ever had time during our Earth visits to learn where to look for things on their information networks.", Twilight then asked, wonder how anyone could find anything in that morass of information.

Pinkie looked at Twilight with strange look, a look of 'Wait you didn't already know the answer to this question?'. "Oh I just asked around and they showed me."

"Uh, wait, you're able to SEND information to their networks?", Twilight asked, downright shocked that the information flow wasn't one way with their links as it were.

"Duuuh, yeah silly. I mean one day I was like 'Hey how am I supposed to find anything in this place?' and then someone showed me a place where to ask a question or throw out some words and BOOM it was like I was linked to whatever that thingy said was relevant," Pinkie replied, obviously not familiar with any of the humans internet terminology.

Like an Ask-And-Receive Spell... even without formal Magic, the humans still end up making something similar. Twilight thought to herself. She wondered just how humans, with all this knowledge and ingenuity, could still have screwed themselves and their world up so badly.

Rarity was in Carousel Boutique designing her first human dress. She had learned much of human fashion eschewed gaudy jewels on the clothes themselves, in favor of patterns and colors; plus the state the world was in, wearing anything bejeweled outside of the Domes was like painting a big red bulls-eye on yourself. She then thought to herself, I do hope the President's daughter likes this dress I made, she seems like the type who'd appreciate something pretty. Although her son couldn't seem to care less for aesthetics, probably more Rainbow Dash's type anyway.

Rainbow Dash had managed to learn to use her Element as a projector on the cloud wall of her house, a mundane usage of an artifact of such power but whatever works, she thought. She had fallen in love with Earth's sports and action movies, even though she found most of the recent films produced trite and hardly noteworthy. How did they even think replacing a real live actor with some kind of... fake one... would even make sense. No wonder it felt like this world had forgotten Loyalty, the people running things seem more loyal to their money than anything else... she thought to herself while watching a 'classic' action flick.

Applejack was busy getting caught upon lost work, bucking apples out of some of the early fruiting trees. She and Apple Bloom were busy taking care of things while Big Macintosh was catching up on his rest, legs sore from having to do the work of two until a few days ago with Applejack being in and out of town, although for him it was more like the work of one and a half.

"Hey Applejack, it seems like ya got stronger, you're buckin down a lot more apples than ya used to."

"Actually Apple Bloom, I didn't get any time for strength trainin. It's more like I'm findin a better sweet spot for hittin the tree, and pacin myself to not burn out too fast."

"Wha, when did ya get so smart?"

"Are ya sayin I wasn't before?"

Applejack grabbed Apple Bloom to give her a noogie, thankful to get caught up with some lost time. She didn't know how much time she was gonna have at Sweet Apple Acres in the near future. While walking back to the barn to begin sorting the fruit, she thought to herself, I'm gonna need to get Rainbow to show me that trick of hers, their football season is gonna start soon and I want to be able to watch it without looking like a dang fool. And I wish some of the people they get to talk about sports and news didn't lie like it was part of their job. I think their media need a triple dose of Honesty, Apple Clan style.

Fluttershy was at her cottage, still reviewing some of the old nature and cultural documentaries she found while travelling the networks herself. Although initially shocked at just how cutthroat Earth's environment had made all the species there, especially humans, she then began to come to a realization...

Even though the whole planet is like the Everfree Forest, they still show each other kindness. Even though some of their own kind see this kindness as a weakness, they still show it. How strong of soul these people have to be to still believe kindness works, living a world so especially cruel.

=====================

[ Earth, May 19, 2080, 9:00 AM EST ]

Manhattan, historically one of the great melting pots of the world, a crossroads of culture and business. One of the great tourist destinations of the world. However that was the time before the Domes. After the Domes, it had become a restricted play ground for the idle rich; a place where people who thought they were superior to the common man would regularly engage in contests to see who was worth more, who was more important, who had more connections. A place of great culture and history was being hollowed out by a bunch of nitwits with way too much cash to burn, and it made a particular man absolutely sick to his stomach.

          This man was Richard Edwards, a sort of aberration amongst the Dome dwellers; he still cared about those left behind as it were. He was a man of great means, even by Dome standards, yet he had managed to escape the self-reinforcing game of 'Anything you can buy I can buy better' that so many of his neighbors engaged in. A video-phone call from a friend in a very high place was about to allow him to leverage his considerable means for a cause he felt actually needed his resources.

          He was sitting in his office, still musing over the thoughts after Celestia's speech at the UN almost 3 weeks ago now. The video-phone rang, and Richard picked it up, quite surprised to see the number that popped up as the source of the call.

"Hello, Richard Edwards of Edwards Robotic and Nanotech Fabrications. We build it bigger, better, and cheaper than anyone out there..."

"Hah, it's been what 25 years since you worked the customer service line, and you still answer the phone the same way," a female voice said on the other end.

"Well to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call, I thought you would be too busy trying to beat back the dogs barking at a certain pair of horses,", Richard said to the female on the other end.

"First of all, Ponies, Richard. Anyway, it must have pained them so to hear the truth laid bare before the entire world. Their allied legislators have been trying to get me to declare them openly hostile to the United States government or some such.", President Aguillar said, revealing her face for this quite personal of calls.

Richard blanched at the reminder of how arrogant most of his neighbors were. "They really think they own the government now, such arrogance. No wonder my father raised me outside of this wretched hive."

"Moving on, I believe that Celestia's speech before the world has thrown things into such chaos legislatively, they can't even marshal the votes for a simple resolution of general disapproval," President Aguillar then said. In fact most of the world legislatures had been thoroughly paralyzed by indecision, allowing most of the leaders, especially the reformists, to officially state that they by and large would not interfere with the plans of the Equestrians. The EU Council President and the Japanese Prime Minister managed to go further and say they would welcome further dialogue with the Equestrians, hoping to prove that they would be a benevolent force.

Richard was glad to hear that most the legislature could do in this state was express vague disapproval. "It's good to hear that those idiots in Congress are going to at least stay out of the way for now. But our dear Ponies are going to need access to resources on this side of the Aurora, are they not?"

Melinda was glad to hear he was already thinking along her train of thought. "Yes Richard, as you know, since the Domes were constructed and the Singularity occured, land on the outskirts of our cities and out in the wilderness has become dirt cheap. Our dear Elite see no reason to buy any land not already sealed and supposedly protected."

"Hrm, so you would have me buy up large tracts of land on the outskirts for our mutual allies, yes?" Richard then asked.

"Indeed, I am also sending you, via secure data link, the rough draft of the facilities they want to build on said land," President Aguillar responded.

"Outposts?" Richard asked.

"Not necessarily, just read what they are." the President responded.

          Richard read over the plans, and they were stunningly detailed. He was being asked to furnish land and equipment for what would be a, a first blush, a moderately-sized self-contained community facility. There would be classrooms, dormitories, laboratories, doctors offices, a group cafeteria, areas for a garden, even recreational rooms. But what impressed him more was the scale, or rather the lack of it in terms of absolute size. The land requirements were almost nothing relative to the extensiveness of the building's purpose. Whoever designed this wanted maximum amenities in a minimal amount of space, it's the very antithesis of the waste these idiots in the Dome design in their homes... he thought, marveling at the elegant simplicity of the plans.

"I would assume our Royal Guests drew these plans up. Hardly anyone living in the Domes would have this extensive knowledge of architecture while also having this sense of aesthetics.", Richard remarked, the wheels turning in his head.

"Indeed, they did draw those plans up. Also, as I explained to them, in my position I cannot guarantee anything the government would do aside from extending police protection to them. So this effort needs to be funded from your realm, as it were. Therefore, they would like to meet you in person in order to discuss matters more in depth.", President Aguillar said.

"How does this time tomorrow sound?", Richard then asked.

"Tomorrow sounds lovely, indeed." a pair of regal-sounding female voices replied.

Well played Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, well played indeed. Richard thought to himself.

President Aguillar then ended the video call. Richard then leaned back in chair, and buzzed down to his secretary. Again, an oddity considering he wanted to employ human assistants instead of AIs. "Candice, please cancel any appointments I have tomorrow, I have a pair of V.I.P.s coming through and I would like not to be interrupted."

"Yes sir, Mr. Edwards", Candice replied.

Hrm, a pair of Very Important Ponies indeed... he thought to himself.

          The next day, rumors and stories were flying on the 'Net about how everyone seemed to have these strange dreams. Those near the date line reported them first by and large; but, as night began to lift across the world the rumors only compounded. The dreams varied, but there was always something in common. They were speaking to an altered version themselves, smaller in stature yet seemingly more serene of mind. Everyone who could stay asleep long enough had these dreams, however four in particular had more vivid dreams, to say the least.

"Ok you know those rumors that everyone been having these weird dreams?" Andre started to ask.

"Yeah man, I think that particular rumor is legit," Ethan chimed in.

"You had one too? Wow I thought I was kinda losin' it myself," Kyoko added

"It seems that makes 4 of us. Still trying to figure out what the heck is going on," Natasha said, while nodding sagely and deep in thought.

"You think some hackers are having a little too much fun with the neural nets?", Ethan asked of his beau.

"No, I haven't received any security notices or reports of greater than usual incidences of neural tampering. Whatever this event was, was causing actual dreams to change." Natasha answered.

"So, feel like some impromptu story time? I guess if we all went over what happened maybe something would sort itself out," Andre asked of everyone. Everyone else agreed.

Andre went first, "Alright, now the details are kinda sketchy but mine went like this: First I was standing in this cave, and I was looking at this giant blue something, an uncut gem maybe. And then I fell through the floor and was completely submerged in water. I struggled and struggled and struggled, thinking I was gonna drown right. But here is the weird thing, when I stopped struggling it was like I could breathe anyway, like the water was just plain air. Then I heard this voice ask 'Do you have the will to achieve Power?'."

Ethan then followed, "Mine was kinda similar, except the gem I saw was kinda yellow, maybe gold... anyway when I reached out to touch it, suddenly I was launched into the air. I dunno how high because there was no frame of reference, then I started falling. I was panicking, praying to whatever deity name I could remember, but I just kept plummeting through the air. The turn in my dream was I yelled about having something to land on that wouldn't kill me, and then suddenly I *ploof* hit this cloud, like I had just let myself topple over into my bed instead of having fell however many thousands of feet. And I heard a voice ask that same question."

"Woah, that was nuts.", Kyoko started before going into her account, "Ok so there I was, this really really pretty green crystal formation like you two right. And then suddenly the whole floor turned into sand, quicksand I guess. So I start sinking, to my knees, then my waist, and up to my neck. I was soooo scared I thought I was gonna die. But it seemed like when I thought that suddenly something grabbed me by the waist and arms and pulled me up and out. And then I was sitting on a big giant leaf like I was only 2 inches tall, and then I heard the same question."

"Mine was probably the scariest though", Natasha started, her face chastened like she had seen a ghost suddenly, "Now I saw the same gem I guess, except in my dream it was red. The most brilliant red I could ever imagine. But then it started getting hot, in fact everything was getting hot. And then I started seeing sparks, flares, and before I knew it the hole whatever I was standing in was up in flames. I couldn't see any smoke but what I felt was the most intense heat and light I think my brain could process. The flames crowded in around me, and I thought I was going to be reduced to ashes. But I wasn't, the flames danced all around me, but my clothes, my skin, nothing was being affected by the heat or the light even though by all rights, I should had been vaporized. Then I heard the same question."

"Hrm 4 Gems, 4 Near Death Experiences, 4 People being asked the same question. It's almost as if something is trying to string all of us together with these dreams," Andre began to ponder out loud.

"If we hadn't seen everything we had seen over the last 2 or so months, I'd think we'd had all gone plum loco", Ethan perked up.

"Maybe we still are going crazy, but then again it seems the whole world is going crazy, probably why they came over here to begin with," Natasha added.

"So many questions and no one to answer them, a conundrum indeed," Kyoko started thinking.

Yeah, lots and lots of questions, too bad you can't talk to somepony I know... oh wait did I say that out loud, whoops forget I was ever here. Yep, nothing but a disembodied voice over the 'Net and definitely not somepony from another world accidentally wandering through your computer network. Heh heh heh... Kyoko suddenly heard in her head, wondering who that was and why would they use the phrase 'somepony'?

"Woah, what was that?" Kyoko asked, having just realized that someone should NOT be able to talk straight into her head with her approving it first.

"What was what?" Andre asked.

"That, like, someone was just in my head talking. But it wasn't through a neural network link, it was just some voice in my head talking..." Kyoko asked, wondering if she was starting to have a schizophrenic break.

Ethan asked matter-of-factly, trying to impart some calm to Kyoko given the circumstances, "Ok did it sound like you or was it someone else?"

"It sounded definitely like someone else, like one of those psychics that could just wander around and talk to people in their head or something.", Kyoko replied, starting to calm down a tad.

"You think it was one of the Princesses? Rumor is that they could talk to someone through a direct telepathic link.", Natasha asked.

"No, we heard both of them speak to media before, Celestia a lot more than Luna though. But no, it didn't sound like either of them as far as I could remember.", Kyoko answered.

Andre had that sudden moment of dread again. All of the last few days of his life, with everything being good. That only meant one thing... something BIG was about to happen... again!

          Meanwhile, at the same exact time in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle had to suddenly cancel an information trawling session. She was pacing around, clearly in bit of panic after accidentally making psychic contact with a human.

"Oh no, I hope I didn't mess something, or someone up. How could I know I could actually make contact with someone at the same time they were using the Internet? Dumb, dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb..." She went on out loud, berating herself for being careless.

All the while Spike wondering just what the heck was going on and why his partner/employer was verbally beating herself up... again!