Beantown Bug

Glimmer Glory’s cheek puffed out, while she looked between a small, spiral bound book and a sizable magic circle on the ground—the product of a week of study and a night’s legwork.

She, like many other ponies, had volunteered for a mission to Earth. Travelling to an alternate universe and meeting its significantly advanced inhabitants was, quite literally, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Many unicorns like herself yearned to make the jump, but only a few of them could. Most ponies had worthwhile jobs. Most ponies had families. Most ponies weren’t expendable. But Glimmer?

Her parents were dead, she had no siblings, she never kept in touch with her relatives, she wasn’t close to her friends, and she lived in the smallest apartment in Manehattan. It was all she could afford with her wage, moving small boxes for a living, as the reward for general magicks degree. If she were to travel to Earth and, for whatever reason, find herself unable to return, that’d be just fine. Very few, if any, ponies would miss her.

And the same could be said for her companions, too.

“Dustup, Sage, did you check to make sure we have everything?” She asked of a pegasus pony and an earth pony. The two of them looked over their shoulders and turned away from the wagon they’d fussed over for the past several hours.

“Glory, that’s the third time you’ve asked,” Dustup groaned.

“He’s right,” Sage said, “Nothing’s grown legs and walked away since the last time we checked.”

“She’s just got the nerves,” a second pegasus pony chimed in. Glimmer looked up.

“I’m not nervous, Clarity, I’m just being thorough!” she said.

“Mhmmm.”

“Augh! Fine.” The notebook in Glimmer’s grasp snapped shut and tucked itself into one of her saddlebags’ many pockets. “The sun’s coming up soon—let’s get this done before anymore ‘stray clouds’ from the weather team roll our way,” she said, as she waved her hoof in circles beside her head, the team’s agreed gesture for ‘gather around.’ “Who wants to remind us why we’re on an island in the middle of Manehattan Bay, so early in the morning? Sage?”

“We’re going to Earth, to find the human leaders and bring them to Princess Luna, so that she can help them understand their new forms.”

Glimmer blinked once, then twice. She waited, until it was clear Sage would say no more. “Aren’t you leaving a little out?” she asked.

“Nothing that matters!” Sage exclaimed, as she threw her hooves in the air. “Now quit stalling and cast that spell already!”

Glimmer sighed, and rolled her eyes. They just didn’t quite understand, she told herself, and there was little she could do to show them the light. Without anymore words or protest, Glimmer waved her horn, and the magic circle began to glow. She stepped into the center, followed by her teammates. “Now everypony hold hooves.” Clop. “Yes, just like that. Three. Two. One, and…”

Perhaps the first thing Glimmer noticed upon her arrival on Earth, beyond the fact that the interuniversal teleportation spell had flashed far too many bright lights at her, was that it was rather dark in this alien world. Darker than it ought to be, in Earth’s equivalent of Manehattan, at seven in the morning. She turned her attention away from the remarkably uniform bricks at her hooves, and looked forward. The pavement stretched a ways, before it ended in a tall, wrought iron fence. Beyond the fence, a bay stretched out into what was clearly and ocean. One either side of her view, large monoliths of some washed out material could be seen in the distance, and bizarre, metal objects floated at the edges of the land. Some were vibrant, others were blacker than the night. The objects looked a bit like minimalist steamships, Glimmer figured. She had been told in the brief that the humans were far, far more advanced, since they were unable to solve their problems with magic. Imagine that?

Behind her back, Sage, Clarity, and Dustup all made variants of the typical “Oooh!”’s and “Aaah!”’s, just like any tourist that had been knocked flat on their rumps. Glimmer couldn’t blame them; just a quick glance around was impressive enough. This was supposedly one of the biggest cities in the human world, but it was a far cry from what she’d been expecting. Where did they put their chimneys? Why was it so foggy? It wasn’t the fog that might’ve risen from the water as the sun warmed it, because it didn’t feel like fog. It was chilly, sure, but a smell hung in the air, masked only a little by the salt that accompanied it. Acrid, the same as wood smoke, but heavier. It wasn’t quite a scent, but rather a stink. Far from pleasant. Glimmer took a deep breath. She’d just have to deal with it.

And now that she’d had a bit more time to reflect on the vista, she came to a realization. It wasn’t dark outside. The sun was clearly right there, she could see its glare on one of the distant monoliths. She stood in a shadow, that she had come to realize, but of what? She was a unicorn, sure, but a horn didn’t make a mare psychic. She turned around.

And her butt made a small crater. Her lower jaw might’ve followed suit, if it weren’t so firmly attached to the rest of her skull.

A green statue rose up and cast its shadow over the team. It depicted a peculiar, flat-faced creature, wrapped in billowing robes and stood atop a tall pedestal. In one talon, it held a torch of gleaming gold. In the other talon, it held a tablet that was covered in script. A crown rested on its head. Was this a statue of the human princess?

On a short pole near Glimmer, there was a plaque. Out of curiosity, she scooted toward it. Just enough to make out the letters that’d been carved into its surface.

The Statue of Liberty