Clair Ree

The difference between Saf when we'd first come here and Golden now she was twenty-one was remarkable. Saf had been all but an adult when we'd left Earth, and had carried on acting like an adult for the past two decades. Golden still needed prodding some days to get out of bed.

Like today.

"Sweetie? Golden? You need to get up." I knocked on her door and, when she didn't call out, I opened it. "Golden?"

"Five more minutes." Her voice was so soft and sleepy I wasn't sure if she was even awake yet or if that had become an automatic reaction. When I reached over to the bed and pulled her covers off, she let out a whine. "Moooooooom!"

"Golden Ree, you made a promise to Princess Celestia that you wouldn't be late on your first day at her school, or did you forget?" I wasn't stern, but I could see the effect that mentioning Celestia had on her.

Climbing off the bed, Golden reached out for her hairbrush with her magic. "Alright, alright. What time is it?"

"Time enough you can have a shower to wake up." I left her to get ready, folding up the covers and setting them on my back as I walked downstairs and to the laundry. Putting the load of bedding on top of the machine, I headed back to the kitchen.

Breakfast was always important, or so Philip had drilled into me. I put on toast, got some of the apple butter that we got from the market fresh, and set out glasses and milk on the table. I didn't need to worry about lunches, they were provided by the school, so I hovered around the toaster to make sure breakfast flowed smoothly.

Riley came clattering down the stairs and pranced into the kitchen. "Morning!"

"Good morning, dear. Sleep well?" I kissed the top of her head as she walked past me to the table. The first batch of toast popped.

When I slipped two slices of toast onto her plate, Riley picked up a knife and started adding the apple butter. "As well as ever. How's Golden taking waking up earlier?"

I snorted. "She wanted to sleep-in. I was having none of it." The other two slices wound up on my own plate and, after adding two more slices to the toaster, I sat down to eat. "Took the covers off her bed and reminded her who was going to be seeing her today."

"Yeah, that'd wake me up too." She let out a sigh that told me she wanted to change the topic to something heavier. "Do you think I'm spending too much time at school?"

Looking into her eyes, I attempted to give her my driest, drollest look I could summon. When she pulled a face back at me, I couldn't help but laugh. "You can spend as long as you want studying. If you want to follow Moon Dancer's lead, go for it. You have so many years ahead of you, sweetie, that you shouldn't let doubt constrain you."

"Ten points for motivation, minus one for pulling faces, Mom." She crunched down on her toast and I saw the rush of a smile at tasting the apple butter. It was sweet and—Okay, it was sweet. Pony tastebuds were like magnets for sugar. I could have dumped a bag of brown sugar in a bowl and poured milk in and any pony would be able to drink it. Apple butter from Sweet Apple Acres, though, was another world of flavor for ponies.

Was I supposed to like my daughter as a friend? She'd been awkward at first, in all the opposite ways to how Saffron had been, but the older she got the more I found that she had this bright personality and sharp mind that belied her shorter stance and made her presence fill a room. "Well, at least I'm getting some points."

"That's the spirit. Still, I have this feeling like I want to study more, but everypony says that once I get my cutie mark, that will be where I'll want to focus."

"Ugh." I slumped back in my chair and waved a hoof at some non-existent pony on the ceiling. "You're preaching to the converted, Riley, remember?"

"Yeah, but you're the only other pony I can commiserate with. Saf has his mark—Dad too. Just us girls rocking the plain-Jane look." She drank some of her milk and let out a happy sigh.

"Well, we can try to fix that." I took a sip of milk myself to cool my throat. "I happen to have heard about a legend of three fillies who sought their cutie marks. They went through a lot of stuff to get them."

"Mom, you're not going to—"

"Well, we'd have to go find one of them to ask, but I don't think any of them would be upset if we borrowed their name." I took another bite of toast and savored the apple flavor.

"Professor Sweetie Belle is one of the teachers at my school. We could go and ask her."

"Sounds like a good idea," I said. We both finished breakfast just as Golden rushed into the kitchen.

Golden grabbed a glass and half-filled it with milk. She grabbed the packed lunch as she levitated the glass up to her mouth, and snatched two apples from the fruit basket. The moment the glass was empty it hit the table and she shouted, "Thanks, Mom. Bye!" and was out the front door before I realized what was going on.

"Cyclone Golden has left the building," Riley said, earning herself a snort from me.

We cleaned up, grabbed our saddlebags, and headed out into Canterlot for some exploration.

The colleges I remembered back on Earth were all labyrinthine halls and lecture theaters that had never seen a second of natural light since the roof was fitted. Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was airy and brightly lit. The hallways had arches of glass to let plenty of sunlight in—And that's when it dawned on me why. Princess Celestia raises the sun. She has a huge sun cutie mark.

Riley had asked at the front desk if we could visit Sweetie Belle, and they told us to go to the teachers' lounge and wait for classes to finish. When Riley led the way into the room in question I found myself freezing. Princess Celestia herself was standing just in front of us, looking right at me.

There was a brief moment when my brain wound back to high school and I wondered if I had gotten all my homework in on time. She was always so imposing. "P-Princess Celestia," I said, giving the court-accepted bow to her.

"Mom, you don't do that here. Here she's just Professor Celestia," Riley said, elbowing my foreleg.

"It's alright, Riley." Celestia's rich voice, accompanied by a bright smile, even had me relaxing. "She's correct, Clair. I am not a ruler here, just another mare wishing to pass-on my skills. Is there something I can do for you today?"

Such a normal phrase for my daughters' teacher to say—if she weren't the leader and supreme authority of a nation. Okay, Clair, you've spoken to world leaders before, even the one before you, get a grip. "I was actually here to see Professor Sweetie Belle."

"Oh. Well, don't let me stop you. I would ask that you drop-in at the castle for a little chat. No rush, some time within a week would be perfectly fine. Excuse me, I must get back there myself now I've given the new students their welcome speech." Celestia winked and stepped to the side to get around us, I quickly moved to give her more room. "Thank you."

We walked in and found a lounge it sit on and wait. "I wonder why she asked for you to visit?" Riley asked.

"I can think of a few things. She did mention she'd have a job for me if I ever wished it. Ten to twenty years seems like a normal amount of time to wait before pushing for an answer—at least here." That gave me an idea, and to switch topics I asked, "Have you thought about teaching?"

"Mom, I'm not even fifty yet. Teaching, at my age—"

I wasn't prepared to let her get into that kind of moping. "Age will come to you. You have twenty years to plan. Perhaps you could come with me and ask the princess if she might need somepony to do some intern work at the school?"

"It can't be that easy. Besides, I'm an earth pony. They'd need unicorn teachers here." She looked at me with eyes that already registered their defeat. After a minute of silence, she let out a groan. "Okay."

We didn't have long to wait before a mare that looked just a little older than myself walked in. Her white coat and two-tone mane matched the description I had for Sweetie Belle, but Riley would know her better than me, so I let her lead.

"Professor Sweetie Belle? We just wanted to ask you a quick question."

Turning, Sweetie gave Riley a big smile—one she shared with me too. "If it isn't my favorite non-unicorn student, and her mother. What's the problem?" She sounded so sure of herself that just hearing her asking for us to unload our issue on her was inspiring.

Riley turned sideways, and I took that as my cue to follow suit. "It's a problem that you are renowned for being an expert in," Riley said.

She glanced past Riley to myself, which resulted in one of her eyebrows raising. "Have you been trying new things? Seeking out new experiences? Riley I can understand as a late bloomer, but Mrs. Ree, you should have your cutie mark by now."

"Raising two daughters, guiding my eldest into adulthood, and supporting my husband in studying medicine." As I unloaded, Sweetie's face softened. "When I learned that Sudden Turn, Bloom, and yourself had experience in this, I thought I'd come and find the easiest of you to contact."

"Isn't your son dating Sudden?"

"He is, but they have a house in Cloudsdale and are both involved with the Wonderbolts more and more." It was true, I barely saw him once a week now. "Can you suggest anything?"

"For Riley here, I believe that she just needs more time. For you, Clair, I think you would be best off getting out and doing things. Don't be discouraged if it doesn't happen right away—you've only been here for twenty years." Sitting on the couch beside me, Sweetie gestured before us with a sweep of her foreleg. "There's a whole world of special talents and cutie marks out there. When waiting around for one to drop in your lap doesn't work, you need to mount an expedition!"

I should have seen this coming. I knew it was true, but at the same time I was comfortable in the little rut I'd established.

"So, let's build a plan." Sweetie Belle used her horn to pull a whiteboard over and pick-up a marker. "I've heard this concept of a bucket list, let's start with that. What do you want to do that you don't think you'll get the opportunity to?"

Should I have wondered where she'd heard bucket list from? No, it wasn't the time to dwell on things I probably wouldn't get the answer to. "Flying. Not in planes or hot air balloons. I guess I'm where Riley and Golden got it from, but I want to try flying."

"You can borrow my hang-glider any time you want, Mom. I can even give you lessons on how to fly it."

I shook my head. "No. I've heard of spells to grant a pony wings temporarily. I'd like to try that."

"Well, that's easy enough. Do you have any more?" Just like that Sweetie wrote down "fly with magic" on the whiteboard.

"Mom, you have literally always wanted to go on a normal holiday. One where you don't have to do anything." Riley poked my ribs with a hoof.

It was true, and I nodded, but the problem with that sort of thing is, well… "But then I don't do anything to warrant a cutie mark."

"Nonsense. Just getting away from your normal, everyday life can lead to discovering your special talent. Besides, you can do other things while on a holiday." Sweetie went ahead and added "take a holiday" to the growing list. "Come on. Either you start adding things, or I will."

"Learn to skateboard!" Riley said. When I stared at her in confusion, she stuck her tongue out at me. Sweetie just added it to the board.

"Drive a train." It was silly. It was something ten-year-old me had wanted—I remember wishing for it while blowing out my cake candles at my birthday. "Run a marathon. Grow a bonsai tree. Learn to cook fancy meals."

The ideas came thick and fast. Once Riley had put skateboarding up, it was like the flood gates were open and every silly little thing I'd ever thought more than ten seconds about came pouring out. "Learn to make gourmet coffee. Take up dancing." More and more came tumbling out, and when I finally managed to stop I felt a warm sense of accomplishment along with a drained sensation.

"That's a great start!" Sweetie Belle said, summoning a scroll and a quill. "Let me get those down for you."

It was, without doubt, a bucket list. I read over the items and they all—even skateboarding—carried some measure of excitement. "W-What now?"

"Now you have to do them. These are amazing, you know. When I was a filly, and it was Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and myself, we tried—well, we didn't really have the patience for some of these—but we did a lot of them." She finished copying the list and floated the scroll to me. "Now it's your duty to see that all these get done."

"What if I do them all and I still don't have my cutie mark?" I asked.

Sweetie's eyes danced and she smirked. "Well, then I get the gang back together and we come up with a bigger list."

Her enthusiasm was contagious, though, and will a weird kind of excitement mixed with a deluge of new energy, I thanked her. "This has been so helpful. It's hard to figure out sometimes, when your life gets in a rut, that you need to turn on a tangent and run free."

I basked in the warmth her smile radiated, and I couldn't help but remember that Riley had told me she'd had her 100th birthday at the end of the last school year. I was still young in this world. "You have years and years yet. You don't have to rush through life as a pony."

That brought me up short. "You heard how short human lives are, then?"

"Mmhmm. It must be hard to find your purpose in the ten years or so from the start of your high school to the end of your college time. It's so short a term that it is almost impossible to contemplate. But, you don't have to worry about that here. You and your foals." Her smile was too much, overwhelming my attempts to analyze what she was saying, so I put it off for later.

"It is a bit overwhelming at times. I've been here for years now and I still sometimes think in terms of human lifetimes." Reality checks of this sort were becoming less and less common, though. Perhaps I was becoming more pony after all. "Okay. Well, are we going to do these in order?" I asked Riley.

"What, now?" She looked at me with wide eyes. "But I—" Shaking her head, Riley let out a laugh. "I have no reason to do anything else. Come on, let's go flying!"

"Wait." Sweetie Belle's voice held command enough that we both stopped from racing out the door. "You'll need this. They'll wear off in twenty-four hours."

Magic poured from her horn and slathered us both. It found root at the top of my shoulders and I could feel it harden and extend outwards as two huge butterfly wings erupted from my back. My eyes widened and I turned back to look at Sweetie Belle. "Thanks!" I was sounding twenty years younger—fifty the way humans count it.

"Thank you, Professor Sweetie Belle!" Riley said, giving a little bow before spinning on her hooves and racing out the door.

It was freeing in a way I'd never really felt before. Riley and myself had gotten through almost a quarter of The List, but now I had to pause things—Princess Celestia shouldn't be kept waiting.

"I'm heading to the castle. Would you like to come?" I asked Riley (Golden was at school).

"What are—Oh! The meeting with Princess Celestia? It'll be boring, won't it?" She looked skeptical for a moment, but before I could tell her it probably was going to be, she nodded. "Can't leave you getting bored on your own."

Somehow I'd raised an angel. "Grab what you need and we'll head off. Four days is probably enough time to show I acknowledged her giving me a week but not wanting to use it all." I tossed some saddlebags on my back, put a notepad and some pens in, as well as some bits, and made it to the door just as Riley had gotten her own gear—including The List.

The walk to the castle, as with every one of the last four days, had involved carefully rereading The List and discussing what to do next. "You already have those little trees started, and they totally love the idea of getting everything awesome about being trees done while being tiny."

"Riley, you know that took a lot of the trouble out of it, right? Most people can't just ask a cutting to become a small tree."

"Most humans can't. Actually, no humans can. Huh, and most ponies couldn't either. I guess you were right."

For being my clever little filly, sometimes Riley overthought simple things. "Most people not being you, I, or a fair number of other earth ponies." We reached the stairs leading up to the castle and started trotting up them together.

"Clair Ree and Riley Ree? You're expected. Please notify the guards in the entry hall." I hadn't actually spent the time to get to know the Royal Guards, but they were all fiercely loyal to the princesses and, in turn, seemed to have their full trust.

I smiled at the stallion and thanked him. We headed inside, gave our names, and were led along to a side room; away from the petitioners in the hall.

The room was exquisitely decorated. Furniture that was edged in gilt, ancient wood and upholstered in silks were the order of the day. I didn't dare sit on a seat or the nearby couch for fear I'd ruin items worth more than I made in a lifetime.

A different door opened a few minutes later and a mare bowed to us. "Princess Celestia, Empress Cadance, and Princess Flurry Heart will see you now." She turned, clearly expecting us to follow—given the names dropped I wasn't going to leave anypony waiting.

"I present the distinguished guests of the crown of Equestria, the former ambassador from the United States of America, Clair Ree, and her daughter and graduate of Princess Celestia's School for Promising Unicorns, Magess Riley Ree!" It was bizarre to hear titles on our names, let alone the announcement of our highest accolades and status within Equestria spoken aloud like that.

Looking up to where Celestia would normally be sitting, I instead found her halfway up the stairs, apparently deep in conversation with Cadance and Flurry at the same level as her. As we walked in, Celestia was the first to turn her attention to us—then the other two.

"Clair! Please, come in." Celestia started to walk down the dais toward the ground, bringing Cadance and Flurry with her. "And Riley too. How is your crusading going?"

I knew the reference. Sudden had told me about her days crusading with her friends—it had been why I'd gone to ask one. "Unsuccessful, but enjoyable. I never knew I could skateboard so well." I gave as good a smile as learning that knowledge had given me.

"It's all about balance, Mom, and that's something earth ponies excel at." Everypony looked at Riley with an air of indulgence. "What did you need Mom for?"

I would panic, but Celestia had basically brought this on herself. Or maybe that was her plan? Whatever, they would all have to deal with young mares who think of Celestia as just a pony and not Princess Celestia.

Cadance was the first to break her composure and laugh. "Auntie, she's got your number. You never invite somepony over just to have a tea and cake."

Snorting, Celestia tapped her chin with a forehoof. "Perhaps I should? I would get to eat more cake that way."

"Auntie Luna will have words about that," Cadance said. "I saw her writing up an exercise routine for you."

The look of terror on Celestia's face almost made up for the strange situation I'd been dropped in. I looked around for help, finally settling on Flurry as the most likely source. I begged her with my eyes for a way out.

"Auntie, Mom, perhaps we should focus a skosh more?" Flurry asked.

Celestia and Cadance paused, turned to look at me, and then both burst out laughing. "Sorry, Clair," Celestia said, "I tend to get carried away when I have family visit."

"Auntie!"

With a huge sigh, the most canny politician I'd ever met rolled her eyes. "Alright. Clair, as you can no doubt see, we have a problem here."

"A big and pink one," Cadance said. "Though, not as big and pink as myself."

All eyes turned to Flurry.

"While it's all well and good to have immortal alicorns on the thrones of each major nation, we have Twilight acting as Equestria's explorer and bringer of good will, but her travels are mostly to planes we haven't visited before. I need an ambassador willing to travel to existing planes and offer support and speak with authority—before you ask, I wasn't asking you to be that ambassador. I would very much, though, like you to continue training her." Celestia nodded toward Flurry. "And if you'd like to, she could use an assistant. You understand why it needs to be her that is in charge, of course?"

Because it needed to be a royal tied to the throne to have the most voice in any such group. Plus, while I was a citizen, I wasn't that closely tied to Equestria. Possibly also because I was only expected to live another hundred and eighty or so years, which might be considered too short for Celestia's tastes in somepony speaking long term.

"Of course. So you want me to train her in what would be required?" It was an interesting idea, and one I guess I was qualified to do. I had gone to another world, as another species, and I had cemented relations between two very different races of people.

Cadance cleared her throat as if to stop Celestia from butting in. "It would be appreciated if you would accompany Flurry on at least one diplomatic mission. Of course, there will be more training before then, and plenty of time for you to find your special talent and get your cutie mark."

I looked at Flurry and saw a pleading expression. "Alright," I said. Flurry's face went from pleading to encouraging grin. "I'd like a vacation after it, with pay. And, while I like the idea of making you tell my husband he has to do without me for some time, I think he would be in too much shock if you did that."

"What makes you think you can't take him with you?" Cadance asked.

Freezing mid-thought, I had to step back from the problem and realize that they were doing this because they knew I was the best for the job. I'd spent eight years tying two nations together with diplomacy and commerce. I honestly couldn't blame her for wanting a little from me.

"Right, well, we have a lot to go over. You have a good rounding of what my job entailed, though we never delved into why I did some of the things I did. We can start at the start." I looked from Flurry to Celestia and Cadance, both were smiling but it was the former that gestured to Flurry and myself with a wing.

"Please, don't let us keep you," Celestia said.

It was dismissal. I looked at Flurry, and almost did a double-take. She normally wore clothes over the top of her armor, but the dress she was wearing revealed that she had none of the normal plates or straps of her gear. "I guess we'll go and get started now. Perhaps we can grab something to eat?"

The first lesson was a little odder than I would have thought. There was two ponies present I didn't know as well as Flurry. When all three walked in, I looked between them with a little bit of nerves. Bodyguards? Perhaps they were aides who would be accompanying us?

"Sorry, Clair, but we have two infiltrators who'll be sitting in. This is my Uncle Blue, and this is Aunt Lyra. When Mom and Aunt Celestia were talking about what you were going to be teaching, they begged to attend." As always, I made a point to pay attention when Flurry referred to somepony with uncle or aunt as a title—it usually meant they were significant in and of themselves.

"Lyra Heartstrings," the mare said. "I've only ever been to one other reality, and that wasn't a diplomatic mission—but I'd really like to see what I could pick up from this."

Rolling his eyes at Flurry, "Uncle Blue" had to be just about the most perfect example of hunky stallion I'd ever seen. "And, typically, my niece wouldn't introduce me as Prince Blue Blood. Please, though, just call me Blue."

"R-Right. Do I even what to know what you two do?" I asked.

"Unannounced diplomat," Blue said.

"I run a clandestine information service for the military," Lyra said.

Turning, I looked at Flurry. "What have you gotten me into?"

"They're making it sound much worse than it is. Lyra works in the E.U.P. Guard in information management and to acquire dangerous artifacts. She's almost worked herself out of a job. Blue is a diplomat. He might not always be the one expected, but it's not like he can hide being a pony when he arrives." Flurry stuck her tongue out at Lyra and Blue. "But I think you get the gist of their positions. They're trusted by Aunt Celestia, just like you."

Exhaling, I closed my eyes to focus on the problems this presented. "So long as they're at least as knowledgeable on this topic as you are," I said, looking at Flurry, "it shouldn't be a problem."

It wasn't. I jumped into things; explaining about trading favors with political entities that weren't always of the same level. It was the stuff that had made me so effective in trading between Equestria and the United States.

If either Lyra or Blue were being left behind or found the topic boring, they didn't show it. Both took notes diligently and asked questions about the topic. The time explaining it was energizing me, each question they asked for clarification had me snapping-to and reexplaining until they understood the concept.

At the end of the training session, all three looked excited about the subject.

"This won't just be useful in dealings with foreign political entities, but also—I'm sure Blue would agree—with furthering Equestria's goals within." She smirked at Blue and raised an eyebrow. "I can think of a few courtiers who will be easier to deal with now."

"Absolutely. I might suggest a few ponies for a repeat of this course—if you wish to continue once done with us?" Blue looked at me like I was going to revolutionize his career.

Was I? This was mostly how to deal with people 101, but they were eating it up. "I'll consider it. This was only initially meant to be a quick crash-course for Flurry's first big mission."

"You made a very information-dense lecture flow well and presented the subject in a way that made it easy to absorb," Blue said. "When is the next day?"

"Make it tomorrow, same time and place. Princess Celestia mentioned there was a time limit on this." I looked at Flurry and got a nod from her. The others left, saying their goodbyes. I turned to look at Flurry. "This—I'm going to have words with Her Royal Highness about this."

Flurry giggled at that. "Can I watch? Would it be okay if I bring popcorn?"

"If you do, you have to bring enough for the whole class—and the teacher—to share." Toward the end I started getting some giggles too. "At the very least, she god two ponies who didn't cause any problems. I've only dealt with interns before, teaching them the basics of our party and administration—they were vastly different."

"Lyra is…" Gesturing with a hoof, Flurry gave up and just waved her limb away. "She's a force of nature. When she is set a task, or takes one up herself, it gets done. There is no if, but, or maybe. It doesn't care how many lives need shaking up or what impossible deed needs to be done—she will ensure the shaking and the deed happen.

"As for Blue, he's exactly the same, but infinitely more subtle than Lyra. Where Lyra is a force of nature, Blue is a fine instrument. He's usually sent in as assistance to our allies, but there have been cases in the past where neutral nations had needed help—but couldn't ask for it."

That he had joked about that and was actually a legitimate diplomat relaxed me. Lyra's description, coming from an alicorn, was almost terrifying. "Lyra's a big deal then?"

"Not everypony notices what she does, or notices that events can be led back to her, but I can promise she is a force for good. Aunt Celestia has even commented that she has a finer affinity for harmony than anypony she knows."

Harmony. I'd heard the term used as if it were the weather or destiny. Even Riley had talked about it after her time spent studying at Celestia's school. I was fully prepared to hear Golden using the term soon as well.

Did that mean an affinity for harmony meant Lyra could literally twist destiny to her favor? "What does that mean: affinity for harmony?"

"That's a whole talk on its own. How about saying it like this—when harmony needs ponies to act in a certain way or do certain things, it creates a path of causality that leads to things working out for the best. Normally it would create subtle adjustments to make this work without too much upheaval.

"Sometimes, however, harmony needs to work fast and do a lot. It could scream and shout at ponies to do what is needed, or it could find somepony like Lyra. Somepony who isn't just used to listening to harmony and understanding what it wants, but can also navigate a path toward that given the tools available."

That was both less terrifying and more terrifying than what I'd thought of. She didn't twist destiny to her own favor, she listened to destiny and worked plans that ensured it would come about as required. "Destiny terrifies me sometimes."

"Destiny?"

"Oh, sorry, harmony. How does it know what's best for everypony?"

"You're probably going to want to spend some time asking Lyra about that. Or, if you can get her in the mood, Aunt Celestia." Flurry shrugged her wings. "I would say this is all theoretical, and for most ponies having to worry about harmony is theoretical. But, for some ponies, that's their lot in life."

For the rest of the week I worked through the material I'd planned. Lyra and Blue kept coming back, but I never got a chance to ask her about harmony until the last day before the weekend.

I'd just explained the various forms of both public and private posturing and finished up. Lyra was about to leave but Flurry stopped her. "Uh, sorry to bother you, Lyra, but Clair wanted to ask about harmony."

Lyra turned and looked at me, one eyebrow raised. "You want the short version or the long version?"

"How many years is there between them?" I asked, and got a laugh. "Just the short for now. I might have more questions about it that will need the long version, but that can be later."

"Alright. Short version. Shortest version is that harmony is the collective best future for every single pony. It is everypony living their best life, finding their cutie marks and special talents, and being able to express those. There is so much weight to this collective pressure that it becomes a force unto itself. Even right now you are working toward the goal of harmony. You might think teaching three ponies how to get their way isn't a huge thing, but harmony is made up of tiny things.

"The other side of harmony is… Imagine every single pony that lives is in a band"—Lyra's horn glowed bright and a guitar appeared in her golden grip—"they're all playing as best they can, and while sometimes things can be difficult, they're all belting out a great tune. That tune is harmony. If there is one or two ponies who aren't connecting notes properly, well, they don't change harmony too much in the short term and they'll probably learn better as they go.

"The analogy works even when vast numbers of ponies fall out of tune. Maybe they break strings or their reeds need replacing, or any number of problems. They keep playing, because playing is life, but there is such a cacophony that harmony itself is degraded."

When she paused, I realized she was waiting for me to add my own words to show understanding. What did she want me to say? No, that's wrong. What did I personally get out of this? Well, that harmony wasn't a bogeyman. But what was the unasked question?

What was Lyra Heartstrings within this analogy? What was she to harmony itself?

"You're a tuner. You fix instruments," I said.

"Sharp. Really sharp. I fix instruments, but sometimes the distortion itself is too large. When that happens—" Lyra stopped and raised her eyebrow anew.

"When that happens," I said, "you teach ponies to tune their own instruments."

She was a healer of destiny, the real destiny—the good destiny. It made me feel infinitely better about helping her with all the manipulative tricks I could teach.

"The perfect world, the world I'd love to leave to the next generation, is one where everypony feels harmony and can tune their own instruments." Shrugging her shoulders like it was nothing, Lyra strummed the guitar. "Until then I can provide tuning guides, spare strings, and the occasional help selecting an instrument." She made her guitar vanish again and started walking to the door. "If you need any more help figuring this out, just ask."

If I needed help. Help like "selecting an instrument"? Harmony was ponies finding their special talents and cutie marks. She was offering to help me without even a guess as to what it might be. Or could she tell? What did being a tuner actually give her in all this?

Wait, her cutie mark was a musical instrument. If I could face-palm with a hoof without almost knocking myself out, I would have done it right then. "She's exceptionally good at that."

"That's why I said to ask her," Flurry said, her own magic zipping around to pick up all the bits and pieces of paperwork I'd used in the room.

Unicorn magic, let alone alicorn magic, was always a sight to behold. It would have been superbly easy for them to overuse it and make everypony else feel less because of it, but selflessly cleaning up a room with it goes a long way toward reducing that. They don't just use it for themselves—they use it for everypony around them. "Thanks, Flurry."

"Your butt's glowing."

Given the topics we'd been discussing, political and theoretical, the words didn't click. I looked at her for about five seconds before my brain registered a context shift and what the new topic was. I turned my head to look back.

On my formerly blank flank was an open book with glowing light rays around it. "W-What?"

"Looks to me like a book. Sunlight radiating. Suns are pretty popular, you know, but I have to wonder if it's not exactly sunlight. What have you been doing recently that would inspire a cutie mark?" Though Flurry was talking, it was hard to focus.

Everything just seemed easier to face. Harmony? Politics? My thoughts filtered topics so much easier and I found myself building a whole month of classes for Flurry, Lyra, and Blue. "Teaching," I said.

"Yeah, I figured. Books are knowledge, rays are radiating it. Fits you well." Flurry walked over and gave me a hug that only seemed to make me feel better and better. "I bet you're on a bit of a high right now?"

"A bit?" I laughed and almost broke into song. "A bit?! I feel like I could teach everything!"

I was, literally, bursting with ideas. Study plans bubbled up inside, teaching methods I'd never thought to use before ached to be put to use, and—and—and—and— Shaking my head, I laughed. "This is really what it feels like?" I asked. "What it feels like to have a cutie mark?"

"Cutie marks are pretty good, but what you're feeling is your talent. Talents are not always tied to cutie marks closely. Ponies typically discover their talent first, then get their cutie mark when they give it a good workout." Flurry set all my material in a neat pile for me to grab. "So, Clair, what now?"

"I'm going to go home, right now, and—" I shook my head. "No, Philip won't be home until later. Would you like to go out and get coffee?"

"I wouldn't say no. Anywhere in particular?"

Picking up the papers, I slipped them into my saddlebag. "Honestly? Anywhere would be great."

It was hard to focus on anything else. I know I was talking a lot, but Flurry seemed fine to listen and even egged me on. The coffee probably didn't help either, but I was feeling on top of the world—and couldn't stop saying it.

"You're more talkative than normal, Clair. Really feeling that new cutie mark?" Flurry asked, using her magic to slice a delicate cake in half with her fork.

"I have so—much—energy!" My own cake lasted nearly ten seconds. "There are so many ideas rushing around in my head. I have a whole human lifetime of experience with which to teach, and a pony lifetime to spend teaching it."

"Don't sell yourself short, Clair, you still have plenty of time to learn new things as a pony."

I wanted to scoff, but she was absolutely correct. I had no idea what the next hundred years would hold for me. One. Hundred. Years. That those words could fit so easily together was a sign I was maybe a little more pony now than human, but there are moments when I still think of myself in my mid-seventies and think that's old.

The chat with Flurry helped to burn off a little of my manic energy. The walk home had me prancing and bouncing along. I guess now I fully got what Philip and Saffron were talking about when they described their own cutie marks.

The most important question—the one right in the fore of my mind—was would anyone walking past want to know that I just got my cutie mark. It was such an ego trip that I struggled to pull back from the urge to shout out how happy I was.

I didn't, of course, but I did laugh and giggle every step of the way. I was almost to the front door when two pegasi landed—flanking me. I looked to see Saffron on one side and Sudden on the other. "Guess what?!" The urge overwhelmed all attempts at me to stop it and had, apparently, taken over my mouth, my emotions, and was doing a good job of making me not care one bit. "I got my cutie mark!"

Both of them flapped their wings in excitement, each backing off a bit to look at—well, they were looking at my hips.

"A book?" Saffron asked.

"Light coming from it. Teaching?" Sudden asked. When I nodded, she pumped a wing in glee. "Yes! You know, with all the crusading I did, I got to explore a lot of cutie marks and what they meant. I'm not as big a scholar about them as Twilight, but I think I'm a bit of an authority."

"We saw you dancing along all the way from the last street. Figured there had to be some good news." Now Saffron jumped back toward me and hugged me with both wings. "Has Riley gotten hers yet?"

A new urge took me. I found an irresistible need to tell them both how I got it, but I couldn't just give an abridged version—I had to tell them everything. "Well, it was actually one of your friends, Sudden, that helped Riley and myself in trying to get our cutie marks—Sweetie Belle."

Sudden's eyes widened and she bounced on both her forelegs at the same time. "You have to tell her. She will be so excited she got to help."

"So, we made this list of things for me and Riley to try to get our cutie marks. We've been doing them well, though I still think asking trees to remain small and be bonsai is cheating, but it turned out mine wasn't even on the list!"

"Just like with us—the crusaders I mean." Sudden was grinning so wide I thought her face would split in too. "We tried so many things to get our cutie marks, even helped a lot of ponies get theirs, but our own ended up being something far more amazing."

I looked at her flank, though she was wearing a flight uniform that hid it. I racked my brain but couldn't remember what it was. She noticed and reached back, unzipping her flight suit to show me the shield with a wing on it. The shield, specifically, reminded me of Bloom and Sweetie's cutie marks. "You got similar marks?"

"Yup! We all got them at the same time, too. Mine has a wing, Sweetie's has a star and note on it, and Bloom's has an apple. You can kinda figure out why." She zipped her suit back up, the zip trailing up her spine to end under her mane.

Though I was still excited to talk about my cutie mark, I had to wonder if Philip would want to see me in one of those outfits. "Well, yours and Blooms I can figure out, and from what I heard a star was usually a sign of magic, but why does Professor Sweetie have a note on hers?"

"Well, it's mostly just that she likes to sing. The star could be her magic or it could be something else. Maybe she'll become a superstar musician in fifty years?" Shrugging and now more capable of movement, Sudden and Saffron escorted me the last few steps to the front door of my house.

Opening the door, I expected to enter and tell whomever was within the good news. Instead of that, I was hit in the breast by Riley crash-tackling me with a hug.

"Mom! Guess what? I got my cutie mark!" Riley's voice got higher and louder with each word until she was practically shrieking.

It took me two seconds to figure out what she meant and pick her up in a huge hug too. "What'd you get, kiddo?"

She had to work to squirm out of my hug, but when she did she turned to the side and showed off her cutie mark—which was quite the surprise. "I had a lot of fun with the skateboarding we did, so I wanted to do some more. Turns out I was really good at it when—" She blushed.

I ruffled her mane. "… when your mom wasn't holding you back?"

"You were doing good when you were trying it out," Riley said. Her efforts to defend my skateboarding were adorable but absolutely in vain. "When I got back on the board and just started trying things I remember seeing back on Earth, it just clicked and I—Well, I got a skateboard for a cutie mark."

"And I got a teaching cutie mark," I told her.

Riley froze in place and I swear she took the same few seconds as I did to process what'd been said before she started bouncing in place. "What?! Show it! Show it! Show it!" She timed her shouts with each bounce.

Her excitement was contagious, though it wasn't like I wasn't already excited to show it off. Turning, I smiled even wider as I showed her. "I was teaching Flurry about diplomacy, and when we did the last training session of the week, I got it."

That's when it sank-in. Apart from Golden, who was born here, all of us in the family that came from Earth now have cutie marks. Our old lives as humans are forever locked away from us. It sobered me for a few moments—long enough to realize this was an important moment in our lives. "We need to go out and celebrate this." Turning to Sudden and Saffron, I asked, "Would you like to join us?"

"We weren't planning on spend—" Saffron said, but Sudden elbowed him. "What?"

"Saf, this is a moment right here. All four of you that came from Earth just got your cutie marks." Sudden turned from my son with a grin. "We'll be there, but I need to go and get the Guard to send a message to let the commander know where I am."

Looking around as Sudden flew off, Saffron let out a sigh as he stepped into the house past Riley and myself. "I guess she's right. This is a big deal."

"So, where are we going?" Riley asked, prancing her way to the couch to sit down beside her brother.

Author's Note

Considering that there are creatures in Earth's ancient cultures that live on in myths and legends that in description match the various creatures, both sapient and not, that live in Equestria. Has there been contact between our two worlds in the past or is it simply human imagination, ingenuity and creativity, along with a bit of coincidence that lead to creatures from our many different cultures ancient stories matching the creatures of your world?

"It's possible, but highly unlikely." Twilight fetched a book, a rack of slides, and a projector. Setting up the latter, she added the slides and started showing comparisons between early drawings of creatures on Earth and their Equestrian counterparts. "For one, the pictures of the time usually corresponded to actual creatures in your world, but the real key to unlocking this mystery is imagination. You see, the creative people in your world that came up with dragons and griffons and unicorns all had one thing in common—an active imagination. Here, in Equestria, magic literally runs on imagination. Flights of fancy are literally the building blocks of what is and what can be. Q.E.D. species in both worlds were the result of imagination—your world just didn't have the magic to actualize them."

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