Although she was securely strapped in, Violet Woods clung onto the acceleration couch as if her life depended upon it. The rumbling and shaking seemed to go on for an eternity but, in actuality, had only lasted a few minutes so far. It was much worse than the stomach-churning teleport up from Equestria to the faster-than-light starship that had brought the unicorn mare from Equestria to the new world of Chakona. The hours spent traveling the many light years here had been boring but smooth, but when you were in a vessel with a reactionless drive, that was to be expected. The shuttle down to the colony on the surface of the planet was an entirely different matter. Intellectually, Violet knew that it was a purely routine procedure to bleed off relative speed while transitioning from orbital velocity in the vacuum of space into the life-giving atmosphere of her future home. However, right now she would have traded her life savings for another nauseating teleport rather than this bone-rattling transport.

Then the shuddering and shaking suddenly smoothed out. The mare knew that they were still some time from landing though. They must have slowed down enough to fly at normal atmospheric speeds like the aircraft that had taken her to the spaceport on the first step to her new life. Not that she could see anything. The shuttle was purely utilitarian and made for transporting goods and non-VIPs between Chakona and Equestria. The three dozen or so other passengers were little more than cargo that required special treatment. This amounted to closely packed acceleration couches with plenty of padding and straps but zero amenities. There were no windows or holographic displays to show them the view, even if that was just sky and clouds for now. At least, she had gotten a brief glimpse of the planet through a window on the starship as they had shuffled onto the landing craft. The sight had briefly taken her mind off the upcoming plummet of several hundred miles down to the surface.

Violet sensed the banking and turning and heard the sounds of the engines fluctuate as the shuttle maneuvered for the landing at its destination. Then there was a jarring thump that made her squeal before the engine noise dropped quickly to zero. After about half a minute, the intercom chimed.

“Welcome to Chakona and the Emu Island Spaceport. We had a particularly smooth trip down today so you’ll be able to disembark very soon. You may now all disengage your safety harnesses and get your possessions in preparation for leaving. Those of you who won’t be making the return journey to Equestria, we wish you the best for your future in the New Horizon colony.”

Violet did not know if the pilot had been kidding about the smoothness of the ride down, but she had no intentions whatsoever to make this trip once more. Nothing would convince her to set hoof on a shuttle ever again. She fetched her saddlebag from the locker under her couch, secured it around her barrel, and then waited.

The bulkhead door eventually slid open and a crewpony directed the passengers to make their way to the exit. There was the normal rush to be the first out the door and it took a minute before the unicorn mare emerged from the shuttle, blinking in the bright sunlight. By the time she had made her way down the ramp to the apron, her eyes had adjusted enough to have a good look around. Many of her fellow passengers were doing the same.

Unlike at a modern airport, the shuttle was required to land and park a safe distance from the terminal. A small bus was parked nearby and a few of the passengers had boarded it already. The driver closed the door before the mare reached the front of the line, leaving the remainder of them to wait for his return. That suited Violet as she wanted to have a chance to get a good look around before being hastened away. Not that there was a great deal to be seen from this vantage point, but it was a new world and it deserved a moment to appreciate it.

The mare drew in a deep breath. The air was clean and warm with unfamiliar but pleasant scents. She figured a lot of them came from the dense vegetation that bordered the spaceport. In the distance, she saw long, straight tree trunks rising into the jungle canopy. Violet’s heart urged her to climb them to get a better view of the area even while her head told her no. She could see a few birds but no pegasi, although she guessed that this would be a no-fly zone for them. A short distance away sat the terminal building. It looked fairly utilitarian from here but that was not surprising. Violet remembered why Emu Island had first populated by Equestrians – as a base to fight a war. Although the military compounds had long since converted into a very young colony, most edifices had been built with practicality in mind rather than with expensive artistic flairs. Not that they were dull though – she didn’t think ponies were capable of settling for boring architecture. Still, she reckoned she could sense a touch of griffon brutalism in places.

The bus soon returned and the remainder of the passengers boarded. The trip to the terminal was brief and they soon stepped within to join the lines that had formed in front of two plain desks. A sign located above and between the two desks read: “CUSTOMS & IMMIGRATION”. While the left desk was manned by an earth pony, the right one that Violet had lined up for had a Terran morph official behind it – a raccoon by the looks of him. The mare tried not to stare when it became her turn to be interviewed.

The agent gave her a polite smile and said, “Identification, please.”

Violet hastily fished out the smartcard that she had been issued. It was a combination ID and passport with her visa digitally loaded on it. She passed it to the agent in the glow of her magic and he took it without batting an eye. Obviously, he was quite used to such displays of magic. He tapped it on the surface of the desk and the formerly blank surface lit up with data and images.

The raccoon muttered, “Violet Woods. Unicorn mare. Unmated. Profession – geologist. Status – immigrant colonist.” He compared the photo to the green-coated mare with a mauve mane and peach stripes in front of him. His eyes flicked over various other details before nodding. “Your visa seems to be in order, Ms. Woods. Please turn right at the exit to join the others in the Transit Lounge where you will all be addressed for your orientation. Welcome to Chakona.” He passed the ID back.

“Thank you,” Violet replied.

She made her way through the exit that was located between the two desks. The mare noticed that turning left would take her through a security barrier and egress from the terminal but she turned right as she had been instructed. There were a lot of chairs in the room suited to various body types and Violet chose a quadruped-friendly one. Aside from several other ponies, there was a minotaur, four red changelings, and a griffon couple with two children. She had chatted with a few of them and all were eager to start new lives on this world. Their enthusiasm was infectious and the mare found herself itching to go out and explore.

When the last of the immigrants joined them, two people emerged from a side door. One was the raccoon-morph that Violet had been interviewed by earlier, but the other was a chrome changeling. The former stepped up to a rostrum and smiled at his audience.

“Hello. My name is Paul Iotor and I am a representative of the Chakona World Government. All of you here today are joining the Equestrian colony of New Horizon. Like all the colonies on Chakona, New Horizon enjoys semi-autonomy. That means the laws and conventions of Equestria that you are familiar with apply equally here, up to a point. The Chakona World Government holds ultimate authority over all the colonies. However, it has a strong hands-off – or in many of your cases – hooves-off approach to governing these colonies and it is likely that you will never need to concern yourself directly with us. That said, the CWG maintains a permanent office here that deals with inter-jurisdictional matters and we are here to help if you need it. The office is manned at all times although only fully staffed from Firstday to Fifthday during daylight hours. I suggest you familiarize yourselves as soon as possible with the Chakonan eight-day week and twenty-hour day. As Chakona uses Universal Time, the date and time are the same all over the world, but office hours will look odd to you until you get used to the system.”

The raccoon held up a leaflet. “A summary of local laws which you should be aware of was uploaded to your ID chit upon arrival, but you will be given a copy of this ready-reference that should answer your commonest queries. While your preparations for coming to this world should have familiarized you with them, please take the time to refresh your memories. We truly wish that your introduction to your new homeworld will be a smooth and pleasant one.”

The morph stepped aside to allow his compatriot to take his place. The changeling shapeshifted into anthro form to use the rostrum microphone without adjusting it. “Hello. I am Glistening Path and I am the coordinator for new arrivals. The fees that you all paid entitle everyone to four weeks of free housing at the immigrant hostel. All meals and services are included. After that period, you may remain but you will be charged a boarding fee payable in advance. You have the first week open to settle in and explore your new home. You are obliged to check in with your employers from the start of the second week. Any job orientation and training will begin then. You will be expected to have commenced full-time work by the third week. While we hope that you will find time to enjoy the beauty and opportunities of your new home, you are reminded that this is still a young colony town and everyone needs to contribute fully to its prosperity.”

The changeling’s horn lit up and a box floated over to the rostrum. “I have keys for the hostel here for everyone. Please transfer the details to your ID chits at your soonest convenience. The keys will be deactivated at the end of four weeks regardless of your status. It will be up to you to negotiate an extended stay at the hostel or find new accommodation before that. There are many options for affordable housing available in the colony and, before you ask, I don’t need a pod-buddy.” Violet chuckled along with the rest of the immigrants even as she wondered how many times their host had told the same joke. From the raccoon-morph’s lack of reaction, she had to assume this was a regular occurrence.

The changeling gave everyone a warm smile. “If you have any problems related to the colony services, our main office is located by the CWG office at the east end of this building. However, queries can also be submitted through the hostel manager’s office. Remember that we are here to help you begin your new lives with as little fuss as possible. What benefits you, benefits the entire colony.”

“At the conclusion of this orientation, you will go out that door…” A hoof pointed to the right. “…where you will board a bus that will take you to the hostel. Any goods that you have brought with you will be delivered directly to your accommodation after they are unloaded from the shuttle and processed through Customs. You may expect it all to arrive within a few hours but bear in mind that yours may not be among the first to be delivered. Please do not contact us about your checked luggage unless it fails to turn up before sunset. Any questions?”

One pegasus stuck up a hoof.

“Yes?”

“If this is the chakat homeworld, why haven’t we seen one yet?”

Glistening Path chuckled. “While several non-Equestrians live and work in this colony, there are presently just two chakats, and only one works in the CWG offices. Tigerbright is otherwise occupied today but you are welcome to come by and introduce yourselves at a later date. Shi quite enjoys meeting newcomers. Anything else? No? Then let’s get you started on your way. Once again, welcome to New Horizon.”

The changeling shifted back to normal form and carried the box of keys along to the exit door. The immigrants queued up and presented their IDs which were matched to the keys. Violet stuffed hers into her saddlebag and headed outside. The same bus that had ferried them from the shuttle was waiting and everyone boarded as soon as they had stepped outside. This time, Violet was lucky enough to make it into the first group and they were all soon on their way. As they left the spaceport, the unicorn spotted the aforementioned offices and filed their location into her memory.

The bus spent a few minutes passing at high speed through forest which Violet figured was a noise buffer zone. Then they emerged into an area that had been mostly cleared for development. They continued until they reached the firmly established districts. By this time, the mare could smell the salt air of the nearby ocean. The hostel apartments turned out to be fairly close to the beach, much to Violet’s delight. She hadn’t had the opportunity to go swimming for a while.

Everyone disembarked and the bus promptly left to fetch the remainder of the immigrants. By the time the unicorn made it inside, there were already two lines at the check-in counter. As there was very little to do besides confirming their arrival, the lines moved quickly. When it was her turn, Violet registered herself and was given directions to her assigned apartment. It turned out to be on the second floor and a long walk down the hallway, but that was fine by her. The key let her into Apartment 227 and she took in her home for the foreseeable future.

There was a small bathroom, a tiny bedroom with a wardrobe that doubled as a wall between it and a kitchenette, and living area. She suspected that the griffon family would get something a lot larger but this suited her needs fine for now. Drawing back the curtains, the unicorn was delighted to find that she also had a small balcony. It was probably a concession for the winged species that stayed there. Stepping out onto it, she realized that she could see a bit of the beach from there. She looked around and observed the luxurious and well cared for gardens that seemed to be a feature of every place that the mare had seen so far beside the new developments. This might be a very young township but it was obvious that the citizens took great pride in its appearance.

The mare closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath of the fresh tangy air while feeling the sun on her fur. She let out a contented sigh. “Welcome to the first day of your new life, Violet Woods. Let’s see if we can solve the mystery of why House Path thinks this remote island is so special.”

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Author's Note

Art by Foxenawolf.

Thanks to Airy Words for his feedback.