Music was something strongly rooted in pony culture, not that that was a surprise seeing the effects that harmonic magic tends to have on them, luckily I have never experienced it, but that doesn't matter now, what really matters is how to take advantage of it

It seems almost, if not all, of the songs these ponies make are happy, with a rather childish tone in my opinion, although that may be because positive emotions predominate in that type of magic, which I'm pretty sure has limited their musical abilities among many other artistic forms

That's exactly why this melancholic tone is more than ideal to attract curious ponies, for them, I suppose it must be something innovative

Main Theme - Hans Zimmer

Although the ponies did not seem very comfortable with my Kirin form, many had been attracted by the melody, only to be caught by the sign that contained a word irresistible to any thinking being.

FREE

I never imagined that being good with a musical instrument could be so satisfying, it makes me rethink some life decisions

“Excuse me” A soft and tender voice belonging to a pegasus foal with light blue fur and white mane distracted me, causing me to lose my rhythm, but it didn't bother me.

The visible shame present in all children when meeting a stranger spoke to my heart

“Tell me little one” I gave him my best smile without showing my fangs, I learned the hard way how much that makes ponies uncomfortable.

"What's that?" He pointed to one of the multiple images I had hanging on the side of my cart

“Oh, that” I said, levitating the leaf closer so he could see it well. “This is a nebula.” Seeing his confused face, I continued slowly explaining “Nebulae are clouds, space clouds, only instead of being made of steam and water these are made of gases and cosmic dust”

“Woooow” The colt released without clearing his eyes of the image “And where can I find one?” He seemed fascinated, almost hypnotized, and it was no wonder, Discord helped me a lot by taking images directly from my memories and making them solid, it was almost like a photograph if it weren't for the fact that these were hyperrealistic

“There” I said pointing to the sky, the poor colt followed the direction of my hoof, the emotion marked on her face, but she died when she found nothing.

"I do not see her"

“Haha, of course not small” The confusion returned to him, so I explained again “These clouds are special, they are not something you can find on a random day and especially not at this time” I pointed to the sun in the distance, it was already getting dark so it didn't hurt our eyes and gave a nice view by painting the horizon orange “It's nice, isn't it? But you shouldn't let it distract you, that's just the preamble to wonders." This time I pointed directly to the sky where some stars were already beginning to be seen.

“There they are, at distances you can't even imagine, born from a dying star, anyone can see these wonders, but you must be willing to look for them” End my little presentation, perhaps too enthusiastic for that little mind

However, to my surprise, the boy didn't seem to lose interest. He seemed a little frustrated, probably because he couldn't understand everything he was telling him, but that changed when he looked back at the pictures and the sign that said FREE.

“I… Can I take her?” He asked, pointing at the image he was still levitating.

“You better take this.” I returned the image to the side of the car and instead took out one of the books that filled the back and that had apparently gone unnoticed until now. “Maybe you don't like reading, but this book has all the images I have here, and it also tells the story of a journey that goes beyond any adventure you could ever imagine”

The colt took the book, his eyes seemed to shine as he read the cover.

Interstellar

It said in big letters, it was the same as the movie poster, but I changed the main character for a brown pegasus with black mane, I wanted to put a griffin, but Fyr warned me that if I wanted to get the attention of the ponies it would be best using ponies which made sense, although I didn't really like limiting myself to a single race, so the other characters were quite diverse

"Thank you so much!" I scream with excitement, hurting my ears, but I don't get upset, on the contrary, I really liked seeing how fascination and intrigue were born in this child's mind.

“You're welcome, but it's already quite late, you better go home” I said patting him on the head.

The boy laughed as he ruffled his hair. “Goodbye.” To my surprise, he jumped up and gave me a hug, which I gladly returned. Then he started flapping his wings and flew away into what looked like a cloud shaped like a house… I still can't get used to that

“Okay… I think I'm done here” I stretched and flexed my muscles to relax, sitting most of the day moving only my arms… front legs are more tiring than you would think, but I didn't dwell on it too much, I had to save my things and take the carriage

I wonder if I'm exaggerating with this, but the truth is that I've wanted to see how these ponies react to fiction for a long time, so you could say that I'm doing this more as a personal experiment than because of the promise I made to Luna.

At first, like every coherent human, I dismissed that promise because I was obviously drunk, and I said it without thinking, in addition to not having the slightest idea where to start.

Until the enlightenment hit me, what better way to show others the grandeur and immensity of space than with what it showed it to me?

'Interstellar' was my favorite movie and the one that basically blew my mind, even now I feel like I didn't see it enough times despite knowing it by heart

Despite that, making the book was a real challenge, writing is much, much more difficult than anyone imagines, the words you are looking for do not come, you discover how bad your spelling really is, the sentences lack coherence and so on. A thousand complications that repeat themselves over and over again

I had to ask for help and luckily Aspen and Fyr were fans of reading, their help in correcting me and editing the multiple drafts was key, and even so if it weren't for my wolves working 24/7 I would never have finished it within this year, Making this masterpiece in a week was nothing short of a miracle

Once finished, I just had to ask Discord for some help to create thousands of copies along with the images and that's it.

I just had to distribute them

Something I took as a vacation, since going from town to town and city to city was quite entertaining, although I didn't allow myself to relax. I continued training as Hawthorn told me and spreading my drones in every city and town I visited.

Now I just have to go to the outskirts of the town, activate 'Flame gate' and... What is that?... No, seriously, what is that?!

With a dumbfounded face, I stared at the pair of street vendors trying to convince people to buy their product, a kind of fruity drink, but it wasn't that that caught my attention, but rather their cart.

It had a motor! It was an archaic thing, its shape looked disproportionate, and it seemed like it was trying to imitate a locomotive, but it was undeniably a car!

I immediately ordered a dozen of my drones to follow them and for nothing in the world would I lose sight of them, meanwhile I continued with my original plan, I entered the forest and teleported all the merchandise I had left to my cave, and I was waiting

Oddly enough, I didn't feel very comfortable in that place, perhaps because this was not the Everfree, something good that I cannot deny about Equestria is how well they have done to grow without harming the environment, resulting in a collection of different large and small forests scattered everywhere

The rest was a matter of patience, it was already late when I left the town, and they did not take long to follow my example by closing their stall and calling it a day

They looked for a secluded place to set up camp, but something that caught my attention was that, like me, they moved away from the town to a considerable distance away from where anyone could find them.

I didn't understand why this was, I did it because I needed to release my flames, but they had no reason to hide, or at least that's what I thought.

My answer came about 30 minutes later, when the village ponies began to emerge from their houses with colorful spots all over their fur and searched the entire village for any trace of the street vendors demanding an explanation.

Interesting

My questions only grew the more I saw of these two and, of course, they weren't going to be resolved if I just stared, so I opened another 'Flame gate' near their camp, leaving myself and some wolves that remained hidden just in case.

I didn't let them see me, instead I crept up to the car and examined it, checking its wheels, gear shifters, what appeared to be a mini chemical factory in the back and the exhaust pipes confirming that it was in fact a combustion engine and continued until I found a way to open the hood

Fascinating! There is no fuel container, no battery, which means… I don't understand anything!

It might seem contradictory, but that's what excited me the most. Not understanding what drives this machine shows how extraordinary it is.

"Ahem"

My growing euphoria came to an abrupt halt when a forced cough came from behind me, I must have made too much noise.

I immediately connected to my drone and understood why he had not informed me, neither of them was a threat, both of them were holding medium-sized branches with telekinesis, which meant that they did not know offensive or defensive spells, if they did, they would not incapacitate themselves with telekinesis, not even I can cast two spells at the same time, much less two civilians

“My apologies, your car caught my attention.”

Both brothers looked confused and doubtful when they saw that I didn't even bother to look at them or at least they thought that.

“I see that you have good taste, but I must ask you to come down from there if you don't mind... ma'am” said the brother with the mustache as he looked away uncomfortably, only then did I realize that they could only see my somewhat raised rear part due to how so much that I had delved into the bowels of the machine

Damn and damn nudist culture! I immediately got out of the vehicle with my tail stuck to my side.

Needless to say, my expression of combined shame and fury was not the best to introduce myself to the ponies, who immediately jumped and burned themselves while trembling uncontrollably.

“E-excuse us please!”

“Don't eat us, I assure you we don't taste good, what's more, I have some welts on my butt that I'm sure are contagious!”

Eww, too much information, even his brother tried to distance himself a little from that statement

“Don't worry, I would never hurt the architects of such a magnum opus.” I made sure to sound eloquent as he pointed to the wheeled junk.

“You… Are you serious?” None of the brothers seemed to trust my words.

"It's so weird? Are you going to tell me that such a creation doesn't steal attention every time it enters a town?

“Well… certainly presentation is important in our area of work”

“Are you talking about the scams?” They both tensed, it seems to make you

“If my brother or I sold you something that was not entirely to your liking, rest assured that we will give you fair compensation.” Before I could calm his growing panic, the mustacheless brother levitated a chest and when my mouth opened, he did it too

It was so full of bits that the chest sank into the ground and its brilliance manifested itself despite the complete lack of any lighting source.

“They got this after just one day?!” I asked stunned.

“Of course, after all you won't find better merchants” One of them declared proudly, I didn't pay attention to which one, they seemed to have acquired the habit of completing their sentences.

"As?"

“Parasprite juice is exquisite, a delicacy reserved only for the highest society.” He said what I assume was a rehearsed line to cajole the most naive.

"But?" I asked, remembering what happened in the town.

Their foreheads began to sweat and when they couldn't handle eye contact anymore, they confessed, lowering their heads. “But it has the side effect of causing stains on the fur, but everyone exaggerates, it only lasts a week at most.” I added as if that changed the fact. What is a scam

My look said it all, for someone who almost died due to the unreported side effect, I found this annoying, but for the sake of not losing the little confidence I had gained, I decided to ignore it

“I won't question your sales methods, it's none of my business, however, this” I pointed to the machine “I'm intrigued, where did they get it?”

For the first time, the fear completely left her face. “We did it!” They said in unison

"Oh really?" I asked with obvious distrust, that was hard to believe. This machine, as antiquated as it is to me, is decades ahead of Equestrian technology, even centuries depending on what areas we are talking about.

“Doubt offends, there is no one in Equestria who can make one like it.” I still didn't believe it, not that his actions made them trustworthy.

I let flames adorn my figure in an attempt to intimidate them, which worked wonders.

“So tell me, what drives this machine? You should at least know that, right?"

“I-it's just magic” That made me angry, magic can do many things, but it is not a viable substitute for gasoline, or even electricity. Pure magic can only be used in a very limited range of arcane projects, not mechanics.

“They lie!” I said almost shouting

“W-we use magic to create small explosions that move the pistons that drive the vehicle, that's all!”

…

I'll shut up... it just didn't occur to me. Magic itself cannot be used to make fuel, but if you can make a spell that does the same thing as that, you can even use an electric spell that generates electricity.

How did I not think of it before?! How did I miss something so obvious?

I went back to the vehicle and looked at the pistons

Both brothers were surprised by my sudden change of attitude, but revealing their opportunistic nature, they soon tried to escape in silence.

It didn't work, but it was nice to see them try, but still, I wanted to give them a chance.

“It's a shame they left it incomplete”

Both brothers stopped in their tracks, processing what they had just heard.

I was surprised at how well synchronized they were when they looked at the darkness of the forest, their only escape route, and then turned to look at me again, biting their lip.

Now they were the ones who had been lured and hooked by the false propaganda, by an offer they simply could not refuse.

I had seen his reactions when I talked about his vehicle before, his pride was undeniable, but now I was sure it was true.

The seed of doubt had been planted in their minds, and they could no longer simply leave despite the danger. If it was something related to his great invention, they had to know it, no matter what.

"What do you mean?" asked the brother with the mustache

“You say this is the best you can do? It's a shame, I shouldn't have gotten so excited." I said, "I'm disappointed."

"That?!" The other brother shouted indignantly “There is no one who can do anything better” he stated and to my surprise I managed to perceive some anger.

With that I decided that it was time to show them the true power "The wheels are bad, the wood is useless, you will destroy the chassis in record time and the suspension if it has one, better wrap them in rubber and fill them with air, the engine is functional, but you could improve its efficiency and power if each cylinder has twin spark plugs, and you integrate a double ignition system, magnetos are a good option and speaking of magnetos you could also use them to create a secondary engine that works with electricity to produce a "similar effect to the combustion engine, although it will be less powerful it will still add more power or a backup in case of emergency"

As I progressed with my explanation, I pointed out the parts of the car that needed changes or were directly useless, such as that large bumper that served as a platform, or the disproportionate rear wheels, etc.

By the time I finished, both unicorns were looking at me with open mouths and collapsed brains.

“H-how?, How?, How?!” The brothers grabbed their heads with their hooves as if they were going to fall off.

“In my home we have studied mechanics, chemistry, physics and any other science in depth, we understood long ago that better ways of getting around equal better economy and quality of life” Both brothers were still too stunned to respond appropriately so I decided to hit while the metal was still hot “How about a deal?”

Despite the surprise, both brothers reacted instantly to that word: “I share my knowledge with you, and you market it, and then we divide the profits into a percentage that we will settle later. What do you think?”

They didn't even know what to think, a few minutes ago their biggest worry was that she was a savage and ate them, and now she was making them the business offer they had been waiting for their whole lives. “Who are you?” Finally, they responded almost in unison

“Forest Heart, a pleasure”

Celestia walked through the hallways with an unusually fast pace, she was tired and worried, she had been working tirelessly and in her carelessness she had overlooked a crucial detail, they couldn't blame her, a thousand years make you addicted to routine and her millennia-old routine had undergone a drastic change

Once he arrived at her destination, he greeted the thestral guards, who responded in the same way without giving him a second glance.

She was still not used to his presence or the new design of the tower, she always found the range of colors that now adorned an entire section of the castle quite unimaginative, of course she understood perfectly that this race could see perfectly in the dark, but was it necessary to highlight that fact so much?

She put those thoughts out of her head and focused on her current goal.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK"

I knock on the door three times… nothing

“Sister, I apologize for coming at such an hour, but I'm afraid we have an urgent matter that we must discuss.” I wait again and nothing

She briefly considered trying to get in. Her sister was still not used to modern locks and she still used her magic to lock the doors, something that tended to cause problems among the castle staff, but for Celestia there was no impediment.

“Hey, princess.”

Before carrying out the act, one of the guards spoke, “Is something wrong?” She couldn't help but notice the reproachful look her fellow guard was giving her.

“I ask permission to speak.” Celestia had to stop herself from rolling her eyes, especially when she saw the guard's nervous face. What did she think she was going to do to him? Does she really compare her to those pretentious nobles?

“You can,” she responded, deciding to keep her opinions to herself.

“Princess Luna is not in her room,” the guard said.

More than bewildered by the late news, Celestia was surprised. There were still more than three hours until it was time to set the sun, and her sister treated the hours of sleep as a sacred ritual that must be extended as long as possible, or she would surely suffer the wrath of some deity.

“In that case, would you have any idea where she might find it?” Celestia asked.

“I'm afraid not, she left quite early, even for a conventional time and seemed to be in a hurry, since she didn't give us time to ask where she was going.”

That was unusual, and it left the princess thoughtful, but she didn't forget to thank the guards before leaving.

He was internally wondering where she could have gone, he needed to talk to her, but as much as he wanted to stop and think, she couldn't just stay still in the middle of a hallway, so he headed to her room hoping he could get the privacy he needed to be able to think

She does not expect at all to see the doors of her room seemingly moments away from being besieged by a troop of her own guards.

“Excuse me,” her voice left her guards in a state of apparent petrification. “Would you be so kind as to explain to me what is happening?”

"M-my princess, I-I assure you that we tried to stop her, but she is like a wild beast, she even dared to throw the Icy Blast soldier out of the window when he did not move." A unicorn guard tried to excuse himself, who from what he remembered was guarding his quarters today, as he pointed to a pegasus guard, the rest of the guards only nodded in confirmation.

“Could you step aside, please?” Not wanting to repeat her question, she decided to find out what was happening herself. Some guards seemed to want to protest, but wisely chose to remain silent and obey.

With her magic, Celestia opened one of her doors slightly to get a glimpse of the inside, what she saw… she didn't expect it.

“Not this one, this thing is horrible and… Why would I have one of these?” It was her sister, in her closet, taking her clothes and throwing them into a pile as she discarded them.

“Princess, we tried to-” The guard tried to excuse himself again without even processing the idea that her princess might be upset about something else besides the unauthorized entry into her chambers, but Celestia was in no mood to listen.

“You tried to deny my sister entry to a room in our castle and then gathered the guards to forcibly expel her from a room IN OUR CASTLE” Celestia gave special emphasis to that part

“B-but princess.”

“You have no authority to command a member of royalty, much less my sister.” The guard cowered in place, not knowing what to say or how to defend himself. “If you had any doubts, you should have come to me.” The alicorn's horn. Shined for a second, taking the information corresponding to the guard directly from the armor, making him freeze, knowing that nothing good awaited him next.

The princess did not say anything else as she entered her room and closed the door behind her, perhaps it was an impulsive act, but there were things that made even her lose patience and her sister's mistreatment was undoubtedly one of them, added to the stress of these days, one could only say that it was not a good idea to make her angry

“Hello sister.” Luna's ears perked up, apparently barely noticing her arrival.

“Oh, hello Tia,” Luna responded without thinking.

Celestia could feel her heart stop for a second and her wings almost take off. How long has it been since he called her that? She really lost count, this was unusual, apparently her sister was in an unusually good mood.

“Are you planning to go out somewhere?” She asked, staying as neutral as possible as she pointed to the pile of clothes, no longer caring that she had messed them up.

“… Something like that, I'm sorry about that, but my wardrobe seems to be somewhat… outdated, she was hoping to find something more cheerful”

Celestia nodded, not many things had survived her battle a thousand years ago, not wanting to sour the mood, changing the subject. “I remember how my things would suddenly disappear, and somehow you would get identical outfits days later.”

Luna quickly defended herself “It's not my fault! You grew too big, and it would have been a barbaric act to let them gather dust.”

“Maybe, but the truth is that I never thanked you for that, after all it was thanks to you that I learned the lock and punishment spells.” A small curl escaped Celestia's muzzle at the memory.

"Do not remind me that!" The lunar princess's face turned red as she remembered how the fabric of that dress suddenly compressed until it left her in a most compromising position in front of an entire mining town with which she was trying to negotiate for raw materials.

Clearly, she burned the dress seconds later and never trusted her teenage sister again.

Celestia, for her part, was still fighting and failing against the urge to laugh. “Do you remember that that year there were many more aspirants than usual who tried to enter the Starswirl tower?”

“Mmmh!” Luna was not at all pleased with the memories of her coming back to her and started stepping on one of her sister's legs.

“Haha, ouch, haha, ah, okay stop!” As soon as Luna removed her hoof reinforced with her usual metal horseshoe, Celestia began to rub her paw, hoping to ease the pain. “But seriously, I know you well enough to know how much you dislike dresses.” Maybe that's why she always likes him. We're missing, and he had to resort to taking his own “Why this change?”

A genuine smile adorned her sister's face. “Nightmare Night is coming.” Luna almost jumped as she announced it.

In the same way that Celestia's happiness came, it disappeared.

“Does it mean that much to you?”

“How would it not be? After so long, there is finally a nighttime festivity truly awaited by our ponies!”

“HUM”

Celestia let out a whimper as she felt Luna almost knock her over, she could practically feel her happiness radiating from her through the contact.

“Besides… there is someone I want to show it to too.”

Celestia knew exactly who he was referring to, and the whole situation caused a strange mix of emotions to arise within her.

Certainly, she didn't like Spirit Flame, but to deny the positive change she was having on her sister would be to be in denial.

In the time since Luna arrived she had become more open, communicative and generally happier, not only with Celestia, a few days ago she was surprised to see Luna having a talk about magic with Cadance and Shining, on another occasion she was surprised asking him for a walk through Canterlot, even though it was night

It may not seem like much, but compared to when I arrived…

“Tia, are you okay?” As expected, her little sister was able to notice the conflict in Celestia despite her mask, and that caused her internal debate to break out.

She had to tell him, hiding it wouldn't stop her from finding out later.

“I'm fine, it's just been a while since you burned me like that.” No matter how much Celestia tried or how much she told herself how wrong it was to deceive her sister like that, she just couldn't find it in her to ruin it. The happiness that had eluded her sister for so long

She settled for returning her hug as she wished this moment would never end.

“It better be here,” Hawthorn complained as he climbed the last stretch of rock and extended his paw to help Zecora.

She did not hesitate to take it to go up. "We have already reviewed all the oases that have been talked about, our destiny takes us along this path." Although the territory they were in was not exactly desert, it was on the border of one, so that the lack of vegetation and the increase in temperature began to become evident

“I hope you're right, we didn't do all this for nothing.” Climbing the summit had been a tough challenge, not for nothing did they have the word danger in their name.

“Puff.”

Zecora collapsed, finally getting a well-deserved rest. “We beg for a moment to stop the movement.”

Hawthorn nodded as he took advantage of the moment to observe the terrain with binoculars.

The views were beautiful from such a height, but he did not waste time contemplating them, he had an important mission to fulfill.

And that was when he saw something, it wasn't exactly what they were looking for, but the fact that they merely existed meant that at least part of the rumors were true and if this was true, what else could it be?

“Zecora I think you'll want to see this.”

The zebra, although tired, did not doubt the words of her companion and composed herself enough to take the binoculars and observe.

A smile appeared on her face as she looked at the small village and with one word described its inhabitants.

“Kirins”

Author's Note

I think at this point you can see where Zecora and Hawthorn's plan is going, but the real question is

Will they arrive in time or will they have already crossed too many red lines for redemption?