An Earthling Earth Pony at Celestia's School of Magic: Year One

The sun was setting as I left the castle and headed back to the dorms. Equestrian sunsets weren’t like sunsets on Earth. They happened much more rapidly. It started with bright daylight, and then, in an instant, the hues of light would change, lasting for about a minute, sometimes two, as the sun rapidly lowered. Only the stars would give light a minute later, and a minute later, you would see the moon rapidly rise in the sky before simply seeming to hang in place. Some people on Earth believed the stories of the princess controlling the sun and moon were just things they told their subjects to control them, but those people had never seen an Equestrian sunset or moonrise.

I stood in place through the process. The sudden change in light often took time to adjust to, and ponies took longer to adapt to light changes than humans. It was best not to walk around half-blind while my vision was adjusting.

The area between the dorms and the castle was clear of ponies, even the road leading to and from the castle. Celestia usually ended her court and stopped seeing ponies for the day about an hour before sundown. That meant most of the parishioners were long gone, though I could barely make out dark shapes near the entrance, indicating the guards were still on duty.

I heard heavy echoing hoof falls on the road near the school, and I gasped as I turned to see what the commotion was.

It turned out to be no commotion, simply a carriage, but unlike most Equestrian carriages, this one was not drawn by a team of ponies but instead drawn by one massive horse—not a pony, a legitimate Earth horse. The carriage and horse had no rider, but the horse was led by a human, with a few other humans and ponies making a circumference around the carriage as it went down the road. I realized who they were; they were those elite bodyguards who had been at the funeral, and that meant that the cargo on that carriage was probably Psychic Calm’s body, now on route to the Crystal Empire and the portal back to Earth. They were taking him home to be buried.

“Hehe! Come here, Mister Butterfly! I wanna play!”

I turned again to see who was giggling; a little distance away was what looked like a much younger foal, gleefully jumping in the grass, trying to catch a black butterfly so big I could see it even at this distance. The light around where the foal was jumping and playing seemed brighter than everywhere else, although I didn’t see any light source. They were so far away that I couldn’t tell what tribe they were, yet something seemed incredibly off about the foal, which made my fur bristle, though I could see no signs of danger. Was the foal wearing a cloak? That was making it harder to tell anything about them. What foal goes outside in a full-bodied cloak?

As my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I looked to the left and right, scanning the area for the foal’s parents. Canterlot was generally a safe city, but leaving a foal alone after night still seemed wrong. There was no sign of anyone, just the now approaching carriage.

When I looked back at where the foal had been, there was no sign of them, nor did that area seem any brighter than the rest. That was strange. Where did they go? It was a big open field between the dorms and the castle, only broken by the road. Could the foal have crossed all that area to someplace else that quickly? I was sure I would have heard galloping if they had, but I could see no sign of them nor hear anything but the slow progress of the death carriage. I was confused, but my fur unbristled, which was good…I guess.

The foal was gone…I think it was a filly, based on the sound of her voice, but the carriage was approaching. I decided to wait and watch them pass by.

A human woman was leading the way of the grim group. She was dressed oddly, with bushy white furs around her shoulders and leather clothing dyed gold, white, and green. The multicolored leathers made me imagine they were made of the hides of slain ponies, though I doubted this was the case. On her head sat a crown of laurels adorned with a pair of wings like some crown of a Greek god. Her hair was long and golden, pulled back in a ponytail behind her. However, her skin was deeply tanned, as if she had spent a lot of time outside in the sun, yet I imagined it would be quite pale otherwise. She had no weapon on her that I could see, even though all her companions, even the ponies, seemed to carry some visible weapon ranging from knives in sheaves to guns in holsters. I took her to be the leader of the group. She certainly made herself stand out. One of the ponies came up to speak with her, gesturing towards me. She nodded before raising a fist, which brought the group to an abrupt halt. She then walked alone towards me as the others stood alert.

“Greetings,” she said as she stopped in front of me. “You are Turnip Jones?”

Something about this woman reeked of danger, even if she was unarmed and strangely dressed, and even more dangerous than her armed companions. She wasn’t tall for a human or even tall for a woman, but she was still tall enough to tower over me like a giant and close enough to me that towering over me was the appropriate way to describe it. She was thin, yet muscular, based on what I saw of her clearly exposed arms and thighs—I suppose athletic would be the best way to describe her. Her eyes were blue and held no warmth or mirth, only cold judgment. I had no idea how, but I felt like it would be easy for her to hurt me if she chose to do so. She carried herself as if she was ready for an attack at any minute and supremely confident she could put down any attacker.

I couldn’t help myself. I stepped backward before answering, “Yes, that’s me.”

She stared down at me as if weighing everything there was to know about me by my appearance. “You were staring at an empty field just a few moments ago. May I ask why?”

“There was a young filly playing in the field…though it could have been a colt; I didn’t get a good look,” I replied, uncertain why she was curious. “They were completely cloaked, and no sign of their parents. Didn’t you see them?”

She looked out at the field. “That field, just a few moments ago?”

I took another step back. “Yes, ma’am.”

“We are always on the lookout, and all our eyes are good. We also have a pony with us who has exceptional night vision. None of us saw anything. Could you have been mistaken? A trick of light?” the woman asked.

Her questioning whether I saw what I saw made me mad, and I stepped forward. “I’m sure. She was laughing and playing as she jumped at a black butterfly. I heard her voice clearly.”

She frowned. “A black butterfly? That’s interesting. I will have to consult with my employer about that. Have you seen this foal before or the black butterfly? I would be most interested in hearing about the latter.”

“I suppose I may have seen a black butterfly at least once in my life before this since butterflies come in all kinds of colors, but it isn’t anything I would normally see, and I’m certain I never saw that foal before,” I answered, wondering why the butterfly and not the foal was the interesting part. “Why are you asking me about this?”

“Curiosity,” the woman bluntly answered. “I think we’ll meet again, though it may be a while before we do since I have no reason to be in Equestria for a while. However, your school games will bring you back to Earth starting next school year, which brings opportunity. I’d like to hear if you end up seeing anything like that again when next we meet.”

“Who are you, and how do you know my name?” I asked.

She smirked. “How I know your name should be obvious for a pony with a cutie mark like yours, and you will be included in my report. My employer sees far, but their gaze does not extend to Equestria, so it is good to tell them about curiosities we happen across. They’re always interested in hearing about oddities, and you, Turnip, are an oddity. My name isn’t important for you to know, and I have come to guard my name as closely as my employer guards theirs, but I can tell you I have recently risen to be the captain of their Elite Guard. Do not worry; I mean you no harm, nor does my employer.”

I gave her a nervous smile. “So, the weapons and everything are just for show?”

She shook her head. “I cannot claim we never have to get violent, nor can I claim my employer’s deposition is always gentle, for no one would employ people like me and certainly not my comrades if they didn’t expect there to be blood spilt, but I can say that they are virtuous…even if they appear mad as a hatter sometimes.”

“Mad as a hatter? What does that mean?” I asked in confusion.

She frowned again. “Ask your human teachers about that terminology. I have tarried too long. I recommend that you hurry back to your dorm. With Psychic Calm gone, I expect the wolves to begin moving in, perhaps quickly. However, our duty is to return Psychic Calm to Earth and not become embroiled in the conflicts of other parties, so we will not be staying to aid you. Still, I hope we meet again under more pleasant circumstances.”

“One last question before you go!” I said hurriedly as she was turning away.

She turned back towards me. “Yes?”

“What’s with the gettup? Why are you dressed so odd?” I asked. I felt silly for asking, but it was such an odd outfit.

The woman sighed as she picked at her clothes. “I told you, my employer sometimes seems mad as a hatter. They decided that I needed to stand out when on official missions, especially ones that may be diplomatic. I personally find this uniform beyond absurd. I think they were going for a valkyrie aesthetic, but it is just so…never mind. I made my objections, and they were heard and overruled—other than toning down a few elements that would have interfered with my freedom of movement. I must now swallow my pride and wear it. Anyway, have a good evening. I have a body to return to Earth.”

I watched her walk back to the group with the carriage. Valkyrie? I had no idea what that was. Well, that was how I’d refer to her since it was shorter and more catchy than her job title. She was Valkyrie, captain of the Elite Guard, and hopefully, it would be a long time before I saw her again. Why the butterfly? What was significant about that?

It was easy to guess she must have spoken with either Headmaster or Princess Luna and learned about me, which meant she was aware of those stones as well. It seemed a lot of people knew about these stones. Then again, these guys entire lives revolved around protecting guys like Psychic Calm, so they’d probably be informed about anything involving them, including Psychic Calm having those stones and what they were. They weren’t hanging around to protect the stones, despite implying that people would come looking for them without Psychic Calm guarding them. That meant even more people knew, and not all of them were friendly—if this counted as friendly. If that was the case, I probably didn’t want to have my stone in my possession. That must be why they said I wasn’t ready.

Maybe I should learn a little more about defensive magic. This was starting to seem very dangerous, and I didn’t even know what the stones did other than enhance my powers and learn my nature. What did that even mean? What powers did I have to improve? My earth pony strength? I suppose being a little stronger might be nice, but strength was overrated. Plenty of ponies would still be way stronger than me, even if my strength were enhanced, and physical strength wasn’t much of a weapon if anyone wanted to use it for that. It required me to be right up next to something, and I could still struggle to move something if I didn’t have proper leverage or secure enough footing. There were my other earth pony powers for growing things, but mine were relatively weak, not useless, but weak. I could keep a plant healthy longer than I should be able to with minimal care and maybe get it to grow in poorer conditions than were ideal, but that wasn’t very special; any earth pony could do those things. I was utterly unremarkable in the magical sense. There was that one thing I did back when I surged during the rainboom, but that was completely defensive, not something anyone could utilize for anything else and crave to take unless there was some use for making myself as stiff and rigid as a statue that I wasn’t thinking of—beyond occasionally avoiding getting hurt by something that should have done severe injury. I doubted it compared to a proper unicorn shield spell, especially since it immobilized me. I couldn’t think of any power that stone could grant me that anyone would be desperate to get. What had Psychic Calm been doing that protected the stones? A frail old pony like that didn’t exactly make an imposing defense.

I looked around nervously, thinking more about what she said about wolves closing in. I didn’t know who the wolves were, but I suddenly wanted to return to the dorm surrounded by my friends. I quickly hurried on my way.