State of Mind prologue

Earth Calendar 2106

Equestrian Calendar: 04 AC

It was a bright day in Manhattan, one of the rare times that just a bit more light managed to penetrate Earth’s dense gray atmosphere; the result of a quantum experiment gone wrong. The brighter day seemed to throw everything into clearer detail. The skyscrapers that could be seen from any direction seemed more real, towering over the lower levels of the city like industrialized mountains.  The only thing taller than the buildings were the dizzying heights the Equestrian pegasi flew at, glibly ignoring gravity as they went about their day to day activities in the city.

“Emily?”

The ground below, as seen from the heightened view of any of the many Maglev trains that traversed the city, was a confusing array of alleys and streets. People and more ponies, usually unicorns and earth ponies, could be seen below, some walking, some working. It had been four years since the bubble opened in the Atlantic Ocean; four years since the citizens of Equestria first started to intermingle with humanity. Even in such a short period, the effects on the city were visible.  Here and there, potted plants sat in windows, lovingly tended by Earth ponies, some who seemed to take the difficulty of growing anything in earths grey atmosphere as a personal challenge.

“Emily!”

Unicorns were arguably the most fantastic of the diminutive equines. One simply had to look into a crowd to see a show-pony fascinating children and foals alike with sparkles and illusionary fireworks. Even the weakest unicorn levitated things with ease, the glow of their horn the only indication of their power.

No one was sure exactly of the limits of magic, but the chance of being able to wield it was a prime motivation for a trip to the Conversion Bureau. The government funded buildings, opened shortly after ponies first started traversing the barrier to equestria were the prime supplier of Conversion, a process that would turn a human into a pony of one of the three races, allowing them to pass through the barrier; an act which would normally disintegrate anything of Earth origin.

“EMILY!”

“What? Huh?” the little girl asked, jumping in surprise and falling out of her seat. The other children in the train car were staring at her, snickering at her clumsiness.

“It’s our stop Em, Come on.” The girl who had spoken before, Miranda, told her, holding out the strap of her schoolbag.

“Oh, right," she muttered, embarrassed and stricken under the giggling gaze of her fellow classmates. “Sorry.” She told the other girl, following her to the open door and stepping out just as it slammed shut. The yellow striped school transport train took off down the tracks, its age causing it to squeak menacingly as it turned a corner and quickly sped out of sight.

“Watching the ponies again?” Miranda asked as they walked .

“No!” Emily denied. “Well, okay yeah. I totally was. They’re so awesome!”  She squealed in delight.

“My dad says they’re evil.” Miranda replied, as if that settled the matter.

“Mine too, but I don't believe him. Besides, the princess says she just wants to help us.”

“He says the Princesses are evil too.”

“Nuh uh!” Emily gasped. “The princesses are the coolest.” she paused. “Well okay, Princess Luna is kind of scary, but Celestia is still cool.” Thousands of miles away, a blue alicorn with a star speckled mane released a disappointed sigh.

“Don't let your dad hear that.” Miranda teased as they came to the front entrance of Emily’s apartment complex. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

The elevator ride to the third floor was short, and soon she was swiping her key in front the door to her home.

“Hello?” she called out. It stayed quiet, and she smiled happily. She was alone. Shucking her coat and shoes by the door and running to the media room she clicked on the family view screen. It crackled and sparked as it powered up.

“Come on you stupid thing!” she slapped its side with one hand and the screen flickered on. “Yes!”

The screen lit up, playing a nature documentary from before the sun went away. She flicked through the channels until she found the one she was looking for, and jumped on the worn and patched couch to watch her favorite show.

A complicated orchestral theme song played from the speaker before the programs logo splashed across the screen.

Equestria

    Daily!

It faded to a news studio, with a Lime green unicorn walking beside a striking blonde women approaching the empty desk before sitting down and smiling at the cameras.

“Welcome back to Equestria Daily.” The unicorn greeted the viewers as he shuffled several pieces of paper with his unicorn telekinesis.  “As some of you might know, today is the two year anniversary of the opening of the first Conversion bureaus.”

“That’s right, Newsworthy. Just 731 days since the bureaus in Manhattan, San Diego, London and Sydney opened their doors.” As she began naming the places, a small map popped up in the top left that placed a dot on each location.  “Since then thousands have traveled all across the world for a taste of the purple potion.” She ruffled the unicorn's mane. “Including my co-anchor here.”

“It’s true” Newsworthy laughed. “And in honor of their overwhelming and may I say, surprising, success, today we bring you an announcement from the Conversion bureaus themselves.”

The map doubled in size, and several more dots blipped onto the screen.

“Tomorrow, three more bureaus will be opening their doors.” His smile grew wider. “Congratulations, Moscow, Singapore, and Johannesburg. You’ll soon have your very own Bureaus.” A sound clip of cheering and clapping played as it switched cameras to focus to the female anchor.

“Earthgov would also like to announce that more bureaus are being constructed, and that production on the conversion serum is being increased due to higher and higher demand.”

“In other news-” the rest of that sentence went unheard, because Emily heard the sound of the door slamming shut and hastened to change the channel, settling on one of the dozens of cartoon channels. Her father was home from work, and the less he had to deal with Equestria, the better. She left the room to greet him, Gasping at the sight of him.

“Daddy! what happened?” she asked, indicating his arm, bound as it was in a cast and hanging suspended from a strap on his shoulder.

“It’s nothing Emily, just an accident in the hangar.” Jason Norman looked tired, but still leaned down to hug his daughter with his good arm. “It could have been a lot worse. How was school?”

“Boooorrring, we had tests all day.” She smiled. “I did good on all of them! Wanna see?” she asked, pulling her bag off its hook and removing the graded papers.

“That’s my girl! With grades like this, we need to celebrate. How about when your mother gets home we make something special?”

“Like a cake?” She asked her eyes wide and pleading.

Jason’s face fell. ”If… that’s what you want, that’s… what you’ll get. Get your shoes on we’ll go get the stuff right now.”

“Yes yes yes!” Emily was so excited she had trouble tying her shoes right, eventually just shoving her laces inside the shoes themselves.

“Wow, you must really like cake?” he said with a laugh.

Emily just nodded, impatiently waiting for her father to open the door. Like any other small child, she did love cake, but she had an ulterior motive.  Her mother's famous cake recipe needed real eggs, and the only place to get real eggs these days, was the Equestrian farmers market. Usually her father avoided the place, but he seemed to be in an especially good mood today, despite his weariness. Emily didn’t get to see the ponies up close very often.

Her father reached for the door handle, but before he could open it, someone outside knocked on the door with the familiar clunk of an Equestrian’s hooves. “Hmm.” He had recognized the sound too, and was debating whether he should open the door. “You think they’ll go away if we don’t answer?” He whispered to Emily. She shrugged. They both waited breathlessly. The pony knocked again.

“We can hear you in there!”

Defeated, her father opened the door. Standing in the hall were two equestrian ponies with neatly combed manes. Strangely, they were both wearing suits, and one carried a suitcase. The one on the left, a unicorn, adjusted his glasses with a snippet of telekinesis and spoke.

“Hello, could we have a few minutes of your time to talk about the salvation of the human race?”

Jason sighed. “I thought I told you ponies not to bother us anymore. We aren't interested.”

The unicorn continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “We represent the Society Of Conversion Knowledge Suffusion. Do you know all the benefits of Conversion? It would fix that arm for one.”

“I think I can live with a broken arm for a few weeks if it means I get to keep it.”

“That’s hardly the only reason to convert. Equestria has better food, housing, and a working job market. “

“And the only thing I have to do is give up my humanity? Hell, why I didn't sign up sooner.” The Ponies didn’t hear it in his voice, but Emily could tell he was getting angrier by the second.

“Excellent. If you’ll just sign this paperwork we can get you started right away.”

Jason looked between the unicorn and the quill and parchment he was levitating forcefully into his chest with a look of disbelief. Could they really be that stupid? He took the papers, looking them over for a brief second before tearing them in half. The matching smiles on the ponies faces faded.

“I’m not signing anything. Would you like to know why?” His voice was just now starting to get louder. Emily decided it was time she left, so she didn’t see the ponies nod in unison. She ran to her room and pushed the door shut, leaving it cracked just wide enough so she could hear the conversation. Her father continued. “You talk big about how much better Equestria is, but you two are no better than the PER, trying to force people, good people to make the wrong choice.”

“What?” The Earth pony spoke for the first time, clearly offended. “You think you’re better? Have you taken your family into consideration? I’d bet my last bit that that little girl in the room would love to be a pony, and that the only thing stopping her is the fact that she needs your permission.”

“That’s not the same thing.” He said, some of the venom in his voice fading. “She too young, she doesn't know any better.”

“Sir, we can’t force you to do anything, but please, think about her for a minute. Whether you like it or not, Equestria is a safer place for her to live. Can you really say she’ll be happier on this side of the barrier? Can you guarantee that she’ll live long enough to have kids of her own?”

“...Of course I-”

“No,” the unicorn cut him off. “You can't, but we can. You might not like it, but it’s the truth.” He opened the briefcase with a rush of unicorn telekinesis and drew several pamphlets out, levitating them into the empty hand of the speechless Mr. Norman. A second burst of magic pushed a small plush pony doll through the open bedroom door, right into the arms of Emily. The ponies smiled again as if they hadn't been arguing a second beforehand. “Good afternoon to you both.” the Earth pony said, and then they left.

Mr. Norman shut the door, throwing the pamphlets on a nearby table. He turned to Emily, his face a mask of neutrality. “Change of plans Em, I’m not feeling as well as i thought. The cake is going to have to wait till tomorrow.”

“Oh, ok.” Emily muttered, failing to hide her disappointment. Her father stalked off; leaving her alone to marvel at the small stuffed pony she had been gifted. It was soft, made of some thick material she had never felt before. She loved its red coat, its blond mane, and its face with its hand stitched smile and mismatched button eyes. Emily quickly decided to give the little pony a permanent place on her bed.

With nothing else important to be done, Emily started in on her homework.  She finished all but her math before she heard the distinct sound of the apartment's locks disengaging. Her father was already home, so that could only mean one thing. She threw her door open to catch sight of her mother, finally home from work.

“Mom!” She cried, running forward for the half tackle half hug she always greeted her mother with. Laura Norman returned the hug with gusto, laughing all the while.

“Hello, my sweet. How are you tonight?” she asked, setting the little girl back down.

“Good. How are you?” she returned.

“Funny you should ask. I got some good news!”

“Good news? Like what?” she asked.

“I think I should talk to your father about it first. Is your homework done?”

“...Yes...” The older women gave her a suspicious look. “Ok no, I’ll finish it. But you have to tell me later.”

“Pinkie swear,” she said, holding out her smallest finger. Emily copied the movement and they locked fingers, both laughing at one of their oldest rituals. “Go on now,” she said, shooing her into the bedroom again.

Emily sat in bed, rearranging her stuffed animal on either side of her as she waited for her mother to tuck her in. It was 20 minutes past her bedtime and she would usually be asleep by now if it wasn’t for her parents. They had been arguing loudly for hours, just loud enough to keep her awake without actually being intelligible through the walls. Finally, their talk seemed to reach its peak.

“It’s not going to happen, Laura. I won’t let it happen.” Jason shouted. The sound of the front door slamming echoed through the apartment.

“Mom?” Emily called out.

“I’m coming sweetie.” A few moments later her mother stepped in. Her eyes were red and puffy and she sniffled once before giving her daughter a shaky smile.

“Are you okay?” Emily asked, concerned.

“I’m fine. Sorry you had to hear that honey. Your father can just be a bit thick-headed sometimes.” She sighed, “Anyway, it’s well past time for little girls to go to sleep.”

“Hey! You said you would tell me your news.”

“Did I? I suppose I did.” She sat down next to Emily. “Give me your hand.” She placed the younger girls hand on her stomach. “Feel that?”

“Yes…Is it your kidney?”

“What?” Laura laughed. “No Em, she’s not a kidney.”

Emily Gasped. “She? You mean…”

“That’s right. I’m pregnant. You’re going to be a sister.”

 “A Sister…?” Emily was stunned. “Yes, Yes, and Yes” Her 9 year old body practically vibrated with excitement as she jumped on her twin sized bed. “But wait.” She paused in her celebrations. “If that was your news, why is Daddy so angry?” She asked. “Doesn’t he want another baby?”

“That’s not it. He’s just as excited as you. But… I tried to talk to him about going to Equestria.”

“We’re going to Equestria?!”

“I don’t know yet, Emma. Your father really doesn’t like the idea,” She pulled the blanket up to Emily’s chin and kissed her on the forehead, “I’ll talk to him again when he gets back. You just go to sleep and I'll tell you about it in the morning.” They both said their goodnights and Laura dimmed the lights.

The apartment was finally quiet, and it didn’t take long for her to begin to drift off to sleep.

Two hours later, Jason Norman quietly let himself into the apartment. Laura was waiting for him in the kitchen.

“Well?”

“I’m sorry.” He said, sitting down opposite her at the kitchen table. “I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“You’re right. I know you’re against–“

“Wait. Let me say something.” He cleared his throat. “I am against converting, that’s obvious. But I’m not stupid. I can see that I’m the only one of us that wants to stay here. And I know we would probably be happier if we moved past the barrier.  I don’t want to do it. I really don’t. But sometimes you have to sacrifice for family. So we’ll go."

“You mean it?” She jumped across the table and kissed him for several seconds before pulling away, “I can’t wait to tell Emily. She’s going to be so excited.”

“One second, I’ve got one condition. We can go, but… I want to wait till the baby is born and is old enough to decide for herself. It’s not fair to choose for her.”

“That will be years though.”

“I know, but it’s my only offer.”

Laura thought about it for a few seconds. She decided it was their best bet, “Ok honey, We’ll wait. 7 years. That’s it.”

“It’s a deal.”