Uncommon Ground
Chapter 38: 38 - A Sharing of Hurt
Previous Chapter Next ChapterLuna sat in a room. There were soft and large cushions arranged about and she was perched on the largest, smiling at the mare that took up the other. "Transmit?"
The other mare focused on her, ears perked. "Pardon my asking, Princess Luna, but... why are we here?"
"You experienced a great injury, one of the mind, and one I hope to help with." Luna smiled gently. "Would you tell me... of that time?"
"You already know the details." She shrank a bit at the thought of it. "I said it, in front of their ruler."
"You told me the superficial details. I would know what you experienced, directly. If you wish, I will go first."
She sat up at that. "You're not... weak, Princess, there's nothing for you to say. You weren't... this..." She waved a hoof at herself. "You aren't useless!"
"I was hurt, badly... A pony helped me. Do you know which one?" She leaned in a little, a small smile on her face. "She is a very special pony."
Transmit looked at Luna with some confusion. "Did Princess Celestia help? She is your sis--"
"--no," cut off Luna. "It was you. Seeing you in such pain, I could put mine own aside. I was reminded of my purpose and my strength returned to me. You told me, without words, that I am a princess, and ponies needed me. Thank you, Transmit. My light had gone out too, and I knew that deep pit of despair. I wondered if ever I would dare to lift a cookie to my mouth, let alone more than that."
Transmit wriggled uncomfortably in place. "I'm... not sure how to feel about that. I don't want to be such a pathetic pony I'm literally a cautionary tale." Something bumped right into her snoot. Luna had brought over a cookie from a small silver tray of them and was gently nudging at her in the cool glow of Luna's magic.
"You are not that. Now, please, tell me. I know it will hurt, but you will be better for sharing it. Tell me of that painful time."
Transmit accepted the cookie, lifting her hooves to hold it, her horn still dark. She nibbled at the edge lightly, staring at Luna silently for a time. Luna allowed this, patiently waiting. The silence grew between them, just her soft nibbles to break it. "They chained me, as they had you. At first, we were together, all of us. I was worried, but we were together. We'd... think of something, I was sure. Something... They would strike me when I tried to do magic, but it wasn't... that hard. More annoying... than anything, I suppose."
She sat back and up, lifting a little from her hunched state. "Then they brought us apart. At first we could hear each other. We wondered where you were. They put you somewhere seperate. Soon they put us all apart, so we couldn't even talk, but... that was... just one part of it... That... That thing." She raised a hoof, the cookie tumbling to her cushion. She was pointing where the ring had been placed. "There are a few things you... need to know."
Transmit took a slow breath. "Teleporting is... me. It is my... was my... everything. My freedom, my self, my..." Fresh tears began to well up. "I knew that thing shocked you, so I tried to not do anything. I did! But... When I sleep... I used to have lovely dreams of far away places, and sometimes I'd wake up there. I'm a sleep-teleporter, Luna."
Luna's eyes widened. "No..."
"Yes! I couldn't even sleep and wait. Sometimes I'd be half-asleep, trying so hard to avoid anything, but I'd think of nicer places. Wouldn't it be nice to be in Manehattan instead of that terribly clean little room? Wouldn't that be great!?" She drove a hoof down right into the cookie, shattering it. "I'd try to go there without even thinking about it, and then the pain would jolt me awake. I... barely slept..."
A choked sob bubbled up from within Transmit. "I used to be so happy about... that... It would always take me somewhere safe and wonderful. Even if I was knocked out." She smiled with a wry expression. "Sure Hoof slapped me right across the face so hard once I went out like a light. I woke up on a sunny beach, safe and sound. But... now..." The tears flow thickly from her streaked face. "Now..."
Luna set a wing over Transmit gently. "That is truly... awful. I can imagine it, and I can see now why you were injured so. You are not a weak pony for feeling this way. It is not a measure of strength. You are among friends now."
"I'm not!" spat Transmit. "The other Warlocks scowl at me. They know I'm weak and they've written me off as dead. Perhaps worse than dead. The dead that walks... refusing to quietly vanish." She suddenly hopped up to her hooves. "But I'm not dead! I... hate this. I hate it so much. I don't want to crawl away and be useless. I don't want to hate what I spent my entire life loving. Being!" She grit her teeth tightly. "I hate them! They're being nice now, but I hate them!"
Luna raised an ear as she stroked Transmit's sides with her wing. "Who do you hate? The warlocks?"
"No... not them." She sagged back onto the crumb-scattered cushion. "They make me sad. They... just remind me that I've lost so much and it... hurts that they are so ready to walk away from me, the cripple, but can I blame them?"
"We will speak of that, later. Who is it you hate then?" she gently pried, petting and holding the hurt unicorn.
"The humans," she hissed out. "They did this! They took my everything! One side claims it was just following orders, and the other side lamented it wasn't able to give orders? They can all burn in the fires of Tartarus! They are a force of chaos so pervasive, Discord must be green with envy. Where is he anyway? You'd figure he'd have his mismatching hands all over something like this."
"Of this I will not even attempt a guess." Luna lifted Transmit in her magic, bringing the mare close. "But know this. You are neither dead nor useless. I would attempt to mend the injuries within you, if you trust me completely."
Transmit tilted her head, ears going askew at different angles. "Will you make me forget that entire horrible thing?"
"To forget is to not learn." Luna sucked air through her teeth in a soft hissing click. "Nay, I would mend things. Together, we will face the divisions in your mind, and emerge, stronger. Do you trust me?"
"You... honor me." She dipped her head low, almost flipping over in her floating state. "You have so many troubled ponies to care for, why do I get special treatment?"
"I am not a Warlock... I founded the order, long ago, but many moons passed since then. It was pride that saw me rejoin the order, thinking I was ready. In part due to that ambition, we failed, and you were hurt. Your pains are my fault."
"No!" She barked, teeth clenching. "You didn't do this to me."
"I put you in that situation." She booped Transmit on her nose. "Now allow me to work through mine own hurts while mending yours. Do you trust me?"
Things grew quiet. Transmit met Luna's eyes, only to keep sliding away, but she kept returning, trying to lock gazes. After slipping off several times, she finally grunted, forcing herself. "I trusted you when we began that mission... I still trust you, Princess. Fix me."
"I will do the best I can. For now, sleep."
Transmit was ready to object to being tired, but faded away under Luna's powerful magic, soon curled up in a ball in her magic. Luna set the sleeping ball of unicorn on a clean cushion. "And now my work begins."
"I brought a gift."
At the president's cue, one of the special agents approached with a package. Placed gently on the long table they were gathered in, he backed away.
Crane pulled off the bag it was in. "This may not appear to be much."
"It's a box," noted Shining Armor, squinting. "Are those buttons?"
"They are. This is a communication device. Communication, the cause of most of the conflict." He gestured at it in a wave of a hand. "With this, we will be able to exchange messages instantly."
Twilight approached it with perked ears. "How fascinating! Is it radio based?"
Crane was momentarily surprised, forgetting how advanced, if still primitive, ponies were. "Yes, distantly. It's more powerful and can reach further as a result. This one is designed to send signals up." He brought a finger up towards the ceiling.
Twilight peeked upwards then back at him. "But what if who you want to talk to isn't over your head?"
Crane had to smile at that. "We have other devices in the sky. Only a few right now, but that number will grow with time. They relay the message towards where it needs to be. Then I, at home, receive your message."
Celestia raised a brow. "You have placed things in the sky? How have we not seen them? What if one should fall? Could it not hurt people wherever it crashed?"
Before correcting her, Crane decided to know a little more. "You have long tubes you can look through and see far things as if they were closer?"
"Telescopes," corrected Twilight, also providing the word. "Yes. I quite enjoy gazing through mine. Why?"
Celestia seemed to get the hint first. "They are too small and far for us to see, but perhaps with a telescope we could."
"Exactly," agreed Crane with a patting of the device. "I've been informed that your electricity is, mostly, compatible. Enough to make this work. Where is the closest plug?"
Twilight looked to Cadance, who extended a wing towards a crystal wall where a small single outlet rested, unused.
"It really is..." he amazed as he approached it with the power brick for the satellite modem in hand. The plug was a perfect little American plug, even if it had different voltages involved. He plugged the brick into it, and it didn't explode. A little green light began to glow, proving it was receiving power. "And now..." He brought the power barrel over to the modem and plugged it in.
The box lit up, different lights dancing and flickering as it began its warmup cycle. "You will want to place this somewhere safe and secure. It will put out a smaller signal for other devices to access."
One of the Secret Service agents slipped in, whispering something to the president.
He was being silly. "Yes, right, of course... You'll need a satellite dish."
Twilight perked an ear. "Which is...?"
"An antenna, for the thing far over our head." It was partially luck that a picture of an ant had been translated. He hoped the word was used the same way, as it was in English.
"Ohhh." Twilight sat to clap her hooves. "This is incredibly exciting! Did you bring it with you?"
Celestia raised a hoof. "While this is indeed very interesting, I feel we are being distracted by it. President Crane, I would like it officially stated that we are two nations at peace. I am willing to commit Equestria's side of things."
"Hold that thought." He pulled out his phone and handed it to the Secret Service agent. "Record this."
Soon there was a phone directed at them, recording the moment.
"I, President Crane, on behalf of the United States of America, do formally declare peace between us and the nation of Equestria." He was not facing the phone, but Celestia instead.
Celestia had a serious, but not unkind, expression on her own face. "I, Princess Celestia, on behalf of Equestria, do formally declare peace between us and the nation of..." She faltered a moment, realizing the president had said something that was not just 'America'. "The United States of America," she recovered. "Shall we repeat in English?"
"Please."
They did so, formally ending the war without concessions on either side.
Next Chapter: 39 - Major Morning Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 25 MinutesAuthor's Notes:
Hizzah, peace! Now ponies can get hugs instead of bullets. Some ponies need more than hugs to set things straight.
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