//------------------------------// // Moving On // Story: Worlds Apart // by Goldfur //------------------------------// The first that Prince Mark Wells realized that he had a visitor to his office was when his concentration was shattered by a pile of folders slammed on his desk. While he still maintained an open-door policy, the fact that his secretary had not announced the person was telling – only a very limited number of important Equians or family members had immediate access to him. Looking up, he saw it was both. “What brings you here today, Smolder?” he asked his daughter-in-law. The dragoness pointed to the stack of forms. “Those are just some of the official requests for Equestrian residency by humans who wish to move to our world for various reasons.” Mark frowned. “I thought we decided to defer such submissions for now?” “Not exactly. While Princess Twilight and Mama Trixie agreed to put them off for a while in light of Mama Chrysalis’ assassination, we all believe that it’s time to start processing those requests.” “I’m not comfortable letting humans into Equestria just because they want to stay here. Isn’t that the lesson that we learned from that awful day? Humans are so good at hiding their true intentions that they even fooled my wife until it was too late.” The dragoness sighed. Patience did not come easily to her kind but she’d had plenty of practice. “Father, you know we will have protocols in place specifically to deal with that. Besides, you also know very well that the overwhelming majority of humans that deal with us were as horrified by that day’s events as we were. And what about all the humans that we were already interacting with before that? And it’s not as if ponies are all perfect either, let alone dragons like myself. Are we not as big a threat to them?” Mark pounded a hoof on his desk. “We’re not going to murder anyone!” “They don’t know that for certain. Aren’t humans suspicious of what they consider to be our excessive altruism? Aren’t there already paranoid stories circulating on the internet about our ‘true’ motivations? It’s not as if they’re completely wrong. Don’t we actually have covert operatives on Earth gathering intelligence on all the governments that deal with us?” Mark’s scowl deepened. “That’s only to keep Equestria safe and you know it! I know our motivations, but I’m also very familiar with those of humans. How can I protect our ponies from that?” The alicorn stared the dragon in the eyes. “How can I protect my family? Humans are dangerous!” Smolder glared back, uncowed. “Are you going to tell that to Uncle Phil at the next Stallions Night? How will Yolanda and Rosa take the news? Or Caleb? Perhaps, it’s time to deport him to Earth if that’s the way you truly feel.” Mark looked away and slumped in his chair. After a short silence, he murmured, “I just don’t think I could bear to see another tragedy like Chrysalis.” “You’re an immortal alicorn, Father – you’re going to see most of us die sooner or later. Mama Chrysalis’ passing may have come too soon and under terrible circumstances, but she was just the first. You have to be strong for the living and not let fear motivate you against those who also want to make the best of their lives and that of those they love. It’s time to let humans become a part of Equestria too.” Mark gave her a crooked smile. “How did you become so wise?” She grinned toothily. “Learned it from my weird family. Now, do you want to have a look at some of these applications?” “You’re going to lecture me until I do, aren’t you?” “Yep.” She picked up the top folder. “This one is pretty much a no-brainer.” She opened the folder ostensibly to read it although she already knew its contents. “Harold Thornwell, male, 29 years of age. He’s a technician who has been installing cell phone equipment in Baltimare and wants to move permanently there.” “Why?” “A mare, of course. He and a unicorn tech named Air Waves who was working with him got the hots for each other.” “Like Caleb and Willow?” “Just so. I had a changeling check them out and the feelings are genuine on both parts. Additionally, we would benefit from having his professional expertise. Therefore, I see no reason to deny him his application.” Mark chuckled. “Can’t stand in the way of true love. Cadance would have my hide if she found out.” Smolder smiled. “And I would be the one to tell her.” He gave her a flat look. “Nopony likes a tattle-tale.” “I’m not a pony,” the dragoness replied smugly. Mark rolled his eyes. “Next!” Smolder picked up the second folder. “Marika Klein, female, 27 years of age. She works at the Charlotte headquarters of Harmonic Composites. Her job required her to commute between there and Equus, so she became quite familiar with the Equestrian lifestyle. She made so many friends in Canterlot that she decided she’d prefer to live here.” “Heh! Gone are the days when I knew everyone who worked at Harmonic Composites. Can’t say I blame her for preferring living where all her friends are. If you approve, I’m not going to say no. I suppose that also goes for any other H.C. employee who is in the know.” “I suspect that there will be more,” Smolder agreed. “The next one is Lars Olsson, male, 22 years of age. He wants to study magic with a view toward integrating it with classical physics.” “A pure scholar, hey? Better not tell Twil….” He trailed off before giving the dragoness a hard look. “She knows already, doesn’t she?” Smolder just smiled wider. “Of course, she wants him. Not that it’s a bad idea anyway.” He looked at the remaining folders. “You’ve vetted all of these already, haven’t you? Are the rest of these going to be practically a fait accompli?” “Pretty much,” Smolder replied without remorse. “But we still want your approval to open up completely to permanent residents. As Princess of Friendship, Twilight is eager to begin the program, but Mama Trixie won’t override you. As this decision requires the approval of a majority of the Triarchs, you need to give the go ahead.” Mark grimaced. “I see that I’m holding things back, so I give in. So why don’t you take that stack of applications and get to work processing them.” The dragoness smiled as she gathered up the documents. “Thanks, Father.” Mark mock-glared at her. “And the resident visas are for three years only! If they truly belong here, they can apply for citizenship or go back to Earth!” Smolder chuckled. “I know, Father. I remember what we decided before all this started.” Mark nodded. “Good. Now, let me get back to my work and grumble about smart-ass kids.” She walked around the desk to give her father-in-law a hug before departing. Mark leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh. He realized that much of the tension that had been haunting him had now gone. As usual, it had taken a figurative kick in the rear to get his head straight. But that was why he had people like Smolder and his wives to keep him on the level. He picked up his discarded paperwork. “I suppose I had better stop dragging my hooves on the tourist plans too.” A week later, Mark entered the Throne Room and paused. Unexpectedly, Princess Nyx waited for him at the side of the throne instead of Celestia. As Day Court was due to start very soon and he wanted to review the session’s applicants, he was concerned about his advisor’s absence. “Where’s your Auntie Celestia?” he asked the alicorn mare as he trotted up to the dais and settled onto the throne. Nyx smiled, her slit-pupiled eyes beaming at him. “She’s not coming. I’m your new official Advisor. Here’s the list of petitioners.” She passed over a clipboard in her magic. Mark ignored it for the moment and frowned softly. “What’s this about being my Advisor? Nopony told me about this, young lady.” “It was Mom’s idea. I’ve been training with her with Auntie Celestia’s help to be Mom’s backup Advisor, but she reckons that you need me more than she does. And I love that I get to be in such an important position already.” She did an excited little dance on tippy hooves, reminding Mark very much of Twilight. Mark looked at her skeptically. “So, without even consulting or warning me, I’m supposed to hold a full normal Day Court session with an inexperienced Advisor?” Nyx’s smile died and her ears drooped. “You don’t want me?” Mark winced at the young mare’s hurt expression. “It’s just that I’ve never worked with you before. You’ve always just been Twilight’s daughter to me.” “Exactly!” she replied defiantly. “Who do you think taught me so much about being a princess? And with Auntie Celestia’s lessons, I say I’m up to the task.” The prince looked around for any sign that his wife was watching surreptitiously in case Nyx needed help. He then cast a quick spell to reveal any hidden heat sources which would expose the breath of any invisible observer. Not seeing any, he canceled the spell and decided to have faith in Celestia. “Okay, it’s sink or swim time. Let’s get this show on the road.” Looking over to the main doors, he spoke up. “Sergeant-At-Arms – let the public in.” Mark had to admit that Nyx had handled the job well, especially for her first time. While she did not have the supreme confidence of Chrysalis nor Celestia’s vast depth of experience, she had done her homework well and he had not lacked the information needed to deal with each petitioner fairly and expeditiously. When the final citizen left and the Throne Room doors closed, the stallion got off his throne and gave the mare a hug. “Well done, Nyx. With a bit more experience, I can see that you will make as fine an Advisor as any of your predecessors. Just remember that it’s also your job to point out other possible solutions rather than just support what I say. That’s why you’re called an advisor, not an assistant.” Nyx nodded, relieved now that she had completed the session without making a goof. “I’ll remember that, Uncle Mark.” “And don’t be afraid to glare at the obnoxious petitioners and show your fangs. Your Aunt Sally was particularly good at that.” Nyx giggled. “Yes, sir!” “Good. Now let’s go have lunch and tell your mom and Auntie Celestia all about this morning. I bet they’re dying to hear about your debut.” While Prince Mark had drawn up the plans for introducing humans to Equestria, it was up to Smolder to implement those policies. However, the dragoness had more than enough on her plate to occupy her time already, so she had to delegate responsibility for that job to another department. The position needed someone who not just had experience with authority, but also the disposition to deal with hordes of strangers. Much to her relief, that had been easy to fulfill. She reached out to one of her former School of Friendship classmates. “Ready for your first day, Director Silverstream?” she asked the hippogriff who was smartly dressed in a business jacket. The mare grinned. “More than ready! I’m so excited to be able to meet these humans!” Queen Novo had sent Silverstream to represent hippogriffs at Twilight’s new school and, after the outstanding success of that endeavor, she had been grooming her niece for bigger and better things. The position that Smolder had offered seemed like an excellent career move to both the Queen and Silverstream. Not only was it a prestigious position but it also put hippogriffs in the forefront of relationships with their new interplanetary friends. While Silverstream had a staff to deal with the anticipated high volume of applications, the mare intended to perform the residency interviews herself. She liked to meet new people and she had fine instincts for their character, honed by extensive experience with all the races on Equus. Although the vast majority of visa applications would be for tourists and thus not required to meet such stringent standards, anyone planning to live permanently with the multitude of species that made up the Equestrian Empire would need to prove to her that they would fit in. Armed with a sheaf of folders filled with print-outs of the application forms and background checks, she practically pranced into her embassy office and sat down at her desk. Opening the folder for the first interview of the day, she quickly reviewed it before using the intercom to ask for the applicant to be sent in. This was going to be fun! # # # # # # # # #