An Extended Field Trip

by ePonymous

Princesses and Palaver

It wasn’t until the next morning that Spinel Doublet felt his patient was well enough to make even the relatively short trip from the palace’s infirmary to the council chambers. Sweetie Belle had donned her clothing – freshly washed and smelling of newly-mown hay – and cradled a glass of grape juice in her hand to nurse her still-dry throat with. All around her, walls of gemstone, mica, and crystal rose, interrupted by alabaster furnishings and stained-glass windows. This was most undoubtedly a palace, and whether or not she was hallucinating, Sweetie Belle was awed and enchanted, having to be nudged along on occasion by the crystal pony guardsman accompanying her. She let out a soft coo of wonder when the doors ahead of her glowed with a combination of golden and blue light, swinging open without apparent effort from anyone.

“Hello again, young one,” spoke the rainbow-maned pony that Sweetie Bell had decided was her principal. “I’m glad to see you are well enough to join us.” ‘Us’ apparently consisted of three other winged unicorns – the candy one, a mostly-purple one standing a head below the others, and the last, a dark blue with the same sort of flowing mane as Celestia. Also in the room was a fifth unicorn, wearing a well-coiffed violet mane and an expression of wordless shock.

“Uhm, no problem, I guess,” Sweetie Belle mumbled, for a moment feeling awkward, gangly, and more out of place than ever – which was certainly saying something. She reached up, rubbing the back of her neck. “Am I in trouble? I didn’t mean to go in the, uhm, the artifact room...” She sounded uncertain, looking between the five.

Celestia chuckled softly “No, you are not in trouble. Please, have a seat.” Sweetie Belle’s mouth dropped open as the princess’ horn glowed, along with a pillow nearby, settling at the table as a seat. Gulping, Sweetie Belle settled herself upon it, legs folding together. “Allow me to make introductions. I am Princess Celestia. that is my sister, Princess Luna. And between are princesses Cadence, and Twilight Sparkle. The lady at the end of the table is Twilight’s friend, Rarity.”

“Wait… princess Celestia? Princess Luna?” Sweetie Belle looked between the two, chewing the back of her lip, then looking to the last pony introduced “There’s a Rarity that goes to my school. You… do sort of look like her, I guess? Except for… you know… Everything, I guess.”

Rarity just kept staring without a word. Celestia and Luna exchanged a look, before Luna spoke. “It sounds almost as though you know of us, young…” a glance at a paper in front of her “Young Hyooomaaan?” She turned to Twilight, muttering “Is that right? I have such a time with doctor’s handwriting….”

“Yeah, ‘human’ that’s right,” Sweetie Belle nodded. “And you two look sort of like the principal and vice principal of my school… I don’t recognize you two at all, though,” she said with a glance at Twilight and Cadence. “So, I guess if I’m crazy, I’m totally making you two up. Sorry.”

“We understand that you might be having a hard time,” Celestia began, looking back to the young girl. “But you can rest assured in that, if nothing else, you are perfectly well, aside from some bruising. But there is some… bad news, I am afraid…”

Sweetie Belle gulped. Bad news? She was in a room with telekinetic unicorns sipping tea and mispronouncing her species, and there was bad news? “Uhm, what sort of bad news?”

The purple unicorn took the opportunity, not noticing Sweetie Belle gawking as she used magic to separate and tap a stack of papers. “It seems that you translocated through a dimensional locus by accident, resulting in your being deposited on our side of the Temporal-Spatial boundary, precisely within the reliquary of…” Twilight paused, noticing the awkward silence around here, and the girl’s dumbfounded look. “Uh, what I mean is, you fell through a portal and ended up in our world.”

“You’re joking.” Sweetie Belle asserted flatly “That would be magic!” Magic doesn’t happen!”

“Would you like some tea?” Cadence asked demurely.

“What? Tea? No, thanks, I have… uh… bwuh…” Sweetie Belle’s jade-green eyes crossed a little as she noticed that the teapot, cup, and saucer were hovering in front of her at the table, limned in a pale blue sparkling light. “That’s, you’re, you’re, that’s…” The doors, the pillow, the papers, and now it was starting to sink in.

“She seems to be reacting better to magic than we thought she would,” Luna noted, sipping her own tea “At least she’s still conscious.”

“So you see, magic is very much a part of our world,” Celestia explained, ignoring the snark from her sister as she focused on Sweetie Belle. “And once every thirty moons, for a period of three days, our world connects to your world. Here, the portal is a mirror. Perhaps on your world, it is the statue you believe you fell into.”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes followed the tea set as they floated back onto the table with a little clink. She took a big gulp of the juice she’d been carrying all this time, blinking one “That… was… SO COOL!” Celestia’s words had gone in one ear and out the other, apparently. “Can all ponies do that? Can I do that now?” She closed her eyes and concentrated really hard, and all that happened was reminding herself of the splitting headache she still had.

“I don’t... think so,” Celestia admitted “But there is still much about your world, and how the two interact that we do not know. As I said, there is bad news…” This reminder recaptured the girl’s attention. “The portal opens once every thirty moons, and closes after three days. You’ve spent three days in the infirmary recovering from the blow you took, and Cadence believes you may have been in the artifacts room for as long as a day.

Slowly, surely, this sunk into Sweetie Belle’s sore head “But, then, that would mean... that it’s closed? As in, no way back through?” Four of the five nodded. “Well, oh, how long is a ‘moon’?” she chewed her lip “Is it like, phases of the moon? Thirty… I’m stuck here for a whole month?!” Her voice cracked into an undignified squeak at the last word, and she clapped her hands over her mouth, looking between the five unicorns, who wore a range of expressions, from concern and sympathy, tho curiosity and wariness, and the last one, Rarity… Yup, still shocked. Sweetie Belle wondered if she was broken.

“It’s a little longer than that, actually…” the purple one, Twilight Sparkle spoke up. “A moon isn’t just one phase, but, all of them, from new moon to new moon. Which is roughly twenty-seven days. So thirty of those.” She observed Sweetie Belle’s perplexed look. “Twenty-nine times thirty?” Still blank.

“I’m not very good at math,” the girl finally piped up quietly , a flush spreading on her bare cheeks.

“Eight hundred and seventy days,” Twilight deadpanned, choosing to ignore the soft ‘ooooh’ of understanding coming from her sister-in-law. “That’s two solar years. Well. Two solar years, four months, two weeks, and five days. Give or take a few hours owing to-“

“We will try to find a way to get you back home, safe and sound well before then,” Celestia interjected before Twilight could continue her astronomy lesson. “However, until then, you are our honored guest here in Equestria.”

Sweetie Belle’s vision blurred. For a moment she was afraid it was her contucussion or whatever it was, acting up again, until the wetness of tears spilled down her cheeks “But… but my mom and pop, and… and my friends, and…” Her lip quavered, on the verge of a full-out sob.

“And your sister?” the new voice belonged to the unicorn that had been busy gawping for so long. Through bleary eyes, Sweetie Belle thought she looked a little expectant.

“H-huh,-huh?” The word was a half-sob, forcing Sweetie Belle to reach up to wipe her eyes with the back of her hand “I don’t have a sister.” Confusion and sadness fought within her for a moment, sadness winning and making her snuffle and bite her lip. “You, you’ve all been… you’ve been very n-nice, buh… buh… “ she couldn’t get the last words out, instead just sobbing quietly covering her face to not make a spectacle in front of these princesses. Feeling two pairs of arms wrap around her was a comforting surprise, all the more so because they belonged to the unicorns Cadence and Rarity. Impulsively, needing the hug, she returned it.

Celestia let off a soft sigh, no less upset by the hurt the young human mare was feeling. “Well, I suppose that just as there are similarities, there are differences… Nevertheless, Rarity has kindly offered to take you into her home in Ponyville until this issue can be resolved. In our world, you and she are sisters. That is, she and Sweetie Belle are… I mean…” for a moment, Celestia lost her composure in the confusion that transdimensional travel is sure to cause anyone. She gave up, giving a soft snort.

“There’s a place called Ponyville?” Sweetie Belle sniffed, then giggled, which turned into a hiccup as her lungs tried to sob again. “And... we are? She is?” She turned to regard Rarity at her side, who just gave a mute nod. “Wait, so… “ she paused

The princesses looked to her expectantly, all but Luna whose mind seemed to be elsewhere.

“…So you mean there’s a pony version of me?!”

Comments

[huntsun]

PLZ WRITE MORE I NEED MORE

[Crackers]

This looks really good and I can't wait to see what else happens in this fiction. There's one slight error, though:

Hello again, young one,” spoke the rainbow-named pony that Sweetie Bell had decided was her principal. “I’m glad to see you are well enough to join us.” ‘Us’ apparently consisted of three other winged unicorns – the candy one, a mostly-purple one standing a head below the others, and the last, a dark blue with the same sort of flowing mane as Celestia.

That should be maned not named.

But apart from that, I like it.

[SgtFrog]

3425125

Well, if it was Rainbow Dash she was talking to, instead of Celestia, it would have been right either way.

[JetstreamGW]

“Wait… princess Celestia? Princess Luna?” Sweetie Belle looked between the two, chewing the back of her lip, then looking to the last pony introduced “There’s a Rarity that goes to my school. You… do sort of look like her, I guess? Except for… you know… Everything, I guess.”

...????????

Goes to her school? Rarity is Sweetie Belle's Sister.

*goes further* Why'd you change that, of all things? o.O

Edit: Well, okay... Seems like it could be interesting. I'll track it. The change is a little weird though. That serve a purpose?

[Farnham]

This is looking fantastic so far. I eagerly await more!

[dream1990]

\ePonymous is't Rarity is Sweetie Belle's sister in this story

[FancyFan]

So HumanSweetie isn't HumanRarity's sister. HMMMMMMMM. What could this mean?

[Stormy Skies]

So is there a reason why the lunar month (the time from one full moon to the next) is different on Equestria? Here it is just over 29 days, but Twilight says 27?
I am interested in seeing what the meat of the story is, but you have a nice setup here.

[noobie56xx]

3427412

It could only mean Human!Scootaloo is Human!Rainbow Dash's sister.

[FancyFan]

3427700
I LIKE THIS! LET IT BE SO!

[ePonymous]

3427424
A full lunar orbital is 27 days. Give or take owing to gravity fun times.

Also in Equestria the moon is a princess and has three stars that orbit it. Judging by the parralax, it is also within the planet's lower atmosphere. So DON'T SCIENCE ME BRO!

[FromTheMoon]

Interesting!
Definitely keeping my eye on this one.

[NeverKnown]

denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2348-sweetiemanlytearsplz.png

[Stormy Skies]

3427868
It's your story, you can set whatever measurement you wish, but the orbit of the moon is not the basis of the term 'a moon' as a measurement of time.

And can you link me to a reference to Equestria's moon being in the atmosphere? My Google-fu fails me.

[meerkat8472]

3427868>>3427424
Um, I just wanted to point out Mr. ePonymous that Stormy Skies is technically correct. According to the very article you linked to, the time it takes the Moon to orbit the Earth is indeed 27.3 days. However the time from New Moon to New Moon is 29.5 days. I say that Stormy Skies is technically correct because Twilight was specifically referring to the time from New Moon to New Moon, but really you're both kind of right.

[CoastalSarv]

I've intrigued and want to subscribe to your newsletter.

[ePonymous]

3435627
Agrish?

[AnormalUnicornPony]

Don't worry. I am confused too.....

[HJSDGCE]

I think I can guess why Sweetie Belle isn't sisters with Rarity.

In the IDW comics, there were bunch of differences than the pony world version. We (Derpibooru) had a lot of discussion about it and in the end, we all agreed that "due to the Human World being in another dimension, we can assume that it does not have all the similarities of the original franchise. It probably has to fit itself with the different physical laws to make things at least make some sense."

Here are a few examples of Human World differences:-

Babs Seed is as old as Applejack
Nightmare Moon never occurred
Human Twilight Sparkle never met with the others
We also never saw Human Sunset Shimmer (pony Sunset Shimmer does not count)
Granny Smith is older than Celestia and Luna
The principals do not control the celestial bodies of the planet

[DerpyMuffins101]

Well, all I can tell is that it is going to be a strang chapter when humanSweetie finds out that ponyRarity is ponySweetie's sister.

[ePonymous]

3440676 Stranger than what, exactly?

[Kyogen]

Hmmm. I shall keep an eye on this one.

[Commander Jenna Cipher]

3440876

Stranger than Patrick Star running for Princess of Equestria after Celestia decided to randomly make the country a democracy? Nah.

Anyway, good chapter. This story has my attention.

[Serperior2]

I want the next chapter... NOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!

[ePonymous]

3448555
Me too!
It's cooking, it's cooking. Writing is like barbequing a brisket. Just, let it do its thing, it'll get there!

...Shoot, now I want a smoked brisket sandwich.

[Serperior2]

3449494 have a five hour energy and HURRY UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sadron]

3445450 What is this magical tale you speak of?

[Adam95F]

Love this story, please continue.

[keaton-furman-prower]

Seems interesting. Please continue!

[LostUmbrella]

Lovely

[Peppy Greyskull]

I.... I want to read this....

[MoonlightSparklez]

MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE

[Midnitemist]

This story just went into my read immediately on update category thanks for the great story. Oh one more thing AHEM MORE!!!! please.

[Seanchow806Napoleonic]

Excuse please, I mean no offence. But what is the hold-up with 2 chapters short?

[ePonymous]

3892393 A job that has 15 hour shifts.
Life is not kind to the working brony!

[chrisharte97]

Yes, keep on going.

[IGotBored7]

Would love to see more of this.

[Kuroy]

MOAR!!!!

[Seirs]

That's a very nice start. Would love to see more

[Probably Minion]

3427868 MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR

[FanOfMostEverything]

Hmm. Well, I'm always up for a human ponidox. I look forward to seeing where you go with this, though I am curious about why you chose not to maintain the sibling connection. And why this Sweetie wasn't transformed. (I know you said you'd be disregarding much of Equestria Girls in the story description, but bear in mind that by working with some of it, you've set an expectation for the rest. Expect many reader questions along this vein.)

[Dragonsword35d]

Odd thing to make a change on, but why not? Interesting. I shall keep an eye on this one.

[ZombieMan]

There's one thing that I noticed, in your short description:

"Is this the start of an Excellent Adventure or a Bogus Journey?"

I-Is that a Bill And Ted reference?!

[Bronycommander]

You wrote Sweetie bell at one point. Eager to See how the Meeting between them will be. That’s what i like about celestia, helping others no matter what.