Title:           Celestia on Earth - Chapter 3
Author:          BkCeLesTiA
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/TwAJCr02
First Edit:      Sunday 20th of July 2014 02:11:41 AM CDT
Last Edit:       Sunday 20th of July 2014 02:11:41 AM CDT

>You sleep surprisingly well and wake up in the early afternoon.
>You are lying on your side, with your right arm draped over Celestia's wing, hugging her, your face buried in her beautiful mane, which rhythmically flows in the still air.
>She's warm like a summer sun, and you feel her heartbeat, strong and slow. Idly counting, you would guess at about 25 beats per minute.
>Looking down her body to the mark on her flank, you are again overwhelmed by the sheer perfection of her body.
>You can't even imagine what a human this beautiful would look like.
>Suddenly, you can't deal with the direction this line of thought is taking. It's time to get up and take a cold shower.
>Gingerly, you disentwine from Celestia.
>Your thoughts in the shower are confused.
>Jesus, what are you thinking?
>She's a horse.
>From another dimension.
>And royalty.
>And way out of your league in every way.
>You are just some schlub.
>She says she's not a goddess, but just from what you know, you are pretty sure she could crash the entire electrical grid, knock satellites out of the sky, and maybe even knock down the Internet.
>If that's not a deity, what is?
>Also, she says she raises the Sun where she comes from. Raises the Sun!
>You question this for a moment. Do you actually believe someone you just met telling you they literally raise the Sun?
>Yes, you do.
>You realize, with sudden clarity, that you would believe anything Celestia said and do anything she told you to do without question.
>Is she using some kind of mind control on me?
>You think about this briefly. If she is, you certainly can't tell. But then, if you were mind controlled, you wouldn't think you were, would you?
>No. She's too good, too pure. Celestia wouldn't do that to you.
>At least not without a good reason. And for your own good.
>She's so noble, so courageous, so sexy -- no, stop that. Quit going there, mind.
>You dry off and decide to do some research.
 
>Unfortunately, Celestia, Equestria, interdimensional monsters, smoke goblins, and anything else you can think of bring up basically nothing.
>Pegasus was a legendary winged horse, and pegasi show up in a lot of modern fantasy.  Unicorns are legendary as well.
>Nothing about a deity-level entity that is both a unicorn and a pegasus.
>You flip on the large screen HDTV to a local news station, leaving it on in the background while you look for local stores where you might get travel supplies, in case you need to travel soon.
>There's nothing much happening.  Some story about a fire.
>Something suddenly seems familiar about it.
"Holy shit!" you shout suddenly.
>That's your house burning.
>Suddenly, Celestia appears next to you.
>"-- by a fire of unknown origin.  The house's owner, Anon, appears not to have been present, and has himself apparently vanished."
>Celestia looks curiously at the television and visibly starts at the mention of your name.
>"Police have found Anon's car, a blue 1989 Buick Regal, at the scene of a one vehicle accident."
>At least there isn't a picture.
>The news then went to the weather.
"That's my house.  Well, was my house, anyway."
>"I'm sorry."
"So, you think this was whatever is after you, too?"
>"It bears their signature."
"Wouldn't it make more sense to lie in wait there for me to come back?"
>"Perhaps they figured out you weren't."
"So why burn it?"
>"I don't understand why, but the Thing's minions seem to enjoy destruction for its own sake."
"I guess you were right that I was in danger last night."
>"I'm sorry to have exposed you to danger.  It wasn't my intention."
"I know that.  You don't have to apologize.  Just so you know, I believe in you and whatever you are doing, you have my support all the way."
>"Thank you, Anon.  I hate to impose, but it is a sad fact that we are both in danger until I get back to Equestria and defeat this evil."
"Then we'll face it together.  I swear."
 
>You are surprised, again, at your willingness to swear loyalty to an alien horse goddess.
>"So, was that warning just for you?"
"Warning?"
>"What you were just watching on that box."
>You have sort of explained television, but not completely.
"No.  This is what is called news.  In particular, this is local news, about this area where we are.  That means everyone who has one of these and was watching this station saw this."
>"So, you are considered vanished.  Will people be looking for you?"
"Yes, probably.  A reason we probably had better travel soon."
>But where?
>This is a question Celestia has considered as well.
>"Interdimensional travel is a tricky business.  It involves finding a place where the planes intersect and there is a weak point between them, then basically punching a hole in the barrier and going through it before it closes again."
"Could we just go back to where you came through and do it there?"
>"Unfortunately, no.  The portals are usually one way, and temporary.  If they're two way or permanent, it's a catastrophe.
"Can you find one of these weak points?"
>"This is the problem.  Usually, where I am from, I would simply use magic to find them.  But here, I don't have the magic, by myself, even to find where these lines intersect."
"So what do we do?"
>"I hate to say this, but we wait, for at least a while.  Just going off in a random direction could just be taking us further from where we need to be."
"Wait for what?"
>"My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and my sister, Luna.  They should be figuring out what happened by now and how to transmit a message here."
"How long should we wait?"
>"Not past tomorrow.  If she figures it out, she has all the unicorn magic in Equestria, and Luna's, to punch a message through.  But to get out of here, we'll have to punch a hole in our end."
"How will we travel?  You look pretty distinctive, and if they ever release a picture of me, so will I."
>"Good point.  I'll give it some thought."
 
>Be Twilight Sparkle.
>The raising of the Sun goes smoothly.  Of the hundred or so unicorns gathered in your pre-dawn meeting, apparently it takes just the 20 most powerful, along with you and Luna, to perform the proper magic.
>Your relief does not last long, though, as at least the unicorns and Royal Guard must know what is actually happening.
>There is no way to keep a lid on this for long.
>You, Luna, Spike and Moonshadow, an assistant chosen by Luna, retreat to a somewhat dusty chamber at the top of a tower in the castle, previously called the War Room.
>Moonshadow is a black unicorn mare with a partially eclipsed moon on her flanks, and according to Luna, has particular experience in dimensional magic.
>You send Spike to retrieve some books from those retrieved from the Castle of the Two Sisters for the Canterlot Library, specifically those few dealing with pre-Discord history and extradimensional entities.
>It doesn't take long to rule out most of what could possibly have gone wrong.
>You all double check the spell itself and how it was performed.  It was performed perfectly.  There was no mistake.
>Since there was no room for randomness, something must have interfered.
>Celestia must be trapped in another dimension.  The intersections between universes were constantly shifting, but more or less predictable, and at the time of the spell, only three were possible at that location.
>It should have been impossible to travel to two of those, and in any event, they were so different that nothing living would have survived the journey.
>You rule this possibility out, and would rather not even think of it.  In any event, if that were the case, there would be nothing to do about it.
>The third, though, was an oddity, a universe apparently without magic.
>It apparently intersects fairly frequently with Equestria, although so far, nothing has appeared from it but objects.
 
>The objects do not indicate any magic knowledge, but highly advanced technological capabilities, at least compared to Equestria.
>A kind of film projector now in common use, cameras, a turbine-powered electrical generator, and numerous mundane objects like teacups and furniture.
>A final object, which might be useful for this situation, is a globe, apparently of the populated world in the mundane universe where the objects originated.
>Through painstaking calculations, you and Moonshadow figure out the location where Celestia emerged on Earth.
>It appears to be in a subdivision of something called the United States, called Washington.
>Advancing into the future, you can determine where the next portal is likely to open, in exactly 30 days, remaining open, or at least openable, for about twelve hours.
>It will take an enormous amount of energy to transmit even a short message, so you try to figure out how to compress it into as little space as possible.
>Here, the globe is helpful.  From the markings on it, you can determine the people in this world use a system of latitude and longitude to identify locations on their planet.
>The next portal opens at 33°47'24"N 116°55'42"W.
>You are dismayed, though, at where it ends, which is smack dab in the middle of the Dragon Kingdom.
>You suggest Luna request an audience with the Dragon King on an urgent basis, and sign it in Celestia's name.
>You also send out a similar request to the Crystal Empire, and a general alert to the cities of Equestria to report any unusual phenomena immediately.
>Then, later in the evening than you had hoped, you gather a small group of the most trusted unicorns to transmit a very brief message.
>Since all you can really transmit is small bursts of magic, you decide to go with 33 47 24 116 55 42, followed by 30, for 30 days, repeating.
>You trust that Celestia will be able to figure this out.
>A Guard pony rushes into the War Room.
>"Come quickly, Princess!  We're being attacked!"
 
>Be Anon.
>You prepare a meal for both of you, but there are few vegetables in the kitchen.
>You remember there's a garden, and grab some tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and herbs.
>There is also bagged lettuce in the fridge.  You make a huge salad, some canned peaches, and find a box of Hostess cupcakes.
>Celestia eats, well, like a horse.  You peck at your own meal.
>You were worried Celestia wouldn't like it, but the cupcakes are a hit.  You have to explain they need to be unwrapped first.
>She finishes them in two minutes, unwrapping them in mid-air and eating them two at a time.
>"You said there are horses here, but they're just non-speaking animals, like pets."
"Yes, and workhorses.  And people ride them."
>"What do these horses look like?"
>You show her Internet pictures of horses.  Celestia looks at them intently.
>Her horn flashes and you see the outline of a grey riding horse, a quarter horse perhaps.
>You still see her actual form, though.
>"You should see me as I actually am.  Others will see a normal horse.  Would it be normal for a horse and rider to be seen like this?"
"Yes, in certain places, like riding trails.  There are a number of these locally.  It might be a bit inconvenient, though, because it would look odd in a city, for instance."
>The two of you research nearby horse trails so that you have some idea where to go.  Celestia also directs you in browsing to articles on telecommunications and electronics.
>She rests her head on your shoulder while reading.
>Finally, you go to bed again.  She falls asleep almost instantly, and you snuggle up to her.  She nickers softly but does not object as you hug her and fall asleep with your face in her mane.
>In the morning, you don't hear the front door open.
>You don't hear someone enter.
>But you do hear the unmistakable sound of a shotgun racking, directly behind you.
>And you do hear a voice saying "Fold your hands behind your head, and turn over slowly so I can see your face."