Doppler's Log

You can *skip this chapter** if you don't care much about Delta's introduction, Twilight's history with The Zone, a tid-bit about the changeling’s side of the situation, or debunking Feminism. Information in the next chapter will be provided to catch you up.*

-June 8, 2021

-Equestria, Grasslands (Near Ponyville)

-6:08 AM

When Bellhop thought he killed Discord; that was the first time he saw a pony cry. When that particular God of Chaos refused to be the pony’s friend any longer; it was the first time he saw one bawl. Rarity got to the group a minute after Fluttershy started crying in Clover’s arms. Applejack explained to her what happened with the draconeequs and she seemed appalled. As disheartening as the whole scene was; Bellhop remembered that he needed to get back to Pripyat to tell his Commanding officers what was going on. “Alright, listen. I forgot to go back tell command what’s up. I can go myself or if one of you needs to just get away from the group a bit, I understand. Anyone coming?”

“I’ll tag along, I guess,” Mercury spoke up.

“Kay, that it?”

“Could I go?” Twilight asked and shakily raised a hoof.

“You? Wh-?

“Oh, me too! I’m going,” Rainbow Dash smiled.

Bellhop rolled his eyes and thought for a second. A grin crept upon his face, “You know what? Yeah, you can come. This way Twilight can explain why we exposed ourselves to your entirety of citizens after only a few hours of using equipment made precisely to prevent that from happening. Very, very expensive equipment which I’m sure everyone’s happy went to waste.”

“Don’t ya think there’s any other good use of goin’ invisible?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah, think of all the neat pranks you could pull on ponies!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“I was thinkin’ more along the lines a’ sneaking around and knockin’ some changelings up without ‘em knowing ‘til it’s too late.”

“Makes sense, Cap’, you shouldn’t be so quick to demean these guys… Gals,” Ingot smiled. Twilight grinned too, knowing she wasn’t responsible for getting anyone in major trouble. Bellhop assumed that, like all the others had; Ingot grew fond of the ponies and was willing to defend them from any and all scrutiny… maybe not all of his team, but Clover and Ingot definitely would.

“I guess… Anyways, yes you can tag along. Just don’t die, there’s a lot of radiation that ‘ll poison you.”

“Pft, we’ll only be there for five minutes or something, right? What’s the worst that can happen?” Rainbow asked.

“Again: You can die.”

“I think we’ll manage, Alex,” Twilight nodded.

Bellhop glanced once more at Clover. She still held the yellow pony and rocked slightly to comfort her. Rolling his eyes, Bellhop spoke, “We’ll be back in a few.”

-Ukraine, Pripyat

-6:19 AM

“Yes. The operatives that came here yesterday haven’t given feedback. We need to see what’s going on,” Piers spoke to one of the Russians defending the entrance to the power plant.

The translator nodded weakly and sulked over to another individual eyeing the Delta members, for his shift ended soon and he had worked the overnight to keep trespassers from entering, "Ser, oni zdes', chtoby-"

"Any idea what he's saying?" Stafford asked subtly.

Oaks wondered aloud, "He and his Russian buddies 'll let us pass and when we think it's all safe, they gun us down. It's a conspiracy, I tell ya."

"He's asking if we can pass. The sergeant replied 'yes'," Piers sighed.

Right as she finished, everyone took notice to the Russian stopping in his tracks to the team. He overheard what Piers said and shrugged, "Correct, you are all fine to move on. Udachi vam." He walked by them like a bear longing for rest.

"Vam tashye," she smiled back. It fell on deaf ears as the man just worked to getting back to base or home or somewhere he could sleep. Piers felt the blank faces glued to her and turned.

“You understood what he said?” Michael asked.

“Well, sure,” Courtney nodded. “I learned a bit before I came a few weeks ago. I was one of the only soldiers from the US that helped evacuate the Stalkers here. It was helpful to pick up on-.”

Kale rolled his eyes and moved ahead of the group, “I don’t think waiting here and telling stories is gonna help Captain Smith or his team if they’re in danger.” Oaks shrugged and waved a hand forwards to get everyone after Kale. Piers raised a brow and walked to catch up like the others. The Russian guarding the gate made a quick salute, though he didn’t really know any of the Delta operators or work in the United States’ military. Not to say they didn’t welcome it. 'Better than getting shot because of stigma from the Cold War…

Stafford caught up to the medic and put out his thoughts with a chuckle, “Jeez, you really don’t like her, huh, Matt?”

“Who, Courtney?”

“Piers, thank you…” she chimed in.

“Are we really doing the last name thing?”

Courtney nodded, “Yes. If not for the sake of doing what the log asked; can you just do it for me?” It made Kale turn his head to her while they continued their journey to the desired warehouse.

“Okay, one: You’re not my mother. 'Doing it for you' doesn’t mean anything to me. Two: you failed to see how we refer to friends by their first names. Keep it classy, Miss Piers.” He smirked before he fumbled over something and kneeled to keep balance. “The hell?” Kale groaned while pointing his KSV45 at it.

“Karma, man,” Stafford chuckled. “Also, doing it for her just means 'I’m your boss, do it'.”

“No such thing as karma, man,” Oaks snickered while kneeling to see what his friend tripped on. “Ohp, dead guy. Well, I guess the radiation ‘ll get em in a few years… Onward to Oxford team or whatever they called themselves.”

“Onyx team, Dale,” said Piers, “Also, the-"

“See? There ya go,” Michael said while he gave a ‘thumbs up’ with his left hand. “The group ‘ll probably work better if we work as friends.”

Kale shot him a scowl, “How was it karma if I was the one who suggested that?”

“The way you said it, dude,” Stafford smiled back. He squinted at the buildings around him, “When do ya think we’ll get there anyways?”

Piers pointed ahead of the group, “It’s that yellow crane. There’s a green warehouse near it that we’re going into. Somewhere in the place should be the portal; I’m certain that it ‘ll emit enough light for us to locate it quickly.”

“You sure know a lot about this place, Courtney,” Stafford noted while observing his M417. “This thing’s so cool, heh… Anyways, er. You wanna tell a story about the zone before ‘Murica went all freedom, fuck yeah on it? It Might help make the trip shorter.”

“Sure thing; if Matthew is alright with it.”

“Why would I not be?” he raised a brow.

“’Cause you don’t like her, remember?” Oaks asked smugly.

He shook his head left and right, “When did I say I didn’t like her? I just said there’s a possibility of her accusing us of trying to rape or assault her. But she claims that this job is more important to her than scoring extra leave time, so that’s that…” Kale turned back to see if his words had any affect. They still stared blankly at him, Piers included. “What? I don’t think she’s going to accuse us of that stuff anymore, okay?”

Piers frowned, “But you also said Delta isn’t a place for-"

"So you prove me wrong then, ma’am…”

She swapped glances between Stafford and Oaks, each shrugging at her. “He’s always been like this by the way; it’s not really anything new to us,” Oaks sighed.

“Will he at least follow my orders if we get in a tough situation?”

“Sure,” Kale said without emotion or eye contact.

Piers rolled her eyes while the group continued to the warehouse. The journey would remain storyless, for she just wanted to think to herself now…

“I don’t need to prove anything to him; my rank should be enough.”

-6:25 AM

The group had jogged to cross the fields quickly and get back to Earth. Well… the soldiers had jogged while Twilight and Rainbow just floated over the land and kept within range of the operatives by flying. As of now, they slowed to walking speed and the ponies descended to accompany their pace. Of course, the rough kilometer of a trip to Pripyat included nothing but Rainbow Dash asking the same thing over and over again.

Rainbow smirked, “Race me there?”

Mercury groaned, “No.”

“’Chicken?”

“No, I’m tired.”

“You’re too afraid you’ll lose, aren’t y-"

“Oh my Goddess, Rainbow! Please stop asking that! He isn’t going to race you, alright!?” Twilight blurted out in frustration.

“Thank you,” Mercury sighed. Then he raised a brow, "now you're stickin' up for me? Captain, what'd you do to her while we were sleepin'?"

Bellhop turned to Mercury, unsure of what he meant, "What?"

"Like five hours ago, you two looked about ready to tear out each other's throats." he pointed to Twilight, "She kept goin' on about how bad we were and yellin' at me for swearing. Now she's defending me from the person I cursed at?"

"Oh, I thought you were joking around, but I actually remembered something... Turns out she faked the whole stuck-up-bitch attitude so we'd try and fight for her trust. She wanted-"

"You told them? Lame, Twilight," Rainbow Dash sighed.

"I couldn't help but laugh," she smiled, "I'm not the snobbish type."

"It's really not funny," Bellhop said while his eyes narrowed. "I guess you've just forgotten what's going on and figured that fucking with my team for a few hours was more worth your time than saving your town from a very real threat."

"I already said I was sorry..." Twilight frowned.

"Actually, no. No you didn't. You just shrugged and tried to pass a fake laugh off as a way to avoid admitting a mistake on your part," Bellhop said scornfully.

"Does that mean Dash isn't actually an arrogant, ill-tempered-?"

"You better stop there..." Rainbow growled.

Mercury shrugged as the blue pony angrily stared at him. Bellhop spoke up again, "I think we should get to Celestia again after this... unless you know how to defeat Discord too?"

"Normally we use the Elements of Harmony, but he claimed that they wouldn't help... Also, they're with Celestia right now anyways, so it looks like heading to Canterlot again would be wise," Twilight offered.

"I like this one better now," the medic smiled. "Between her 'n those kiddies from last night, this place ain't so bad. Ya gotta admit-"

"Wait, wait, woah. What do you mean from last night?" Dash cut him off.

Bellhop sighed, "Those three fillies from yesterday found us during the night watch and kept using puppy eyes to get me to let them stay up and help..."

"So you let them?" Twilight worriedly questioned.

"Mate, you wouldn't be able to say no to those faces... Oh right... Alex, Vas' and I woke up and they weren't there..."

“What?”

“I mean we woke up and they were gone. I think they-"

“Why didn’t you search for them or something!?” Twilight shouted.

“I’ll leave Alex up to answering that one,” Mercury said with a shrug.

“Me?” Bellhop asked; a little shocked at the accusation.

“Yes, you. You wanted everyone up and comin’ to you right away. Vasily and I didn’t think much of it, and just went to you. Cap’, I’m sure they’re fine.”

“I’m thinking this is why you might’ve been fired from your old job,” he scorned.

“Oh… You didn’t just take it there,” the medic replied; shaking his head.

“What was his old job?” Rainbow asked. Something bright forced her to squint and turn to the source. She noticed that the others stared ahead as well; trying to make out what caused such brilliance. She gasped when seeing a large sphere-like ball of energy. “How did somepony not find this yet? It’s so noticeable…”

“I don’t know, Rainbow… You’re sure this is safe, Alex?” Twilight asked.

Bellhop rubbed his face with a sigh, “I asked you twice if you were sure you wanted to come along. Are you still trying to screw with me?”

“There’s a ton of energy flowing through this thing. It looks like it could easily vaporize a pony if it weren’t a portal,” she replied anxiously. Twilight walked closer to it to reach a hoof and feel its heat. “I suppose it’s safe though… I mean, not like you got here some other way… at least not to my knowledge.”

“This is how, yes…” the Captain sighed. “Alright, if we take more than five minutes explaining anything; I want you to guide them back to this place, Bradley. The radiation will harm you permanently if you’re exposed to it too long, and I don’t know if the drugs we have to combat its effects will work on you.”

“You have medicine for that kind of stuff?” Dash asked.

“Sort of. It works like some set of really buffed up white blood cell I think,” Mercury pondered. He, like other operatives didn’t know much about the drug or its contents. There was probably Iodide somewhere in it, but that had limited use when the pharmaceutical industry made it public. “We ready to move then?”

“Uh… combatants first?” Twilight sheepishly grinned. Rainbow nodded as well.

Bellhop rolled his eyes, “I’d laugh if that weren’t so true…”

-6:28 AM

“Stacey was all about this band and that Dahvie Vanity kid, so I looked him up. First thing I found was a youtube video that explained to me how he was a sex offender and pretty much a pedophile. Crazy shit, heh. I showed her the video and she was heartbroken,” Piers explained. “And that’s why video game sound tracks are where it’s at,” she continued with a shrug.

“What about actual songs within a video game?” Stafford asked, intrigued with this conversation. Anything that got his mind off of work was something he liked to talk about. He took notice to her scornful eyes before realizing what he asked, “Not saying that original scores aren’t actual songs, but uh…”

Oaks chipped in, “He meant like songs made by outside artists, but are put into vidya games.”

Putting his unfunny word twist aside, Piers replied, “I knew what he meant, but I wanted to see if he’d correct himself.”

“Correct by proxy. Perpetrator: Dale Oaks,” Stafford chuckled.

The group paused behind Kale when he held up a closed fist, "'That the one, Piers?"

"Uh..." she cocked her head while walking in front of Kale, "Yeah. Alright, weapons up."

They clicked off the safety features on their weapons and made sure the magazines were loaded by detaching them. Stafford turned the twenty-round transparent box to examine it thoroughly. The HK M417 was his favorite weapon ever... It was just such a nice looking firearm. Seriously, look at this thing. He spoke up to take his mind off it, "So what's this all about? Are they stuck in the warehouse or something?"

"Dude, really?" Oaks sighed.

"You had all that time to read the briefing on the heli'," Piers frowned.

Kale pat the extended clip back into his KSV45 "I don't think we have enough time to explain it; Captain Smith might be hurt... Uh, we're going to another planet apparently though. That much you should know..."

"...What?" Stafford raised an unconvinced brow.

Kale rubbed his face, "Just... never mind. Piers, should I take point?"

"Uh, sure. I'll stick-"

"I think our journey’s been cut short," said Oaks as he pointed ahead and lowered his P416. "'The hell are those?"

Mercury looked up, "What the-? Those your lads, Cap'?"

"Delta, looks like. Uh... Sorry we're late, but I forgot when they wanted us reporting every so often. A lot went on yesterday," said Bellhop.

"Captain Smith?" Piers called out.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Where's the rest of your team... And what... what are those?" she cringed.

"They're ponies," Stafford nodded. "They befriended them and decided to rob them from their home world to domesticate and cuddle with them forever," he smiled. "Can I have-?"

"I ain't nopony's play toy, ya creep," Rainbow Dash said while extending a hoof.

"'The fuck? They talk?" Kale looked back to his squad mates.

“Dude, this’s crazy,” Stafford laughed.

Bellhop shook his head ‘no’, “Listen, the rest of Onyx is in there right now. We found out the place is called Equestria. These ponies make up the inhabitants there… And why am I telling you this?” he face-palmed, *Command?*

Jeff stuttered, *What the- C-Captain?*

*One and only.*

*What happened? Are the others with you too? I need to-*.

*Slow down. Everyone in Onyx is fine… just listen,* he sighed. Bellhop looked over to both curious ponies and rubbed his chin to think of what to say, *Uh… We… were discovered within a couple of hours. It turns out that the images were of another species. The main inhabitants of the village are these colorful ponies… That talk and do magic and-*.

*What…?* David raised a brow, though he was on the other side of the planet from the operatives.

*I think you’ll have to clarify this stuff, Captain Smith. Did you take any pictures of the creatures?* Jeffrey asked. *Also, was Delta correct a second ago noting that you brought some of them here?*

*We didn’t take pics, no. Uh…* He kneeled and dug through his backpack. “Something I should’ve done, I guess. Yes, two tagged along with us. One happens to be a government official or something.”

“I’m a princess,” Twilight frowned. “Wings and a horn: not that hard to remember.”

“You want our pictures?” Rainbow asked.

“Can I be in one?” Stafford asked with a smile.

“Mike,” Kale sighed.

“What? They’re cool looking. That one has a rainbow in its hair, dude.”

“Wait, I’m not tripping right now then?” Piers questioned with a raised brow.

“Doesn’t look like-"

“Alright, alright. I know it’s weird, okay?” Bellhop groaned, *Command, I’ll… I think we should just do a little recap. I brought McCoy back with me too. I’d prefer you not question any antics that seem abnormal, one being magic. I’m still skeptical, but I swear these guys figured out some supernatural abilities.*

Dave nodded, *Understood. Continue.*

Bellhop exhaled slowly, *the place is peaceful like in the picture. We got caught right away because Bradley and Sherry were screwing around while following two of the ponies in the village. We had no choice but to reveal ourselves to their friends as well… Upon talking to them, we found out they have a big problem.*

*So… The camo went to good use…* Jeff sighed while typing what he heard into an MS Word 2020 document.

*I know we fucked up, but listen: those black creatures with the weird limbs are actually a threat to their society. They can do some shape shifting ability. What’s worse? They actually copied the forms of Golf Squad from a week ago and started using them to bully the ponies,* he said quickly while snapping a photo of Twilight. *You’re receiving a pic of one of the inhabitants. Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m not making this up: she’s a princess in their world. They call her an alicorn because she has both wings and a horn.*

“Thank you,” Twilight smiled.

“Can they really do magic?” Oaks asked skeptically. “Like what kind of magic?”

“All sorts back home. But I can’t do any here…” She sighed, then her eyes widened. Bellhop caught that right away and stared her down. “I-I didn’t say-"

“Have you been here before?” Mercury asked confusedly.

“Look, we’ll talk about it later. I think I already knew she was here before,” said Bellhop.

Spade was right…

“What? How?” Piers questioned and swapped glances with her team mates, “I’m freaking out here, man. This is so weird…”

“Just let me continue and I’ll tell you all about it…” Bellhop explained.

-6:32 AM

Ponyville no longer remained pitch black, for the sun started peaking over the horizon. Rarity presumed that it had been Celestia’s doing and that she may have been a bit late waking up. Clover fortunately got Fluttershy to calm down, though she remained heartbroken that a close friend betrayed her all of a sudden. The group decided it would be best if they remained in the same spot so that those who traveled to Pripyat would have no trouble finding them when returning.

“When do you think they’ll return?” Rarity asked no one in particular. She figured keeping Fluttershy from thinking about Discord was in everyone’s interest.

“’S only been like twenty minutes. They had to walk a kilometer you know,” said Ingot. He noticed Rarity pointing to the sad Pegasus which made him realize why she asked such a question. He thought of something else to take fluttershy’s mind off of that weird hybrid thing, “Oh, uh… Anyone else have a crappy night of sleep?”

“I thought you said the hay stack would be fine!” Applejack grimaced with an outstretched hoof.

Ingot chuckled, “No, I meant my dreams made it impossible to rest for more than an hour at a time. I thought I was doing hard core parkour on the roofs of my college campus. Short story even shorter: I failed a jump and died.” He noticed Applejack scratched her head and stared down. Ingot nodded to let her subtly know her outburst was forgiven.

“Parkour? Isn’t that the thing where you jump off buildings and not break your legs somehow?” Hazel questioned; now amused with Jason’s history.

“Yep, he did a few stunts when we were in a team together over in Syria,” Clover smiled. “Speaking of dreams: I had one where I was snowboarding… I smacked into a tree and woke up from shock. ‘Shy was there to make sure I was alright though,” she patted the yellow pegasus on the shoulder. Fluttershy sniffed one last time, a smile finally crept to her face, and she looked up to Clover.

Hazel slowly raised a hand, “Mine was about being on the moon…”

Pinkie bounced and scored major hang time, “The moon? Did you jump like forty hooves and slowly come back down?” She asked with a hint of excitement as she flopped down on the grass.

“I couldn’t breathe,” she weakly chuckled; making Pinkie sulk down further into the land.

“How do you all even remember what happened in your dreams?” Spade asked. He smiled soon after, “your minds seem to not like you if they keep portraying your imminent death.”

“I don’t think it works that way,” Applejack frowned at the Russian.

“He’s just kidding, Applejack. I find it weird that they all had to do with some previous interest of ours though. Uh, assuming Sherry was into astronomy or something,” said Clover.

Hazel put a clenched hand over her mouth to think that over, “I didn’t really like school at all growing up, so I’m not sure if sciency stuff like space interested me.”

“I loved school; what made you dislike it?” Clover cocked her head.

Spade spoke up, “Could we talk about something less educational? How about-"

“Clothing!” Rarity shouted. “He was going to say clothing. What are the nicest fashions on your planet?”

“Or we could talk about baking!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a hop over Rarity.

“Or feminism,” Fluttershy smiled next to Clover.

The operatives blinked and turned to the precision marksman with blank expressions. It was like a child cursing out loud and then everyone turning to the parent, for everyone knew that was the only place they would have learned such a word. She sheepishly grinned at her team mates’ stares for a moment before Hazel spoke up with a smile, “What’s feminism? I heard about it on facebook a couple of times.”

“Miranda, why would you tell them about- wait, what? How do you not know what a feminist is?” Ingot asked Hazel, surprised as this had to be the first woman he ever met that wasn’t aware of the movement, let alone a part of it. Hazel just shrugged as they looked back to Clover for an explanation.

“I uh…”

Spade intervened, "I am not sure what the problem is. Bradley, Alex and myself were talking about this last night as well. It brought itself up when those fillies were trying to help us with the-"

"Wait, what fillies?" Rarity asked worriedly as her eyes widened.

"Eh, I believe your sister and her friends, Applebloom and Scoo-"

"W-where were they when you woke up?”

"Uh, Captain sulked off somewhere and they were gone when we woke up. Alex left us before we fell asleep though. I really do not know where they could have gone," Spade said while scratching his head. "I am sure they are fine; they were roaming around hours before we had found them. Maybe your sisters went back to their appropriate homes to rest... As for Scootaloo, I do not know."

Rarity and Applejack groaned but only the white pony spoke her mind, "I suppose I should go back the boutique. I just hope she isn't making breakfast again if she happens to be there. And you aren't off the hook yet, sir," she grumbled while trotting towards her home.

"Ah'll be right back, Jason... I'm thinkin' Applebloom is just sleepin' in 'er room," Applejack sighed while making her way to said destination.

That left four operatives and two ponies in the group. Hazel broke up the brief silence with a chuckle, "So much for getting your views across to them. I guess you could convince Pinkie and I about the femi-thingy."

Ingot winced, "I would seriously reconsider going-"

"No, no, no, Miranda said you'd all try to do this!" Fluttershy pointed a hoof accusingly. "Help a woman climb the ledge; stop and check your pri-vi-lege, Mister Macombs," she smiled softly. Clover buried her face in her sleeves and stared down.

Ingot laughed uncontrollably, "Dude, did you make that up just now, or did she teach you that?"

"What have I done?" Clover sighed to herself...

Spade patted her on the shoulder, making her look up, “It is only fair to look into both sides of a story, friend. Perhaps we will all learn something.” He looked over to the pegasus and nodded, "Please continue, Miss 'Shy".

-6:37 AM

Bellhop finished his explanations within a few minutes. By the end of it, the Delta members stood in awe as Onyx’s commanding officers thought of what to do next. The group had two major issues and unfortunately, one of those they promised the praised goddess of their lands to deal with. The other one was going to require consulting Celestia a second time. At the end of the day, the humans were at fault for the changelings’ rise in power. It only made sense that a team of humans came to fix the problem; especially since the ponies couldn’t combat it effectively. Defending the Element Bearers was the least they could do.

However, Discord was to be another matter altogether… Bellhop remained unsure about handling the self-proclaimed deity, for it felt like something that Twilight and her friends would have less trouble doing. Especially if invincibility was a factor...

“How many changelings are there? Or at least how many of them are willing to face you?” Piers asked.

“Maybe a few... hundred... And most likely all of them are willing to face you. They’re born to be fighters, I believe…” Twilight trailed off, knowing that this information only pushed the team further away from helping them. “I-I really don’t know how many there are. They’re relatable to insects, so I’d guess quite a few. They have a Queen who tells them what to do as well.”

“Do they talk too?” Stafford asked quizzically.

“Actually we found out that they did yesterday. Nopony ever heard one speak before,” Rainbow said with a shrug. She continued after a quick chin rub, “Well, except for Chrysalis, the Queen that Twilight mentioned.”

*I think it’s noble that you guys want to take on their problems that they can’t solve themselves, but… How are you going to deal with that? Those creatures you mention don’t sound like reasonable things. They just seem like thugs the way you worded it. Also, Captain Smith, you nearly died yesterday. Are you sure using just Onyx will work?* Jeffrey asked over the mic.

*Sure as I can be… We can’t wait another day for extras to show up. We’re going to Canterlot again to speak to Celestia. If Twilight can brag this much about her, I’m hoping she actually knows how we can solve this,* Bellhop replied.

“I didn’t brag about her; I only acknowledged that she has superior wisdom and power over us,” Twilight shot back with a frown.

“Bragging,” Mercury said flatly with his arms crossed.

*Alright, I guess. Just be-*.

Piers spoke up, *Command, request that Delta assist Onyx in combating the changelings?*

“What?” Kale grimaced.

“Dude, we get to see a whole ‘nother planet if we go with them,” Stafford said with excitement. Twilight cringed at hearing that phrase, but let it slide. “This could be like the coolest thing ever, and you wanna pass it up? I think it ‘ll be like a vacation to some summer resort if it’s anything like Smith described.”

“Yeah? Well I prefer my vacations without the hassle of killing shape shifting bugs,” Oaks said while shaking his head 'nope'.

“Guys, c’mon. They aren’t gonna come out okay if it’s just six people defending them,” Piers noted. “Granite, they’re incredibly experienced and the changelings don’t sound like they know what they’re doing, but still. Won’t it be less likely that someone dies if we tag along? We can leave when the threat’s dealt with so they can go back to their explorations and stuff.”

“Sounds like good enough reasoning to-” Stafford paused during mid-agreement, for Dale pulled him aside to speak in privacy. The designated marksman's smile quickly turned into a frown of possible offense when Oaks brought something specific up...

*It's your call, Delta,* David chipped in.

"... I know. I can handle my own problems outside of work, 'kay, Dale?" Stafford sighed. Oaks looked down; thinking he struck a nerve with his question. Michael set his mood back in order with a shoulder pat, "I know you're just lookin' out for me, man. These guys could use our help though."

"I guess so... You make up your mind, Matt?"

"I'm not sure... I'd give in to majority rules, but-"

Rainbow shook her head, "Wait, hold on. Who are these guys anyways? Can we trust them, Alex?"

Bellhop scowled at that, "In case the conversation from earlier already flew over your head; I know you’re throwing out the skepticism just to mess with them too."

"She means they kind of just popped out of nowhere..." Twilight noted.

"So did you, kind of," Stafford chuckled.

"I think Dash has got the right idea in a sense; can't trust everyone you meet," Mercury shrugged.

"Exactly," she nodded.

"So you don't want their help if we're met with a swarm at some point?" Bellhop asked.

“I meant others. I agree that Dash should lay off on the tough guy act too, but skepticism is healthy,” he finished, earning a hooves-crossed pout from the Rainbow pony.

"Curiosity's got me; I'm in," Kale spoke up with a smirk. It earned a smile from Twilight at least. He rolled his eyes at that, "If nothing else, it' ll keep me in shape."

*You're all going then?* Jeff asked while quickly inputting more information to his document. This was quite a story so far and was glad he could be a part of it. How often do you get to hear about someone traveling to another planet with magical ponies? Okay, it didn't really sound cool on paper, but soldiers going in to investigate the place made it at least seem serious…

Bellhop answered, *looks like. We'll try to keep everyone safe while moving around. And I won't be late coming back this time either. Hopefully the others can head over here too to give their perspectives when we return...*

Something occurred to Mercury, *did you guys jus' sit there 'n wait on us to return last night?*

*All day, every day,* David responded with a smile.

Jeff rolled his eyes, *we get sleep as required, Lieutenant McCoy.*

*Brad, thank you.*

Dash smirked as she guessed why he responded in that grumble. Twilight happily spoke up, "Are we going back now?"

"Yeah, and on the way back, you can explain to everyone why you were running around in The Zone a while back. Spade told me there were reports of a creature such as yourself wandering about. Your little outburst confirmed his assumptions I guess..." Bellhop said. The purple pony anxiously frowned at that, "But, I already came to the conclusion that you couldn't have done anything dangerous while here, so?"

She brushed a hoof through the dirt while the operatives directed all attention to her, "It... was an accident I suppose. See, I-".

"On the way back," the Captain emphasized his point. A story would help shorten the shy kilometer of a trip back to Ponyville...

-Unknown

-6:44 PM

The sun finally rose high enough over Equestria to help the ponies mark a new day in their lives. Things weren’t as bright where the changelings resided within the forest, for dead trees towered over everything. Light only seeped through in random mats and shimmered against the shallow water. The spirit-broken changelings wandering the area only pushed to further darken the area, not literally of course. The defeat at Canterlot a while ago forced them to seek refuge in this horrible place for about one year now. Since the creatures lived off the emotions of others; the environment was actually a risk to their health just because of its gloominess.

So how did they survive this long?

Towards the northern end of the village they created; a tree, much larger than any of the other willows, stood out proudly. This one, unlike the others, was actually alive too, for the leaves remained intact and show no signs of withering. But it was hollow, because the changelings lived in the tree as well as the huts stationed outside. Somehow they managed to keep the tree a living thing though they carved a dungeon inside of it…

Within said wooden marvel; sticky little lines of liquid stretched throughout the corners and ceilings of rooms. They lit up a bright green to allow someone to see how to navigate through the naturally dark innards of the tree. Perhaps it doubled as the willow’s live support in some unrealistic way. Given how hectic the last thirty hours were, it only made sense that things in the fortress were too.

The dark creatures ran around in collective panic, trying to organize parties and figure out how to handle Onyx’s arrival. The outcome of the train ride spread throughout the hive maybe twice as fast as it had in Ponyville. Not only had two died; one’s status remained unknown, for the returning scouts didn’t specify. Then, in the light of the morning, two more just disappeared with no clue other than 'gone hunting' on their hut…

They would have returned by now.

Things weren’t as panicky in a few rooms though. 'Nursing rooms' were what the species collectively referred to them as, for they nursed in two ways. They helped the changelings harness energy and power. The pony captives received hospitality for expressing affection towards the black creatures.

No wrong doings here. No, Siree.

A changeling lightly stroked the mane of a red mare while she slept calmly. Really, there was no harm in this set-up. Sure it drained the giving pony of his or her emotions, but Queen Chrysalis made sure to set up regulations on consumption. They couldn’t just make the poor things all depressed; lest they wanted to go and kid nap more ponies… This particular mare didn’t get pony-napped though, she came to them as a matter of fact.

A changeling armored in Golf Squad equipment called from the room’s entrance and ruined the pleasant ambience from within, “Coal, the second squad’s prepped and-“

“Shh,” she hissed at his loudness, “She’s asleep, Meek.” His name made this predicament rather ironic... The female changeling, Coal, got up from the makeshift bed and nuzzled the sleeping red pony before returning to Meek. Coal whispered while nearing the changeling, "What's up?"

"Barron and Skittles haven't yet returned..." Meek trailed off. Worriedly, he continued, "We believe something may have captured them, quite possibly the Miasma. Chrysalis has instructed us to band a quick search party together."

The mare's ears perked up which made Coal smile warmly. She turned back to the less than amused Meek, "What are you planning to do?"

"She told us that the... energies are rather lacking as of now. The Queen wants us to hit the train on the way to Canterlot, have half of the team will guide two or three ponies here, and the other half will explore the grasslands to attempt to locate the two if possible. If not, we may at least gain some clues to their whereabouts." He scraped a hole-filled hoof against the floor in uncertainty.

"You're bringing more friends for us?" a perky voice called out.

Meek leaned to his left to look past Coal and spot the source of such a happy voice. He found that it belonged to the mare that was sleeping only moments ago. “Er… Yes?” the changeling spoke up. The earth pony seemed familiar, but he couldn’t put a hoof on it, “Coal, who is this one?”

“She’s lived here for months, Meek!” Coal shot back, upset that he failed to realize this. Thinking she caused distress between her close friends; the red mare apologized quietly, hoping to resolve the conflict quickly. “It’s quite alright. Meek, this is Miss Light, and she’s probably the only reason things have been lighter around here.”

Ignoring how she referred to the mare as 'Miss' when her pitchy voice made her sound like a foal, Meek nodded, “I see. Sorry for failing to realize your involvement here, but you must understand that I work outside of this structure typically.”

“All fine, Meek,” Light chirped. “I’m very happy that you’ve kept me company all this time though. I’ve tried to get to know everypony here, but there are so many of you,” she chuckled.

“Right, well. You can explain to her what’s going on if you’d like, Coal, but I have to get going. We’ll try to get you some more company, Miss Light. We may soon become strong enough to raise our living standards for the better.” He finished with a smile and trotted down the hallway.

Light turned back to her care taker, “He seems nice. Do you think Chrysalis will smile for once when we get Ponyville to understand your intensions?”

Coal giggled at that, “I don’t know; she’s been awful grumpy over the last month. I think if you do that little dance in front of her, the Queen’s greater nature will reveal itself. Wanna practice?”

“You bet!” she hopped with glee.

“An earth pony OC? ‘The fuck is wrong with this writer?”

Don’t worry; I thought what you were thinking for you…

-6:52 AM

Had enough ideology for one story? HAHA, me neither! If you want to skip this part due to its length and *partial** irrelevance; I'll word the starting of the next chapter so it fills you in on what's happening~*

"I cannot, for the life of me, remember what I was experimenting with," Twilight looked to the sky in confusion. "But I couldn't finish it because everything turned white and I ended up in that place."

"Man, Twilight, you do the craziest stuff when we're not watching you," Rainbow chuckled. That meant that Twilight never told them apparently…

"How'd you end up getting back?" Mercury questioned.

"I just... found it, I guess."

Bellhop looked up from his scribble filled journal, "You're sure you didn't receive any help?" He had written down the entire conversation; though walking while doing so had made that task quite difficult. The purple pony turned to meet a very unhappy stare emitting off of the Captain. He used her gasp as an answer, "Spade mentioned a Russian that went by 'Nikita', that sound familiar?"

Twilight sighed, "...Correct again, Alex. He found me not too long after I arrived. Nicky got me back safely-"

"Pfft, Nicky?" Stafford chuckled. He always considered Russians to be the coldest and most unforgiving people on the planet... coldest could also describe them in a literal sense. The nick-name that Twilight awarded to one just seemed silly.

"Yes, I called him Nicky. He preferred that I call him that, Michael. Anyways, he figured that heading to the Power Plant might've led us somewhere, for strange things happened there. He told me that Stalkers made rumors about some sort of wish granter or miracle creator... We searched a couple of the warehouses and found that portal." She looked down, possibly saddened at remembering what occurred afterwards, "He... said his farewells, and I never saw him again..."

"'That it?" Bellhop asked while finishing his writings. Twilight nodded weakly in response. Though he didn't enjoy the pony's dishonesty, sass, manipulative nature, or overall attitude towards Onyx's operation thus far; the Captain enjoyed seeing the sad version even less. Fluttershy made him figure that out less than an hour ago. He dragged his backpack up and stuffed the college-ruled notebook back inside, "I guess it's nothing that troublesome then... You, uh... You learn anything neat when roaming throughout The Zone?"

"Neat?" Twilight cocked a brow, confused at the random shift in his outlook towards her. "I suppose it was curious to see the random energy spikes scattered around that place..."

"Uhuh... Well, I'll leave it up to you to inform your friends or not about your adventures," Bellhop assured her. He pointed ahead to note that their team was around thirty meters from them. "Just stop acting that way to my team, please. I'm certain you'll make a friend or two by the end of this."

"I get it... Again, I wanted to be sure you wouldn't hurt anypony."

"Why would anyone hurt you? You're too cute to maul," Stafford chuckled.

"I ain't cute, bud'," Dash grumbled.

"Correct, you're pretty," Piers noted with a smirk.

Rainbow would have retorted, but her energetic friend put the thought on hold, “They’re back and they brought even more friends!” Pinkie jumped up with glee, sank back down, bounced to the shyer pony and giggled. In. Her. FACE! “And you thought they were going to be mean to us because we’re mares.”

“More friends?” Ingot asked while turning, “Oh, damn, Delta?”

“Your eyes don’t deceive, dude,” Stafford smiled. He always took pride in knowing he was part of a spec ops unit.

Mercury explained, “They sent these ones over ‘cause Alex forgot to report to HQ on time. We’re all good now, and they tagged along because they felt we needed the help.”

“Well that’s nice, but I think Miranda wanted to talk to you guys about something,” Ingot said while holding out a hand to drag attention to Clover. Bellhop studied over their expressions, excluding the precision marksman’s.

Ingot had his arms crossed while looking down uneasily. Spade looked like he rubbed his face dry by burying it in his palm from frustration. Hazel and Pinkie seemed to be out of the moment compared to the others, for they laid back and watched clouds float by with smiles. Clover and her new pony friend stared blankly back at him. He finally got over to the mares that shot scowls at him. Applejack and Rarity had returned while Fluttershy helped Clover explain the score of womyn’s rights in the Western World.

Rarity shouted at him, “You think you’re tough treating ladies the way you do?”

“What?” Kale raised a brow.

Bellhop sighed, “I take it Clover got you talking about feminism?”

Ingot spoke up so this wouldn’t get any worse, “Cap’, she didn’t do anything wrong, we’re just tossing ideas back and forth.”

“I… didn’t say anything was wrong with that. Spade, Mercury, and I were talking about this stuff last night,” he replied. Clover’s expression rose lightly knowing she didn’t upset anyone or the mission. “However, we didn’t express our views to any of the people here… so, minus one.” Her expression sank back down…

“How can you pay females less for the same work?” Applejack asked in disgust.

The Captain wasn’t in the mood (or awake enough) to argue points he couldn’t retort. He remembered how common a woman on his campus explained to him how the world operated. It felt like a mantra with these people, and now the ponies were catching onto it. Bellhop honestly didn’t know if the findings of the wage gap, glass ceiling, rape statistics, women in management, and all of the other things were particularly true. Rubbing his face, “Look, I don’t know anything about-.”

“Where did you hear that?” Kale spoke up with a closed fist under his chin. The operatives took notice to his possible challenge and cleared the area so it could be met. Oaks rested a hand on his partner’s shoulder to make him turn, but he didn’t. Matt only held up a hand to his opposition to let him know what he was getting in to.

Rarity and Applejack stared at him for a brief moment before the orange pony pointed at Fluttershy. “You?” Kale asked. She nodded anxiously, but he didn’t buy it. The pegasus sat closest to Clover, so he figured that a human female was the likely culprit to introducing this mess. He directed the following statement to said precision marksman, “Alright, I take it you’re the one who taught them to parrot these ridiculous statements. Miranda, was it?”

“Ridiculous?” she narrowed her eyes.

“Uh, Matt, are you sure you should be getting into arguments with a new part of our team?” Piers asked. Her concern was more realistic than his, for she believed the group splitting itself wouldn’t hold up well down the road. Truthfully, she wanted to see how this would play out, such as the others did. Spade got the full force of the ideology until it put him in mental submission to their theories. Those mares were relentless when Fluttershy explained it to them…

“Sure as can be,” he claimed with a wave to the voice behind him.

“What were they arguing about?” Twilight asked.

Kale ignored the question to answer Clover finally, “I said it was a ridiculous claim, yes. You're of the opinion that you make seventy-seven cents on every dollar I make simply because you’re a woman, right?”

Clover nodded, “Well, I don’t know if it applies to the military, but yes. In fields like business and engineering, which men dominate by the way, I think they get paid less and it’s unjust.”

“What did you major in when you went to college? ‘Just curious.”

“I didn’t really major in anything because I got caught up in this. I did take a women’s studies course to understand why we live in a patriar-.”

“You didn’t get a business or engineering related degree?” Kale asked, keeping a smirk from forming. Clover shook her head no; unaware of how she just destroyed her own argument. “Why are the fields you mentioned male dominated do you think?”

“Because our society ushers women into the social sciences." She smirked, "I know you were trying to make me do that stale-mate argument too. I’m above that.”

“But you substituted it with something you can’t prove. Did it ever occur to you that women, as a whole, tend to linger towards those courses simply by their choice? Since 1990, all campuses around the US, Canada, and UK have never stopped promoting the exact opposite of what you say. All I saw when attending MSU was 'Women needed in science!', 'Women, try out auto!', 'The future of the technological field is too important to be left to men!' Ring any bells? I don't mean to generalize, but you people tend to pick the less demanding courses for that reason alone..."

"Dude, you went to State?" Ingot chuckled.

"Now who told you that?" Clover shot back, ignoring her friend's question.

"I did. Any miniscule examination of common course selections will have you well informed. Did you know that women graduate college at a higher rate than men, even at the PhD level? Is it even a wonder why funding is cut for courses that deal with sciences and math as a result? Less and less of the people who cared about them are able to take them anymore. Mysteriously, more money is now poured into the social sciences and humanities."

"What's that supposed to mean? Also, since when are men the only ones who care about science and math?"

Twilight actually bumped in this time, "He's saying that you answered that question already. Again, did you take courses in that field?"

"No..."

"So, it only makes sense that you can't complain about other women not taking those courses. It's not even necessarily a bad thing; it just means the males run that field because it interests them on a general scale. It doesn't mean you're not allowed to get in the field," she continued, earning a surprised nod from Kale. This pony was alright... She continued after thinking on something, "Unless they aren't, I don't know, is there a law-?"

"There is absolutely no law or attempt to keep women from getting into these fields. Miranda, had you joined the fields, rather than point out how many women aren't in them; you could've done something to keep them from being male-dominated as you so claim... Next up: wage gap?" Kale said while sitting down. His smugness vexed Clover, but she could maintain composure and beat this evil, privileged, whi-... African American male. He took that loving narrowed gaze as permission to continue, "Right, it's a myth. As well as that glass ceiling you people keep talking about."

"I don't think it is," Ingot spoke up. He didn't think of himself as a feminist, for he actually thought they excluded men. Regardless, he knew there were legitimate criticisms they brought to the table. "The US Department of Labor actually did research for that one: they compared hourly wages of men and women in all levels of management and it came out to be that, yes, they only earn around three-quarters of what we do... Kinda sad, really."

"Well, feel bad about it no longer." Kale looked back over to Clover, "What's your last name?"

"Fey, but you can call me Clover until the op is over. You?"

"I'm Kale." Piers shot him a glare, remembering what his naming game represented. He rolled his eyes, "Matthew or Matt, if you like. Anyways, Miss Fey, riddle me this: What is a business's primary goal?"

"Uh..."

"Makin' that green papery stuff," Hazel noted lazily. Pinkie poked her and she stared back to the sky. With a gasp, she pointed up, "Dude, a giraffe cloud!" It caused everyone to stare up, whether just to humor her or actually show interest. Their gazes sank back down to the possibly drugged operative when she giggled alongside the pink mare, "That's what I would totally sound like if there was a giraffe shaped cloud."

"She's completely stoned, huh?" Stafford asked with a smirk.

Hazel shook her head, "Nah, man, this place is just so peaceful compared to Pripyat. I'm totally relaxed, not high..."

"Anyways," Kale continued, "if a business's primary concern is making money... Wait for it... Then why aren't there only women with these jobs?"

"What do you mean?" Clover asked.

"Wouldn't companies only hire women if they could actually get away with paying them that much less for the exact same work a man does? Or do you think there's more to this?"

Bellhop took a seat by this point and just listened to them ramble so far, "How much longer do you two think you're gonna go at this? I kinda wanted to get to Canterlot soon..."

"The train station starts up at seven AM, Alexander. I'm certain we have time to discuss the relationships betwixt the genders on your planet," Rarity explained. He eyed his watch just to make sure they wouldn't miss the ride... 6:56. Though they didn't have to leave, he didn't like where the argument headed. Nothing told him that it wouldn't lead to problems later on...

"I think you're just going to have to show me proof here." Clover crossed her arms.

"Proof?" Kale asked with outstretched arms, "W-what the-? How? Am I just supposed to carry around a sheet that shows you cited sources and statistics?"

Clover rummaged through her backpack and dug out a paper folded into four quadrants. Upon unfolding, it revealed the very report that Ingot referred to previously. She held it out for him with a blank stare, "Yes."

Stafford had to laugh loudly at that, "Dude, you just got wrecked!"

Kale couldn't help but smile, though he covered his mouth with a palm, "Alright. Alright, I get you. But my question still stands... I want you to disregard the statistics for a second, because it didn't even compare the right things. Don't you think a company would be much more likely to hire a person at a lower wage if they can do the exact same work another can perform?"

"I suppose..." Clover shrugged.

"So why aren't there only women in all levels of employment? Why would any manager be dumb enough to hire a man if they knew they could hire an equally skilled woman for less? And again I ask: or do you believe there are more factors than just 'I just like having dick around my office'?"

That one drew chuckles, a couple blushed at his vocabulary. Fluttershy eyed the piece of paper and her friend's expression. Clover thought a bit on that one with a chin rub, but her pegasus friend spoke for her, "B-but, the statistics prove it. You can't just deny evidence, Mr. Kale."

"Don't you see, Fluttershy? He doesn't need a sheet of paper to prove his point. His reasoning has been enough for two arguments now... And Rainbow Dash, I believe you may owe me quite a sum of bits if this keeps going where I think it is..."

Rainbow raised a brow at that, "What are you talkin' about?"

Kale spoke up to make everyone forget her question, "To be fair here, they did prove that there's a rough 98 to 100 gap when comparing one man and one woman with exact same experience, college, and career choices. There are instances where they found that women earned more in some areas though."

Clover nodded in disappointment. She didn't quite accept this, but just waving a sheet of stats around wasn't going to convince anyone clearly, "I see... But what about our society pushing women to get those types of degrees in teaching? Wouldn't that reflect how such a gap, though miniscule, came to be?"

"I thought I just explained how I saw the opposite happening, but I guess it has some merit..."

"If it weren't for feminists, women wouldn't have been able to enter the work force on a massive scale!" Rarity shouted out, drawing gazes from everyone... "Ehm... as Fluttershy explained, of course." She sheepishly grinned.

"There's a bit of truth to that I guess," Kale shrugged.

"Alright, Kale's leading with three points while Miranda’s only got one," said Hazel. Pinkie pondered the previous segments of their debate and nodded in agreement.

"You... wrote a score on this?" Spade asked with a brow raised.

"Well, sure! It helps us know who's gonna win. Matt has a lead, but Miranda seems to be gaining leverage. You don't even have to come to an agreement, she's just writing down who seems more confident with their answers really," Pinkie chuckled.

"What? I'm completely confident with my answers!" Clover exclaimed.

Pinkie Pie hopped up and stared her down fiercely, "Are you?"

"Yes," Clover said with an angered glare.

"Are you?"

"Yes!"

"Aaaaare you?"

"Yes, Pinkie!" she said, about ready to maul this pony.

Pinkie bounced back to Hazel with glee, "One point for Miranda!" the female guider scribbled down a tally for Clover with a giggle.

"Uh, confidence isn't really how you decide if someone won a debate,” Ingot spoke up.

"Yeah, I dunno. I think this argument stuff is pointless... I mean, I like the girl-power aspect of the feminism thing and such, but it just seems sketchy. Just listen to the name. Fem-in-ism... Fem... hrm... It's like only about the women. Miranda, how's it about equality if it's only about the women?"

"It's about women getting equal rights par with men and getting rid of their privileges."

“But what rights do we have that you don’t?” Oaks asked. All of those nights at the pub with Kale got them talking about this stuff commonly…

"And what about female privilege?" Kale wondered aloud. "Why is that men disproportionately lose custody battles to women?"

"Because the government seeing women as primary care-takers is mark of patriarchy! It's actually sexism against women because they're trying to force us back into our own roles, you see," Clover spat.

Kale bit his tongue at that, "How cute, you don't know that it was your movement that made it this way to begin with? Before this, men received primary custody after divorce." He crossed his arms and continued, "'You know why? Because men were solely responsible for all financial support of a child. And guess what? They still are, even after all this bull shit. Even if they never get to see their kids again; they're still, for some reason, responsible for paying for the children. How is that sexism against women for the benefit of men?"

"Because-!"

Bellhop rubbed his face thoroughly and checked his watch, “Oh boy, look, it’s seven AM; we should get going to Canterlot.” He continued sarcastically continued, “Oh no! How will your debate on feminism ever get through to all of us. Darn, I guess we’ll just have to stop shoving irrelevant political opinions everywhere and go on about our actual task.”

“But you were the one that said I could keep going,” Clover frowned.

“And I’ve heard enough of it already; you look like you're about to shoot each other” the Captain noted with a head scratch. The lack of sleep already affected his ability to process either side’s argumentation, “I’m sure that your concerns about…” He yawned, “Making twenty dollars or something can be dealt with back home. Can we move things along?”

“I said that women make seventy-.”

“Is it relevant to this task, Lieutenant?” Bellhop questioned a firmer manner. He didn’t deny that the marksman had legitimate claims about sexism in their society; it just really had nothing to do with their mission. The ponies sure as hell weren’t going to fix any problems she pointed out… Furthermore, Kale and Twilight seemed to know about as much as she did in this area. Maybe their claims were just as legitimate, though they contradicted hers… It didn’t matter though, they needed to get to Celestia and figure this out. Afterwards, maybe, Clover could do her rants to the mares.

She sighed in annoyance, “No, sir…”

“And you,” he pointed to Kale, “I think next time you should just let it slide. I don’t want this arguing to cause problems down the road, get it?”

Matt raised a brow, “You’re kidding. We arrived, and they started calling us woman-haters. Am I just supposed to say ‘Yeah, sorry about that’ and have all of the ponies be hostile towards us or what?”

“I don’t know, but debating over this stuff isn’t gonna end well if we need to work as team now.”

“Exactly,” Piers noted.

“Uh, you didn’t exactly step in here and stop him, Courtney,” Oaks pointed out.

She would have retorted, but Kale just sighed, “I got it. Won’t happen again, Captain.”

“Thank you. Let’s get to the station… er…” he trailed off and dug through his backpack. “Will those tickets that Celestia gave us work again? I don’t want to make you spend all your money on us.”

“The princess gave you passes I think,” Applejack noted.

Pinkie Pie gasped in excitement, “You can take the train all day, every day!”

“I think Celestia just wants you to be able to get to her whenever you need to,” Twilight explained. “Your new friends will still need tickets though… Maybe Celestia will give them passes too?”

“How long do the train rides take usually?” Kale asked.

“About half of one hour… Um… You’re not afraid of heights, are you? It goes over a few lakes, a forest, and through a couple of mountains,” Fluttershy said. It confused Kale since this particular mare sided with Clover only a moment ago, but he shrugged and accepted her warning.

“Not an issue, Miss Shy,” Spade responded with a smile. They were Delta… Nothing scared them…

“C’mon, it might leave soon,” Twilight said with a hoof pointed towards the train station.