The Breakthroughs’ Call. Another Equestria.

Chapters

Chapter 0_Invitation by Reckless Research
Chapter 1_We Faced our Chosen Horizon but Found only the Foxfire
Chapter 2_Separated and Something about a Tree
Chapter 3_Separated and an Epidemic
Chapter 4_Separated A Consequence of Discovery
Chapter 5_Path to Reunion the Settling In
Chapter 6_Path to Reunion Cubs, Tourists, and Tri-expression
Chapter 7_Path to Reunion at Long Last
Chapter 8_Epilogue

Chapter 0_Invitation by Reckless Research

Author's Note

The references are included to show the characters involved are aware of multiple different fictional worlds, no copyright infringement intended. No name here is meant to be a real person just flavor text.

The 3 human and fox OC will be joined by pony OCs in the next chapter.
This story will mess with some Fandom and Cannon lore in later chapters and be pre-show for all but some later chapters. Events preceding start of Story of Blanks. Alternate Discord reign confrontation.

Chapter 0_Invitation by Reckless Research

“Three days prior to the breach of the think tank mainframes of White Rabbit, a theoretical science damage assessment group; the following viral Youtube video was published by the French Theoretical Physicist Deloris LeClaire depicted the world first breach into another world.” Spoke a news caster for WNYP 26.

A video recording shows a simple work table. A hand from off screen places two identical copies of The Cat In the Hat as illustrated by Fredric Gould, still in the shrink wrap on the table next to the a book of the same story but illustrated by Judy Reese. The off screen hands appear again to remove the shrink wrap from one of the duplicate books.

“Now folks of White Rabbit, about 2 weeks ago you were sent a package with 2 copies of this classic children’s book in it accompanied by instructions to open it up 1 with me during this live stream today.” Deloris speaks from off camera to her audience. “You will notice that it is a rather simple and charming tale.”

“A tale identical to my other copy here illustrated here by Judy Reese. You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find matching in text but different in art copies of the same story” Deloris cheerfully sings as she makes a deliberate page by page comparison to the 2 different books. The playback seems off visually, more pages than should be present clip through the book’s cover and the hand that flips the pages, the sound however is unchanged.

“Now I know video is easy to fake and if all goes as I anticipate only you who witnessed what I do next will believe it possible.” Deloris somberly remarks as she brings into frame a weird micro scope shaped contraption. “But I think it is time for a little revision!”

The hands flip to page 6 of the duplicate and slide it under the scope. The placement of the scope is moved so it appears right of the camera’s center with the still shrink wrapped copy moved to the left end of the frame.

“Let’s make some history!” The weird scope is turned on and where the light shines on the simple illustration a tennis ball with a white unicorn and Deloris’s name is pushed through the light’s circle. The moment the ball disappears within the page the shrink wrap on the sealed copy violently bursts as the book spontaneously adds several pages to itself. The scope is then turned off.

“Multi-verse Theory is proven.” Deloris chirps as the video ends.

“Deloris LeClaire as of this time is still missing, on a related note numerous book distributers globally have since reported sever property damage allegedly linked to the now infamous Fredric Gould copy of The Cat in the Hat books that exploded from there packages.” The WNYP 26 news caster continues. “YouTube reports a rising trend of ‘watch them pop’ videos all involving cell phone bloggers who were lucky enough to get it on video.”

“And not one of these media hacks have bothered to condemn the breach into our mainframe by groups of every stripe who will treat this discovery like a naive child treats a box of matches.” Mike groans turning off the television. “The Pentagon, that Vatican splinter group, 4 major universities, and who knows how many terrorist outfits are now browsing the lost data to be the first to plant their flags somewhere they have no understanding of.”

In a small disorganized ground floor meeting room with a pair of CPU desks and a card table, 3 humans and a red fox sit in relative silence. Mike had the TV remote, he is 5’5” ear length brown hair and brown eyes, 207 lbs and with a robotic right arm. Tina was sitting in on plush gray bench; she is 4’9” dark brown hair hazel eyes, 196 lbs and has a small digital display on her left temple no bigger than a wrist watch face. Brian sit a CPU desk with a browser open to questionable cartoon drawings, he is 5’6” short brown hair, mustache, and brown eyes, 213 lbs and on the back of his head a small metal plate with a flashing red diode blinks just above the where the spine meets the skull. Lastly Lilly the red fox sits curled at Brian’s feet, she has a full yet not uniform coat with cross-fox red black markings, eye color greenish yellow, 33lbs and has a smaller metal plate with a flashing red diode similarly placed on the back of her head.

“At least the CIA has bothered to consult us on possible precautions they can take should this technology get replicated.” Brian replies with Lilly jumping up on his desk to give him an all too disapproving stare after seeing what his browser was open to.

“Advice or no, Brian; all we need is one fool to open a portal to SKYNET HQ or to the home world of the Metroids and this planet dies!” Mike retorts. “The people involved in this hacking invasion are just the kind of self-righteous butt plugs who think nothing can oppose them and will bite off more than they can chew screwing us all.”

“Deloris’s device was completely unsalvageable. That is something.” Tina interjects. “We have the expertise and the familiarity with the research here that they do not.”

“Tina’s right, if you’re suggesting what I think you are.” Brian adds. “This is now an arms race against these assholes to not only prefect guided travel but also pioneer countermeasures to Planer Travel.”

“And we will be the test subjects, yes?” Mike frowns smacking a wall. “We only get one shot at this and getting lost in this newly accessible multi-verse is only our 2nd obstacle. I suppose you expect that I will build the prototype too.”

“Well your right so far. Yes.” Brian replies.

“I can gather up and decode Deloris’s notes so we can build this.” Tina adds. “And Brian can gather research for a plane to sever as our test run.”

“Me?” Brian replies razing an eye brow.

“We need a target we can write a detailed list of parameters for the navigation software.” Tina replies calmly. “This will be a blind jump without some way to guide the system like Deloris’s scope system. You’ve seen her test run; only the one version was affected that means we are dealing with multiple realities not just with Earth but with our chosen destination as well. The more input the more control.”

“We’re doing this then?” Mike shakes his head groaning.

The next 4 week or so is spent on the task of building a Planer Trans-location prototype and writing the navigation software. Their CIA contact was furious with the plan and it took a data dump of all boasts of the various mad men that claimed a working device, the unfinished blueprints, and counter blackmail about the Pentagon’s own program to get cooperation. No doubt they were being used to help jump start the Pentagon’s own program.

“Well have you picked a location?” Mike lazily remarks as he finishes installing a new but external implant on Brian about the size of a watch.

“We must be insane with any option that is put forth.” Tina states grimly.

“I’m on the spot and you’re already disappointed.” Brian resists the urge to move his head in fear his body will follow. Lilly emitted a low growl staring up at Brian from floor to his right. With a resigned sigh he continues. “Okay. I choose the following location for a few reasons. First we have an ample base of information for the navigation program with this location. Second they are not scientifically or technologically as advanced as us, at least not in the same areas. Third is your fire power Mike. These people and the wildlife can’t match it at least not for first contact and if the recall system works. Lastly we have a local we can exploit for the purposes of these tests and can be in and out.”

“The location you chose, Brian. Where is this safe bet?” Mike sarcastically demands pulling the soldering iron from his latest work installed on Brian’s wrist.

“The G4… MLP universes.” Brian replies rubbing his newly released wrist.

“You did give this thought didn’t you?” Tina now joined in the group scowl. “The land of Dungeons and Dragons monsters, trickster plants, deceptively hostile ponies, and mind warping cursed artifacts. Mike do you have anything to add to this? Perhaps like an alternative!”

“I’m running a blank Tina. Brian here just ran an effective 0 out of 4.” Mike shakes his head. “Even the most inept mage of ‘Ponyville’ is skilled enough with shield spells that will deflect my firepower. Most of the information from the 'fandom' is non-canonical. Several ponies are practically planes walkers themselves who could hold masters degrees in many of our sciences if they just got a hold of one of our books. Lastly what local contact could we exploit?”

“Fluttershy.” Brian meekly replies.

“An ‘element bearer’…” Mike folds his arms. “Lilly indeed might work out here, but any false move and you’ll bring the whole planet down on us. Even if the 2 don’t interact directly it is risky.”

“The other options I can think of are no better. Sonic, Sherlock Holmes, Garfield, even Smurfs have their own expected and unexpected pitfalls.” Brian nervously and weakly tries to protest. “We won’t find a purely innocent location without hazards. The fact we expect those here is some safeguard.”

“Is that the right meaning to that word, Tina?” Mike asks casting eyes to the floor and into his hands.

“No.” Tina remarks dryly only to fix Mike with a stern gaze. “However Brian proposed a location and he has a point about us being not blessed with safe options. Our only advantage is to get in and get out with something like a history book to verify the jump. As risky as it sounds we have convenient target for information gathering.”

“Can we even infiltrate the Golden Oaks Library with Lilly? Foxes are animals in this universe and the librarians don’t lend books out to them. Can you read any of it either?” Mike counters.

“The books have pictures and we can spy on them to get the rest of the info we need.” Brian replies getting irritated.

“We need to set the anchor sub-routine for the recall program.” Tina sighs getting up to stretch.

“You’re giving up!” Both Brian and Mike reply stunned.

“It will be progress report time in awhile with the CIA. I would rather pick this than let them pick a location.” Tina groans heading for a shower.

“Can’t put the genie back and can’t live forever.” Mike sulks.

“Like anyone else who ever plunged into the unknown.” Brian replies placing a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “Columbus, the moon landing, jet travel… We are doing this, hopefully first; so the rest of humanity has an example to follow or to discourage further mistakes. This is what White Rabbit was for after all.”

“For Science, that is not always a comfort.” Mike looks up with a grin. “But, if it can be done someone will do it.”

With that Brian and Mike head off to bed in preparations for the next day.

Chapter 1_We Faced our Chosen Horizon but Found only the Foxfire

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 2_Separated and Something about a Tree

Wind rushes through the bluish fur of slightly large and tumbling red fox, eyes squinted tightly after being blinded by an intense flash. The sound of birds elicits a twitching of ears and the opening of eyes.

The poor thing lets out a shrill scream, paws spread wide as it falls toward a young cliff growing tree. Crashing with a branch knocks out air out of its lungs and swings for a moment on the flexing branch before the branch breaks. It could have been such a nice view too if the fox had solid footing instead of falling.

Completing another mid air tumble the fox almost fails to notice the sudden shadow casting it in darkness just before it is grabbed under its forelimbs, this unfortunately causes the fox to wretch.

“Oh you poor dear, I guess you don’t fly well.” A familiar voice coos. “I don’t know why you were falling from the sky but I’ll get you to solid ground.”

“It feels so liberating to fly.” The familiar voice continues giving the woozy fox a nuzzling of the head before banking right into a shallow glide. “I think we can stop there for a moment.”

The one carrying the fox sets down on a tree covered cliff several feet below the other that was missed above. The fox checks itself over as its fur shifts in color from the sky blue and gray to an earthy green and brown except where the fur was black on the limbs and ears and white of the tail tip. A phantom harness wrapped around the fox’s body holding on a saddle bag like pack and his left arm a small graphical display was also found.

“I… I must be hallucinating.” The fox yips, and rummages through a bag pulling an epee-pen out.

“Did you say s… No not again… I’m fine see.” The brown coated green winged with and white mane Pegasus cringes. “Don’t stick me please!”

The epee-pen drops from the fox’s jaws its eyes narrow in surprise and yips. “Dandelion…”

“Brian… or Lilly? What Happened to you?” Dandelion asks stunned. “Brian’s voice from Lilly’s body, but why and why green and brown you were blue a minute ago?”

“Not just the fur chaser.” The fox’s voice shifted to a more lady-like yip. “I’m in here too. Put that back by the way Brian, we don’t seem to need it right now.”

“How did this happen?” Brian asks ears flattened. “I can’t remember anything between waking Mike and falling.”

“There was a bound pale red with dark red spots pony before my memory goes blank.” Lilly adds with a frustrated flick of the head. “What do you remember Dandelion?”

“Peoria was caught in…” Dandelion eyes shrink and she casts her eyes to her coat and begins pulling out thorny vines.

“Dandelion what… Hay!” Lilly snaps in surprise as Dandelion bowls the fox over pulling out similar vines spitting them into a pile with the rest.

Dandelion takes to the air between the fox and the pile of vines and somehow conjures a bolt of lightning to incinerate the already desiccated plants leaving charred dust on the rocks.

“Good ridden!” Dandelion snorts landing next to the fox.

“I don’t quite know why you did that but I do feel calmer.” Lilly yips softly.

“That was from the eerie glowing trees weren’t they, the Foxfire wood.” Brian growls ears pulling back.

“I lived without the hope of flying for too long. I won’t let a single seed taint this land for someone else.” Dandelion glares at the smoldering remains.

“I wonder where Tina and Mike went. Maybe if I set a Planer Anchor try the recall I can find them.” Brian mutters tracing a claw over the display on his left arm.

“Do what?” Dandelion asks tilting her to get a better look at what Brian was doing. She feels an electric like tingle as Brian gives off yellowish glow that turns green than disappears.

“I’ll be right back.” Brian adds typing another command into the touch display with a claw tip. At this the fox starts to fadeout.

Dandelion wanted to protest, a look of shocked anger crossing her features and wings flared in an aggressive manner. That is until alien objects began appearing before her eyes and merging with the more familiar rocks and trees of the cliff ledge they had stopped on.

Meanwhile some mile or three out a blue winged horse scans the horizon for anything out of the normal from her vantage point in the air. She had felt one such disturbance today already that was enough to startle her from her rest, a commodity that had been in short supply for her and her sister as of late.

“Tis is new for thy mismatched lizard of contradictions. What art thou up to?” The blue flying horse snarls. “Focus, we need to pin point the disturbance.”

Another surge of power is felt off from her nine o clock of her position which seemed to come from a mountain side cliff. From what the blue winged horse could see some kind mirage was looming over this cliff and she banks in its direction.

Back at the cliff Dandelion watches the fox wordlessly walk up to the weird site.

Brian, and even Lilly; were feeling acute homesickness at the site before them. It was their home with the computer desks and couches and card table. The smell of terrible floral air freshener and bacon caught their nose. However the thing that brought tears to their eyes was seeing Mike standing there with his hands up, Tina was pulling a metal case that contains a field chemistry kit to her and hidden behind the desk than fades out, and some CIA spooks that turn and point something in Brian and Lilly’s direction.

“It… It’s… a planner incursion sir.” One of the CIA spooks stutters gesturing to Brian/Lilly and to something behind them.

“An inv… invasion, how did they get here.” A second CIA agent sputters.

“No sir, it’s confirmed this is their planer recall signal.” The first agent spoke with a hint of concern. “It’s not stable. They…”

Before Mike could turn around to look at his friends the surreal scene shatters like it were made of glass and the remains get blown away.

“This isn’t right… THIS ISN’T RIGHT!” Brian screams sobbing ears spayed back at the scene before him which was jumbled and mismatched with both mountain cliff and the inside of some dwelling simply revert to just the cliff.

“That’s your home.” Dandelion places a hoof on the distraught fox. “We’re both lost and you said you would help me so I owe you the same. “

“It hard to take seeing home but not getting to stay there, he’ll be better when he realizes his friends are okay.” Lilly responds the sobs fading some.

“We’ll start looking for someone to help us. I’ll carry you and we’ll search from the air.” Dandelion grins.

“Ah… Do we have too?” Lilly cringed ears splayed back, when the Pegasus nodded her head Lilly turns and attempts to run only to get picked up. She whines. “Not more flying.”

Dandelion was only in the air with Lilly for a moment before a large blue winged pony with a horn intercepts her, and was joined by 2 Pegasi , one green the other a marbled yellow orange; in woven grass vests plated with some kind of scales.

“I ask thou to Halt!” The blue winged pony commands. “I Luna, the Moon Stewart demand to know what thy connection is with thy disturbance just now.”

“You are to answer now!” The marbled one adds forcefully.

“I… I don’t… understand what… they did.” Dandelion stuttered fearfully casting eyes at flyers now surrounding her. “They were just trying to go home.”

“Ow… My ears.” Lilly groans eyes squint shut. “Please not so loud it’s painful.”

“My apologies but we demand answers. You were going home, care to explain thy reason for such disruptive ends?” Luna demand in a lower yet commanding tone.

“I’m sorry Stewart Luna, this is my first attempt to get my recall system to work and doing travel like this to begin with. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.” Brian responds his fur shifting to blue and gray of the sky.

“Now we understand thy use of the plural, Lady?” Luna tilts her gaze back to Dandelion.

“I’m Dandelion, Stewart Luna.” Dandelion replies.

“Brian.” The fox’s male voice replies meekly.

“Lilly.” The fox’s female voice replies flatly.

“Curious… We would have expected Discord’s involvement.” Luna ponders staring at the fox, turning to a southeast direction from the cliff. “Come we would hear thy tale some place more comfortable.”

The short flight over the darkened forest where a modest stone mansion rests did little to help the fox’s stomach. The escort Pegasi took up positions to the sides with Dandelion carrying the fox and Stewart Luna in the middle of the formation. As they prepare to set down another group lead by a white winged pony joins them in landing.

“Sister, what have you found?” The white pony asks. “Is it more of Discord’s antics?”

Dandelion sets the fox down allowing him lay to get over the motion sickness, the contact with mansion balcony causes his fur to take on a marbled black and gray coloration.

“Dose this one do this often?” one of the escort Pegasi asks gesturing to the fox.

“Huh…” Lilly groans with weary eyes, before checking her fur. “At least I’m not shedding and it such a nice pattern too.”

“Nay sister, Discord still runs free.” Luna replies before gesturing to the two strangers. “These travelers seem to be responsible for the recent trouble however they say they meant no harm, just trying to get home.”

“If this is true what is the purpose of using such disruptive means to do so?” Celestia questions with a gaze no less stern than her sister had earlier.

“I sorry my attempt to go home was not intended to be for good as I promised to help Dandelion find her family. What I did was set a Planer Anchor so I could return here if my friends I came here with were safe. I could then come back and return Dandelion to her home using the travel log as a guide.” Brian replied in a quite tone.

“You were leaving…” Dandelion turns her head down dejectedly.

“Your friend Peoria is with one of fur chaser’s and my friends too. He is not the most careful of humans but he’s not a total jerk.” Lilly chastises with a snarl. “Something separated us and I believe it would be reckless just to return Dandelion and Peoria back where we found them, Brian.”

“What do you mean? You pulled someone from their rightful place whether by accident on not this cannot be excused!” Celestia accuses her glare getting icier.

“Fur chaser forgot to mention what Dandelion and the rest of us put up with before getting separated. It’s ironic we now are so outwardly merged as our minds were becoming in the short amount of time we spent in Dandelion’s RIGHTFUL PLACE.” Lilly snarls matching Celestia rage with her own fury. “I hate flying and I hate tumbling out of control through the air to catch a winged pony who could not even control the storm she was unintentionally causing!”

Pulling from an epee-pen from her side bag and spitting it on the ground, Lilly takes a deep breath before continuing. Celestia, Luna and all the others briefly break their stares to glance at Dandelion who crashes into a Pegasus guard to move away from the offending object.

“Brian and his friends use that thing…” Lilly gestures to the epee-pen. “To prevent us from being killed or driven insane by the changes they made to themselves, even I have to take this. It also was what they jabbed Dandelion with to stop that twister she was making at the time.”

“You said, or your other self said; you were trying to go home. If you and Dandelion did not meet would you not have gone home sooner?” Celestia asks flatly still not convinced.

“I don’t know what went wrong when I tried to go home. It just scrambled the locations together before exploding into a cloud of dust.” Brian grimly responds. “In the place we were at before we got separated, it was that forest interfering with the trans-locators, I just can’t figure out what failed.”

“If this is so dangerous and unreliable why do it?” Luna asks with a shake of her head.

“Because some else would!” Brian responds coldly yet also defeated. It is here that he goes into detail about White Rabbit and recounts the LeClaire Incident which triggered the technological arms race that brought the human into being a roommate in a fox’s mind speaking to Celestia and Luna. Dandelion added some details about her world and experiences but was still mostly downtrodden.

After finishing his tale the two sister Stewarts offered Brian and Lilly the fox and Dandelion a room for the night while they consider this revelation.

The room Dandelion and the fox Brian/Lilly had been given was simple, just a bed and table with a potted strawberry bush. The small room would be quite comfortable for Brian and Lilly if not for the teary eyed Dandelion.

“Dandelion, I didn’t mean to upset you with breaking my promise to find your friends and family, or with trying to leave.” Lilly whimpers softly trying to place a paw on Pegasus’s shoulder.

Dandelion recoils from the touch her sobs getting worse. Lilly padded off to the far corner with her head down.

“It… It’s not… your fault.” Dandelion responds still sobbing. “When… when you tried to leave… I was stunned and angry, but the gravity of what happened then is why I’m really so upset.”

Lilly head perked up and with tears in her eyes she turned her head to Dandelion.

“You… your just… just as lost as me. You could almost touch your home only to have it pulled away from you. We are… just not in control of where lives go any more now than I was with the winds of home.” Dandelion chocked.

“Sure a lot of the trouble we put up with in life is not our choice. My friends and I learned to endure those times, but when life asked us for our say we gave it our answer.” Brian comments. “Like I explained to the Stewarts we didn’t plan on creating Planer Travel someone else did. With so many others looking on this new discovery we could have easily let them take the risks in theory, but we already seen the outcome of one such attempt. She was not concerned if Humanity was ready for it or could handle the repercussions. We choose to be the lab rats and to take the risks in a way that was planned to put no own else at risk. Yes we got you and your friends involved, and I sorry; but if our efforts for better or worse can enlighten rest of humanity to respect this discovery in both its benefits and perils I feel we did the right thing.”

Dandelion starts calm down. “Because of you I learned that flying can be something to be enjoyed, and more importantly; that there are familiar places that are not pulling me along against my will helpless to do anything else.”

“Wait… What do you mean by familiar places?” Brian asks curiously.

“Well like this castle, it’s in better shape now. The dark forest outside is not as expansive…” Dandelion replies as her pupils shrink to pin-pricks. Brian was similarly shocked.

“Time travel, this is bad. When in the past are we?” Brian fidgets. “They, the Stewarts; mentioned a trouble maker who was it?”

“Discord I think.” Dandelion replies.

“The era of Discord’s reign, is the past. Foxfire forest where living things are driven wild is this world’s future and your home, a home where the castle was overtaken by the Foxfire forest. Something’s seriously not right here.” Brian muses with a worried look. “Have you ever heard of Discord’s defeat from your family?”

“Never heard of Discord from them, they never knew who the castle belonged to either.” Dandelion replies nervously.

“They did something different, the Stewarts; but what? The Elements of Harmony…” Brian continues to muse before Dandelion cuts him off.

“Your starting to make no sense, what are you talking about?” Dandelion asks getting frustrated. “I’ve never heard of any of these things. How much do know that you’re not telling me?”

“You never heard of the Elements. That it, that what’s different. The Stewarts must have never used them.” Brian exclaims as the castle begins to rumble. “What… a quake!”

A thorny phosphorescent vine shatters a portion of the floor right near the bed.

Elsewhere. 2 hours before the quake, in a cave under the castle.

“Sister, is this really a step we need to take? Will we not prove ourselves to be despots no different from Discord?” Luna asks.

“You propose we confront him without this power!” Celestia replies in disbelief turning to Luna.

“Thy travelers today, in pondering what they went through; we wonder if we too should face our problems with our own power and ingenuity.” Luna continues speaking with eyes closed. “We tempt forces we don’t understand. Like them perhaps we should tread more carefully ourselves.”

“Can we reason with him?” Celestia asks uncertain. “He’s the spirit of chaos.”

“Even thy spirit of chaos must take responsibility for thy unintended makings.” Luna resolutely adds. “He mistakes control for chaos. True chaos comes from letting world do things without you having a say and excepting that thy input is only part of what shapes our lives.”

“I think I see what your implying sister. Even our connections to the sun and moon might one day become cause for alarm.” Celestia replies solemnly. “We must confront him now about this revelation; however should negotiations fail us we must return here with all haste.”

“Agreed.” Luna adds resolutely flaring her wings and turning to leave the cave with her sister.

As the sisters leave the cave a dark thorny sprout pushes through the soil. The dark sprout grows to about 3 inches tall before a glistening crystal vine wraps around it. The dark sprout continues growing around the crystal vine, its fresh leaves still mostly black on top begin giving off a shifting rainbow light on their underside.

Elsewhere near Discord’s throne just before the quake, the two sister Stewarts land before an all too giddy would be conquer.

“My my, I am disappointed. You must know that without that power you leave me all the aces.” Discord replies cocking an eyebrow and smiles wickedly.

“Power is not what is important to life and the world.” Celestia counters. “Why taint what should be obviously not broken with your madness?”

“Your little paradise of pastel pony pawns, Ha; not broken indeed!” Discord retorts. “You who move the sun and co-conspirator of the moon are what make this all boring and unnatural.”

“How’s thy approach here be any better?” Luna snorts stomping forward. “You presume to suggest thy own inspiration sufficient to truly satisfy your stated aims, tis truly is something to laugh at!”

“You dare to question my artistic esthetic?” Discord growls forcing Luna’s muzzle to rise to the same level as his own. “How about I enlighten thy to your own truly meager contributions with a demonstration!”

Luna could feel the magic of the chaos lord begins to twist her body as she caught something out the corner of her eye, her ears catch the rumbling of the earth and her sister’s cries.

“Ahhh! What is this…” Celestia sputters having the wind crushed from her by a thorny luminescent vine.

Luna crashes to the ground as she released from Discord’s spell and is quickly wrapped up by the vines as well trapping her on her side kicking her legs trying to escape. Through pain clenched eyes she sees vines erupt everywhere driving off the chaos landscape where they sprouted.

“This foul trickery is so beneath my talents I…” Discord was cut short as two exceptionally thick vines snared his limbs with intensely glowing branches.

“Would seem… we are not the… only ones… opposing you.” Luna replies through oxygen starved lungs as she is wrapped in cocoon of vines.

Discord did not reply as his mouth was clamped shut.

Back at the castle Brian/Lilly find themselves once again as passengers of the Pegasus Dandelion as she races through the constricting halls.

“The origin of the Foxfire Forest is here of all places!” Brian comments with a groan. “Are we almost clear of the castle?”

“Two more turns one left and one right.” Dandelion replies not breaking focus with the hall ahead.

“Help!” cries a voice down the right side passage from a green and orange maned blue unicorn stallion who had been pinned to a wall by Foxfire vines.

“We’re coming, hold on!” Dandelion yells back changing course to land in front of him.

Releasing Brian/Lilly on to the ground Dandelion flies over to bite the vine in an effort to pull it away from the wall. The fox races to the hall facing side of the same vine to frantically scratch and bite at spot where the vine was bending causing it to snap at the combined assault. Once freed the slightly bloodied unicorn leaps over the fox and bucks open a door releasing a Pegasus and two more unicorns who proceed to cut their way down the opposite end of the hall.

“Thank you. Follow us we’ll get you out.” The bloodied unicorn wheezes joining the others.

Clearing the next two halls led the party now a dozen or so strong to the castle courtyard where two particularly large vines had walled off the exits.

“Dandelion can you generate a lightning bolt strong enough to cut the base of one those weeds.” Lilly asks casting a glance between her and the Foxfire trees.

“Not alone. There too thick.”Dandelion groans in agitation at the site.

“Give it a shot we’ll back you up, everyone ready on her mark!” The bloodied unicorn shouts gesturing at the plant wall.

Taking flight Dandelion locked a gaze with the trunk of the growth on the right side of the arch and against her best judgment let the ambient magic flow into her as she fell into a glide toward it. To the momentary horror of the collected guards Dandelion became engulfed in a black film of sparking cloud and buzzes the vines trunk. Sizzling lightning scorches the trunk for 4 seconds of intense flashing before the cloud fizzles.

“Now!” The bloodied unicorn shout, the guards releasing a stream of pure magic at the burn marks on the vine cutting it clean in half and dissolving a part of the wall behind it.

It took a moment for the guards to shake off the head rush of what they just did leaving stray holes in other parts of the courtyard walls as they clumsily fled through the gap. Lilly raced to the down twitching Pegasus Dandelion.

“My…my heart… is beating so fast.” Dandelion wheezes eyes wide black fog still seeping from her wings.

“Dandelion. Listen to me.” Lilly yips using a paw to turn Dandelion to meet her gaze. “Pick me up and fly us clear of the castle.”

Getting wobbly to her hooves, Dandelion complies in picking up the fox whose fur now begins to flicker wildly; and flies strait up dodging grasping vines on instinct alone until she was 100ft from top of the castle.

“I… I think… argh… the source is bellow the castle… in a cave.” Lilly growls her own heart beginning to race and head hurt. “Fly… fly for the cave!”

“I’ll… try Lilly.” Dandelion replies in an almost robotic tone still feeling the Foxfire’s influence, falling into a glide she lets the vine’s own phantom wind currents draw them to the cave.

Through the closing web of thorny death they zipped toward the light behind the lights in the form of a crystal tree. Just mere feet away from touching the tree the vines whip out and Dandelion gets snagged eliciting screams of pain from the trapped Pegasus.

“Just a little closer, Dandelion.” Brian pleads stretching a paw to the tree.

Dandelion grunts with exertion her eyes starting to glaze over, her hoofs stretching to push the fox closer to the tree.

“I won’t… I will not let this world suffer because of my doing!” Brian and Lilly shouts mournful in unison with tear stained eyes their outstretched claws finding a grip on something. “Please even if I have to pull it out of you STOP!”

Suddenly Dandelion pulls free of the vines at the same time Brian/Lilly pull an orb of pink light to their chest.

“I will not let anyone else suffer a world where they are prisoner in their own bodies. Help us protect our friends and family!” Dandelion pleads wings beginning to wrap around the fox protectively staring at the tree a blue light appearing before her eyes.

A flash of intense light bursts from the crystal tree, when it clears the form of Pegasus cradling a curled up fox paws to its chest stand upon a pedestal of stoned Foxfire Wood vines frozen themselves in stone. All the other vines begin to evaporate leaving nothing but cracked stone stumps upon 4 where strange glowing gem figurines now rest.

Back where Discord’s demolished throne rests Luna, Celestia, and Discord begin to pull themselves free of their withered potential death cocoons.

“My heart is telling me we just lost somepony dear to us, somepony we owe our lives to for saving us just now.” Celestia winces in deep worry as she flexes her wings to fly.

“We must hurry sister I too feel this dread!” Luna replies panicky.

“Don’t leave me here.” Discord gasps walking clumsily toward the sisters.

Luna beckons Discord to climb on in too much of a hurry to argue taking flight after her sister. Luna and her sister felt strange as they flew toward the cave of Harmony, instinct telling them the answers were there. Discords grip was as weak to Luna as she felt of herself.

When they arrived at the cave they found that they we’re not the only ones to come and all present wore expressions of deep sadness.

“The… they saved us Stewart Celestia.” The bloodied unicorn frowned lowering his head trying to hold in tears. “In the… the castle they helped me when I was trapped.”

“Show us where they are Shadow Boxer.” Luna asks softly.

Pointing into the cave Shadow Boxer then turns to his comrades and joining them in their collective sorrow sitting down. The two Stewarts and Discord entered the cave and found the sight of the stone bound travelers, and the site stabbed at their very cores.

“No… no this is not fair, they gave up their freedom to help us. We, who are but strangers to these souls.” Luna begins to sobs, turning to cry on her sisters shoulders.

“The little one came from a world beyond ours.” Celestia replies teary eyed as well. “They ran into this noble pony on a misadventure to protectively guide their people regarding a perilous discovery. Is this what they… they faced that so rattled them.”

Luna opened her eyes to look at the cave more closely.

“I do not recognize these stone plants, but It would seem the Tree of Harmony fought back!” Luna snarls with a scowl.

“They're Plunder Seed seedlings.” Discord replies somberly.

“You tried to steal the power of Harmony!” Celestia squeaks with an air of shock at Discord’s admission.

“It not just his fault sister, my actions… our actions are as much of the cause for this outcome.” Luna replied solemnly. “If we had gone your way things would have turned out differently, though I will not say they would have been better or worse.”

Four days passed before the consequences became clear with all three showing signs of mortality as well as diminished powers.

“Sister have you given thought to the idea passing the art of Moon Empathy to another?” Celestia asks. “I myself have began the search for apprentices.”

“Tis a hard choice as well, but I cannot deny the necessity of a search. They will have to learn to cope with these new hardships; I would have preferred to not force them along our paths.” Luna replies. “How is Discord coping?”

“He’s heartbroken, but more so for his folly. You were right sister, even he has to deal with unintended consequences.” Celestia replies saddened her head down.

“Let us address the gathering then.” Luna sighs and the two head for the balcony.

23 year displaced from this event near a jungle like river deep in the Everfree, two injured living beings sit alone in the wilderness.

“Ahhgh…” A female human screams weekly having just jabbed herself with an adrenaline epee-pen, before she falls back on her back. She is 4’9” with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and is currently bleeding from the head and her left arm.

A pale red earth pony with deep red spots and a yellow brown mane stands over the human. They both are covered with strange thorny vines.

“Hey… you Peoria is it?” The human whispers and weakly pulls a bag of red liquid from her pack, removing a cap from one end of a plastic cord. She gestures to her right arm. “Can you… Please stick this needle in here?”

The stunned pony wordlessly complies and pushes the needle into the arm with a little guiding from the Human.

“Just… hold that… up… just like that.” The humans smiles lightly before passing out.

“Hey… are you awake?” Peoria asks timidly, but when the human dose not answer she shrieks. “Somepony help… HELP!”

Author's Note

In this chapter I alter the end of Discord's Reign. Next time Tina and Peoria will be forced to confront an Epidemic whose outcome shapes the fate of two villages. Story of the Blanks origins lore.

Chapter 3_Separated and an Epidemic

Over a break in the forest canopy where a twisting river runs, a reddish-brown and silver bat-winged stallion causally rides the wind current just above the tree tops guided by the light of a hunter’s moon. Secured to his body by a harness, that was famed to have been inspired by a visitor from afar; hangs a rolled up net and side bags.

“Fish, fish, fish, oh that tender fish!” The red brown flyer sings casting glances for any ripples that disrupt the rapids. He takes the net from his harness and readies it with all four hooves. “What treasures will it be today Perch, Carp, or Trout?”

Swooping down with fore hooves extended into the river water 3 small carp flip into the net the hooves moving to close up as the flyer sets down. With skilled darts of his muzzle he put the 3 fish into a saddle bad. “You’ll do for the time being, I also need blackberries and can’t have you taking up all the space.”

A piercing and strangled female cry echoed through the trees from down river.

“That sounded like an injury… a bad injury.” The red brown bat pony muttered rolling up his net and reattaching it to the harness. He stands up readying his wings. “Okay If you’re still alive play that note again. 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand, 3…”

“Somepony help…HELP!” another voice shrieks.

“Not the same voice!” The red brown bat pony blurts out monetarily stunned before taking quick leap into air and flying down stream.

Darting just a foot over the rushing river sending sprays water off to the shore on either side, the bat pony flew dodging a few rock outcroppings that sheltered this canopy shrouded section of the river. On one outcropping hanging just of the ledge a pair of short blackberry vines.

“Blackberries, can I risk the flyby?”The bat bony considers aloud.

“Hel… Help me… HELP!” The other voice screams out again with greater urgency and distress.

“No time River Runner this is an emergency.” The red and silver bat pony banks sharply toward a dark clearing to his left following the smaller of the two river branches. The scent of fresh blood now hits his nose, if it was predators they would have to be near by or on their way. He picked up the pace, but only a little; because his ears told him he was close now.

There was little moon light here, but what light illuminated the clearing ironically reveled the sources of the screams. A pale red earth pony with dark spots was standing over some creature that River Runner was not familiar with. The earth pony was crying and trembling almost hard enough that she could have fallen down, she was covered in severe cuts that strange dead vines clung to, and she was clutching an odd clear bag half filed with what could be blood by the scent.

As bad as the earth pony looked and even smelled the creature she stood over was worse as she was not even awake bleeding from the head and arm. The bag itself rigged with a tube into the unhurt arm. The pony manages to catch at glimpse at River Runner landing to meet them.

“Oh thank you! You need to get her some help, she won’t stay awake.” The pale red earth pony whines panicky.

“We will miss but I need to bandage these wounds or she’ll bleed to death.” River Runner replies in a commanding a voice locking her gaze before pulling out some linins he planned to use for cushioning the berries. Using one cloth to soak up the blood and another to hold it in place over the wounds, River Runner bandages the strange creature.

In spite of the strange creatures wounds, her breathing wasn’t labored and her when her eyes would flutter open she would track the new comers movements as he unrolled his net.

“When you’re ready put the top of that bag up to my mouth and grab her shoulders and I’ll get the feet so we can move her on my net.” River Runner calmly commands. With a nod the two moved the clothed and injured human on to the net and with a gesture of his hooves the two hook themselves up to the nets clips.

Once they were to their feet River Runner gives a glance up river to the earth pony and the two make for River Runner’s home as fast as they safely could.

Tina’s vision went in and out during the trip, and for most part all she saw was moss scared trees and moon light. There was also the beating of wings along with the squishing mud or crunch of branches in her ears.

By about the fifth return to the waking world, Tina catches a glimpse of a black and tan bat winged pony poke its head out of woven branch basket of a nest that opened at the bottom. The bat pony fixes a wide eyed gaze on Tina then calls out to the one at her feet.

“River Runner, what happened and who are they?” The bat pony mare calls.

All Tina heard in a reply was a piercing squeak when she tilted her to ask she held her tongue seeing a red and silver bat pony with her blood bag hanging from his mouth. The bag was almost out and she was still light headed, but she could see her hurt arm was bandaged.

“We need a doctor for her she’s bleeding badly.” Another voice adds from behind Tina’s head in her blind spot as the black and Tan bat pony mare lands beside them.

“How could this night get worse for Doctor Hemlock?” groans the bat pony mare at the pony in the blind spot before turning to turning to Tina. “We’ll get you fixed up don’t worry, names Pollen Duster.”

“Ti… Tina.” Tina rasps in response to the greeting.

Tina wasn’t sure if her injuries were as severe as she first though or if the lighting had gotten better but she could make out the village here with surprising ease. Not only did three or four tall trees have more of the branch basket nests in them, but Tina could also make out small 3 walled stalls nestled in amongst night flowering shrubbery. The stalls had mud brick foundations where straw was heaped in the middle with small shelves holding various personal effects, she almost mistook them for market or storage space until she spotted a steam spewing vent on side of one brick mounds.

“Geothermal heating…” Tina muttered.

“A wonderful way to enjoy the view I suppose, but stick with my cozy nest.” Pollen Duster remises giving Tina a wink before glancing at the Ponies carrying her. “I’ll get Hemlock to find her a private room and patch her up but I won’t guarantee a warm reception. Two ponies fell sick with something and have been a handful ever since, he hasn’t even gotten the chance to explain what they have yet.”

Pollen Duster enters what is probably the only building with four complete walls and less than a moment later a brown earth pony messy white main and a mustache bolts out.

“Get her in here now this is no time to wait patiently!” Doctor Hemlock Scolds.

Once inside the group is directed to a side room with far too many personal items to be a patient’s room.

“Pollen Duster, help me move her from this net to my bed.” Doctor Hemlock calmly orders.

“Yes sir…” Pollen Duster replies.

“She has suffered blood lose from a head wound on left side between her eye and ear, and also has 1” cut on left arm. I’m going to need to stitch these up.” Doctor Hemlock mutters to no one in particular before fixing a gaze on River Runner. “That bag in your mouth, we’ll need another of the same type while I do this.”

“What… I don’t know where they got it!” River Runner blurts out almost dropping the blood bag all together.

“She pulled it from a pack on her hip.” Peoria adds.

“AB negative… the AB negative bag.” Tina adds faintly.

“How can I tell them apart?” Peoria asks confused.

“Match the symbols on this bag with a fresh bag!” Hemlock commanded opening the case of his surgical tools.

“I found one!” River Runner replies separating an AB negative blood bag from a pile of 3 others.

“Hook it up just as the other is.” Hemlock replies using a candle flame to sterilize the needle he was going to use to stitch up Tina’s head and arm. He gives a worried look to the pile of blood bags before turning to look Tina in the face to ask. “Where are your traveling companions?”

“What are you talking about?” Pollen Duster asks confused.

“I didn’t see, smell, or hear anyone with them.” River Runner interjects agitated by Hemlock’s question.

Tina groans closing her eyes for a moment as the doctor prepares to close up the head wound.

“So you have friends out in the woods.” River Runner adds downtrodden.

“No, they must have gotten sent elsewhere. Lilly would have lead Brian and Mike right to me if they were in earshot.” Tina replies with an air of disgust about her own revelation. “You’re not a detective on the side are you Dr. Hemlock?”

“You’re carrying that many blood bags and only 2 match your blood type. A simple deduction for even a foal.” The doctor deadpans as he dabs a clean cloth on the wound so he could see where he still needs to stitch.

“We ran into something we couldn’t handle and were forced to use our failsafe to return home, but I’m here with Peoria instead of at home. It could have been interference we were getting back when I last saw them but I have no memory of why we used the failsafe recall system. Where am I by the way?” Tina calmly replies.

“You’re in the Everfree forest village of Moon Bloom Glen part of the Equis Territories.” Pollen Duster replies. “Where are you from?”

“How did you bring Peoria with you and where did you come from?” Dr. Hemlock asks.

“I’m from Earth. My friends and I were testing a travel device to come to a different version of your world and landed way off target. I’m sorry I dragged Peoria along with me here but I think however I did this was the better than leaving her behind.” Tina replies using her good arm to point to Peoria.

“It would seem so. I will need to clean your wounds too once I’m done here Peoria.” Dr. Hemlock replies snipping off the tread for the now closed head wound. “How did you become tangled in such nasty vines?”

Doctor Hemlock looks over Tina’s hands and arms more closely, like Peoria there was strange desiccated vines in the wounds on Tina’s arm. As he pulls experimentally on one, Tina suddenly tenses in pain; exposing green shoots growing into the wound from the seemingly dead plant.

“Oh pony feathers…” The Doctor sighs going pale. “Pollen Duster pick up a spare pair of tweezers we need to finish with Tina then we need to treat Peoria as soon we are done and don’t touch the vines!”

“Doctor what is it?” River Runner blurts out spooked.

“These vines aren’t as dead as they look and are growing into our patients?” Dr. Hemlock nervously belts out hurrying his pace. “Tina, do you have any kind of antiseptic for this infection?”

“The… brown bottle with the green label… in my kit.” Tina winces through the pain.

“Don’t we have medicine that will work?” Pollen Duster asks as she drops a vine fragment into the doctors waste can.

“She’s not a pony, we cannot risk poisoning her trying to treat this!” Dr. Hemlock replies readying another needle to stitch her arm.

“I have it Dr. Hemlock.” River Runner interjects pulling out the brown bottle.

“Give it to Pollen Duster and grab a set of heavy gloves and carefully unwrap the vines from Peoria. I’ll be over to help you soon.” Dr Hemlock commands as he stitches Tina up where the wound was disinfected.

It was another 7 minutes of work to finish to stabilizing Tina before the three ponies set into Peoria in full force. It took a full hour to clean and close the wound on the earth pony. Both Tina and Peoria were left exhausted by the pain involved to remove the plant parasite but were stable enough to leave unattended.

Dr Hemlock, Pollen Duster, and River Runner exit the makeshift patient’s quarters into the lobby. Dr Hemlock crashing onto a plush couch, cold sweat poured off him complimenting his pale drained features.

“I can’t deal with this.” Hemlock huffs deep with worry. “Two more with something I’ve never seen before, sure they don’t need restrained but why this why now?”

“Doctor you need to tell us what’s happening. I knew you were stressed and had your hoofs full but not to this degree.” Pollen Duster asks placing a wing on the doctor.

Dr Hemlock passes a forlorn glance at Pollen Duster before he closes his eyes to groan before standing up again.

“Follow me down the hall.” He motions to the two bat ponies.

In the far room, strapped to bed on their sides trashing lightly; were a yellow fur gold mane unicorn stallion and black fur gray mane earth pony mare. Both were labored in their breathing, but what covered their bodies almost made River Runner and Pollen Duster break in full panic.

Tina and Peoria slept for several hours having been left drained from their injuries. Light from the noon day sun entered a far window to reflect off a mirror and on to Peoria’s face waking her.

“This is not enough sleep after yesterday.” Peoria grumbles her eyes half lidded. Her body was bandaged up pretty good along her legs and barrel.

Tina was still sleeping, the second blood bag was near empty but not quite empty. Peoria wondered if that was a good sign in itself as she took a moment to watch the human breath.

Pealing back one her bandages she found the injury was completely sealed, her fur was missing but it would likely re-grow. “That was fast…” Peoria mumbles. “I’m thirsty better get some water.”

Under the light of day Moon Bloom Glen was a silent place. Many of the stalls that had been empty the night before were now occupied by the villagers. All the bushes had closed flower buds and just looked drab.

“Every last pony is asleep. Now where do I get myself some water?” Peoria whispers agitated as she glances around residential area.

Peoria trots along the small streets looking for anyone who could be awake to direct her to the town well to get water.

Moon Bloom Glen was populated by earth ponies and the occasional unicorn, or one from Peoria’s count; on the ground and bat ponies in the tree top nests.

“Why would you want to sleep starring at the place you might fall to your death to?” Peoria nervously mutters furrowing her brow.

“Their grip is more secure than you think.” A tan stallion with an emerald mane replies. He was hooked to a cart that had various objects packed neatly into it, some of it looked like food but she did not know what the other stuff was. “Name is Moss. My friend over yonder is Three Leaf. This is her first time out of our little village, so she might be standoffish.”

The pony mare was at least 2 years younger than Peoria from the looks of it and she seemed to be nervous about even seeing her at all.

“Where do you hail from lass? Locals don’t often show this much interest in the view during the day.” Moss chided her smirking.

“I’m a little lost about how I ended up in that forest, so I can’t tell you where my home would be from here.” Peoria replies.

“You were out in the middle of the forest lost?” Three Leaf adds disbelieving. “No pony gets that deep in to the Everfree on accident.”

“Now Three Leaf, there is no need to accuse the lass.” Moss retorts glaring at her with disapproval. “Where be your guide Peoria? That forest is not known to be pony friendly.”

“I found myself in the company of some heavily clothed thing by a river in the middle of that forest. She was severely injured and a pony with furry webbed wings by the name of River Runner came to our aid bring us here.” Peoria replies here head lowering down a little as she spoke.

“I know that lad, good colt but his fish breath will wilt your mane faster than hot summer day.” Moss snarks getting looks of revulsion from both Peoria and Three Leaf.

“Ponies eating meat…that’s mons…” Three Leaf begins to reply with disgust only to catch a second glare from Moss.

“Attitudes like that are why few accompany me on these trips anymore Three Leaf!” Moss snorts in agitation. “Forgive her lass too many of my kin have become keen on sheltering folks from the rest of the world leading to bad manners to say the least.”

Before Peoria could reply two upset ponies carrying a small squirming filly dash off in the direction of the Doctor’s home. Peoria starts to get a bad feeling about being in this village.

Meanwhile back at Dr Hemlock’s, Tina starts to stir as some noises disturb her sleep.

“My arms feel like lead.” Tina mutters cringing a bit as she tries to open her eyes. “It’s like a spot light is shining from behind thoughts curtains.”

Gurgling groans and the rattling of wood on stone, feint to normal human hearing; could be heard from down the hall.

“That sounds just sickening enough to make me want to vomit.” Tina scowls getting up and moving to enter the hall. “I better find Dr. Hemlock before someone dies.”

Tina’s head throbs with pain her vision made every picture, potted plant, and wood splinter pop out as if someone applied a 3-D rendering filter to the world. Her hearing was in echoes with how the sound seemed to bounce around the hallway objects like a cave interior.

“Blasted Foxfire… I must be under its influence still.” Tina groans stumbling past the first room of the hall before stopping to lean on a wall.

Tina searched herself for her bag containing her epee-pens so she could mute her out of control senses but it was gone. She was about to return to the room she woke up in to search for her medicine, but a foal mix of smells assaulted her nose.

Coming from the furthest room, which was the source of noxious stench; was Dr. Hemlock. He was pale looking, covered with cold sweat, and had bloodshot eyes as he stumbled out of the room.

Tina could hear him whimpering but nothing from the room behind him. Thinking back to a moment ago the gurgling had come from that room, Tina knew what this meant when taken with the rest of the evidence.

“Do you need someone to talk too or your room back and some privacy?” Tina casually mutters aloud avoiding his gaze while she speaks.

“Up… up and… about I see.” Dr. Hemlock replies softly crying as he turns to face the human. “You really… should… still be in… bed.”

“You need rest too. You’ve had a long and stressful night yourself.” Tina softly replies turning to look the doctor in the face. “I’ve seen that look before on the face of a doctor from my homeland when he told me my brother didn’t make it through surgery for a broken leg. I was younger back then.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Dr. Hemlock replies confused sniffing slightly.

“That doctor did everything he could for my brother and nearly gave up medicine over losing him.” Tina mutters closing her eyes briefly. “You saved me last night doctor. There could not have been anything wrong with your talent and skill in medicine to do that. What happened?”

Dr. Hemlock continued to cry for another minute or two before speaking again.

“I’ve never seen anything like this…” Dr. Hemlock groans out a chocked sigh as he motions for Tina to enter with him. “Between six and eight hours of the first breakout they started to lose control of their bodies.”

“Break out? Like some sort of...” Tina replies only for her thought to be interrupted by the site before her of two dead ponies.

The ponies, a yellow and gold unicorn male to the left of the room and a black and gray earth pony female on the right side of the room; badly bruised with hints that they recently were foaming at the mouth lay strapped to heavy wood beds dead.

Based on the placement of the doctor tools about the room, the fresh splatter of mashed food by the female Tina deduced that the male died first while she had slept. Dr Hemlock must have been trying to force feed and hydrate the earth pony female before she chocked to death. Even with the trauma on their bodies from their bonds Tina could not miss the rash of false cutie marks.

Tina jump back in shock from the site and strait into the wall. When she regained her footing her face twisted into a worried scowl.

“Now I know that look miss. You’ve seen this before as well.” Dr. Hemlock turns to Tina an edge of frustrated anger entering his tone.

“Cutie Pox… Brian, you royal screw-up!” Tina shouts only half in response to Dr. Hemlock.

“What did your companion have to do with this?” Dr. Hemlock trots in front of Tina fixing her gaze. “What is Cutie Pox?”

Tina jumps at the doctor’s move before remembering who she was with.

“He was responsible for choosing our test location for the Travel Device I ware.” Tina gestures to the strange bracer on her arm.

“What about this Cutie Pox sickness?” The doctor advances on the human.

“I only know what Brian had briefly told us when he researched to location. It’s caused by a plant based toxin that reacts with the magic properties of ponies relating to their cutie marks, causing that rash, the out of control movements, and exhaustion triggered death.” Tina retorts darting out from between the doctor and the wall. “The plant has a purple pitcher plant bloom, with heart shaped ridge, long yellow stamen spouting from the pitcher, and drops heart shaped petals; but it is all the same kind of conjecture that got us in this mess in the first place!”

“Wait…” Dr. Hemlock interjects raising a hoof his eyes darting a bit in thought. “My uncle sent me a book on exotic flowers a while back, it’s in my room. He travels all across the Equis territories and the surrounding countries. I think I seen something of that description.”

Tina followed Dr. Hemlock back to his room, but she had not improved from earlier and was now stumbling around. Her senses were causing her head to throb and ears to ring. Tina was so disorientated she doesn’t even notice Dr. Hemlock trot back to help her.

“I told you should have stayed in bed.” Dr. Hemlock grunts as he pushes himself under her arm so she had some support as they went back to his room. “You lost too much blood the night before to be exerting yourself.”

“It’s not that doctor, it was those vines you removed causing this.” Tina mutters clutching her head with her free hand. “I have something in my bag that will stop this, at least temporally.”

“Okay just keep it together miss.” Dr. Hemlock adds leading them into the room and helping her to a chair before grabbing her bags. “Now I got to find that book.”

Tina could hear a panicked but garbled commotion coming from outside rise to the notice of her senses as she jabbed herself with an epee-pen. As the drug began to work on her body several loud knocks were made and accompanied by yells.

“Dr. Hemlock hurry open the door!” Calls a distressed male voice from outside.

Dr. Hemlock turned toward the door carrying a book in his mouth before giving a glance at a more relaxed Tina. Trots over to Tina.

“Please give this book a look and see if you can find that plant while I check on this.” Dr. Hemlock politely asks heading out to open the door.

“This is getting out of hand…” Tina mutters accessing the controls for the planer Trans-locator on her wrist. “I’ll need my field chemistry kit, something tells me the cure to these ‘cutie pox’ will not be easy to get a hold of.”

With a few taps to the touch screen, Tina sets the planer anchor causing her body to emit a faint glow of orange before it shifts to green before disappearing all together. From the corner of her eye, Tina catches a similar brief flash from the doctors trash can. She might have checked out the can but she could here Dr. Hemlock begin to enter and he sounded distressed again.

“Let this work…” Tina mutters activating the trans-locator.
Peoria, having decided to find out what was happening to the filly; rushed after the three as they made their way to Dr. Hemlock’s. A sudden flash of orange and then green startled Peoria causing her to trip over herself.

“Argh… What the hay?” Peoria mutters preparing to stand back up.

“What was with that flash? Are you hurt Peoria?” Pollen Duster swoops in landing beside her trying to wipe the blindness from her eyes.

“I don’t know… I don’t know.” Peoria replies grabbing a hoof. “I’m alright nothing…”

Peoria’s grip slips as the road suddenly turns black and yellow. The forest and town before her morph into a large open plain with massive dwellings at the other end of the phantom road.

“Peoria look out!” Pollen Duster screams vainly trying to push her out of the way briefly only to fly out of the way of something.

Peoria turn to her left curling her legs to jump away when she spots the object that was speeding towards her start to cut to the opposite direction. It was red and somewhat see through. It’s back end slipped toward her before the front end succeeded in pulling the object away from her. She could feel the winds it whipped up with its passing.

Peoria could see the thing inside the object as it passed then quickly vanished all together. The thing was like her traveling companion only slightly different.

“Peoria, what was that that thing that almost stampeded us?”Pollen Duster rushes back panicky.

“I don’t know but maybe my companion dose. We need to get to Dr. Hemlock’s something bad is happening.

Elsewhere in a simple class room of the former Two Sisters Castle, Celestia sits before two unicorn students giving a lecture on Sun Empathy. Celestia’s mane no longer flows like it was caught in a phantom wind and even has the beginnings of gray bands through the pink and blue; she even has some wrinkles on her muzzle.

“Unlike most magic you cannot just make the Sun do as you say, she requires gentle coxing when it is time for her to rising and can be impulsive when you feeling tense or agitated.” Celestia cheerily speaks.

“Your connections with this power will not likely become as great as mine was in my youth, but even my connection has long since diminished.”

“Miss Celestia, I still don’t understand how to talk to the Sun.” A pony yellow and red gradient coat with a red mane asks.

“You got to fill your mind with how the morning is to feel, like the temperature for the day and from where the shadows will begin when you get her to rise at the dawn; my little Dawn Rise.” Celestia replies walking over to her unicorn student. “Allow me to help you.”

As Celestia lowered her horn and touched her student’s horn to impart a memory that would guide the young unicorn in the art of Sun Empathy; a wave of power from the planer anchor intersects with their own magical connection. The memory shifted from the one that Celestia had intended to an image of two distinct rooms one was a pony dwelling of some sort, the other was a little alien but otherwise unremarkable except for one thing. In the opposite corner near the back of this room a corner rips away to reveal a cliff and a familiar green brown fox and a Pegasus.

“Celestia what was that? Who are they?” Dawn Rise asks trying to shake off the weird sensation.

“Something I… I haven’t encountered in 23 years.” Celeltia mutters in surprise. “Those two were the travelers who…”

“You mean the heroes from the Harmony Tree’s sanctuary!” Dawn Rise gasps getting the attention of the rest of the class.

“Another of them has come. I am sorry my students I must investigate this new development.” Celestia replies dismissing the class.

Back at Dr. Hemlocks Tina frowns at her sudden return. She succeeded in bringing back the large metal suit case that was the field chemistry kit, but something else had pulled her back to Moon Bloom Glen.

“Mike made it back…” Tina mutters perplexed.”…But what was with Lilly?”

The sounds of struggles in the room next door ends Tina’s questions as she sets the kit down and races next door room. In the waiting room Tina find the doctor with two other ponies Tina didn’t recognize who were trying to restrain a younger yellow and black bat pony filly.

“She has it as well!” Dr. Hemlock blurts out freaked.

“What’s her body weight?” Tina shouts spooking the group.

“Who…” The strange stallion begins to demand only to get cut off.

“Her weight now we’ll do introductions later!” Tina counters pulling one of her epee-pens.

“73 pounds.” The mare replies.

With a twist of the dosage dial and a swift motion of the Tina’s hand she injects the filly in the flank garnering a pained squeak out of her, but also causing her to immediately relax her struggling. The pair of strange ponies watch as the filly pants catching her breath try and get comfortable.

“What did you do to her?” Dr. Hemlock stammers trying to keep his voice low. “What is that stuff?”

“A chemical suppressant, it used to protect people with cybernetic from suffering brain and nerve damage when the implants act up. It also seems to work on ponies whose latent magic acts up.” Tina replies equally quite.

“Bee Charmer…” The strange mare coos.”You’re alright.”

“No, she’s not alright.” Tina retorts.”What I did is a temporary fix. We need you to tell us everything you can, involving her in the last day.”

Tina and Dr. Hemlock spent the next hour with Bee Charmer and her family trying to get any information that might lead them to a starting point in treating her cutie pox condition. The doctor even retrieved his book and found the plant Tina had described the ‘Hearts Desire’. It was no use however as nothing suggested that she had come in contact with it or done anything strange beforehand.

Peoria and Pollen Duster returned shortly after Tina did and witnessed the intervention on Bee Charmer’s behalf. Both were spooked and Peoria was particularly upset with Tina for a reason that group would put off until later. Dr. Hemlock decided to ask Pollen Duster about her deceased unicorn friend’s activities from two nights before.

“I’m sorry Dr. Hemlock she didn’t do anything unusual that I can think of.” Pollen Duster sighs.

“Where do we start in treating this?” Dr. Hemlock groans as much from sleepiness as frustration turning to Tina. “How long until this wears off, can you do anything do to slow it down or stop it?

“Based on how my first injection is affecting her we have six hours till I need to dose her again. My current supply could slow the progress of her condition by a week.” Tina replies rubbing her head. “I wish your book had the flower that was the counter agent.”

“Are you feeling alright? You seem to be having a flare up of your own condition.” Dr. Hemlock casts Tina a worried glance.

“Condition… What’s wrong with you?” Peoria asks staring at Tina.

“As long as I stay away from that plant you pulled from me I’ll be fine. That plant needs to be quarantined for everyone’s safety or destroyed.” Tina replies to Dr. Hemlock before turning to Peoria. “I have in me machines that increase my senses beyond my potential, the plant makes it more likely that the machines might overload my brain and kill me.”

Peoria became uncomfortable at this admission worrying both Dr. Hemlock and Pollen Duster.

“Peoria I will ask more about what that look meant later.” Dr. Hemlock deadpans giving her a concerned look to which Peoria nods ears flattened. “We seem to have gotten side tracked Tina. Can you in fact suggest anything to help Bee Charmer?”

“While you went to first meet Bee Charmer parents… or guardians…” Tina replies a little uncertain, before composing herself. “I went back to my world and brought this back.”

Tina pulled a heavy looking metal case from the hall that had placed at the opposite end of it from Bee Charmer’s room.

“This case contains equipment that I can use to identify what is inside Bee Charmer that is causing this sickness, but I need some samples of blood and other tissues from her and from ponies that are healthy as well as permission to autopsy your dead kin.” Tina scowls with a huff. “Once I have these I can start to test possible remedies on the tainted Tissue cultures until I find one that promotes a normal health condition.”

“I don’t like what your suggesting is there any other way we can treat this.” Pollen Duster grimly comments.

Tina pulled a sketch of a flower and some seeds she had made from memory she used earlier when Dr. Hemlock was looking in the plant book.

“We couldn’t find this plant in Dr. Hemlock’s book, but the other one which I suspect is the cause was there. This one is supposed to be the cure this condition.” Tina replies handing over the sketch.

“I’ll get River Runner, he travels the forest the most he might have seen one.” Pollen Duster replies nodding heading out.

“Tina, can you get me some blankets?” Peoria asks gesturing to the now sleeping doctor.

As the hours ticked off Tina began her work by collecting tissue samples from the dead earth pony and unicorn. Using a scalpel she slices off three squares of pony hide about an inch in size and places each one in its own culture/Petri dish. After sealing the culture dishes she uses a disposable needle to draw a small bead of blood from each corpse and places it on a glass slide.

After finishing she covers up the bodies and closes the door. The time was getting late as the sun was now two hours from sunset, Tina herself would need to rest soon but she had one last thing to do first. Tina steps into Bee Charmers room.

“How are you feeling little missy?” Tina asks the yellow and black filly.

The bat pony looked up and smiled some. She was now up to six false cutie marks, but was still calm in her movements having only climbed or flown up to the ceiling to rest. Her father was asleep by the bed that the filly had left.

“I’m a little thirsty.”Bee Charmer replies as one of her wings twitch.

“I think I can find you something for that.” Tina replies pulling a bottle of water from her pack that was half full and giving it to the bat pony.

Bee Charmer finished the water while still hanging upside down. She was about to return the bottle but her twitching wing was getting worse.

“I can’t hold on like this. I am going to fall.” Bee Charmer squeaked just as her left leg let go.

As the other leg let go Tina moved to catch the bat pony. Hands and hooves managed to intersect to catch the falling filly.

“It… It’s happening again.” Bee Charmer cries as she starts to fidget.

“Just stay calm.” Tina replies pulling out the epee-pen and setting the dosage before injecting her. After the filly calms down Tina asks. “Dose that help?”

Bee Charmer nods saying. “It’s like an itch I can’t reach only I do stuff and can’t stop. I don’t want to be like this.”

“I agree, is there anything more you can do?” The bat pony father asks.

“Pollen Duster and River Runner have gone out to look for the plants that I described before, but I don’t have a clue whether they can find the one we need or not. River Runner must be knowledgeable enough to be recommended for a search.” Tina replies. “I would like to ask you permission to draw some blood from you and your daughter as a way of identifying the cause?”

“Why do you want to take our blood? How would that help?” The father asks.

“I need samples from both a sick pony, in this case your daughter; and one from a healthy pony to compare. That would be you.” Tina calmly replies looking at the father. “You have been with us most of the day and have yet to show any signs of sickness. I might be able to spot the irregularity in the samples.”

“I… I don’t understand.” The father stutters warily. “How can you see anything in our blood?”

Tina pulls out her laboratory microscope, a pair glass slide, a new water bottle, and an eye dropper.

“Ever use a magnifying glass, this builds on that concept using many lenses to see even smaller stuff.” Tina replies with a grin using the eye dropper she places a drop of water from the new water bottle on one glass slide. She than picks up the bottle she had let Bee Charmer drink from a uses the eye dropper to place a water drop from that bottle on the remaining slide. “Under normal eyes these drops of water are the same, but give them a look under this.”

Bee Charmer went first, curious as what the microscope was and what Tina was doing. As the filly looked through the eye piece Tina places the slide of the water with new bottle under the scope. When the filly looks up Tina changes the slide and gestures that she look again. After a minute of looking at the second slide a look of surprised joy appear on her face as she motions for her father to give it a try to which Tina gladly repeats the process.

“How can water look so different?” The father asks.

“The water is distilled so it has fewer particles in it, but more importantly one bottle was freshly opened and the other had been used for drinking.” Tina explains gesturing between each bottle with a smile.

“And working with blood is the same way?” The father asks.

“Similar, all blood has many different components to it. Even between multiple healthy samples, you will see differences in the blood make up.” Tina replied with less joy. “However I think I can isolate the alien component with enough samples to use as a reference base and start work on compounds to destroy the alien without harming the rest.”

The father considered what Tina had said and shown before consenting to the blood tests. Tina would soon head off to bed for even she need sleep, but only after the samples were safely stored with her lab tools.

While this took place Peoria’s day was different.

Peoria was given no time to ask about the strange event she had been part of just minutes before arriving to witness Tina’s actions on behalf of the filly named Bee Charmer. It had been startling to Peoria as though she had something similar done to her somehow not too long ago. This feeling reminded Peoria that the events since waking in the unfamiliar village were not all she experienced that were out of the ordinary.

Pollen Duster had been given a picture of an unknown plant that might help with Bee Charmer’s strange sickness. Peoria had noticed an alarming urgency by Pollen Duster to get River Runner and start the hunt for this plant. It would take little time to persuade to bat pony stallion to accept the hunt.

“This plant might cure the sickness that killed the other two?”River Runner asks.

“Wait! You mean others caught this and Bee Charmer might die too?” Peoria sputters a reply and going pale.

“Honey Badger, died from exhaustion related to being unable control his body over this sickness. We are lucky he didn’t burn the village down with an errant spell.” Pollen Duster mopes. “He was one of my oldest friends even in a town where you get close to every pony.”

“We don’t have enough time to go traipsing through the forest. One day is just not enough time.” River Runner stutters.

“Tina said she could slow the sickness by a week.” Peoria replies half-heartily. “The way Tina and the Dr. Hemlock are acting doesn’t make me feel all that confident.”

“I’ve noticed it too. The way Dr. Hemlock looks at Tina it is like he thinks she is keeping something from him. Then we got Tina acting like the world is about to catch fire.” Pollen Duster snorts.

As the trio approached the entrance to Moon Bloom Glenn, they happen upon a crowd gathered around a set of tire marks that extend from one side of the path to the other before abruptly stopping. River Runner’s eyes go wide.

“Her story was true after all. That… was Earth!” River Runner asks surprised. “Rumors were flying all day between the poor guys who were woken up.”

“I was nearly run down by one of them in some sort of carriage as it swerved to avoid me. Just one moment Pollen Duster and I were running back to Dr. Hemlock’s about the child then the next a flash blinds me and that happens.” Peoria sputters. “I felt the wind as it passed!”

“She’s not lying here’s the tracks.” Pollen Duster gestures flying over to a small gathering of ponies.

Amongst the crowd Peoria recognized the two merchants from earlier with the cart Three Leaf and Moss.

“What kind of cart needs wheels this wide?” Mutters an awe struck Three Leaf.

“I never heard of such a thing.” Moss replies.

“It was a really load horn too. My ears are still ringing.” Spoke a purple mane and tan earth pony stallion.

“Excuse me Mr. Moss. Can I talk with you for a moment?” Peoria politely asks.

“Ah Lass making friends I see.” Moss replies with a bright smile. “And no fish breath either, River Runner must not have gotten around to treating you to that delicacy.”

“Come on Moss. So I like to keep my culinary options open.” River Runner lands and casts Moss a dejected look. “The Protein also helps for long distance flying.”

“Well I admit my lad you spend as much time amongst the dark wood and beasties as I do, but it still is too gamy for my taste. What do you need?” Moss causally replies.

“We are wondering if you ever seen this plant in your travels.” Peoria hoofs over a drawing of a plant with 6 pink claw shaped outer petals surrounding a glowing white bulb with 5 inner petals flared like a 5 point star on top, and pale yellow stamen protruding from the bulb. In the corner of the picture are two yellow oval shaped seeds. “It is sort of rare.”

“Rare indeed lass as I’m sorry to say I have not.” Moss replies shaking his head before turning to another pony that was just entering town pulling another cart. “Gray Hoof my boy can you come here for a bit? This fine lass needs to know the ware bouts of a plant.”

“Well I’ll happily give it a try!” The gray and black stallion, Gray Hoof; replies quite chipper.

Moss hands over the picture to Grey Hoof, but the lost look on his face telegraphs his answer.

“Sorry but nothing local matches this picture. The best I could suggest is to go beyond the blue flowers but you are really risking your lives out there.” Gray Hoof grimly replies. “There are some bad…”

Noise from down the road alerts the group to a pair of ponies racing toward Dr. Hemlocks, one pony seemed labored in her breathing barely keeping up with her partner. Before any pony could speak, and to the grim shock of River Runner, Pollen Duster, and Peoria; a flash of intense light erupted from the labored ponies flank revealing a false cutie mark.

“In all my years…” Moss mutters.

“River Runner you know where the blue flowers grow?” Peoria asks to which River Runner nods. “Take the picture and Pollen Duster and go!”

Pollen Duster was going to ask about what Peoria was going to do when another flash off in another part of the town happened. Giving a nod to Peoria, Pollen Duster and River Runner take flight for the Everfree Forrest and Peoria runs toward Dr. Hemlock’s.

“Gray Hoof my boy, get Three Leaf home now and send Carpenter.” Moss whispers to the gray black stallion.

“Moss…” Three Leaf sputters startled.

“Go lass! I won’t repeat myself.” Moss scowls.

With little more than a nod and a stern look Gray Hoof ushers Three Leaf out of town.

Tina had only been asleep for maybe four hours and twenty minutes before frantic knocks and a door slamming open woke her. Emerging from the room she set up her lab in just as Dr. Hemlock did with his the two found themselves confronted with several ponies.

“One at a time what has happened?” Tina grumbled glaring at the disheveled mob.

“Cutie Pox…” Dr. Hemlock shouts giving a quick glance over the crowd. “…Three new cases!”

“Oh shit!” Tina yelps in shock.

“Doctor what’s happening?” A tired rose colored earth pony mare asks as a flash erupts from her flanks.

“Dr. Hemlock inject her with this.” Tina yells tossing an epee-pen to him. “Set it to 30.”

“Only thoughts ponies who are sick move forward, the rest of you wait orderly on the porch.” Dr. Hemlock demands.

After injecting the last new patient, Tina and Dr. Hemlock help them each to a bed.

“Dr. Hemlock I… I need permission… to blood test these ponies, we have to know how many have contracted this sickness.” Tina stammers wiping her face.

“Do It. We now have an epidemic on our hooves.” Dr. Hemlock wheezes.

Drawing out of her lab kit, Tina removes several glass slides, scalpels, and several needles. Her kit was already beginning to run out of a few things.

Moving from each patient, Tina draws a blood sample and cuts a small sliver of skin off a false cutie mark. After packing them off in the lab, Tina turns to the doctor.

“We need to check the rest who are waiting for any signs of this now. Then we got to send for help if all possible.” Tina grimly voices.

“And after we do that what next? You do have something in mind?” Dr. Hemlock asks cocking an eye brow.

“Have you used a microscope?” Tina asks passing the doctor one of her last water bottles. “I’m going to need your help examining the samples for anything that don’t belong.”

Dr. Hemlock had not, in fact; used a microscope before. Neither did he understand what it did a first glance, but after Tina demonstrated how she uses it Dr. Hemlock understood and the pair set out to examine the samples.

Tina’s micro scopes were cutting edge in they contained built in digital cameras and light emitting diodes that could illuminate the sample under different light waves. The lab kit contained a printer and a battery that could be used with the microscopes.

Two hours and forty-one minutes pasted as the pair preformed their check up of the gathered ponies. In that time one more had fallen ill.

The pair only remembered about the strange Foxfire plant problem after they set about gathering the remainder of Tina’s suppression epee-pens and found a frighteningly large bush spouting from the waste can. Upon stepping into the room the pair started to feel their hearts race, and this made Tina’s vision senses with erupt with stimulation. For a short moment Tina could almost make out legs sprouting from the base of the Foxfire bush through the wall of color.

“Tina… Tina are you alright?” a stinging voice called out. “Can you help me get her over to the bench?”

Tina raised a hand to her nose after they propped her on a bench. When she pulled her hand away to look at it, Tina felt a pinch in her neck.

“Thanks doc…” Tina distantly mutters as she notices the blood on her finger tips.

Several miles off and into the Everfree Forrest, Pollen Duster and River Runner arrive at the field of blue flowers.

“Why does every pony treat this part of the forest as a wall?” Pollen Duster asks remembering how the merchants were talking about flower field. “I get that flying through the trees is a bit of a thrill ride, but we also have to keep a line with the Sister’s Manor from time to time.”

“Not every pony thinks that, but a bridge over these might help.” Replies River Runner as he scowls at the blue plants dismayed by just how much territory these weeds took up. “For as long as I’ve known Moss he seems so friendly, but something today is just rubbing me the wrong way.”

“I noticed that as well. Any time his companion went to say something he became testy.” Pollen Duster replied disgusted. “Yet she was more candid than he was; Moss with all his back hoofed remarks about you.”

“You mean the fish breath thing…” River Runner groans still casting his eyes across the flower field.

“Not just that River, for all his talk of his kin being sheltered he did a lot of that with that mare.” Pollen Duster snaps. “He should have let me confront her and set her strait for bad mouthing us.”

“River Runner, tell me how many of the ponies have you met from our sister village of Sunny Town?” Pollen Duster continues. “In all your years of knowing Moss, have you ever met any pony else of his kin?”

“Aside from the two today it is always just him.” River Runner replies.

Before they could continue their search under a beam of moon light, a very loud greeting startles the pair. Pollen Duster gets hung up on a tree branch in her moment of panic in turn scarring a squirrel which jumps off the tree colliding with River Runner’s left wing. This makes the bat pony stallion crash land into a patch of blue flowers.

“Hail citizens, I apologize for startling you, but can you tell me if anything out of the ordinary happened near here lately.” Stewart Celestia calls out again much more softly flying in for a closer look at the two bat ponies.

“Stewart…” River Runner mutters dizzy.

“Oh River Runner… You’re going to be an awful mess latter.” Pollen Duster shakes her head at her friend as she pulls herself from the tree and back into the air before turning to Celestia. “We came out her to look for a flower that a strange visitor described as a cure for an illness our town facing. Umm… Can you help me get him up without touching him? He going to have a bad week thanks to these flowers.”

“Sure I can lift him with a simple spell until we can get you home, but what about this illness?” Stewart Celestia asks as she begins following Pollen Dusters lead.

“It began a few days ago, one night before River Runner brought the nearly dead stranger into town; a couple of folks became covered in cutie marks and… worked themselves to death. Dr. Hemlock doesn’t know what it is and tried forced feeding and restraints to keep them from exhausting themselves but it didn’t help.” Pollen Duster explains sorrowfully. “One of them… was a… a close friend.”

“You being out here now worries me, are there others?” Stewart Celestia asks carrying River Runner in her magic’s grip.

“Four maybe more now… One is a filly who might last a week tops.” Pollen Duster weeps.

“How is it that the first two died so quickly and the filly only has a week at best?” Stewart Celestia replies with confusion and concern.

“The stranger… The near dead injured… whatever she was used a medicine of some kind on the filly.” Pollen Duster replies back. “She said it would slow the condition not cure it, but that was yesterday before the others got sick…”

Pollen Duster went pale and nearly fell into the trees as she briefly stopped flying.

“Pollen pull up, snap out of it!” River Runner screams at the bat pony mare.

“Ahh… that was too close.” Pollen Duster shrieks both at the tree she nearly crashes into and at the magical hold that arrested her momentum.

“This is not easy to do.” Stewart Celestia groans pulling Pollen Duster away from the tree while not losing hold of River Runner. After the bat pony mare was flying on her own again, Celestia continues her conversation. “This flower you mentioned earlier do you know what it looks like?”

“We have a picture that the stranger drew. We asked a visiting merchant from the nearby town and he said we might find it past the blue flowers.” River Runner explains pulling the picture from his saddle bags.

Stewart Celestia frowns at the drawing. It was a rare mystical plant that she had indeed heard of and seen somewhere before, but it was not native to Equis Territories.

“I cannot help you with the flower my friends as I know for a fact it does not grow around here.” Stewart Celestia sternly replies with a down cast expression. “It is a Zebra remedy and it will take time to procure. Take me to this stranger maybe between the three of us we can find a way to manage this calamity until I can get word out for help acquiring this cure.”

The heart break in Pollen Duster’s eyes was obvious but she nodded and continued back to Moon Bloom Glenn. Stewart Celestia was not certain about how useful her magic would be in curing the illness but she could certainly help buy some time for the cure to be acquired.

The sun rose a few hours of flying later, Stewart Celestia found her-self pleased with her students first solo attempt. As much as she wanted to supervise the activity she knew that they would be on their own eventually and now she had other pressing matters as she entered Moon Bloom Glenn.

From the look on Pollen Duster’s face the situation in the town must have gotten worse. There were signs of damage to the homes of many residents which was disturbing, but no bodies of dead ponies were yet present. No one was in their homes at a time that Stewart Celestia knew was the custom for Moon Bloom Glenn.

“Please tell me I’m not seeing this.” Pollen Duster meekly wheezes. “Please Dr. Hemlock and Tina do not let them all die.”

Pollen Duster raced toward the hospital that was the Doctor’s residence followed closely behind by Stewart Celestia. As much as the Stewart wanted to let go of River Runner so she could hurry to aid the doctor, River Runner had him-self become inflicted by an illness.

An hour earlier River Runner’s wings morphed into blue spotted fins, his hooves became flippers, and he was now covered in scales instead of fur. He was still breathing normally but she didn’t know if that would change. Poison Joke was a very nasty plant but it’s afflictions were not often fatal, just unpleasant.

Outside the Dr. Hemlock’s home a pale red earth pony with deep red spots was tending to about five other ponies on cots, all of whom were partly covered with false cutie marks. All of the ponies that were being tended to were sweating and breathing heavily. Pollen Duster races over to the earth pony.

“Peoria, tell this isn’t happening!” Pollen Duster shrieks stumbling as she lands.

The earth pony mare wore a down trodden scowl as she took notice of Pollen Duster.

“It’s been getting worse and we can’t determine the source of the outbreak.” Peoria replies injecting something into the stallion on a nearby cot. “Tina was able to create a small amount of her medicine but we only have a day and a half worth with this many patients. Tell me you found that plant or your friend can get it. We are at our wits end.”

“I sorry citizen…”Stewart Celestia calls out to Peoria. “…but those plants do not grow around these parts. I offer my assistance with my magic until word can be sent to import some, but we will need time. Can you take me to the doctors?”

Peoria nods and waves a hoof for the group to follow.

Inside the office a few ponies that were not sick wait nervously for Dr. Hemlock and Tina to tell them what ideas they had to stop the illness. A pair of voices could be heard coming from a room down the hall.

“I think I’ve isolated the toxin in common with all the patients.” Tina speaks circling a particle found on five different blood sample images. “Can you confirm that this is not some normal blood factor for me?”

“Let me see…” Dr. Hemlock casts his tired eyes about the images of the blood samples in question and his notes from the healthy ponies. “I don’t see a match with the healthy residents for… that circled thing. Let’s check the other patient samples first.”

“Dr. Hemlock, Tina; the search party is back with someone else she wants to help.” Peoria calls to the pair from the hallway door.

A small smile crosses Tina’s face as she looks over at Dr. Hemlock.

“They must have succeeded.” Tina said happily as the two make for the door.

As Dr. Hemlock and Tina entered the waiting room, Tina went wide eyed at the form of Stewart Celestia.

“Princess… Celestia…” Tina mutters panicky.

“Actually I go by the title Stewart. I hear you’re tying to cure this illness.” Stewart Celestia replies as a sharp pain from a surge of magic starts to lance her mind.

“What happened to River Runner?” Dr. Hemlock groan racing over to the bat pony. “We need to get him into a tub of water so he doesn’t dry out further.”

Tina was feeling faint and she wasn’t sure if it was the Foxfire wood’s influence again or the surprise of the alicorn’s arrival that was the reason.

“I… I’ve ident… identified the something that I think is the cutie pox toxin. Please tell me you have the actual cure… that you recognized the plant in the drawing and… and brought it.” Tina sputters careful not to rush up and shake the alicorn on her shaky feet.

The expression on Stewart Celestia’s face drooped prompting Tina’s own expression to lose the little shine of hope that Celestia’s arrival prompted and she feel to her knees.

“Poison Joke… He fell into a patch of those twisted weeds.” Dr. Hemlock scowls exiting the room River Runner was taken to with Pollen Duster.

Tina turns her head toward the doctor not even hearing Celestia’s reply with a look of confusion on her face. Before Tina could reply her senses flare up painfully all at once.

“What you cannot cure you must help them endure!” Tina imagines a voice call to her with the vision of the Foxfire wood overlapping the recalled image of the Poison Joke flower from Brian’s briefing on where they planned to travel. These were followed by a short series of chemical equations.

Tina was so out of it she did not notice that she completely collapsed in front of everyone and start to bleed from her nose. Dr. Hemlock and Celestia racing to her side with most of the waiting ponies suddenly worried about her health instead of their own. Tina blacked out.

“Dr. Hemlock what is wrong with this Traveler?” Stewart Celestia desperately demands. “I can sense her mind and body going wild.”

“She skipped her injection again…” Dr. Hemlock kneels down over Tina’s prone body brow furrowed in thought. “She can’t afford to do this even to save our patients.”

“Doctor what going on?!” Stewart Celestia growls.

“She said she has things in her head that can injure her if not treated with drugs from time to time.” Pollen Duster replies frantically to the Stewart’s question.

“She can’t do this to herself, she’ll die!” Peoria adds distraught over the new development.

“Do you have enough medicine to help her?” Stewart Celestia snaps.

Dr. Hemlock removes a needle that the two had set up for the patients and injects Tina.

“This is all I can do for her until she wakes up; we don’t have any more mixed up and I need her help to craft the medicine.” Dr. Hemlock mutters worried.

After helping the doctor make Tina comfortable Stewart Celestia exits the hospital and manages to stop a guard Pegasus who had been part of last night’s search and sends him back to inform her sister with a message about Moon Bloom Glenn’s emergency. It was her hope that the added help they might just secure that cure that would keep the town from perishing.

Dr. Hemlock explained the medicine’s effect as best as he could to Stewart Celestia, and in turn Celestia tried to replicate its effect with her magic on the ill ponies. She was no doctor, in all Celestia’s long life she had never been required to deliberately numb the body of another pony while also suppressing the magic flow. Despite this new challenge she resolved to extend their chances of life till help arrived.

Tina woke in a semi-conscious state, as best a she could tell; and moved in a robotic manor toward the Foxfire tree that took over Dr. Hemlock’s room ripping some of the thorny branches off it. Tina’s senses swam as she left the doctor’s room and into the room River Runner was sleeping to collect the scraps of Poison Joke that had been pulled off his body.

How she remembered to find and put on gloves before touching the blue weed she was unable to recall.

Upon entering the lab she had set up, Tina pulled out a few test tubes, a mostly empty water bottle, a scalpel, and some surgical tape from her kit. With the scalpel Tina slices into a Foxfire wood clipping and the stem of a Poison Joke flower, them meets the exposed flesh of the plants together before taping them up and placing the newly spiced plant into a test tube with some water. She remembers that the water bottle ran out on the second test tube before a flash of visions in here head prompted her to mix some of her last lab kit chemicals into the test tube water and splatter each spice with blood on the leaves. Tina scribbles some notes on a note pad and blacks out again.

Peoria enters the room that Dr. Hemlock and Tina had been using as a lab to look for any remaining suppressant for that we left so they could have them ready for use in seven hours when the effects ware off.

‘I hope Stewart Luna can get that help to us soon.’ Peoria wonders as she absentmindedly waters a plant in a small glass vase that for some reason was low on water. ‘Why am I watering these and where did they come from?’

Putting down the clay water jug Peoria takes a closer look at the plants. Something scared her about the thorny part which shined a disturbing prismatic light on the underside of its leaves, but she couldn’t place the memory because of the blue blooms that was growing out of what looked like the same plant. Before she could get any closer she bumped into something that groaned.

“How did… when did you get here?” Peoria whispers to her-self stunned having forgotten why she came to this room in the first place catching site of Tina’s form slumped on the desk.

Peoria regains her composer and dashes outside to get help.

“Tina, can you hear me?” a distorted voice calls to Tina.

Tina squints trying to get her eyes to adjust to the color intensity induced blur.

“I found her in the lab.” Another distorted voice adds.

Tina’s vision was still blurry, but she began to feel a tingling sensation overcome her resulting in her vision clearing some.

“I think this might help her condition some.” A new voice adds.

Tina was now able to make out the figures over her as Peoria, Dr. Hemlock, and Stewart Celestia.

“Are you with us again?” Dr. Hemlock asks. When Tina nods her head he continues with another question. “What is going on in the lab with those plants you blacked out near?”

“Plants, I not sure what you’re talking about?” Tina mutters confused.

Dr. Hemlock motions Tina to follow him to the lab. Stewart Celestia offers Tina a shoulder to hold onto so she can avoid hurting her-self during the walk.

In the lab Tina sees three strange hybrid plants growing from test tubes. The first two were identical with thorny bark and blue wide leaf flowers but also some small prismatic stripped blue flower buds that weren’t open. The third hybrid on the other hand had red heart shaped leaves and a white thorn-less stem. Tina’s jaw dropped at the site she did not remember these being here.

Looking more closely at the hybrids, Tina could see the remains of surgical tape that was used to hold the spliced plants together as well as empty chemical bottles. Checking the note pad she found hastily written instructions and formulas.

“I don’t remember setting these up.” Tina states mildly confused. “If these notes are right, I spiced Poison Joke with Foxfire wood and bathed the clippings a third of the chemicals I need to make more suppressant. I know the Foxfire wood makes innate powers and augmentations run rampant, I’m guessing Poison Joke reverses the properties of living things, all the while drawing up the chemicals as if they were hydroponic fertilizer.”

“Why would you do something like that?” Stewart Celestia asks.

“Most medicine is derived from the natural world where I’m from, but this would not have been my first choice to fix things.” Tina replies.

“Is that why you went looking for a toxin in the blood as the cause?” Dr. Hemlock asks.

“Yes. Like if someone was bitten by a poisonous snake, I could milk some of the venom from that snake mix it with a few things and make a cure.” Tina replies. “But making anti-venom requires milking the correct snake to work, and I don’t know why the last hybrid is different from the other two.”

“If you were trying to make a cure how can you test it if it might be poisonous?” Peoria asks.

Tina’s eyes lit up with inspiration.

Elsewhere on the opposite end of Moon Bloom Glenn, the pony Moss in nervously awaiting the arrival of his kinsmen Carpenter.

“Pisst… Moss.” A red mane brown whistles. “Why was Grey Hoof so panicked?”

“Something foul is at work Carpenter. What with holes to spirit world, and ponies wreaking stuff and dropping over.” Moss grumbles.

“What do ya figure the cause?” Carpenter frowned.

“Some screwy magic light has been jumpin off of folks here. I’m thinking we start with what that’s about.” Moss grumbled as he motions to his friend to quietly follow him.

Night was only a few hours off at the time when Moss and Carpenter went toward Dr. Hemlock’s home. It took little effort to sneak over to the residence/hospital, as most everyone had fallen sick.

Outside Dr. Hemlock’s tending to the ill ponies on cots, Peoria and Pollen Duster went about checking just how many false cutie marks each pony had at this point. With no more suppressants, all any of the health ponies could do is wait until Tina and Dr. Hemlock finish testing the two serums on the preserved tissue samples. Most of the ponies on the porch were now up to ten false cutie marks.

“I don’t know how long they’ll hold out.” Pollen Duster mutters as she wipes a wet cloth across a greenish blue bat pony stallion’s forehead.

“Tina says we have two hours and sixteen minutes until it wears off. Hopefully they have something ready before then.” Peoria replies.

Three new flashes of light shine over there of the sick ponies bodies. Then some pony else screams.

Inside the make shift lab, Stewart Celestia conjured a table top for the lab equipment after the testing serums from the first two identical hybrids ate holes through the samples and table all the way to the floor.

“These two are certainly toxic and dangerous. No need to waste the slides or ruin the microscopes with a more thorough test serum A.” Tina groans audible stuffing the bad hybrids into the metal lab case for disposal. “Waste of valuable tissue samples on corrosive burning sludge.”

“Do I want to know who these samples use to be part of?” Stewart Celestia asks with a hint of anger to her voice.

“Yes, no one should be forgotten when they die by those who cared for them.” Tina quietly mutters a reply. “For now we give serum B a try so we have people or ponies to mourn their dead and not more dead to mourn. Please serum B, don’t be a waste.”

“The next set is laid out, ready to try it?” Dr. Hemlock asks moving the last of the cultured and tainted pony flesh into position.

“No more…more time for… other options, my training either helps us now… or all we can do is make them comfortable before the… end.” Tina mutters with a shaky voice and trembling hand as she injects a small amount of serum into the samples.

The reaction took a few minutes to start up. The first sign that something was working was flickers of magical light across the chunks of pony hide.

“We have a reaction.” Dr. Hemlock calls to Tina and Stewart Celestia. Dr. Hemlock looked like he was going to be sick but had the start of a smile too.

“Let it be good.” Tina replies making her way over to look at the samples.

“Please, I’ll even hold back the sun rise a little for the next day so they may enjoy it with restored health, work.” Stewart Celestia begged.

Peering over the sample the three could see the false cutie mark crack and fade away as a more heath color returned to the sample. Tina rushed over to a microscope and preps a glass slide with tainted blood to test how the serum works on the blood sample. She carefully moves the slide under the lens, set the photo printer and introduces the serum. As the photos slide out of the printer the alien toxic particle vanishes leaving all the others untouched.

The three nod to each other and head over to Bee Charmer’s room. Both of Bee Charmer’s parents waited at the filly’s side she wasn’t yet struggling to control her body meaning the suppressant was still working. As they approached the family the three steeled their resolve for the question they needed to ask.

“Misses Wind Melody and Mr. Spore Dancer we request yours and your daughter’s permission to use this remedy to attempt to cure her.” Dr. Hemlock nervously asks the family.

“It is not a proper cure, but I am confident that it will stop this sickness. I will not force you if the risk…” Tina adds.

“I give my permission, it was only because of your aid my dear girl is still here.” Spore Dancer replies.

“I too give my consent. Dr. Hemlock you have never given me reason to doubt your judgment.” Wind Melody adds. “You wouldn’t be here if you thought it was wrong.”

“I trust you Tina, Mr. Hemlock, Lady Celestia; your all here to help after all.” Bee Charmer cheers.

“Let get you healed then.” Tina replies smiling and injects Bee Charmer with the serum.

Like with the sample it took a few minutes to get an effect, but soon magical light began tracing along the filly’s body cracking and fading the false cutie marks as a web of light streamed toward the real one making it shine brightly. Bee Charmer cringed in a bit of pain as the whole display went on, but happily relaxed when the light went away.

Bee Charmer began to hum to herself for a moment and a bee no else had noticed landed on her hoof and did a brief little dance before flying off. Bee Charmer smiled as her parents hugged her.

“We can start to…” Tina began only to be cut off by a scream.

Pollen Duster and Peoria barge into the room both with panicked expressions on their faces.

“The Merchants from Sunny Town saw the patients get false cutie marks and freaked out screaming something of a curse!” Pollen Duster wheezes.

Tina collapses to into the wall almost losing the needle with the serum in it and shudders violently her eyes becoming pin pricks with shock. “Sun… Sunny… Town, it’s the Story of the Blanks. No!”

“What happening?” Spore Dancer demands now scared.

A vision of a filly pony’s murder and zombie ponies flash in Tina’s mind.

“Those superstitious idiots need to be stopped; they don’t know that cutie pox can be cured.” Tina shouts.

“What’s the Story of the Blanks?” Stewart Celestia demands her voice lased with dread.

“A punishment… for murder they just… don’t know the truth about what they fear.” Tina gasps out her nose starting to bleed her eyes beginning to droop. “Don’t let… them… make mistake.”

“Stewart Celestia, The medical unicorns you requested from Luna have arrived to assist.” A Pegasus Stallion in guard armor announces.

“Guardsmen get word to Luna, have her muster a force to quell a panic in Sunny Town quickly.” Stewart Celestia orders.

“Mama?” The guard asks confused.

“Two Sunny Town merchants just took off from here in a crazy fright. I know the way I can show you.” Pollen Duster replies waving to the guard.

“I’m coming too!” Peoria shouts.

“Stewart I’m going to muster the unicorns and start treating the rest of the village. Please watch Tina I’ll return as soon as I can.” Dr. Hemlock asks heading for the door.

“Stewart we’ll help you get her into the bed.” Wind Melody states as she carefully crosses the room to help pick the now unresponsive Tina.

“Mommy she is really sick isn’t she?” Bee Charmer asks deeply worried about her savior.

The epidemic of the cutie pox was falling away thanks to Tina’s insight and Dr. Hemlock's trust, however Peoria’s and Pollen Duster’s news triggered a revelation by Tina that made it once again a race against time.

The merchants Moss, Three Leaf, Gray Hoof, and lastly the one Peoria did not meet by the name Carpenter, these residents of Sunny Town; were about to bring a calamity upon the world. In an act of pure panic Moss and Carpenter fled the town even succeeding in throwing Pollen Duster to the ground and knocking Peoria through a wall as they attempted to stop the pair.

A Day passed as the villagers started to regain their strength and Pollen Duster with Peoria traveled to gain Luna’s aid.

“Stewart Celestia, we can’t do any more for her. This condition she has advanced too far, that even destroying the remains of that wild magic spewing plant has had no effect on her.” A yellow unicorn medic quietly reported. “Tina is awake though and she asks to see you about ‘the story of the blanks’ she had mentioned.”

Celestia followed the medic to Tina’s room where Dr. Hemlock waiting by her bedside with Bee Charmer. Tina was pale and sweaty.

“Hi… Stewart… Celestia. I have… one last thing to… explain.” Tina wheezes with barely focused eyes. “When my friends… came here, we researched the… fictions related to your… world. That is how I… was able to deduce the illness.”

“And I thank you for that; so many lives were saved because of your remedy.” Stewart Celestia replies holding Tina’s right hand in her hoof.

“I didn’t make… the connection to… the ‘story of the blanks’… because the sister… town was never named. “ Tina continues weakly. “A murder occurs… shortly after the town’s… council learned of the… cutie pox epidemic killing… the sister town. It is all a mistake… made out of fear… bringing a curse of damnation and un-death… to all who reside there… or mistakenly visits her in the… future. Rumors need to spread first… there may… yet … be… time…”

Tina passes out.

“She’s too weak to speak more Stewart. She may… not even… wake back up.” The unicorn medic sniffles.

“I'm fit to travel Stewart; I want to help stop this calamity!” River Runner calls from the door having recently been cured of his Poison Joke affliction. “Many of the others are also willing to assist after Tina’s efforts and what they witnessed of the merchants a day ago. Let us help.”

“You have my blessing, join with Luna and go with all speed!” Stewart Celestia commands bringing cheers from the waiting ponies outside.

Seven maybe ten ponies, both bat pony and earth pony race to exit the village with River Runner racing to join them.

The sun rises on a march to noon day, Celestia would once again marvel at her students grace and dedication to the task by themselves. Celestia turns her head to the unconscious Traveler however and places this pleasant memory aside. She lived to see another stranger place her people needs ahead of their own needs and she was powerless to help.

Another day passes as River Runner’s group and Luna’s group converge on Sunny Town. The hour now grows late with a scream that pierces the Everfree Forest.

“That sounded close!” River Runner shouts.

“I can make out a clearing up ahead. It resembles farm land.” Spore Dancer replies.

“Let’s move.” River Runner calls out as a lantern light’s glow approached.

“Not without me you don’t, I’ve got Luna hot on my heels with our back up. They are five minutes out.” Peoria shouts. “I intend to buy them some time!”

In a darkened cabin a tan mane brown earth pony colt crumples in agony after having the flesh seared from flanks with a fire poker. His screams were so loud that every pony in Sunny Town took notice and shuddered greatly disturbed. Many even began to approach the cabin with a morbid curiosity.

“Gladstone… What did they do to him?” Mitta cringed at the shriek of pain. “Why did you have to be cursed?”

Mitta was extremely scared she didn’t want to watch as everyone she knew lose control of themselves and die like a few of the others had mentioned.

‘Ruby please don’t catch it too, come back.’ Mitta thought as screams of panic started to come from the direction of the cabin.

“Another one caught it!” A fleeing mare cried running from the cabin.

Mitta was transfixed with terror she failed to notice the invasion of strange ponies until they passed and she saw the cutie pox scarred flank.

“These folks are already rioting.” Peoria growls at the confused villagers.

“Their… their not dead… but how is it possible?” Mitta mutters starting to tear up.

Gladstone hobbles toward the town square crying uncontrollably. His flanks were blistered with black and red burns, hindering his movement. Collapsing into the dirt, Gladstone buries his head in his hooves.

“They mutilated him!” Pollen Duster snarls racing over to the crying colt. “Those fools convinced them already that our town’s illness was some stupid curse.”

“Illness… No I have to find her.” Mitta perked up in dread and desperation running toward the cabin. “You were right Ruby. Please hold on!”

“River Runner, we can’t let her run off!” Peoria breaks into a gallop behind Mitta.

Inside the darkened cabin, a gray filly with a blond mane now lays bound in front of a fire. All around her stand the ponies who were friends and kin, among them was Three Leaf and Grey Hoof.

“This can’t be happening! First Gladstone, now this one it’s only a matter of time before the whole town ends up like these two. We need to find a way to stop these marks from spreading.” snarled Grey Hoof with disgust unable to comprehend how or why this filly became marked.

“Well it seems these marks can’t simply be burned off. Our watchers who spotted her said it appeared just moments ago.” Three Leaf suggests uncertain.

Outside the cabin, the thunder of pony hooves arose in the distance closing fast on the cabin.

“It’s a curse after all, remember our scout’s stories. Maybe it sensed our intentions to destroy it and Jumped from Gladstone to her…” Another Colt adds but is interrupted by the noise of something.

The ponies gaze shifted toward the door and saw it shudder violently with cracks ripping along the wood grain.

“It’s begun already. Quick, do it!” The colt continued prompting Gray Hoof to race to the table and pick up a knife in his mouth.

As Grey Hoof turns beginning his approach to Ruby, the door explodes into splinters and a gray filly with a red mane is briefly illuminated by lightning landing on the hard cabin floor. Mitta somehow keeping her footing charges Gray Hoof.

“Don’t you touch Ruby!” Mitta shouts shoulder charging Gray Hoof hitting him with enough force to knock the knife from his mouth. Before Gray Hoof could even feel his hooves return to the ground he catches site of Mitta angry glare just inches from him, with a fresh gash across her check; as she swings a right hoof that connects with his face.

The hit in mid air makes Gray Hoof land violently on his side leaving him stunned. Two ponies attempted to seize Mitta as she snatches the knife to free Ruby only to be hit from behind by River Runner who forced them to crash with the far wall.

“I won’t let you kill them!” Peoria shouts swinging her head violently into a third attacker's head before ducking under him and pushing him over and off his feet. “Quickly run north you’ll be safe there!”

Mitta and Ruby almost got blocked at the door while River Runner and Peoria fought, but for whatever reason Three Leaf tripped the blocker allowing the fleeing fillies to jump over her.

Outside in the town proper several ponies baring the scars of the recent epidemic were beginning to be surrounded by the rest of the village, it looked as they might not reach the town exit only for Gladstone to tackle two other villagers out of their path. As the Ever free opened up before them PegasI could be seen by the two descending on the town.

Bolts of lightning lanced down at the villagers breaking up the fights.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?” Stewart Luna shouts. “CEASE THIS DISORDER AT ONCE!”

The Stewart had twenty Pegasi guards armed with spears and equipped with the shell vine armor of her guard. The villagers froze at the site of the militia assembled before them aiding the marked strangers.

“Stewart…” A villager began only to be cut off.

“Bring me the ones responsible for this unrest now.” Stewart Luna commanded coldly.

Gladstone motioned for the Stewart to follow him to the cabin. Luna followed with five guards in tow. At the cabin Peoria, River Runner, and Three Leaf managed throw a couple of their attackers out the door. The ponies attempted to reenter the cabin only to stop at the spears that were leveled at them.

“COME OUT NOW, I WILL HAVE ANSWERS!” Stewart Luna commands. At this all the ponies in the cabin exited.

Horror crossed the faces of the Sunny Town elders upon seeing the Stewart.

“I have come all this way because sick ponies needed my aid and as I return home I am informed that panic has broken out here. I hoped this news to be an overreaction, but here we stand. So explain yourselves!” Luna adds scowling.

“You’re in league with these curse bearers!” Moss defiantly spits.

“It was no curse. It was a sickness and we cured it!” Peoria retorts.

“Sickness… No. What did I almost do, what have I done?” Gray Hoof begins to sob.

“What was that you said just now?” Stewart Luna replies to glare at Gray Hoof.

“Don’t go losing your sense lad!” Moss snaps only to get at spear brought to his neck.

“I betrayed her… betrayed them… I don’t deserve to live…” Gray Hoof weeps only to get struck by Luna and knocked to the ground.

“You will not choose your own punishment, am I clear?” Luna whispers menacingly into Gray Hoofs ear, lock her gaze with his teary face to which he nods. Standing back at her full height Luna continues. “I want these ponies in irons and the rest of the troops will remain behind to enforce order until things can be better explained.”

After a day and night of running Mitta and Ruby make it to the safety of Moon Bloom Glenn, they found themselves joined by River Runner, Pollen Duster, Peoria, Spore Dancer and the other along the way. They told the pair all about the Traveler who save them from the cutie pox and the weird events of the past week or so.

As the village came into view the newest refuges began to ask about meeting this friend from worlds beyond.

“So it was Tina and Dr. Hemlock discovered that cutie pox is a toxin induced illness that messes with the natural cutie mark magic of ponies.” Mitta states still surprised. “What about the source of the contamination? It doesn’t sound like any of us would eat such a weird plant on purpose?"

“Yeah that worries me too, we could not find a pattern to explain why everyone got sick.” Peoria replies.

“Maybe I could figure it out. I seem to be good at finding things.” Ruby says smiling.

“We could ask Dr. Hemlock and Tina about it…” Pollen Duster adds.

“I hate to ruin the mood, but Tina wasn’t doing well when we left for Sunny Town.” River Runner somberly interrupted. “The medic the Stewart sent us said… she…. might not wake up.”

Peoria ears spayed back, tears welling up in her eyes before running full speed toward Dr. Hemlock’s.

At the doctor’s home Celestia was being embraced by Luna, the Sun Stewart clearly grief stricken. Peoria slowed down when she reached the two sisters. With a shake of Celestia head, Peoria head droops and she sits down.

When the rest catch up they are told of Tina's death.

Dr. Hemlock started the next new night by injecting Moon Bloom Glenn’s newest citizens with the serum as a cutie pox preventive since the source of the contamination is still unknown.

“That should do it. Now you’ll have some protection at least.” Dr. Hemlock calmly remarks as he pulls the needle out of Mitta’s arm.

“It worries me that you have to do this. It would be better to clean up the toxin instead. Didn’t Tina think it was a plant?” Mitta asks.

“She said that was speculation. I think our only clue to the real cause can be found in why 2 distinct hybrids were produced from the same methodology that Tina used.” Dr. Hemlock wonders aloud. “The first two created a flesh eating acid, but the last one produced the cure that is now in you.”

Ruby picked up Tina’s journal and flipped through the pages and comes to the note that mentioned that she ran out of bottled water on the second plant splice. Reading further it was also noted that all three spices shortly ended up with the same water levels later on. It was then Ruby saw the clay water jug by the lab tools.

“Mitta I’m going to get some water.” Ruby calls holding onto the journal.

“Okay but come back soon, we we’ll be looking for a house here later.” Mitta replies.

Ruby smiles and heads outside to find the town water well.

“It has to be in the water, that the only thing different with the hybrids.” Ruby mutters smugly. “If I can find that weird plant somewhere around the water this mystery will crack wide open.”

After asking around Ruby finds the well. Looking down inside it was easy to see that the well walls were built to keep ponies from wandering around the underground stream. It was a good idea to be sure, but Ruby was not staying out when she was so close to an answer.

Ruby put the journal into her saddle bag and pulled out a large ball of twine and a nail. After tacking the twine line to the well wall she starts exploring the waterway.

A half hour passed and both Dr. Hemlock and Mitta noticed that Ruby didn’t return and the journal was missing as well.

“Where could she have gone?” Dr. Hemlock asks puzzled.

“Excuse me have you seen a blond mane gray filly? Her name is Ruby.” Mitta asks an earth pony who points toward the well.

“She did say she wanted water.” Dr. Hemlock musses catching a glimpse of Mitta’s growing frustration. “It something else isn’t it?”

Mitta nods and the two race toward the well. Looking down into the well they clearly see the twine lifeline leading into the underground waterway.

“Ruby what has gotten into you?” Mitta grumbles climbing into the well.

“She took Tina’s journal, could she have seen something we didn’t?” Dr. Hemlock replies lighting a lantern.

“You mean like a clue to something?” Mitta replies back grabbing the lantern.

“I’ll be sure to ask her, I’ve looked all through that thing and I can’t imagine what our well has to with this.” Dr. Hemlock musses as he descends into the well.

They began walking along the edge of the underground river passing the limestone stalactites and stalagmites. Despite the cave off shoots, the twine line continued to follow the river upstream where a shaft of moonlight shone brightly.

After another five minutes of walking, Mitta and Dr. Hemlock found Ruby uprooting a strangely out of place bush and trying to stuff it into her saddle bags. The cave ceiling above her had collapsed due to erosion of the limestone and from the looks of it the light was helping the bushes to grow here. Ruby caught sight of the pair and with a pant she motions for them help.

“I… I found the cause!” Ruby exclaimed. “It was in the water.”

“Ruby…” Mitta began but caught by Dr. Hemlock.

“Ruby can you hand me that journal for a second.” Dr. Hemlock says with a hint of realization in his voice. As he flips through the pages Ruby continues.

“You see their just like the drawings!” Ruby exclaimed proudly pointing at the bushes of Hearts Desire.

“All this time we have been slowly poisoned by our own well.” Dr. Hemlock states. He points to the uprooted bushes and then to the new air shaft of the cave. “When the water washed away the rock here causing the ceiling collapse it must have also brought these Hearts Desire bushes with it where they then took root.”

“You really are great at finding things.” Mitta states warmly hugging Ruby. “let’s go back and get the other to help clean up this mess, okay!”

Over the next days the well was cleaned and Tina was laid to rest. The Stewarts returned to pay their respects and inform Mitta of the change of leadership in Sunny Town. Mitta refused to return to her former town. To commemorate the heroes of Moss Bloom Glenn a statue was planned for town square.

Life returned to normal and back at the Two Sister’s Manor, Stewart Celestia enters a partially dark room to speak to a despairing figure.

“I know how heavy your heart is burdened Discord, but you have to pass on what you have learned in your life just as I’m doing. You’re very important to our planet… and to us too.” Celestia speaks soothingly.

“Go away please.” Discord weeps weekly. “Let me waste away from my deserved punishment in peace.”

“I don’t want you to continue to hate yourself, besides I’ve met someone who can help you; one that you will help greatly by training him in your art.” Celestai states calmly and softly.

At this Discord turned a forlorn and confused gaze to meet Celestia’s own.

One year passes from the time of the cutie pox epidemic in Moon Bloom Glenn, two fillies play game of darts with homemade targets. A green gray earth pony colt just hits three targets with one stone with a silver and yellow bat filly mare watching the stunt.

“That was it Gin. Let me show you something new.” The silver yellow bat smirks picking up a small throwing star made of pine cone seed scales. “I got a way to strike them all and never let my dart hit the ground.”

“You’re dreaming Frayla. You can’t ricochet any dart and hit all of them.” Gin replies skeptical.

“Prepare to eat those words!” Frayla snickers tossing the star over her shoulder at the first target.

With the star in the air it seems the bet is already lost, but Frayla whip around and suddenly launches a series rapid squeaks that makes the homemade star buzz as it cut through the air. Her head darted this way and that as she used her sonar to guide the star to each target before catching it in her hoof.

It was then that a light shown from Frayla’s flanks reveling three bladed stars going off in different direction at once with a faded one in the center that the others streaked away from.

Frayla and Gin started to smile at this, but their smiles fell as two web-like lines were traced out by the same light ending in two more cutie marks unrelated to the first. All three became surrounded by a web-like circle and the light vanished.

“Gin… What… does this mean?” Frayla asks crying. Gin hugs her not knowing what to say.

Elsewhere in a world away a man with a metal arm begins to ponder how his future will end with all the guys with guns staring menacingly at him. It doesn’t help that orange mane silver-blue unicorn was about to wake up at his feet, or that Mike got that ‘there is something behind you’ look from the spooks.

“Oh shit.” Mike mutters.

Author's Note

Note: contains text from a copy of 'Story of the blanks' and characters to link the events of this story chapter to the other one's lore. No zombie future.
The next chapter will have Earth as a setting. Should I run a Displaced OC with a link to this story in the next chapter? Comment Yes or No, The Character will be Nigel from Sega's Landstalker if yes.
Update: 5-24-2015
Lack of responses on this question has lead me to decide to run the Displaced OC only as a plot event. Not certain if by my next chapter interest will go up on my story or not.
I mean no harm to the author of 'Story of the blanks' with my references.

Chapter 4_Separated A Consequence of Discovery

Author's Note

Colored text notes:
Video recording/TV
Radio
Equestrian language (not going to make up a language for this)

Game and Movie References Mentioned and Used:
UN Squadron, Phantasy Star 4, .Hack, Star Craft, Metroid, Landstalker, Phantasm 4.

Chapter 4_Separated A Consequence of Discovery

It was only to be expected that Dan Forest, alias Chad Anderson; had been ordered reassigned and demoted after the losing the White Rabbit team two days earlier. The tan haired 42 year old should have acted sooner and let the tech heads strip down White Rabbit’s hardware.

“No… It could not have been helped; they programmed a timer after all.” Dan mutters softly packing a few personal effects into a box from his desk. He didn’t bother with neatness in his task due to it likely getting inspected as he was debriefed and before he would be sent out the door to his new post.

Dan’s superiors had been so disappointed in his lack of foresight they simply accepted his initial report on the loss and promptly informed him of his change of duties.

“So much to worry about besides my own future, the President convening an emergency meeting at the UN, defense contractors clamoring for access to the White Rabbit research, and media pundits snipping at one another about who proved who wrong about the gods.” Dan Forest continues muttering picking up the box. “I should feel lucky for my boring new assignment without the fate of the world on my back.”

“Agent Forest, there has been a development.” The director, a 46 year old balding black man; says as he leans into Dan’s former office. Director Frank Watson pulls out a Droid tablet and pulls up a video. “Thirty five minutes ago the agents you left at the residence made contact with White Rabbit.”

Director Watson starts the split screen video.

“House sitting is the life.” David Parks speaks casually pulling up a seat. “What is the procedure for dealing with any non earth natives if they return?”

“We hope they don’t bring back any first off. Secondly Director Watson has ordered that we record our stay, which I’m doing now; and if we have any contact to transmit the code word for the appropriate eventuality.” Tom Clark replies handing David a wrist mounted computer with a parabolic antenna attached to it. “Patricia sent us these probes to scan and record any radio or radioactive data their device gives off as it should help her in creating a jammer.”

“She really thinks it works like cell phones huh?” David replies shaking his head.

“The working theory off White Rabbit’s own notes, Patricia said; seems to suggest it dials up a different dimension with some type radio wave radiation ping which the prototypes then project onto the wearer pushing them into this other dimension. If we use these we can capture and override that signal and stop them cold.” Tom replies back heading to turn on the TV that was left behind. “She working on a model that may be able to push invaders back to their home world but she needs field testing data before she can even consider it.”

The sensor computers gave three loud beeps and turned themselves on. David and Tom looked to the displays on their wrists using the virtual direction finder to locate the signals source.

“Yellow move in to assist!” Tom orders over his head set and drawing his gun.

Near the back of the room near a desk heat distortion like ripples started forming pushing scattered garbage away from them as four other agents entered the house guns drawn. On the wrist displays multiple reticules sprang into existence over the spots where the anomalies were forming, but neither Tom nor David mentioned them yet as a pair of figures shimmered into focus in front of the desk.

Mike and a metallic colored unicorn with an orange mane materialized into existence just a foot or two in front of the desk. Even before the two came into complete focus it was clear the unicorn was in some kind of distress as it collapses to the floor just before fully coming into focus.

“Hands up and don’t move!” Tom orders sternly gun trained on Mike.

“Oh Shit.” Mike mutters raising his hands.

Mike’s wrists and legs had something clinging to them that were distorting the recording directly over the things and only a small staining of blood to indicate what it must have been.

“We have a code pawn, repeat pawn!” David transmits over his head set the call word for hazardous materials transport.

“It… It’s… a planner incursion sir.” Tom stutters gesturing to strange dog like animal and a brown green and white Pegasus framed by a weirdly placed wilderness cliff cutting threw the back wall.

“An inv… invasion, how did they get here.” David sputters shaken.

“No sir, it’s confirmed this is their planer recall signal.” Tom replies concerned taking notice of his scanner which showed the three target reticules over each distortion. Two of the reticules were blinking with an extra wave form beyond the first they shared with Mike’s clean wave form. It was shortly after that the odd two started going back out of focus; the second must have been behind the desk as the video did not reveal the distortion itself. “It’s not stable. They are going to phase out again.”

When the last two reticules vanished the distortions over Mike broke up to expose something cutting into his arms and legs. It looked like ropes or wire, likely limitation of the video resolution preventing video identification.

“Secure the prisoner and don’t touch those vines. We wait for Hazmat crews!” David orders as two of the support team more forward.

Just before reaching Mike however the unicorn began raising its head it eyes opening. A sudden jerk of motion by the unicorn and a start of distortion over its horn startle the approaching agents.

“Dart it!” David orders.

Director Watson ends the video.

“This situation with White Rabbit just went critical.” Director Watson grumbles menacingly as he backs Dan into his office. “Dig out your badge, I can’t afford to reassign you at this juncture; White Rabbit is back and they are not alone. We must assess the diplomatic fall out!”

“Yes Sir.” Dan forest replies dropping the box on his desk and grabbing his shield.

Across Town outside the residence of the White Rabbit research team of Mike, Brian Tina and Lilly; a short bus length panel van pull up to the house in the middle of a formation of four black SUVs. The man power was more for neighborhood surveillance than to apprehend the residents of the home where a man and a unicorn pony were being dragged out of.

The CIA agents had wrapped parts of the man’s body with towels and duct tape in an effort to cover up wounds on his body that alien vines clung to. Before shoving him in the van another agent pyres off the mailbox form its post and tapes it over his metal arm.

The unicorn pony, on the other hand; was carried to the van due to his legs being tied together so he couldn’t run. On his horn a hastily modified Bluetooth phone was secured with duct tape and wires to interrupt any efforts in magic the pony might try.

“Reporting on today’s top story, a rather harrowing near accident was caught on the dash cam of a local motorist. The video opens with just your average inner city commute until two horse-like animals appear suddenly before the shocked driver literally out of nowhere.” A radio announcer’s voice cracks over the static. “These are not normal farm stock folks with the one bat winged horse just missing the windshield when the driver swerves to evade a pale red white horse.”

“Pale red white horse…” Mike mutters as if he should recognize it.

“Incidents like these have become a frequent concern after the LeClaire Incident. The President as such is expected to attend a UN Summit to discuss Australia’s evacuation plans after a Zerg colony took root in Queensland.” The radio announcer continues.

“Shit man there goes the planet!” David groans loudly before punching Mike hard. “You stupid science geeks don’t know when to quit.”

“David! Do that again and I’ll shoot you.” Tom menacingly growls left hand grasping his partner’s shoulder swinging him to face him. “This guy came to us, he didn’t spread this shit. We only have the advantages we have because of his cooperation.”

“Cooperation, they took off and he brought that back with him!” David retorts pointing at the unicorn.

“They also gave us the blueprints and theoretical data that let Patricia invent these.” Tom spits pointing to the wrist sensors. “The Director wants him taken in for questioning. As for the Zerg, The Japanese are sending their partner in the Fukushima clean-up effort to the Coral Sea as part of their UN assistance offer.”

“So we were too late…” Mike began only to get cut off by Tom.

“Save it for the Director, he’s the one who will handle your debriefing and your companion’s.” Tom remarks sternly.

The trip to the CIA run office building took about an hour and several minutes ending in the underground garage. Two of the SUV’s followed the vehicle that Mike and company rode in. While Mike was able to walk out of the panel bus under his own power and was dragged by three agents, the unicorn was carried still bound by two agents.

Despite not having a real understanding of a unicorn’s full power, the agents were taking no chances of him getting free and escaping as they took the two to the elevator to taken into quarantine and maybe even the director.

Dan Forest meanwhile waited for Director Frank Watson to put down the private network phone and begin his briefing.

“Okay Dan your contact from White Rabbit a Mike Edison is being taken to an interrogation room and a hazmat tech will be treating his injuries.” Director Watson explains. “We will be containing him and another being some kind of mini unicorn in that room until they are deemed safe to be in the same room with.”

“Injuries and unicorns, this is a little weird even when compared to current events.” Dan replies with disbelief.

“Weirdness can’t be helped, let’s go.” Director Watson mumbles motioning from to leave.

In the interrogation room that held Mike and the alien unicorn, a small team of doctors in hazmat suits were in the process of removing the few remaining alien vines from his body or were taking blood and tissue samples from the unicorn.

“Mr. Forest, Director Watson I have some serious concerns.” A 5’ 7” red headed woman with blue eyes in a lab coat calls to the entering colleges. “Hazmat informed us that Mike was being entered strait into quarantine and we have an alien.”

“Patricia what exactly has Hazmat found?” Director Watson asks.

“Parasitic vines of some type. The position of these vines being removed corresponds to the distortions in the video that appeared over Mike’s body during the plane shift activity.” Patricia replies agitated. “The vines seem to react to the Planer-transloctor’s output and could be the reason the others are missing.”

“What about the unicorn, could it’s magic be the real cause?” Dan Forest asks. “What about talking to him?”

“No, the reactions of the plant are the only correlation we have recorded. I want to run some tests on it once the labs are secured against contamination.” Patricia replies. “The unicorn doesn’t seem to speak or understand our language according to Tom. We could try to use speech recognition and writing software and internet stock images as some kind of accelerated teaching protocol that we could also use our selves.”

“You think the unicorn will understand what we are attempting and choose to help us instead of confuse us?” Director Watson asks. “What do you propose we try with him for the writing part? We do suspect that he can escape if he is free of the jammer.”

“We will be using a graphics tablet for the writing component of the translation. All that is needed is to demonstrate the tools use to him and hope he gets it.” Patricia replies.

“Director, we’re done in here. The intercom is all yours.” A Hazmat technician speaks depressing a call button before exiting the room.

Director Watson motions for Dan Forest to sit behind the microphone and talk.

“Hello Mike.” Dan speaks flatly into the microphone. “This is a very bad time to hold pertinent information back, so I will ask you several questions about your… test run. If any of your answers prove deliberately incomplete, deceptive, or wholly damaging to national security; we will throw you back to whatever shark you pissed on as chum. Is that clear?”

Mike flips up his left middle finger before sighing after a minute passes.

“Question 1, did you share this technology with your accomplice here or is this a kidnapping of an extra dimensional foreign national?” Dan asks.

“No, we didn’t make extra Trans-locators. I don’t know how the unicorn followed me, I don’t even remember meeting one before a giant shrub covered spider threatened to make a meal of us.” Mike replies with a hint of agitation to his voice.

“It’s good to hear that we won’t have more unauthorized travel from Earth out of you, but you helped facilitate an unauthorized travel from where ever he came from to here. Will we also get visitors who might want to wage war on us for kidnapping?” Dan retorts.

“Like I already said I don’t know how he ended up with me? I was in no position to kidnap anyone with that spider trying to snare us with thorny vines!” Mike shouts.

“Director, I think his tale is consistent with the facts so far. All the vines that were removed were from places on the body where it could be inferred he was restrained. Hazmat even found vines cutting into the prosthetic arm.” Patricia adds countering Dan’s assertion.

“Continuing to Question 2 Mike, how much contact with the natives did you have?” Dan speaks into the microphone again.

“The plan was to avoid having any contact except through Lilly, but upon our arrival we had to rescue a Pegasus to protect ourselves from a freak storm.” Dan replies calmly. “We had been there only a few hours and just finished setting up camp before the Pegasus led us into the spider’s trap where a second pony was being used as bait.”

“I’m not familiar with this pony world you chose to investigate, but is this a normal pitfall?” Dan asks.

“No. This whole trip was a complete pitfall. The forest over took everything, even our camp was compromised in the span of an hour.” Mike replies disgusted. “According to Dandelion any formal country was long ago destroyed. Tina even confirmed that the ‘Two Sister’s’ and ‘Cantorlot’ prominent land marks were either missing or overrun with the forest.”

“How did you communicate with Dandelion? We were informed that the unicorn doesn’t understand us and in turn this Pegasus should not understand you.” Dan retorts.

“I can’t. Tina and Brian had to translate for me.” Mike countered. “Something about the trees affected their implants giving them the pow… ability to understand the ponies. My arm also began to spark after awhile, but it responds to muscle nerves of my arm and not the brain directly.”

“Director, Hazmat has also informed me that the prosthetic arm has been fused to the stump. It might be dangerous to remove it for examination, but I might be able to patch into it to copy the diagnostic files to confirm if a surge happened.” Patricia adds.

“Director, I have nothing more to ask Mike. I need other evidence or testimony to compare this to if I’m to move forward in this interrogation.” Dan adds frowning. “We might need to move to that crash course in language comprehension first.”

“Okay, but we need to handle this delicately. That unicorn must be treated with care as foreign national until we can confirm Mike’s story.” Director Watson replies before activating the microphone himself. “I’m Director Watson we are going to hold you two here until you clear quarantine. Afterwards you will be participating in our efforts to translate the unicorn’s spoken and written language, we’ll handle the details.”

For the unicorn, captivity was wearing on his nerves. The sticky bandaging had been replaced for cold metal chain and was fixed to the floor. His horn would get stung by the thing that was attached to it if he focused too hard on anything. He had been poked and prodded while being held down.

The human fared little better as one hand was chained to a desk and the other bound inside a metal cage and chained so it pointed at the floor. Thorny dead vines were dug from his body. A strange voice was coming from the opposite end of the room and it had the chained human upset.

After the voice stopped the human glanced to the corners of the room looking for something. In one corner a gray box with a glass sphere in center did move tracking the pair’s movements. It was like a predator’s eye in how it moved.

‘We’re being watched even if the eye isn’t real.’ The unicorn thought glancing at the human again. ‘He doesn’t seem to be afraid of being eaten, more like he had been scolded.’

The human looked at the unicorn for a second and sighed. The human gestures to the eye in the corner then over to the mirror across from the desk and lastly casts an eye at the two figures at the door.

‘Others like him are watching us.’ The unicorn mussed. ‘This trouble involves us both, but how much of it is about me?’

With nothing to do the human went to sleep. The unicorn looked at the ones near the door in hopes they were doing the same, but they moved little from where they stood and had very alert eyes.

A few hours passed and the unicorn started getting sleepy as a knock on the door caught his attention. The humans at the door lead in two others with a metal cart as it was rolled to the opposite side of the desk and was unloaded.

‘It was food.’ The unicorn thought with surprise seeing a bowl of mixed oats and grains placed before him. The human’s plate had a sandwich of some kind the unicorn couldn’t identify and some mixed fruits. The shackled human wasted no time in starting his meal so the unicorn decided to eat as well. The food the unicorn was given was good, but the small room and the thing on his horn almost killed any appetite he had. With nothing to do both the unicorn and Mike went to sleep after finishing their meals.

Down a floor Patricia was gathering resources for the instructional program that would help teach Mike and the unknown unicorn each other’s language and also by extension everyone else connected to this investigation. The vines were sent a room over for storage until a lab was ready.

“Rick, I’m going to need you to gather Elementary thru 6th grade English disks and a durable graphics tablet with a 15” to 20” writing area we can use in 2 days.” Patricia states as he enters her office coming of dinner break.

“Why?” Rick asks stumped. “We don’t have need of basic English course materials for Translators. I’ll need to buy them. We do have a graphic tablet a floor down we can barrow.”

“The incident from this morning has landed us a non-English speaker with an unknown native language. We need to do a crash course.”Patricia replies grabbing a pair of wireless headset microphones. “Make sure you get speech recognition enabled types while you’re at it.”

“Okay I can have the software burned and installed by 6 tomorrow.” Rick replies with a smile heading out to his office.

While Patricia finished filing the paperwork for the hardware and software requisitions, Director Watson places a call from his office.

“Hello Senator, this CIA Director Frank Watson. I’ve got a question with regard to the Tracer Initiative.” Director Watson asks as he pulls out a pad and pen. “Particularly concerning White Rabbit’s operation.”

“I understand that Congress moves slowly and a little under a month is not enough time for proper deliberation of such a sensitive subject.” Director Watson continues. “However I need a suggestion here as of how to move forward. White Rabbit subject Mike has returned and he came back with an alien national.”

“Yes Senator it is that serious, two members are MIA with evidence suggesting that the pair might be in danger of either harm or diplomatic crisis.” Director Watson grumbles. “We have recorded their devices transmissions and we are awaiting analysis but our initial contact with them was lost on their end. Something prevented their return.”

“We can send the recording immediately if it will help mitigate the gridlock, sir.” Director Watson continues wiping his brow. “The interrogation of Mike will continue and you’ll be updated on our progress. We will also extend the necessary privileges to him if the situation escalates to that, thank you Senator.”

Director Watson hangs up the phone and begins to fill out several forms.

The next day was spent readying a lab to test the alien plant clippings and set up the computer for the language training course.

The lab where the plant clippings were sent to be tested was one that was reserved for processing DNA samples and chemical residue found at crime scenes. HAZMAT spent the day and night since Mike’s recovery getting the lab up to biohazard containment standards, which was expected to take another eight hours.

Patricia meanwhile entered a small conference room where Rick and a maintenance worker were setting up the graphics tablet and the computer that would be the training station.

“I’m going to bolt these down so they don’t get wrecked by your student tomorrow. The wires are all hidden inside the desk so no one will trip on them. The only wireless connectivity you got on this is the tablet’s pointer.” The maintenance worker states pulling his socket wrench back in his tool belt. “I don’t know how a unicorn is possible, but I will not permit it to wreck all of our equipment with a casual thought threw the wireless network.”

“So we have a hard line to the instructor’s terminal?” Rick asks and the maintenance worker nods. “Thank you, I’ll make sure this gets back to you in the shape I got it.”

After the maintenance worker leaves Rick waves Patricia over to the new language training station.

“Okay we are all set to teach this pony unicorn English when the two are cleared of the quarantine tomorrow. ‘Rosetta Stone’ it’s not, but you have your voice enabled elementary to 6th grade English courses as well as a text reader. Lastly I’ve included a library of point and click text games and Playstation 2’s Lifeline to help speed up the process. Both have been modified to use the voice recognition library.” Rick explains as he points to each executable file.

“Never heard of that game…” Patricia mumbles shaking her head. “How will it speed things up?”

“Lifeline is completely controlled by voice commands; it can help him practice using what he learns in real time.” Rick replies. “He will either get good at it in a hurry or he’ll scream.”

“This will work for Mike as well?” Patricia asks a little uncertain.

“Basically let them do a round in their native tongs to get the hang of it then swap them. Force the pair to work through each others differing vocabulary. The text adventures will not be as easy to swap so Mike will have to go paper adventure with the instructor.” Rick replies. “He will just have to settle being behind the curve until the instructor has a working grasp of unicorn.”

“We will just have to trust that this will work, because the Director and most of the agents that handled them don’t trust that unicorn with any ‘magic’.” Patricia adds. “Thank you Rick, I’ll spring for lunch today for this.”

Back at the interrogation room where Mike and the unicorn were being held breakfast was being served to the quarantined pair after a supervised restroom break done from the sealed off hall.

“We have ham and egg mc muffins for you and assorted dried fruits with granola for the unicorn.” Dan forest announces over the intercom. “You got another fourteen hours maybe until your clear of the quarantine, than we can start with your training.”

“Training, what are you asking? I already told you I don’t speak pony.” Mike replies.

“We are going to try and remedy that problem. Class will be in session at eight am.” Dan replies. “Look you may have wanted to contain this crises, but now we have to work together to salvage this thing. We’ll do much better too if we all understand one another.”

“We draft diplomats now…” Mike began to sternly grumble before glancing to his right at the unicorn and continues sighing. “…right… I made the first contact here it only makes sense that it’s me.”

“Not just because of that Mike, we got some odd reading from you when you came back.” Dan continued.

“The trans-locator…” Mike adds worried.

“The plant you brought back, we’ve yet to run tests on it; but we suspect it reacted to the Trans-locator. Our lab boys think it’s responsible for the interference we detected at your place. It may even be the reason for why your unicorn is here.”

“What of Brian, Tina, and Lilly; and for that matter the two other ponies that were with us? We all got attacked when this happened.” Mike asks.

“The recording doesn’t show Tina or Brian, but we had three event horizons. One was obscured by the room’s desk, but the other one besides yours had an usually marked fox and a Pegasus at the other end. That could have been them.” Dan replies.

“What?” Mike blurts shocked as he starts too sweet.

“The interference was not uniform, each event horizon though sharing the same underlying pattern had unidentified noise layered over two of them. Both noise layers I’ve been told are different too.” Dan explains.

“You think that plant corrupted the Planer Anchor’s signal somehow?” Mike replies.

“Maybe, but we suspect that it was something else from where they ended up. The plant itself put out a noise pattern so we can’t rule it out until it’s tested.” Dan adds.

“I can help with…”Mike begins.

“No, first is the language class. If your Trans-locator rips you elsewhere you will need to be able to speak with the natives.” Dan loudly interrupts. “Preparations are being made now just for that purpose. Afterwards we may take you up on that offer.”

Mike slumped down worried. He had not considered that as a possibility. That he might be pulled back into Equestria.

For his part, the unicorn listened intently to the discussion with the disembodied voice. The mannerisms alone were enough to spook him some. He could see and hear the creature’s attitude change drastically during the short talk, but without his magic he could not comprehend what upset him.

Time passed mostly uneventfully the rest of the day for Mike and the unicorn. Patricia and Rick greeted the linguist who would be on duty the next day and checked on the progress of a prototype Tracer Trans-locator before heading home.

Director Watson on the other hand was about to receive bad news.

“This is Director Watson.” Director Watson states picking up his office phone.

Dan Forest enters Director Watson’s office with the recording from his talk with Mike earlier on a thumb drive.

“Someone is actually going to waste time threatening Open MMO’s event…” Director Watson grumbles rolling his eyes. “Someone actually has the nerve to abuse planer travel to, as you said; ‘stick it to male gamer pigs to prove their man cred’.”

“I will brief my men for the security detail and you can tell the event sponsor will look into it.” Director Watson replies. “Good day Sergeant Long.”

“How many days are they giving you to assemble a team for the event, if I may ask?” Dan states handing over the thumb drive.

“About four days from now. The event sponsor is catching heat for refusing to institute a sexual harassment policy in line with the large venues.” Director Watson replies inserting the drive into the USB slot. “He stated that the event size makes it unnecessary, but also claims that the policy has caused an outbreak of out of control slander and liable as a cover up for corruption.”

“We have a definite group or groups with planer technology then. What made the Sergeant call us?” Dan asks.

“They are sending it over in a refrigerated container. It’s a mutilated body of some kind with the words ‘male superiority disproved’ written on it. The note with it threatened to bring over that things killer if the event sponsor didn’t comply.” Director Watson replies.

“Deloris LeClaire must be so proud.” Dan menacingly quips.

“Tom says David is upset about the Zerg encroachment in Queensland and assaulted Mike for it” Director Watson begins again after returning the thumb drive. “Your men need to check that attitude or they will be dismissed. Inform them of the sensitive nature of their current assignment.”

“Yes sir Director.” Dan replies.

“According to the Japanese ambassador a bounty hunter with experience in radioactive material clean up is making a detour to stop the Zerg.” Director Watson. “The UN session was to determine the extra pay and logistical support she would be offered on this bug hunt.”

“A planer traveler too…” Dan begins catching Director Watson’s head nod.

“Samus Aran in fact, the Prime minister was gambling on the hope that planer technology could bring an expert in who could fix their disaster in days not decades. She agreed to do it at a remarkably low price too.” Director Watson replies pulling out a file. “This thing with the Zerg however taxed her generosity and she now demands one ton in gold from each UN nation if split evenly for the new job.”

“Are we paying?” Dan asks grasping his head.

“The arrangements have already been made. We even have support of sixty-one percent of the voters due to current events… or maybe nerd nostalgia.” Director Watson mutters shaking his head. “David should relax. We are taking these matters seriously even the president has pledged surveillance drones and seismologists to the region to make sure none escape.”

“Well I’ll relax when our new contract exterminator gives us a clean bill of health. I’ll pass the message while I’m at it.” Dan replies.

“Get some rest; you have a long day ahead of you readying the new diplomats. The orders are prepped they will just need to be handed to him with a transcription in whatever the pony language is called.” Director Watson adds waving for Dan to leave.

“Good night sir.” Dan adds closing the door.

The next day Mike and the unicorn were unshackled, examined by HAZMAT again, and fed; before being led to the new class room.

Once the pair arrived, Patricia replaced the batteries in the jammer affixed to the unicorn’s horn and plugged her diagnostic laptop into Mike’s prosthetic arm to download the error logs. After she finished she exited the room to talk to the Dan and Rick before the class started.

“That plant is bonding with his arm. Simply plugging into the wires with the probes make the little bastards twitch erratically. I need to get to the lab now and start my examination on that parasite before it gets any ideas.” Patricia angrily states. “The unicorn by the way is secured.”

“Okay, keep the Director and me updated.” Dan replies.
After Patricia was out of sight, Rick turns to Dan with a grim look on his face.

“We need to talk in private before the linguist gets here.” Rick states glancing at Mike and the unicorn.

“Go ahead Rick.” Dan says patiently.

“Word has gotten around to the other divisions about these two and their connection to the recent debacles around the globe. I had no idea I was involved in this case.” Rick states grinding his teeth. “Now that I see them up close while Patricia worked on them; it makes me very worried.”

“You notice something about them Rick, something beyond unjustified hate?” Dan retorts.

“Yeah…”Rick replies looking at the unicorn. “When Patricia first entered our alien national just tried to keep out of reach and was as submissive as scolded puppy when she fiddled with the jammer.”

“However the moment Patricia plugged into Mike’s arm, that child’s fantasy shot up alertly as though something poked it.” Rick continues drawing in a breath. “It was like something unseen were testing his reflexes, and it all ends when Patricia unplugs from Mike. That thing cast a look at her and her palm top computer as though she were responsible.”

“This don’t make sense, Rick.” Dan retorts. “You got any proof.”

“The video feed should back me up. We already have it running for security documentation purposes.” Rick replies.

“Of course…” Dan adds with a huff.

“The unicorn might also be infected with these plants linking the two on some level. The rumors around the office mentioned that these weeds are sensitive to radio waves and the like and Mike’s arm is infected.” Rick continues. “This could explain why this unicorn was able piggy back on Mike’s recall signal too.”

Footsteps from down the hall end Dan and Rick discussion as Larry Hoffman comes into view.

In the room the unicorn was more unnerved than the previous two days. He had been moved to another room, held still while a strange female of his roommate’s species while she fiddled with the thing on his neck that was attached to his horn, and had experienced an unexplainable body wide shudder and hallucination when the female stuck something in his roommate’s arm. Even still shackled he had succeeded in galloping quietly to the opposite end of the room from the muttering angry female as she went to leave.

‘What’s on me… what was it their doing to me?’ the unicorn thought wanting desperately to remove the blasted pain in the horn from his body.

The unicorn knew it was no use however as the shackles bound his front hooves to the back ones so he could not reach. He could walk but not run or escape.

The room the unicorn found himself in was a bit more eye catching than the other one thankfully for the pony. The walls had detailed drawings on them with strange writing on them.

‘It must be some kind of writing, there are the same symbols grouped up all over these.’ The unicorn wondered glancing around a couple posters.

He didn’t know what the symbols could mean as the pictures were still very simple on the posters. At the center of the room was a low desk with some kind of tools on it in front of a mirror wall. His roommate was already sitting at the desk giving him an odd look.

‘Okay, I get it. I need to relax.’ The unicorn thought as his roommate fixed him with a worried expression and moved out the spare chair so he could reach the desk.

With ears low the unicorn approached the desk. When he hesitate a few steps out, the roommate moved back some and waved him up.

The object on the desk glowed with light and displayed a few simple pictures. It wasn’t nearly as interesting as the posters but some of the same symbol groups were present on the screen.

It was then another strange pair entered the room, by the reaction of his roommate at and sound of his voice the unicorn now had a face for the voice of his captor.

“Today is the day we work on this communication gap.” Dan Forest states as he enters the room. “Also this puts you officially under my command Mike. This here is Larry Hoffman he will be running the remote terminal to walk you two through the lessons after demonstrating the work stations operation.”

“Hello Mike.” Larry says holding out his left hand. “I’m the linguist assigned to recording, transcribing, and finally teaching the pair of you how to hold a conversation with one another. Firstly let’s get some id tags made up.”

Larry pulls up the spare chair and sits at the work station and opens the first program which brings up a web camera image of Larry’s face. After he gets the pose he wants he presses a large green button between the keyboard and graphics tablet, this causes the screen to change displaying his photo and prompting him to write his name. Larry puts his hand on the pointer holding in the button as he spells out his full name across the tablet work area before lifting to pointer over to a section on the right end of the pad marked enter and clicks the button. The screen updates again adding his signature to the on screen id before he picks up a head set to speak his name into after which he hits the large green button again. Making sure the unicorn was still watching, Larry clicks Finish and the computer plays both the writing on screen with his voice over the speakers. Lastly an id card pops out of a slot in the side.

The unicorn found himself startled by the glowing box.

‘It spoke and wrote…’ The unicorn though. ‘no it… repeated what he did and said.’

The unicorn glanced at the one who used the glowing screen now seeing the new tag on its person showing its face and the symbols that were written.

‘Wait, it his name…’ The unicorn realized looking at the creature motioning him up into his spot. ‘You want… my name?’

The unicorn crawled up to the desk to face the glowing screen and his ears went back a bit as he seen his reflection move before him. With a shaky hoof he clicked the button the creature before him did and his reflection froze and for a moment he thought he should have as well but a blink later cleared some of his tension.

Next thing was to write his name the unicorn thought barely noticing the head set being placed on his head.

‘Where is the writing… this was the thing he touched next.’ The unicorn thought putting a hoof on the pointer. ‘Do I just move it… why is it… not writing?’

The unicorn flicks an agitated ear at the tablet at not seeing what he was doing until he glanced at the screen and everyone heard plastic crack.

‘It appears only on the glowing wall.’ The unicorn thought impressed at his half finished name smiling. That smile disappeared when it seen the now broken pointer. ‘It’s… broken.’

“This lesson just ended.” Larry mutters shaking his head.

The door opens and Rick walks in.

“Maintenance is going to bill us and chew me out for wrecking the hardware on day one.” Dan groans.

“Let me handle this.” Rick replies disgusted approaching the unicorn. “I was going to use this later but now I got to improvise.”

Rick kneels down next to the unicorn placing his left hand on its mane and using his right hand to pick up the hoof on the pointer.

‘I didn’t want to break it.’ The unicorn thinks with his ears down looking at the creature touching his mane just before something stabs him in the hoof and he jumps away.

“Rick what was that?” Dan scolds jumping out of the way.

“A RFID chip.” Rick replies putting away the needle. “Patricia was to implant our visitor just in case he attempted to escape but forgot over that plant.”

“That doesn’t explain why you used it now scaring our unicorn guest!” Dan scolds. “If he clams up we will be in worse shape.”

“I need ten minutes and you can return to your lesson. We’ll just use the chip’s signal instead of the pointer.” Rick replies opening up the tablet’s utility file.

After an hour and twenty three minutes Mike got the unicorn to calm down and Rick was gone. Rick had tried to make amends but the unicorn refused to let him get closer. Instead of wasting further effort he told Mike, Dan, and Larry how to get the tablet to work for the unicorn and handed over a stylus for the others to use.

‘It like hoof painting without paint. I hope this will really help us talk and understand each other.’ The unicorn thought to himself as he wrote out the word for nest still marveling at how the glowing screen followed his moves and how it repeated his voice.

It was a simple word association lesson. See a picture, write the name for it, and speak the word for it. The drill was currently one sided as only the unicorn worked the station with his roommate and only one of the others of his kind watching. The unicorn was up to his thirty second total object, however he could not make out what eleven of the show objects have been.

‘I guess it’s my roommate Mike’s turn.’ The unicorn Lava Gazer though as the glowing wall displayed Mike’s name and face. He was coxed to sound out the word even as he couldn’t place the meaning behind the words the rest used for names.

Lava Gazer ‘s first attempts had been corrected by a combination of an unpleasant noise followed by a repeat of the name and after six or seven repeats he got it right.

As Mike touched the work station, Lava Gazer found he feeling something make a connection with him is the same way he was taught to craft magic. Unfamiliar patterns and symbols flooded his magical eye, but it was what was accompanying the sensation that sparked an epiphany.

Lava Gazer became aware of something alien organizing the language lesson, pairing his concept for each picture with its spoken and written word forms. But it was more than just what he was familiar with being transcribed before his mind’s eye as the objects he did not earlier recognize were now yielding to him the missing context that would let him know what it is. He just needed to focus.

“Mike... Hold up something filling in the unicorn’s side of the lesson.” Larry states confused. “The previously skipped material is now filled with strings of gibberish.”

“Gibberish, could it be a bug?” Dan asks.

“My… my mistake, the computer just needs to catch up to whatever is adding the translations. Something is trying to correct the entries in real time.” Larry replies.

Mike takes his hand off the work station and the activity on the unicorn’s entry side suddenly stops. Before he could question it, Mike found his arm forced back into contact with the work station by a hoof and the changes continue.

“Con… tin… ue lesson.” Lava Gazer mutters before growling agitated and shaking his head only to try again. “Continue lesson Mike.”

“Well Mike shall we continue?” Larry asks over the intercom.

“It was that easy… really?” Mike asks annoyed.

Lava Gazer shakes his head and points his hoof at Mike’s arm than his head than lastly to the screen.

“Larry we found out what was changing the data.” Dan adds.

Three hours later Dan finds Director Watson in the lounge eating Deli sub for lunch.

“Good evening Dan have seat.” Director Watson states. “Sorry for Rick’s behavior he’s been reprimanded. How are the future diplomats?”

“We’ll be on to bilingual speaking and reading comprehension by tomorrow.” Dan replies happily.

“That is quite unbelievable. Dan what happened to put them so far ahead?” Director Watson asks credulously.

“Lava Gazer, the unicorn; was somehow able to interface with the computer thru Mike’s arm and completed a large part of the translations for us.” Dan replies causing Director Watson to cross his arms. “No sir, Lava Gazer is not suddenly going to be giving any speeches about himself; the knowledge leaves his head the moment Mike’s arm leaves the computer. The translation is stored in the hard drive and backed up so we can begin tomorrow in training them in the others native language.”

“That’s quite the progress report can you explain how Lava Gazer was doing this as the jammer should have prevented any ‘magic use’.” Director Watson asks worried.

“Like is said Mike’s arm seen to be the key here, Rick mentioned before the session that Lava Gazer was acting like he was the one getting a physical when Patricia examined Mike. Maybe the plant is sending out its own wireless signal. I need both Patricia’s and Rick’s opinion on this.”

“Patricia is furious over that plants mysteries, she’ll demand the opportunity to learn of this development.” Director Watson states. “I don’t want Rick upsetting Lava Gazer, so I’ll be observing the next meeting.”

“Understood, any news about the convention?” Dan replies.

“We had another escalation by the terrorist group’s proxies threatening three of the developers with a meeting with their worst creations if they attend.” Director Watson replies. “One has pulled out of the convention too over this.”

“How do we infiltrate this event and catch these punks.” Dan asks.

“The convention sponsor arranged us to send our agents in as part one of the developers PR teams. We get to dress up as sci-fi troopers and wander the event.” Director Watson replies.

“Cos-playing with the kiddies, I know a few men who need to unwind.” Dan adds. “See you in the morning.”

“You too. Bye Dan.” Director Watson adds as Dan leaves.

It was now fifteen after the sun set. Lava Gazer looked at the strange world below watching the cars on the street below. A small park was having a music event a block away.

‘Even from here that is a little too loud. I can’t tell if the ringing is in my ears or the music.’ Lava Gazer thought.

Lava Gazer and Mike had practiced talking to each other but it was rocky. Mike was getting tongue tied and Lava Gazer still couldn’t grasp some of the idea behind some of images that he was shown.

‘Dice, fence, books, cars… all on that glowing screen.’ Lava Gazer recalled the earlier lesson. ‘What was that glowing screen?’

‘Computer… that’s was what they called it.’ Lava Gazer thought and shuddered. ‘That can’t… be how it works. They had to touch it to use it… he had to as well…’

Lava Gazer remembered breaking the writing tool and rubbed his hoof.

‘That one human… does he not like me?’ Lava Gazer continues to ponder as the music ends and the crowd scatters. “He pets me then jabs my hoof.’

‘I could write again with the Computer… but I didn’t feel it magically.’ Lava Gazer thinks turning to Mike. ‘He touches the thing and I get a head rush, but I should not have understood it. Did our minds connect?’

Starring at Mike as he slept Lava Gazer ‘s heart raced as to why he had such a link with this human. He had never seen Mike before a few days ago after when his horn went berserk and he collapsed.

‘I’m lost and a prisoner… if that’s the right word simply for not wanting to get crushed by a tree branch.’ Lava Gazer huffs at his misfortune. ‘Can’t use my magic with this thing on me, but my horn is under control and my magic sight was clearer than it has ever been.’

“Might as well get some sleep.” Lava Gazer whispers lying down on his sides so the chains weren’t under him.

Noon the next day Director Watson summoned Patricia and Rick to meet him at language classroom on Dan’s request.

“Alright you two, Dan has requested your opinions on a detail that came up yesterday between our guests. They reported the remote programming of the work station computer thru Mike’s arm by the unicorn Lava...Gazer.” Director Watson states. “I will not allow you to spook him again Rick. We take thing slowly and verify these claims.”

“Yes sir.” Patricia and Rick reply obediently.

Mike and Lava Gazer were in the middle of taking turns completing one of the built in text adventures Rick had installed. Larry set up the game for co-op with Lava Gazer handling navigation and Mike handling character actions.

“Go to the… desk.” Lava Gazer speaks into his headset.

“Look… at the… fern” Mike mutters uncertain in the unicorn’s language triggering a buzzer for a wrong answer.

“File…” Lava Gazer quietly corrects.

“Look at the… file.” Mike speaks trying again making the on screen character picks up the file. “Take out the picture.”

“Go to the… wall… box.” Lava Gazer says causing the character to go the wrong way.

“Fuse box.” Mike whispers back.

“Sorry to interrupt your lesson Larry, but we are here to confirm yesterday’s observation.” Director Watson says quickly.

“Mike, yesterday while you were starting your part of the training; Larry commented on the computer rewriting Lava Gazer’s responses while you were working.” Dan states. “When you attempted to leave the work station Lava Gazer stopped you pushing your metal arm back on to the equipment to continue the lesson. It was during your direct contact that computer changes were made.”

“So I wasn’t imagining it when he fidgeted during Patricia’s examination of Mike.” Rick adds. “Our unicorn, Lava Gazer; was interfacing with the electronics.”

“That can’t be the only thing; Larry reported that Lava Gazer’s side of the translation corrected itself in real time.” Director Watson notes. “The responses were a bit wordy, more like descriptions than anything. We want to scan the room for any remote signal that might be linking Mike and Lava Gazer.”

“Are you… saying he was… in my head?” Mike asks gesturing to Lava Gazer hoping he heard wrong.

“Those… were… memories!” Lava Gazer replies stunned. “This brings a new meaning to personal space violation. Wait!”

“Easy for you to say.” Mike mutters rubbing his head.

“At least the lessons are not going to waste.” Rick notes. “How are we going to test this?”

“There is that radio in the break room with the busted control knobs; if the two of them can make it change anything we could measure that.” Dan suggests.

“Let’s go to the break room then. We can throw the old thing out while we’re at it.” Director Watson adds.

The walk to the break room draw uncomfortable gazes to the group. Most of the staff had found out about Lava Gazer thanks to the rumors surrounding their arrival. These looks were accusatory for nearly all of the onlookers that watched to group pass by.

Motivating these looks was current events. None of the staff was sure of Lava gazer’s intentions or Mike’s for that matter. Did he bring back a captive? Was he a mind slave? Could this be the beginning of an invasion or some collapse of reality itself? No one was sure and that made them suspicious.

Thankfully everyone cleared out for Director Watson who entered the break room to send away any who might be inside.

“Here we go…” Director Watson trails off digging through a small white wicker shelf to find and pull out a small gray radio with one smashed speaker and three missing buttons. After plugging the radio in Director Watson waves Mike over. “When I say to just put your hand on the radio.”

“Okay…” Mike mutters.

“Patricia turn on your radio scanner and give me a signal check while I power this up.” Director Watson asks pushing the power button bringing up a loud static chocked soft rock music channel.

“Can you turn that thing off?” A voice from across the hall shouts.

“I got the baseline I’m ready.” Patricia calls.

“Well Mike, touch the radio.” Director Watson casually orders.

“Let’s see your magic fingers.” Rick remarks folding his arms.

Mike touches the radio and before any could ask the cringing Lava Gazer the radio signal began to tune into the soft rock channel and remove the static as well as lower its own volume.

“That’s better…” Lava gazer mutters his ears perking up.

“Did you detect anything Patricia?” Dan asks looking at the unicorn relax.

“Yes.” Patricia replies stunned.

In the light of the radio test, Mike and Lava Gazer were separated for fear that the jammer might be neutralized accidentally. Patricia replaced the dying battery with a new one.

The next day went almost without a hitch with Lava Gazer and Mike able to hold a three way conversation with Larry swapping between both native tongs. They had engaged in a campfire style story stick game where each took turns narrating. Five hours of nothing but word play in the most literal of sense.

It was after they were sent to their rooms to sleep that Lava Gazer noticed his horn was not getting the occasional shocks to his horn from the device on his neck and made his move. Moving out of the camera’s view Lava Gazer casts a spell to imprint his image on the camera’s lens, having been inspired by the web camera feedback at the work station on the first day of class. The illusion was nearly perfect except for the shadows being all wrong.

Teleporting out of the room unseen had been rather easy. Lava Gazer’s magic was much more stable here even if it was weaker. Lava Gazer managed to sneak into a van before getting exhausted enough to require him to hide him-self to sleep before completing his escape.

By the time Lava Gazer woke up, the van he was in was moving and it was early morning with the sun just poking above the horizon.

Back at the CIA office Director Watson waits for Dan Forest to gather up Rick and the others involved in watching Mike after learning of Lava Gazer’s escape.

“How did he get loose?” Director Watson groans sweaty. “He couldn’t have reprogrammed the jammer.”

“He didn’t, our battery pack was a defect. I opened it up and found a short between the terminals.” Rick replies entering ahead of the group.

“Someone tell me we know where our unicorn went?” Director Watson shouts.

“How many teams are out? Have any seen anything strange?” Dan asks.

“It’s not just the active teams; he could have gotten into any number of agents cars and escaped during the shift change.” Director Watson groans. “That is too many possibilities to check before his lead gets to great.”

“Wait… Rick what was that RFID Chip frequency?” Dan asks.

At the Silicon Glades convention the doors were finally being opened to the crowds. The gathering of people certainly did not compare to something like E3, but it was more than the event planner had expected at 163 people not counting the exhibitors.

This is where Kelly Mathews, age 26 standing approximately 6’ 1” with blond hair and green eyes; was assigned by her intermediate coding professor Wendy Kings from Hillcrest Tech Institute for the Dev Union Seminar. She was wearing a forest green leather jacket with gray trim under a simple brown leather vest, gray pants, brown boots, a replica rapier attached to her left hand side belt loops, and a small black winged imp girl doll on her right shoulder.

Accompanied by her sister Erin, Kelly hoped to pick up the Dev Union’s Indy start up package of royalty free open source gaming script code for her class.

“So what all will get with this gift for taking this thing?” Erin asks.

“Aside from the Demos, the presenters are offering royalty free engines for shooting gallery, RPG, and platforming games. The RPG presenter is even offering a special character from his game Demo that will not be part of the normal release that can be ported a playable character into my own games.” Kelly cheers.

“Are you going to have to program in all it’s stats and junk?” Erin asks annoyed.

“Surprisingly, No; the engine creates a file containing all that info for importing and exporting custom characters. It even reserves a special slot on your battle party so it won’t interfere with your game that can be turned on and off.” Kelly replies passing by a silver coated, orange mane unicorn that was hiding in the shadows of some boxes. “Erin… you don’t know of any pony games debuting here today?”

“Only pony games I know of are the failure Barbie Doll stuff from a decade ago. Girl games belch! Why do you ask?” Erin asks curiously.

“There is … huh I thought I saw a prop back there of a silver unicorn with orange mane, but it’s gone now.” Kelly replies scratching her head.

“Sounds like the logo for UN Squadron. Talk about a cooler old property to bring into new age.” Erin replies smiling. “You have time to check out the souvenir venders before the Seminar don’t you?”

“Sure.”Kelly replies.

Not far away dressed like a cyborg marine, Tom had stopped his patrol to receive urgent news from base.

“Oh dear frack… ugh… acknowledged HQ will be on the lookout.” Tom groans into his head set. “Attention all units be advised Lava is on a walkabout.”

“Yes I Know; of all the possible complications. Just keep an eye out the retrieval team on route.” Tom orders.

As Tom continued his patrol heading off in the direction of the venders, Director Watson drives Dan Forest, Mike, and Rick to the Silicon Glades convention.

“Tom’s team will be ready to assist when we get there. We’re going to drive Lava Gazer away from the crowds quietly; they still are under orders to prevent a panic.” Director Watson states.

“Rick is the chip still transmitting?” Dan asks turning to the back seat.

“Loud and clear, but why did he get into a van instead of run off?” Rick replies.

“Run off where, we’re in the city.” Mike replies. “He probably hoped to remain hidden until he got out to someplace more familiar.”

“We’ll ask him when we catch him. Twelve minutes till we get there.” Director Watson adds.

Back at the event Kelly and Erin reached the section where the venders were set up. With four stall in total, one being a snack stand, two being tee-shirt stands; the selection was rather sparse.

“It’s a shame. These are nice… but a shirt is hardly a good souvenir.” Erin remarks.

“If shirts are not to your liking young ladies, I have a few little trinkets that might work.” A balding older man with bi-focal glasses in a pin stripe sweater vest combo remarks. A dark cloak of some kind rests on his chair. “I usually carry more wares myself but a small event from time to time is better on the back.”

The vender had dice, mini super hero and monster figures, key chains, a box of bargain manga, and booster cards that unlock extras in the games presented at the convention.

“I know it rather humble, but I promise you won’t forget you were at this convention for as long as you live.” The vender pleasantly commented to Erin before turning to Kelly. “Never thought I’d see someone cos-play Nigel the Wood Elf here. Didn’t expect to see anyone cos-play anything today with the rumors floating about, but I’m proud you young’ins won’t let cowardly punks scare you.”

“It’s been a little nerve racking with the threats, my parents almost insisted I stay home.” Kelly replies not noticing a cyborg marine heading their way. “Thanks for the compliment by the way; Link is not the only adventurer of gaming.”

“It may not be much but I think I can find a little something to complete the look.” The vender replies smiling and flashing a look of inspiration before searching his wares.

Tom approached the venders slowly as he used his scanner to track Lava Gazer’s RFID chip signal.

“Why couldn’t you stay put?” Tom groans turning a dial on his scanner. The scanners alarm beep begins to chime. “A planer trans-locator signal…”

Turning toward the venders, Tom slowly pans over the objects and people at the only stand with customers which were two young ladies. The scanner snaps to a dog head shaped whistle and locks on to it as it's handed to one of the ladies.

“No you don’t!” Tom shouts darting the lady who took the whistle with a tracer causing her to turn just before phasing out her friend screaming. “This is Tom, I have an abduction near the merchants. Repeat…”

Screams from the other end of the building interrupts Tom making him flinch. It was during his lack of focus that the vender moved grabbing the other lady with one hand and donning his robe with the other.

“I propose a fair exchange; the young girl and you get to play hero for your little gadget.” The grinning hooded merchant calmly remarks.

Outside the convention hall, Director Watson’s car pulls up to find David evacuating convention participants.

“Status Report David.” Director Watson demands.

“It’s a mess in there. I can’t figure out what those things are that these bitches called in, but they cut us off from Tom and we have are hands full covering the evacuation.” David replies ushering out three more people. “We need help containing the threat to the building.”

“Dan, we’re going to clear a path for you through this shit; take Mike and rescue Tom.” Director Watson orders. “We can’t lose his scanner. If that happens both the abducted hostage and Lava Gazer maybe lost to us.”

“Got it sir!” Dan replies handing Mike his back up gun. “Mike I hope that fist of yours is combat ready you may need it more than this.”

“Move out!” Director Watson shouts.

The convention hall was in the process of being trashed, three harpies lay mostly helpless on the floor wings coated with fire retardant and legs tied up cables. The real problem was the creature with the were-wolf torso on a scorpion abdomen for a body that had blue glowing hexagon bracelets floating over parts of it body.

“Director we cannot hold this thing here, it shrugs off everything we hit it with. We only lasted this long because we brought down a spotlight rig and the live wires seem to scare it.” Jordan replies. “The hall leading to the merchant stalls is just beyond and it seems to have caught on to our intentions to get past it.”

“What is that thing?” Director Watson asks astonished and frightened the beast turning to lock its gaze on him snapping its claws.

Rick raises his scanner to get a reading on the beast.

“That won’t work something is interfering with the scan.” Jordan shout annoyed.

“As you attacked it did anything strange happen to those hexes?” Rick asks pointing to the bracelets.

“A couple time we noticed a flicker over the body but our ammo is nearly spent that is why we took out the lights.” Jordan replies.

“Time is of thee essence, we need past it.” Dan states with a scowl.

“Mike I want you to provoke it, lure it to the live wires. Everyone else fire of a staggered volley the moment it gets shocked.” Rick demands.

“What the hell…” Dan screams making the monster begin to charge.

“Do it quickly or this Data Bug will squish us.” Rick begins darting from the group to put the live wire between him and the Data Bug.

Mike complies using his mechanical arm’s finger torch. The flames light itself lacked menace but the charge made the Data Bug change direction only to stop short of the sparking wires.

The Data Bug gave a knowing look and launched its tail at Mike over the wire. With no other option, Mike flings a nearby chair at the Data Bug and the clang of metal on exoskeleton echoes across the building. Stumbling from surprise the Data Bug lunges with a claw at Mike sending him into a collection of video game cartridges as the deflected chair hits the live wire.

A spark of arcing electricity and a barrage of bullets later a flicker of hexagons burst forth from the Data Bug making it shriek with pain and agony drowning out a shout from the other end of the building.

Stepping between the Data Bug and Mike, Rick cracks his neck, scanner pointed at the beast with its display saying signal locked; and mutters. “I hope this works Patricia…”

The Data Bug meets Rick’s stare.

“Get out of our way and out of our WORLD!” Rick snarls pushing a button.

With one final but futile lunge the Data Bug phases out destroying Rick’s scanner but leaving him unscratched.

“Mike, Dan; your way is clear move!” Director Watson shouts.

While the Data Bug was blocking the reinforcements, Tom found himself cornered by a now very irritable robed terror with an innocent girl in a head lock.

“I will not offer you any further concessions. Stall me any longer and I will sell parts of your body as trinkets.” The mad vender scolds raising his free hand in which a nasty looking pistol sized shot gun ripples into existence.

Tom was scared stiff by the display of this vender power and by his scanner’s error message when it locked on to the hulking man. Tom was so stunned he missed the alarm beep signaling a new reticule appearing in front of the error one.

With a bright flash the robed hulk of a merchant found himself blinded right before something kicks him hard in the gut sending him flying.

Tom still rubbing his eyes from the first flash, feels hands grab him and before he could question it as his sight returns he nearly loses it again at the sight he beholds.

Between him and the robed figure was the unicorn, Lava Gazer; whose barrier just barely deflects an explosive shot of hot magical lead the young girl now cling to him for dear life.

“My my, I wasn’t aware you’ve been in contact with Equestria.” The merchant says stalking closer. “My apologies, but I will not have you undoing my work.”

The barrier was flickering and likely meant it would fail to stop another attack and Tom pondered the possibility that they would be killed as a loud metal clang rang out from the other part of the building.

Lava Gazer straining to think of some way out suddenly caught the image of blue-silver haired human wearing a white cape green tunic and pants and silver boots wave his hand out in front of himself as four orbs of burning flame merge into one another from their position framing the hand to create a lance of explosive fire. All of it overlaid by a magical symbols Lava Gazer hoped he could copy.

Without another thought Lava Gazer shouts. “Flaeli!”

The robed merchant having no chance to react is sent careening into the far wall and set ablaze by a lance of flame.

Dan and Mike turn the corner just in time to see the still smoldering fiend pick himself up gazing murderous hate at the unicorn and then at them.

“I think… it is… time to teach you some RESPECT!” The robed merchant shouts as smoke like anomalies rise over many parts of his body.

Again Lava Gazer see a strange humanoid this one has green skin and wares ceremonial white and blue clothing. Responding to this image Lava Gazer shouts. “Seals!”

The burned robed fiend snarls as twin yellow rings materialize around his waist and vanish, stopping the anomalous smoke all together.

A fatigued Lava Gazer turns to finding Mike a little way from the burning man; Mike’s arm beginning to spark wildly.

“Mike… when I tell… you raise your arm and shout ‘Nafoi’.” Lava Gazer shouts a plea. “Now! Negatis!”

“Nafoi!” Mike shouts raising his hand.

In the blink of an eye everyone found themselves yanked off their feat towards the now torso-less merchant, his upper half swallowed up by an eclipse like black spot that existed no more than a second. Mike's hand smoldered with the remains of a game cartridge he had not remembered grabbing.

The girl in Tom’s arms still cried as the group race from the building.

“Tom, are you alright?” Director Watson asks. “Rick proved the scanners modifications can send planer invaders back to where they came from; please tell me your scanner is intact.”

Tom chanced a glance at the still working only slightly dinged device.

“Let’s get everyone in contact with their rides then we can bring her back.” Dan suggests looking at the crowd.

During the work of arranging transportation the convention patrons, an evidence sweep of the building; the terrorist was caught when her planer devise was detected by its still active signal. Samples collected from the fight with the merchant were packed away for transport. The convention organizer expressed disappointment over the damage and frightened patrons, but was impressed with their success in stopping the monsters from hurting too many people. The surviving harpies though bound were cleaned up and sent back the same way Rick got rid of the Data Bug.

It was decided to attempt to recall the abducted Kelly back at the Head Quarters just in case they needed to address a hardware problem or some other glitch.

“The recall program should work fine based on Rick’s test. I am not thrilled with this “Merchant” thing you told me about.” Patricia groans. “The stains on our samples visually do not resemble blood on first glance I’m waiting on the chemical test.”

“How long till you get the test results?” Director Watson asks.

“A few minutes tops. We are not doing anything fancy.” Patricia replies as her head set beeps. “Patricia here. Okay… alright I’ll tell him go back to normal duties.”

“Anything?” Director Watson asks as Rick, Mike, Tom, Lava Gazer, and Erin look on.

“Water…” Patricia mutters frustrated. “The exact composition of the materials you brought back have degenerated into nothing but distilled water, all we have left are the pictures taken of the scene and the damage. This was no living thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Any of you know what this Merchant is supposed to be?” Dan asks.

“He was… a… plot device in… some MLP fan fiction.” Erin replies crying some and trembling.

“I remember Brian only mentioning this Merchant causally before the LeClaire Incident happened. It’s not something I meddled in as it was his free time.” Mike adds.

“I got something… The trope in question is a ‘Displaced Story’.” Rick states searching a fan fiction sight for subject ‘The Merchant’. “He seems to be like a genie of curse items. People buy stuff, get turned into stuff, and then are dumped into some alien world. The majority of his exploits are MLP related but some newer stuff has him branching out into other fandoms.”

“This guy is like some decease.” Director Watson ventures.

“More like the ‘Tall Man’ of Phantasm 3.” Rick corrects. “Explains why the body broke down so cleanly and his numbers of created Displaced. He is probably just one of an entire pocket dimension of the same guy.”

“That is something to discuss for another time. Let’s give this a shot.” Dan Forest remarks as he activates the recall system of Tom’s scanner.

A form of a blond haired elf with an odd gray trimmed green suit, brown boots, and gray pants shimmers into existence. Upon seeing Erin he runs over and hugs her tears in his eyes. The tracer dart still embedded in suit confirms his identity.

“Sister I… missed you. Erin how am I able to stand with you now?” The male elf suspected to be Kelly spoke with a hint of uncertainty.

“It was us. About three hours ago you were transported from our perspective, how long has it been from yours?” Dan asks worried.

“About… it was about… a month and a half ago from what I was told. Yet I only remember three days.” Kelly replies shaking his head.

“Kelly what happened to you?” Erin asks.

“I spent most of that time as a pony…” Kelly replies depressed. “I ended… up… in this small village… and was ambushed. I would have stayed that way if not for Princess Trixie, a former Lord of Luna’s Night Court.”

“We’ll have to address the diplomatic concerns later as the tracer dart is almost dead.” Rick notes examining the cracked and muddy thing.

“You mean Kelly could be ripped away from us again.” Erin replies distraught eyes going wide as she grabs Rick.

“I don’t know for sure. The Merchant trope indicates that his victims can only leave their linked universe during the duration of a summoning contract.” Rick explains shaken. “Kelly’s item was programmed to send her to this other world. When the dart fails it might think the contract ended and she be gone.”

“No, no, it can’t be true…” Erin cries running back to her sister.

“You could have been more tactful, Rick.” Director Watson scolds.

“Wait folks…” Mike speaks raising a hand slightly. “Programmed, her item is programmed to send her someplace else and turn her into this game character.”

“You’re suggesting…” Rick replies eyes lighting up in hope.

“I think it can be reprogrammed or patched…” Mike continues.

“This is a technology or magic we don’t understand, how do you propose we reprogram this item. We can’t hook it up to a computer and we don’t have the time to analyze it code before the dart dies.” Director Watson asks skeptically.

“We have a short cut through my connection with Lava Gazer.” Mike proposes.

“Hold on… It’s not… ” Lava Gazer sputters forgetting what language he was using for a second. “Wait I can’t just alter a spell like this without some idea of what the end result needs to be. I need at least a personal item and picture just to get her looks right and that doesn’t even address the other part.”

“I have her purse… It even has her id still in it. She gave it to me to hold before we talked to that jerk.” Erin meekly adds.

“We can use the planer trans-locator scanner to provide the baseline for reprogramming the location and for her form if we wire it into Mike’s arm.” Dan adds. “Will you give it a try?”

Lava Gazer nods ears splayed back in nervousness. “Okay I will do it.”

It took Patricia and Rick a few minutes to bring up a working scanner and Patricia’s diagnostics lab top to patch into Mike’s arm. Kelly and Erin spent a lot of time worrying over what to tell their parent’s and even Professor Kings. Kelly wept a little about giving up here dream of game development, but Dan offered to give her a lab top of her own so she could at least keep at her dream.

“I’m patched in how do we start this?” Patricia asks booting up the lab top.

“I should be… able to see the objects aura if you point that… at the items.” Lava Gazer replies nervously. “Once I have it… I’ll begin casting a… casting a spell on her item.”

“Turn it on.” Director Watson orders.

At first Lava Gazer couldn’t see anything in is magic sight; that changed as Patricia adjusted the scanner reveling a collection of symbols and a face…

Her hair was indeed blond but it wasn’t spiky and it was slightly darker. Her face should be more oval as opposed to square top and pointy chin. Her legs should be more lightly muscled. It was these impressions that Lava Gazer began weaving into the first part of his spell.

“I think… I got the body right.” Lava Gazer huffs eyes squinted and horn glowing. “I’m… ready for the location.”

“I’m loading the planer address now, Lava Gazer.” Patricia replies finishing typing a command into her lab top.

Lava Gazer’s magic sight washed with color the moment the command was entered, nearly everything in the room took on a pale mint green tint with the only a few things not matching being Kelly appearing a neon purple, Mike’s arm and some bits of his insides that were a flickering rose red, and Lava Gazer as orange with the flickering rose red as well.

Focusing on Kelly, Lava Gazer willed the symbols to change trying to make her color match the rest of the green objects. It was giving him a head ache went slowly from purple to yellow to florescent gray to finally mint green.

“I… I think I… have it. Stand back.” Lava Gazer remarks tired and strained as the glow of his horn transfers to Kelly. For a small moment a band of purple crossed Lava Gazers brow, but all eyes went to Kelly as she returned to her true form. It didn’t last.

When the Spell died down the effect on Kelly stopped, making her revert back to Nigel. Erin’s and Kelly’s tears began flowing again.

“Why didn’t it work?” Rick snaps in disbelief.

“I don’t know, he doesn’t have this trouble… if I touch…” Mike adds before trailing off. “Miss Mathews… Kelly is it okay with you if I touch that whistle?”

Kelly walks up to Mike and stretches her hand out with the whistle in her palm.

“Lava Gazer please try again, just one more time for me.” Mike quietly pleads placing his metal hand on the whistle.

With a weak but determined nod, Lava Gazer takes a deep breath and his horn began glowing once more. This time as the glow surrounded Kelly, orange sparks also started racing across Mike’s arm sending the lab top attached to it into a frenzy as it collects the data. No one had a chance to ask if it was working before a flash momentarily blinds everyone.

In the lab where the Foxfire plant was being studied, the computers began to spark and the plants glow with a strange light scorching its container.

In Queensland two alien armies that were trying to kill each other, the Zerg and the Metroids with Samus; momentarily stop their hostilities to regard the north western horizon with confusion having felt a wave of unusual power off in the distance.

“By the Chozo Ancestors what was that?” The gold armored bounty hunter snarls out her musing through grinding teeth before shooting off a Hydrolisk’s head that turned to hiss at the anomaly.

Elsewhere and worlds away in a cave where a crystal tree grows three mares witness a statue begin to crack, an eerie light seeping from the wounds in the frozen stone.

Several mile from there in a village where the flowers bloom under the moon near a memorial for the heroes who stopped an epidemic, an usual shrub on the cliff face behind it experiences an unnatural growth spurt.

Lastly far from the forested plains, a gray stallion in plaid clock barring the shadow of Discord on it walks over to a small park bench under a tree. He turns to watch the various ponies and other visitors to the city go about their day as the sun starts it decent from the sky.

“This seems like the perfect place to wait for a friend.” The stallion comments almost merrily as he pulls his hood down revealing a dark gray mane.

When everyone recovered from the blinding flash in the waiting room they found Kelly returned to her original form. The whistle had morphed its shape from a dog’s head to a full dog’s shape even turning white and gaining a digital watch style display.

“Kelly!” Erin cheers and jumps for joy at her sister’s restoration.

“It worked… it really worked.” Kelly adds her look of surprise melting into joy. “I’m me again… I don’t know why this thing is counting down but I’m me.”

“Counting down… let me take a look at it.” Mike asks.

On closer inspection of the changed whistle Mike determines that the countdown is a new mode for the artifact that allows its bearer about 48 hours worth of time in their original form every sixteen days. Kelly would be stuck as Nigel for the time being, but Patricia was able to record the process used to change her as a computer program and between her and Rick even this condition might be fully fixed with time.

“Thank you all, I would have lost my sister if you had not come to our rescue.” Erin replies wiping away a tear.

“Glad we could help.” Lava Gazer says smiling and bowing.

“Something good came from our actions relating to this mess with White Rabbit and the LeClaire Incident.” Mike adds with a sincere smile. “I will pass your thanks along miss.”

However before more could be said and done Mike’s and Lava Gazer’s bodies started phasing in and out. Patricia managed to attach a tracer to Mike’s Planer Trans-locator and Dan handed a seal envelope over to Mike before the pair finally phased out.

“Their gone, Senator. Dan handed them the orders packet. If they run into any governing officials hopefully they will be open to diplomacy and help us find our missing people.” Director Watson states.

“Senator, White Rabbit is not our only asset in a foreign world now. A young girl, Kelly Mathews; was taken then recovered at the convention job…” Director Watson continues.

“It was by an inter-dimensional agitator called The Merchant. We suspect after interviewing everyone involved that he targeted us randomly. It was coincidence that we encountered him at all.” Director Watson Continues. “We gave Kelly orders to use her talents to investigate the worlds he touched for any trace of tampering. We are hoping to find out if these ‘Displaced base worlds’ are purely artificial or natural to gauge his power as his body apparently self destructed upon defeat.”

“We’ll have more information hopefully in the near future. Good by Senator.” Director Watson finishes putting the phone down.

In the mountain city of Cantorlot, Mike and Lava Gazer exit a small side street to enter a park just off the main street of the city. The sun was just starting to set as the pair pass a tree a little stunned to see a city of ponies.

“Hello Travelers, we wondering when you would show.” A gray stallion with a black mane and thin black mustache loudly call to the pair. “I’m willing to bet there is a lot we all need to know.”

Chapter 5_Path to Reunion the Settling In

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 6_Path to Reunion Cubs, Tourists, and Tri-expression

“Please excuse me Representative Comet Tail.” Sergeant Flint Splitter asks with calm clarity. “There has been an awakening at the Tree of Harmony. May I bring them in?”

“Yes please Sergeant… But did you have to put it like that?” An earth pony mare, Representative Comet Tail; spoke in reply.

Her coat was a marbled blue white to only about middle of her torso shifting oddly to a streaky white black from there to her tail. Her cutie mark was a golden comet.

As group entered and she got a good look at Brian/Lilly and Dandelion causing Comet Tail to accidently shoves a lamp and some pens over the edge of her desk in excitement. Her smile droops a little at her effort to leap over her own desk.

“Oh no… Please excuse me; I should have kept a more professional reign on my excitement so as to not set a bad example for the rest of our residents here.” Comet Tail remarks embarrassed averting her gaze for a moment before she turns back to her visitors. “I’m Representative Comet Tail of the Lunar Court and it is a pleasure to see that you’re no longer trapped in stone dear Travellers. How may I be of help to you?”

“Well we would like some help finding our friends.” Dandelion replies taking an unconscious step forward.

“There were about five of us before we got split up and Peoria was bound up at the time by vines.” Brian adds.

“Peoria is fine and living in Moon Bloom Glenn…” Comet Tail replies brining a surprised look to Trixie’s face. “Unfortunately Tina passed away helping cure an epidemic.”

Brian/Lilly shuddered in distress with their head low and tail tucked but didn’t reply.

“Stewart Celestia was told it was because Tina ignored her own health to provide the medicine that kept the town alive.” Comet Tail continued.

“What… was the illness?” Lilly asks raising her head.

“Cutie Pox, when she was first found the epidemic was just starting and caught everypony off guard.” Comet Tail adds glumly. “As for your other friend we have yet to hear from him at all. So I don’t know where you should look.”

“We could go to Moon Bloom.” Trixie adds. “Peoria is there at least and I know the way well enough.”

“Is that fine with you?” Comet Tail adds a little sad herself.

“I’ll stick by you Brian and Lilly.” Dandelion says trying to comfort the fox with a wing.

Brian/Lilly nods their head a little glum.

“We send word to town mayor and have a welcoming party planned.” Comet Tail adds causing Brian/Lilly to wince in fear. “Oh… sorry again I didn't think you might not want the attention.”

“We need some time to get settled.” Dandelion replies.

“Okay we’ll do that. Thank you Trixie for providing this service.” Comet Tail adds smiling at the unicorn. “How about the rest of you are you going to the same place?”

“No.” Twilight replies shaking her head politely. “We need to head back to Cantorlot. It was nice to see everything here and make new friends in the process.”

“This really was a memorable trip Twilight.” Moon Dancer adds before turning to the others. “You three should look us up once your settled and bring the others.”

“Others…” Brian asks glancing at Trixie.

“Trixie has a distant cousin in Moon Bloom she is about to visit.” Trixie replies.

“I will send you on your way then. Sergeant Flint Splitter, thank you for the report can you show our guests out please?” Come Tail asks addressing the guards.

“With pleasure, Representative.” Sergeant Flint Splitter replies and leads the group out.

Back at Moon Bloom Glenn, Tina continues her trek to Doctor Hemlock’s home and office. Many of the ponies were now waking up bringing Tina a sense of unease because she knew she was suppose to be dead and whatever their cloths covered up only added to her distress.

“Oh what a wonderful… night?” yawns a charcoal gray unicorn with a blue green mane only to lock eyes with Tina. The filly startled by her mother’s shudder; also locks eyes on Tina.

“Rats…” Tina curses having been spotted and by another resident she did not recognize. “Sorry to interrupt your sleep can you point the way to Dr. Hemlock’s?”

“You need to turn left before you pass the well. You came too far up the path.” The gray unicorn replied standing up. Her filly also stood up with a bewildered look on her face, but she wasn’t trying to hide behind her mother. “My name is Fringe Fern, can you tell me your name you look familiar?”

“Tina…” a voice from behind the human called.

Tina cringed at Fringe Fern’s change in expression going from ‘you look familiar’ to outright ‘celebrity’. A sense of joy and disappointment filled Tina after her mind processed who the voice belonged to and turned around.

Standing behind her were three ponies one of whom raced to hug her.

“Peoria...” Tina softly mutters returning the hug and taking note of the growing crowd. “Do we have some place more private to talk? I have some questions… it’s been a weird night.”

“Please follow us Tina, we know a place.” Ruby replies before calling to the crowd. “As for everypony else let her get settled first, then we can all get to know her better.”

Ruby, Peoria, and Petal Lulamoon led Tina over to Dr. Hemlock’s office. A few knocks on the office door later and out steps Dr. Hemlock and River Runner.

The earth pony doctor and bat pony fisher stared momentarily in surprise at visitors before Dr. Hemlock flips a pair of bit coins over to River Runner.

“It seems I shouldn’t bet against your instincts River Runner.” Dr. Hemlock calmly mutters.

“I had no idea it would be this…” River Runner replies staring to wobble.

“How…” Dr. Hemlock begins to ask as Tina raises her former skull.

“I’m afraid to ask her doc.” Tina replies groaning. “But that is not the only question that scares me.”

“Come inside everypony.” Dr. Hemlock sighs waving the group past him.

Once inside everyone found a seat in the waiting area. River Runner and Dr. Hemlock sat on a couch closest to the doctor’s old room, Peoria and Petal took the one on the left wall, leaving Tina and Ruby to pull up chairs.

“Earlier today I found an unearthed grave near the memorial for the town saviors and was joined by Peoria and Petal. It was… I’ve never seen anything like it before.“ Ruby begins to recount the night’s mystery and sounding a little ill. “We found… a slimy crater shaped like a giant seed pod… that… had an incomplete skeleton fused with it.”

“Are you alright?” River Runner asks.

“The sight was just gross looking.” Ruby replies composing herself.

“It’s worse to wake up in which reminds me I will need a long bath later.” Tina sighs before turning to Ruby. “I take it you three just missed me by a few minutes?”

Turning the skull over to expose the corroding implant Tina continues. “I figure I’ve somehow been cloned by the Foxfire that was in my body when I died. It’s really weird to be holding my former head, but it’s reassuring me that all this is real.”

“We need explain this to the rest of the town Dr. Hemlock since we only caught up to Tina mid market square when everypony was waking up.” Peoria notes.

“Doctor, how bad was Serum-B’s side effects?” Tina asks grimly.

Everyone else in the room seemed to wilt some at Tina’s inquiry have hoped she would not notice.

“All the ponies in this town have elected to cover up their bodies, I only found this strange because the weather is still too nice to go fully clothed in your heated homes and the designs so plain.” Tina continues locking the doctor gaze. “I was curious so I took a closer look noticing the scars on a few ponies. I saw so many ponies covered up the same way that I’m certain were not patients during the epidemic. What happened?”

“We call it Tri-expression.” Petal Lulamoon replies standing up and nervously exposing her flanks and their three web ringed cutie marks. “My father was one of the survivors of the cutie pox outbreak who you saved. I inherited the condition from him.”

Tina turned pale and tears began to well up in her eyes as she processed what she heard. Before she could react any further Petal, Peoria, and River Runner moved to comfort her.

“Don’t cry you did what you could.” Peoria adds reassuringly.

“You didn’t have any better option at the time, Tina.” Dr. Hemlock adds also trying to calm her down. “Your information had proved correct about the epidemic in its cause and cure. Stewart Celestia even found and secured the plant you described as the remedy for us.”

“But…” Tina begins to reply trembling.

“It’s only uncomfortable to have at first. Once you get use to the cycles we get along fine.” Petal adds placing a hoof on Tina’s shoulder.

“Cycles… what happens?” Tina asks turning to look at Petal.

“About every two months one of the two minor cutie marks will assert itself for about a day and a half to three tops before reverting back to the primary cutie mark.” Dr. Hemlock elaborates. “Tri-expression isn’t without its advantages. Ponies with this condition are highly resistant and even immune to Poison joke, Cutie pox and magic that would alter a cutie mark. Additionally some ponies even try to develop the weaker talents behind the minor cutie marks and incorporate them into their professions.”

“A stigma dose persists however with ponies that confuse Tri-expression for Cutie pox, so we ware those jerseys as a precaution with visitors.” Petal adds feeling a bit glum.

“How is the rest of the town taking this?” Tina asks. “I still feel like I hurt this town and I didn’t mean to.”

“Your remembered fondly Tina. Our memorial commemorates the three heroes who saved the village.” Ruby replies smiling and with a hint of pride.

“You, Ruby and I all helped put a stop to the chaos the epidemic created.” Peoria adds. “Your tip allowed me and several others from here to delay the Sunny Town panic until Stewart Luna could arrive and restore order.”

“Ruby… wait… so that story was…” Tina replies stunned.

“It’s a bit creepy how you knew something like that, but it is long in the past. Mitta and I live here now.” Ruby replies waving a hoof. “Mitta doesn’t really approve, as she is still angry about it; but I have begun writing letters to our former friends. I don’t want to hold a grudge.”

“Speaking of friends, did Brian, Lilly, Mike, or Dandelion ever turn up?” Tina asks feeling a little more upbeat.

The ponies in the room paled staring wide eyed at Tina.

“Am I missing something?” Tina asks getting uncomfortable again.

Outside Moon Bloom Glen’s town limits the Taxi cart of Trixie Lulamoon approaches with its two passengers. The mist was long gone by this point leaving only dew drops on leaves to fall on the taxi.

“We’re almost there you two. One thing you need to know Trixie’s niece informed her that Moon Bloom’s residents are a bit sensitive about their looks so they will be clothed.” Trixie groans taking a moment to stop. “This means we will have to buy you something to wear Dandelion. Brian or Lilly just don’t get under hoof and stay close, we don’t want you getting lost or frightening some pony.”

“I’m not a kit here.” Lilly growls annoyed.

“Trixie wasn’t implying you were, but your coloration makes you very hard to see. Your safety after all is still my concern until you leave my company.” Trixie replies also getting annoyed.

“Her advice is good Lilly; we don’t know anypony here so we need the guide.” Dandelion adds.

As they enter Moon Bloom Glen, Trixie is forced to stop her taxi at the entrance due to the presence of a large crowd of excited ponies milling about. All of the residents were gossiping amongst themselves with their attention directed at the center of town.

“What in Tartarus is going on?” Trixie grumbles stopping the taxi and unhitching herself. “Wait here Trixie needs to ask the locals about all this.”

While the blue and silver unicorn checked on the crowd her passengers get out of the taxi. Dandelion got out first so she could help Brian/Lilly down to the ground where the fox shifts to adopt the texture and coloration of a Spruce Tree.

“Wow you feel a lot different… almost like I’m holding a small bush.” Dandelion notes surprised.

“First the paw gantlets now this, could we be growing in magical power since waking?” Brian replies pondering his soft bark forelegs before turning to Dandelion. “What about you? Should we inject a dose of suppressant?”

“My wings are a little mist laden, but I think I’m fine.” Dandelion replies glancing at a thin sheet of fog drifting off her left wing. Turning back to her fox friend Dandelion saw the something come up behind them and started to feel very frightened. “Brian… behind us…”

A shadow fell over Brian/Lilly but before the fox could turn around he felt hot breath roll down the back of their neck and felt fangs grasps them and pick them up. Instinct overtakes the small wooden fox as they are picked up by their nape.

“Let them go…” Dandelion shrieks hesitant to move.

The noise catches the attention of the crowd who spy a large Timber Wolf female with what looked like a cub in its jaws turn and dart off into the woods its tail whipping Dandelion knocking her over.

“Dandelion, are you alright?” Trixie yells with her horn glowing as she races over to the Pegasus.

“Dandelion…” A surprised voice calls from within the crowd that was familiar to the Pegasus. “Where is she?”

Dandelion turns to the crowd, her heart hammering in her chest from either the fright with the wolf or recognition of this new voice; as the pony residents part to let an edgy human woman and four other ponies thru. The gathered crowd was a mix of excitement and confusion.

“Dandelion… maybe this is going to a lucky night after all. How are you feeling?” Tina asks trying to help the Pegasus up to her feet. “Where is Brian and Lilly?”

“It… it can’t… you can’t… ghost.” Trixie mutters a little scared.

“Don’t be scared Aunt Trixie.” Petal says trying to sound reassuring.

“I’ll explain my miraculous return after I’ve seen Brian and Lilly. You have seen at least one of them haven’t you?” Tina asks.

“The Timber wolf took them. They didn’t try to struggle after it picked them up.” Dandelion replies ashamed. “I just froze.”

“Bah don’t blame yourself; Lilly would have only been injured if the wolf was agitated.” Tina replies. “What I don’t get is how Brian was also snared by a single wolf. Those two usually make a great team.”

“Um Tina, both Brian and Lilly have the same body now.” Dandelion adds shyly garnering a frustrated look from Tina.

A few miles south of Moon Bloom Glen the Timber Wolf matron gently sets down the now docile and content wooden fox amongst her other cubs.

The wooden fox lay on its belly chattering a short string of happy yips and swishing its tail lightly before standing up.

“Why can’t more of our friends carry us like that? Remember that feeling Fur Chaser I expect you do that for me often once we get our separate bodies back then we can consider some of your activities.” Lilly yips blissfully as she opens her eyes and noticing the Timber Wolf cubs across from them. Lilly eyed the cubs with surprise the turned to the mother Timber Wolf who then nudges her over toward her cubs. With tail wagging more excitedly Lilly gets into a pouncing stance. “And about those activities… this is how we play. Ready?”

“Oh yeah!” Brian squeaks out a yip using his pounce to dodge to the side of the cub that chooses to initiate play with a mock tackle. Landing on his fore paws Brian propels himself toward the cub’s tail which he give a playful nip.

The cub gives a startled bark but doesn’t run off and instead uses Brian/Lilly’s grip to halt its own charge so it could turn and try the tackle again where it catches the wooden fox. Then with a nip to the fox’s ear the cub starts to wrestle encouraging the other two cubs to join in.

The Timber Wolf mother laid down and watched the four take turns escaping each other and try to trick one of them into a position they could easily pinned and roughed up. Sometimes it was two on one; other times one cub would break another’s pin seeing a chance to steal the other’s thunder.

The moon began its descent toward the horizon when the mother Timber Wolf dosed off near the playing cubs and fox.

As the morning sun crested over Canterlot, Mike and Lava Gazer awaited the arrival of their breakfast and the summons to see Mayor Blueblood.

“I hope room service has some meat and is not just plants.” Mike grumbles making his bed.

“A better selection of grains and grasses would be nice. Your kin’s efforts were nice but it needed more diversity.” Lava Gazer replies a bit catty. “You seemed a bit displeased with the meat at home why hope to get some here?”

“The food in a place like that for people in our position tends to be unsatisfying. Even I could cook a better meal for what it costs to buy that crap.” Mike retorts. “It’s not healthy for humans to go completely off meat without some sort of dietary supplements to replace the lost proteins. Nothing against the vegan life style but I will not settle for it on a long term basis.”

“You plan on hunting for it?” Lava Gazer asks a little uneasy.

“Anything more than a couple pounds of cooked meat would just go to waste and I have never had to clean an animal for the purpose of cooking it so that is a no.” Mike added sensing Lava Gazer’s tension. “With any luck we’ll find the others long before I get any cravings.”

A shocked yelp from outside was barely heard by the pair as they went to open their rooms door. By the sound of it whoever it was would be at the front door of the Scarlet Aloe.

Going down stairs, Mike and Lava Gazer entered the hotels dining room. Scarlet Aloe’s dining room was a small sand stone walled meeting room with a vaulted ceilings and a wood floor. Two thigh high tables with ornate flower print pillows for seats took up the center of the room. Three ponies and a diamond dog were seated at the table.

The diamond dog dressed like a construction worker was hyperventilating with ample sweat pouring off his head and eyes tightly squinted.

“Excuse me mama is he alright?” Lava Gazer asks walking up to the table.

“I hope some quiet is all he’ll need. Something spooked him pretty badly making him collapse.” The stallion owner of the Scarlet Aloe replies. “I would give the jerk unicorn a piece of my mind for this but the flash of that teleport blinded me.”

“Dose he remember what the one that scared him looks like?” Mike asks.

“Never seen… it coming… Touch was like ice. It looked like… shadow with… teeth and eyes.” The diamond dog mutters through chattering teeth. Calming down he continues. “Felt it put an arm over my shoulder as it bellowed in my ear. There may have been more than one of them before I was blinded by flash. No unicorn.”

“It was a shadow with teeth and eyes.” Mike Mutters placing a hand to his chin. “Why didn’t you see it coming? Did it sneak up behind you from an alley?”

"I was not near an alley, market stand, or anything. I heard soft steps sure, but this is a large town. No need to be nervous about hearing footsteps.” The diamond dog replies. “I was alone on street and thought the footsteps were from the street over. Did not see them get near me.”

“Your safe now sir. Relax and I’ll bring you something to eat.”The stallion owner adds.

“Maybe the culprits were invisible.” Mike mutters.

“Excuse me sir it is rude to talk in another language while our conversation is ongoing. Where are you from I don’t recognize your clan?” The diamond dog grumbles.

"I apologize sir, my name is Mike Edison and my home country is in another world.” Mike replies with a sigh sitting down across from the diamond dog. “I am not allowed to discuss my travel methods or business with just any stranger by my home world’s law however.”

“Strange time of year to see a dignitary and there are only a few very old stories of travelers from other worlds. Except for the recent mention of heroes in pony history.” The diamond dog adds casually offering a paw. “My name is Bricks.”

A few minutes later the owner brings out a cart with Bricks’s complimentary meal of rare cooked rabbit kabobs and grapefruit juice, Mike’s order of baked chicken with apple slices and water, and lastly Lava Gazers order of Summer Field Rolls. The trio quietly and politely ate their meals so as to not accidently insult each other over dietary choices.

After the plates were cleared Gray Hoof arrived with Mayor Blueblood’s assistant.

“Hello gentalcolts my name is Quick Speak.” A purple coated blue mane mare politely comments offering a hoof to the sitting Mike and Lava Gazer. “It would be my pleasure to assist you on the Mayor’s behalf.”

“Lava Gazer, it’s nice to meet you Ms. Speak.” Lava Gazer replies shaking her hoof.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us. I’m Mike Edison representing the Earth nation of The United States of America as a Tracer Agent.” Mike adds removing and then presenting a copy of his orders to Quick Speak. “I’m requesting help to locate my fellow countrymen who were lost in a transportation accident.”

“This is your first time as diplomat, yes.” Bricks comments as he rubs his temples.

“I’m a research… scholar, not a diplomat. At least I was a few days ago.” Mike grumbles realizing that his mission didn’t involve telling everyone why he was here.

“Don’t get down on yourself friend. A change of vocation is hardly the end of the world.” Gray Hoof remarks with a wave of his hoof. “And don’t fret about any media circus, we all understand the need to be hindrance free at times like this.”

Quick Speak seemed to flinch in annoyance at Gray Hoof’s remark.

“Your um... orders here are a little illegible, but I appreciate the effort you took to translate them. I’ll take you to Mayor Blueblood so we can brief him of this situation. Is that okay?” Quick Speak asks.

“Thank you Ms. Quick Speak.” Mike replies. “Do you happen to have a policy for a currency exchange? I don’t exactly have any… bits to use.”

“We’ll discuss that if the Mayor approves of your request.” Quick Speak replies exiting the hotel.

Mike waves good bye to Bricks who tips his construction hat before heading to leave. Gray Hoof hands the owner a few coins before waving Lava Gazer and Mike to go first out the door.

As the group walked away from the Scarlet Aloe to head over to the Mayor’s Office, Mike notices a lot of extra guards on the street checking around. A group of three darted down one ally, another was seen talking with a rattled shop keeper, and a block or two later two groups stop to exchange findings only to split up again going down different alleys.

“Look like some manhunt is happening. Maybe our prankster struck again.” Mike quietly comments about the guard patrol.

“How fast dose he move yet not make a sound?” Lava Gazer replies frowning. “Can’t just be one.”

“Eyes forward and mind your manners. That means no switching languages in front of my boss. We’re here.” Quick Speak chides glaring back at the two new dignitaries.

Mayor Blueblood’s office was located in, of all things; a Castle with a splendid view of the valley bellow. Polished white marble walls accented with blue trimmed gold minarets were the primary artistic theme of Canterlot’s official seat of power. A few gardens also were present serving as small parks between offices and other high society dwellings, but from the road Mike and company traveled ornate iron gates bared access to them.

As Quick Speak stepped up to the guards at the door to request passage a unicorn guard bolts over to a large fixed mirror with a dark box fixed to a pole facing it. As the unicorn worked her magic a shutter on the dark box flickered to briefly expose an intensely bright stone.

Mike looked off toward where the mirror was pointed to a distant castle in the dark forest of the valley where he spots similar flashes of light.

“Some form of Morris Code…” Mike Mutters turning back toward a returning Quick Speak. “Well Ms. Speak do we have an appointment?”

“Your phrasing of that question could still use some work, but yes we are scheduled to go in now.” Quick Speak replies four guards following here to serve as the group escort.

The guards formed up around the group but cast very menacing looks at Mike and his arm. No orders were given to remove the arm as the unnatural appendage was clearly fused to the rest of body, but one eye stayed on Mike at all times.

Inside the entrance hall they found Mayor Blueblood seated at an expensive wooden desk in the center of the room with four other plain desks at the corners of the room. The mayor’s desk had ornate scrawl work of Cantorlot’s founding story stained in a light pine color to contrast with the dark oak stain of the rest of the desk. On top of the desk was a lime green mat where mini Standard Flags rested, one for each ruling court and Cantorlot’s own; to go along with the other more normal office supplies.

Quick Speak walks up to Mayor Blueblood as he was reading over another document and hands over Mike’s orders folder she received earlier. The blond mane white stallion gives the documents a through once over looking at Mike and Lava Gazer periodically. His groan near the end of his examination of the documents made the Mayor’s mood clear.

“Must we really keep this quiet. I understand your country’s need for discretion Mr. Edison, but even you must be aware of our difficulties doing that with your unique looks.” Mayor Blueblood glumly complains. “Even the magic jewel embedded in your arm plainly marks you as an Element Bearer and is dead give a way. I’m surprised we don’t already have ponies looking to get your autograph.”

“I understand your difficulties mayor; my government merely insists that I locate my colleges first. It is my hope that you can help me with my search request while you make plans for any official Press Conference.” Mike calmly replies a little surprised by his language skill.

“I can send word about your mission but I do insist you remain available as your colleges have become national heroes. You can’t expect us to let them go without the proper send off.” Mayor Blueblood continues with a hint of aggression to his jovial voice.

“No worries Mayor Blueblood. The Chaos Court will cover their lodgings as necessary during their stay.” Gray Hoof adds. “We currently have a room reserved for them at the Scarlet Aloe, but we are open to any change in accommodations you might suggest.”

“Thank you Acolyte Gray Hoof.” Mayor Blueblood replies smiling. Turning to Lava Gazer the mayor continues. “Sir Lava Gazer I expect you keep me and the ruling courts informed of your activities while you’re here. Under normal conditions we would not pick just anypony to do this but you are already recognized by Mr. Edison’s government the United States as an ambassador on our behalf and you too are an Element Bearer. So do not embarrass our nation in your service.”

“Umm… Yes Mayor. How should I send you your updates?” Lava Gazer asks nervously.

“Do you know a ‘send object’ spell?” Quick Speak asks only getting a head shake from Lava Gazer. “That’s a little troubling that you don’t know one but I can teach you it no problem.”

“Splendid, you two are dismissed for now. I will prepare a message for the other courts about locating your friends as well as finalizing any travel passes you two will need. They will be sent to your room by the end of the day.” Mayor Blueblood adds offering a hoof to shake giddy.

Mike shakes Mayor Blueblood’s hoof followed shortly thereafter by Lava Gazer once he learned the needed spell from Quick Speak. As the pair turned to leave two guard ponies proceeded hastily over to Mayor Blueblood, one had been part of the search parties from earlier and the other was the one who raced to the signal mirror. Both handed the mayor some report, but Mike could not hear what the reports were about.

Outside the Castle Mike and Lava Gazer bid farewell to Quick Speak and the guard escourt.

“I think I’ll arrange us some quick refreshments after all of that I’ll be right back.” Gray Hoof say tapping on Mike’s arm and then motioning to a street vendor.

“Thank you.” Mike replies wiping his brow. Looking over a Lava Gazer he noticed that the unicorn was equally relieved to meeting was over.

As the pair waited for Gray Hoof to return a light on Mike’s Planer-translocator came to life and a speaker fired up.

“Control to Mike if you can hear me press and hold the white send button.” The voice of agent Dan Forrest demanded.

“Mike here I’m sort of in Public can you make it quick.” Mike replies having found the button.

“Well if wonders ever ceased… we reached you and you’re somewhere civilized. Tell me have you got anymore progress.” Dan continues excited.

“We met with a local Mayor and with a representative of one of the ruling councils. We asked for assistance in finding the others but it appears they have become quite famous as national heroes and the Mayor insists on some kind of public celebration.” Mike replies simply to the point.

“Oh fuck… Have you heard about what is they did to earn such honors?” Dan asks most displeased over the radio.

“We didn’t get to discuss the others accomplishments but the mayor referred to me as an Element Bearer.” Mike replies again pressing send button keeping an eye open for Gray Hoof return.

“Of all of the things you could do… Mike these Element Bearers are not just your ordinary heroes here!” Dan yells over the radio.

“I know…” Mike starts only to get cut off.

“We done more research of our own and you happen to step into one of the most politically sensitive roles on the planet! This is big destiny shit here…” Dan yells before taking some calming breaths. “This is why scientists should not be their own guinea pigs Mike. When the unexpected happens, at a minimum; you cannot just walk away from the consequences. We now have to face the prospect of saddling you and your friends with a permanent posting there until the time comes that you can relinquish these extra responsibilities. I’ll have to petition my boss to get you amended orders and work out a treaty with the Equestrian government to support your posting.”

“I understand.” Mike glumly replies.

“About the meeting with the Mayor. Were you successful in getting cooperation to find the others media circus not withstanding?” Dan demands calmly.

“He said he would send word to the ruling courts and has taught Lava Gazer a spell that we can use to keep in contact. Travel Visas and other documents are being sent to our hotel the Chaos Court put us up in by the end of the day.” Mike adds.

“We’ll work on the reimbursements for this stay during treaty negotiations.” Dan replies. “On a further note we are receiving telemetry from your Trans-locator and can track you once you find the others, but I’m a little curious as to why it is sending data as a Tracer Trans-locator.”

“I accidently touched it while Lava Gazer still had the Tracer’s schematics on his mind.” Mike replies.

“Sorry…” Lava Gazer adds.

“The upgrade phenomenon again… Whatever it might come in handy in your posting both as an agent and in finding the others if you get close enough. Keep us posted the planer address should be currently on your info display.” Dan adds.

“Will do sir, is the girl we helped safe?” Mike asks curiously.

“You have enough on your mind as is, but we’ll have contact with her as well. We were just testing the protocol for planer communications that were installed on the Tracer Trans-locators. You can thank the Japanese for the hardware that makes our call now possible though. We’ll be building our own in due time, over and out.” Dan finishes.

“Over and out.” Mike acknowledges as the radio turns off.

It was then that, after the radio quit and as Gray Hoof was trotting back; then a loud shout of ‘boogie boogie boogie’ was heard. Gray Hoof went wide eyed and jumped sending the drinks flying. Mike and Lava Gazer scramble to catch their drinks and Gray hoof simply raises a hoof. Upon catching their drinks a bright flash goes off from the direction just opposite of the castle.

“I guess the gig is up.” A surprised Gray Hoof muses taking a sip of his drink.

“Let’s get this over with.” Mike grumbles.

Turning toward the direction of the flash the three expected to find a crowd of press ponies but instead see only one or two running off. An alarm beep by the Tracer Trans-locator alerts Mike to a group of invisible targets moving off toward a train station.

“I’ve got a signal lock on something… this way.” Mike calls to the others pointing to the train station. “Someone invisible is heading for the trains and they got quite the lead.”

“Get close I have this.” Lava Gazer states as he charges his horn.

For Mike teleporting felt like an extreme burst of motion and his eyes took a moment to adjust to the new scenery in front of him.

Gray Hoof was a bit stunned as well but mostly from site of three dark figures with white teeth and disturbingly bright eyes looking at them with excitement.

The three shadows bellowed the word boogie in excitement their mannerisms made it almost look like a greeting.

“He’s asking if you are vacationing from Earth too.” Gray Hoof speaks sounding a bit puzzled.

“From an Earth yes, but I’m not on vacation.” Mike replies a little dumbly as stares at the shadow figures.

Gray hoof imitates the boogie noises and made few gestures to which the shadows responded with more of their own boogie-speak.

“Mike is it alright for me to tell them why you’re here?” Gary Hoof asks politely as one of the shadow creatures walks up to Mike to shake his hand.

“I don’t see the harm in it.” Mike replies as he shakes the one creature’s hand.

Gray Hoof continues his conversation with the shadow creatures midway thru this session the three’s demeanor changed. The three creatures were completely astonished the tallest of them going so far as salute Mike.

“GRAY HOOF what the HELL did you tell them?” Mike blurts out stunned.

“Just your story. He seems most impressed by your recent appointment as a Tracer Agent.” Gray Hoof replies with a smirk. “He said it reminded him of days during the Funkotron Invasion and their counter strike or even the coalition rescue mission against the Fusionist. He’s glad to have met someone willing to go out keep worlds from going crazy.”

“Thanks um…”Mike replies as he nervously returns the creature’s salute.

“His name is Johnny; it’s kind of a family tradition of his.” Gray Hoof adds snickering.

“It’s a nice name.” Lava Gazer adds smiling.

The shadow creature Johnny bellows something to Gray Hoof to which the stallion politely nods.

“Johnny wishes to formally apologize for scaring the residents of our city before he goes and asks if I can handle it for him. Boogiemen seldom interact with others because they can only become visible for short times when they speak.” Gray Hoof adds gesturing toward Johnny and his family. “We’re some of the only ones to stick around to talk with his kind let alone seek him out to talk.”

After Gray Hoof finishes a shadowy door opens out of nowhere attached to a translucent bus like shape by the train platform. The boogiemen step aboard with Johnny at the rear. Before fully entering however Johnny tosses a piece of shadow toward Mike and the orb disappears into his Tracer Trans-locator. And with a final wave he’s gone.

“It seems I have another friend.” Mike whispers serenely. “Well should we inform the guard that the search can be called off or go back to our hotel and get our Documents?”

“Well with convenient luck we won’t have file a statement our friend here can send the message for us and call off the search.” Gray Hoof sings side hugging a guard who wasn’t there a moment ago.

Though the guard seemed just as confuse about how he got there he salutes in acknowledgement of the request anyway and trots off to the castle. This leaves Mike and company to head back to the Scarlet Aloe.

Deep in the Everfree Forrest at the den of a matron timber wolf, Brian/Lilly were contently chewing on the leg of a wild deer with a timber wolf cub. Even though the sun couldn’t penetrate the canopy at the den, the light of evening brought a pleasant feeling of home to the fox.

“Brian… Lilly… Come out.” A familiar female voice calls out.

Brian/Lilly turn toward the cave opening as a menacing growl by the matron wolf to their left answered for them. The fox twitched a wooden ear and got up so they could investigate the voice too.

“I hope they are okay Timber wolves are apex predators of the Everfree if I’m not mistaken.” The voice of Tina faintly carried to the fox’s ear.

“I’ll stay near the canopy just to be safe.” The familiar again was heard and the fox identified as Dandelion.

Looking out of the cave into the forest Brian/Lilly could see their friends somehow staying aloft above the forest floor. By the looks of the wolf matron the pair wasn’t nearly high enough to avoid her pounce.

With an audible snarl Brian/Lilly foiled the matron’s attack and simultaneously caught Tina and Dandelion’s attention.

“Long time no see Tina!” Brian yips playfully before his demeanor shifts and continues. “Not so quick fur chaser. Timber wolf mom first reunion second.”

Lilly turning toward the matron begins sniffing at her muzzle confusing the wooden wolf. With a soft whimper and gesture at the intruders by Lilly, the wooden fox attempts to coax the matron into not attacking Tina and Dandelion.

With an uncertain whimper of her own the matron sniffs Tina and Dandelion carefully. After a moment her ears and tail fall in embarrassment to which Lilly gives her a reassuring nuzzle before walking over the waiting human and Pegasus.

“What was that all about?” Tina asks accusingly.

“Momma timber wolf confused me for one of her kits, I spent the day ruff housing, and lastly I introduced my pack to her.” Lilly yips proudly pointing to Tina and Dandelion for the last part.

“We shouldn’t out stay our welcome.” Tina replies walking over to pick Brian/Lilly up. “When we get back you’re getting a quick bath and grooming. You look like a chew toy.”

The three cautiously make their way away from the timber wolf den. About ten minutes of careful walking the three are greeted by Trixie and six of Moon Bloom Glen’s citizens who had been hidden by an illusion spell.

“Well hello again. Trixie would expect you to be more attentive about your surroundings next time.” Trixie casually scolds.

“And deprive fur chaser of a valuable parenting lesson, you’ll forgive me for providing him a reality check.” Lilly barked back playfully.

With an eye roll the group returned to Moon Bloom Glen. Where Tina had been lucky the first time around in avoiding unwanted attention, this time the whole town was up and ready to greet them.

Both Brian/Lilly and Dandelion were warned a little about their new fame when they woke up but the sight before them was frightening. Not only were the town ponies in a mood to celebrate the local hero but news of the hero Pegasus and Fox being in town also did them no favors for a quiet evening. Never in their lives previously did they feel so very crowded, as praise and shows of affection were offered.

Eventually Dr. Hemlock made his way through the crowd with some kind of letter and five tickets addressed to them for an upcoming stunt flying competition taking place in Ponyville.

Two lost groups have reconnected and it would seem an opportunity for a full reunion has presented itself at last. Is this good or bad news?

Chapter 7_Path to Reunion at Long Last

A paw bats reflexively at Brian/Lilly’s nose to brush away an offending feather. They were currently snuggling with Dandelion in one of Moon Bloom Glenn’s hanging nests that they were given for their hero status.

“Brian/Lilly can you please wake up… Dandelion today is the day we head to Ponyville.” A voice from the tree base calls up.

“I’m up! Give me a moment to get untangled.” Brian calls back as he crawls out from under a wing and over to Dandelion’s head. “Dandelion you ready to see the rest of our friends again?”

Tina didn’t have to wait long upon hearing the shuffling of limbs before Dandelion glided down to the ground with Brian/Lilly carried by the nape where she gently sets the fox down.

“Only a few hours now, you ready with your report?” Tina asks kneeling down.

“We’re ready. It was a new experience to write with my claw tip.” Lilly replies. “I do look forward to fur chaser to getting his hands back. Paws are not for writing.”

“Are you still sore? I can wrap your paw if you like.” Tina offers reaching out to look at it.

“Thanks but no. Lilly didn’t let me put things off.” He purred sheepishly.

“What did she hold over you?” Tina asks standing up and raising an eye brow.

“She threatened to draw a picture of my… previous office hang-ups.” Brian replies shyly.

“Whatever you two, but we’re being debriefed first. Let’s get ourselves something to eat for the road.” Tina adds.

“Dose that kind of Intimacy even make little ones possible for you two normally?” Dandelion whispers to the fox.

“No. Humans like fur chaser wish they could. It hard enough to understand why they want to mate outside their specious, but if they spent as much time with social bonding and helping to raise kits as they do thinking about how to make the sex work I wouldn’t mind.” Lilly replied as they headed to the dinner. “As long as Brian puts in the effort I would be happy to give it a try, but we either need our own bodies back or find a mate that works with this one.”

“And the part fox part human body…” Dandelion asks a little nervously.

“It’s the like having the best of both worlds.” Brian replies. “Hands to pick up things and do stuff with, fur so don’t look naked when you are, and still be…”

“Careful love, you don’t want insult someone by accident. And the best of both worlds you say.” Lilly replies slyly. “I’m certain they have Raccoons in this world if you’re feeling frisky. It might just blow your mind.”

Dandelion couldn’t help but feel awkward in the fox’s company during these outbursts. As the pair reaches the market area the Pegasus and fox are greeted by a familiar face leaving Firefly Café.

“Dandelion, Brian & Lilly are you here to get something for the road?” Ruby asks from the end of the diner’s line.

“Yep, I’m looking forward to a helping of jerky and fruit mix.” Brian replies wagging his tail.

“I’m going to have the sunflower seed breaded fish.” Dandelion adds.

“Best wishes to you all in sorting out your National Hero Ceremony and getting home.” Ruby replies trotting away to board a carriage.

After placing their order Dandelion and Brian/Lilly head over to the table Tina, Peoria, Dr Hemlock, Petal and Trixie were sitting at. An unfamiliar stallion was nuzzling Trixie and all at the table looked annoyed including Trixie.

“Trixie certainly is not interested.” The blue mare protests with a snarl.

“You have zero charisma Mr. Bronze Locks.” Tina scolds standing up. “Go Away now!”

“What’s going on?” Brian asks getting the stranger’s attention at which point he begins feeling strange. The fox’s wooden fur bristles and with bared fangs he runs at and leaps onto Bronze Locks neck.

“If the love bug wishes to avoid my loving bite he’ll stop with what he’s doing.” The fox Brian/Lilly growl into Bronze Lock’s ear, and wrapping claws around his neck.

“We don’t need to go that far Element Bearer of Laughter, but it will be very bad for you Mr. Locks if the Lunar Court informs your hive of your harassment related injuries.” Dr. Hemlock warns.

Bronze Locks continued to smirk until he saw the ladies at the table get up and advance on him. Petal swooped overhead and picked up Brian/Lilly off the changeling’s neck and flew over to Dandelion while the girls handled things.

Tina wraps a handkerchief on Bronze Lock’s horn which Trixie then enchants it into a crude magic inhibitor while Peoria holds him still. A table cloth is then tied around his legs by Trixie and Tina then places Bonze Locks on Peoria’s back. The group then marches to the café door.

“Take out for one.” Tina snaps annoy idly at an undisguised changeling MP that was about to knock on the door with Peoria dropping her passenger.

The Changeling MP glares at Bronze Locks before shaking his head disapprovingly and using his magic to levitate the bound nuisance. With a salute to the ladies the MP heads away.

“When did changelings start living here?” Brian asks his fur still bristling.

“No need to be rude because he was rude Brian. The Monarch Hive is here to meet with your group after the Festivities in Ponyville are concluded.” Dr. Hemlock replies as the waitress brings over their food. “They are interested in human Biochemistry Science as a path to synthesize artificial love jelly.”

“You mean love harvesting is a chemical process?” Brian asks dumbfounded.

“Of course, changelings evolved to produce certain enzymes and proteins when exposed to emotion energy of various types. The holes in their legs collect and harden the emotion compelled secretions into a kind of rock candy hive mates can eat.” Dr. Hemlock continues. “It is a gland in their brain that tells them how to mix the enzymes to make the proper foods, but as Queen Monarch’s aid tells it; some changelings are just lousy cooks which makes many harvests wasteful. That leads to starvation.”

“What they want is the equivalent of processed food production.” Tina adds. “I showed the aid a protein bar and even though she did not understand our chemical notations. She understood that they were chemical notations.”

“Processed Food would go toward stabilizing changeling food stores so they could harvest less often. It still leaves us with some infiltrators but we could work out details for willing harvest subjects.” Dr. Hemlock adds. “The Courts are expected to be there representing the pony nation in the negotiations.”

“How does that explain Bronze Locks?” Brian asks arching an eyebrow.

“That he is a dick!” Trixie replies. “Changelings can get drunk off of harvesting and the going back and forth to the hive is like a detox for them. That one however is a chronic drunk. Trixie is in no way interested in group intimacy while in the company of an intoxicated love sucker.”

“And the effect he was having on me?” Brian remembers to ask.

“That is how many changelings have gotten caught. Drunk on love they will project PSI Magic on to their victims to make them produce often killing the mood.” Trixie continues.

“It also spoils a harvest, the Aid tells us; which leads to abductions so more professional changelings can make their food without further hurting their victim.” Dr. Hemlock adds paying his bill. “The cost benefit analysis for the Monarch Hive just finds the practice to be too stressful for the hive to continue not supplemented.”

Meanwhile as the Bearers in Moon Bloom Glenn finished up and headed for the Ceremony, Mike was being briefed by Governor Blueblood’s Secretary on the day’s agenda in Ponyville.

“Today is the day Mr. Edison, we’ll be seated in at the races judging table. Governor Blueblood has arranged a short exhibition race around Ponyville that should finish up just in time to become the head of a procession line for the other Bearers. ” Quick Speak begins while inspecting Mike’s and Lava Gazer’s attire. “It’ll be a great way to introduce you to the populous and get the racers hyped.”

“Has the conference table been prepared for the teleconference? I’m not authorized to give out or knowledgeable in some of the sciences that you informed me the delegates want to discus.” Mike adds uncertain about how he was going to do.

“We had no problems with the set up Mr. Edison. A Cassie Humes was assigned by your government to assist you in the talks.” Quick Speak replies giving Mike his clearance pass card. “Relax. We are open to the idea of you and your fellow Bearer getting some home time, but you are still an important figure here. We will be expecting some shared custody of you all as dual citizenship citizens until the time arrives where the Elements deem your service is over.”

“Just how many creatures will we be meeting today?” Lava Gazer asks clearly nervous.

“I’m afraid you all are quite the celebrities Lava Gazer.” Quick Speak apologizes. “We did try to limit attendance to the event but word got out and many other nations petitioned us for access. Chin up we won’t let you get too crowded knowing your background.”

“Th… thank you.” Stutters Lava Gazer.

Back on Earth Director Watson takes a call as he waits for the Teleconference to start.

“Hello Director Watson speaking.” Director Watson speaks in greeting to the caller. “No the Teleconference has not started yet.”

“I understand sir, but the locals have reported international pressure on their end relating to our people.” Director Watson continues. “No sir it is not trouble of that sort, if anything they seem to be asking for more formal diplomatic relations.”

“It is not just the Ponies that Governor Blueblood represents, but a variety of Kingdoms that want to enter into Treaties over a range of things.” Director Watson admits scratching his head. “The President has assigned Cassie Humes as the ambassador aid to Mike Edison to deal with the finer points.”

“On to other business sir, Operation Crop Duster is commencing as we speak.” Director Watson adds. “It should lead to substantial improvement with the Coalition’s efforts in Australia.”

“Good day sir.” Director Watson finishes.

Back at Ponyville the racing teams are gathering to their flag bearers in anticipation for the race course explanation and the arrival of the other Travelers who weren’t at Cantorlot.

“Yo Dash, Gilda what’s the story from that friend in the Everfree Rangers?” a powder blue Pegasus with a golden mane asks as she reaches her team.

“Not much, Shy seems to have drawn the escort duty at the last minute and I couldn’t talk to her.” Rainbow Dash replies with a shrug. “Guess it was bound to happen. She knows half the forest on a first name basis.”

“Horse feathers. That means I have to wait in line like the rest for an autograph.” Lightning Dust groans.

“Wait you collect autographs now!” Gilda quips.

“I do if they would make important contacts.” Lightning Dust snaps back. “With the Travelers I was hoping to steal some of Blueblood’s thunder by beating him to the others in front of the press.”

The three were silenced by cheers from the crowds as the carriage with the other Travelers Tina, Brian/Lilly, Dandelion, and Peoria were riding in just behind a precession of race contestants with one member from each team.

Alongside the carriage were the Everfree Rangers.

Fluttershy, a Corporal in the Rangers; had convinced Dandelion to hold Brian/Lilly. The fox was sporting cross fox markings of coarse dirt and wild flower laced grass thanks to their weird ability and held a nervous smile.

Both Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust jaws dropped and tails drooped with jealousy at the site, while Gilda wolf whistled.

“Mares and Gentle Colts, and respected dignitaries; Today’s race festivities are further blessed by some very special guests.” Governor Blue Blood announces from the judges podium. “Many of you have heard the exploits of the Travelers, heroes of our realm; in your history classes. Not even the Stewarts expected that the day might arrive where they could be reunited.”

Raising a hoof Blue Blood continues.

“By the grace of Harmony itself time and distance no longer separates them. To my right it is my pleasure to introduce the Traveler Bearer of Honesty Mike Edison and Traveler Bearer of Friendship Lava Gazer.” Blue Blood continues gesturing to each as they stand up to receive the cheers of the crowd. Then he gestures to the stopping carriage. “And arriving by carriage…”

“Introducing the Traveler Bearers of Laughter, and cute fox; Brian and Lilly.” Fluttershy announces setting the fox down gently then gestures to the out stepping passengers continuing her introductions.

“Next is the Traveler Bearer of Loyalty pegasus Dandelion. Next the Traveler Bearer of Kindness Tina. And lastly the Traveler Bearer of Generosity earth pony Peoria.”

The crowd’s cheers were deafening for about 2 minutes before Blue Blood raised a hoof for quiet.

“Today is the day these friends reunite, so come now and be merry.” Blue Blood exclaims as the six start to run to each other.

Unnoticed by the crowd but not missed by Trixie; Petal Lulumoon’s tri-expression cutie marks flare with light with the brightest being the mark she shares with Peoria. Petal suddenly feels great dread.

As the Travelers meet to embrace a rainbow light springs to life in their huddle and a loud crack is heard.

“Get your regiment and get the crowd to safety now Captain.” Blue Blood orders palling as he draws his sword. “You two with me, we must buy them time to evacuate.”

Blue Blood joined by his guards and the guard volunteers of the races present put themselves between the scared crowd and the emerging horror stepping out from above the now downed and bloodied Travelers.

Wreathed in rainbow light the visage of a monstrous spider like thing appeared.

Chapter 8_Epilogue

“You’re back with us.” Nigel quietly quips smiling at Mike Edison and cradling a sprained wrist.

“Back… What happened? Oh no it was…” Mike replied suddenly remembering.

“Yeah I saw it. A giant fuck all spider topiary that called itself the Harmony Tribunal. She really did a number on you and a lot of us.” Nigel adds rubbing his sprained right wrist. “Most of the injuries are minor thanks to Blueblood, Director Watson and this fellow.”

Next to Nigel was the Boogieman Johnny wearing bandages on his head and right arm.

“He got the call about the same time I did.” Nigel adds.

“Thank you my friends. We knew we had gotten in over our heads, but that… spider thing.” Mike replies groaning. “I was worried from the time we were split up that that thing was up to something. I recall hearing a cracking and seeing a rainbow light.”

“Boogie boogie… Boogie.” Johnny says.

“The Harmony Tribunal hatched from some kind of ethereal egg that showed up the moment you all embraced each other and blood like exploded from your bodies.” Nigel adds shuddering.

“What! Tell me about the others please!” Mike replies making his medical monitor spike.

“Easy… stay calm Mike.” Nigel replies with concern. “They’re in serious condition. I couldn’t hear it all but Brian and Lilly were separated and they rushed Lilly into emergency surgery. Tina was even more heavily bandaged than you. They had to pull doctors from Earth because it wasn’t safe to transport you.”

In the distance something about Lilly’s kit’s condition was yelled to a nurse who bolts away in a hurry to help.

“No one died Mike.” Nigel adds. “Even as smashed up as you guys were you somehow finished that bitch off. A lot of people and creatures working to pull you all thru this so trust them to help you like you did them.”

Sometime after the White Rabbit group welcomed a single hybrid fox human kit into its family. The 3 humans and one fox still have to split their time between Earth and the Equestria as ambassadors and Element Bearers.

“In other news Operation Crop Duster has succeeded in ending the Queensland Zerg Infestation thanks to the use of specially rigged fighter bombers that used Planner Trans-location Projectors to force plane shift the hive back to its home dimension. We want to give special thanks also to Samus Aran and the visiting Federation for their efforts in helping to contain this threat. Lastly Thank you everyone who pulled together to help in this cause.” A news reporter concludes.

In another dimension in a far off galaxy a Metriod Zerg strain hive is birthed on a remote asteroid chunk. What new horrors will it bring?