Five Score - A Knight's Tale

Chapters

02 - Transformation
03 - Transition
04 - Translocation
05 - Interlude
06 - Interception
Interlude - Cherry Blossoming 01
07 - Preparations
08 - Interaction
10 - Departures
Interlude - Cherry Blossoming 02
11 - Travelling, Part One - Dark Duties
12 - Travelling, Part Two - Light in the Darkness
13 - Travelling, Part Three - A New Complication
14 - Travelling, Part Four - Resumption/Crossing The Coast
16 - Inspections/Going Back Down Under
Meanwhile... 01
Interlude - Cherry Blossoming 03
17 - Finding New Friends And Dealing With Dirty Deeds
18 - Arrival
01 - Transference
09 - Confrontations
15 - Confrontation/Finding Old Friends

02 - Transformation

Author's Note

Okay! Now you might see that 'Sex' has been included in the categories for this story, and a 'mature' rating's been applied. While there are no actual sex scenes in this chapter, there is interaction of a sexual nature and implied sexual encounters. Hence the ratings, since they don't have a 'nudity' category.

don't say i never warned you. :twilightsheepish: :twilightblush: :twilightoops:

02 - Transformation

Curtis shook his head and saw Jessie sitting there before him. "You remembered, didn't you?" She asked.

"Yeah..." Curtis answered in a soft, stunned voice.

"I told you it would come back to you." She said.

Curtis thought about what he had seen. "So... if I'm Thunderlane, then is Rusty Rumble?" He asked.

"Your brother?" Jessie asked.

Curtis-Thunderlane nodded. "Yeah. My main little dude." He said, then blinked as he saw himself as Thunderlane calling Rumble 'Little Dude'.

"I'd say it's pretty likely." Jessie agreed.

Then Curtis remembered something else. "Oh shit." He said. "Rumble's only a ten-year-old colt..."

Jessie giggled. "Looks like Rusty's going to experience some de-aging pains before things are done."

Curtis laughed at that. "Celestia, that is going to be so..." Then he realised what he'd said. "Did I just say...?"

"Celestia instead of God, yes." Jessie replied. "Don't worry, that's just some of our ponyisms coming out." She reassured him. "Like, you'll probably find the girls calling you and Rusty by your pony names before too long, as slips of the tongue... and we might find out who they are by us doing the same thing."

Curtis nodded, thinking. "Y'know... this is crazy, but being able to fly..." He sighed. "That's always been a dream of mine. I've just never been able to afford it." He told Jessie.

Jessie nodded. "I know what you mean." She said with a grin. "Unicorns might have their magic, but it doesn't truly compare to the thrill of feeling the wind under your wings, the sky all around you..." She sighed happily herself. "I can't wait to feel it again."

"And as a... what did you call yourself again? An Alicorn?" Jessie nodded at Curtis. "That means you have the abilities of all three tribes, right?" He asked.

Jessie grinned. "I never told you there were three tribes of ponies, Thunderlane." She said.

"Huh?" Curtis looked confused. "More pony knowledge?"

Jessie nodded. "But you're right. I do have the abilities of the ground or Earth Ponies, the Pegasi and the Unicorns. There's only five alicorns that are known to exist: Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Twilight and myself."

To Curtis' surprise, he saw five alicorns' images in his mind as Jessie read out the names. His mind attached the names to the faces and bodies almost instantly, as his police training kicked in.

Then Jessie said "Damn!"

"What is it?" Curtis asked.

"The Americans are going apeshit again." Jessie replied. "Apparently they think there was a missile of some sort that was launched in Canada and flew over the border near Seattle. There wasn't a detonation or anything, but the incident has them so jumpy, it's not funny."

Curtis shook his head. "Bloody Yanks think everyone's out to blow them up." He commented.

"Them more than anyone, I have to agree with them." She replied. "Only the Russians are in a worse state at the moment, considering the waves of assassinations after they bombed Syria almost back to the Stone Age."

"Not that Syria had far to go, after what ISIS did to them." Curtis added.

"Mmm..." Jessie agreed. "I wonder..." She said.

"Wonder what?" Curtis asked.

"If that might not have been a pegasus." Jessie suggested.

"A pegasus, flying that fast?" He asked, amazed.

Jessie nodded. "There's a few of them that can break the sound barrier, myself included." She revealed to Curtis. "I know you were trying to get Rainbow Dash or Soarin Skies to train you in their techniques, after you nearly took out the Apples' new shed while trying yourself." She reminded him.

Curtis' mind went blank again, as memories of him facing off with Big Mac and Applejack were revealed to him, and him doing heavy work with his wings tied up. The quick flashes, though, didn't go on for more than a few seconds, and he shook his head and looked at Jessie. "Did I really do that?" He asked.

"Yep, but you made recompense by helping the Apples out until their shed was rebuilt, and they'd made enough to cover their expenses for the winter, so they forgave you in the end." Jessie told him. "And it was your time working with Soarin there that got you your chance to try out for the Wonderbolts."

Curtis smiled as a flash of him in Wonderbolt recruit colors went through his mind. "So... I'm a blackish-gray all over, save for my mane and tail?" He asked.

"Yeppers, as Pinkie would say." Jessie grinned as she confirmed Thunderlane's look.

Curtis nodded. "Definitely cool." He said back to a giggling Jessie.

Curtis then saw in a box on the table beside Jessie's computer were several complicated units of radio gear and wrist-mounted units as well. He got up and looked at them. "What are these for?" He asked.

"Well... We're going to be flying in busy skies." Jessie reminded Curtis. "Aircraft have beacons and radios for identification, and GPS systems and compasses for navigation. So I'm thinking we'll need something similar." She explained to Curtis. "Someday, if we stay here, I'm betting all pegasi will be required to carry transponder beacons and radios, just like aircraft."

"Makes sense." Curtis agreed. "So, how are we going to carry them?" He asked.

"I've got a way to carry my own. But for ordinary pegasi, we're going to need some gear, like helmets and maybe backpacks. We might even have to carry lights and strobes, too." Jessie pointed out

"Hmmm... this is going to make flying just that little more complicated." Curtis said with a sad voice.

"Yes, but it'll make it safer, too." Jessie replied. "After all, pegasi know instinctively if somepony is coming into their airspace, but does that work for aircraft?" She asked. "And aircraft need to be able to detect pegasi, too, when all is said and done."

"Fair enough, Stellar." Curtis said. "If it keeps us safe... what did I just call you?" Curtis asked.

"My real name." Jessie-Stellar answered.

"Your real name is Stellar?" Curtis asked.

"My full name is Stellar Light Sparkle, just as Twilight's full name is Twilight Eve Sparkle." Jessie informed Curtis. "Most ponies go by one name, like you. Some have two, like Rainbow Dash. Some have Family names, especially big families, like the Apples, or noble houses, like the Sparkles." Jessie explained. "Most males don't use Family names, like our father was named Night Light, and our grandfather was Canopus Star. Mother's name was Velvet Twilight Sparkle, and Grandmother's name was Borealia Light Sparkle. A lot of family names pass down through the mares, not the stallions."

"Right... I can get that." Curtis said with a smile.

Jessie grinned back. "Anyway... I'm not getting any real hits on the cutie-marks the girls are displaying yet." She sighed. "Does Rusty have a cutie-mark?"

"Yeah. it's a black cloud with small lightning bolts running through it." Curtis said.

Jessie nodded. "He's probably only just gotten it." Jessie said. "Most of the pictures I have of Rumble doesn't show him with a cutie-mark, but he's the same age as the Cutie-Mark Crusaders, so it's possible the series didn't show him as having one yet."

Curtis nodded, then yawned. "I'm gonna go catch some down-time before the sun gets up." Curtis said. "You gonna be okay?" He asked, then he face-palmed. "Why did I ask that? You can handle yourself better than I can."

Jessie giggled. "Hey, I don't mind. It shows you care." She said. Jessie got to her feet and gave Curtis a hug. "Don't be distant, Partner. We're going to need each other in the days to come. There's forces out there who are going to want to try and mess up our lives in ways we can only speculate, let alone the ones we can list already. And I have an idea that Discord has a presence here, even if it's only an ephemeral one. We're going to have to be on our toes."

Curtis nodded. "Okay, partner. I'll watch your back and you can watch mine, like Old-Home Week."

"Always." Jessie said with a grin, then kissed Curtis on the cheek. "G'night." She told Curtis.

"G'night, Stel... Jessie." Curtis replied, then headed out.

Jessie just shook her head with a grin, then went back to the computer.

=======

Sharrah yawned wide as she slowly woke up. Grumbling about 'stupid ponies' and other things, she staggered for the bathroom after hoiking herself out of bed. Stumbling in, she yawned again and looked at her reflection. "Oh great." She said to herself. Her human ears were gone and pony ears, like Jessie's, had taken their place. The light purple fur covering them gave a pretty good indication what color her fur would finally be, too. Then she noticed her blue eyes were now a blood-orange color. Her ears drooped as she frowned, then they pricked up again as she saw them droop. "Okay... these things are... expressive." She said. Her hair was its usual spiky mess, its color fully-changed now, but Sharrah found herself liking it.

Then she stumbled slightly sideways on the tiled floor. "What the...?" She asked herself as she looked down. "Why am I standing on my toes?" She asked, then tried to force her feet back down onto her heels. But it hurt her to do so, and her feet sprang back up almost the instant she relaxed her control on them. And, to top it all off, as she leaned over to inspect them, something hit her in the face. She grabbed it, and saw it was hair. "When the hell did my hair get this... long...?" Sharrah slid her hand up it, and found it terminated at her backside.

Sarah was awakened by a scream, and promptly fell out of bed in a flurry of sheets and blankets. "WHAT THE BLOODY...?" She yelled out as she struggled to get out of the tangle. Then she felt hands helping her out of the mess. "Thanks, Sis." Sarah said as she shook herself all over, her sky-green hair flopping down over her face.

There was a giggle, but the voice Sarah heard wasn't her sister's. "You're welcome, Sarah, but I'm not Sharrah."

Sarah pushed her hair aside as she sat up on her haunches, to see a nearly-nude Jessie crouched before her. "How are you feeling?" Jessie asked Sarah.

"Uh... I'm good, I guess." Sarah replied. She was used to nudity, Sharrah and her having shared an apartment ever since they'd left High School and they enjoyed being clothing-free like she was now. But Jessie's extremely-developed body wasn't something she was used to seeing, and it aroused feelings in her that made her blush. Both the girls were bisexual and Sarah would never admit it, but she had a breast-fetish to make teenage boys envious.

Jessie nodded and helped Sarah to her toes. Sarah found her balance was off. "Think of walking in high-heels." Jessie suggested.

Sarah managed to stabilise herself, her ears flicking about as she looked Jessie over. "You're up on your toes, too." She remarked.

Jessie nodded. "Yep." She agreed. "We'll be getting our hoofs sometime soon, I'm betting." She told Sarah. "We've already gotten our tails."

"Tail?" Sarah asked, her eyes opening wide, then she felt behind her, and there was definitely something sticking out above her bum. She craned around and saw a mass of long, straight hair coming out just above her bum-crack, that came down past her knees. It was the same color as her hair, she noted, as she felt it swish around. 'Hey... wow..." Sarah said, to Jessie giggling. "You were right. We are becoming Ponies."

Jessie nodded. "Yep. You feeling okay?"

Sarah thought on this. "I guess." She said. "It's... so wierd, but it almost seems familiar."

Jessie nodded. "That's your mind remembering the pony you were before." She said.

Sarah nodded. She then looked at Jessie's tail. "Hey. Our tails really do match our manes, don't they? Your's even has the color streaks from your hair."

"Yeah, I know." Jessie said, as she looked Sarah over. "Your eye-color's pretty. Kind-of a dark orange."

"Oh really?" Sarah asked. She immediately minced over towards the bathroom, but ran into Sharrah coming out.

"I have a tai-hai-hai-hail!" Sharrah declared in a sobbing voice, as she sat in a heap with Sarah.

"Join the club, Sis." Sarah grumbled as she moved to extricate herself from Sharrah.

"You too, Flitter?" Sharrah asked, eyes wide as she sniffled.

"Yeah, I'm joining the Pony Club after all, it seems." Sarah replied with quiet resignation. "What did you call me?" She asked Sharrah.

Sharrah thought on it for a second. "What did I call you?"

"Yes! Oh yes!" Then Jessie said, and raced out to her system, grabbing a long-tee from her room on the way. Sliding it on, she sat down and started going through images again.

"What's she on about now?" Sharrah asked Sarah.

"I think what you called me triggered something." Sarah replied as she got to her toes again. She helped Sharrah to her toes as well, and they both minced out towards Jessie's room, and looked over her shoulder at her computer screen. Jessie was looking through lots of images of ponies from MLP:FiM, most of them fanart-type ones that were really good. "So, you have pictures of us already?" Sarah asked.

"I've got ones of Curtis and Rusty in their pony-forms, but your images have been elusive. But now I know who Sarah's going to be, and with that, I can guess at you, Sharrah." Jessie explained to them as they looked at the screen. She brought up a beautiful picture of Thunderlane and Rumble together, and the twins 'Awwww'd' together.

"So, the black one is Curtis?" Sarah asked.

"Yep. His pony name is Thunderlane." Jessie said. "And Rusty's name is Rumble."

"But..." Sharrah then said "The little guy's only a kid!"

"Yep." Jessie grinned. "Rumble was only ten when he got sent here with his brother."

"Hah!" Sarah giggled. "He's going to be ungrowing-down a good deal before he's finished."

Sharrah and Jessie giggled too. "I said much the same thing to Curtis as well." She told the twins.

"So... you said you're a twin as well?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, but unlike you two, who got sent here together, Discord sent Twilight here five days before me, so we got separated." Jessie explained. "You two were lucky you got sent together."

Sarah and Sharrah nodded in agreement.

"Now, Sharrah, you called Sarah 'Flitter'." Jessie reminded them. "There is a pair of pegasi mares who are twins called Flitter and CloudChaser. This is what they look like." And Jessie brought an image up of the two mares.

"Hey! Her hair looks like mine!" Sharrah said, pointing to CloudChaser.

"Yep. And she has your cutie-mark too, Sis." Sarah said, pointing it out.

Jessie nodded. "And Flitter has your insect cutie-mark, Sarah."

"So... this is what we're going to look like, Stellar?" Sharrah asked.

"It is most likely." Jessie replied, smiling at them.

"Uh... did I just call you Stellar, Jessie?" Sharrah asked.

Jessie nodded. "Yep. And that's perfectly fine, because my pony name IS Stellar." She reassured them. "So don't worry about it, Chaser." Jessie grinned. "Once we fully change, you'll be calling me by my pony name a lot more than my human one, because it'll feel the right thing to do."

"Oh. Okay." Sharrah and Sarah replied.

Jessie relaxed a little more. "This is what I'll look like, along with my sister Twilight." She showed them an image of the alicorn twins, Twilight in her regalia and Stellar in her short flight armor, the one that left her rear body exposed, showing her cutie-mark.

"Wow! You've got a horn as well as wings!" Sharrah commented.

"That's right. I'm an alicorn, not just a pegasus or a unicorn." Jessie explained.

"So, when's your horn gonna come out?" Sarah asked.

"Probably about Ten AM, I'm guessing. And my wings will start to grow out about midday, when your's start." Jessie replied. "They would have started growing out earlier than yours would have, but with the extra stage of a horn first, it'll shove my wing development back a little."

"How come?" Sharrah asked.

"Because there's only so much that can change at once." Jessie told them. "If we're asleep, it can happen faster, otherwise the strain on our brains would probably render us crazy from the stress of too much changing at once."

"Okay, that makes sense." Sarah agreed.

"Get something on, girls, the guys are coming." Jessie then said.

"Huh." Sharrah said. "Considering the reputation of the beach down below us, we shouldn't have to wear anything." She said with a grumpy face.

"That's on the beach, not up here." Jessie reminded them. "Now, go put something on, and be mindful that you're still changing." She cautioned them.

"Come on, Sis." Sarah said, and dragged Sharrah off to their bedroom.

Jessie chuckled as she watched the pair walk away. They would get used to not wearing anything very easily. She got up and opened the door for Curtis and Rusty to enter. "Morning, you two." Jessie said, and she was sure Rusty was shorter than he had been before, and not so wide, either.

"Good morning, Partner." Curtis said, then he frowned as he looked at Jessie. "Why is there a reddish lump on your forehead?" He asked.

"There is?" Jessie asked. "Excuse me." She asked, then headed for the bathroom after checking the time. "Huh... Nine-thirty. I guess I was a little out in my estimation of timing." She told herself as she checked out the lump. As she gently rubbed it, to her surprise the skin split all around and retracted, revealing a hard purple spike, almost like a new-born foal's horn, emerging from inside it. Jessie had winced when the skin had split, but now she grinned and sighed happily. She closed her eyes and she could almost feel the network of mana pathways developing inside her. Her 'Itineris System', the network of mana pathways that every pony had in their bodies, was developing quickly, quicker than she'd expected. "Maybe that's why my horn's coming out early." Jessie said to herself.

Jessie came out of the bathroom, to see Curtis and Rusty sitting in the lounge, as Sarah and Sharrah were in the kitchen. "Can we still drink coffee?" Sarah asked.

"As far as I am aware, yes." Jessie replied.

"Ooooh, yes!" Sarah said, as Sharrah giggled. Rusty was looking sleepy still as Jessie sat down in one of the lounge chairs. He looked at her and frowned, then said "Horn?"

Jessie nodded. "Horn." She confirmed.

"Cool." Rusty replied. "I hear I'm going to be... a little age-deficient when I become myself."

Jessie just smiled. "Think of it this way: You'll probably grow into your new self a lot faster than any of us... maybe even faster than me." She told Rusty.

Rusty grinned. "A second childhood... wait. That means I'll be going through puberty again!"

Jessie giggled. "Think of it this way; you'll still be a stallion when you grow up."

"True, there is that." Rusty agreed.

= = = = =

Curtis smiled as he heard Rusty talking with Stel... Jessie. He seemed to be taking the news that he was going to become ten again rather well. In the bathroom, Curtis slid down his pants and looked at what had happened to him overnight. 'It' had changed. 'It' had turned black, as well as the accompanying equipment, and he had gotten bigger... and thicker... and he swore it was changing shape at the end, flattening out and looking very different. "At least it's not vanishing." He said to himself, as he lined up on the bowl. "I would have to pity any bloke out there who loses his sausage and meatballs, and winds up as a mare... or a filly." Curtis shook his head as he heard a waterfall, and he moaned with relief. He hadn't been able to go all night, and now he realised why.

"I wonder what their bathroom arrangements are like on Equestria?" Curtis asked himself softly. "I bet they have those japanese-style 'squattie' toilets, and showers more than baths." He chuckled. "Now that I think about it, it doesn't sound so bad..." He undressed and started up the shower once he was done. The shower in the bungalow was rather small, and he liked to have space to stretch when showering. The one in here could take three people at once, and had double showerheads as well as a hand-held spray.

= = = = =

Jessie took a look at Rusty's cutie-mark, and his tail, which wasn't as long as even Curtis' tail was. 'Yep. I'd lay bets you're going to be Rumble." Jessie told Rusty.

"So... Light grey with a tinge of blue for fur; Black mane and tail with dark-grey highlighting, and these purple eyes?" Rusty asked.

"They're actually mauve." Jessie corrected him. "But yeah. Those are the basics."

Rusty nodded. "And Rumble's a pegasus, right?"

"Yep." Jessie grinned. "You'll be flying up there with the rest of us, really soon." She told Rusty. "Some pegasi can fly almost from the day they're born. It's instinctive. Of course, there's lessons in flight ettiquette and procedures and techniques, but if you're going to be the way you are now, then you'll pick them up in no time." Jessie said.

"Flight. Totally cool." Rusty said, as Jessie noticed him visibly shrink a little and his voice got higher in register. Then Jessie saw his feet were congealing together slowly, the entire shape changing... and saw it was happening to herself as well. "Guys! Change notice!" Jessie yelled out.

"Huh?" The Twins looked out of the kitchen, as Curtis looked out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around him.

"We have signs of the next big change." Jessie told them all. "Both Rusty and myself are showing signs our feet are turning to hoofs, so be aware, it's probably going to start happening to you as well. So maybe it's a good time to stay off them for a while."

"Just let me get dry." Curtis said, as he headed back into the bathroom.

"Uhh... yeah, okay." Sarah said as she moved around past Sharrah and headed back into the kitchen.

"So, you got your horn now?" Sharrah asked Jessie.

"I can't imagine it's anything else right now." Jessie said, grinning at Sharrah. "But let me look..." And Jessie got down and checked Sharrah's feet. "Yep, your toes are starting to merge together too." Jessie told Sharrah.

"Oh." Sharrah replied. "This is... getting scarey." She said, her eyes looking a little glazed.

Jessie led Sharrah over to a couch and sat her down. "Yeah, I know it is, Sharrah." She said. "I mean, I know what's going to happen... I know what we're going to become, and even looking forward to it like I am, it's still scarey." Jessie sighed as Rusty looked on. "This... I think it's not just the scale of the changes that's the worst part. The worst part is that it's inevitable. We're not changing into ponies, we're becoming the ponies we were long before we became humans. Our human minds are still trying to tell us we are human, as if that's the highest standard we know and we're becoming less than that. But ponies are as advanced in the sentience game as humans are, we just do things differently... mostly. It's not a downgrade... it's a change, and while we're going to lose some things we have taken for granted for twenty-five years, like hands, I know how ponies get around such things... or at least I will." Jessie smiled at Sharrah.

"Yeah, I mean, it could be worse." Rusty then said, as a clump of his thick beard came out in his hand. "Looks like I'm not going to ever have to worry about shaving ever again. That suits me just fine." He grinned.

Sharrah giggled. "Yeah, I think you're right when you say it's the hardest thing to grasp. The thought we are Ponies, who got changed into Humans for twenty-five years, and now we're changing back again; rather than being humans changing into ponies..." She shook her head. "It's so confusing."

"I have to agree, Sis." Sarah came out with some breakfast for the five: Pancakes, a plate of bacon and eggs and toast. "Eat up, people. This might be the last meat meal we ever have, as well as the last we have as humans."

Curtis hadn't bothered putting a shirt on and was looking really buff when he emerged from the bathroom. All the girls almost purred at him, but the Twins looked embarrassed as Jessie grinned. Curtis sat next to Jessie and Rusty sat between the Twins. Rusty was the size of a fifteen-year-old kid by now, but he'd also lost a bit of weight, too.

"Mmm... great pancakes, Sarah." Curtis commented.

"Thanks." Sarah replied. "I've always been able to make great pancakes."

"And fish, Sis. Don't forget your fish." Sharrah added.

Jessie chuckled. "Fish is part of the staple diet of Pegasi, by the way. So we'll probably be eating it a lot more often, instead of other meat." She informed them.

"We eat fish?" Curtis asked.

"Yeah! Way to go, pegasi!" Rusty almost yelled out.

"Somepony loves fish." Sharrah said, then realised "Another ponyism?"

Jessie nodded as Sarah and Rusty giggled. "Don't worry. It'll become more and more common in our speech as our minds adapt to things." She explained.

"My back is itching." Sharrah said.

Jessie had a look. "Yep. Your wings are just starting to appear." She told Sharrah.

"Your horn's almost six inches long, Jessie." Sarah commented.

Jessie nodded. "It'll grow quite long." She said. She had a look at Sarah's back. "Yep. And your wings are coming through, too."

"Cool." Sarah said, then as she started back to the kitchen, her feet made a 'clip-clop' sound. They all looked at her feet, and noticed her hoofs were complete, a little tuft of light-purple fur growing around them.

They all checked out their own feet and Curtis said "Looks like it's unanimous. We're all hoofing it from now on."

That got a long series of groans from everyone. "Bad pun, Big Bro." Rusty said.

After breakfast, the five friends got used to walking on their new hoofs, even going outside and walking on the soft earth. Curtis noticed Stellar had changed to a backless one-piece swimsuit under a pair of shorts, as the day was bright and very sunny. Her tail was sitting over the short-short's waistband and the bottom of the swimsuit. "Making ready for your wings' appearance?" He asked.

Jessie nodded. "Don't want to wreck any of my clothes just yet." She said. "I see you've adapted." She stroked his tail, which was sticking out of a hole cut in the back of his old denim shorts.

Curtis almost purred at the gentle caress. "Damn, but that tail is sensitive." He stated.

"It is connected directly to our spines, after all." Jessie reminded Curtis. "Have you had any more flashbacks yet?" She asked.

Curtis nodded. "Yeah, actually. Standing with a group of other stallions in a shared shower, in a locker room. I was washing down another dude's back, while he did mine, with long-handled brushes."

Jessie nodded. "I imagine there's a lot less tension over nudity, considering Ponies only wear clothes for special occasions, for practical reasons, or for uniforms." She told him.

Curtis nodded. "I can imagine it's quite hard to wash your own back without help, or long-handled brushes."

"Yeah. I have memories of Twilight and I sharing a shower now and then... and Luna and myself doing the same."

"Luna?" Curtis asked. "She's... what, one of the two leaders of Equestria? And you were sharing a shower with her?" He asked, amazed.

Jessie-Stellar shrugged. "I am an alicorn, and I have a feeling we were closer to each other than I was to Celestia. Twilight was Celestia's student, so maybe I was taught by Luna." She suggested.

Curtis-Thunderlane thought that through. "I guess it's a possibility." He conceeded. "I think I finally have my balance now." He told Jessie, as she was checking over his back. "What?" He asked.

Jessie-Stellar grinned. "Three, Two, One..." And Curtis-Thunderlane felt something make his back itch mightily.

"Oww..." He said, and tried to scratch.

"Let me." Jessie-Stellar said, and her fingers gently stroked around the itches.

"Don't tell me: My wings just started coming through." Curtis-Thunderlane asked.

Jessie-Stellar didn't say a thing.

"Well?" Curtis-Thunderlane asked.

Jessie-Stellar giggled. "You told me not to tell you." She replied.

"Grr... you!" And Curtis grabbed Jessie, tickling her. She laughed as she fought off the urge to flip him over. Then he held her against him. "You... I don't know why I'm not flipping out over these changes... but I think I am so glad you're here, right now." And he kissed her softly, as she slid her arms up over his shoulders.

Jessie enjoyed the kiss greatly, even as her back split open and parts of her wings started to emerge. The slight pain it caused was nothing to the enjoyment of this kiss. By the time they'd stopped, all of Jessie's wing-limbs had emerged from inside her, but no feathers were yet evident. A small amount of blood trickled slowly down from the skin as the back-skin sealed up again.

Curtis' eyes widened as he saw two unfletched limbs move up from behind Jessie-Stellar into his view. "Holy..." He said softly.

"Huh?" Jessie asked. "Oh, my wings." She realised.

"Yeah... you got chicken-wings." Curtis said, grinning.

"Hey!" Jessie pushed him away, then thumped his chest gently, making Curtis chuckle.

Curtis moved behind Jessie and looked at the limb-structure. "Yeah... actually, more like the wings of an eagle or similar big raptor-bird." He told Jessie. "No feathers yet." He added.

'They'll come, I imagine." Jessie replied. She kept the limbs furled behind her as Curtis wiped the blood from Jessie's back with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket.

"Mine aren't coming in like that, are they?" He asked.

"No... I don't know why mine just shot out like that, but they have." Jessie said. "Maybe I'm playing catch-up." Then her eyes lit up and Stellar dropped to her knees, moaning, as she felt a massive surge of power run through her Itineris system.

Curtis moved back as Jessie was lifted to her hoofs and above, the magic flowing from her horn surrounding her and filling her as her system powered up inside her, completing its development. She glowed partially magenta, partially white, as the magic swirled about her and held her in the air. The others had come out and were also amazed as Jessie slowly rotated in the air, her cutie-mark also lit up brilliantly. Then she slowly lowered to her hoofs, then down to her knees again, as the magic faded again.

Curtis was down beside Jessie, keeping her from falling face-first into the sandy dirt. "Stellar! You okay?" Rumble asked, as he dropped down on his knees before Jessie and helped hold her up.

"I think she will be, Little Bro." Curtis answered. "She's just had a massive surge of magic flow through her. I guess that would knock anyone out."

"Um... Shall we get her inside?" Sarah asked.

"Good idea." Curtis agreed. He carefully lifted her into his arms and walked inside with her, placing her side-down on her bed.

The Twins watched, looking frantic. "What are we gonna do now, with Stellar... I mean, with Jessie out cold?" Sharrah asked.

Curtis chuckled as they returned to the lounge room. "I think we'll be okay, Sharrah. She's probably sleeping it off for a little while. She's still breathing, so she's okay to that point."

"Thank Celestia." Sarah said, then face-palmed. "Bloody ponyisms!"

That got the other three laughing. "We'll be okay!" Rusty said, grinning brightly.

"That we will, Little Dude." Curtis agreed.

"So, what can we do in the meantime?" Sarah asked.

"Take a suggestion from Jessie, of course." Curtis said, as he powered up the big television and switched on the entertainment system. "Watch some My Little Pony." He got out the box set Jessie had brought with her.

"Yeah, okay." Sharrah replied, and they all sat down with one another.

=======

After two hours, Sharrah glanced at Sarah, catching her eye, and gestured surrepticiously to their room. Sarah gave a slight nod, then got up and headed into the room. Sharrah followed a minute later. “You wanted something?” Sarah asked when the door was shut.

“I’m feeling really wierd.” Sharrah said to her sister. “Like things are changing inside me, and it doesn’t feel good.”

Sarah nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’m feeling it too.” She said. “Is it hurting?”

Sharrah shrugged. “Not really hurting, it just feels wierd.” She slid her hands up under her top, and her eyes widened. “Sis... I’m shrinking.”

“What’s shrinking?” Sarah asked.

“My tits, that’s what!” Sharrah looked down her top’s front and visually confirmed it. “”Oh shit. I’ve lost three whole cup sizes!”

Sarah checked her own pair out, and nodded. “Yeah... I’ve shrunk, too.”

Sharrah let out a whimper. “I thought we were gonna stay girls... y’know, as mares!”

Sarah slid her hand down her shorts front and felt about for a moment. “I can’t feel anything happening down here. It’s not like I’m growing a cock from my pussy or anything.” She said, then confirmed it by sliding out of her shorts, being careful of her tail.

Sharrah looked at her sister, crouching before her and checking her out visually. “Yeah... nothing appears to be...” Then she gently stroked a bulge that was coming up. “Sis... you got two bulges here.” She gently poked them, making Sarah squeak.

“Well, don’t poke them! They’re tender.” Sarah told her sister.

Sharrah got out of her clothes, noticing her breasts had almost vanished. Sarah looked her sister over. “Yep. You have the bulges, too.” She confirmed, and genly stroked them. Sharrah moaned softly as Sarah did that. “Sensitive?” Sarah asked.

“Oh yeah, like my...” Then Sharrah’s eyes snapped open. “Like my tits were.” She looked down and watched as her nipples vanished, leaving her chest a blank slate.

Sarah then saw Sharrah’s ‘bulges’ grew nipples. “Holy freakin’ shit!” She exclaimed softly. “You’ve got... I assume they’re breasts of some description down here on your mons.” Sarah looked up at Sharrah.

“Let me look at you.” Sharrah said, and after Sarah had sat down, Sharrah crouched down and looked at her sister. “Yeah... the same thing’s happened to you.”

They both stood up together and looked at one another. “I guess... I guess this is one more step in... what did Stellar call it?”

“Ponyfication.” Sharrah replied, tears in her eyes.

“Easy, Sis.” Sarah hugged Sharrah, who started bawling her eyes out as they hugged. The pair held each other for a while, then sat on one bed together.

“This is so freaking freaky, Sarah!” Sharrah told her sibling. “I got no idea what to do anymore! I mean, working at Aldi wasn’t the best job, but now what are we gonna do? We can’t go back home looking like this!”

Sarah looked at Sharrah again. The soft fur on her legs was now up over her hips and slowly climbing. Her wings looked close to fully-grown out, and the big primaries rested on the bed behind her. She could feel her wings were the same way now, as well. Sarah would swear she could see the same light purple fur creeping very slowly out over Sharrah’s head from her ears as well, down towards the back of her head. She imagined the same thing was happening to her as well.

“Yeah... we can’t hide everything under clothing any longer.” Sarah said. “Our heads are gonna start changing next, and we’re going to be standing on all fours soon.”

Sharrah sniffled. “Well... we won’t need much in the way of clothes any more.” Sharrah giggled. “Just like we always wanted to live.”

Sarah grinned back. “Yeah. Nudists forever!” She replied, and they both laughed. “As for a job, I think we might have something to work on there with Stellar. She seems to know just about everything else. And she did have every pantry and cupboard stocked up here when we arrived, far more so than if she’d expected to be alone, y’know.”

“Yeah, almost as if she was expecting company.” Sharrah agreed. “You don’t think... she saw us coming here, do you?” She asked

“Wouldn’t surprise me.” Sarah replied. “Where did we put those swimsuits?”

“Uh, I think they’re in the waterproof green bag.” Sharrah said.

Sarah dived into the bag and rummaged around. Eventually she pulled out a pair of lower halfs of a boyleg-style tankini and handed one to Sharrah. “We don’t need to cover up top any more, so these should do fine.” She said with a smile.

“Meh, okay.” Sharrah said and slid into them.

=======

Curtis noticed the Twins were gone, as Rusty had a hand down his pants, fiddling with himself. “Got an itch, Bro?” Curtis asked Rusty.

“Not sure.” Rusty replied in the voice of a young teenage boy. “My junk’s feeling wierd.”

“Oh? Getting small again?” Curtis asked.

“Nope. If anything, it feels bigger.” Rusty replied. “I can’t get it to sit right.”

Curtis nodded. “Yeah, I know the feeling.” He admitted.

Rusty looked up, his eyes wider than normal. “You too?” He asked.

Curtis smiled and nodded. “Let’s just say, I could make John Holmes look like a ten-year-old.” He said with a grin.

“Holy Cock-up, Batman!” Rusty replied with a grin.

Curtis laughed at that. Then he felt something else happening down there, too. “Come on, let’s check things out.” He told Rusty as he got to his feet. Rusty followed and they headed into the bathroom.

Once inside, Curtis dropped his shorts to reveal his shaft was now a monster. He had to be twenty inches long and as thick as his wrist.

“Damn, Bro! What have you been feeding that thing?” Rusty asked.

“Palaminos.” Curtis replied with a grin. Rusty broke up into chuckles, then dropped his own shorts, as Curtis caressed his huge balls. “I swear these are almost as big as tennis balls.” He told Rusty.

“Wow! Are ten-year-olds supposed to be this big?” Rusty asked, as he displayed a shaft that was at least twelve inches long, and balls that were bigger than his human ones had been, if not that much bigger. And unlike Curtis, his equipment wasn’t all black, patches of normal flesh color showing in places.

Curtis chuckled. “Enjoy them, Bro. At least we aren’t losing anything down here in this deal.”

“Yeah.” Rusty said back, then he looked at Curtis. “Losing something?” He asked.

Curtis nodded. “The Twins’ breasts are shrinking.” He told Rusty.

“Oh shit.” Rusty said, looking a little depressed. Then he saw something extending up from the base of his shaft, to wrap around it. He looked and saw Curtis had the same thing. “Look, Bro.” He said, pointing.

Curtis did look and frowned. “Okay...” He thought about it, then it clicked. “A sheath. A lot of male animals, stallions included, carry their shaft inside a sheath, to protect it.”

“Oh, right. Like Dobie did.” Remembering their dog, who was long-dead.

Curtis nodded. “Yep.” They watched until things stopped changing, and they were left with their ball-sacs and the sheath attached up along their pubic mounds, their shafts having retracted back into them as soon as they’d been completed. “Nice and neat.” Curtis declared.

“Uh-huh.” Rusty agreed as he got his shorts back on. “Be back, Bro.” He said, and left the bathroom.

Curtis just nodded and worked out how to take his shaft out and use it over the toilet. He quickly forgot about Rusty for the moment.

=======

Rusty emerged from the bathroom, feeling depressed. Then he looked at the door that led to Stellar’s room. He realised he may have one chance left... if she didn’t chuck him out on his mane, that is. Moving to the door, he opened it carefully and went inside, closing the door behind him.

=======

Several hours after she collapsed, Jessie awoke and stretched out. She yawned and looked about, to almost squeal as a pair of large eyes were looking at her. She blinked and saw it was Rusty, who was even younger than she remembered him. "Heya Rumble." She said to him.

"Hi Stellar." He said, as Jessie sat up on the bed. Jessie could see he had shrunk even more, being now the size of a twelve-year-old. And she could see where his eyes were looking as well. Like any young male, his eyes were focussed on her most prominent assets as he climbed up on the bed before her. Jessie smiled. Males were males, human or pony.

"Something I can help you with, Rumble?" She asked.

Rumble-Rusty was looking really downcast. "Meh... I'm feeling really... I dunno." He said, hanging his head.

Jessie pulled him to her and hugged him, sitting him in her lap with her legs crossed, and Rumble wasted no time in hugging her back. "I just..." He mooshed his face into her cleavage. "I'm gonna miss these." He said rather bluntly.

Jessie smiled softly. "Really? You never got to play with a girl's breasts before?"

Rumble shook his head. "Not many girls liked me much, and Flitter and CloudChaser were my cousins... so no luck there." He told Jessie. "And now their breasts are vanishing. They're trying hard not to admit it, but we could tell."

Jessie nodded. "Mine will, too. Mares have teats between their back legs, not human breasts." She looked into his depressed expression, then smiled. "I think you can get away with doing this, this once." She then said, reaching around and undoing her swimsuit top, then sliding it off her upper body. "Come here and give me a hug, Little Dude." Jessie grinned.

Rumble didn't need a second offer. He hugged into Stellar, grinning as he nuzzled and caressed her breasts tendely, his face as smooth as a cue ball. She held him gently to her as he fulfilled a lifelong wish. But after about fifteen minutes, Stellar felt things change. She sighed as her breasts started to shrink, while the fur on her lower body climbed up over her hips, around her cutie-mark. Over the course of ten minutes her teats appeared, while her breasts shrank and even her nipples disappeared. Rumble looked at Stellar's flat chest and whimpered softly, as Stellar noticed his nipples had also vanished, but his wings had grown out even more.

Rumble looked himself over as Stellar saw her wings were partially-fletched now: the down and pin-feathers, tertiary and secondary flight feathers all present. Only her primary flight feathers were missing.

"I'm sorry." Rumble said as he started to move away.

"Don't be." Stellar said back to him in a kind voice. "Think of it this way, you're the last person to ever hug me like that. Nopony can take that away from you, ever."

Rumble actually blushed as Stellar did her top up again. "Thank you." He said to her.

"You're very welcome." Stellar replied, as she hugged Rumble to her again, kissing him softly on the forehead. Rumble snuggled into Stellar again, holding her lovingly.

=======

Curtis was wondering where Rusty had gotten to, as he came out of the bathroom and looked around him. He ran his tongue, which had been feeling funny, over his teeth, and noticed they felt different, too. He halted the video and went back into the bathroom. Looking in his mouth, he noticed his face had changed somewhat as well. His teeth, he saw in the mirror, were all flat now, like horses' teeth, and his tongue seemed wider than before. "Okay... major change here." He said to himself, as he headed out of the bathroom, to see Jessie and Rusty... or was it Stellar and Rumble now? They were coming out of Stellar's room, an arm around each other. Rumble was all smiles, and even Stellar was looking at him with a soft smile on her face, which Curtis could see was also changing. Then he noticed her flat chest, with not even her nipples visible under the sheer swimsuit. She also was missing her shorts, but with the swimsuit on, it didn't seem to matter much.

Stellar, for her own self, saw that Thunderlane's now digitigrade legs were also covered in fur, the blackish-grey fur his coat was famed for. And like Rumble and herself, she noticed his mane now went right down to the base of his neck, and was it's true mohawk look. She left Rumble to sit down and moved to Thunderlane, hugging him and giving him a big kiss. Thunderlane, for his part was amazed by how strong Stellar was, but he hugged her with his strong arms and kissed back lovingly. "That was nice. Thanks." He said to Stellar, once the kiss was finished.

"You're welcome." Stellar replied.

"We've really started into the last stages, haven't we?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar nodded. "Yep. Full body modification. We're past the preliminaries, and by the morning we'll be full ponies, I estimate."

Thunderlane sighed. "I guess the rest should happen overnight." He suggested.

Stellar nodded. "Yeah. It'll be easier that way." She said. "That way we won't be wierded out by our skull changing shape, and our shift from bipedal to quadrupedal movement. We might still have to be awake to go through the change of our hands to hoofs, but maybe not."

Thunderlane frowned. "Have you gotten taller?" He asked.

"A little." Stellar confirmed. "But you've also shrunk a little too." She told him. "If my estimates are right, most pegasi and unicorns are only about four feet tall at their heads, earth ponies maybe from four to five, depending on sex and sturdiness. I'll be about five feet tall, maybe a bit over it. Luna's going to be a little taller than Twilight and I, and Celestia might even go over six foot in height."

"Right." Thunderlane said.

Stellar chuckled. "Get used to it, Thunderlane. But your smaller height and weight means you'll find flying a lot easier." Stellar reminded him.

Thunderlane smiled and his wings moved. "Hey... they're not just for show any more." He said.

Stellar nodded, stretching her much bigger pinions. "Yep. By tomorrow, we're all going to be taking flight lessons." Then she noticed Rumble watching the DVDs. "You took my advice?" Stellar asked.

Thunderlane shrugged. "Well, with you out cold, it seemed like the best time to educate ourselves, at least to the degree the videos show, about Equestria." Thunderlane frowned. "Are things always that dramatic there?"

Stellar shrugged. "There's problems everywhere." She reminded Thunderlane as they sat down together. "Equestria's not exempt. For example, Tirek did escape again from Tarterus, but the third time he faced off against me, and I didn't hesitate. That's why I'm so different to other ponies, I guess. I am a dyed-in-the-wool warrior, and I can kill without hesitation if I have to." She explained to Thunderlane. "It's rare that I have to, but I can and have done so, numerous times, like Tirek and Chrysalis." She explained.

Thunderlane nodded. "But what's the go with that last episode?" He asked. "It ends so abruptly, and I swear there was at least another part there I expected to see." He asked Stellar.

Stellar nodded. "I think that one came from Twilight's Point-Of-View." Stellar suggested. "Maybe the whole series came from her. But she was the second pony Discord sent here to Earth, so that's why it stops with just her and Celestia disappearing." Stellar sighed. "He played on our emotional weaknesses so easily. Divide and conquer. It's true here and it's true back home."

"So why weren't you there?" Thunderlane asked.

"I was... involved with a mission for Celestia." Stellar answered. "It took me several days to return when I felt Twilight vanish. When I got there, most of the ponies were gone, and Discord was sitting on a throne in the ruins of Canterlot Castle. After securing my memories somehow, I did a psychological number on him, making him believe I was Twilight returned, and he sent me here."

Thunderlane nodded. "I see. So we're either going to have to stay here, or go back to Equestria and deal with him."

"If there is a way back." Stellar reminded Thunderlane. "But if I know my sister, she's trying her best to find one right now... if she's not asleep." Stellar chuckled. "Although I swear Twily can cast spells in her sleep sometimes."

Thunderlane chuckled. "Yeah. I bet I could glide in my sleep, if something tossed me off a cloud."

"Most pegasi can. It's a well-ingrained survival mechanism." Stellar said.

"Right, then." Thunderlane said with a smile.

"So, where are the Twins?" Stellar asked.

"I think they went to bed." Thunderlane answered. "They seemed freaked out a little by the episodes, especially the last one."

"Can't blame them." Stellar said.

"So, what happened to you outside?" Thunderlane asked.

"Well... in every pony there's a magical circulatory system that's called the Itineris System." Stellar explained. "We gather magical energy called Mana from the environment and channel it through us, using it as we need to. An alicorn's system is a lot more complex and powerful than that of a normal pony, so what you saw was my body upgrading from a unicorn-level to an alicorn-level system after my wings came in. With both wings and my horn, my system knew it was time to complete my magic upgrade... and it's a spectacular process, I know." She grinned.

"Definitely." Thunderlane said. "So you're now a full alicorn... such as you are."

Stellar nodded. "All I'm waiting on is the rest of the transformation." Stellar agreed. "And Rumble is dead to the world." Stellar pointed out where the even-smaller Rumble was asleep on the couch.

"I don't blame him." Thunderlane replied, the sun having gone down an hour ago. "I'll take him to bed."

Stellar then said "Let me. I need the practise, anyway."

Thunderlane watched as Stellar closed her eyes, her horn lit up with magenta magic, and Rumble floated gently into the air. He saw Stellar strain a little, but the stress she was showing slowly dissipated the longer she held Rumble up. "Now that's something to see." He said, as he and Stellar walked out of the beach-house, with Rumble floating before them.

"It's basic levitation, a spell that's almost a given for young unicorns as they're growing up." Stellar explained. "Twilight mastered it when she was two. I only mastered it after we changed into alicorns when we were four." Stellar giggled. "The first levitation I ever did was lifting a custard tart in front of Twilight's nose, and she gobbled it down quite smartly."

Thunderlane quietly chuckled, too. "That would have been something to see." He commented. "So, you had to learn unicorn magic as well as pegasi magic, then."

"And earth pony magic also." Stellar corrected Thunderlane. "Twilight learned it from tutors in the castle, as Celestia's student. I learned it from working the Apple farm not far from Cloudsdale, with Applejack and Big Mac as they also grew up." Stellar revealed. "Even to this day, Twilight's use of magic differs from mine. She's quality, I'm quantity, at least with Earth Pony magic. Twilight can make the most incredible flowers and plants bloom, but I can make an entire field of trees grow in minutes if the conditions are right."

"Now that will be something to see." Thunderlane said back.

"Stick with me and you just might." Stellar said as she grinned. They entered the bungalow, then put Rumble down on his bed, where he curled up around a pillow Stellar put in front of him.

"Aww... he really is a colt again, isn't he?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yeah. He still has his adult memories and knowledge, but the mind of a ten-year-old... when he's finished changing." Stellar said as they walked out softly together. “And I hope he never truly loses that foalish wonder about things.”

Thunderlane slid an arm around Stellar as they walked back to the beach-house. “So... what do you want to do now?” He asked Stellar.

Stellar let loose with a massive yawn, showing her new dentition and equipment. “Sleep.” She said.

“Yeah, me too.” Thunderlane admitted. “Like some company?” He asked.

Stellar grinned. “I would be more than happy to, my handsome stallion.” She replied as they walked into the main house.

Once in the bedroom, Thunderlane asked “How do you want to do this?”

“Just snuggle with me.” Stellar said, gesturing for Thunderlane to climb onto the bed first.

“Don’t mind if I do, to be frank.” Thunderlane said as he stripped, then slid onto the bed and got comfortable. Stellar slid out of her swimsuit and slid into bed as well, sliding herself into Thunderlane’s hold and cuddling close. “Aren’t you scared I might do something... untowards?” He asked.

“I’m hoping you might, actually.” Stellar informed Thunderlane.

Thunderlane chuckled. “Then let’s see what we can do...”

03 - Transition

Stellar stepped out of the beach-house into the light of the rising sun. The day was fresh and going to be a good one, she could tell. It hadn’t been easy, sliding out from around Thunderlane without waking him, but she’d managed it with a little help from her magic. She stretched out, riding her back legs up as she stretched her front ones before her, her huge wings stretching out to her sides. She could tell she was finished changing now. She'd become a good deal bigger than the others were, as an alicorn should be. Her horn was also almost a foot long now, so she considered that her full growth for her age. She finished her stretches by stretching out one rear leg at a time, feeling the muscles in them obey her commands. Stellar chuckled. She wanted to run, she wanted to fly! Something about her returned body just felt so good! She bounced a couple of times in place, little flutters of her wings holding her in the air for a minute or more before she drifted slowly down to the ground.

"Wow!" She heard a voice behind her say. Stellar turned to see Thunderlane's finished form walking towards her, a little unsteady on his four legs.

"Good morning, Curtis... or should I just call you Thunderlane permanently, now?" Stellar asked.

Thunderlane chuckled. "Yeah, you might as well, I guess." He answered. "I guess it suits. But look at you!" He said, eyeing Stellar's completed transformation. "Damn if you don't look really incredible... Stellar, you said to call you now?"

Stellar nodded. "Stellar Light Sparkle, yes." She confirmed. "And you are as handsome as the comics made you out to be, my buff stallion." She lowered her head to his and nuzzled him.

"Mmm... that feels... good." He replied.

"Stellar and Thunderlane, sitting in a tree-ee, K-I-double-S-I-N-Gee-ee!" Came a young male voice from somewhere above them. They looked up to see a completed Rumble, sitting up on the roof, watching them with a massive grin.

Stellar giggled as Thunderlane just smiled at his brother. "Heya Little Dude. Looking good."

"Thanks, Big Bro!" Rumble replied, and he jumped off the roof. Thunderlane was about to rush to catch him, when Stellar stopped him. As they watched, Rumble's wings flapped, dropping him slowly down to the ground, where he furled them easily and grinned. "I can fly!" He almost shouted.

Stellar almost couldn't stop herself breaking out into full laughter, as Thunderlane nodded at Rumble. "Yeah, so you can." He agreed. "But you're a pegasus, Little Dude. It kinda comes naturally."

"Aww! Way to steal my thunder, Bro Dude." Rumble grumbled back.

Thunderlane chuckled. "I call it as I see it, Rumble Bro." He told Rumble, ruffling his black-grey slicked-back mane.

There was a scuffle from inside the beach-house, and eventually Sharrah-CloudChaser emerged, looking unsteady on her hoofs and half-asleep. Sarah-Flitter came out a little later, a cup of coffee held in her mouth with a clip that had a big enough handle on it to hold in her mouth. She put it down on the verandah table and slipped the clip off the cup, then lapped carefully at the coffee. "Oww... could somepony tell Celestia to turn the sun down a notch?" CloudChaser asked.

Stellar looked at Thunderlane, then all three of them broke up in laughter, Rumble rolling on the ground on his back.

"What?" CloudChaser inquired, in a grumbly voice.

"Now THAT was a ponyism and a half!" Thunderlane said, as Flitter lapped at her coffee.

CloudChaser snorted, then turned around, barely escaped tangling her legs up, and went for coffee. Stellar and Thunderlane joined Flitter as Rumble ran and bounced around the parklands. "Rumble!" Stellar called out. "Don't let the humans see you. Okay?"

"Okay, Stellar!" Rumble replied and ran off.

Thunderlane chuckled. "He's a ten-year-old, all right." He commented.

Stellar nodded. “I have a few ideas about securing our little compound here from casual sightings, but we’ll have to leave that until I can teach you all a few things... and that will have to wait until I re-learn them myself. But there is a way ponies can hold things with their front hoofs. And yes, it has something to do with our innate magic, since all ponies can do it.” She explained a little more.

“Right. So we won’t be without hands, then.” Flitter said.

“Exactly. If you watch the videos, you can see ponies holding things with their forehoofs, including Octavia playing the cello, and Vinyl Scratch holding records.” She told them. “We have... we have...” Then she closed her eyes... “Kinetics.” Stellar finally said.

“Kinetics?” CloudChaser asked, before anypony else did.

Stellar opened her eyes. “Yeah. I call them that for short, since the name is, in full, Magical-effect Telekinetic Manipulators.” She revealed. “They’re the origin of the magic that unicorns use to hold objects with their horn-magic, but all ponies have it in one form or another. Normally, it takes the form of invisible fingers that you can use to hold and manipulate objects. Ponies normally have three fingers and a thumb, but some, like Octavia, have four fingers and a thumb, while some others have only two fingers and a thumb. It all depends.” Stellar said.

“So, how do they work?” CloudChaser asked.

“I might be able to show you...” Stellar said, as her horn lit up. She held her horn down near to her forehoof, and the light showed five extensions of her hoofs, one smaller than the other four. “Can you see them?”

“Yeah...” CloudChaser said, as the others looked as well.

“So, we all have these?” Flitter asked.

“You should.” Stellar affirmed. “I think they’re universal. Part of our adaptation to being quadrupedal all the time.”

“So, are we quadrupedal all the time?” Flitter asked. “Can we actually stand on our hind legs?”

Stellar nodded. “Yes, we can. Some ponies are better at it than others.” Stellar said. “But most ponies can’t stand upright for more than five minutes at a time. There are exceptions, but that’s due to rigorous training.”

CloudChaser was concentrating on her coffee cup, trying to grip it with her ‘kinetics’. She managed to move it as the others talked. Then, she felt it get gripped and she lifted it up off the table. “I got it!” She cried out, grinning as she took a sip from the cup.

The others cheered and applauded. “Congrats, CloudChaser. I told you you could do it.” Stellar said. The others spent half-an-hour trying to grip objects, with all of them eventually being successful, Thunderlane even opening a can of soft drink with his kinetics. Everypony was fascinated as they learned to use their kinetic digits.

A little later, Flitter brought out breakfast for everypony, balancing on her hind-hoofs as she carried a tray with her front ones. “You’re right, Stellar. I can balance, it’s just a little tricky.”

“Keep practising. It’ll get easier, or you’ll be able to do it for longer.” Stellar told Flitter. She nodded as she put breakfast before everypony there. Rumble disdained to use a spoon and buried his muzzle in the bowl, while the others practised using spoons.

“These puffed oats are really good now.” CloudChaser commented. “I mean, I’ve had them before, but they’ve never tasted as good as they do now.” She told the others.

“That’s our equine tastes coming out.” Stellar told CloudChaser. “When you were feeling queasy inside yesterday, that was your digestive system changing back to pony-mode.” She explained. “Don’t eat too much. We’ll be going flying after breakfast, and you don’t want to be too full when maneuvering. You’ll get sick.” Stellar warned.

“Okay!” The Twins said with enthusiasm, as Thunderlane chuckled.

=======

Ater breakfast, Stellar had the four pegasi line up along the front of the cliff, to the side of the beach-houses. "Okay... if I remember right, the first step to successful flying is to energise your wings." She told them all, holding her own out away from her body. "Inside you all is a network of pathways for an energy called Mana. Mana is what allows us to do magic. For a pegasus, we focus the mana through our wings. It's what allows us to manipulate gravity, momentum and inertia, which gives us our speed and flight characteristics. You all saw what happened when my own system fully-initiated yesterday, but my system is a lot more powerful than yours' are, so you shouldn't faint afterwards." Stellar explained to them. "Now, feel inside yourselves for that energy, and try to direct it out into your wings."

The four pegasi stretched their wings out, Rumble between Thunderlane and Flitter. Thunderlane turned his sight inwards and as he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Rumble's eyes light up as whitish-grey energy flowed through his wing-feathers, he felt it himself. A surge of energy flowed through him and into his wings, and he felt himself get lighter, his hoofs barely staying on the ground.

"That's it... feel it, control it." Stellar said as all four pegasi were almost floating now. "The energy is at your beck and call, not the other way around." She told them. Her wings glowed as well as they all floated there. "Now, one large flap!" She commanded, and she gave a massive single flap and shot upwards.

Rumble didn't hesitate. Even with his small wings, he shot upwards at a good pace. As Thunderlane shot up with him, Rumble flapped a little more and reached where Stellar was hovering. The Twins shot upwards together and reached the hover level about the same time Thunderlane did.

"Good!" Stellar said. "Now, follow me and watch as I do!" Stellar said to them, and led them through the sky over the beach and the bay. Stellar led them through the exercises she'd learned in the past as they circled through the sky.

Thunderlane found more and more memories coming alive inside him, at least in regards to flight. Every minute spent in the skies renewed his skills.

CloudChaser and Flitter squealed with delight and laughter as they maneuvered around each other, playing and soaring around each other. They'd never felt anything as good as being able to fly...

Stellar was soaring along with Rumble, keeping an eye on the younger pegasus. He was laughing with joy as he raced along, his small body being very fast in the air. Stellar kept up with him, giving him little tips as they flew together.

= = = = =

Below, on the beach, the few there looked up to see large winged creatures flying overhead. "What the hell?" One of the men said, attracting the attention of his wife.

"What, David?" She asked.

"What's that, up there?" He asked her, pointing to the pegasi flying overhead.

The woman looked up, squinting in the bright morning sunlight. "Pretty big birds." She said, retreating under the canopy of the large beach unbrella they'd set up.

"They don't look like any birds I've ever seen before, Kirsty." David replied as he watched them soar and wheel overhead. David shook his head. "I'd swear they've got four legs." He said with a frown.

"Don't be silly, David. Now, come here and get yourself sunscreened." Kirsty said, holding out a spray-bottle of sunscreen lotion. "You'll burn and turn into an old prune otherwise.

David humphed, but went to Kirsty as he watched the winged shapes disappear over the cliffs. "Still pretty bloody strange, if you ask me." He said softly as he crouched down before his wife and she started spraying him with the sunscreen lotion.

= = = = =

As the ponies landed easily again, Stellar caught Rumble as he nearly collapsed onto the gound. "Easy, Rumble. A slow landing is a good landing."

"Uh, yeah, okay." Rumble replied as Stellar put him down.

Stellar ruffled Rumble's hair with a wingtip, then grinned at the others. "A good first flight, my friends. We're doing well." She told them.

"Now, let us go over some of the other flight lessons I still remember." Stellar said, leading them back to the main beach-house.

=======

Later,Thunderlane looked at Stellar as they lay on the main beach-house's verandah, looking out over the ocean. "So, what now?" He asked Stellar. "We've got our bodies completed; we know we can fly, and fly well. Where do we go from here?"

Stellar was looking thoughtful. "I know what my mission here is, but most of my memories are still suppressed." She sighed. "Discord said that all my memories and belongings would be returned to me, if I managed to work out a way to do so... and that one of my belongings would be accessible, regardless." She told Thunderlane.

"Maybe it was meant to trigger a memory, or maybe all of them." Thunderlane suggested, as they watched Rumble being fussed over by Flitter and CloudChaser.

"Maybe, but I have a feeling there was a lot more to it, in order to defeat the bad Discord's spell." Stellar said back. "My Discord knew the power of his other self's spell. He knew I'd have to put my memories somewhere safe..." Then Stellar's eyes and horn began to glow a soft white.

Thunderlane jerked to his hoofs and moved back. "Uh, Stellar, you okay?" He asked.

Then Stellar said softly:

Five score divided by four, your time has come and gone;

The pony you were before now returns and lives on;

Memories are all you need for you to become whole again;

Grab your guide and unlock your past, and you will be you again.

Thunderlane didn't know that much about being an alicorn, but even he knew a spell when he heard it. Then there was a tearing sound, and a glowing line slid open before Stellar. The line opened to reveal a space, and an object with silver-and-gold covers slid out into the air, glowing with Mana energy. It set itself down before Stellar and the space became a line again, then faded.

Stellar's horn and eyes stopped glowing and she shook her head, her mane and bangs flying around and settling again. "Woah!" She said. "That was such a rush!" She looked at Thunderlane, who was moving closer again. "Did I just do magic? Real magic? Not the simple stuff I did earlier?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, I think that's what it was." Thunderlane answered.

Stellar grinned. "Totally awesome!" She laughed. Then she noticed the metal case before her. On the top of it, reproduced in precious stones, was her cutie-mark, with a large, smooth, round gem in the middle of the star. "Oh, this has to be mine." Stellar stated.

Thunderlane chuckled as he sat down before Stellar again, the case between them. "With that cover embellishment, I can't see it being anyone else's." He agreed.

Stellar put her right front hoof on the gem in the center of the star, and it glowed a soft purple. She shivered slightly. "Oh yeah... there's real power in here, more than I've felt before, ever." She told Thunderlane. She looked the case over and instantly saw the old-fashioned strap-lock to the right side. "Okay, this looks like my old diary's lock." She said.

"There's no keyhole, though." Thunderlane pointed out.

"Yeah... I don't think it opens with a key. That would have been way too easy to lose over time." Stellar surmised. She touched it with a hoof and it glowed softly. "Open." She said and the glow faded, but nothing happened.

"Wrong word?" Thunderlane asked.

"Probably." Stellar agreed. She took her hoof off the lock and put it back, and the lock glowed again. Stellar tried "Unlock." and the glow didn't fade, but the lock remained shut.

"Okay, that's a bit better, but not completely right." Thunderlane commented.

Stellar took her hoof off the lock and the glow faded. “Yeah..." She tried a few other words, but the glow completely faded each time. "Okay, so 'unlock' seems to be the right word, but the lock's not completely recognising it." Stellar said.

"Maybe you're not saying it right." Came a younger voice from beside them. Stellar and Thunderlane looked up to see Rumble standing there beside them, watching what they were doing.

"Hey, Little Dude." Thunderlane smiled warmly at his younger brother, and they hoof-bumped together.

"What do you mean, Rumble, that I'm not 'saying’ it right?" Stellar asked as Rumble sat down.

"You said it in English." Rumble elaborated. "Did you know English when you had this before?" He asked.

Stellar blinked in surprise, as Thunderlane chuckled. "Little Dude's still got all of Rusty's know-how up here in his hard head." He said as he grabbed Rumble and noogied him gently.

"Hey! Stop!" Rumble said, then giggled as Thunderlane tickled him, then drew him into a hug. The brothers nuzzled one another, the closeness between them obvious.

Stellar grinned, then her face fell into a thoughtful look. "Not in English..." She thought. "Maybe... Equestrian?" She placed her hoof on the lock again, and thought really hard. "Ku... Ku..." Stellar dredged up anything she felt would be right. Then, as Thunderlane and Rumble watched, Stellar said "Ku'shadt!"

There was a flash of light and the lock fell open.

Stellar quickly removed her hoof as the cover flew open, revealing a book built inside the metal covers. Pages flipped over with a magenta magic, until a hard divider fell open near the front of the book. Then there was a flicker in the air that solidified into a full-sized image of Stellar herself, looking out at her real counterpart.

"Whoa!!" Rumble exclaimed. "Totally cool! They got holograms!"

Thunderlane chuckled at that, as Stellar got to her hoofs and looked the image over. Then she noticed it was tapping with a hoof at a section of glowing text on the page opposite the hard divider.

"What's that?" Flitter said as she walked up with CloudChaser.

"Stellar's got a book!" Rumble told them.

"A book?" CloudChaser asked.

"It's actually a Tome of magic." Stellar replied, as more little things came to the fore in her memories. "It's my personal tome."

"Oh, cool!" CloudChaser exclaimed as they looked on.

Stellar started reading out phonetically the glowing words on the page, and as she did so, her horn lit up in its magenta field. All of them found a halo of the magenta magic hovering around their ears and they all slowly closed their eyes as Stellar finished reading. The magic flashed and sunk into their heads, and they all opened their eyes again, the Twins shaking their heads.

"Shuv te hov tro eda?"(What the hay was that?) Flitter asked.

"Shuv te hov dub yhu jisd ess?" (What the hay did you just say?) CloudChaser replied, then they both blinked, as Stellar chuckled.

"" Stellar told them.

"" Thunderlane also said in Equestrian. ""

"" Stellar explained.

"" Said the image of Stellar. "" The image told Stellar.

"" Stellar replied. "" She told the image.

"" The image explained.

A pair of rings made of magic light appeared between Stellar and her image, and dozens of tiny characters appeared between the rings. "" The image instructed.

Stellar turned back to the others and said "This may take a while. Maybe you should have lunch while I do this."

"Okay." The twins shrugged, and headed back into the beach-house.

"You gonna be okay, Stellar?" Rumble asked her.

Stellar smiled down at Rumble, and gently nuzzled him. "I'll be okay, Little Dude." She answered, calling him by his pet name. "Look after the others for me while I'm busy."

Rumble grinned widely. "Sure thing... Knight-Commander!" He said, and actually marched off inside.

Thunderlane was half-chuckling, half-looking-on with pride in his little brother. "You just made his day, you know." He commented to Stellar.

Stellar had a soft smile on her face. "Mmm-hmm." She replied. "I'll see you when this is done." She turned and nuzzled Thunderlane with a lot more affection.

He returned the nuzzle with as much affection. "Stay safe." Thunderlane said, and headed inside.

Stellar sighed happily and turned to the image and the array. Lying down, she slid her long horn into the array, which lit up brilliantly, as did her horn...

=======

Two bowls of alfalfa, four carrots and an apple later, Thunderlane pushed his bowl back and burped softly. "Damn. I don't know why this stuff tastes so good, but it does." He said.

CloudChaser nodded, as Rumble continued munching on his third bowl of the alfalfa plants. "I know." She agreed. "I guess our tastes really have changed for good."

"Well, we can still have fish." Flitter grinned as she brought out four big fillets of barramundi and placed the plates before each of them.

"FISH!" was the cry from the other three, and they tucked in, cutting the fish into small pieces and eating them carefully, the lemon and tartare sauce even improving the flavor. Flitter sat down and joined her sister in munching out on the delicious fish she'd cooked.

"Oh Celestia above! This tastes even better than usual, Sis." CloudChaser told Flitter.

Flitter chuckled as she sat back, licking the juices of the fish off her lips. "Ah, there's nothing like a good meal after a flight." She told the others.

"Yeah, have to agree." Thunderlane replied. "A great lunch, Flitter. Thanks."

"So... what do you think Stellar plans to do next?" CloudChaser asked them.

"Frankly... I'm not sure, and I'm not sure she does, either." Thunderlane answered. "She was never completely sure without all her memories. Hopefully, once she is complete, she'll know what to do."

"Hopefully." Flitter agreed.

"She'll know." Rumble butted in. "She always know what to do." He told them with the confidence of a foal.

Thunderlane nodded. "Hopefully, you're right, Bro." He said to Rumble.

"So... what are we gonna do, if we can go back to Equestria?" Flitter asked. "Do we go, or do we stay here?" She asked.

"Yeah, I mean, we are from Equestria originally, but we're also from here, now." CloudChaser added. "Do we go there or not?"

"I'm staying." Thunderlane answered. "You girls can go back, if you like, but Stellar needs others to help her, and I am going to stay and do just that."

"Me too!" Rumble agreed. "I'm staying with my Bro!"

Thunderlane chuckled. "Wouldn't expect anything less of you, Little Dude." He gave Rumble a wing-hug.

The girls looked at each other, then nodded. "We're staying, too... at least for now." CloudChaser said.

"Unless there's a reason for us to return." Flitter said. "But it will have to be a very good one." She added.

Then the doors on the front of the beach-house opened, revealing a figure in metal. It walked in, revealing the metal to be a suit of armor around a pony; a suit made in white and gold with symbols on the chestplate and the flank-plates. The figure stopped before them, and the visor and face-guard opened to reveal Stellar’s face.

The Twins almost cringed back at the stern look on her face, so very different to her smile or the countenance she had shown before. Her entire stance had changed, to be much more disciplined and rigid. Then she smiled, and her face completely changed again as they watched. “Heya ponies.” She said.

“Wow! Totally cool!” Rumble yelled as he jumped off his chair and raced around to her. “Where did you get the armor from?” He asked.

“It’s always been with me. I just had to learn how to access it.” Stellar answered. “This is my Royal Guard armor, as a Knight-Commander in the service.” She told Rumble. Stellar closed her eyes and her armor glowed, then opened up and seemingly retracted into the helmet.

"Whoah..." Rumble said, impressed, as Thunderlane blinked with surprise.

Stellar giggled a little. "Now then, I have good news." She told them all. "I now have access to my own funds reserve, besides my bank account and credit card. So we're good for funds." She told them.

"Cool!" CloudChaser replied. "I was getting a little worried."

Stellar nodded. "I also plan to sell my ute off as well." She said. "I no longer need it, and with Thunderlane's troopcarrier, we can go anywhere we want to, anyway."

Thunderlane frowned. "I'd keep it, if I were you. Never know when we might need a second vehicle."

Stellar considered this. "I guess you're right." She agreed. She took her helmet off and put it on the table. "Now, I'm going to make us some equipment to carry our radio beacons and headsets." Stellar told them. "That way we can communicate in the air a lot more easily and Traffic Control will be able to track us, as if we were aircraft. That way, we can fly through their radar without them suspecting we're not aircraft at all."

"Are you sure about that?" Flitter asked. "Do you think it'll really fool them?"

Stellar shrugged. "Well, I'm hoping so. But I'm going to test the systems first, of course. I'm going to get mine working properly, then move to Noosa's airfield, 'take off' from there and fly over Brisbane, to 'land' at the Gold Coast airport. I can teleport back to here from there fairly easily." Stellar explained.

"That does sound a bit risky." Thunderlane gave his opinion. "But if you do fool them, then it'll prove pretty much that the system can be fooled."

Stellar nodded. "The big thing is going to be the take-off and landing." She said back. "But I have a plan for that, too. I'm going to cast an image of an aircraft around me, so they'll 'see' an actual aircraft seemingly take off and land at either end. As long as I stick to approximately the proper speed for the aircraft of the type, then they shouldn't pick up on the fact it's not really there."

"Oh, I see." Said CloudChaser. "You'll be hidden in the illusion, your transponder broadcasting as if it was real, so they shouldn't see a pony flying out or landing or think it's anything unusual." She said with a grin.

"That's the plan, anyway." Stellar confirmed. "And with the radio, I can talk with Traffic Control as if things were as normal as can be." She grinned. "I've already registered one of the transponders with a proper registration and aircraft type with C.A.S.A., so the beacon should be recognised by the system when I start the flight. I can also log my flight plan via the Internet before I take off, so that shouldn't be a problem, either. I just have to watch for the guide beacons and make sure I stay at altitude for the flight. Hopefully, I won't get any nasty questions from the traffic controllers."

"Here's hoping." Thunderlane said.

Stellar smiled at him. "Okay, do we have any complaints about anything so far?" She asked them all.

"Uh..." Flitter looked at CloudChaser. "Not really... we would like to know a bit more about what it means to be ponies, really..."

"Yeah, like... physical stuff, you know." CloudChaser added.

Stellar nodded. "I do appreciate the problem, believe me. I'll talk to you two later about that." She told the Twins. "As for you two," She looked at Thunderlane and Rumble, "I'll tell you what I know also later on. While I'm not as familiar with being a stallion as I am a mare, I do know some of the problems males have to deal with in their lives. Comes from having a brother." She grinned.

Thunderlane nodded. "It'd be appreciated."

Stellar relaxed a bit more. "Thanks, guys. Believe me, it's not going to be an easy trip, but we'll work things out together. I know there's a lot more ponies out there, we just have to find them."

The Twins grinned as they sat there, while Thunderlane just nodded and Rumble bounced in his seat. "When are we going?" He asked.

"When I think it's safe." Stellar replied. "I am grateful you've all accepted me as your leader in this, but I'm not taking it for granted. Any feedback from any of you... even you, Rumble, will be graciously received."

They all smiled at Stellar. "Considering, as a Princess, you could just order us to do anything and we'd probably obey it... Thanks for considering our feelings, Stellar." Thunderlane said for the group.

Stellar nodded. "It's a foolish leader who ignores her followers. Celestia, Luna and my time in the Royal Guards taught me that." She said to them. "We're together now, and I'd like to keep us together, if you want to remain that way. I think we make a great team and I think we'll make an even better team in the future."

Thunderlane smiled and nodded to Stellar. "Well... I might as well tell you..." He then said, as his face dropped and he sounded a little sad.

Stellar noticed the others looked sad as well. "You've... decided something?" She asked. Thunderlane, Flitter and CloudChaser all nodded, while Rumble hid himself under Thunderlane's wing. Stellar had the most dreadful feeling about what they'd decided.

Then Thunderlane told Stellar "We've all decided... that we're staying with you." He grinned at her, as did the Twins, then Rumble leaped out and hugged Stellar, who's spirits lifted ten thousand miles at their happy expressions.

She laughed as they all hugged her. "You bloody fakers! You really had me going there for a minute!"

"Takes a lot to prank a Princess!" Flitter replied.

"Yeah! But it worked!" Cloudchaser added, giggling.

"We gotcha!" Rumble said, from his perch on Stellar's back.

"Yeah, okay. I'll admit it, you got me good." Stellar admitted. "I'll think of another prank to get you back another time."

"Gonna have to be a beauty of a prank to out-do that one." Thunderlane said.

"I'll think of something." Stellar replied, grinning. "But thanks, my friends. You don't know how much it's appreciated."

"You're always welcome, Stellar." Thunderlane said, as they all snuggled together.

=======

As the others were resting in the heat of the day, while Rumble played in the air over the national park, Stellar was working with metal. Using her magic, she'd began to take bars of titanium-infused aluminium, she used her power to make the metal as pliable as modelling clay and shaped chunks of it into helmets for the other ponies, as well as chest-guards that would contain the rest of their communications equipment, as well as individual aircraft beacons, GPS systems and other navigation equipment, just in case they got separated.

She'd originally purchased the metal to make a new suit of armor, in case she'd not been able to access her old suits and, while they were inferior to her Equestrian armor, they still would have stopped most personal and assault weapons-fire with the magic enhancements she would have added to the metal. While that wasn't necessary now, her fellow pegasi would benefit from the equipment... if her idea worked and it disguised them as an aircraft. She'd seen how paranoid the Americans and others were becoming, and she hoped this would allow them to fly without anyone shooting them down when they headed for America.

By the time the sun was slowly setting in the west, Stellar had completed two sets of the 'armor' for the twins, and started in Rumble's. She'd also fitted her own armor with the transponder/radio/GPS kit, and relaxed a little. Tonight and tomorrow would be the big test. If she could fly from Noosa to Coolangatta without being questioned, they'd make it all the way to America with the same result... hopefully. If not, she had a few contingency plans. With five beacons, they had five possible disguises to use. Hopefully, they wouldn't have to use them all.

Picking up the pair of armor sets, Stellar headed inside. It was time for Dinner, and she didn't want Rumble to eat her fish. "That little bugger of a colt has hollow legs when it comes to consuming fish." She said to herself as she headed inside.

=======

Thunderlane looked over Stellar's shoulder that evening as she filed her flight plan for the morning. He could see she was filing a standard flight from Noosa to Gold Coast Airport, using common beacons and following a well-flown path. "Not doing any fancy flying, I see." He commented.

Stellar chuckled. "Not likely. I want this to be as unnoteworthy a flight as is possible." She reminded Thunderlane. "I'm just checking out their responses to my transponder and radio communications. If I pass as an aircraft, then we can see about doing other flights and making our way to the States."

Thunderlane frowned. "You're still sure that's where we need to go, then?" He asked.

"I am almost positive that's where my sister and the other princesses are." Stellar answered Thunderlane. "I can just feel Twilight's magic presence, now my own magic's back again and I know what to feel for. She's there. And the rest of Team Harmony will be there, too."

"They will?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar nodded. "You might think it's strange, but the bond they have is impossibly strong. Not even Death can forever truly sever the bond they have." She told Thunderlane. "Whatever happened to them; whomever they became, they'll gravitate towards each other by the power of that bond. I've seen it before, and it'll be happening now."

Thunderlane smiled and nodded. "I trust you, Stellar. You'll get us there." He said.

Stellar smiled as her kinetic fingers typed away on the computer. "There." She said. "Flight plan and aircraft identification filled out and ready for the morning."

Thunderlane nodded as he looked over Stellar's shoulder. "Hopefully, it all goes smoothly."

"I hope so, too. If we can pose as aircraft, then hopefully the American military systems aren't going to query us as we cross the coastline." She told Thunderlane.

"So, which way are we going to go?" He asked. "Straight across the Pacific?"

Stellar shook her head. "I thought about that, but we can't project too big an image with the transponders we have." She said. "The biggest aircraft we can impersonate are the smaller business jets, and they have a limited range. So we need to put 'stops' in where they'd have to land, and that means travelling over land. We can skip the stops once we reach them, as if we'd landed before, but we have to file the proper flight plan first, or the authorities will suspect something and take a closer look at our 'flight'. So we'll head over Asia, India and the Middle East, then Europe before we head to America."

Thunderlane nodded, looking thoughtful. "You've really thought about this, havent you?"

"It's in my nature." Stellar explained. "I'm a military commander. Tactical and strategic thinking are part of my forte. I always expect trouble and try to plan for it, to either circumvent it, go through it or simply get rid of it." She told Thunderlane.

"And supplies?" He asked.

"Muesli bars and granola trail mix." Stellar replied with a grin. "We can carry a lot of the more 'natural' ones in our saddlebags, plus water as well. Since we can land on clouds for a rest, we can do so and simply carry on when we need to."

"Hopefully, that doesn't make the humans suspicious when we stop to rest." Thunderlane pointed out.

"Yeah, I realise this, but we just can't fly there straight." Stellar pointed out. "There are routes to fly over areas that civilian traffic takes, and we can't impersonate military aircraft. We can fly past the bigger airports, and if we do things right, they'll lose us in the traffic at the ones without more modern equipment. Also, the war-torn areas will also be good, as they'll not expect us to land and their equipment is still either old, portable systems or are still in the process of being replaced. We might also be able to catch a ride on some older aircraft as well, which will get us through much more easily, as long as we do it right and use really big aircraft. They won't really notice the weight that much."

"What about the height factor?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar chuckled. "You've really forgotten a lot about being a pegasus, haven't you?" Stellar asked him. "Okay. Pegasi have no trouble breathing the air up to heights that would make lesser creatures die. I've flown at over sixty-thousand feet before with no complications. And we don't feel the cold that much, either, as long as we stay dry, so we avoid flying through clouds at anything over twenty-thousand, save for staying out of sight."

Thunderlane looked impressed. "Over sixty-thou without complications? That's impressive."

"Yeah. If we all had armor like mine, then we'd be able to go even higher. But finding the right materials without raising suspicions is hard, even for a cop." She explained. "As it is, I was able to get enough for one full suit... or four helmets and chest-pieces for four pegasi." Stellar informed Thunderlane with a grin. "I had two of the sets completed this afternoon. I can do the rest tomorrow evening, after I get back."

Thunderlane chuckled. "You really are inventive. Where do you get the time to sleep?"

Stellar chuckled. "Celestia and Luna really are a little lazy, you know. I've found that an alicorn can survive on two hours of sleep a night for up to three weeks before we really start to feel it. We can cycle our magic to remove fatigue and the effects of long days as we take those two hours." Stellar explained "I slept for two days straight at the end of the three weeks, but I proved it could be done." She sighed. "Then again, they do a lot in their day, and raising the Sun and Moon takes a lot out of even an alicorn." She admitted. "I've done it a few times for practise, as has Twilight, just in case one of the pair was incapacitated. It was a thrill, I can tell you. The feeling of sheer power that flows back through you as you do it... I think that's why it's easier for a single alicorn to do it, rather than the old methods of using unicorns in teams. They probably burned out on the feedback." She told Thunderlane.

Thunderlane nodded his head in amazement. "I still can't believe that's true." He said. "That the sun revolves around... Equis, you called our homeworld?"

"Yeah, I know it goes against every scientific principle we were taught in school. But there's reasons for it, even if I can't go into them at the moment." Stellar answered.

"Fair enough." Thunderlane replied. "So, when are you leaving?"

"About Four AM." Stellar said. "I can be at the airfield by Five without attracting attention that way, and get on the field and disguise myself, ready for them to start operations for the day."

Thundelane smiled. "Sounds like a plan. Like some company tonight?"

Stellar grinned a soft grin. "I would enjoy that very much." She told Thunderlane, giving him a soft kiss as they hugged.

"Then let us ajourn, my Princess, and enjoy the closeness of good friends." Thunderlane said, as Stellar shut down her computer and got up, to join Thunderlane as they walked towards Stellar's bedroom...

=======

It was just before Five AM that Stellar arrived at Noosa Airfield. The security there was fairly good, with motion-sensing cameras and live guards.

"Hmm..." Stellar said softly to herself, her Lunar Guard armor concealing her in the shadows. "How to get around those cameras?" She stretched out with her senses and found the area was covered in morning dew. Smiling, she said "Perfect."

Stellar moved out into the open, the darkness still mostly concealing her since the airfield wasn't open this early in the morning. She stretched out her wings, calling forth her pegasus weather magic with a soft voice, and she used the dew around the area to create an early morning fog, a very thick one...

= = = = =

The two guards met up in small electric quads near the terminal, as the fog rolled down the from the small heights behind the airfield. "Brrr! Dammit, that's gettin' cold." One said to the other.

"Yeah. You got your jacket with you?" The other asked.

"Not on me. It was such a nice night..." The first one said.

"Go back and get the bloody thing, then. I'll stay here and keep an eye-out." The second one said. The first guard needed no further encouragement, and headed for their shack. The second guard stayed as alert as he could, as the fog thickened...

= = = = =

Smiling at her inventiveness, Stellar leaped over the fence and glided down over the grass, to land where her magic senses told her the flight line was. As she reached where the other light aircraft were parked, she brought forth her magic and an illusion wrapped around her in the fog. Soon, another non-descript light aircraft sat at the end of a line of them. Stellar, invisible inside the illusion, left the illusion being fed by the magic of her armor and curled up for a nap. She knew it'd be safe enough, since even if someone blundered into it, it would feel real... at least while it was on the ground and not moving through the air.

= = = = =

The second guard was starting to feel the chill himself, even in his jacket, when his comerade returned, also buttoned up in his cold-weather jacket. "First real sign of Autumn's chill." He told his friend. "Maybe I should bring my cold-weather pants tomorrow too."

"Couldn't hurt, if we're gonna get more of these rolling in." The second guard said.

"Got you some coffee." The first guard said, handing a thermos to his comerade, who sighed happily.

"I knew there was a reason I liked working shift with you, Burke." He said.

Burke chuckled. "That was four sugars in that thermos, wasn't it, King?"

"Hey! You remembered for once." King replied. He sipped at the coffee and moaned. "Ah, nectar of the gods, my friend. You got it perfect."

Burke nodded, smiling. "I got mine here, too. See you at sun-up."

"Yeah, damn right, you will." King replied, as he slowly moved off on patrol.

Burke took a long sip at his own, before he stood it up beside him and headed off on his own patrol route. He frowned as he reached the end of the flight line parking. "Could've sworn there wasn't this many planes here... Eh, must be the fog." He said to himself as he rolled past them, checking the tie-down lines. Once he was sure they were still tied down, he headed off around the small line of hangars beside the fence line.

=======

The fog lifted as the sun rose over the east coast of Australia, and the little airport woke up. Personnel arrived for the first of the day's landings and take-offs. Stellar woke up at about Ten and stretched inside the illusion she'd created. After having something to eat, she turned on her headset and listened to the chatter, getting a feel for the way the system worked, beyond the information she already had. After getting herself ready, she 'powered up' her systems and contacted Traffic Control. "Control, this is Victor-Hotel-dash-Papa-Oscar-November, requesting Flight number and permission to taxi, over."

The reply was fairly quick in coming. "Rojer that, Victor-Hotel-dash-Papa-Oscar-November. Your flight assignment is Flight Seven, you have permission to taxi to Strip Zero-One-South along Taxiway Two and wait at Bay Two. Over."

"Control, this is Flight Seven light. Rojer taxi to Strip Zero-One-South along Taxiway Two and wait at Bay Two. Out." Stellar replied as her illusion sat there, its propeller gaining speed as she opened her wings and slowly trotted along at a decent rolling pace across the apron and onto Taxiway Two.

In the control tower, The controller on duty looked at his back-up for the morning and said "Hey, Allan, have a look at that new model."

Allan walked over and looked out the windows at Stellar's illusion. "Hey, nice. A bit more streamlined than the usual Cessnas or Beechcraft." He commented. "Do we know what model it is, Jake?"

"Registration says it's a modified Embraer Super Tucano." Jake replied.

"Must be customised for more streamlining." Allan suggested. He watched as it stopped at Bay Two and waited as a Cessna 172 landed. "Flight Seven light, you are go for taxiing onto Strip Zero-One-South. Over."

"Control, this is Flight Seven light. Rojer taxi onto Strip Zero-One-South. Over." Came the reply.

"I don't know that voice." Jake said.

"Meh. Printout says it's a delivery flight." Allan replied. "Probably a company-hired pilot."

Jake watched as the aircraft moved smoothly onto the grass strip and lined up. "Control, this is Flight Seven light. Requesting permission to take-off on Strip Zero-One-South. Over" The female pilot asked.

"Flight Seven light, you are go for take-off onto Strip Zero-One-South." Allan said back to the pilot, and Jake watched as the aircraft's propeller speeded up and the aircraft started racing down the grass strip, lifting off smoothly and heading into the sky.

Stellar had started trotting down the runway, then sped up to a very fast gallop as she began flapping her wings, her feet lifting off from the ground as she flapped her wings powerfully and 'lifted off', heading up into the sky. "Control, this is Flight Seven light, thank you for the quick service and I hope you have a great day. Flight Seven light, Out."

"And thank you, Flight Seven light. Have a safe flight. Noosa Control, Out." Allan said, looking for any other aircraft inbound. There wasn't another take-off scheduled for an hour, and Jake was monitoring several light aircraft crossing through their airspace.

= = = = =

Stellar grinned as she slid through the air at just over seven hundred KPH. It was a speed she could easily keep up for the time it would take to reach Coolangatta. It felt so good to be able to stretch her wings like this again. She was starting to feel a little cramped sitting around for so long. A good long flight would do her the world of good. The visor on her armor was showing her the flight path and the navigation beacons, as well as the new GPS readouts. Her magic senses were showing her the other aircraft in the air around her as she reached her flight altitude and settled into the short hop. She passed through Brisbane's International Airport's airspace without any real comments or questioning, something that pleased her greatly.

Gold Coast Airport was a lot busier than Noosa was, but that meant they were less likely to have the time to give her more than the attention she needed to land safely. "Gold Coast Control, this is Flight Seven light, coming into your approach zone. Over." Stellar said, holding steady.

"Flight Seven Light, this is Gold Coast Control; we have you on our scopes. Be advised, there is a queue at this time. Do you have any issues that we need to be aware of? Over."

"Control, this is Flight Seven light. No issues at this stage, can hold for over an hour if necessary at this stage. Over." Stellar replied.

"Flight Seven light, good to know. Take up outer beacon three at one-zero-zero and wait for landing clearance. Wind is one knot from the east at present. Over."

"Control, this is Flight Seven light, rojer that. Holding at outer beacon three at one-zero-zero. Out." Stellar acknowledged her orders, then slipped into the beacon pattern at ten-thousand feet. Having read up on procedures, they'd probably shift her to inner beacon one at a lower altitude before letting her come in to land.

Sure enough, within fifteen minutes she heard "Flight Seven light, proceed to inner beacon one at five-zero. Over."

"Control, this is Flight Seven light. Rojer that. Proceeding to inner beacon one at five-zero. Out." Stellar replied and slowly descended to five thousand feet, before settling into the holding pattern around the inner beacon. She could see passenger jets and other types of aircraft making landings at the medium-sized airport. "Control, this is Flight Seven light. At inner beacon one and five-zero altitude. Over."

"Copy that Flight Seven light. Hold for further instructions. Control, out."

Stellar held her position in the queue expertly. Her formation training from the Wonderbolts was holding her in good stead.

=======

The Tower manager was slowly circling through the pit, watching the controllers there. He noticed on the board of one of them was a light aircraft. "What's this one?" He asked the controller.

"A light aircraft out of Noosa, sir." The controller answered.

"What's her callsign?" He asked.

The controller activated his mike. "Flight Seven light, what's your callsign? Over."

= = = = =

Stellar heard the request, and answered. "Control, this is Flight Seven light. My callsign is Victor-Hotel-dash-Papa-Oscar-November. Over." She answered.

= = = = =

The manager frowned. "Okay..."

"Anything wrong, sir?" The controller asked.

The manager checked up on the registration. "Huh. It's been reassigned. No, it's okay. I just swore that registration belonged to another aircraft, that's all." He explained. "It probably did at one time, but it was transferred yesterday." He took a deep breath. "Probably for a transfer flight." He thought out loud.

"Do you want me to hold them?" The controller asked.

"No, it's fine." The manager said. "Let them come down when they're lined up to. We'll send someone to check them out." He said.

"Rojer that, Sir." The controller said.

=======

Stellar waited patiently as she circled for another fifteen minutes, then heard "Flight Seven light, proceed to runway Three-five North. Wind is from the south-east at two knots. After you land, cross Main runway and head for taxiway one-four-eight and proceed to parking area four-five. Over."

"Control this is Flight Seven light. Rojer that. Land on runway Three-five north, cross main runway to taxiway one-four-eight, and proceed to parking area four-five. Flight Seven light, Out."

Stellar knew the layout of the airport's runways. They'd asked her to land on the smaller cross-runway, then cross the main runway and go down a long taxiway at the end of the smaller runway to a light aircraft parking area. She'd seen a couple of other small aircraft land on the smaller runway, so she followed the beacon in, watched for anything moving on the main runway as she floated down easily. The 'landing' gear' on the image she was surrounded by then deployed and locked, and she touched down smoothly, keeping her legs up inside the illusion as she crossed the main runway and slowly headed off the end of the runway.

There was a small car there, and she followed it up the taxiway to the parking area. Her legs touched down as she trotted along the rows of other aircraft, and she parked where she was told to, 'shutting down' her 'engine' once she was parked. Stellar took a minute to breathe deeply for a little while and relax. She'd made it down to the ground again, and successfully at that. They'd not challenged her once. Whether that was because she'd fooled them or just down to sheer luck, that was to be determined. But as she stretched and waited, there was no reaction at all to her arrival and landing, now that the ground crew had moved on to assist the next light aircraft arrival.

She activated her mobile phone and called Thunderlane.

=======

Thunderlane had been trying to keep his cool as the day had progressed. Stellar had been gone before dawn, and there had been a small influx of people heading down to the beach at the bay below the cliffs, but none had approached the beach-houses. Rumble had been watching them from a perch in one of the few big trees in the park, but he'd reported no-one took the track leading up to the cliff-top.

He'd heard Stellar take-off over the radio in one of the helmets Stellar had made. There seemed to be no reaction to her taking off or moving out of the range of the radio, but he'd started to worry as the day progressed, and there was no word from her.

Then his phone rang.

Thunderlane jumped, but grabbed it and brought it to him. They'd practised using their kinetics on smartphones by ringing each other a few times, and discovered how to use the tricky smartphones with their kinetics. He had already unlocked it, so he answered "Curtis here, what'cha got?"

"Hey, Partner. How's it hanging?" Stellar's voice came out of his phone, and Thunderlane started breathing easy again.

"Much better now you've called in." Thunderlane replied. "I take it you're down?" He asked.

"Yep." Stellar confirmed. "And there didn't seem to be any trouble, either." She told him.

"That's good to hear." Thunderlane told Stellar. "You going to come home, then?" He asked.

"In a bit. I just don't want the plane to vanish until there's as few people around to see it fade as there can be." Stellar answered. "How's things there?"

"We have a few parties headed down to the beach, but we're watching them, and no-one's seemed to want to head up here." Thunderlane reported.

"Good, good." Stellar said back. "I won't be much longer. Try to hold out until I get back, okay?"

"Okay, Stellar. Just stay safe." Thundelane told Stellar.

"Safer than anyone, Lane." She replied, then signed off.

Thunderlane relaxed back on the couch and dropped the phone to one side. He stretched, feeling the tension in his wings slowly dissipate. Then the phone rang again...

Author's Note

G'day again! :pinkiehappy:
Okay, next chapter. I've broken the 30,000 word limit, I think. I have more, if I haven't here yet (but it's bloody close). Hopefully, publishing all three chapters at the same time means the mods won't nerf this story. I certainly hope not, or I'll have to submit them as one giant chapter, and I really wouldn't like to have to do that.

See you for Chapter Four!

04 - Translocation

"Uh, Hello?" Curtis asked as he picked it up. The number wasn't one he was familiar with.

"Curtis! Where the hell are you?" Was the reply, making him cringe.

"Yeah, hello to you too, Mum." Thunderlane replied in a not-impressed voice.

"Where are you? Where's Dennis? And the Twins?" His mother asked. "We just got home and found a rather uninforming message on the fridge whiteboard that you're going away for vacation! What happened to the plans we had for the Twins' visit?"

"Sorry, Mum." Thunderlane replied. "But I got an offer from a friend that... well, was too good to refuse." Thunderlane said.

He heard his mother grumble. "And what offer was so good that you decided to take it up instead of staying with us?" She asked rather pointedly.

"Staying in a beach-house near a world-famous beach for almost nothing." Thunderlane replied, as Rumble came in. Thunderlane rolled his eyes at Rumble's inquiring look, and just turned on the speakerphone.

"Whaaat!? You're lazing about on a beach somewhere away from here instead of hiking Uluru with your father and I? How culturally insensitive are you?" She asked, as Rumble cringed and slowly made for the door.

"Rusty, Sharrah and Sarah all decided they liked the idea, and after all, it is free accommodation near a place where suites in hotels near the beach run into a hundred dollars a day or more, Mother." Thunderlane replied.

Rumble looked at his big brother and made certain gestures with his hoofs, to suggest throwing the phone as far away as possible. Thunderlane grinned, but moved and grabbed the keys to the Landcruiser, then gestured for Rumble to grab the other phone out of the 'Cruiser and bring it to him, as he tossed the keys to Rumble. Rumble grinned wickedly and raced off, flying out the door so as to not sound hoof-falls in the house.

"Don't you talk to me that way, Curtis. I am still your mother." She said down the phone, her tone completely adversarial.

"Mum, I did say that I might have alternate plans this year, didn't I?" Thunderlane replied.

"I DON"T CARE!" She yelled, making Thunderlane move the phone away from his sensitive ears. "Your father and I are going to find out where you are and come there, then the four of you can come with us on a proper family holiday!" she demanded.

Thunderlane could hear his father in the background, telling his mother to: "Drop it, will you, Alicia? If they're happier there, good luck to them."

"I have been planning this trip for two years, Alexander Terrence Marks!" Alicia yelled out, heard clearly over the phone as Rumble returned.

Rumble winced again. "Mama's going crazy again." He commented to Thunderlane softly.

Thunderlane nodded. "You got that other phone?" He asked Rumble, who pulled it out triumphantly and displayed it. Thunderlane unlocked the phone while Rumble held it, then he said "Go call Stellar, and tell her that's the number she's to call from now on, as this one will be out-of-service from this point on."

"Uh-huh, Big Bro." Rumble replied, and he headed back outside again, as Flitter and CloudChaser looked in carefully, wondering what all the shouting was about.

Rumble looked at them when he got outside. "Mum and Dad are back, and Mum's going crazy because we aren't there." He explained.

"Oh shit." Flitter said. She knew how crazy their Aunt Alicia could get.

"I take it Thunderlane's dealing with her?" CloudChaser asked.

"Uh-huh." Rumble replied. "Maybe you'd better lock her numbers out for now." He suggested.

"A good idea." Flitter agreed. "Come on, Sis, let's get to our phones." And the sisters moved back to the main beach-house.

Inside, Thunderlane could hear his parents arguing away in the background quite clearly. Alicia was being her intractably-worst, not budging an inch. Finally, he sat down at the small table in the bungalow's small kitchen, logged off the phone, then took the back off and pulled the SIM out of his phone. He left it sitting there as he reassembled the phone. He'd see about getting a new one sometime in the future... if he even needed one anymore.

Then there was a small 'boom' outside and a flash of light, and he saw Stellar drop to the sandy soil outside. He slid off the chair and walked out as she shook herself all over, then grinned at him. Then she saw his look and her face got serious. "What happened?" She asked as she reached him.

"Alicia's home." Was all Thunderlane had to say to Stellar.

Stellar face-hoofed. "Don't tell me. She phoned you up, started screaming about her ruined plans and demanded you and the others get home right away, or she'd find you all and drag you off on her ideal holiday." Stellar said.

Thunderlane chuckled. "It's amazing how accurate you can be, considering you've only met her... what is it, twice now?" He said.

"She's not someone you forget easily." Stellar reminded Thunderlane. "And the way she was trying to push me onto Rusty!" Stellar snorted. "Don't get me wrong. Rusty was a great guy, but he is much cuter as Rumble." She told Thunderlane. "I do love the little dude, but not romantically. I think he also knew that we'd never get involved that way, either." She sighed. "Besides, I already had a thing for his big bro." She admitted.

Thunderlane nodded, smiling softly. "Yeah, I was picking up on that, too, I will admit." He confirmed, as he saw Rumble looking around the door-jamb, listening in. "So, how do you feel about Rumble, then?" He asked Stellar.

"Honestly?" Stellar asked back. "He's the cute little brother I never had. I just want to hold him and snuggle with him any time he's around. " She said with a grin. "He's almost as welcome in my forelegs for a hug as his big bro is."

Thunderlane saw Rumble do something he rarely ever did: He was blushing so bad Thunderlane thought he was glowing. "Anyway, I took the SIM out of my phone. I have a back-up... I mean, what cop doesn't? So I can still call anyone I want to. Hopefully, if Mum thinks she can trace my SIM or my phone through GPS, she won't get any signal at all."

Stellar nodded. "Give it to me. I'll send it out about twenty miles off the coast... or better yet." She chuckled.

Thunderlane hoofed her the SIM card, and as Stellar's horn lit up, it vanished. "There." Stellar said.

"So, where did you send it?" He asked.

"Russell Island, in Moreton Bay." Stellar said. "If she can access a way to trace an inactive SIM, it'll lead her straight there instead of here."

Thunderlane chuckled. "Great idea." He had to agree.

Stellar nodded, then said "And where is my favourite cuddle-colt?" She asked, grinning and giving Thunderlane a wink.

Rumble heard that and launched himself straight at Stellar, who turned around and grabbed him in mid-air. "Stellar Sis!" Rumble said with a massive grin.

"Oh? I've been given an upgrade?" Stellar asked Thunderlane and Rumble.

Thunderlane chuckled as Rumble hugged Stellar with all four legs. "Seems so." Thunderlane agreed. "Maybe I can upgrade you to that position permanently sometime in the future." He suggested.

Stellar moved to Thunderlane and crouched down. "I think I would like that, very much so." She replied softly, as Rumble nuzzled her cheek.

"Then hold that thought." Thunderlane told her. "I'll make good on it, someday."

"You'd better believe I'll hold you to that, Big Guy." Stellar agreed. Then she turned to Rumble and kissed him on the top of his muzzle. "Would you like that, Little Dude? Have me as your real Sister?" She asked the colt.

Rumble actually whickered softly. "I'd love you as my Big Sis." He answered.

Stellar nuzzled him, then gave a wink to Thunderlane. "Then we'll start practising for that from now." She told Rumble.

Rumble just grinned back and almost squeed.

=======

CloudChaser was sitting on the couch, her phone open before her. Flitter was at the coffee table, tapping away on her phone. "Okay, that's got Alicia blocked." Flitter said.

CloudChaser nodded. "I think I have all the numbers she can use blocked as well." She told her sister. "Good thing our Mom's not psychotic like Aunty Alicia is." She told Flitter.

"Yeah, no kidding." Flitter agreed. Then their phones rang simultaneously, making them jump. "Dad?" She asked CloudChaser.

CloudChaser nodded. "And Mum?" She asked Flitter.

Flitter nodded. "Okay." She picked up her phone in her wing after answering it and walked outside. "Hi Mum." Flitter said.

"Hello, Sarah dear." Her mother said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" She asked.

"No, Mum. We're just doing damage control in regards to Alicia." Flitter replied.

"Yes, about that." Cecelia told Flitter. "She rang here, demanding we try and get in touch with you. She said she was talking to Curtis, and he hung up on her and disabled his phone. Now she can't call him." Cecelia informed Flitter.

"Yeah, about that, Mom." Flitter repeated her mother's phrasing, which was common in the family. "Alicia was screaming at Uncle Alex after butchering Th... Curtis' hearing. Curtis was waiting for her, then he signed off and pulled the SIM from his phone." Flitter explained to Cecelia.

Flitter heard her mother sigh. "Yes, quite understandable, under the circumstances, Sarah Dear. Is your sister with you?" Cecelia asked.

"She's here, but I think she's talking with Daddy at the moment." Flitter told Cecelia.

Cecelia chuckled. "Yes, it seems we both had the same idea at the same time." Cecelia said.

"As usual." Flitter replied.

"So, what happened to you that got Alicia so riled up?" Cecelia asked Flitter.

"It's... a bit of a long story, Mum, but we got invited to go on holiday up the coast..."

= = = = =

"Daddy?" CloudChaser asked as she answered her phone.

"Could it be anyone else, with your mother talking to Sarah?" Came a voice she knew well down her phone.

CloudChaser almost squeed as she held the phone close. "Oh Daddy! It's so good to hear from you!" She told Mark. "Alicia's going crazy again." CloudChaser said.

Mark sighed. "Yeah, I know, Sugar." He replied. "She rang us up and blasted us too, demanding we get in contact with you and tell you to make Curtis or Rusty ring her." Mark sounded disgusted. "If Cecelia hadn't been talking to her, I would have told her where to go and slammed the phone in her ear." He told CloudChaser. "So, how's one half of my favorite girls?"

"Um... getting there, Daddy." CloudChaser said. "Things have changed a lot just recently, and Fli... Sarah and I are still getting used to things."

"Really? Sounds serious." Mark said.

"Yeah, really serious, Daddy." CloudChaser admitted. "Things have changed... well, way beyond anything we'd ever thought could happen."

"For the better, I hope?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, in some ways." CloudChaser agreed. "But not in every way. We're working things out, still. But we've got somepo... someone who's helping us through it. She's been a really big help, too."

Mark's voice was sympathetic. "I'm glad you're not alone in this, Sharrah." He told CloudChaser.

"Frankly, Daddy, I don't know what we would have done without her." CloudChaser admitted. "Ste.. Jessie's kept us centered and focused on the important things, and helped us keep it together when I thought I was going to go crazy! But she just took charge and made sure we knew what was going on, and we made it through the weird parts, and now we're just working out what we're going to do next." She told Mark.

"Sounds like you've got some big decisions ahead of you, Sugar." Mark told CloudChaser.

"Yeah, Daddy." CloudChaser admitted. "The worst thing is... they all seem to be taking us away from you." She said, sniffling.

Mark was silent for a moment. "It happens, Sugar. We always knew you and Sarah would leave us behind eventually. That's what happens when you grow up. You stretch your wings and fly off to find your future... your destiny." Mark told her.

That made CloudChaser shiver. Her wings had opened by themselves, and she felt a twitch in her cutie-mark. "That's... closer to the truth than you know, Daddy." CloudChaser replied. Then her eyes filled with tears. "Ce...Gods, Daddy! I wish I could tell you what's happening over the phone... but I don't know where to begin! Everything's just... so different..."

"Ssshhhh... Easy there, my little one." Mark said. "No matter what's happened, your mother and I will ALWAYS be there for you." Mark reassured her. "Don't be afraid to come home if things get too bad. You're always welcome here, you know that." He reassured CloudChaser.

"No matter what's happened to us? Whatever we've become?" CloudChaser asked.

She almost heard her father frown over the phone. "Sharrah dear... Sugar... you're sounding very strange with what you're saying." Mark said. "I'm not sure what's rattled you so badly, Sugar, but your mother and I will NEVER abandon you, no matter what has happened. En-Ee-Vee-Ee-Arr, NEVER." Mark stated emphatically.

CloudChaser's eyes slowly dried up at her father's emphatic support. 'Thanks, Daddy. I just guess... I needed to hear it from you." She replied.

Mark's tone was all sympathy and support. "I know, Sugarcube." He replied. That sent a shiver down CloudChaser's back. A memory of somepony else calling her that flashed through her mind too fast for her to catch, save the voice saying 'Sugarcube'. "Now, you and your sister get yourselves home here as soon as you can. We'll make sure Alicia and Alex don't show up, either. I think you need the support only Family can give at this stage, so don't hesitate, Sharrah. Come home as soon as you're able." Mark told her.

CloudChaser nodded to herself. "We will, Daddy. I promise."

"Thatagirl." Mark's voice was full of love. "Stay close to your sister and your new friends, and remember: You are loved."

"Always, Daddy." CloudChaser's eyes were full of tears again, but happy ones this time.

"See you then, Sugar." Mark said, before cut the connection.

CloudChaser sighed happily and sniffled. Then she saw Rumble looking at her. Putting her phone down, she reached out for him and he jumped into her lap, hugging her close.

= = = = =

"...And that's when Curtis pulled the SIM on his phone." Flitter told Cecelia.

"I see." Cecelia sighed. "Goddess above, my sister needs to be committed sometimes." She told Flitter. "How's your sister taking it?" She asked.

Flitter smiled. "She's just gotten off the phone to Dad, Mum. She's... looking like she's had a great weight taken off her shoulders." Flitter answered.

"That's good." Cecelia said. "Your sister and your father always could talk anything over." Cecelia admitted. "How are you doing?" Cecelia asked.

Flitter sighed. "Getting there, Mum." She said back. "Things... the weirdness factor here hit fifteen a few days ago, and it's only just settling down. We're coping the best we can, with Curtis and Rusty and their friend Jessie... if it hadn't been for them... I don't know what we would have done, so far away from Home." Flitter admitted.

"Sounds like you've been through a great trial, my daughter." Cecelia replied. "Is there anything we can do to help? Should we come down there...?"

"No, Mum." Flitter was quick to answer. "In fact, it might make things worse." She admitted. "Give us a little bit, and we might all head up there for a bit. As isolated as the station is, that might be a good thing for the moment."

"I see." Cecelia said back. "I know you're not telling me everything, Sarah, but if you think you need to hold things back from me at this point, I know you have a good reason to do so. You're a very sensible person, I know this for a fact. So we can discuss things when you get here." Cecelia told Flitter.

"Thanks for not prying, Mum." Flitter replied. "This... it needs to be seen to be believed." She told Cecelia.

"Then come home, Daughter. Then we can all face this together." Cecelia told Flitter, her voice full of confidence.

"Will do, Mum." Flitter said with a smile. "We'll call before we arrive."

"You do so, Sarah. We'll be ready to welcome you." Cecelia reassured Flitter.

"See you then, Mum. Bye for now."

"Goodbye, and drive safely, Sarah Dear." Cecelia said before she rang off.

Flitter felt a lot better as she shut down her phone and switched it off. She looked at CloudChaser, who was walking back outside with Rumble on her back. The smile on her sister's face was all she needed to see to reassure her everything was still right at home.

Then Rumble held out his forelegs. "Hug?" He asked.

Flitter grinned, sat down and took Rumble from CloudChaser's back, hugging him close. Then CloudChaser hugged her sister and Rumble as well, nuzzling each other and the little colt, too.

=======

Cecelia put the phone down and looked at Mark as he entered the room. "Thoughts?" She asked.

Mark sighed. "Whatever's happened, it's big. Life-changing, from what Sharrah told me... and didn't tell me." He answered.

"Sharrah's holding back?" Cecelia said, incredulous. "My god, this has to be huge, then." She told Mark.

Mark nodded. "Yeah." He agreed as he sat down at the kitchen table. He picked up a paper and opened it, showing grainy images of strange horse-shaped figures that were multi-coloured in shades natural animals rarely came in. "Do you think it could involve this?" He asked Cecelia.

Cecelia leaned back against the counter. "Maybe." She admitted. "Is there any directives on what to do?" She asked.

"The CSIRO says to keep them calm and contained until they can be picked up for quarantine... but I think we need to know for ourselves what's happening before we get in contact with the government." Mark stated.

Cecelia nodded, her face stern. "I have to agree. The government can't truly be trusted... especially with our children." She said back.

"Then we'll sit down and talk this through, like Family... and then decide with them." Mark told his wife.

"I agree." Cecelia confirmed. "Now... we just wait."

=======

Eventually the five pony friends had gathered in the beach-house. After eating dinner, they sat and discussed things. "So... all your parents have contacted you. Thunderlane and Rumble's mother is going crazy for no good reason, and Flitter and CloudChaser's parents want them back home... but aren't pushing the issue." Stellar stated.

"That's how things are, yes." Flitter agreed.

Stellar looked at Thunderlane. "Do you think your mother will carry out her threat to find us?" She asked.

"It's a good bet she'll try." Rumble replied, as Thunderlane sat, thinking. "She's totally mental when she's like this. Once she gets her mind locked on an idea or a slight, she will chase it down with the tenacity of a tracking dog."

"Wonderful." Stellar said, frowning. "Where do your parents live, Flitter?" She asked.

"The Northern Territory, not that far from Katherine. We own a big property there, about five hours outside of town." Flitter revealed.

Stellar nodded her head. "That... that might not be too bad." She said thoughtfully. "It's far enough away that we can stay incognito, and still close enough for anything we need." She looked at the Twins. "And if your parents really are supportive, then we can get them to purchase things for us as well." She said.

"So... you're thinking of relocating, then?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar nodded. "It's not a bad idea, and it'll throw your mother off the scent." She said. "We're still too close to civilisation here for my liking, and we can leave for the US from there as well as we can do from here."

Thunderlane nodded. "Okay then. Let's get ready, then." He said.

"Right. We can start packing up immediately." Stellar said. She looked at Flitter. "Do you think your parents would like two more cars?" Stellar asked Flitter.

"I... I guess so." Flitter replied. "Are you going to take both vehicles up there?" She asked.

"I think it would be a good idea." Stellar answered. "After all, if we do sell them, then selling them up there would be better." She said. "No-one would associate us with them, then. And we wouldn't have to go in as we are to sell them, either."

"What about petrol stops and such?" CloudChaser asked.

Stellar smiled. "I can handle that." She said. "I've got a few spells that will come in handy."

Thunderlane grinned. "Then what are we waiting for?" He asked. "Let's get packing."

=======

Stellar was looking at her ute as the others packed up. Then Thunderlane moved up to beside her. "Do you think you can still drive her?" He asked Stellar.

"Better than you could." Stellar grinned back at Thunderlane. "But that's not the problem. If we're going to take both vehicles, we're going to need a car trailer." She told Thunderlane. "Plus, we can store a lot of stuff in the Holden, while we drive up there in the Landcruiser."

"Makes sense." Thunderlane agreed. "So... we just drive down to the servo and hire a car trailer, then?" He asked.

"Sure." Stellar said. "I know, the driving's going to be the easy part... but as I said, I have some spells that'll help us get around the problem of people freaking out."

Thunderlane chuckled. "I'm going to want to see that." He said. "Shall we?" He held out the keys to the 'Cruiser.

Stellar grinned. "Let's go!" She said, snatching the keys and heading for the Landcruiser, her old shoulder-bag appearing beside her and strapping itself onto her around her neck, hanging in front of her...

Once she was in the front seat, Stellar adjusted it as much as she could. Her horn was just barely short of sticking in the sunvisor, but her rear hoofs reached the pedals easily enough to use them, and she could shift the handle of the auto-gearbox easily enough, too. After familiarising herself with the controls, she started the Landcruiser up and headed out, Thunderlane belted up beside her.

Ten minutes later found them pulling into a garage on the outskirts of the township, where an assortment of trailers-for-hire were waiting to be hired out. Stellar backed the 'Cruiser up to a car trailer, one fitted out with more rugged suspension and bigger tyres. "Okay, now for some magic." She told Thunderlane. She closed her eyes and muttered some words as her horn lit up, and they were both covered in a purple flash three times. "Right. if that worked, most people are just going to ignore us, cameras won't even see us, and if we interact with someone, they'll just act normal and forget about us once we've been away from them more than thirty seconds." She informed Thunderlane.

"Damn. Why don't we just rob some banks while we're at it?" He asked sarcastically.

Stellar chuckled as she undid her seat belt. "I know. The temptation to abuse my power is an enormous one, but that's why I'm so disciplined. The temptation doesn't even get a chance to form." She explained.

Thunderlane nodded as they got out. "I'm glad I don't have such temptations." He admitted.

"Not everypony can be an alicorn." Stellar agreed.

They walked down to the station building and went inside. Stellar spotted the self-service machine in a corner, and headed to it. While she dealt with the machine, Thunderlane went and checked out the shelves. He grabbed a basket and filled it up with muesli bars and other usable food products, as well as oat-based cereals. They were a bit expensive, but Stellar had said she could afford them. He added the usual snacks, and a good deal of bottled water, then waited for Stellar to finish.

The person at the counter was watching them, but Thunderlane noted he just looked bored, rather than jumping out of his wig, as if he either didn't see them, or he didn't see them. Stellar approached him, Thunderlane behind her, and he watched as Stellar dealt with the staff-member. He seemed to not even see Stellar properly, calling her 'Miss' and treating her no differently than any other customer. Thunderlane then put everything he'd grabbed on the counter as Stellar left him with a card to pay for it all.

"Big road trip, eh?" He asked Thunderlane.

"Yeah. Going out west to see relatives." Thunderlane answered, as the staff-member tallied up the consumables.

"Safe journey, then." He said, as Thunderlane used the card on the EFTPOS machine, keying in the PIN and watching it spit out the receipt. The bags had already vanished, Thunderlane noted, and took the receipt in a wing.

"Thanks, and a safe night to you." Thunderlane replied as he left. He looked at the staff-member from outside, and the guy just looked as bored as he was before. "Damn. I am SO glad Stellar's on our side." He said as he saw Stellar locking the trailer to the Landcruiser's trailer hitch.

Once they were done, Stellar drove around to the diesel pumps, and they filled up both the big fuel tanks. "Two hundred litres of fuel each side?" She looked at Thunderlane.

"What can I say? She's built for long-distance travel." Thunderlane chuckled.

"Mind if I modify her just a little?" Stellar asked.

Thunderlane looked worried. "Well... I guess so." He said.

"Thanks." Stellar replied, giving Thunderlane a kiss. He nickered into the kiss, then watched as Stellar used her magic on the driving seat and controls. The roof changed shape slightly, the pedals moved further towards the seat, and the steering column extended slightly out and dropped as well. Once she was done, Stellar moved the seat back and down a fair amount, and Thunderlane saw the driving position was a lot better for her. "If I got this right, you'll find that even you can sit here and drive her, now." She told him.

"Beauty." Thunderlane said, nodding appreciatively. He trotted around the other side and climbed in, getting himself seated as Stellar used the card facility at the pump to pay for their fuel, and once she was seated, they started up and headed for the park.

=======

Rumble was making himself useful by loading up Stellar's ute with the boxes she'd shown him. He found he could barely move the big bags of alfalfa, though, but he did manage to get most of them rolled out to the verandah next to the ute. The Twins were packing up their stuff and Stellar's for her, and making sure everything they'd brought in was ready to be loaded. Rumble cleaned out the fridge and freezer as well, being careful not to let the chest freezer's lid fall on him as he hovered under it.

By the time Thunderlane and Stellar returned, things were almost complete. The bungalow was emptied of personal belongings and cleaned up, and the beach-house was almost ready to be cleaned out as well. "Great job, guys! You've done really well." Stellar praised them.

"Thanks!" The three cleaners replied, as Stellar headed for her ute. As she drove it out, Thunderlane drove the 'Cruiser and the trailer in its place, as Stellar came around behind them again. Ten minutes later, the Crewman was tied down securely to the trailer and Stellar was loading it up with the heavier items, balancing the load. Thunderlane, CloudChaser, Flitter and Rumble were loading up the Landcruiser with personal items and more perishable foodstuffs. All-in-all, it took less than two hours to have everything loaded, cleaned and everypony aboard, ready to go. Stellar finished locking up the beach-houses, then climbed into the passenger seat beside Thunderlane and buckled herself in. "Ready to move out, Captain!"

"Everypony else ready?" Thunderlane called out, looking back over his shoulder.

"Aye, Captain!" Came the reply from the back.

Thunderlane chuckled. "Then let's get this road trip going." He said, and eased off the brake. They carefully made their way out of the park and onto the roads.

Stellar looked back, then said "Oh! Nearly forgot!" She told the three, and they were surrounded in her magic for a short time. "There! Now you're as safe as Laney here and I am for public viewing." She said.

"Laney?" Thunderlane asked, to Rumble's snickers and grins from the twins either side of him.

"Working on it." Stellar just replied as they headed out of the suburban area.
[

=======

Several hours later, they were turning from the Bruce Highway along the coast onto the Capricorn Highway, which would take them inland, when Thunderlane saw what was called 'disco lights' in Australian slang: the flashing lights of a police vehicle in their rear-view mirror. "Stellar, I'm pulling over. We've got a road patrol behind us." Thunderlane said to Stellar.

"It's late Friday night." Stellar replied. "It was inevitable." She checked the spell on Thunderlane. "Okay, we're good. You got your licence?"

"Yep." He'd gotten his wallet out and slid the licence from it, then dropped his window. "What do you think?" He asked.

"Probably RBT* and Licence check, the standard stuff." Stellar suggested.

Thunderlane had his Police ID as well as his licence ready, as the officer came up to his window. "Hey, Senior." He greeted the officer.

The officer, a senior constable, was a little taken aback. "Evening. Just doing the usual." He said, as Thunderlane handed his licence and ID out. "You from Coopers Plains district?" He asked after reading the ID.

"Yep. Just on the way to see relatives in Katherine." Thunderlane answered.

The officer chuckled as he handed the licence back. "That's a long way to go to see your rellies."

"Tell me about it. But if we don't see them once a year at least, they invade us instead." Thunderlane explained.

"Ouch." The officer replied. "I can understand why you're heading west, then." He held out the breathalyser unit, and Thunderlane breathed through the pipe. Once it had done its job, the officer grinned at Thunderlane. "Okay, no problems here. Take care and don't let your rellies get away with too much."

"Don't intend to. Thanks." Thunderlane said. After the patrol car pulled away, Thunderlane looked at Stellar. "Wow. Those spells really do work." He said. "Want to swap?" He asked.

"Sure." Stellar unbuckled as Thunderlane did, then they got out and swapped over. Stellar reset the seat as Thunderlane climbed in, then she joined him and they took off again. Stellar chuckled. "Our passengers didn't even wake up." She commented to Thunderlane.

"Not a bad thing." He agreed. They drove on into the night, passing sparse traffic for a while, manoeuvring around the big trucks and semi-trailer rigs that sped through the night when they could. Thunderlane decided it might be time to have a good talk with Stellar. "So... you really had a crush on me for over five years?" He asked.

Stellar smiled. "Well... I did look at some other guys in that time, I will admit to you. But there was something that always led me back to you." She told Thunderlane. "With twenty-twenty hindsight, it's obvious now that I picked up on you and Rumble-Rusty as being transformed Ponies, and it made you far more attractive to me than other guys were. Plus your personality meshed well with mine, too. You never let me get in over my head, but acknowledged that I could take on a lot more physically than others could. For that, I was very grateful." Stellar said.

Thunderlane nodded. "Yeah, I have to admit, I felt much the same. There was always something different about you, something that made me want to work with you, rather than anyone else. I just didn't understand why at first. Now I do, obviously, but it doesn't change the fact that we worked together a lot more than the other teams did."

"Ponies work well as teams. It's in our nature." Stellar said. "Plus we're both military... as much as the Wonderbolts were military. The Royal Guard were always a police force more than a military, but I've commanded regular troops in battle as well, so I have the best of both types of training, plus more." She explained further. "Not that being a Wonderbolt is easy, by no means. Their selection process is one of the most rigorous there is, even amongst some of the other elite teams on Equis. To earn the right to be called a Wonderbolt is to have truly excelled above every other branch of the service."

Something in Thunderlane swelled with pride at Stellar's words. He'd made the grade, as had CloudChaser. For Stellar to consider him amongst the Elite of Equestria's military... it brought home to him how much he'd accomplished in his former life. "I just wish I could remember it." He sighed.

"It may come back to you in time." Stellar suggested. "If not, I'll peruse my tome when I've got a chance. There might be a memory-restoration spell in there I can use to bring back memories in you and other ponies." Stellar added.

"That'd be good." Thunderlane agreed. "I hate knowing there's so many things I used to know, and I can't remember them, especially since it seems they are very important memories, as well."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Stellar agreed. "At least I knew what was coming, and secured a way back to myself before Discord grabbed me and sent me here... let alone tricking him like that." She giggled softly.

"Yeah... how did you do that, anyway?" Thunderlane asked.

"Twilight's magic and my own feel extremely similar." Stellar explained. "So, instead of casting magic the way I'd usually do it, I started thinking like Twilight, and how she'd do magic on him. Plus bamboozling him before revealing myself made him assume I was Twilight. When he and I actually faced, I didn't do any magic at him and merely talked to him, which meant he didn't get a chance to analyse my magic and spot the differences. It was very tricky, but it worked. I was able to out-smart him, and now I'm here, with all my magic and belongings... hopefully, I can make a difference to ordinary ponies' lives here."

Thunderlane nodded. He stayed silent as Stellar manoeuvred around a large triple-trailer rig and roared up past it in an overtaking lane. Once they were past it, he asked. "So... You're not going home, then?" He asked her.

"Maybe, eventually." Stellar answered. "My mission here is to save ponies and get them to where they can be free. If they want to go home to Equestria, then I'll do my best to see they do. Those who want to stay here... then I'll be their alicorn." She wriggled in the seat a little and repositioned her wings. "Ponies always need an alicorn. Our presence gives their psyches an anchor to help them feel comfortable wherever they are. So, since I'm sure Celestia and Luna will return, and most likely Twilight will to combat Discord... I'm not sure about Cadance, but she's got the Crystal Empire to worry about now. She's not likely to stay here and deny her destiny."

"And you? Do you have a destiny?" Thunderlane asked.

"My destiny is always the same: To be the protector of ponies, no matter where I am." Stellar replied. "And I won't leave the ponies of Earth unprotected. They'll need a strong alicorn to defend them again all aggression, and there's no-pony more qualified than myself to do that, at least of those that will stay here."

Thunderlane nodded. "So... an alicorn queen, then?" He asked.

Stellar chuckled. "If that's the title they give me, then I'll think about it." Stellar said. "I am already a princess, so it's merely a slight change in status for me. But I'll take no more titles than those that are necessary."

Thunderlane nodded. "You're not exactly someone lacking in humility when it comes to titles, are you?"

Stellar chuckled. "To be honest, I hate them." She revealed. "They have their place, but as a warrior, they only get in the way." She told Thunderlane. "I prefer to use my rank, rather than the title of 'Princess'... even if it is one I don't find to be... inappropriate."

"Inappropriate?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yeah." Stellar answered. "The titles Celestia and Luna have are more appropriate: Alicorns of the Sun and the Moon are, of course, very practical and descriptive. Twilight is the Alicorn of Magic and Princess of Friendship; again, appropriate. But me?" Stellar chuckled. "Apart from my ranks, and being a princess, they had a tough time labelling me. But eventually, we settled on 'Alicorn of Honor', and 'Princess of the Blade', a title I actually won off Luna."

"I see what you mean about them being... appropriate." Thunderlane replied. "So... Luna was the Princess of the Blade before you?" He asked.

Stellar nodded. "Yeah. I was her student for a time, just as Twilight was Celestia's student. I'd learned about the old title while doing research on the times before Luna's 'Time-out'." She explained. "But a title like that can't be bestowed by transference. It has to be taken in combat. So, I fought for five hours in the Royal Guard Arena against all-comers to get Luna to fight me... and I beat her to submission. I demanded the title as her ransom, and she gave it up to me quite willingly. Celestia bestowed it on me, and thus I got my Princess title." Stellar smiled. "That was a glorious sparring match. I have never enjoyed sparring with others as much as I did that day, especially taking on my mistress with few restrictions."

Thunderlane chuckled. "Remind me never to get you really mad at me." He told Stellar.

Stellar grinned at Thunderlane, and they chuckled together as they drove into the night.

=======

By the time the sun had started to rise behind them, Thunderlane was driving again after getting six hours' sleep. Stellar actually had retreated to the back seat and was getting some sleep herself, between the Twins, with Rumble beside his brother. "So, did you ask her?" Rumble asked Thunderlane.

"Ask her what?" Thunderlane replied.

"You know! Does she like you?" Rumble asked.

Thunderlane chuckled. "I hardly think she'd be as passionate with me as she has been without liking me, Little Dude." Thunderlane answered.

"Well, duh!" Rumble replied. "But did she say so?"

Thunderlane smiled softly. "Not in simple words..." He said back.

Rumble snorted. "Words are never simple when it comes to Love." He said, in a voice that sounded a lot older than his ten years.

Thunderlane nodded. "Truer words were never spoken by a ten-year-old colt." He agreed. "But a lot of others will underestimate you because of that."

Rumble grinned. "All the time, Big Bro."

Thunderlane chuckled, as they passed a sign saying 'Longreach 100km'.

=======

Stellar awoke as the Landcruiser came to a halt. She blearily looked about and saw they'd pulled into another service station. She looked at Thunderlane. "We need fuel?" She asked.

"And breakfast." Thunderlane said. "I say we fuel up and find someplace to have a meal." He grinned at Stellar. "I'm bloody hungry, too, you know."

Stellar chuckled as she unbuckled herself. "Okay, Girls, get out but stay by the car. We may need to leave in a hurry." She told Flitter and CloudChaser.

"Okay." Flitter replied, but they started doing stretching exercises as they waited. Stellar activated the card payment system for Thunderlane, then she went into the kiosk.

"Remember to use the facilities, Little Dude." Thunderlane told Rumble. "I certainly will be." He grinned.

"Okay, Big Bro." Rumble said, and headed for the toilets. There were a few people in there, but Rumble noticed they seemed to ignore him as he walked by them and entered a stall.

Flitter and CloudChaser did the same, the female toilets being empty at the time, to their relief.

Thunderlane watched as Stellar came out of the kiosk again, bags around her in the air. He watched the humans there, frowning as they totally ignored her as she walked openly across the court. "Goddamn magic." He chuckled.

Stellar grinned as she loaded up the Landcruiser with the supplies. Thunderlane looked at Stellar "You make it look so goddamn easy, just walking along like that." He told her.

"Why shouldn't it be easy?" Stellar asked. "The first rule of being a successful warrior is: the simpler the solution, the better." She told Thunderlane. "The second is: Make it look as easy as possible. It makes your troops think you know what you're doing."

Thunderlane actually laughed at that, as the fuel tanks finally filled. Once he'd put the hoses away and secured the fuel fillers, he turned to Stellar. "Be right back." He told her, heading away.

"My turn last, as usual." Stellar said. "It's a good thing I have an alicorn-sized bladder as well." She grinned as she checked over the restraints on the ute.

Rumble was watching the humans around him as he washed up. They were completely ignoring the fact that he was a pony, even bumping into him accidentally and excusing themselves as he dried his hoofs. He just shook his head as he exited the toilets. "Totally wicked!" He exclaimed, grinning to himself.

He watched as Flitter and CloudChaser emerged from the female toilets and headed his way. "Wasn't that just freaky?" He said to them.

"Not kidding, kiddo." Flitter replied.

"It was like we were invisible!" CloudChaser said, as Stellar galloped towards them.

"Incoming! Biological emergency!" Stellar yelled as she sailed over the trio and into the toilet block.

Rumble looked at the Twins, and they all broke up laughing...

=======

Half-an-hour later, the five friends were relaxing in a park outside of the town, munching on food as they enjoyed breakfast. "So, what you're saying is, the magic you cast on us means that the humans just ignore us. If they do interact, they have to remain calm and then forget about us thirty seconds later." CloudChaser asked.

"That's right." Stellar confirmed.

"That's wicked!" Rumble exclaimed. "No wonder everyone in the toilets was ignoring me."

"And that is the whole idea of the spells, Lil' Dude." Flitter said as she ruffled Rumble's mane. "To stay out of sight."

"Well, to stay incognito would be more the proper way of saying it." Stellar said. "We're not invisible, because people could run into us and expose us. By doing it this way, they see us but as far as they are concerned, we're nothing special. Even less than noteworthy, they just ignore us." Stellar told them with a smile.

"So, how long does it last?" CloudChaser asked.

"About three days." Stellar informed CloudChaser.

"So, it'll last until we reach our parents' station." Flitter stated.

"Pretty much." Stellar agreed.

Thunderlane was feeling... ruffled. He'd preened his wings after they'd parked and alighted from the Landcruiser, along with the others. It seemed they all had their wings out-of-joint from sitting that long. "I need to fly." Thunderlane announced to everypony there. "My wings are all sore."

"Yeah, me too, Big Bro." Rumble added.

"I think we all do." Stellar affirmed. "Let's start with some stretching exercises. Just line up and watch what I do." The others lined up with her on the grass, and they all extended their wings and followed Stellar's stretching routine. Once they'd been through it twice, even Rumble was moaning with relief.

"Ahh... so cramped! Celestia... It's never felt this good after a long stretch..." Flitter stated.

"Mmm... yeah! I can feel my primaries again." CloudChaser agreed with her sister.

Rumble flicked his wings, and he rose almost ten feet off the ground, giggling as he hovered there. "Let's fly!" He said, and shot into the air. The Twins shot up after him, while Thunderlane and Stellar followed as a slightly more sedate pace. They grinned at one another and spent about an hour up in the air, racing around, laughing and just exercising their wings.

"It's a pity there's no clouds out here." Stellar said to Thunderlane. "I could have showed you the proper way to cloud-sit and do a little weather magic."

"We can work on that later." Thunderlane replied. "For now, just stretching our wings is fantastic!"

"Hah! Okay!" Stellar said back, and they finally headed back down to the Landcruiser. Stellar had them land a little distance away, and they walked up to the 'Cruiser, watching for anyone who seemed to be... taking a little more interest in them than was good for them.

"Problems?" Thunderlane asked.

"Dunno." Stellar replied as they reached the big four-by-four and the trailer. "My danger sense is giving me odd signals." She checked the spells. "Our spell disguises are still working... Maybe it's just me." She said as she thought about it.

"You know what they say about instincts in the service, don't you?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yeah, trust your gut." Stellar answered. She sent a small pulse of very low-key magic over the area...

=======

In a big white motorhome parked not that far away from the group, three men, a woman and a pony were sitting, monitoring the group. The pony, a light blue unicorn with a multi-shaded dark blue mane and tail, was concentrating, trying not to get detected. He winced as Stellar's detection spell went right through the van, but he barely managed to deflect it around himself. "Ah shit!" He exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Asked one of the men.

"The big one." He answered. "Celestia above, she's more powerful than any other pony I've ever felt. She nearly found me." He explained.

"Then the tip-off was good?" The man asked.

"There's five of them there." He said. "Two stallions... no, one stallion and a colt, and three mares. I thought they were all pegasi, but the bigger one... she's casting spells like a unicorn."

"So, she can cast spells, then?" Asked the woman. "Like she knows what she's doing?"

"More than I do." The unicorn admitted.

"This changes things." One of the other men said. "Why can't we see them? Why haven't cameras picked them up?"

"I don't know!" The unicorn replied back in a frustrated voice. "They must be using magic to camoflage themselves."

"If that's the case... then the big one just got upgraded to 'definite capture'." The second male said.

"Affirmative." The other men replied.

Azure Tracks looked at the large mare as she climbed back into their vehicle. There was something about her... something that made him want to go to her, to be with her... to surrender to her and do whatever it was she wanted him to do... just for a smile from her...

=======

Stellar could feel...something. Something that wasn't right, but felt familiar. Putting it aside for the moment, she climbed into the Landcruiser's driving seat and once everypony was secure, she drove off, heading back out of Longreach and onto the Landsborough Highway. Once on that road, she picked up speed and started eating up the kilometres again.

"What's wrong?" Thunderlane asked quietly as Stellar checked their rear view again.

"I'm not entirely sure." Stellar admitted. "But there's something that tells me we've been noticed by someone, and they're out there now, looking for us."

"Shit." Thunderlane said. "That's all we need."

"Better to deal with it before we go off jet-setting, than have to deal with it on unfamiliar territory." Stellar pointed out. "Do you think your mother could have...?"

"Frankly, yeah. I'm afraid she could and she would." Thunderlane interrupted. "She's a total control freak, as you know. I wouldn't put it past her."

"Lovely." Stellar said, frowning. "Well, we'll continue on as if we don't know, but we'll keep a weather-eye out for them, to make sure that there really is someone following us before we react." Stellar told Thunderlane. "Forewarned is forearmed."

"Always." Thunderlane agreed.

=======

After a while, they got trapped behind a roadtrain which was moving at only sixty KPH up the highway. As the traffic lined up behind them, Stellar took note of what vehicles were back there as they rounded a bend in the relatively flat road. She tried to remember which ones she'd seen back in Longreach, and she managed to identify eight of them that had been following them out of Longreach that morning. "Hmmm... better odds than I thought." She said to herself. There was an overtaking lane just three hundred metres up ahead, but she knew a lot of the lighter cars would most likely be trying to jump ahead of her... if she didn't do something to better their speed. The diesel Landcruiser was no race van, but its turbocharged eight-cylinder engine did have a lot of grunt. The Chevy 6.5-litre V-8 had a great deal of power as well as great fuel economy, especially when turbocharged, as long as it wasn't weighed down that much... "Reduce the weight..." Stellar said to herself, then grinned as her horn lit up. "Hang on, everypony! We're about to find out what this big baby can really do." Stellar told them as she dropped it into full-time 4x4 mode and revved the engine. The MP3 player started playing AC-DC's 'Heatseeker'...
Heatseeker by AC-DC

"What?" Thunderlane said, as Stellar planted her right hoof to the firewall.

Just as the roadtrain moved over to let the faster vehicles past, Stellar turned the Landcruiser out into the traffic and accelerated with a roar of V-8 power. Anyone close enough might have seen a magenta glow under the trailer, as the big Four-by-Four surged ahead of the cars and other vehicles up the hill almost as fast as a race car could. Using the manual-trip-changer function of the gearbox, Stellar held the engine's revs to the redline for each of the five upper gears as they passed the roadtrain, then slid across in front of it, three hundred metres ahead of the slowing rig. Some of the faster cars and utes managed to get past her as they roared up the hill, but most had to be content with slipping in behind her as the space between the long rig and the Landcruiser opened up more and more.

The Twins had screamed, Rumble had been cheering, and Thunderlane had just held on as they reached the top of the hill and the overtaking lane ended. Merging across behind six of the fastest cars, Stellar slowed a fraction to allow the trailer to touch down carefully on the road, allowing the Landcruiser to take up the strain of the loaded trailer once again while losing only a little speed.

"Fracking hell!" Thunderlane exclaimed. "How the buck did we just do that?" He asked Stellar.

Stellar was grinning wickedly as they left the majority of the slower vehicles to get past the truck as best they could. "You know how powerful this 'cruiser is, Laney." Stellar reminded him. "I just took the weight off its back and allowed it to stretch all four legs." They were cruising at nearly a hundred-and-thirty KPH now on the outback highway as they headed back downhill again. "And now we're back under the speed limit, so no-one's going to bother us." She grinned.

Thunderlane shook his head as 'Heatseeker' finished playing. "Dammit, Jessie! I'd forgotten what a crazy driver you can be at times." He told Stellar as they followed the pack along the highway. Stellar just gave Thunderlane a crazy grin and kept driving.

"Play it again!" Rumble yelled out from the back seat, but Stellar let the track change to 'Shoot To Thrill', and concentrated on the road.

"Settle down, Squirt." Thunderlane ordered Rumble back to his seat. He then looked back at Jessie. "Okay, what was that about?" He asked.

"There were a number of vehicles following along behind us that had been there since Longreach." She explained. "I was just thinning out the odds of some of them following us."

=======

Back in the pack, the motorhome had been watching as the traffic crawled along behind the roadtrain. "Oh, come on! I could bloody run faster than this!" The man driving said, as the one in the shotgun seat used binoculars to watch the Landcruiser with the trailer at the head of the pack.

"Let it go. As soon as we hit that overtaking lane, that Toyota's going to be stuck there while all these cars and utes pass it." He told his comrade.

The third male, who had an american accent as thick as his hair, looked at Azure. "Anything?" He asked.

"I'm not a mind reader... that I'm aware of." Said the unicorn. "But they are there, in the troop-carrier... and the big one's casting again. What is that she's doing...?" Azure asked.

"Truck's moving aside. Everyone hold onto something." The driver said. "I'm going to have to ride this heap to it's limit if we're going to get past that roadtrain."

"Just drive." The American replied.

Then the shotgun seat said "Holy..."

"What?" The American asked.

"The Toyota! It's... it's going up that hill like it's a bloody race car!" The driver exclaimed.

The American and the woman looked out, to see the 'Cruiser racing up the hill ahead of the pack, like it was a V-8 supercar. It moved over eventually, some of the more powerful cars passing it by, but it was still going more like one of them than a heavily-laden family tourer. "How the fuck...?" The American asked, as the Landcruiser started moving out of the line of sight over the top of the hill, being chased by most of the pack. Luckily for them, the rig was only half-way up when it was their turn to pass, and they did a reasonable job of it for such a big motorhome. But as they crested the hill, the Landcruiser was nowhere to be seen.

"Can you still feel them?" The woman asked Azure, who closed his eyes and his horn lit up.

"Yes, barely." He answered. "Her magic is so strong, I think I could follow her anywhere, now that I have her signature..."

The American nodded. "Good." He said. "We'll catch up with them again, and when the time is right, we'll strike."

Azure was feeling divided inside. He knew his duty was to help capture the rogue ponies... but at the same time, this American seemed to be only too easily dismissive if some got killed along the way. Thank Celestia that hadn't happened yet... but Azure was only too sure it just might, and very soon...

Author's Note

And the gang gets moving! Not exactly as Stellar intended, but any good officer knows plans fall apart within the first five minutes of execution.

And who are our mysterious pursuers? Stay tuned for the next episode! Already in the works...

P.S.: RBT is an Aussie contraction for Random Breath Testing, where the police breathalyse drivers for alcohol and drugs usage (If anyone didn't actually know that.)
Oh, and this Landcruiser is real! I have actually ridden in it, and it can accelerate like this without a load on it. The owner works where I work, and it is a really wicked machine!

05 - Interlude

Stellar swapped over with Thunderlane halfway between Longreach and Mount Isa at a small roadside parking area with facilities south of Kynuna, and rested in the passenger seat as the others used them. "Have we lost whoever it was you were worried about?" Thunderlane asked as he sat in the driver's seat beside Stellar .

"I think so." Stellar replied. "They might still be following us, but we're a long way in front of them now, I'd bet good odds on it." She told him.

"Good enough for now." Thunderlane agreed. "We'll change over again at Mount Isa. We can also have lunch there." He told Stellar.

Stellar smiled. "If things keep up, we should be there by lunchtime tomorrow." She estimated. "Maybe sooner, once we hit the unlimited speed areas of the Northern Territory's... well, I hesitate to call them 'highways', but the wider road areas of the Territory."

"Yeah." Thundelane chuckled. "You never cease to amaze me, Stellar. Even with your more disciplined self, I have to keep remembering that Jessie is still inside you, and you drag her out whenever you need her craziness."

Stellar laughed. "Yeah... And sorry for scaring you like that, Curtis." She replied. "I know, he's the super-cautious part of you... then again, you were the one that got this piece of japanese metal modified with that big engine and two turbochargers." She reminded Thunderlane. "Surely a part of you has been dying to find out what she's capable of, after so long puttering around the suburbs of Brisbane with her and only letting her out to play so much..."

Thundelane sighed a happy sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right, there." He said. "I guess I'm just not completely comfortable with this new body of mine to really think I can still drive like that, yet." He explained.

"Then this is the best area to try her out and find out what your new limitations are... and exceed them." Stellar pointed out. "The Territory roads are a lot better than they once were, so you can plant the foot... I mean, plant the hoof and give this girl a proper thrashing... all the better to know what she's fully-capable of."

"I think you've done that already!" Thunderlane said with a chuckle.

Stellar shook her head. "I don't think I hit her top yet. She was still accelerating when we went over the top back there and I slowed her down." Stellar pointed out. "She's barely gone above one-sixty. I'm betting she'll top two hundred without the trailer or ute back there."

"Celestia, I must have been mad when I had this big baby put together." Thunderlane commented. "She was meant to be a powerful tourer, not a Four-Wheel-Drive racing machine."

Stellar chuckled. "Well... you got both." She told Thunderlane.

Thunderlane was about to reply, when Rumble and the Twins came back. "We goin', Bro?" Rumble asked.

Thunderlane slipped out of his seat and slid it forward for Rumble to get in. "Yep, in a bit, Little Bro." He replied as Rumble jumped up and scrambled inside the back.

"Thanks." Flitter said as she came up and climbed in after Rumble.

Cloudchaser got in the other side of Rumble and they buckled in as Stellar and Thunderlane climbed into the front again. Five minutes later, they drove off, heading for Mount Isa. Stellar actually leaned back a little and put her rear hoofs up on the dashboard. Thunderlane frowned at her, but the dashmat prevented her hoofs from scratching the plastic, and Stellar easily slipped into sleep.

=======

Azure was lying on the bed over the top of the driving cab as the motorhome managed to keep up with the speed limit. They'd just left Winton behind after the American had made several phonecalls and everyone, save for Azure, had taken a good break outside the motorhome. The woman was in the main bed, asleep, as the driver and his co-pilot had swapped. The driver was having something to eat, as the American was fiddling around with a big-bored pistol. A number of darts sat on the table in a case, as he checked them over as well. "You think those are going to work against one of those... ponies, who knows all of their tricks?" The driver asked the American.

"They've worked before." The American replied.

"Yeah, but we're not facin' one of the smaller ones, scared and just acting out of self-preservation." The driver reminded the American. "You heard Allan. She can do things even he can't. And she knows how to use that bloody magic of theirs properly. She could be more dangerous than a herd of them together."

"That may be so, but we are not going to kill it." The American said. "We need it. It could hold the key to controlling this magic as a force, something that will give us a massive lead over the Chinese and the Russians, finally."

The driver took a long sip at the cold cola. "I think you're tryin' to hold onto a taipan by the tail, Mate. It's just gonna whip around and bite ya in the ass."

The American snorted dismissively. "You Australians. You have no idea about the complexity of international dealings." He put the dart pistol down. "These... creatures have abilities that go way beyond ANYTHING that's ever been speculated! Even the stories of alien technology, rumors of incredible aircraft and weapons... all of them could be rendered superfluous by the capture of just one of these creatures who truly understands what they have become and the incredible power they control!" He sat back for a second. "I shouldn't tell you this, but I have heard that others like this one have been seen before. Ones with horns and wings at the same time..."

Azure's eye flicked open in amazement! Other alicorns? Could they truly be the Princesses returned?

"If that's so, why do you need this one?" The driver asked.

"Because they did not understand who or what they were and what they could do." The American explained. "One went psychotic and destroyed a private facility that was probing their abilities. The other one it was with slipped through our net, we're not sure how. A third one seems to have gone to ground in another country, but this one! She is unknown to us, and at least we have a means of tracking her. Plus she isn't lying low like they are. She is out and about... and displays knowledge of her abilities way beyond what we had confirmed in the others. Her capture is the highest priority now."

"And the others?" The driver asked.

The American made a nasty noise. "They are superfluous." He replied. "If they let us have her, then we don't need to keep them. If they get in the way... there will be four less of these things to worry about."

"You're bloody heartless, you know that, right, Durrach?" The driver said with disgust.

"A heart is only a hindrance in this game, Moller." The American, Durrach, replied. "There is only one's duty to one's country and the place it has to have to surpass all others in this world we fight over."

Azure barely kept himself from shaking in fear. Durrach would kill all the others, even the colt, just to get to the big one? His mind might still be mostly human, but even his conscience, human or pony, railed against what this American maniac was saying. But what could he do?

There was time left.

He'd think of something...

=======

Kynuna, McKinlay and Cloncurry were passed by easily. Not even the local highway patrol bothered them. But it seemed there was the beginnings of tensions in the ranks. "Hey, can we pull over for the night?" Flitter asked.

"Yeah! Even our parents never drove us straight through when we were driving to visit you, Thunderlane." CloudChaser added.

Thunderlane looked at Stellar where she sat in the passenger's seat. "What do you think?" He asked. "Should we risk it?"

Stellar's horn-tip lit up for a second, a brilliant white instead of the normal magenta glow, then faded. "I can't see any problems... but we'll choose a road motel outside of Mount Isa." She suggested. Dropping her hoofs to the floor, she looked behind her. "Rumble, could you get my tablet out of my bag? I want to check up on what accomodations are available in Mount Isa."

"Sure." Rumble replied, unbuckled and scrambled over into the back after opening the crash barrier. A few minutes later, he handed the little computer over to CloudChaser, who handed it to Stellar as Rumble dropped back into his seat and secured the crash barrier again.

"Thanks, Rumble, Chaser." Stellar said as she started up the device and brought a list of the accomodations in Mount Isa up. "Hmmm... I'd say the Abacus Motel would suit our needs, Thunderlane." She told the stallion. Stellar got out her cellphone and called the hotel. "Yes, I'd like two rooms close together, thanks. One with a double and a single, the other with two singles. Ground floor would be appreciated." Stellar waited, then grinned. "You can? Good. Yes, the booking will be in the name of Jessie Maescen." Stellar waited for a little bit, then said "No, we won't need the meal service. Does the big room have an open shower?" She asked, then grinned. "Excellent. Thank you very much, we'll be there in a few hours." She waited for a little more, then replied "No, we're just leaving Cloncurry." Another pause, then Stellar said "Good. See you in a few hours. Thank you very much." And she disconnected. "All set. We've got the rooms for the night, and we can stock up on some new produce while we're in town." Stellar told them all, which got cheers from the back seat.

Thunderlane grinned as he checked his rear-view, seeing the joy on the others' faces as they contemplated a night on soft beds and more than just alfalfa and oats to munch on.

= = = = =

Three hours later, Thunderlane followed Stellar's direction around to the Abacus motel, not far from Mount Isa's airport. The City often called the 'Oasis of the Outback' wasn't the sleepy town a lot of southerners thought of when they thought of places like her, but had never seen. Mount Isa was a true city, spread out over the plains and encircled by the huge, deep mines that gave the town its purpose. The Abacus Hotel wasn't a small road inn, either. Two-storied and quite capable of taking almost a hundred guests, they parked outside, and Stellar went in. Standing up on her hind legs with her shoulder bag over her side, she walked into the office.

The lady behind the desk smiled at Stellar. "Hello! How can I help you?" She asked.

"Hello. I booked two rooms over the phone earlier. My name is Jessie Maescen." Stellar told her.

"Ah yes! We have a couple of outside rooms for you, as you asked." She pointed them out to Stellar, who got out one of her prepaid debit-cards.

"Good." Stellar replied as they finalised the arrangements and Stellar paid for the rooms.

"Just overnight, then?" She asked.

"We're on our way to see relatives in Katherine." Stellar explained.

"Ah... A long way to go." The manager said.

"Better we go to see them, than they come and invade us." Stellar said back with a grin.

"I know that feeling all too well." The lady replied, chuckling. "I hope you enjoy your stay." She said as she handed two keys over.

'So do we. Thanks very much." Stellar told her as she gathered up everything together and headed out again. She motioned to Thunderlane as she dropped to all-fours and trotted around to the side of the building. She stopped in front of the two rooms and checked them over. "Very nice." She said as she perused the bigger room. She watched as Thunderlane drove up and parked across the two rooms, and she disconnected the trailer for him, so he could back the Landcruiser in beside it. Then everybody got out, Stellar opened the second room and looked it over, nodding in approval. "These will do." She said to Thunderlane as he walked up beside her.

"Good." He replied, smiling.

Stellar looked at the Twins and tossed them the key to the smaller room. "The shower in our room's more suited to us, so use it if you want to." She told them, to the Twins' nods.

While they headed in, Stellar and Thunderlane started unloading the 'Cruiser, with Rumble's help. "What are we going to do about more supplies?" Thunderlane asked Stellar.

"There's plenty of produce stores here. We'll restock using my ute, that way, we won't get the 'Cruiser dirty inside, and it'll give my Crewman a chance to stretch it's legs." Stellar answered.

Thunderlane nodded. "Good. I'll also go over the 'Cruiser tomorrow, before we set off again." He said.

"If you weren't going to, I was." Stellar agreed. "Even with two vehicles, we don't need a breakdown anywhere west of here. It's hardly a place fit for man or pony." She smiled at Thunderlane.

He chuckled. "How long have you been waiting to use that line?" He asked.

"Since we left Longreach." Stellar answered. "How did you know?"

"Partners, remember?" Thunderlane replied. "I know your sense of humor pretty well by now, Stellar."

Stellar giggled. "Yeah, well..." She moved to him and nuzzled him tenderly. Thunderlane stretched his neck up to Stellar and returned her caress. "I'm so glad I'm here with you." She told him.

"Likewise." Thunderlane said back. "It might have been nicer if we hadn't had to hide, or if my mother hadn't been so crazy... but we dealt with that, and we'll just go on from here."

Stellar chuckled. "You always were the logical one." She nuzzled him again.

Thunderlane nickered softly as they stroked their faces together.

=======

The Twins were in the big shower, washing each other down. Stellar had provided a number of long-handled brushes and washers to clean themselves with, and a shampoo-conditioner mix for equines that did their coats the world of good. Rumble had managed to squeeze between them both, and they were washing him down, now that they were clean. As Flitter used a washer to wash Rumble's ears out, CloudChaser was washing out his tail. "How did you get so dirty?" Flitter asked Rumble.

"I dunno." Rumble answered. "Just a talent, I guess."

That got a snicker from the girls, as they continued to scrub him down. Before they could use up a whole heap of towels getting dry, Stellar stepped in and smiled at them. "Okay, Hold still." She said as her horn lit up, a little spell-ball hitting each of them. As it flowed over them, the water flowed out of their coats and onto the floor, then slithered like snakes into the shower area and down the drain, leaving them dry, but refreshed. "There you are, dry as can be." She grinned.

"Cool!" All three of them said at once.

Stellar nodded. "Okay, now Thunderlane and I are going to get cleaned up, then we'll go and get some more supplies. The last of the fresh food is in your room, Flitter, so you and Chaser can look after Rumble while we're gone." As Rumble opened his mouth to say something, Stellar cut him off. "Yes, Rumble, we'll go flying this evening." She promised.

"Okay." Rumble said back, smiling.

Stellar nodded. "Stay indoors for now, in the air-con. I'll renew your spells before we go out." She told them. "The 'Cruiser will still be here if you need to get anything out of it. Rumble, here's the spare key and remote." She hoofed Rumble the extra set.

"Will you be long?" CloudChaser asked.

"A bit. But enjoy the normality while you can." Stellar suggested. "And you, Little Bro, make sure you preen your wings properly." She told Rumble.

"Uh-huh, Stellar Sis." Rumble agreed, then Stellar let them leave for their own room.

"Will Rumble be sleeping with us?" Flitter asked Stellar.

"No. He's got the single bed in here." Stellar answered Flitter, as she got out some more bathroom supplies.

"So, does that mean you and Thunderlane will be sharing a bed, then?" Flitter asked slyly.

Stellar chuckled. "Yes... but do you think we'd really do anything with Rumble there?" She asked back.

"Uhh.. when you put it like that, probably not." Flitter agreed.

Stellar just grinned and walked away. "What was that about?" CloudChaser asked as she munched down on one of the last of their granola bars.

Flitter shaked her head. "Stellar can be so mysterious at times." Was all she replied.

= = = = =

As Thunderlane and Stellar stood in the shower, washing each other down, Stellar moaned with pleasure as Thunderlane paid dedicated attention to her wing-roots. "By Celestia! I'd forgotten how much of an erogenous zone our wing-roots are." She told him as she washed his broad back.

Thunderlane chuckled. "Honestly, if anyone had told me I'd be washing down a mare one day, I would have thought I was doing punishment detail at the mounted unit." He said to Stellar as he used the long-handled brush with his forehoof to do her sides. "Somehow... that image isn't anywhere near as good as this is."

Stellar smiled back at him, as she rinsed down his flanks and back. "I can see where you'd feel like that." She admitted.

"I must be getting used to being this way." Thunderlane commented. "I'm starting to almost forget what it's like to be Human."

Stellar frowned. "That's not good. That could be very dangerous." Stellar said to him, and scanned him, then growled. She touched her lit horn to his forehead.

Thunderlane gasped, then shook his head. "What was that for?" He asked.

"Getting rid of a trap." Stellar replied. "I'll have to check everypony we come across, too. It seems our adversary has left little post-hypnotic suggestions in our minds. If we relax into things too much, we risk our intelligent selves being over-ridden by our animal instincts." Stellar explained. "You bastard, Discord. I knew you'd gone off the rails, but not by this much."

"So, what now?" Thunderlane asked.

"I can block his suggestions." Stellar said. "Maybe even remove them permanently. But it'll be a lot harder if they manage to take over than to block them out beforehand." She told Thunderlane. "I'll block them on everypony here with us when I renew our disguise spells once we get out of the shower."

"What about yourself?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar closed her eyes and scanned herself. "I don't have them. It seems my rebooted memories eradicated them when they were uploaded." She sighed. "Let's finish up and get out. I don't want to, but knowing our friends are at risk... I want to get rid of Discord's influence on them once and for all."

"I hear you." Thunderlane agreed. They finished up washing each other all over, then they stepped out, dried off and went into the bedroom area.

The others were waiting, Rumble bouncing on his bed with glee.

"I need you to come here." Stellar said to all of them. "Time to renew our disguise spells."

"Okay!" was the reply, and all four pegasi gathered before Stellar.

She gently touched Rumble, Flitter and CloudChaser on the forehead, then her magic weaved about them again, renewing her spells. "Okay. All done."

"Can we go for a swim?" Rumble asked.

"Best to wait until I get back, Kiddo." Stellar told Rumble. "After all, you don't know how to swim as a pegasus yet. If I'm here, then I can pull you out if you get in over your head." She said, nuzzling Rumble in a sisterly manner.

"Okay. You're right, Sis." Rumble admitted.

"Just looking out for my little bro, Rumble. I'd hate for anything to happen to you because we weren't careful." Stellar said to him in a soft voice.

Rumble nuzzled Stellar back, then gave her a hug, standing on his hind legs. Stellar wrapped her huge wings about him, and held him close. "Love you, Little Bro." Stellar whispered in his ear

"Love you too, Big Sis." Rumble replied, as Thunderlane looked on with a loving smile on his face.

"We'll spend some time together when your brother and I get back, I promise." She promised Rumble.

"Can't wait." Rumble replied.

Stellar handed Rumble her tablet. "Here, have some fun with this, but you know what you shouldn't do, right?"

"Uh-huh." Rumble tucked the tablet under a wing and gave Stellar one more nuzzle before he headed into the room where Flitter and CloudChaser were still grooming each other out.

Thunderlane smiled at Stellar. "He's loving having you as a big sister." Thunderlane told Stellar.

`"I'm loving having him as a little brother." Stellar replied with a huge grin as they moved to her ute, where it was on the trailer. "Okay, before we leave." Stellar said as she removed the car cover. "I've got a new set of bags for you, to replace your pockets." She told Thunderlane. She handed him a belt with two little bags on it. "You can wear it standing upright or down on your hoofs."

Thunderlane buckled it on as Stellar directed him, then tried it out. "Hey, they work." He commented.

Stellar smiled. "Here's your old wallet, with a few prepaid cards and some cash in it and a shopping list." She said. "Once we get to the shops, we can go our own ways inside and get what we need, then move to the ute and join up there."

'Good plan." Thunderlane agreed.

Stellar got the ute off the trailer, checked what was in it and removed some boxes to the Landcruiser, then they got in and headed out.

= = = = =

As they drove through the streets of Mount Isa, the sun heading towards the horizon around them, Thunderlane looked at Stellar. "What are we going to do about the old food we have in the back?" He asked her.

"Produce stores have big bins out the back for their own stock that goes stale." Stellar reminded Thunderlane. "I'll just transport all our old stuff into them, and that will be that." She said.

Thunderlane chuckled. "Why didn't I think of that?" He said, then sighed. "You really have been thinking things through, haven't you?" He asked.

Stellar smiled. "As my memories settle down more and more, I find my thought processes to be quick and comprehensive." She said. "I've done a lot with the Equestrian Army, from tactical and strategic planning to logistics." She told Thunderlane. "My grandfather made sure my education delved into even the smallest and distasteful areas of planning, including dealing with trash. A good commander ships stuff out of their lines as well as ships it in."

Thunderlane nodded. "Yeah. Camping in some areas is the same. You carry everything in, then carry it out again."

"Take only pictures, leave nothing but footprints... or hoofprints, in our case." Stellar agreed.

Thunderlane chuckled as well. "Yeah. Campers need to have that old saying drilled into their heads before they go anywhere." He said in agreement.

"Ah, here's the place." Stellar said, as she pulled into the forecourt of a big produce store. She drove around the store's parking area, until she spotted the bins, and as her horn lit up, the ute's tray got a whole lot lighter. Two of the bins erupted in dust, though, startling some of the staff for a second. Stellar then drove around the front again and parked in a spot where a forklift could easily get access to the ute's tray. They both got out, Stellar standing on her hind-hoofs, and Thunderlane matching her. "Got your shopping list?" Stellar asked.

"Yep. And you?" Thunderlane replied.

"In my bag." Stellar said.

"Then let's go." Thunderlane grinned. The pair moved off together and went into the big warehouse.

=======

Azure wasn't feeling that well. Being cooped up in the motorhome all the time was slowly draining his mana and his motivation and he needed to get out, stretch his legs and just be amongst nature. He looked at Catherine, his 'handler' and former partner at ASIO. "Cathy... I need to get out for a while. Do you think we can stop somewhere?

Cathy looked at Azure with a smile. "Sure. I'll go see if we can find a place."

Durrach was sitting in the passenger seat in the driving cab when Cathy approached Moller. "Can we find a place to pull over? Allan needs outside."

"Tell him to hold it." Durrach said.

Cathy fumed. "Listen, Buster! You may be in charge of this mission, but Allan is still one of us! And if he needs to go outside, then we're going to give him that opportunity!" She snapped back at Durrach.

Durrach was about to snap back, but Cathy got in his face. "We also need him. No-one else can track your precious target, remember? If he gets sick or dies, where will that leave you and your precious mission?" She asked softly.

Durrach thought this over, then nodded. "All right." He looked at Moller. "Find a place, away from prying eyes."

"Sure." Moller acknowledged the command, and within ten minutes, they'd pulled over in a small lay-away at the side of the road. Keeping the motorhome between the road traffic and Azure, He and Cathy walked off into the small line of trees that had managed to grow up here by the diversion. Azure disappeared behind a tree for a few minutes, then came out and laid down beside the trunk of the biggest tree there. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the smoothness of the ghost gum, his horn-tip glowing as he felt the life-force within the massive tree.

Cathy looked upon him with sympathy. Allan had been a really nice, stand-up kind-of guy that had lots of friends and nobody really disliked. He'd joined ASIO three years ago after University and had done a lot to help out. She'd been partnered with the slightly-older man and they'd found they were well-matched.

They'd been watching a group of Muslims that information had suggested were plotting a attack, when Allan's transformation had begun. Fortunately, they'd been able to stay focussed and even as Allan ponified, they'd been able to get the crucial information and as Allan became quadrupedal over the second night, raids carried out had netted a large amount of home-made explosives and twenty immigrants who were planning on detonating explosives inside shopping centers.

Cathy had used one of their back-up cameras to document Allan's change, so the scientists that worked for ASIO and the CSIRO had a very good understanding on the process now, as far as timelines go. But Allan had found himself confined to the main building of ASIO in Canberra, and Cathy had remained with him. Allan had told her that, without her being there, he didn't know how he would have adjusted as well as he had done.

Then Durrach and his six cronies had arrived. He'd tried to bulldoze his way through everyone, had tried to have Allan locked away permanently, then tried to have him put on a military transport for the States. Only the threat of being told to 'Fuck Off!' officially and not-so-officially had led him to realise that he wasn't going to just over-ride everyone when it came to Allan. Some other ponies had been allowed to be shipped for the 'Program', as Durrach referred to it, but he came to realise that the agents that worked around the pony known as Allen still considered him one of their own... and after him being able to track down other ponies by their energy signatures came to light, Durrach had been more than willing to allow him to continue working with the other agents.

Durrach walked out of the public toilet block in the lay-away with a new sense of respect for Australian public works. The conveniances were clean and well-maintained, unlike some he'd seen in the US that, if he'd had his way, would have been bulldozed and buried. Moller and his partner Derrick were sitting in the shade, a pair of fold-out chairs under them and a cooler or esky, as they called them here, between them, drinking cold Coca-Cola as they waited for Allan to finish up. Durrach approached them and asked "Got one of those for a thirsty Yank?"

The pair eyed him, then Moller got one of the bottles out and handed it to Durrach. "Thanks." He said as he cracked the twist-top and took a long draw on the ice-cold dark liquid. He'd been surprised how different Australian Coke tasted to the stuff he drank back home, but he found himself liking the flavor. The cane sugar gave it a different taste to the corn syrup American Coke had, and he'd found it to be more enjoyable. "I have to say this, guys. There aren't many things I find out here that are better than back home, but you lot have cracked it when it comes to Coke. I will state that the Coke they make out here is better than the original."

Moller and Derrick chuckled. "That's pretty big of you, coming from a Yank."

"Hey, I might put the mission first, always, but I can... what do you Aussies say? 'Call a spade a spade' when it comes to shit that doesn't compromise the mission." Durrach told them. "I mean, I've even gotten used to eating Vegemite... at least on toast."

That got a laugh from the three of them as the Aussie males pulled out another chair and let Durrach sit down. They chatted on, just relaxing for a short while, and maybe, just maybe, Durrach understood the Aussies a little better than he had.

= = = = =

Cathy watched Allan as he lay against the tree, his horn-tip lit and his eyes closed. She wondered what was going through his mind right at that moment. She crouched beside him and stroked his forehead, around his horn. She could almost feel the magic his horn contained. It was so pure, so full of life. She saw his eyes were leaking tears, though, and she just wanted to hug him close.

For Azure Tracks, the magic of the land he was born to, that he loved, was renewing him slowly. It flowed from the earth below him, from the tree beside him, filling him gently with life and healing him. He cried softly with the pureness of it, making him finally feel that, perhaps, being like this was not a curse, as he'd thought. But something was still missing. Something still prevented him from accepting what had happened to him. Something he could feel, but eluded him yet. He took a shuddering breath and let it slowly die away, as his horn glowed brighter.

"Are you all right, Allan?" A sweet voice flowed through his melancholy and he smiled. Opening his eyes, Azure looked up at the one human in his life that had never lost faith in him.

"Cathy..." He said softly, smiling at her through the tears. Cathy smiled back, stroking his face gently. Azure leaned into the gentle caress and nuzzled her hand. "I thank Celestia you're here." He told her.

"Who?" Cathy asked.

Azure chuckled. "I'm not sure myself. It just sounded right." He told her.

Cathy giggled. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"No." Azure replied. "I... I'm not whole, yet. I'm physically complete... but there is something missing inside me. I have no idea what it is yet, but I know I have to find it." He told Cathy.

Cathy nodded. "I'm not surprised. After such a long and complete transformation... I would be truly surprised if you weren't still lacking something." She told him. "Can you remember anything else yet?" She asked him.

Azure shook his head. "Just that... horrible creature and what it said to me after it grabbed me." He answered.

Cathy nodded. "Five score, divided by four." She remembered out-loud, and Azure cringed. "Sorry." She said and stroked his ears softly, making Azure nicker softly.

"It's okay." Azure replied. "I only wish I truly knew the significance of it." He told Cathy.

"It'll come in its own good time." Cathy told Azure, moving closer to him and actually hugging him. Azure whickered at the embrace, and did his best to hug Cathy back.

A little while later, after Azure had had some cold water and some lettuce, carrots and apples, they all got on-board and started off again. Moller looked in on Azure. "You okay now, mate?" He asked.

"A lot better, to be honest." Azure replied. "I'm still getting used to how this body works inside."

Moller nodded. "Hopefully, it settles down for you soon, Allan." He ruffled Azure's mane, then headed forward to take the shotgun seat.

Durrach moved past Azure, giving him a faint smile, then headed into the back bedroom. Taking off his sunglasses and shirt, he collapsed onto the bed and went to sleep very quickly.

=======

Stellar walked out of the supermarket with a shopping trolley full of nicer nibbles than the produce stores had, just to fill up the corners: Lots of vegetables, some salad dressings and other fruits, and a good deal of fish. She saw Thunderlane leaning up against the side of the ute, and she took her keys out and unlocked it. Bowing to Stellar in thanks, Thunderlane loaded up the back seat of the Crewman with what he'd bought. Stellar approached the other side and did the same. "You got a lot." Stellar commented.

"Well, we will be invading Mark and Cecelia in a short time from now, with three more hungry ponies, as well as their daughters. I'm just making sure we have enough food so we don't eat them out of house and barn." Thunderlane replied.

"Ah, very true." Stellar agreed as she used her magic to help her lift a big esky into the Crewman, with the fish and other goods that needed to be kept cool into the tray, and anchored it down. "We don't want to wear-out our welcome." She agreed.

They slid in once they were loaded, then drove out. "Any signs of trouble?" Stellar asked.

"Not a bit." Thunderlane answered. "I spoke with over a dozen people as I walked around, and I didn't get one of them freaking out about talking to a pony." He chuckled.

Stellar chuckled as well. "Goes to show you, the spells really do work." She said. Then she pulled over into a small shopping area. "Great! An open post office!" She said. After she'd pulled over, she left the motor running and said "Be back in a minute." She climbed out, headed inside and came out ten minutes later with a large paper carry bag. "Okay! Now we can head for the hotel." Stellar said as she put the bag in the back and climbed in the front seat again.

"What was that for?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar grinned. "A simple money-making scheme." She said as they drove off. "I have bags full of Equestrian bits." She told Thunderlane. "I put a dozen of each denomination up on E-bay after I finished changing and got access to my funds, then pointed it out to several people I have contact with amongst the Brony community online."

Thunderlane thought on this, then it hit him and he started laughing. "You mean... you put genuine Equestrian Bits up for auction, then showed where they were to Bronies?" He asked.

"Yep, and rabid bronies at that." Stellar added. "I even stressed they were made out of real gold, just like the ones in the show are. Not one of them is still below a thousand dollars in their auctions."

"By Celestia..." Thunderlane said.

"Yep. I'm even going to come out of this ahead of the falling gold prices at the moment." Stellar revealed. "The auctions run out tonight, so I'm going to bag the coins, which I already have cases for: I got those in Brisbane before I left. Once they're bagged, a little anti-tamper spell for security, and I'll send them out in the morning." She explained.

Thunderlane shook his head. "That... is amazing." He replied. "And so simple! Luckily you had them with you... or is this another of your contingency plans?"

"A little of both, really, if I am honest." Stellar answered. "While gold appears to be somewhat of a universal currency, both on Equis and Earth, it makes sense to carry some no matter where I go. After all, people have been doing it on Earth for centuries."

"True." Thunderlane agreed. "And it is a clever way of getting funds quite legally." Then he asked "So, what if they don't pay?"

"The terms are, no funds up front, no coins." Stellar told Thunderlane as they negociated traffic. "So if they don't pay, I don't post. I'm dealing only through Paypal, so I knows the funds are secured by their insurance, as do the buyers."

"Sensible." Thunderlane agreed as they turned into the street the Abacus Hotel was in. "Then again, you always could be sensible. It's just at times, you didn't want to be." He pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess." Stellar said as she pulled into the parking area near their rooms. She left the ute sitting beside the trailer for the moment, and they hauled some of their groceries and other foods inside with them. After knocking on their door, Flitter, CloudChaser and Rumble came out and helped, taking some food into the Twins' room as well, just in case they wanted to eat. The older perishable food was quickly despatched to the bins and they replaced it.

Twenty minutes after unloading concluded found the five ponies around at the pool. The setting sun slowly inched towards the horizon as they enjoyed their time in the cool, covered waters. Stellar was teaching Rumble to swim as a pegasus, using his wings to support him and propel himself through the water. He was enjoying it, giggling like a foal as he swam easily from one end of the pool to the other, popping up at the other end and shoving himself up out of the water into flight, then landing beside the pool and trotting carefully back down to Stellar. They shook themselves out all over as they stood on the grass, then Rumble hugged Stellar again. Stellar leaned down and held Rumble close to her, nuzzling him lovingly.

Thunderlane watched from where he and Flitter were making dinner. He was barbecuing fish fillets, while Flitter was chopping up vegetables and making a big salad for all of them. He couldn't help but smile at how close Stellar was becoming to Rumble, and how much his once-twin brother was truly becoming a ten-year-old again. Maybe if he could talk to their father without their mother being there (or with her hog-tied and duct-taped, perhaps), he might even consider Stellar as good marriage material. After all, she was a Princess. It wasn't every day an ordinary stallion like himself got to marry a Princess... except for Stellar's brother, apparently. Then again, Shining Armor was the brother of two princesses, and was apparently a Duke, according to what Stellar had told him about the social rank of her family. And he had become a prince after marrying Princess Cadance... at least before everypony got thrown out of Equestria and onto Earth by Discord.

Thunderlane watched as Stellar and Rumble played with a big beach-ball on the other side of the pool. Rumble looked so innocent, so child-like... even though Thunderlane knew a lot of Rusty still existed in his head. Eventually, they stopped when Thunderlane called out "Dinner!" and everypony came back around, to the products of their labors. Thunderlane was so glad Stellar had taught them about their Kinetics. It made doing things like cooking so much easier. As he watched, Rumble settled with his plate next to Stellar, and just sat with her as Thunderlane cleaned up a little, then settled on the other side of Rumble as they ate.

They did go on a short flight after dinner, looking at the oasis city from the air, but Rumble yawning widely brought their short flight to an end. Back in their room for the night, Flitter and CloudChaser settled onto their beds very quickly and were asleep in minutes after grooming and preening themselves beforehand, as they'd gotten used to doing.

In their room, Thunderlane had made sure Rumble groomed himself out and preened his wings properly before settling him into bed. Stellar was encasing Bits into the protective cases she'd bought, then was placing them in Postpaks for mailing the next morning. She'd checked the auctions on E-bay, and had a list of people who'd paid their account already. Seventy-three of the eighty-four Bit coins she'd put up for auction had been paid out, for well over a thousand Australian dollars each, the other eleven just waiting on payment. Thunderlane looked at the stack of coins in cases on the bed, as Stellar wrote out the names of the recipients on the postpaks, wrapped the appropriate coin (or coins) in bubble-wrap and a protective spell, then slid them into the paks. There was a fast-growing stack of postpaks ready to be posted the next morning when they left.

"This will bring in a good stack, won't it?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yeah, more than I've paid out so far for our stay in Noosa and the trip out here." Stellar confirmed. "So we'll still be ahead, even with what I've spent so far."

"A good thing." Thunderlane replied. "I'd hate to be beholden to you for all this." He told Stellar.

Stellar snorted. "Don't worry about it." She told Thunderlane. "If I don't spend my money helping out other ponies in need, then my mission means nothing." She told him.

"You're really serious about this, aren't you?" Thunderlane asked.

"The safety of all ponies is my responsibility as a Princess." Stellar answered. "Until I find either Celestia or Luna, and they take it up themselves, as far as I know, I am on my own here. Therefore I am the one who has to go into those places where ponies are in danger, the places ordinary ponies cannot go, and bring out any I find there to safety. I might even have to forget about letting Celestia or Luna take up the mission, because they don't have my advantages."

"Advantages?" Thunderlane asked.

"My armor, my weapons and my memories." Stellar listed off. "I am assuming that the Princesses will be like most other ponies: without most of their memories and without control of their magic to any great extent." Stellar explained to Thunderlane. "I can help them with Magic, but I think not with their memories. Plus I have weapons and armor that nothing the Humans have can penetrate or damage, but can go through their weapons and armor like it was cardboard." She grinned nastily. "So I can go into areas of great danger, find the ponies and bring them out to safety. Places like Russia and the Middle East blocs. China and Asia. Africa and India. If they have ponies there, I shall find them and rescue them, no doubts and no exceptions. We are not meant to be amongst Humans... at least, most humans. I have no doubt that there are some who will welcome us with open arms and friendship, but until we find those people and establish sanctuaries, as well as a way back... For the moment I have to evaluate and deal with each case as I come upon it.."

Stellar hung her head, looking at a hundred-bit coin. "And as sure as I am sitting here with you now, Thunderlane, there will be bloodshed. Something tells me ponies have already been killed or oppressed elsewhere. Some will not let go of us willingly. I will do everything short of killing them first, but if that's what it takes, humans will die. How many... that's up to them. I just hope they give me a choice."

Thunderlane moved to sit with Stellar as she cleared the bed and stretched herself for a moment, getting all the kinks out of herself. She nuzzled him lovingly, then kissed him deeply. "I am so glad you are with me." Stellar told him.

"Always, if you let me." Thunderlane replied.

"I'd like that, a lot." Stellar admitted. She laid down on the bed and stretched out, gesturing for Thunderlane to join her. He carefully stretched out before her, then rolled into her embrace. Stellar snuggled into him from behind and laid her head along his.

Thunderlane nickered softly as she hugged him. "Stel'," Thunderlane asked softly, "Do you think there's a chance? You know, you and me? With you being a princess and all..."

"To be honest... if Shiny could get Cadance to realise that he loved her, and convince Celestia of it as well... then I don't have a problem with you." Stellar softly nuzzled his cheek.

Thunderlane sighed happily. "Then... I hope you don't mind if I pursue you like the most precious person in my life."

Stellar chuckled softly. "Not at all. Go for it." Stellar told him. "The worst that can happen is that Celestia dithers about it, then I just marry you anyway when they go back to Equestria."

"You'd do that?" Thunderlane asked.

"Sure" Stellar told him. "If they're there and we're here... not much they can do about it."

Thunderlane squeezed a little closer to Stellar, and went to sleep a very happy stallion.

= = = = =

Rumble looked at the adults on the bed across from him... and smiled. Both parts of him were in full agreement with the pair being together. He'd always liked Jessie, even before she'd become Stellar. His mother trying to foist him off onto Jessie hadn't ruined their friendship, either, which surprised him. Usually when they brought a girlfriend home, even if they were only a casual aquaintance, Alicia had the most annoying habit of trying to make them see that he was a suitable candidate for a husband. It had cost him more girlfriends than he'd ever lost by himself. But Jessie had stuck around... and now he knew why. Jessie had been in love with Curtis... not that he minded at all. Curtis had been very unsure about himself with girls. To see Jessie liking him that much was great, in Rusty's eyes. And now as ponies, it made even more sense to the ten-year-old. Rumble knew he'd find a nice filly or mare one day. An awesome colt like himself was always in demand as a stallion. He'd just have to grow up a good bit first... maybe. After all, sometimes the best romances started with colts and fillies.

=======

A little after One AM, a white motorhome drove into Mount Isa. Only two of the five people aboard her were awake. Moller sat in the shotgun seat as Derrick drove, Moller giving him directions. Cathy and Azure were asleep together in the upper bed, while Durrach was asleep in the aft bedroom.

"What do you think?" Derrick asked. "Pull over for the night?"

"Nah. Refuel and restock, then we can get going. We don't want to get too far behind them." Moller answered.

"I hear that." Derrick agreed. Finding an all-night service station open, Moller fuelled up the motorhome's big tanks, as Derrick went shopping. Ten minutes later, they were driving out of the station again. "Damn but they charge like wounded bulls there." Derrick commented to Moller.

"What do you expect? They're one of the few places open this time of night. Of course they can charge what they want to." Moller replied. "But the bill's being covered by whatever agency Durrach's working for, so don't sweat it. It's not our money."

"Bloody yeah." Derrick agreed as they headed off into the night.

Author's Note

Another chapter. i know this one's a little short, but I hit a good place to end it, so it works for me.
Some terms:
CSIRO: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Basically the government's sponsored think-tank of labs and other things. Works in well with universities, too.

ASIO: Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation. Australian equivalent of the FBI and CIA combined. Works in the domestic field as well as overseas, to a limited degree. Also separate from the Australian Federal Police.

06 - Interception

Stellar was the first to rise, as was her penchant. She teleported herself out from behind Thunderlane and appeared in the bathroom, where the flash didn't startle anyone. After using the facilities, she carefully made her way outside and looked about in the pre-dawn stillness. The town was still asleep all around her. The coolness of the night was yet to evaporate in the heat of the coming day, and Stellar could feel the land beneath her churn with mana. The mines had disrupted the flow a lot, but it still was there. She took to the air and flew over the area, seeking a point. Once she found it, Stellar landed amongst a park filled with machinery of a bygone area. The lines of power gathered in this place, Man's efforts having disrupted them but not beyond recovery; for fortunately they'd dug their mines and shafts between the lines instead of on top of them.

Finding the center under a slab of concrete that surrounded a monument to those fallen in war was a little bit of a surprise for Stellar, though. "Appropriate." She said to herself. "This is hallowed ground."

But she called her tome to her and a box of street chalk and, after consulting the Tome, she began to draw a big magic circle around the monument. It took her almost an hour to get the circle properly configured, then she stood to one side and pressed one hoof to the activation key. "Immanu astari ishal thu messari kenmal ist hodel shivan!" She shouted out as the sun breached the eastern horizon and the circle glowed brilliantly, Stellar bathing in its mana as the lines started charging up more powerfully than they had done in over a hundred years.

All through the city, the lines followed their ancient paths, the mana buried deep in the earth beneath them coming up and joining the ancient flows of magic through the land. Out past the mines and other trappings of the mortal world they flowed, out into the vast Outback.

Eventually, the circle faded and disappeared and the lines settled down again, but the results of Stellar's work were much in evidence. Trees had grown bigger, the withering grass was flourishing again and flowers in beds bloomed all over the city.

Smiling at her success, Stellar slid her tome away and took to the air again. The city flourished with green once again, proof for Stellar that, with the proper conditions and empowerment, the desert could bloom again. She returned to the hotel and began making breakfast. It had been too long since she had pancakes and this morning, she was not about to deny herself.

=======

Miles away, Azure was resting after having some breakfast. He was still feeling a lot better after the roadside stop yesterday, and as he relaxed, he tried feeling for the pony he called 'The Big One'. He lit up the tip of his horn, feeling for her... and then he gasped as a wash of pure mana raced through him and the motorhome. His eyes glowed a brilliant white and his horn a brilliant blue as he floated up in the air.

"What the hell?" Came Moller's voice as he spotted what was happening to Azure.

"Pull over!" Durrach told Derrick, who did so. Cathy had woken up at the shouting, and gasped as she saw Azure floating inside the motorhome as they pulled over. She climbed down from the bed and moved to Azure.

"What the hell is happening?" Durrach asked.

"I don't know!" Cathy yelled back. "I've never seen this before." She gently reached out for him and, as she touched him, the power flowed into her and she gasped. Jerking her hand back, she looked at the men. "He's... he's super-charged with his magic." She explained.

"How did that happen?" Derrick asked.

"How should I know?" Cathy replied. Then Azure's eyes slowly faded and he was lowered to the couch. As he collapsed, Cathy went straight over and checked him again.

Azure blinked as she stroked him. "What happened?" He asked.

Cathy chuckled a little bit. "We were hoping you would know." She said. "Your eyes and horn were glowing brightly, you were floating in the air and your magic was... well, you were super-charged with it." She told Azure.

"I was?" Azure asked, then he closed his eyes, his horn lighting up as well. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Cathy. "My... my magic's fully-charged. It's never been fully-charged before." He told her. He closed his eyes again and this time, he scanned around the motorhome, to outside... and gasped. "Someone's just... there's a river of magic energy flowing outside."

"Can you tell where it's coming from?" Durrach asked.

"Maybe." Azure answered and concentrated harder. "I think... It's coming from behind us."

"Behind us?" Moller asked. "That's... that's Mount Isa!" He said.

Durrach frowned. "It has to be her. The one Allan calls the Big One." He stated. "She has to be in Mount Isa."

"Okay... so what do we do?" Moller asked.

Durrach thought for a minute. "We can't do anything in the city. Too many witnesses." He stated. "So we find somewhere to pull over and wait for a while. If they don't show up before Sunset, we'll head back into the town and look for them. "

"There's a roadhouse not too far up the road." Derrick informed them.

"That will do nicely." Durrach agreed. "Let's get moving."

Derrick started the motorhome up again and they carefully drove back out onto the highway. Five minutes later, they drove into the roadhouse and parked where they could watch the highway, yet stay hidden.

"I'm going to take a shower while I'm here." Cathy said, diving into her bags.

"Great idea." Moller agreed.

Durrach watched them, then nodded, sighing. "Yeah, good idea." He agreed. "We'll do a purge of our systems while we're here as well." He looked at Derrick. "Have they got the facilities for it?" He asked.

Derrick checked. "Yeah, they do." He answered.

Durrach nodded. "Okay. Moller, we'll get the purge underway, then you can go have a shower." He told Moller.

"Yeah, okay." Moller agreed, as Derrick started up again and drove around to where they could access the facilities.

Cathy went and checked the women's facilities and found the showers were empty. "Come on, Allan, while no-one's in there, we'll give you a wash, too." She said.

"Thank you." Azure replied, and as Cathy watched out, Azure raced across the tarmac and into the doorway. Cathy joined him and they went inside.

Moller chuckled. "Lucky little sod..." Then he sighed. "Then again, there's not much he could do, even if she wanted him to." He said to himself. Moller just shook his head and started hooking up the water tank in the motorhome, so they could flush it out.

= = = = =

Inside the women's showers, Cathy had chosen a stall that was as close to having the inside hidden from the other stalls as possible. She had a bag of towels with her, as well as some equine wash she'd picked up from a vet's office in Canberra. She let Azure get soaked first as she undressed, then moved into the shower with him. After several days without a wash, the shower was heaven. Azure, soaked to the skin, sat to one side and let Cathy get wet and wash herself off first. "Cathy, don't you have a birthday in a few days?" Azure asked her.

Cathy smiled at Azure. "Tomorrow, actually." She told Azure.

Azure nodded. "And how old will you be?" He asked.

"Twenty-five." Cathy answered.

Azure smiled. "The same as me." He told her.

"Really? I thought you were older." Cathy said as she shampooed her hair.

"Nope." Azure said. He looked at his cutie-mark, a crossed pen and magnifying glass. "Well, I'm ten days older than you, but that's all." He corrected himself.

Cathy nodded as she slid her head under the shower flow and washed her hair out. After she'd put conditioner through her hair and washed herself off, she got Azure to stand beside her as she crouched beside him and dribbled the equine shampoo over him, then rubbed it through his coat with her hands, making Azure croon with delight. She made sure she washed him all over, as the information she'd found on the Internet told her to do. After all, he was a pony, and the grooming information on miniature horses had been specific about what had to be cared for. Azure moaned as Cathy caressed his ears, making sure she cleaned them out properly. Azure did blush when she pulled his shaft out of his sheath and cleaned both of them, but once she'd rinsed them out, it did feel a lot better. "Thanks." He told Cathy.

She smiled. "No problem." Cathy replied. "The vet information said it was very important that your junk had to be kept clean, or infections could set in easily, especially for a pony that lives indoors."

"Right." Azure said. "So much to keep track of." He told Cathy.

"You've never had a pet before?" Cathy asked.

"Nope... well, we had fish when I was a kid, but nothing bigger." Azure admitted. "I was a city kid, born and bred."

Cathy chuckled. "We had a few dogs and one horse." She told Azure. "So I know a bit about grooming a pony, I suppose."

"Except I can talk back." Azure pointed out with a grin.

"Yeah, you can." Cathy agreed. "That just makes things a little easier." She finished cleaning him up and rinsing him off, then rinsed out her hair and squeezed her hair out. Once she was rinsed out completely, Cathy moved back into the stall area as Azure shook himself out, spraying water all over the shower stall.

Azure then frowned. "I wonder..." He said softly, then his horn lit up as he concentrated. While Cathy dried herself, all the water through his coat, mane and tail drifted out around him, then fell down onto the shower floor and down the drain. Now dry, Azure grinned as he quietly walked out, keeping his hoof-falls as silent as he could.

"Nice trick." Cathy told him as she finished drying herself off.

"This horn's got to be useful for more than just a pony-detector." Azure commented as Cathy started getting dressed again. Once she was dressed, she got out a pair of hand-brushes and started brushing him down.

"I wonder how hard it is for a pegasus to have to keep their wings clean?" Cathy asked. "It must be a long process."

"Yeah." Azure agreed. "Maybe I should invest in some of those rubber hoof-boots you showed me from that website." Azure commented.

"Might not be a bad idea." Cathy agreed as she rolled her dirty clothes up and put them in a cloth shopping bag she pulled out of one of her other bags, topped it off with a wet towel wrapped in a plastic shopping bag, then packed up. "Okay, I'll go and see if the coast is clear." She said softly.

Azure nodded and Cathy walked to the door to the showers, then looked out. She gestured to Azure, who trotted to the door and they slipped out together, with Azure racing across the tarmac to the motorhome and jumping in, while Cathy leisurely walked across and climbed in. Durrach and Derrick were missing, but Moller was waiting there. "How's it going?" She asked.

"Just filling the water tank now." Moller replied. "Once that's done, I'm going to fill us up, then park us. And then it's my turn for a shower." He grinned. "How's Allan?"

"Feeling a lot better." Cathy replied. "He was really starting to smell, so it's better for all of us that he's had a good, long shower."

"I bet we were starting to reek as well, especially for that nose he's got." Moller replied.

Cathy nodded. "I'll see what the shop they have here has in terms of fresh veges." She told Moller. "He should be in a lot better mood, now."

"Good." Moller replied. "We should all be in a better mood, now, especially after a shower." He grinned. "After six days of rolling around, chasing a false lead, then stumbling onto this lot, It is so good to get clean again."

"Yeah, sometimes our luck really amazes me, especially with the way Durrach was driving us." Cathy said. "But without Azure, we would still be chasing our tails, in his case quite literally."

Moller nodded as he watched the water gauge. "Durrach seems to have mellowed a little bit." He told Cathy. "The broomstick doesn't seem to be as deeply implanted as before."

"We can but hope it continues." Cathy said. "Okay, see you in a bit." She told Moller and walked off around the front of the station buildings.

Moller stayed there until the motorhome's water tank was filled, then he went inside. "How're doing, Allan?" He asked Azure, as the pony sat on the couch, munching on a carrot.

"A lot better, thanks." Azure replied. "It feels so good to be clean again! I am never going to take a shower for granted ever again, not with this coat." He told Moller as the ASIO agent sat down opposite him.

Moller chuckled. "I hear that." He said back. "I imagine it must have been nice, having someone else to scrub your back." He made the comment seem neutral and normal.

"I imagine ponies would bathe together naturally... or use very long-handled brushes." Azure agreed. "I could have done it myself with my magic, but having Cathy scrub me down made it a lot easier."

"Yeah. Unlike me, you really need the help." He said, sitting with Azure and gently stroking him, getting a nicker of pleasure from the unicorn. "Okay, I'm going to shift us, then go for my shower." He told Azure, moving up front and taking the driver's position. After moving the motorhome into a shady spot in the parking area, Moller grabbed his bag and left Azure alone there.

Azure sighed. He couldn't even call his family. Durrach had forbidden it, apart from ringing them to tell them he was going on a field mission that he couldn't really talk about. They knew what he did in the smallest sense, so they had accepted his story and wished him luck. He moved to the upper bed, lifted himself up to it and scrambled onto it, then he sat, his horn lit as he tried to figure out what else he could do with his magic.

=======

Thunderlane rose that morning to find Stellar in the shower again, washing herself out. He joined her, sleepily walking in under the spray as Stellar nuzzled him in a morning caress. They kissed and snuggled as much as they could as Stellar lathered Thunderlane up, then they rinsed off together. Once dry, Stellar moved to the kitchenette and started making breakfast, while Thunderlane made sure everything was packed up, ready to shift out.

Rumble pounced his big brother as he worked. "G'Morning, Squirt." Thunderlane said, giving Rumble a big hug.

"G'Morning, Big Bro! Howizya?" Rumble asked.

"Doing okay, Little Dude." Thunderlane nuzzled Rumble lovingly. "Sleep well?" He asked.

Rumble thought about that. "I guess." He said. "Kinda hard to tell, since I was asleep for the whole sleeping thing."

Stellar giggled at that while Thunderlane chuckled. "Sounds like you slept well, Bro." He replied.

There was a knock at the door and Rumble answered it, to find the Twins there. "Good morning!" They chorused as they walked in.

"Good morning." Stellar replied, as the Twins gave Rumble a hug to him nickering with delight. Stellar was flipping pancakes out onto plates for everyone, four pans cooking at once with her magic handling them.

Everypony settled around the dining table after setting it and waited until Stellar was finished cooking. Five plates piled high with pancakes sailed through the air and landed before the ponies there, Stellar joining them after making sure everything was cleaned up, ready for them to pack up. After adding their favorite toppings, the five started in on their breakfasts. "Mmm! You're almost as good a cook as Flitter is, Stellar!" CloudChaser commented.

"Thanks, Chaser." Stellar said back. "Being on my own meant I learned to cook or starve. Either that, or grow fat on take-away food, which was NOT an option."

"Yeah, That would totally suck." Flitter and CloudChaser agreed.

After breakfast, packing took a lot less time than when they left Noosa, even after Stellar drove the Crewman up onto the trailer again and secured it. A clean-up within the two rooms made sure there weren't any traces of pony-fluff or anything that might show that it hadn't been humans who'd stayed there that night. "Everypony got everything?" Stellar asked all of the others as they double-checked.

"Everything's gone from here." Flitter said about the room she'd shared with CloudChaser.

"Same here." Said Rumble, as he was carried out on Thunderlane's back, grinning widely.

"Okay. everypony mount up, and I'll go settle our account." Stellar told them. As the others made themselves comfortable, Stellar walked around to the office upright, and handed the keys in after settling the bill. As Thunderlane drove up to the exit, Stellar waited and climbed in once he'd stopped, and then they were off again.

"Okay, remember that we need to stop at the yellow postbox." Stellar reminded Thunderlane.

Thunderlane nodded as they made their way through Mount Isa, being careful in the Sunday morning traffic. Thunderlane pulled up outside the little shopping center where the post office was and Stellar slid out, carrying her bag full of postpaks. She was sliding the last one into the postbox, when she felt a hand grab her tail. Looking down, Stellar saw a five-year-old girl with a hand wrapped around her long tail. Smiling at her, she said "Hello, Little One. Where did you come from?"

Then there came a voice from one of the open shops, as Stellar picked up the child. "I'm sorry. She's normally so shy of strangers." the woman, obviously the mother, said to Stellar.

Stellar chuckled. "I don't mind. If only everyone in our world was as friendly as your daughter is, the world would have a lot less troubles."

The woman nodded as Stellar gave the little girl a kiss on the cheek, then touched her with her horn with the tip lit up. "Thank you for being so understanding." The mother told Stellar.

"It's not hard, believe me." Stellar said. "Good-bye." Stellar said, giving the girl a big grin as she walked away. Reaching the Landcruiser, Stellar climbed into the driver's seat this time and they took off again.

"Shit! I almost had a heart attack when that girl grabbed your tail, instead of your leg, Stellar!" CloudChaser said as they got back into the traffic.

Stellar laughed. "Sometimes young children are a lot more perceptive of hidden things than adults are." She explained. "No harm done. And a nice way to end our stop in Mount Isa, too."

Flitter and CloudChaser nodded, as Thunderlane just smiled. "All right! the open road beckons." Stellar said as they turned onto the Barkly Highway, heading West. "And today, we will get to your home, girls."

The twins cheered at that, as they headed out of Mount Isa properly.

=======

Azure was munching away on breakfast, as was everyone in the motorhome save for Moller who'd finished his already and was seated in the driver's seat, ready to move out. Then as Stellar's group left Mount Isa, Azure looked up, his horn-tip glowing. "She's on the move!" He told them all.

"Right." Durrach said, looking at Moller, who nodded and spun around, starting up the motorhome and moving through the service station to where he could sit, hidden from the road but ready to move out when the Landcruiser went past them. Everyone else finished their breakfast as quickly as they could, then rearranged themselves, Derrick in the shotgun seat, and Cathy and Durrach on the couch after folding up the table. Azure was above Moller and Derrick on the bed as he kept a magic eye out for Stellar's crew.

Twenty minutes later, Azure said "They're coming." And they saw the Landcruiser and trailer go sailing by. Seizing their chance, they pulled out almost right behind them and got up to speed as quickly as they could. "Okay, we're in position." Moller said.

"Good." Durrach said as he relaxed. "Now we just wait for an opportunity."

=======

It was two hours later that Stellar started feeling uneasy as they sat at a set of roadworks, waiting for a truck to unload its load. They were stuck there for about ten minutes, then went on their way again. There was something she was feeling, a feeling of wrongness coming from behind them. As they moved along on the slightly-wobbly highway, Stellar noticed the big motorhome coming up behind them. She frowned as she scanned it. "Thunderlane... we've got company." She told him.

"Seriously?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yeah. we have four humans in the motorhome behind us... and one pony." Stellar said.

"A pony?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yeah, a unicorn, I think." Stellar informed him. "I think they might be the ones who've been following us."

"What are we going to do, then?" He asked.

"We could out-run them." Stellar pointed out. "But if they're using that unicorn to track us, then they'll just find us again."

"That's a real problem." Thunderlane agreed. "Any ideas?"

"I could go out there and confront them." Stellar suggested.

"They're probably armed." Thunderlane cautioned Stellar.

"So am I." Stellar replied, grinning. "And armored as well, remember?"

Thunderlane chuckled. "Yeah, I forgot." He acknowledged. "So, how do we do this?" He asked.

"We're going to swap over up ahead. I need you to take over driving. Then I'm going to teleport to the Crewman and get it off the trailer. I'll leave all the food and other stuff behind so it doesn't weigh down the ute and then you take the road to Katherine. I'm going to head down the other way, and I'm betting it's me they'll follow. I'll deal with them by myself." Stellar detailed for Thunderlane.

"Why not here and now?" He asked.

Stellar shook her head. "I don't want to block the road here, after those roadworks. Plus there's a bit too much traffic at the moment. Most of them will go north, with you, but very few will head south from the turn-off. I can take them on in isolation."

Thunderlane nodded. "You will catch up, won't you?" He asked.

Stellar grinned. "Of course." She confidently told him.

Thunderlane nodded. "Okay." He said. "When do you want to do this?"

"We can swap over up ahead at that service station, just outside of Tablelands." Stellar said. "I won't get the ute off until we're close to the turnoff, that way they can't prepare for the shift in the game." Stellar grinned.

"Good idea." Thunderlane agreed. "And the rest?"

"In about an hour's time, just before we hit Route 87. You go north, I'll go south, and they'll follow me if I'm right about how they're tracking us." Stellar told Thunderlane.

Thunderlane looked at her. "Do you really want to do this?" He asked.

"We can't let them follow us to the Twins' home." Stellar said. "So we'll disable them and I'll send them elsewhere, and the pony we'll bring with us."

"Okay." Thunderlane relented. He could see the sense in Stellar's plan.

"Now... all we have to do is be patient and keep moving." Stellar said confidently.

=======

Moller was driving as the motorhome followed the Landcruiser along. Then, before they reached the small town of Tablelands, they pulled off into a service station. Moller passed the station and pulled over a little ways up the road, making sure they could see the station from the back window.

"What's happened?" Durrach asked.

"They pulled over." Moller said, as he got up and motioned Derrick to take the driver's seat. "Looks like they're swapping drivers, so we're doing the same."

"Okay." Durrach said. "Allan, can you feel anything from them?" He asked Azure.

Azure popped his head down, looking into the cab upside down. "Not really. They're not casting any magic or anything." He answered.

Durrach thought about this. "Maybe it's just a driver change. But watch them. If they divert from their route, then we'll close on them."

"Rojer that." Derrick said, as he took over driving as they waited.

Ten minutes later, Derrick slowly pulled out behind the Landcruiser as it drove past them. "Here we go." He said to Moller.

=======

"And they're right behind us again." Stellar said to Thunderlane. "As expected."

Thunderlane chuckled. "You really called them." He said. "I bet they don't even realise they're facing down ex-cops.”

“I’d not even put a wager on that.” Stellar replied. “They’ve got no idea who they’re facing at all... which could kill the theory your mother called them in.” She suggested.

“You might be right there.” Thunderlane agreed. “Maybe they came across us while chasing down another lead?”

“That’s more likely at this stage.” Stellar was looking back over her shoulder through the cargo barrier, as Rumble looked up at her from the tablet comp he was using. “Heya Little Bro.” Stellar said to Rumble with a smile.

“Heya Big Sis. What’s happening?” He asked.

“Just got to take care of some business.” Stellar told him. “We might be getting another pony out of it.”

“Really?” Rumble looked really interested now. “Someone like me?”

Stellar chuckled as the Twins, who’d started taking notice as well, looked up from their laptops and started tickling him, making Rumble squeal and wriggle. “Enough.” Stellar said to them. “No, I don’t think they’re a foal, Rumble. Sorry.” She said.

“Ah, poot.” Rumble said back as the Twins giggled.

Stellar giggled a little as well. “I’ll have to step out for a while, after we drive on for a while. So stay tight and don’t give your brother any arguments or distract him, okay?”

“Okay.” Rumble confirmed.

Stellar nodded, then turned back around, making a headset appear with her in the front seat. “I’ll stay in contact with you though this.” She told Thunderlane. “It’s VHF radio, so they shouldn’t have a set that can listen into them.”

“Good idea.” Thunderlane agreed. He let Stellar slide the headset in place over his right ear, leaving his left free to listen to the others. She put the rest on his back, tucked into a wing.

“My set’s built into my armor and I’ll be wearing that, so you should be able to hear what’s going on.” She told Thunderlane.

Thunderlane nodded. “Now, we wait.”

=======

The two groups continued on for nearly an hour, until they were twenty minutes away from the major turnoff onto route 87. Derrick had been driving since Tablelands but was still quite sharp. There wasn’t that much traffic on this Sunday morning, which suited him just fine. Then Azure snapped his head up and turned around. “What is it?” Durrach asked, as he’d been the first to notice.

“The Big One. She just cast a major spell!” Azure told them.

= = = = =

Up ahead, Stellar had looked at Thunderlane and nodded, then turned to the others. “See you in a bit, ponies!” Stellar said, then she teleported out of the Landcruiser after scrunching herself up into as tight a ball as she could.

Back in the Crewman, Stellar appeared in a flash of light in the back seat. Orientating herself, she slid across into the front carefully and took up a position behind the steering wheel. She checked everything out around her as she buckled up and started the engine. This was going to be a complicated teleport. She’d have to take the ute out from under everything in it’s tray and drop it carefully onto the trailer’s bed, then secure it properly, while landing the Crewman on the road behind the trailer. Once that was done, then she’d have to take off around the ‘Cruiser and draw the motorhome away from the others.

Stellar closed her eyes, her horn glowing brightly as she positioned everything in readiness for the transfer. “Okay, Thunderlane, countdown in Ten...”

“Nine.” Thunderlane said back.

“Eight!” Rumble butted in.

“Seven!” yelled CloudChaser.

“Six!” Flitter said.

“Five!” Stellar told them all.

“Four!” Rumble said in order.

“Three!” Cloudchaser got in.

“Two!” Flitter followed her sister.

“One!” Thunderlane counted down.

“Go!” And the Crewman disappeared from the world.

= = = = =

Azure’s eyes widened as he felt Stellar teleport the entire Crewman off the trailer. “She’s doing it again!” He yelled out.

“Doing what?” Durrach asked.

“Shit! Another car’s just appeared on the road!” Moller said from the shotgun seat.

“Appeared?” Durrach asked.

“Yeah! Just appeared from nowhere!” Moller confirmed.

“No! It was on the trailer!” Azure stated. “And She’s in it!”

= = = = =

Ahead of the Crewman, the car cover it had been under tightened down onto the trailer and ratchet straps grabbed the load under it, tying it down tight, as Stellar orientated herself to drive. Once the load was safe, Stellar grinned and planted her hoof, shooting forward and racing around the Landcruiser, heading down the road really quickly. “Okay, Boys, let’s race!” Stellar said with a cheeky grin.

= = = = =

Durrach’s eyes blinked in surprise. It was the last thing he expected. “She’s in that?” He asked Azure.

“Yes!” Azure stated. “And she’s getting away!”

“Not if I can help it!” Derrick yelled, and he planted his foot as the Landcruiser slowed and pulled into a small passing lane. The heavy motorhome was no racer, but it managed to pull past the Landcruiser and head after the Crewman without hesitating.

“Why the hell did she make a break for it?” Durrach asked.

“She must know we’re after her.” Azure told Durrach what he felt.

Durrach nodded. “Follow her.” He said to Derrick. “Forget the others. They’re superfluous to this.”

“Rojer that.” Derrick said as he chased after Stellar.

= = = = =

Thunderlane breathed a sigh of relief as the motorhome raced past without so much as twitching towards them. “Stellar was right, again.” He said.

Rumble hopped over into the front seat and buckled in. “So what now, Bro?”

“Simple, Little Dude.” Thunderlane replied. “We go visit Uncle Mark and Aunty Cecelia, as planned.”

There were cheers from the back seat as Thunderlane drove on.

=======

Stellar watched as the motorhome kept up with her Crewman as they raced along. She knew the interchange between the Barkly Highway and Route 87 was a wide bit of road, but she’d have to slow down a fair bit. Something the size of the Motorhome would have to slow down a lot more, of course. And she had an unfair advantage...

= = = = =

Derrick was tracking Stellar’s moves as she roared down the highway. “Damn! She’s good.” He told Durrach. “She’s no ordinary driver, Durrach! She’s had training, specialist training.”

“Damn. Nothing’s ever easy.” Durrach said as he held on.

“She’s about to run out of highway.” Moller said. “There’s only left or right up ahead. What do you want to do?” He asked.

Durrach frowned and looked at the options. “She’ll break left.” He said.

Moller looked at him. “You sure?” He asked.

Durrach nodded. “Left.” He reiterated.

Derrick nodded, and turned his attention fully back to his driving.

= = = = =

Stellar was watching them as they chased her. They were professional, she could tell, but they were handicapped by a vehicle that wasn’t the best thing for a pursuit. They were doing well, however, she had to admit, but there was one thing she’d gleaned from how they were doing: They’d never actually taken part in a proper, unscheduled, uncoordinated road pursuit before. Stellar, as Jessie, had had over a dozen of them under her belt, and a lot of experience deciphering how the other driver was thinking.

She feinted, moving towards the center of the road, as if she was going to turn right, but saw the driver wasn’t falling for it. He was sure she was going to go left, she could see it in how he was setting himself up to take the turn. Stellar nodded. “Okay... you’re certain I’m going to go left. Let’s see what happens when I don’t.” She said to herself.

= = = = =

“Hold on, everybody! Strap yourselves in!” Moller said, as Durrach dropped into the couch beside Cathy and did his belt up. Azure was held tight by the straps on the bed, watching from his position through the little front window.

“Come on! Break left...” Derrick was saying under his breath.

Azure then yelled “She’s casting again!”

= = = = =

Then they reached the intersection. Stellar’s magic was under her Crewman, holding it to the road as she feinted left, she then swung the wheel to the right as she braked hard.

The motorhome, ready to head left, couldn’t turn anywhere near as sharply as it slowed to avoid hitting Stellar’s ute, and made the left turn perfectly as intended... but with Stellar now behind them.

Stellar swung the back of the Crewman around, her hoof flat to the floor as she spun the ute and then straightened up again, her magic maintaining precise control of her Crewman as it started heading right for the back of the accelerating motorhome. She stayed right with it as they headed south, Stellar grinning as her magic faded again. “Damn! I love being an alicorn!” She said to herself as she waited for them to spot her...

= = = = =

“Where did she go?” Durrach asked as they looked about.

“She’s not up here!” Moller replied.

Then Azure looked up and out the back window through the door to the back bedroom. “She’s behind us!” He yelled, pointing.

“Behind us?” Durrach asked.

Then Derrick laughed. “I told you she had special training!” He reminded them. “She must have turned right around and came up behind us! That’s a police move if I ever saw one!”

“She’s had police driving training?” Cathy asked.

“We’re dealing with a cop?” Durrach asked.

“Sure looks like it.” Moller said as the motorhome shifted one way, and Stellar floored it again, racing past on their inside.

= = = = =

"Okay, Guys! Catch me if you can!" Stellar said before she kept them pursuing her for almost fifteen minutes, then she slowed, letting them catch up with her as she turned the ute around in a one-eighty, to face them. The motorhome nearly cooked its brakes, but it managed to stop within a few metres of the ute.

Stellar teleported out again, behind the ute, as her white-and-gold armor wrapped around her.

Durrach grabbed his trank-pistol and reloads, as Moller and Derrick grabbed their taser pistols. They barrelled out of the motorhome onto the road as Stellar came out from behind her ute and faced them. “Put your guns on the ground where I can see them, and get on your knees, hands behind your heads!" Stellar yelled at them, her horn lit up brilliantly as her police training showed through.

The sight of Stellar’s armor confused the two ASIO agents for a moment, but Durrach didn’t hesitate. He fired a dart straight at Stellar, which bounced off her armor. Stellar and the agents looked at the bent dart as it bounced once and lay on the ground. “Really?” Stellar then asked.

“Fire!” Durrach said, and the ASIO agents raised their tasers as Durrach made to reload his trank-pistol. Stellar then grinned as they aimed at her and fired. She quickly opened her wings and caught the taser darts in her wing-covers. Calling forth her control of lightning as the pair pulled the triggers, the tasers’ electrical current flowed through into her wings and was held there, sparks lighting them up as she drained their batteries.

Stellar grinned, far more powerful lightning flowing into her wings as she powered them up. “Here’s it right back atcha!” She said, as the wires conducted far more kilowatts of electrical power right down them and into the hand units. Moller and Derrick just managed to let go before the tasers burst into flames and were cooked.

Durrach didn’t hesitate for long. As Stellar flicked the taser darts off her wing-covers, he dropped the dart gun, pulled his automatic out and fired on Stellar. Azure screamed from inside the motorhome as the bullets hit Stellar’s armored peytral-plate... and were crushed, dropping to the ground after that. Cathy managed to restrain Azure as Durrach ran out of bullets, and Stellar whipped his pistol out of his hand before he could get a new magazine into it.

“Now...” Stellar then said, her voice amplified by the helmet, “Having gotten the formalities out of the way, identify yourselves.” She ordered them.

Durrach snorted. “Surrender yourself. You’re out-numbered and we're taking you in.” He said back in a commanding voice.

Stellar’s faceplate opened and her visor raised. She had a huge grin on her face. “Are you joking?” She asked him. “Your weapons are useless against me, and I could cut you up into little pieces for the goannas to eat, and no-one would ever find your bodies... if I was so inclined.” She told them. “Or I could simply disable your vehicle and let you try and walk out. You know how long you’d last. Now, be civil and identify yourselves.” Stellar said again, remaining patient with them.

“I’m Agent Moller, this is Agent Derrick. We’re both ASIO.” Moller said.

“And this big moron?” Stellar asked, indicating Durrach, who remained quiet.

“He’s a Yank, either CIA or NSA, we think.” Derrick answered.

Stellar nodded. “And the other two?”

Cathy came out at that point, leading Azure. “I’m Cathy Owens, ASIO. This used to be my partner, Allan Kellerman.”

“I go by Azure Tracks, now.” Azure said, a little stunned by Stellar's imposing figure.

Stellar nodded. “Come here, little one.” She said to him in a soft voice. Azure looked up at Cathy, then moved forward, trotting past the others to Stellar, and she looked down at him. “I am Princess Stellar Light Sparkle, my little pony. I give you a proper welcome.” Stellar told Azure, whose eyes went wide as Stellar dropped her head and nuzzled him gently.

“Prin...cess?” Azure asked. Then, at her touch, he remembered...

= = = = =

He’d found himself with his wife, Vanilla Delight, trying to get out of Canterlot after Discord had landed there and an enormous battle had been fought. They’d managed to get past the castle site and were heading for the million stairs, the only other way down from Canterlot besides the railroad, when he’d heard something moving behind him. As they reached the old tunnel, Azure opened the gate for Vanilla and once she was inside, he told her “Go! I’ll catch up in a minute!”

“Love you!” Vanilla had said as she kissed him once, then she was gone, racing down the old tunnel, as Azure headed away from the gate. He’d barely gotten fifty pony-lengths away when a hand snaked down and grabbed him. Yelling at the top of his lungs, Azure found himself facing Discord’s frowning countenance.

“Well, well... what do we have here?” Discord asked. “A lone survivor, trying to get out? Or a troublemaking unicorn, trying to get in?”

“Please!” Azure begged. “I was looking for my wife! I think she was in here when you... did all this.”

Discord frowned. “A pity. She’s probably elsewhere right now, so I’ll send you to join her.” He told Azure. “For five score, divided by four...”

= = = = =

Azure snapped back to the roadside scene again, where Stellar was in front of him. He looked up into her big eyes and nearly broke down in tears.

“You remembered, didn’t you?” Stellar asked him.

Azure just nodded and moved to Stellar, as she gently hugged him with a wing while tears ran through his cheek-fur. “I remembered... Discord... and my wife, Vanilla...” He said, as she gently nuzzled him.

Durrach was about to try and jump them both, when Stellar’s horn lit up a brillant white and Durrach vanished in a white blaze. Moller and Derrick backed away, as she looked up at them both. “Don’t worry.” She told them. “I just sent him somewhere safe, away from here.” Stellar explained. “Is there anywhere you’d rather be than be here?” She asked them.

As Cathy moved to Azure, Moller and Derrick looked at each other, then back at the motorhome. “Do you think...?” Derrick asked.

“I... wouldn’t risk it.” Moller answered.

“Yeah, good idea.” Derrick agreed.

“Where can you send us?” Moller asked.

“How about Noosa?” Stellar suggested.

That brightened them up. “Sounds good to us.” They agreed.

“Okay then. Get your bags and get out here.” Stellar said. "Drop the moron's bags outside, too, and I'll send them to him." She added.

Cathy watched the boys get back into the motorhome, then looked at Azure, who was standing in front of Stellar. "And what about me, your Highness?" Cathy asked.

Stellar walked up to Cathy and gently touched Cathy's forehead with her horn. Cathy felt a wash of soft magic flow though her, and it made her feel... far better than she'd ever felt before. Stellar frowned. "You've been touched by magic before." She stated to Cathy, who just nodded in surprise. Stellar did a little more scanning, then told her. "You're coming with Azure and myself. Get your things." She told Cathy.

"Um, okay." Cathy replied as Azure smiled and nodded to her. She waited until Moller and Derrick were out with their bags and then she climbed in. The two male agents dropped Durrach's bags beside the motorhome, and Stellar made them vanish as well.

"Okay, boys! I'm going to drop you into a park close to the city center. Enjoy your holiday." Stellar told them as her horn lit up again, and they vanished.

Azure shook his head in amazement, as he looked up at Stellar. "You do that so easily! I can hardly do anything with my horn."

Stellar smiled down at him. "That's because Discord made you forget your magic." She explained. "I'll give you a booster lesson when we get to our destination."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Azure replied.

Stellar nuzzled him again, making Azure nicker. "Easy with the Highness title, Azure. To my friends, I am Stellar. Now, do you have any bags in there?" She asked.

"Uh, Cathy was taking care of my things." Azure explained, as Cathy dumped some bags out the motorhome door. Stellar levitated them over, as Azure watched. He tried himself, grinning as he lifted several of the smaller bags over to them. "Hey! I can do it!" He told Stellar.

"Of course you can." Stellar said. "You're a unicorn." She pointed out, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe.

Azure looked up at Stellar, who smiled down at him. Then he looked back at the bags around him. "I CAN do it!" He said with renewed confidence as he looked up. Then his horn lit up and the blue light of his magic wrapped around the broken motorhome. Stellar's eyes widened as the motorhome creaked, groaned, but lifted off the road... about five inches. Smiling, she lent her aid and pushed it off the road to one side. As Azure strained, Stellar gently nudged him, and he put it down very gently. Then Azure, panting hard, grinned as he looked up at what he'd done.

"Very good, Azure." Stellar said. "But aren't you forgetting someone?"

Azure blinked, then gasped. "Cathy!" He called out. But before he could go racing across, a pair of arms grabbed and hugged him. "Cathy?" Azure asked, as he looked up into her smiling face.

Cathy kissed Azure's cute nose. "That was amazing!" She told Azure. "I knew you had real power, but that was incredible!"

Azure blushed then, a bright purple. "It wasn't that good..." He said modestly.

Stellar laughed. "Actually, that was a huge lift for an ordinary unicorn." She admitted. "But then, I perceive you're so charged up, you could do that huge lift... with a bit of effort."

"That was thanks to you, Pri... Stellar." Azure said "Whatever you did this morning charged me up to capacity."

"Really? You felt that?" Stellar asked, as she picked up some of the bags again and headed for the Crewman.

Azure nodded as he also picked up some of the bags, Cathy following with the last two. "It washed over me and charged me more than any time since I changed." He told her. "I've never felt so much magic energy in my life."

"The energy is called mana." Stellar explained to Azure. "All ponies can channel it and use it in different ways. As an alicorn, I can use it in all the different ways ponies can do so, and a few none of them can."

"So they call your type of pony an alicorn?" Cathy asked.

Stellar smiled and nodded at Cathy. "That's right. We have the form and the powers of all of the other three pony tribes." She explained further as she put their bags in the back of the Crewman. Azure did the same and Stellar stowed Cathy's bags, as Stellar said "Azure, you're in the back. Cathy, if you'd like to take the passenger seat."

"Okay." Cathy said, as she opened the back door for Azure, then climbed in the front herself, while Stellar retracted her armor and climbed in, still wearing her peytral and helmet, though.

As she started up the Crewman again, Stellar tapped the radio-activation switch on the underside of her helmet's cheekguard. "Princess to Wonderbolt. Come in, Wonderbolt; Over." She said.

"Wonderbolt to Princess, reading you five-by-five; Over." Thunderlane's voice sounded in Stellar's ears.

Stellar started up the highway, chasing her friends. "Wonderbolt, Sitrep is stable. Threat neutralised, aquaintances sent home, friends with me now. We should reach you by the time we pass Daly Waters; Over."

"Rojer that, Princess. Can't wait to see you in my rear-view mirror again. Will you be boarding us again? Over." Thunderlane asked.

"Negative, Wonderbolt. Won't be enough room in the 'Cruiser with my two passengers. We'll follow you home; Over." Stellar answered.

"Two passengers? Over." Thunderlane asked.

"Pony and friend; Over." Stellar replied.

"Rojer that." Thunderlane said back. "Will see you when we see you. Wonderbolt, out."

Stellar grinned as they headed up the Route 87, Stellar giving the Crewman a real dose of speed since the highway had no speed limit on this section. Azure's eyes widened as they passed two hundred KPH and kept climbing.

=======

"Well?" Three voices sounded off at Thunderlane as he relaxed.

Thunderlane chucked. "Everything went as planned." He told them.

There were cheers as the others celebrated their success. "So, when is Stellar returning?" Rumble asked.

"She's heading our way now, Squirt." Thunderlane answered Rumble. "But she's going to be driving all the way Home behind us. She's got company."

"Oh?" Rumble asked.

Thunderlane nodded. "Yeah. The pony that was with the ones following us, and a friend."

Rumble nodded in reply. "Okay." He said, then sat up straight.

Thunderlane smiled widely. He couldn't go as fast as Stellar could, not towing the trailer. It wasn't stable enough for really quick travelling, so he held it at One-fifty KPH.

It took fifty minutes for Stellar to catch up to Thunderlane, but she slowed and stayed behind the Landcruiser as they headed up Route 87. "Heya Thunderlane. I'm atcha back door here." Stellar said to him over the radio.

"Glad to see you again, Stellar. I was wondering what kept you." Thunderlane replied.

"Had to do a run around a road train." Stellar replied. "He's about fifty klicks back and pretty much running at your pace, so he won't be catching us anytime soon."

"Good. we've got about another fifty minutes to go before we turn off." Thunderlane informed Stellar.

"Be glad to get there, to be honest." Stellar said with relief. "We've got a lot of things to plan and discuss."

"Yeah, it'll be nice not to have to keep running for a while." Thunderlane agreed. "Talk to you again when we get there." He added.

"Rojer that, partner." Stellar replied, chuckling as she signed off.

Cathy looked at Stellar. "So... you really were a cop before you changed?" She asked.

Stellar glanced at Cathy with a smile, then nodded. "Yep. Both Thunderlane and myself were Brisbane-based Q.P.S." She answered. "Did it show?" She asked.

Cathy laughed. "Moller and Derrick were so surprised when you ran rings around them." She told Stellar. "That manoeuver you pulled off at the intersection... Durrach was completely bamboozled."

"Good." Stellar said, grinning. "That was the whole idea." Then she asked "Were you after us the whole time? Or did you find us by accident?"

"Honestly?" Cathy asked back. "We found you completely by accident in Longreach. We had been there chasing up a lead about a cadre of ponies stashed somewhere around there, but we couldn't find it. Then Azure picked you guys up with his magic and we followed you instead."

Stellar nodded, her face more serious this time. "What did the American want with us?" She asked.

"Well..." Cathy began, "We were originally rounding up Ponies to put them in quarantine; standard isolation measures. Then Durrach and his subordinates arrived with credentials and orders saying that all ponies had to be shipped back to America. Our bosses were sceptical, since they felt he was out of his jurisdiction." She explained. "So while they waited on confirmation from the U.S. as well as orders from the government, they fobbed him off on us to find that supposed cache. Then you showed up. He was absolutely determined to get his hands on you, Stellar. You were, like, the Holy Grail of his search."

"It's because you're an alicorn." Azure said. "Durrach said they'd seen others there, but they'd escaped. But he saw you as a potential easy target for capture."

"Yeah, more fool be him." Cathy added. "Where did you get that armor from?" She asked.

Stellar chuckled. "It came with me from back home." She told Cathy.

"What?" Azure asked. "You've got things from... wherever we came from?"

"Our homeland is known as Equestria, Azure." Stellar informed him. "Have you ever seen 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'?" She asked.

Azure looked a little confused, but Cathy looked startled. "Wait! Wait! Wait... you mean to say, that cartoon series is real?" She asked in a shocked voice.

"About eighty-five percent of it is very accurate." Stellar revealed to them. "I think the show's idea actually came from one of us who was still human at the time; probably still a kid and thought it was her dreams." Stellar explained.

"So... what happened? How did you all end up here?" Cathy asked.

"Well, it went like this..." Stellar started to lay it out for them...

=======

Thunderlane turned off down a private road once they'd passed Daly Waters, Rumble opening the various gates they went through as they came to them. After driving nearly another two hours, Thunderlane looked around at the Twins in the back seat. "Okay Flitter, we're nearly at your parents' place. Maybe now's a good time to call them." He suggested.

Flitter nodded. "Yeah, good idea." She said. Her cellphone was waiting in her lap, so she brought up their number and called...

= = = = =

Cecelia had been a little anxious for the last two days, waiting to find out what was going on. So when their phone rang and it was Sarah's number, she almost yanked the handset off it's stand. "Sarah?" She asked.

"Heya, Mum. Sorry to have kept you waiting." Flitter said.

Mark looked into the room as Cecelia breathed a sigh of relief. "It's okay, Honey. I've just been a bit worried."

The Twins tittered a little. "A bit, mum? I hope you haven't dug a new hole in the carpet pacing again."

"Hush. I never did anything of the sort." Cecelia scolded Flitter, but the smile on her face was a sign of tension relief. "So, how far are you from us now?"

"About ten minutes." Thunderlane replied.

"Is that Curtis?" Cecelia asked. "How are you, Friday?" Cecelia used her nickname for him.

"Doing okay, Aunty. We'll explain what's going on when we get there." Thunderlane replied.

"Good enough." Cecelia replied to him, as Flitter turned the hands-free off and put the phone near her ear. "So, any clues for us yet, Honey?" She asked Flitter.

"Well... have you seen the papers that talked about people turning into ponies?" Flitter asked.

"Yes, we saw a couple of them..." Then it clicked for certain in Cecelia's mind. "That's what's happened to you, hasn't it?" She asked, looking worriedly at Mark.

"Well, yes. But the papers have a few things wrong, Mum." Flitter started to inform her parents.

"Wrong? Like what?" Cecelia asked, as Mark got close enough to hear what was being said.

"Okay. For starters, this is NOT contagious in any way." Flitter explained. "You can't catch it, it can't be transmitted, because it isn't a disease or a plague. It's something else entirely."

Cecelia looked at Mark and both breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, so what is it, then?" Mark asked.

"It'll be easier to show you, believe me." Flitter replied. "But everyone that's with us, with one exception, are ponies now. Oh, we're bringing a lot of our own supplies, so don't worry about running out of stuff just yet." Flitter added.

Cecelia chuckled. "That's very good of you, Sarah. I'm glad to see one of you has their head screwed on straight."

"That's Stellar for you." Flitter commented. "You knew her better as Jessie, Mum. But we've all got new names now, too. We'll explain why when we've all settled down again and can talk properly."

"Very well, then. we'll be waiting for you when you get here, Sarah Honey. Don't keep us waiting too long." Cecelia told her.

"Don't worry, mum. we're almost there." Flitter said. "We're just... Owch! Going over the last cattle-grid now."

Cecelia and Mark laughed. "See you in five, then." Mark told Sarah as he headed for the front door.

"Yes. See you then, Honey." Cecelia replied.

"Bye Mum, Dad." Flitter said before she disconnected.

= = = = =

Cecelia joined Mark on the wide verandah out the front as they watched the drive. They could see a plume of dust coming down the road quickly, one thrown up by two cars, they could tell from past experience. As the convoy slowed, they saw Curtis' Landcruiser coming into the yard, followed by a Crewman trayback, like one they owned. Both cars pulled up before the house and stopped rolling. "Here we go." Mark said to Cecelia, as the doors opened.

But both were surprised by a little pony with wings that literally flew out of the front seat of the Landcruiser and headed straight at them, shouting "Aunty! Uncle!", then hugged Cecelia while hovering in mid-air. He dropped his hind hoofs to the railing and hugged Mark as well.

Then they saw all of them. Out of the driver's side of the 'Cruiser came a big black stallion, and two light-purple mares climbed out of the back, all three with wings. Out of the Crewman climbed a bigger darker-purple mare with a long horn and wings, as well as a blue stallion with a horn and a human female. Almost all of them waved and proceeded to head for the house.

Mark still had his arms full of pony, who was nuzzling him gently. "Okay... so you are?" He asked.

"I'm Rumble." Rumble answered. "But you used to know me as Rusty."

That got a massive look of disbelief from them both. "Ru... Rusty?" Cecelia asked, now really shocked hard.

"Uh-huh." Rumble nodded.

"But... how old are you, now?" Mark asked.

"I'm ten." Rumble said truthfully. "But I still have all of Rusty's memories about being twenty-five." He informed Mark and Cecelia.

Mark lifted Rumble off the railing and put him down on the verandah deck. "Okay, this can't be a normal disease, like you said. Because diseases don't make you grow young again."

"That's right." Stellar said as she walked with the others up the front stairs. "What this is, is the culmination of a magic curse. And the reason you just can't be turned into a pony is that you have to have been a pony before, in order to change back into one." She informed them.

Cecelia and Mark looked at each other. "Okay, okay... so, who amongst you are our daughters?" Cecelia asked. "I take it it's you two?" She pointed to the twin mares.

Flitter and CloudChaser nodded. "I'm Sarah." Flitter responded to their enquiry. "And this is Sharrah." She gestured to her sis.

"And you go by different names now?" Mark asked.

The Twins nodded. "Yeah, Mum, Dad. We have pony names as well, the same ones we had before we got sent here."

"Before we get stuck talking explanations," Cecelia then butted in, "I think we should welcome our true guests." She moved to Cathy, holding out her hands. "Welcome to Deep Waters, my dear." She said to the younger woman.

"Thank you." Cathy said. "I'm Cathy Owens, and this is Allan, or Azure Tracks."

"Hello" Azure said, sitting down and holding up a fore-hoof.

Mark took the hoof and shook it gently. "You're welcome too, Son. Sit down in the shade and take a weight off your... hoofs."

"Thanks, don't mind if I do." Azure said, and walked over to a deck lounge and jumped up onto it, settling himself, as Cathy moved to sit beside him.

Author's Note

Chapter Six, and Stellar gets to show off her driving skills, as well as deal with those following them.
Azure remembers who he is, finally, and starts to come to terms with himself as a pony.
And we get to meet Flitter and CloudChaser's human parents and their well-out-of-the-way home...

Interlude - Cherry Blossoming 01

"Okay... is this thing finally working again? Computer, playback."

"Okay... is this thing finally working again?"

"Right, thank the gods this is working again. Now, it has been ten days since my last audio journal, due to some impossibly supernatural goings-on to me... and outside my apartment. The reason I haven't been able to use my journal is because it didn't recognise my voice. I only found the braille instructions for the voice-recognition software this morning in one of my drawers, and managed to get the program to reset the command voice, so I could input my new one."

"As for what happened to me... you would not read about this, anywhere, I swear to you. I came home on Tuesday, as usual, spent my evening as I normally do, but when I went to go out on Wednesday... my door had been covered over with some sort-of heavy boards. I opened it, tried to walk out and ran straight into a wooden barricade that covered my door completely. I tried shoving against it, beating against it, but it was so solid, I swear it would have taken less effort to punch my way through the wall than to get these boards off."

"I tried calling for help, but all I could hear in the corridor were my newest neighbors from across the hall, jabbering on in that wierd language they speak. It was like that could hear me, but refused to answer me. I heard them moving in, Mrs Townsend from down the hall said they were a couple of Pakistani families, apparently. I don't know if they understand English, because if they do, they never responded to any of us trying to talk to them. Anyway, they just kept on jabbering on, and I was stuck in my own apartment."

"I tried calling for help, but my phone was dead. My mobile didn't want to pick up a signal, either, for some reason... at least, that's what I think the problem is. Then i noticed my hips were as itchy as anything. They were like that for nearly an hour, then it went away. I tried yelling out the window, but I guess that someone hearing the heroine's cries of help from the street only happens in movies."

"The news over the last few days has been really strange, too. Stories of wierdness seem to be prevalent, especially on the Internet. I've tried calling the authorities over the Net to get help, but something seems to be blocking my emails or skype calls to the police and other authorities. I have no idea what's going on outside at the moment... but you don't need to be blind to know something's going on."

"I thought the fun stuff was going down on that first day... but the really freaky stuff happened over that second day."

"I grew a tail... I think."

"I also lost my human ears and grew others that... felt like animal ears. They move, both under my control and by themselves. I also found myself walking up on my toes. That did wonders for my balance, as you could possibly guess. I don't know how many things I bumped into in my own apartment that I haven't bumped into in the last five years prior to this. I spent most of the day on the couch, as my feet decided they were going to change shape on me."

"At least I had plenty of food. Being a vegan might be hard, but it has its advantages. And over the time I changed, my diet didn't change that much... even if some veges became... blander, while others just blew my mind! I never knew brussel sprouts were so tasty raw before. But one of my lettuces tasted... well, kind of like paper. Really, really, bland. It must have been the one I got from that big chain supermarket. I'm never shopping there again."

"When I woke up on the third day, I found that my toes, from what I could feel, had merged and changed into a single hard hoof... kind-of like a horse's hoof, not bifurcated like a cow's hoof. I also found I had what I thought was a hard bump on my forehead. That wasn't too surprising, after how many times I'd fallen over the day before. No, what was surprising was that it kept growing into a spike... or a horn, I think is probably closer. It felt funny to stroke it, but it felt nice to the touch. But what kind-of horse-like animal has a single horn in its forehead?"

"Answer: a Unicorn."

"Yeah, I know it's really, really being crazy to assume that, but the horn is there. Even now, I can actually feel it sticking out of my forehead as my bangs brush it. And my hair had gone wierd, too. I could feel it flatten out instead of being curly, and it feels so long. I have bangs, and it's sitting to either side of my neck, which is so long! My hair also goes right down the back of my neck now, ever since that day."

"I must say, I am also glad I got the apartment with a big shower instead of a bath-shower. It helped me a lot to get my new body-image together when I took a shower for the first time after I'd finished changing. I had to learn that my orientation was completely different, and how to get around that as well. It was during my shower that I confirmed the extension from my ass was, indeed, a tail, and a long one. It didn't quite make the floor, but it came close. But it's so sensitive! I could actually feel, as I lowered my rump, the instant the hairs touched the surface of the carpet or that fake-wood floor lining... what do they call that again?"

"Anyway, the worst part was about six in the evening of that third day. I'd felt hair growing up my legs all that day, and my breasts seemed to vanish sometime about noon. I could feel it happening. Must be quite a sight for those that can see. But the worst part was when my hands and arms started to change, and I couldn't hold anything that night. I literally had to grip with my wrists and drag some lettuce and other things to the table and munch on them without using my hands. Funny thing is my teeth had also changed, and eating my vegetables was a lot easier. I guess being a horse is being the ultimate vegan. My walking had at least stabilised, so I wasn't bumping into the small amount of furniture I had any longer."

"Pretty much all that afternoon, more fluff had cropped up all over me, and my head ached a little, as if things were happening. I guess my teeth were a part of that. By the time I went to bed, my hands were changing. I could feel the sensations of my fingers merging together. There wasn't any pain or anything in that sense, just a generally icky feeling and a loss of movement."

"When I woke up... I was completely changed. My hands were gone, my entire body-posture was different. I was quadrupedal, which took me quite a bit of time to get used to. Instead of my personal space being a vertical cylinder around my body, it was now like... a rectangular box around me, and I could bend at the middle so much. My neck was incredibly-long and flexible, too. I could touch my tail-root with my nose, which had extended out in front of my face, I found out when I bumped it into a wall... and the floor... and the kitchen table... well, you get the idea."

"After re-establishing my body-sense to my new form, and learning to walk around without bumping either my nose or rear into absolutely everything, I had to settle down and learn my new body. Thankfully, toilet training took just two minutes! The really wierdest thing was... I had hoofs on my front legs... yet I could still feel my fingers. Whenever I sat down and lifted a front hoof off the floor, there they were. I knew they weren't getting in the way of me walking, I scraped my hoofs along the parquetry flooring carefully, to sort-out they were actual hoofs, but then, after I lifted them, they were there again. After a few hours of relearning how to do things, I guess I just accepted their presence and moved on. I also found out I could stand bipedally for a short while to do things, but that period has been getting longer the more I practise. Taking a shower was such a relief as well. I'm sure my new nose is so much more sensitive than the one I had before. And my body odor is so different. I was barely able to stand inside the shower stall and wash myself down. Long-handled brushes were never so welcome. I even used a newer one that I hadn't even opened before to brush my new body down when I was dry enough to do so. I swear, I could feel where the fur was unsettled and needed brushing. I just wish I could see what I look like..."

"I have no idea what's going on outside. Windsor isn't the biggest, most active city in Canada, but the quiet in this building is really starting to get to me. I keep hearing the wierdest noises, that don't even sound human any more... and aren't like the ones I'm making now, as a horse/pony/unicorn thingy. According to my friends, whom I have managed to get in contact with just recently now that I can access the internet again, they told me the lower floors of the building are all boarded up as well, and the front doors are padlocked and boarded over from the inside. What happened to the other people who were living here? Mrs Townsend? Joe Larrity from down the hall? Mr Ackersley, the building supervisor? Are they all gone, and I'm the only one left, besides whatever's outside? The boards across my door are still there, and they aren't flimsy ones, either. They feel like the type of boards you use for steps, thick and solid. And if I wasn't the only one boarded in, then why can't I hear anyone else? Believe me, if someone shouts down the other end of the hall, you can hear it. I don't know why I'm not freaking out, to be honest... but I guess that after changing into a horse/unicorn... whatever... my mind's just not capable? Or maybe it's just at such a saturation point that I can't panic at the moment? It's going to be a huge reaction, I guess, when I finally reach the point where my rational mind gets over-run by my emotions and I go crazy..."

Author's Note

This is happening in between the chapters of A Knight's Tale. It's following one particular pony in a perilous predicament. Chapters will be added as things progress. It's written first-person, because she's using a dictation program on her computer, as you can see. Things will become clearer in further installments...

07 - Preparations

The sun was behind the house at that time of day, so they all sat out on the verandah and talked. After a long and involved conversation, in which Stellar introduced Mark and Cecelia to magic by teleporting the esky with the cold drinks to the group, Mark and Cecelia were convinced of the veracity of their children, nephews and guests. "So... what's your plans now?" Mark asked Stellar.

"My mission here on Earth is clear: I'm supposed to find ponies in the worst places on earth and get them to safety." Stellar explained to Mark. "We know there are others who need help. There's sure to be a way back to Equestria somewhere on Earth; possibly if all five alicorns were found and could regain control of our magic like I have, we might be able to open a portal Home. But for now, we need places we can bring ponies to where they'll be safe from oppression, either official or non-official oppression. Could we rely on you to help?" She asked.

Mark looked surprised. He looked at Cecelia, who had been talking with their transformed daughters. "I suppose we could... considering we have... Flitter and CloudChaser here now, as our daughters." Mark said.

Cecelia looked thoughtful. "Let us discuss things first, to see if it's practical." She suggested.

Stellar nodded. "Please, there's no real hurry, but I plan to be on my way within a day or two and Thunderlane and Rumble are coming with me." Stellar detailed for them. "I was hoping Flitter and CloudChaser might as well, but that is up to them."

"We're staying on Earth." Flitter said to their parents. "As long as there are ponies here, we're going to be needed."

Mark and Cecelia looked sympathetic. "That's wonderful to know, Dearest." Cecelia said, hugging Flitter to her, then giving CloudChaser a hug as Mark hugged Flitter. "We'll support you anyway we can."

"Right, does anyone want anything to eat?" Mark asked.

"YEAH!!" Came seven hungry voices.

Mark laughed. "Okay! Let's unload what you brought with you, and see what we can put together." He told them.

Stellar and Azure made their way down to the vehicles and packed the bags of alfalfa and oats up to where Mark told them to park the food. The others emptied the two vehicles of belongings and gear, Cecelia showing them where they could put things.

As Mark got some things ready for the hungry ponies in the kitchen, Cecelia sat with Stellar for a while. "So... you and Curtis... um, Thunderlane?"

Stellar chuckled. "Who whispered that to you? Rumble?" She asked.

"Not really, Dear. When Thunderlane put your bags and his into the same double-bed-equipped room, I had to conclude that you two might be an item." Cecelia explained.

"Ouch." Stellar winced comically, then sighed. "Yeah... we're involved." Stellar admitted as she sat facing Cecelia. "Being partnered with him for five years, plus my sensing of him being a pony-in-disguise, like I was... it kind-of gravitated us together even before we changed, to be honest." Stellar flicked her wings out, then gave a little shake to them and furled them again. "And now..." Stellar sighed happily, "It just feel so right."

"You feel complete when you're with him, right?" Cecelia asked, a knowing look on her face.

Stellar nodded. "Yeah." She shook herself out a little. "I don't know what it is, to be honest. Before we got cursed and sent here, I didn't feel the need for a partner, a 'love interest', as I've heard it called." Stellar explained to Cecelia. "But after being Human... it has changed me. I'm... just a bit more reckless, a little less disciplined, and part of me likes being that way. Quite a lot of me doesn't... it grates against my training, against everything I've strived to keep close to my heart. But then... I snuggle with Thunderlane of a night... and everything I feel tells me it's the right thing to do."

Cecelia looked upon Stellar with a smile. "That, my little pony..." Cecelia realised what she said and face-palmed, as Stellar dropped her head, trying hard not to laugh. "Oh, I can't believe I just said that." Cecelia and Stellar shared a giggle instead. "Let's try that again. That, my dear, is what people for thousands of years have called 'Being in Love'. It is a state of mind that is perplexing and fulfilling all at the same time. You've found a personality that meshes with your own more closely than any you could have guessed at, and now that you've experienced this, your heart does not want to let go of it for anything. Am I right?" Cecelia asked.

Stellar thought on what had been said for a moment, then nodded. "You are." She agreed. "If it wasn't for my duty as a princess of my people, to find and free as well as protect my ponies wherever they may be, I'd take Thunderlane and Rumble home with me and we'd be together for as long as he lived." She admitted to Cecelia. "But... I will make whatever life Thunderlane and I can together, until all the ponies on Earth are safe; until those who want to stay are secure, and those who want to go home can go home."

Cecelia nodded. "You have a great burden and responsibility placed on you. I can see how serious it is by your expression when you talk about it." Cecelia said. "But I am glad you can see that it isn't everything any longer. You're willing to make things work for you and Thunderlane, and that's good. Compromising as much as you can, after being mindful of your responsibilities in life is the first step to making a lasting relationship." She counselled Stellar. "I know. Mark and I have been through a great deal, living out here. We've made it work, and beyond that, we've raised two beautiful children... who are now two beautiful mares... something I never even contemplated that I would ever say in a million years."

Stellar snickered at that as Cecelia giggled. Then Rumble bounced up, a plate resting on his head with lots of food on it. "Food's ready!" He told Stellar and Cecelia.

They both laughed at that. "So we see!" Stellar said to Rumble as she rose to her hoofs. "Thanks for the warning." She added as Rumble sat down at the table and slid his plate off his head onto it, then started munching. Soon, everyone there had joined Rumble and were eating lunch heartily.

"I didn't realise ponies could eat fish." Cathy commented.

"Not all do." Stellar answered. "Pegasi need more protein in their diet than most other ponies, so they have a tendency to eat fish or chicken. While there are some other ponies who have managed to never develop an aversion to eating other meats, the general rule is that we don't eat beef or lamb, since they're sentient animals in Equestria. Venison is in the same group, but we can eat lean bacon and like it." She told Cecelia and Cathy.

"Right... have to write that down..." Mark said, more to himself than anyone else.

Cathy was sitting next to Azure, when she gave a gasp. At the same time, Azure's horn lit up. "What the...?" He asked, looking at Cathy.

"I'm... not sure." Cathy said, as she looked around at herself.

Azure put his horn next to Cathy, and gasped himself. "Cathy, you've got mana flowing through you!" He said, startled.

Stellar got up. "Look at your hips." She suggested.

Cathy rose and pulled down the side of her shorts. As they watched, a series of lines appeared on her hip, forming a slice of pie with a dollop of cream on top of it. Color filled it out eventually. Cecelia said "Okay... that's not exactly what I expected..."

Cathy stared at her sides, then she checked the other hip. "There's one here, too!"

"I knew it! I knew it!" Azure said, jumping up and down in place. "The magic wouldn't have reacted the way it did towards you if you weren't a pony!" He reminded Cathy. "When you touched me while I was floating on all that mana, you said it flowed into you, but didn't hurt you. I was sure that meant you were a pony that hadn't changed yet."

Cathy looked despondent. "So...I'm going to end up like you?" She asked Azure.

"Actually, you'll probably end up more like them." Azure gestured to Flitter and CloudChaser. "Though maybe not with wings."

Cathy poked her tongue out of her mouth at Azure, while Rumble giggled. Stellar moved to Cathy and put a hoof on her thigh. "Don't worry, Cathy. we'll be here to help you." She said.

Cathy sighed. "I know... I just never thought it would happen to me."

"Never thought it would happen to me, either." Thunderlane said. "But it did. Only Stellar here seemed to know what was happening to her, and that was because she was an alicorn." He told Cathy.

"Yeah, I did have a head-start. But it still was freaky to watch it happen." Stellar admitted. "I did know what the end result was going to be... but how it happened was still freaking me out. I just have a lot of control over myself. Comes from Military and Police training." Stellar explained. "Flitter and CloudChaser can help you as well. Being females, we all know how the Change is going to roughly happen. So don't be afraid to ask." Stellar smiled at Cathy. "I bet you're going to be an incredibly beautiful mare, whether you're an Earth Pony, Pegasus or Unicorn."

"Thanks." Cathy replied, blushing a little.

Mark was looking Thunderlane over. "Hey, you guys can fly now, right? I mean, we saw... Rumble do it."

"Yep. We're fully pegasus ponies." Thunderlane agreed. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, I was wondering... could you, y'know, show us some of your moves?" Mark asked.

"Daddy!" Flitter said, sounding mortified that her father would just come out and ask such a question.

Thunderlane just chuckled. "Show you some moves, eh?" He said, thinking. "How about this?" He got up on his hind legs and started dancing, to laughter from the other ponies, as Mark looked on, not really knowing what to say, while Cecelia and Cathy giggled.

"My turn!" Cloudchaser got up and started dancing as well.

"Look at me!" Rumble said, doing his best Jackson impression.

"Dude, really?" Thunderlane asked his younger brother. "Em-Jay impressions? You're like, ten years old, dude."

"So was he!" Rumble retorted, to laughter.

"Hey! Male Night Elf dance!" Flitter pointed at Rumble.

"Female Night Elf dance!" CloudChaser added, making the classic moves of the 'stripper dance' from the game 'World of Warcraft'.

Thunderlane laughed and said "Okay! Male Tauren dance!" He said, starting the shuffling moves of that race's dance, to more laughs.

"My turn." Stellar said, getting to her hind hoofs. She started a gyrating, random dance move.

"I know!" Rumble said. "Female Worgen!"

"Got it in one, Cuddle-Colt." Stellar congratulated Rumble as she copied the moves, which were taken from Lady Gaga's 'Poker-face' video.

But then Stellar nodded to all of the pegasi, who were watching her. She straightened out as Rumble jumped at her. She grabbed him and literally threw him up into the air with a surge of magic, sending him shooting up into the clear sky. Thunderlane ran at her and Stellar launched him up, then Flitter, then CloudChaser. As Azure and the humans realised what was happening, Stellar crouched, her huge wings opening, and she fired off the ground as if rocket-propelled. The three humans and one pony moved to the front of the verandah as the pegasi and alicorn reached a formation... then they started really showing their stuff.

With two Wonderbolt-trained flyers, one with an amount of casual training by the same organisation, and two who'd been exposed to it for quite a while thanks to their siblings, the five of them fell easily into the normal formation for a Wonderbolt recruit squad and started doing some of the easier moves they'd been trained in.

"Arrow!" Thunderlane yelled, and they formed up with Thunderlane at the point of the arrow, Stellar and Rumble opposite each other to each side of him, and the Twins outboard of them.

"Ex!" He yelled again, and they shifted, Stellar and Rumble racing ahead of Thunderlane and the Twins moving in, to form an 'X'-shaped formation.

"Plus!" Thunderlane gave the command, and Stellar shifted to the left in front of Thunderlane, while Rumble flipped over and behind his brother, while the twins moved up beside Thunderlane.

They flipped and formated for the others on the ground, rolling over, diving, surging up into the sky, shooting along at nearly zero feet, with Rumble between Thunderlane and Stellar most of the time, the Twins keeping pace behind the alicorn. And, eventually, they raced back towards the homestead in Arrow formation, to come to a quick halt right before the verandah and gently dropping to their hoofs in a line. Cheers and applause came from their audience of four as the five flyers bowed to them.

"Now THAT's what I mean when I said 'Moves'!" Mark yelled out, as the others laughed. Mark actually went down and picked up Flitter and CloudChaser and hugged them. "Damn... you're so light now." He told his daughters.

"That's because we're pegasi, Daddy." CloudChaser told him.

"You're actually starting to make me envious that I'm not a pegasus." Azure said to Stellar.

"Then our work here is done." Stellar replied, a big grin on her face.

Azure frowned as the others laughed, then Stellar gave Azure a hug. "It's all right, young stallion. Unicorns have nothing to want for over Pegasi, and unicorns can fly using a special spell, remember? Rarity did it for a while in 'Sonic Rainboom', the episode."

Azure's eyes went wide. "She did?" He asked. "I've never seen the cartoon, to be honest."

"Then you're in for a treat." Stellar said. "I have all five seasons right here in our luggage. Essential viewing, believe me."

"How accurate is it?" Cathy asked.

"About... eighty-five percent." Stellar answered. "As long as you realise it's mostly from my sister's POV. And things get left out occasionally, too. Like Shining Armor doesn't make an appearance until the wedding episode, and you don't see me at all." She explained. "Then again it does take place mostly in Ponyville, and I rarely went there, with Twilight being there most of the time."

"Okay..." Cathy mused this over.

"It's still a pretty good reference to how things went on in Equestria." Stellar added. "Especially if you look at the details in the background and look past the episode plots. Although they did take short-cuts... Canterlot is a LOT bigger than they animate, as is Cloudsdale and Crystal City." Stellar revealed.

"So how does Canterlot stay up on the side of that mountain?" Cecelia asked, as everyone looked at her, surprised. "What?" She asked. "I used to watch it on re-runs with our daughters as they grew up." She revealed with a smile.

The Twins giggled. "We remember that." They said together.

"The answer to your question, Cecelia, is that Mount Canterhorn has an enormous rock spur sticking out the side of it that is super-dense. It seems to take up a good deal of Mount Canterhorn's interior... besides the old mines that were there that we now call the Canterlot Caverns. That's where Chrysalis stuck Cadance and Twilight during 'A Canterlot Wedding'. Twilight and I once tried doing a survey of just how big the spur was; we traced it down to about nine hundred miles into Equis' interior, and it was still going. We couldn't hold the scan together after that."

"That's incredible." Mark said. "That is an enormous rock formation."

Stellar nodded. "Yes. But unicorn magic made it possible to anchor platforms of rock into the spur to be built on, and tunnels made for the railroads to travel through it as they wound their way around Mount Canterhorn. They used to be wagon trails before we developed steam technology."

"Makes sense." Mark agreed.

"Maybe we should go inside and let Azure start watching the episodes." Thunderlane suggested.

"A good idea." Cecelia agreed, as she and Mark got up. Cathy rose as Azure got to his hoofs, and everyone went inside. Cecelia smiled as all the ponies rubbed their hoofs on the thick mat that lay before the door, and even used the boot-cleaner to rub the sides of their hoofs down. Once inside, everyone made themselves comfortable as Mark powered up the entertainment system and started the DVD-player going.

= = = = =

Flitter and CloudChaser left their friends to watch the videos and headed down to their bedrooms. Both of them sighed as they entered the rooms and looked about. "It's hard to believe that less than two weeks ago, we walked out of here on feet as humans." Flitter said softly to her sister.

"I know." CloudChaser said as they walked around Flitter's room. They had adjoining bedrooms with a bathroom between them. Flitter floated up and landed on her bed, looking about her with an uncertain look on her face as she stretched out on the bed, head over the edge near CloudChaser. CloudChaser looked sniffly and moved to nuzzle her sister. "Does it feel right to you, Sis?" CloudChaser asked.

"I'm not sure anymore." Flitter replied. She dropped her head and the sisters nuzzle-snuggled as they lay/stood there. "I remember it... but it seems almost like it was someone else, that I'm seeing it through their memories."

"Yeah, I know. It's like that for me, too." CloudChaser agreed.

As the Twins shared a moment, they didn't see Stellar at the doorway, watching them with a sad look on her face. She could feel what they were going through, the confusion in their minds as they reflected on who and what they had been and now were. She stepped into the room and gave a little flap of her wings.

Both Twins' eyes popped open, their wings shot out as Stellar surprised them both. They scrambled to stand side by side in front of Stellar, but she moved to them and hushed them. "Easy, Girls. It's okay." She tried to reassure them.

Both Twins looked downcast. "Sorry, Your..." Flitter started to say, but Stellar put a hoof to her muzzle.

"What did I say about that?" She asked with a soft smile.

"To call you by your name when we're just as a group." CloudChaser answered.

"Exactly." Stellar confirmed. "We are friends. We have shared something special, you two and I. I will never insist on formalities between us, save for when it is necessary." She wrapped up the smaller mares in her wings and held them to her as they started sniffling. "I know it's been so tough, adapting to this." She gently nuzzled them both. "We've lost so much... we've also gained a great deal... but it doesn't make the loss any easier to bear." She stepped back slightly and looked at their faces. "But the years we spent as humans are a part of us now. We can't roll back Time; not even all the Alicorns together are strong enough to do that." She told them. "You were human, you are pony. They are both parts of you as a whole, now. Even I have had to accept that and reconcile both of them together. You have to do the same, or you'll forever feel conflicted... even if you were to return to Equestria." Stellar counselled them.

"Is it easy?" CloudChaser asked.

Stellar smiled. "It's as easy as you make it, Chaser." Stellar told her. "Just accept both sides of your nature together, as one." She explained. "While you'll never be quite the same as you were before, as either of your selves, you will be greater than either of them alone." She promised.

Flitter thought about this. As she stood there, she could feel the conflict between her selves, wanting to accept being a pony while part of her wanted her old life back again. As she thought on, she realised that she couldn't have either of her old lives back in full: She had to start anew again, with all that she had gained from both. As she made that determined choice, her cutie-mark glowed and she felt a wash of soft energy through her.

CloudChaser and Stellar had stepped back and watched as Flitter's eyes and cutie-mark glowed with her magic. CloudChaser looked at Stellar in wonder, but Stellar smiled widely and nodded at CloudChaser. CloudChaser looked down, then closed her eyes.

= = = = =

She found herself in a softly-lit place, walking along to nowhere in particular. Then she saw her human self before her, walking towards her. CloudChaser stopped and looked at Sharrah, she sat down and waited for Sharrah to reach her. The human woman reached the pony, then sat down cross-legged and they looked at each other. "Do you get this?" CloudChaser asked Sharrah.

"Sort-of." Sharrah replied. "I understand what Stellar's saying, kind-of."

"That we're a part of each other?" CloudChaser asked. "It's kinda confusing, but I think I get it." Sharrah nodded at CloudChaser. "I don't want to lose you." CloudChaser told Sharrah.

"And I don't want to let you go." Sharrah said back. "I like what we are now. It's so much fun, and I feel so good when we fly!"

Cloudchaser giggled and nodded happily. "So... can we become... 'I'?" She asked.

"I guess we have to... no, I want to." Sharrah said firmly. "I can't think of us ever being apart. You're me, and I'm you, no matter what we are."

CloudChaser nodded. "I want to, too." She stated. She got up and sat in Sharrah's lap. Sharrah hugged CloudChaser, and they both started glowing...

= = = = =

Flitter had just regained her senses, when she saw CloudChaser's eyes and cutie-mark light up and she flipped her wings open, as Stellar nodded approvingly. Flitter looked at Stellar, who turned her head and nuzzled Flitter tenderly, eliciting a nicker from the smaller mare. "It feels better, doesn't it?" She asked.

Flitter nodded. "I feel better." She confirmed. "I don't feel conflicted anymore."

Stellar smiled. "That's good." She agreed. "Sometimes it takes a lot for us to accept this, but I think that, for you, it was simply a choice that you hadn't consciously made yet, the same for your sister." She told Flitter, as CloudChaser's mana surge faded. "Now you'll be able to move on."

Flitter nodded as CloudChaser shook herself all over. "Wow! That was... freaky, but nice." She told Flitter.

Flitter giggled as Stellar grinned. "Did Thunderlane have the same struggle?" Flitter asked.

"Yes, but I think his love for me is what helped him to find himself." Stellar answered. "And as for Rumble... there was never a conflict there."

Flitter and CloudChaser giggled. "I bet there wasn't." They said together.

All three mares laughed as they came together for another hug. "Thanks, Stellar." The twins said together.

"Anytime, Girls." She told them.

=======

Mark was sitting with Thunderlane while Azure sat with Rumble, watching the MLP videos, as Rumble explained things to Azure. Mark then looked at Thunderlane. "So...you getting serious with the big lady, then?" He asked.

Thunderlane gave Mark a sly smile. "Sure hope it's serious." He answered.

Mark chuckled. "Is she really a princess?" He asked.

"Well, considering she's the twin sister of another princess, and an alicorn, which usually indicates Royalty, I'd say that yeah, she's a princess." Thunderlane told Mark.

"Wow, Mate, she's a good catch if you can get her hooked." Mark admitted.

"Too right, mate." Thunderlane agreed, to them both laughing.

"So, how does that work, anyway?" Mark asked. "Do you ponies get married in a church?"

Thunderlane looked surprised, then his brow furrowed in thought. "Well... Royal marriages, as far as I have ever seen, are conducted before Stellar's superiors, one of the Diarchy, usually Princess Celestia." He answered.

"So... there are levels to being a Princess?" Mark asked.

Thunderlane nodded. "There are the two princesses of the Diarchy, the rulers of Equestria: Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna." Thunderlane explained. "Then there's the princess that rules over the Crystal Empire, which is a separate nation within the borders of Equestria. Her name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, which she usually shortens to Cadance. She's not part of the ruling body of Equestria, but since she's Celestia's niece by adoption, she is very close to the Diarchy. Her husband is Prince Shining Armor, Twilight and Stellar's older brother."

"Is he an alicorn, too?" Mark asked.

"Not that I can recall." Thunderlane replied, as he thought about it. "But he married a ruling Princess, so he's a prince."

"Okay." Mark nodded.

"Now, Twilight and Stellar ascended to become alicorns, so they are junior princesses... also because they don't rule over any part of Equestria or our planet, Equis." Thunderlane said.

"Ascended?" Mark asked.

Thunderlane shrugged. "I'm not up on how it worked, but apparently it happened overnight." He told Mark. "Something to do with them creating a new type of magic. A lot of the details were hazy to begin with, and I'm not sure I remember everything I was told, let alone everything that actually happened."

Mark nodded. "Okay, I can understand that." He said. "So, how do ordinary marriages work, then?" He asked.

"Usually they take place before the town Mayor." Thunderlane explained. "It's a fairly short but beautiful ceremony."

Mark nodded, smiling. "Sounds pretty good." He said. "So... you ponies aren't really into religion or any of that stuff?" He asked.

Thunderlane shook his head. "I can't answer that." He said. "I wasn't really interested in philosophy or theology when I was growing up. Plus my memories haven't come back to that degree of trivia, yet. You'd have to ask Stellar, I think. If anyone knows anything about Equestrian religions, she does... or Twilight would, if she has her memories back." He told Mark.

Right." Mark replied. "Sounds about right to me. I wasn't one for going to Sunday School or Church, either."

"Same here, as a human." Thunderlane admitted. "And in Equestria, I think most of my weekend was taken up with either chasing fillies or training to be a Wonderbolt... like so many other pegasi." He chuckled.

Mark chuckled. "Doesn't seem like there's too many differences there, by the sounds of it." He commented. "Young guys get up to what young guys do best."

"Yeah, true. But the difference in Equestria is it's kind-of matriarchal, because of the ratio of mares to stallions, and that's a 70/30 split." Thunderlane revealed.

"Ouch." Mark said. "So... how does that equal out?"

"Well... say I wasn't 'dating' Stellar." Thunderlane hypothesized. "I could easily date both Flitter and CloudChaser, since they're twins, and if we really hit it off, it wouldn't be unseemly for me to take both of them as my mares. Being twins, it just makes it easier because they already know each other." Thunderlane explained to Mark. "There are few families where there is only one mare mated to a stallion: usually amongst the Nobility, multiple matings are unseemly because of the laws of succession and such. The Royalty is the same way, save that Princesses don't age, they just mature as they get older and grow bigger, until they reach a certain power level, then they stop growing or aging completely. Celestia's pretty much the biggest alicorn there is, and she's about a foot taller than Stellar is right now. Luna's a little bit taller than Stellar, while Twilight... I think she's smaller than Stellar... I think." Thunderlane grimaced, then tapped himself on the side of his head. "Come on, Brain... work, damn it!"

Mark grinned at that. He knew what it was like when your memory failed to deliver information you knew you should know. "Cognitive reboot needed?" He asked.

"Eh... maybe some more down-time." Thunderlane suggested. "We only had one good night of sleep on the way here, and that was at the Isa."

"So you didn't drive here straight?" Mark asked. "That monster of yours really sounded throaty as you pulled up. What have you got under that bonnet?"

Thunderlane grinned wickedly. "Show you in the morning." He said. "Maybe I'll even let you take her for a spin... if you want to buy it from me." He suggested.

"You want to sell it?" Mark asked, incredulous.

"I'm going where Stellar goes." Thunderlane answered. "I don't think we can take a car with us where we're going, so if I sell her to you, then I know she's got a good home, at least." Thunderlane explained.

Mark thought on that. "Tell you what." He said back. "I'll keep them both here, safe and sound out in the machinery shed, and I'll turn them over once a week and keep my eyes on the rest of them, maybe drive them once a week for a bit. When you come back... well, if you do come back, you and Stellar can claim them. How's that?" Mark asked.

"You'd do that?" Thunderlane asked. Mark grinned and nodded affirmative. "Oh that'd be fantastic, Mate, really it would!" Thunderlane grinned at Mark, his tail actually wagging unconsciously. "I thought I'd have to sell her off and never see her again. I've put a good amount of myself into that old 'Cruiser, and I really didn't want to let her go."

"Know what you mean, Mate, I know what you mean." Mark replied.

Then Cathy came out of the bathroom. Her long, straight hair was curling faster than paper in a fire, and it had turned a shade of pink with lighter highlights. "Is this normal?" She asked.

The males chuckled. "For you, it is." Thunderlane told her. "Our hair is the first thing to change. It becomes the color of your mane and tail, when that comes out."

"Oh, peachy." Cathy snorted like a pony.

Then Rumble giggled and started chanting "Tail! Tail! Tail!"

The others took up the chant as Cathy felt something awkward happening behind her. She went cross-eyed and cross-legged as something pushed its way out of her shorts-leg and down between her legs. "Eeep!" Cathy went as it stopped growing and she stabilised.

"YAY!!!" All the ponies shouted, as Cathy looked behind her and saw her new tail.

"That's just fucking freaky as shit!" She said, as she pulled her shorts out at the back and helped her tail out of her shorts. "How did you know it was coming out?" She asked Rumble.

"Saw the bulge," Rumble replied, "And a flash of color up past your waistband."

That got another round of chuckles. "It looks like an extension of my hair. It's even got curls in it." Cathy said.

"Ponies do that." Stellar said. "Our manes and tail match. Look at Rarity and Rainbow Dash for prime examples."

"Or even you." Flitter pointed to Stellar.

"Yeah, true." Stellar agreed. "Twilight and I both have the same highlights in our manes and tails."

"So... what else is going to happen?" Cathy asked.

"Well, by the time you wake up in the morning, your rear hoofs should be fully-formed." Stellar told Cathy. "Believe me, having it happen while you're asleep is a lot better. Your feet and legs will be properly configured for walking digitigrade, then."

Cathy nodded. "So, how long does the change take, usually?" She asked

"From three to four days." Flitter said. "It's kinda hard to pin it down exactly. Stellar changed faster than any of us, yet Sis and I changed pretty much around the same time."

"Yeah! It was like we were totally synched as we changed." CloudChaser agreed.

"And where did you get your names from?" Cathy asked. "They're not human names and they don't seem made up, either."

"You'll find your name will come to you as you remember more of what happened to you, before you became human." Thunderlane told Cathy, as he flopped onto the carpet. Rumble lightly dropped down before Stellar, and she pulled him close to her, hugging and snuggling him in her big wings as he nickered at her. "Stellar might also know you. She knew who we were from our cutie-marks."

"Your whatnow?" Cathy asked.

"The little image on your hips is known as a cutie-mark." Stellar answered. "It's a symbol of one's destiny, what our vocation is in life. While there is a lot of variance in what you might think it means, in some cases it leads to secondary talents as well. There's one famous pony who was a premium party planner, but she became a baker as well, in order to make the treats for her parties... and she found she was very good at it." Stellar explained.

"Pinkie Pie!" All the ponies said, and laughed.

Stellar giggled. "Exactly. Or one pony whose mark showed she had a talent for finding gemstones... but she'd always loved making dresses and other clothing, so her talents fit together."

"Rarity!" Everypony said loudly.

Stellar laughed along with them. "And yes, I do know what your pony name is." Stellar told Cathy. "But I don't think it's time to tell you yet. Once you finish changing, then I can let you know what it is. It will be easier on you, I think."

Cathy nodded. "Thanks for being so considerate, Stellar." She said.

"Anytime." Stellar said with a big grin.

=======

The evening cooled off very quickly, once the sun had actually fallen. Everyone was outside, enjoying Dinner as the stars twinkled above them in ways that few city-dwellers ever got to see without coming out of the City night-glare. Billions of faint stars were making themselves known as the dim lights on the verandah did little to hide them. "By the goddess..." Cathy said as she sat there, her feet turning into hoofs as she watched.

Azure nodded in agreement as they sat out from the house, on a log-bench to one side of the main house. "I have never seen so many stars before." He agreed.

"Neither have I." Cathy agreed. "Do you think Equis might be out there somewhere?" She asked.

"Um, from what they told me, we're actually from an alternate reality... but that doesn't mean there might not be an Equis in this reality... if it's not an Alternate Earth, that is."

"Yeah." Cathy said as she sat there with an arm around Azure, gently scritching his ears, which made it a little difficult for him to focus on anything else. He unconsciously leaned into her, nickering, as Cathy grinned. "You really do like that, don't you?" She asked.

"Oh Celestia, yeah..." Azure replied. "I could sit here all night and most of tomorrow as long as you're doing that."

Cathy giggled softly, not wanting to spoil the moment.

Then there was a short boom, a flash of light, and Mark came sailing off the verandah out into the yard as if shot out of a cannon. As he stopped rolling, four ponies raced off after him and helped him to his feet. "I told you not to shove your hand into that!" Stellar's voice sounded out clearly from the verandah.

Azure looked up at Cathy, and they both got up and headed back to the house, to find Mark looking like he'd shoved his hand into a high-voltage socket. Stellar was sitting beside one of her arrays, which was pulsing as if it was very angry, glowing alternately white and red. She stuck her horn into it and shoved a load of energy into it, and it stopped pulsing red, glowing white steadily again. "I said you could gently touch it, Mark, not push your hand right into the middle of it." She said as Cecelia tried to stop laughing.

Mark ran his hands though his hair, as it crackled like it was on fire. "Sorry, my Bad." He agreed.

"Would it have hurt him?" Cecelia then asked.

"Not really." Stellar answered. "But you saw how much concentrated energy the array was holding. Most of you humans aren't that compatible with magic any longer, so you get that reaction."

Cecelia nodded, then gently touched a finger to the center of the array. But instead of rejecting her, the mana seemed to run up her finger to her hand and pull her hand into the array. "Holy...!" She said, but then her eyes started to glow, and something was scribed onto the back of her hand, as the array sank into her and vanished.

Stellar immediately touched her horn to Cecelia's head, but the mana was reluctant to come out of Cecelia again. Everyone else gasped as they saw two images on the back of Cecelia's hand, a tree and a rock in front of it. Then Cecelia's eyes stopped glowing and she shook herself all over. "What the hell?" She asked looking at Stellar. "You never said that would happen!"

"That's because I've never seen that happen before!" Stellar said, scanning Cecelia.

"So... is my wife going to become a pony now?" Mark asked, as the others sat there, stunned.

Stellar frowned. "No." She replied. "Cecelia is not turning into a pony..."

"Ah damn!" Cecelia, Flitter and CloudChaser said together, making them all laugh out-loud.

Stellar sighed and gave Mark a sympathetic look. "No, she's not going to turn into a pony, not without some truly powerful magic. But something is developing inside her. If I didn't know better..." Stellar frowned. Stellar drew out her tome and started reading through a particular book, once she'd found it. Everyone waited patiently, Cathy sitting with Azure in her lap, her legs and arms wrapped around him as she rested her head on top of his. Stellar was muttering to herself as she read the ancient book, then occasionally looked at Cecelia. Opening her wings, the two long Primary feathers glowing, she started tracing a new array in front of Cecelia.

"What are you doing?" Cecelia asked.

"This is a special array that's normally used to scan unicorns for their power levels, and get an idea of what their speciality might be." Stellar answered. "Normally it's inscribed into certain schools and doctor's offices, and is used on foals. But this will do for here, since I expect you don't want me to carve a full-sized circle into your floorboards."

"Ye-e-e-ah, definitely not." Mark agreed.

Cecelia watched, curious, as the runes appeared between the two rings and solidified. Then the circle started slowly spinning. Stellar nodded. "Good, it's stabilised as it should." She looked at Cecelia. "Put your fingers on the circle, palm spread out. Your right hand, sorry, the one with your new mark."

Cecelia nodded and did so. The runes started glowing different colors as the light gently stroked her fingers, her mark glowing softly as well.

Stellar grinned. "Good, It's reacting just as I remember it doing with foals." She told Cecelia. "Normally, of course, they'd be standing in the circle, all four hoofs and their cutie-marks glowing. But other than the obvious differences, it's working exactly as it should."

"Good to hear." Mark replied, sounding a little less worried.

"So... why is it flashing like that?" Cecelia asked.

"The different colors are different schools of magic." Stellar said, as an image started to form in the air on the other side of the array, extending out from it. "And this is an image of your Itineris system."

"But..." Flitter exclaimed, looking shocked. "Humans can't HAVE Itineris systems!" She looked at her mother.

"In some realities, yes, that's very true. Mana saturation can, in some realities, cause human bodies to simply dissolve into component matter." Stellar agreed, to lots of shocked looks. "But in this reality, the planet's mana field is here and evident. Humans have a long and convoluted folklore and mythology about 'Magic', even if it's been twisted and made to seem like it's nothing more than hearsay. Some humans even show abilities that are extremely low-level magic, such as divination, dowsing and such things." Stellar looked at the others. "But what if someone who's human comes into contact with powerful ponies who know magic in ways they can't?" She asked them. The image was mirroring Cecelia's posture perfectly, showing a glowing network slowly developing throughout her body, even as her eyes started to glow again and Cecelia closed her eyes, breathing heavily. "Easy, Cecelia. Now that it's started, just accept it and open yourself to it. It'll happen no matter what you do, so just let it happen. It'll feel a lot better that way." Stellar counselled her.

Cecelia just nodded and relaxed. The energy flow sped up as she moaned softly. "Goddess, it feels incredible." She said as Stellar smiled at her.

Mark looked over Stellar's shoulder. "Will she be okay?" He asked.

"She should." Stellar said. "Every foal goes through this sooner or later once they're born, as the energy they've absorbed from their mother's mana field is replaced by the one from the world around them instead. She's just got a lot more of a system to awaken."

Then the system seemed to stop growing, and the array stopped spinning, showing a number of green, brown, black and white runes, the blue, red, yellow and other colors fading. Stellar grinned. "Well, I'll be a monkey-child's uncle..." She said softly.

"WHAT?" Almost everyone there asked, save for Cecelia, who giggled.

Stellar laughed. "These colors... they're indications of Earth Pony-type magic." She explained. "The green and brown ones represent manipulations of the land and plants, in the same manner as Earth Ponies can wield them."

"So, what are the black and white ones?" Cloudchaser asked, just before her father could ask the same.

Stellar grinned. "Those..." She then frowned. "I'm not sure." She said. "I can't remember seeing those before. Not even my scan as an alicorn has those colors." She turned back to her tome again.

"Can I take my hand off this... array?" Cecelia asked. "My hand is itching."

"Just a sec..." Stellar replied, then she turned and touched three of the runes that weren't lit, and the whole image flashed. "Okay, it's locked now. You can take your hand off the array."

Cecelia did so, sighing as she held her hand and looked at it. "This is freaky." She said, the Twins giggling as she said it.

"Hmmm... those particular colors, with the Earth Pony colors as a modifier..." Stellar looked up at Cecelia. "They say you can affect Earth and Stone."

"Stone?" Cecelia and Mark asked together.

Stellar nodded. "Yeah." She said. "What was that term...?"

"What term?" Thunderlane asked.

"I read it in a book once... Ah!" Stellar smiled. "Geomancer." Stellar stated. "A magic user who can affect Wood, Earth and Stone." That got a mass of blank looks from most of them. "Well, look at your cutie-mark, Cecelia. It's got a tree and a geode on it. That's a sign of your connection with the earth below you."

"What's a gee-ode?" Rumble asked.

"It's a rock that is a ball of crystal." Mark told Rumble. "Sometimes they are hollow. I have a few of them in my collection of things." He said.

Stellar nodded. "You'll probably find your body will charge up overnight as you sleep, Cecelia. In the morning, I'll give you a few lessons on how to use your new abilities." Then she giggled. "I still can't believe it! A human who's developed powers like an Earth Pony! That is incredible! I'm gonna have to write this down, or nopony's going to believe me." She said, as she captured the array and image and put it onto a blank page of her tome, where it sank in and made a permanent image.

As Stellar made notes, Mark sidled up beside Cecelia. "You okay, Hun?" He asked. Cecelia turned and kissed Mark deeply, pulling him to her. After their embrace, which got a lot of cheers from the ponies, especially their daughters, Mark grinned and asked "Okay, what brought that on?" He asked.

"I am as horny as hell right now!" Cecelia whispered softly into Mark's ear.

"Bed?" Mark asked.

"Bed." Cecelia agreed, and pulled him inside...

There were a lot of laughs from the others, as Cathy leaned over Azure and kissed him on the nose, making him blush. "Want to find out if we're compatible?" She whispered softly in his ear, making his ears and tail stand up and his eyes widened out to an almost impossible width.

He looked up at her smiling face in wonder. "You sure?" He asked softly. "Some people might think..."

She kissed him again. "I'm going to be as much a pony as you are in two day's time, so I don't think it matters that much." She told him. Azure's eyes widened again and Cathy giggled. "Goddess, you ponies have such huge eyes. I bet the world looks so different through your eyes. I can hardly wait to get my own."

"You're taking this very well..." Azure said, as Cathy literally picked him up and carried him off like a huge stuffed plushie.

"I guess it's all in how you look at it." Cathy answered. "I know what's coming. I know WHY it's happening. I'm not changing into an animal; I'm returning to whom I used to be. And I have you waiting for me at the end of this... and everypony else." She said as she walked up the stairs.

"So... are you implying you want to pursue a relationship after your transformation back into ponyhood?" Azure asked.

Cathy smiled as she made it through the door without bashing Azure's head on the doorjamb. "I most certainly intend to, My little pony..."

= = = = =

Thunderlane watched this, a big smile on his face. Stellar was finishing authoring her report on Cecelia's new abilities and tidying up her notes, when she looked over at him with a smile. He grinned back, as Rumble was pulling a cloud together for the night. He parked it under the verandah around the bunkhouse and snuggled into the soft clouds, folding it over himself for a snug night, as the Twins headed into the main house to their bedrooms. Stellar slid her Tome away again and walked over to Thunderlane, nuzzling him lovingly. "Heya Beloved." He said softly to her.

"Heya Thunder Love." Stellar replied. "Time for bed?" She asked.

"Sure." He agreed. "Are we actually going to get any sleep?"

"Maybe... eventually..." Stellar answered with a big grin, as they headed for their room in the bunkhouse.

Rumble looked at them and snorted. "Horny ponies." He grinned, and turned over...

=======

The morning of the Eleventh, Stellar walked out of the house yard and took off into the early morning sky. The sun was just starting to rise behind her as she flew over the scrubland until she reached a point far enough away from the compound that no-one would hear what was about to happen. Landing quickly, she made sure there was no-one about, then with a flash of light, Durrach appeared before her again. The human male was heavily-restrained, bonds of light holding him down on his knees as he gasped in shock. Most of his clothes were gone, his modesty barely intact as he looked about, seeing Stellar standing before him. "You..." He said in a low, angry voice. "Where am I? What the fuck did you do to me?" He asked.

"Why, Agent Durrach," Stellar said to him, "I believe the term your intelligence organisations have for this is a 'rendition'." Stellar answered him. "I have questions. You will provide answers."

Durrach growled and tried to stretch, finding the bonds that held him were far stronger than he thought, even if they didn't chafe or hurt him in any way. "You can't do this to me!"

"Why not? You were going to do the same thing to me, and without any consideration for my well-being at all. You even pulled your pistol out and shot at me, when I wasn't giving any really aggressive responses to your attempted abduction." Stellar pointed out. "You spooks hate it when the shoe is on the other hoof, don't you?" She asked.

Durrach still looked furious. "You're not getting anything out of me." He insisted.

Stellar chuckled as she sat down before him. "Agent Durrach, you will tell me everything I need to know, and you will do so quite willingly." She told him.

"You 'ponies'" He spat the word out. "You claim to be such altruistic, goody-goody creatures." Durrach said. "What are you going to do to me? Torture me?" He asked, sneering.

"Please, Agent Durrach. Such things are distasteful to the extreme." Stellar replied, looking... disgusted. "And while my human side would probably think nothing of giving you a 'work-over', as I remember the term, I have no need of such methods. As always, magic will provide a way that is far easier on you, and far easier for me." She smiled at him.

Durrach's eyes opened wide as Stellar started casting a spell. Her horn lit up and then she gently touched his forehead with it and the magic flowed over Durrach with what seemed like little effect, but Durrach seemingly relaxed and stopped fighting. He blinked, shaking his head. "What... what have you done?" He asked.

"I've given you a gift." Stellar answered. "The gift of Peace. It reduces one's negativity and allows one clarity of thought without the turmoil of emotions to muddle one's thinking." Stellar explained. She then cast a second spell on him, which settled over Durrach's head and slowly faded. "Now... you will answer my questions clearly, concisely and truthfully, with no lies, deceptions or omissions. Is that clear?" Stellar asked.

"Perfectly." Durrach replied, looking calm as he sat there. Stellar allowed some of the bonds holding him to fade, allowing Durrach to sit in a more comfortable pose.

"Now, who do you work for?" Stellar asked.

"I am an agent of the National Security Agency, working under the banner of the Department of Homeland Security." Durrach answered.

"And what is your mission here in Australia?" Stellar asked.

'I was sent here to retrieve all the ponies in Australia and bring them to the United States for examination, interrogation and classification." Durrach replied.

"To what purpose?"

"To learn about their abilities, their possible threats, their weaknesses, and their purpose on Earth, as well as the possibility of returning them to being human again." Durrach detailed for Stellar. "They cannot be allowed to exist outside of government control when their abilities could be used against the government and peoples of the United States."

"And what about those who refuse to be taken to a country they were never born in, and refuse your servitude?" Stellar asked.

"They are to be summarily dealt with." Durrach answered. "They cannot be allowed to serve against the interests of the United States government."

Stellar snorted. "Typical American arrogance and paranoia." She said to herself. "Where are ponies being held in America and its territories, and who is contracted to do the investigation work?" She asked.

"The investigation work is being handled by an independent organisation called the Spectrum Group. They are doing the scientific work. The CIA and Army Intelligence are doing evaluations of Pony abilities and their possible applications for Military and Intelligence use." Durrach replied. "Spectrum has several large facilities and some smaller ones in urban areas. I don't know everything about them. That's not my purview." Durrach said.

"Understandable." Stellar replied. "Who is running the disinformation and media-shutdown program against Ponies?" Stellar asked.

"It is not widely known." Durrach replied. "But the director of the NSA has hinted in my presence that it is possibly Senator Corddis who is behind the shutdown of all reporting of Pony activities around the world and through the Internet."

"Interesting." Stellar said as she thought about what she had learned. After asking for some more relevant facts, for some of which Durrach had answers and some he didn't, Stellar released him from his bonds and returned his clothing. After he got dressed, Stellar said "Now, you will forget everything that happened after I made you vanish back by the Motorhome." She said, touching his forehead with her horn. "You will fly back to the United States, where you will make a report stating that the idea of moving ponies against their will to the United States is not in the best interests of National Security. I leave it up to you to word it in a way that will convince your superiors of the veracity of your arguments."

"I understand." Durrach replied, and Stellar nodded. Without a word more, she powered up her horn completely and teleported him back to Brisbane, near the airport, with his bags. She watched him until he caught a flight to the United States, flying business class. "Good. That deals with him, and without unnecessary violence or complications." Stellar said to herself, as she headed back to the house.

=======

Thunderlane came out a little while later, to see Stellar flying about overhead, a shimmer of a strange haze around her as she flew along. Just as she came overhead, he heard a 'Whoomph' sound, as if something big had ignited, and he watched as she shot forward at a much greater speed, a huge heat haze behind her as she soared upwards very quickly... without flapping her wings. He watched her race off out of sight for a little while, then came back again, even faster than before. There was a sound almost like a jet engine as she raced past the station yard and headed upwards again... then a 'Boom' like thunder rolled over the plains. Thunderlane saw a condensation ring race outwards from her, colored in her dark colors of purple and dark-blue, that dissipated quickly in the morning sun.

"Celestia, what is she up to now?" Thunderlane asked as a trail of color followed along behind Stellar, making her easy to follow as she raced through the sky. Then there was a smaller 'Boom', and the color trail disappeared. Eventually, his very sharp eyesight caught her coming back slowly, drifting down without the haze that had surrounded her before, to a gentle landing before the main house. He trotted down the stairs of the bunkhouse they'd been staying in and moved to intercept her as she headed for the main house's stairs.

Stellar smiled as she caught Thunderlane moving towards her out of the corner of one huge eye. "Damn, my sight's so much better than a human's is now." She said softly to herself as she turned to welcome Thunderlane. "Good morning, Thunder Love." Stellar said to him as he reached her.

"Good morning, Beloved." Thunderlane replied as they nuzzled one another in greeting. "What were you doing just then? Did you make a rainboom? I swear you did."

Stellar chuckled. "In a way, yes." She replied. "But not a 'rainboom'. Only Rainbow Dash can do those. What I made, I call a 'Chromaboom', because it was in my own colors."

"A 'Chromaboom'?" Thunderlane asked. "But..."

Stellar put a hoof to his muzzle. "Thunder... I know what you're thinking, but you and everypony else who thinks you can make a Rainboom by breaking the sound barrier are wrong, in one fundamental way. There is a reason why the Rainboom is so rare, and it has to do with who Rainbow Dash is and how her magic works."

Thunderlane nodded. "Okay, I'm all ears."

Stellar smiled. "It has to do with a pony's magic, especially each pegasus' magic as they fly." She explained. "Do you remember what they taught you in flight school, about your personal 'field' and how you use it?"

"Yeah..." Thunderlane answered. "We use it to stay warm at high altitudes, to help us breathe in thin air, and to keep us safe when we crash."

Stellar nodded. "Yes, but again, those are the basics." She said. "Your field does a lot more than that, and can do much more than that, if you study it and learn to harness it in ways most pegasi never even dare to contemplate." She told him. "I was involved closely with Rainbow Dash soon after she joined the Wonderbolts and was made a Squad Leader. I was trying to codify exactly how pegasi magic made the feats we see with certain pegasi possible, like the Sonic Rainboom and how some ponies can fly at literally impossible speeds. And it all comes down to the Field pegasi generate around themselves when they fly."

"So, what did your studies find out?" Thunderlane asked.

"Rainbow Dash has one of the most powerful personal fields of any pegasus I have ever scanned in flight." Stellar told Thunderlane. "She can pump more energy into her personal field than even Celestia could, I think, even though Celestia is an alicorn, because Celestia hasn't had the training that Rainbow Dash has had, even at a young age. That's why she was able to make a rainboom when she was four. No other pony in existence has been able to do that." Stellar said.

Thunderlane nodded. "So... she's got a lot of power."

"Yes, and she knows how to focus it properly now, ever since the fly-off where she did her second rainboom. That's how she's learned to do it more easily." Stellar explained further. "And at Shiny and Cadance's wedding, she was able to go supersonic at less than five hundred metres above the ground and make another rainboom. The biggest problem she has is that every time she does it, the energy release almost depletes her field to the point where she loses it. I think her training with the Wonderbolts was starting to teach her how to go supersonic without triggering the Rainboom, which meant her field was at its full capacity once she was past the sound barrier. That's how she's gotten a lot faster of late in her flying, passing hypersonic speeds now."

"Yeah... I remember what she was like before Discord took us all." Thunderlane sighed. "Damn, she was fast! Soarin had moves that could make him launch at supersonic speeds, but Dash had almost learned to copy them." Then Thunderlane asked. "Okay, so why can't everypony make a rainboom, then?"

"Because the rainboom pattern is most likely specific to Dash's energy signature." Stellar said. "Since every pegasus' signature is different, if they learn to do a 'rainboom'-style energy release when crossing the sound barrier, then it'll take the color-spread of their own personal field, the way mine does. That's why I call it a 'Chromaboom', or 'color-boom'." Stellar explained. "To make a Rainbow-Dash-style 'Rainboom', you'd have to match Dash's energy signature almost exactly, and that is VERY hard to do." Stellar said. "You'd have to be as fast as she is, or close enough, then copy her signature as you crossed the sound barrier. When Twilight did it the first time, her 'color-boom' was like a huge six-pointed Sparkle Star, but I think that was a deliberate shaping on her part." Stellar told Thunderlane. "So it's not impossible, just very difficult."

"Okay. So what were you doing?" He asked. "You sounded like you'd strapped a jet engine to your back, and moved like it."

Stelar grinned. "As I said, travelling fast uses up a lot of energy. You know that yourself." She reminded Thunderlane. "I'd been working on a way to use magic a lot more efficiently for travelling fast than just using my wings and field to shove me along. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust are insanely fast pegasi... but what about the rest of us? I can go supersonic with a little help. Even Celestia can do so with a good deal of help. But without special support, it wears us out in a very short time. I have found a way to work around that, but it needs a lot of work and magic to use that particular solution, even if it uses less magic than flying straight. It was coming here to Earth, that gave me my solution; funnily enough, from another cartoon show."

"And the solution was?" He asked.

"To mould my field like a nuclear ramjet." Stellar grinned. "I have a central body where I was, wrapped around me. The second field outside that formed the housing of the ramjet and directed the air through it in the same manner as a ramjet engine. The biggest problem was heating the air that came in. I had to make a very special array-grid that would take in mana and super-heat the array, so the air could pass through it." Stellar explained. "That was the glowing ring you saw behind me."

"So... you developed that just to go fast?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar chuckled. "Actually, it's more for long-distance flight than sheer speed, although I don't know how fast it could go, to be honest. What you saw this morning, when you came out, was the last of a number of attempts to hold the fields together, and it finally worked." Stellar reported with a huge grin. "Now, when we're flying to America in a few day's time, instead of us arriving exhausted, we'll arrive fairly fresh and ready to find others."

"So... you can hold it together around all of us?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar looked a little uncertain. "I'm guessing so. Of course, we'll do a little trial and testing before we leave. That way the others can also get used to holding position inside the fields and know what it's going to be like." She explained. "I think it's also going to be the best way to carry Rumble with us, without us having to carry him along." Stellar added. "He's a good flyer for his age, but he just doesn't have the endurance yet for a flight like this would be normally."

"Yeah, I have to agree with you there." Thunderlane admitted. "As much as I don't want to hurt him, I also don't want to leave the little dude behind. If we find other foals, he could be the clincher in getting them to come with us."

"Indeed. He will be invaluable in that capacity." Stellar agreed. "And I don't want to leave him here, either. Leave my cuddle-colt behind? Never." Stellar grinned.

"I thought I was your cuddle-colt." Thunderlane said with a sniffle.

Stellar giggled mirthfully. "No... you're my snuggle-stallion." She corrected Thunderlane, kissing him lustfully.

"Mmm... that does sound better." He heartily agreed.

Author's Note

Well, another chapter that discusses a lot of things, including starting two new characters on their way.
There's a lot of my personal theories behind how things work in Equestria, as well as a good deal of thoery behind the Sonic Rainboom. And while this is my own personal interpretation of the phenomenon, everything I've put forward makes sense by how things are shown in the show. Others will disagree, and that's okay, too. My interpretation is also open to interpretation. :rainbowhuh:

So go ahead, discuss it if you wish. I'd love to hear how others interpret what has been seen on the show...

08 - Interaction

As the group was settling into breakfast, Azure and Cathy joined them. They'd obviously had a shower, and Cathy was smiling like the cat that ate the canary. Azure also looked a lot more relaxed and sat beside Rumble, ruffling the colt's mane and chatting with him openly.

Stellar was beside Cecelia in the kitchen, helping to make breakfast for all the hungry ponies. "Cathy looks a lot more relaxed.” She commented.

“Yeah... are those pony ears she has now?” Cecelia asked.

Stellar looked. “Yep. Another stage done. And her hoofs are complete as well.”

“I thought you said it’d take a while for her to change.” Cecelia reminded Stellar.

“Well, it is only her second day, I’ll grant you that. But I think it might have something to do with her interacting with Azure.” Stellar alluded. “It’s possible the jolt of mana energy she got from him when he absorbed all that mana back at Mount Isa may be pushing her along at a slightly-greater rate. After all, look at what happened to you when you got a taste of mana.” She grinned at Cecelia.

“Don’t remind me.” Cecelia replied. “I can’t believe I have a cutie mark as a human, not a pony.” She told Stellar.

“Yeah.” Stellar agreed. “I’m finding it fascinating, too.” She said back. “But getting back to Cathy, I think the reason why there’s such a gap between when we get our cutie marks and we start changing is the body has to not only adapt, but it has to accumulate enough mana to force the transition. Since Cathy already had a lot of mana stored in her from the incident at Mount Isa, her body only needed to stabilise before she started changing. I am sure that’s why she only needed three hours, not over sixteen, for her hair to start becoming her mane.”

“Do you think she’ll speed through the changes now?” Cecelia asked.

“It depends on how much mana she has inside her.” Stellar answered. “If she only absorbs it at the usual rate, she’ll probably be more like the rest of us were. And while I could boost her mana supply, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Stellar said. “Too much change too quickly, and it could have serious mental ramifications. But at least she’s fully accepting of what’s happening and is actually looking forward to it.” Stellar added. “I am sure that’s going to help in the long run. She won’t suffer the mental confusion a lot of ponies will do when they change.”

Cecelia chuckled. “Okay, so what are we going to do today, you and I? You said something about teaching me how Earth Ponies do magic?”

Stellar nodded. “I did some research last night, while Thunderlane was snoozing. I have a number of older geomancer spells as well as Earth Pony general and specific magic. But we’ll start with the basics first, I think. We’ll get you aware of your new senses, teach you how to tap into the earth and the vast mana supply within it, and maybe see what you can do with what you’ve got.” Stellar grinned. “I remember making an entire orchard grow one time when Applejack was teaching me how to use my Earth Pony magic. As I told someone recently, Twilight and I can both do Earth Pony magic, but we do it differently. Twilight is finesse and detail, I’m power and brute force. She could produce the most beautiful blossoms and fruits, while I can summon the power to bring an orchard to life and to harvest in an hour.”

Cecelia looked at Stellar with her eyes wide. “You can do that? Make trees and plants grow so fast?” She asked.

Stellar nodded. “The major thing is, it requires a lot of water. The rest is all about balance. The pegasi and I will bring some rain in to help get the soil here ready, and then I’ll teach you how to tap into the mana under the land.” She explained to Cecelia.

Cecelia shook her head. “I can hardly wait...” She responded, then her attention was shifted by Mark sliding his arms around her waist and kissing her. Stellar grinned, and took the plates of flapjacks/pancakes they’d made out to the hungry ponies and human.

= = = = =

Thunderlane looked at Azure as he sat beside Rumble. The other stallion looked more relaxed than at any time he’d ever seen him. He laughed and grinned, and the happiness radiated out from Azure so hard even Thunderlane could almost feel it. Thunderlane moved Rumble to the other side of him, then shifted to sit with Azure. “So, friend Azure...” Thunderlane asked him as he attracted Azure’s attention, “Did you and yours have a good night?” He asked, being a little subtle.

Azure looked surprised, then he smiled and nodded. “Actually... yeah, we did.” Azure answered. “A lot better than I thought it was going to be, to be honest.” He actually told Thunderlane. “There’s still aspects to this body I’m not sure about yet.” Azure admitted. “Last night... we worked a few of them out.”

Thunderlane nodded. “I know the feeling.” He agreed. “Stellar and I have been... working on that problem as well.” He grinned at Azure, who nodded understandingly. “I think your lady has got a big thing going for you, my friend.”

“Yeah, I know.” Azure replied. “Almost as big as the thing the Princess has going for you.” He pointed out, getting a chuckle from Thunderlane. “How did that happen, anyway?” He asked.

“Like you, Stellar and I were partners in the Police Service here in Queensland before we changed.” Thunderlane explained. “We knew each other well, but it took becoming ponies for us to ‘Click’ properly.”

Azure nodded. “Yeah. Cathy was there all through my change.” He told Thunderlane. “She kept me from freaking out, kept me from racing off, kept me from... well, going out of my mind.” He sighed. “We spent the entire time in a room, watching over a bunch of jihadists who were targeting Sydneyites, and busted them at the end, when I was a pony. Then the boss made a fateful decision: He made Cathy responsible for me and assigned us to Durrach, one of the CIA bunch the Yanks sent over, to go chase down a cadre of ponies up in Queensland. Never found them, if they existed, and we found you guys instead at Longreach. That’s how we came to be following you.”

Thunderlane nodded. “Right. So it was coincidence that you found us?”

Azure looked down at his plate. “I thought so, at first... now, I’m not so sure.” He looked back at Thunderlane.

“You think Fate drew you two to us, to get you away from that spook?” Thunderlane asked.

“I have a feeling something did, yeah.” Azure said honestly. “We were fucking lost, slowly running down back-country roads. We nearly got badly stuck twice, and Durrach was driving us on and on to find ponies... and then we managed to get to Longreach, and there you guys were. Ponies, out and driving about in that fucking Landcruiser... What the hell do you have in that thing? When we saw it pass that road-train like the truck was going backwards, with a trailer behind it AND up a hill at that... You had the boys in suits really wowed, jaw-drops and all.” He almost laughed.

Thunderlane grinned back. “It’s got a six-point-five litre Chevy diesel Vee-eight with twin turbos on it.” Thunderlane listed off for Azure. “Add a heavy-duty six-speed box with manual-gear-tipping, and she can tear the ass out of a super-tanker and still take down smart-assed ricers at traffic lights.”

“Holy shit.” Came from behind them, as Mark stuck his head down between the two stallions. “So that’s what you’ve got hidden under the bonnet of that ‘Cruiser.” He said, grinning.

“Yep.” Thunderlane confirmed. “My dream car, mate. Some might like Lambourghinis, some might like Mustangs and other Fords, some like Holdens, but give me a big brute of a four-by-four any weekend.”

The three males laughed together as Stellar sat down beside Cathy, the Twins further down the table. “Ah, boys and their toys.” Stellar said to Cathy.

Cathy giggled. “Yeah. It seems it’s still universal for bragging rights.” She agreed.

“And for us girls, it’s comparing colt-friends.” Stellar said. “And having said that, how did you and Azure get along last night?” Stellar asked. Cathy gave Stellar an askance look, then just grinned. Stellar nodded. “Ah, good then.” She said. “Good to see you worked something out.”

“Mmm... yeah, we did.” Cathy admitted. “I mean... well, you know what a stallion is like. Azure was such a gentle.. gentle-colt?” She asked. Stellar nodded. “Okay. He was very gentle and caring of me, especially when it came to his hoofs. It took us a while to figure things out, but in the end, it wasn’t that much different, and we really enjoyed the time together.” Cathy gave Stellar a satisfied smile.

“Excellent.” Stellar replied, grinning. “I’m so glad you two are compatible, and in more ways than one. I think he really has something big for you.” Stellar told Cathy.

“Mmm... yeah, I think you’re right. Funny thing is... he’s still himself. Even after the ponyfication. His mannerisms, to a degree; his voice inflections, his manner of speech. It’s still him... or maybe it should be that he was always Azure under the surface, and parts of him showed it.”

“That’s a very good way of looking at it.” Stellar agreed. “Out of all of us, apparently the one who’s changed the most is Rumble... then again, going from a twenty-five-year-old back to a ten-year-old again is bound to place some big changes in one’s mentality.”

“Your little... cuddle-colt I think you called him, used to be twenty-five years old?” Cathy asked as Cecelia sat down on the other side of Stellar.

Stellar nodded. “Yep. He used to be Thunderlane’s twin brother. Now he’s the age he was when Discord sent him here. You see, all the transformations come about exactly on a human-pony’s twenty-fifth birthday, even if they were old or young back on Equestria before he sent them here.”

“Right, so that’s why the Twins changed when they did.” Cecelia said.

“So, does that mean that we’re the first wave of transformees?” Cathy asked.

Stellar nodded. “Yep. Depending on when we get back home and stop him, there’s going to be at least twenty-five years here on Earth for people to turn into ponies and others, before it stops. It’ll fade away, though. I’d say that, most of those changing here will take place within May and maybe June, then it’ll taper off as Discord finds less and less ponies to transform. Most will have fled after he attacked Canterlot and Ponyville, then the Empire. Who knows what he did after that, though. Attack Griffonia or the Dragon-lands? Who knows how far he went? I guess we’ll find out, eventually.”

Cathy and Cecelia nodded their heads and returned to eating breakfast, just as Stellar did after them. Cold pancakes were not as tasty as hot ones...

=======

Stellar looked out over the house paddock and the rest of the station that she could see, as she stood beside Mark. "Are you excavating something over there?" She asked him.

"Oh that?" Mark replied. "We're putting in five twenty-thousand-litre water bladders. They'll help see us through the dry months out here with drinking water instead of us using distilled bore water." He explained. "That's going to be eventually lined with concrete to help carry the bladders when they're full."

"I see." Stellar said. "And that... hole, over there?" She pointed to something that looked like a large in-ground pool left to fester.

"Well... that 'used' to be the House dam. Unfortunately... the big drought's left it a bit worse for wear." Mark told Stellar. "It's hardly worth saving, with all the algae and toxic plant life that's taken root."

"Hmmm..." Stellar said, rubbing one fetlock over her chin. "Maybe we can do something about that." She said. "But first things first: We need to get some clouds here to make some rain and deliver some moisture to the land, before I start teaching Cecelia how to use her new abilities." She told Mark. "You said one of the rivers through here is rather high at the moment?" She asked.

Mark nodded. "Yeah. One of the tributaries of the Darling River flows right through here, about ten kilometres away, and it's pretty much in-flood at the moment. It's a rare occurence, but with the cyclones actually getting through this year, we've got plenty of water... just no way to purify it and nowhere to store it."

Stellar thought on that, then smiled a grin that showed she had an idea. "Don't worry about that for the moment." She said. "We'll get things started with Cee-cee, and then your water problems might be fixed a little faster than you might think they will be." She gave Mark a wink.

Mark was surprised, but replied "Ooo-kay. You seem to be the one who knows what's going on." He acknowledged.

"At least some of the time." Stellar admitted.

Mark chuckled. "That's better than most do." He told Stellar. "So, what's first?"

"We make rain." Stellar answered.

Mark nodded. "That's going to be something to see." He commented.

"Then come out with us and watch." Stellar said back as she turned and headed back to the house.

Mark grinned and followed. "I will, don't worry." He said as he jogged along with her.

Stellar called the other pegasi to her. "Okay... you all have served time in the Weather Service... except you, Rumble, of course." Stellar ruffled his mane as he stood beside her. "But you do know how to push clouds, right?" She asked the colt.

"Uh-huh." He answered.

"Good." Stellar smiled down at Rumble. "Now, I'm going to start making clouds over the river. I need you all to push them up here to the house paddock. We're going to need a lot of water when I start teaching Cee-cee how to tap her magic." Stellar explained. Thunderlane nodded, as did the Twins. Rumble was almost bouncing with eagerness, then they took to the skies.

Mark, Cecelia, Cathy and Azure followed along on the ground, using Thunderlane's Landcruiser. "Whoa!" Mark said as the Landcruiser roared off, almost lifting the front wheels off the ground, before he stopped and switched to Four-wheel-drive, before heading out again.

The ponies reached the river first, travelling as the crow flies. They chose a section of the river that was wide and deep, leaving the shallow sections alone. The four pegasi waited above as Stellar cast a huge array over the section of river, then started to fly in circles above the water. As Mark and the others pulled up, Stellar went faster and faster, almost in a blur of purple, as water started lifting from the river's surface and hit the array. As the water hit the array, it vaporised and started forming into clouds. "My god! They are making clouds..." Mark said, as he looked upwards. The four pegasi were starting to gather the small clouds together into larger clumps, and as the Twins started pushing the big clouds back to the house. Rumble assisted his big brother in pushing the smaller clouds into big, heavy clumps.

Stellar was circling with her eyes closed. She didn't need to see where she was going to stay in her pattern, her magic kept her rolling exactly around a certain point in the river. Her magic was flaring out through the vortex she'd created, holding it together and funneling a small, steady stream of water up into the array, making clouds using a process that somewhat copied the process they used in the Weather Factory of Cloudsdale... but in a crude manner, barely controlled only by her power.

Thunderlane shook his head as he watched. He knew the wing-power that it took to lift water like that. It showed how powerful an alicorn could be, the amount of power one of them could funnel through themselves if they wanted to. He continued to move the cloud-fragments together with Rumble as Flitter and CloudChaser raced the completed, rain-heavy clouds back to the house paddock.

Eventually a bank of heavy rain-clouds sat over the house and for a five-kilometre diameter around the house paddock. Thunderlane fired a flare down into the water below Stellar and she shot off to one side, curving around in a wide arc back to the river as the array collapsed. Thunderlane and the other pegasi landed, and as Stellar drifted down, he saw how exhausted she was. Stellar was panting, her head drooping a little as she recovered her wind. She moved to Thunderlane and let herself lean against him as she recovered. Even Rumble could see the mana flowing out of the ground into Stellar's hoofs, bolstering her energy levels again. Rumble jumped up into the Landcruiser and got Stellar out a bottle of fresh water, which she gave him a grin for as he hoofed it to her. "Thank you, my cuddle-colt." Stellar said to Rumble, then she leaned down and kissed his forehead. Rumble's little tail wagged as Stellar downed the entire bottle in one long swallow. Eventually, she was able to stand on her hoofs, and Stellar shook herself out. "Okay, let's head back." She said. As they took to the wing, the Landcruiser raced along behind them. Thunderlane kept a close eye on Stellar as they flew along...

"You're exhausted, Beloved." Thunderlane said to Stellar as they landed by the house.

Stellar nodded. "I know, Love, I know." She admitted. "But it doesn't matter. Soon, I'll be overflowing with enough energy to change this country... at least temporarily. You have NO idea about the power the Land can hold..." She smiled at him as she walked slowly over to Cecelia. "Ready, my honorary earth pony?" Stellar asked.

Cecelia chuckled. "As I'll ever be, I guess." She replied, as they walked together off into the start of the rain. Stellar felt the warmed rain fall over her, her coat absorbing it and washing her clean as she walked along. Cecelia didn't bother trying to stay dry, either. "Gods, it's so rare we get rain out here..." She said, as she tilted her head back and threw her arms out.

Stellar laughed. "Enjoy it while it lasts. It won't last for very long, an hour or so, I'd say."

Cecelia nodded and slipped her shoes off, feeling the wet earth beneath her feet. She moaned softly. "What is this?" She asked, as she saw her cutie mark glowing gently.

Stellar smiled. "Seems there's not much I need to teach you. You're already feeling the power of the Earth." She gestured back, and Cecelia saw that her bare footprints were being filled with short grass and budding flowers. "That's you, working unconsciously." Stellar told Cecelia. "Imagine what you'll do with your full power and will behind it..."

"Wonders..." Cecelia said to herself.

"Wonders indeed." Stellar agreed. "This is as good a place as any." She said, turning to face Cecelia as they both stopped. "All right. Crouch down. Touch the Earth with your hands as well as your feet." She instructed.

Cecelia nodded and did so, her fingers sliding into the softened ground.

Stellar nodded. "There are three layers to what we feel in the Earth below us." She told Cecelia. "The upper layer, where things grow; The middle layer, where the life-essence of plants throbs and circulates; and the lower layer, where the full strength of the Earth resides. Each affects the other, the life of the planet seeping up into the life-layer of the plants and even the animals, and that, in turn, is brought to the surface by the plants that grow under it, where they take in the sun and rain, and return life to the middle layer." Stellar explained. "You can bring life into the middle layer from the lower layer, and then to the surface layer. But you can also drain life from the upper layer as well, or funnel it back down into the middle or even the lower layer. What we can give, we can also take away."

Cecelia nodded. "I think I understand." She said.

Stellar nodded. "Now, feel the Life in the earth. Feel the seeds and plants waiting under the surface. You need to focus the life-essence from the middle layer into the plants and make them bloom. But do it gently, softly. Too fast at first and they will wilt. Too slow and they will refuse to bloom. Feel for how I do it." Stellar said as she closed her eyes.

Cecelia did the same, and she could feel Stellar's connection to the earth, just as her own. She felt Stellar pull Life from the layer below the surface and gently spread it up through the ground to the plants...

Mark's eyes widened as he saw the ground around Stellar and Cecelia start to grow grass at an accelerated rate. It very slowly spread out from Stellar to about a three-metre-wide circle from her, then it slowed dramatically.

Stellar halted her efforts. "Could you feel that?" Stellar asked Cecelia.

"I... I think so." Ce-cee said as she concentrated down through the upper layer to the middle. The ground around her throbbed as the Life-essence flowed into her, then out through her. She moaned softly as the Life spread out from her, surpassing Stellar's circle and flowing out faster, and faster, as Cecelia felt her control strengthen.

"That's it... control the pace, do not let yourself be drained as you drain the Life out of yourself." Stellar warned Cee-cee. "Make sure what comes in first is at least as equal as to what goes out."

Cee-cee nodded as the area of effect spread. Mark could see large gum seedlings slowly coming up out of the ground at the edges of the house paddocks and further. They looked as if to have a minute do a years' worth of their normally-slow growth. The grass was stopping just around the house, though. Stellar had put a barrier there, to stop the house being swamped in grass.

Stellar grinned. "Wonderful." She said to Cee-cee. "Now, delve deep with me. We shall tap the lower layer, and really cause this area to bloom!"

Cee-cee nodded and joined her efforts with Stellar, as they plunged their power down to the layer below. Both Stellar and Cee-cee gasped as the power flooded them, their cutie-marks and eyes glowing with life-energy as they sent it shooting across the land. The flood of growing grass raced out and reached the river, where all manner of plants shot up above the landscape. Saplings became mature trees within minutes. Flowers blossomed and grew, the grass around them becoming tall, thick and luscious, especially in the feed lots.

= = = = =

Mark looked at Thunderlane and the others. "Come on! The cattle will be coming, once they smell this!" He said, and as the pegasi took to the sky, he raced out on a farm bike, sticking to the few trails that remained with low grass on them. Azure clung to the back of Mike's bike like a cattle-dog. Eventually, the sound of thunder could be heard in the distance as the group reached the other side of the enormous feed lots, which were knee-deep in rich grass. As they reached the huge gates, Mark stopped and let Azure off. "Open up the gates and wait. Once a yard gets about three-quarters full, close the gates." He told Azure.

"Right!" Azure replied, and started doing just as he was asked.

Mark raced off, following the pegasi now, as they headed for a huge cloud of dust in the near-distance.

"How many cattle are we talking about here?" Thunderlane asked.

"Only forty-thousand." Mark yelled back.

"Oh, right. ONLY forty thousand!" Thunderlane echoed disbelievingly.

"Don't worry." Mark said. "Look for the leaders of each herd. They have their horns still and radio-tracking collars on them. You can direct them by tapping the sides of their heads with your front hoofs to steer them. They're used to having dogs on their backs, so they shouldn't try and throw you. Get each herd leader into one of the yards, and the rest should follow." He explained to the pegasi matching his speed above him.

"Right! You all heard that?" Thunderlane asked, to nods from the others. "Then let's get these bullocks rounded up!" He grinned. "Celestia, what I wouldn't give to have Applejack and her kin here right now." He said as they spread out away from Mark, who started circling around.

"Damnit! This wasn't supposed to start until next week!" Mark said, then he chuckled. "Oh well, I guess Smokey and his boys will just have to miss out this season.

=======

Stellar and Cecelia could literally feel the thunder of the stampeding herd heading for the feed lots. 'That's not good.' Stellar sent to Cecelia through the Earth.

'It's not too bad. A little early and maybe somewhat uncontrolled, but it's what we were looking to do a week from now, anyway.' Cecelia replied.

'So you're ready for this, then?' Stellar asked.

'Pretty much, although the roustabouts we normally hire aren't here yet. But with the feed lots so full of the rich grass, the cattle will be fatter than they would have been, and we can make the market that much earlier.' Cecelia explained.

'Glad we haven't made things difficult for you, then.' Stellar said, smiling as she reached out and started influencing the cattle. Cecelia 'watched' as Stellar started to make them slow down and change from a full gallop to a canter, making the job of sorting them out a little easier.

'How did you do that?' Cecelia asked.

'Having four legs makes it a little easier to influence them.' Stellar said. 'I just made it seem like there was less urgency and more reason to be cautious, like tickling their own mana field... almost all animals have a mana field, just as Humans and Ponies do. Their fields aren't anything like ours, but we can influence them if you know what you're doing.' Stellar explained. She smiled at the look Cecelia was giving her.

'I can't believe that it's possible... but then again, with all I've done today... why not?' Cecelia asked. 'Can you contact anyone else through the earth?' She asked.

'If they're interacting with it like we are, yes.' Stellar answered. 'But I don't feel anypony close to us that I could interact with at the moment.' She added.

'Can we stand up? My legs feel funny.' Cecelia said.

"Sure." Stellar said out-loud, as she lifted her hoofs, breaking the deep contact. Cecelia followed suit and stretched. Stellar spread her wings out and did similarly. "Oooh... I haven't gone that deep for ages." Stellar said. "I can't believe how much I remembered. And it felt so good..." She sighed happily as the rain lightened a little.

Cecelia laughed. "I am so soaked... but I hardly feel it. I am so brimming with energy right now, it's not funny."

"Me too." Stellar replied. "All the energy I used up making those clouds is all replaced with fresh, clean mana that tastes so good." She stretched out her back legs.

"Mana has taste?" Cecelia asked.

Stellar nodded. "As you get used to it, you'll find the mana from different places does taste different. The mana from the plains here tastes different from that in a forest, or near a waterfall, or out at sea. And it's very different from air-borne mana, which is very wispy and light, as you can imagine." She grinned at Cecelia.

Cecelia nodded. "So, I can draw Mana out of things other than the earth?"

Stellar nodded. "Sure. It's the same energy, no matter where it comes from." She told her as they headed out further from the house. Stellar looked beyond Cecelia and saw their horses were gorging on the rich, delicious grass. She leaned down and snapped a bit off with her teeth and chewed, nickering with delight. "Oh yeah, you got this right." She told Cecelia. "It tastes almost as good as the grass in Applejack's orchard."

"So, ponies do eat grass?" Cecelia asked.

"Sure we can. It's just considered something those without incomes do, rather than eat what can be provided." Stellar answered, trying to be tactful. "But there's generally nothing wrong with snacking out if you feel hungry, if you're an Earth Pony. Normally, Unicorns are too prissy and uppity to ever be caught snacking on mere grass... but flowers, that's a different matter." She grinned.

"Flowers?" Cecelia asked.

"Sure. A daisy and watercress sandwich is a fave of my sister. She also loves munching on roses." Stellar revealed.

"Roses? Why?" Cee-cee asked.

Stellar giggled. "Because they taste like Turkish Delight." She revealed.

"Really?"

"Mmmm-hmmm." Stellar looked very smug.

"Wow... never even contemplated that..." Cecelia asked.

=======

Mark watched as the pegasi flew down over the approaching herd, the enormous body of cattle making the newbies nervous, but detemined to help. Rumble was the first to find one of the leaders. He landed on the back of the bullock, his natural balance keeping him stable as the huge herbivore cantered along, the entirety of the herd slowing down for some reason. But Rumble found it made things easier. He moved to the bullock's neck and dropped his rear legs around it, using the radio collar as a seat, then grabbed the horns. "Come on, Bruno! Turn!" He said, and turned the bullock's head by his horns. The bullock gave a bellow, but he did turn to the left, as did a large number of the others following 'Bruno', and Rumble steered him towards the far left feed lot gates.

Thunderlane shook his head. "My little brother is crazy." He commented to himself as he found another herd leader. He did much the same in the end, and steered the lead bullock to the right, heading for the feed lot at that end, and another quarter of the herd followed.

Mark grinned and chuckled. "Okay, Ponies, that's the way." He snorted a laugh at that. "I'd never thought I'd be saying that... EVER!" and he rode out to make sure there were no stragglers.

Flitter and CloudChaser had been around cattle almost all their lives, even riding as roustabouts themselves when they were old enough. They may have become a lot smaller, and weren't riding horses, but they didn't feel any real fear at racing over the herd. They dropped onto the shoulders of the remaining two herd leaders and steered them, grabbing the horns as well when gentle taps to the sides of the head didn't seem to have much effect. They split the remaining herd and headed for the two center gates.

Mark was racing back and forth, keeping the four mini-herds moving as they entered the feed lots. Azure had managed to climb up onto a walkway that ran over the central section of the lots, over the inner gates. Once Mark had managed to force the stragglers into each section, Azure closed the outer gates and moved to another section.

Thunderlane and his fellow pegasi, now that their charges were in the lots, flew off and helped force the herds further into the lots, out of the gate corridors. As they each managed to clear the corridors between the outer and inner gates, Azure closed and secured the gates properly. Soon, the herds had all settled down and were munching on the long, rich grass under them, not even looking at the hay in the feed troughs yet. Mark joined Azure on the walkway, as the pegasi hovered around, looking for problems. Mark chuckled. "Maybe I should hire you lot every year about this time." He said. "It's never been that easy before."

"Just remember that when it's time to pay us." Azure replied, grinning.

Mark snorted, then chuckled. "Yeah, I should really do that, and before the others leave, too."

Azure looked up at Mark. "So... what's going to happen, once they leave?" He asked, sounding a little concerned.

Mark got down on one knee next to Azure, making them roughly the same height. Then he reached forward and gently scritched Azure between his ears, making the unicorn close his eyes and whicker in bliss. "That's up to you and Cathy." Mark said. "Cee-cee and I wouldn't be adverse to having you stick around, really. You're mighty handy ponies to know." He answered. "And we wouldn't just shove you out onto a fairly indifferent and possible hostile world without a lot of support, Azure. You and your mare will be welcome to stay here as long as you can stand us." He grinned.

Azure dropped his rump to the wooden decking and sighed happily. "Thank you." He simply said in reply.

=======

Stellar and Cecelia had reached the old dam about then. The smell was atrocious, the stench of rotting vegetation and fetid water enough to keep anyone away from it. "So, what are we doing here?" Cee-cee asked.

"I'm going to teach you the nasty side of the Life-drain ability." Stellar answered. "Once you get competent in using it, you could literally kill off weeds amongst crops without killing off the veges you've raised.” She explained. “Since all of the plants in this man-made swamp aren’t needed, and they’re pretty much isolated from the rest of the land by the dam’s liner, we can use it here without endangering anything else.”

Stellar showed Cecelia where to stand, and she grimaced as she pushed her fingers into the soil of the dam wall. “Gods, that even feels horrible.” She told Stellar.

Stellar nodded. “Yes. I’ll teach you a special spell to use to get rid of such nastiness once we’ve killed off all the plants in there. But for now, let’s do this.” Stellar said. “Remember how it felt to drain life from the earth, but this time, we’re going to drain it from the plants in the dam.” Stellar said. “If you feel the mana turn nasty, if it tastes funny, then hold it out from you and stop. You don’t want to be taking that into you at all.” Stellar warned.

Cecelia nodded. “Okay.” She said, and started reaching for the plants in the dam, as Stellar supervised. Cee-cee could feel the nastiness, the poison in the water, as she slowly drained the Life-essence from the plant-life. She kept her eyes open this time, and watched the plants turn brown and then black, wilting and curling up as they died and slowly dropped into the water, which was turning murky and brown. Cee-cee shuddered as the Life-essence filled her, still pure for a time, then she stopped as she felt something that tasted awful slowly oozing towards her. She lifted her hands off the ground before it could reach her, and Stellar nodded approvingly.

“Well done.” Stellar said, as they observed the dam, now a dead, festering hole in the land.

“So now what?” Cecelia asked.

“Now, we cleanse it.” Stellar said. “I’m going to teach you a very powerful magic spell... a Rune spell.” Stellar said. “It’s not a hard spell, mind you, it just takes a lot of power to do... but seeing you’re so full of mana, I think you can do it.” She grinned at Cee-cee.

Cecelia nodded. “Okay, so, how do we start?” She asked.

“Do you know much about calligraphy?” Stellar asked.

“The art of special writing?” Cecelia asked, “Uh, yeah, a little.”

Stellar nodded. “Good.” She said. “A Rune is a free-standing energy form that has the shape of a letter. It’s more like a japanese or chinese character in how it’s formed, but that’s how the name translates from Equish to English.” Stellar explained. She spread her wings and held them out in front of her. “Now, hold out your hands, and focus the mana in you down to the index fingers.” Stellar began the lesson.

Cee-cee did so, and as she did so, her index fingers started to glow with power, Stellar’s two longest Primary feathers doing the same.

“Now, lift one finger and make a starting dot, like this.” And Stellar demonstrated. Cee-cee nodded and did the same. “Okay, now, sweep along and up like this... to here.” And Stellar swept one feather up and along, to make a curving line of light. Cee-cee did the same, trying to copy Stellar, and managed a mostly-smooth curve. “Very good!” Stellar grinned. “Now, we continue down and back, like this...”

Over the course of three minutes, Stellar and Cecelia traced two beautiful glowing characters before them, and they hung in the air once they’d finished. Cee-cee moved aside as Stellar checked her rune out, and Stellar nodded. “It’s a little shakey, but it’s complete and the magic’s giving out the right signature... so you did it.” Stellar grinned at Cee-cee, as the woman breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank the goddess.” She said. “So, now what?”

“Give it a shove towards the pool.” Stellar told Cee-cee.

Cecelia put her fingers to the rune, aimed, then shoved. The rune went sailing forward in the air until it hit the center of the dead zone. There was a brilliant flash of light, and when it faded, the dam was empty. The water and dead plants were gone, and even the walls were now white, not the dark brown of the earth. “Wow! Talk about clean!” Cee-cee commented as Stellar drew her rune back into herself.

“That’s what Purification does.” Stellar explained. “I remember once using it on a creature that was made out of corrupted matter. Nothing else I used on it worked, but the instant Purification touched it, it screamed to high heaven and fell apart, disappearing as the corruption was destroyed. It may be one of the easiest runes to create, but never underestimate its power.” Stellar advised Cecelia.

Cecelia nodded. “So.. what now?” She asked.

“I’m going to see if your elemental powers are as I think they are.” Stellar answered. “According to the testing array, you have powers over Earth and Stone. Those are Earth Pony abilities, although some unicorns have power over Stone as well. There was a stone-carver by the name of Salacious Curves that I remember well. He had abilities to carve and smooth stone that very few unicorns had, and he was a master at the art of carving stone into the most beautiful statues ever seen since Marechaeangelo, the stone-mason who helped design and build Canterlot.” Stellar gave Cee-cee a little story. “Now,” Stellar brought out her tome, “I’m going to help you learn a few Earth elemental spells, such as ‘Earth-to-Stone’, a very useful one.” She told Cecelia.

Cecelia smiled. “Okay.” She agreed.

Stellar read a spell to herself then touched Cee-cee’s forehead with her glowing horn. Cecelia gasped as an entirely new language downloaded itself into her mind and ordered itself within her knowledge. Stellar did it twice, then waited for Cecelia to order heself.

When Cecelia rocked back on her haunches, She looked overwhelmed, a little. “What the bloody hell was that?” She asked Stellar.

“I used a spell that teaches languages on you.” Stellar explained. “You now know Equish, most ponies’ native language, as well as Equussese, the language of modern magic.” Stellar smiled. “I will leave you with a small tome before we go. In it I will place the spells I think you’ll find very handy, as well as some others I hope you’ll never have to use. Since I doubt that there’s any other humans that will know Equussese, I think it should be safe in your hands.”

“Do you think some might?” Cecelia asked.

“If they’re like you are, it might be possible.” Stellar admitted. “But it’s highly unlikely they have the learning spells I used on you.”

Cecelia nodded. “Okay, then.”

Stellar nodded back. “Okay. Now, I want you to put your hands back again on the dam wall. We’re going to convert the earth it’s made of into a very impervious and waterproof stone. If you can do that, then we’ll do it on a larger scale.” Stellar told Cee-cee. Cee-cee nodded and did as she was directed. As Stellar placed her hoofs where she’d had them, they both felt the power from the Earth below swell around and through them again, then out into the wall surrounding the Dam. Cecelia moaned as the power flowed through her, then she heard Stellar’s voice in her mind again. As she heard it, she repeated the spell Stellar was feeding her, and felt her inner power flare.

As she watched, the white soil that had been cleaned seemed to change, becoming almost fluid, and it changed its form as it flowed. The damaged walls flowed together and smoothed, becoming a much deeper shape with steeper walls and stairs appeared as well on all four sides. The section that lay above the land’s level grew and changed into a wall that had a gateway in it, sealing off the land around it until it looked like a deep swimming pool, not exactly a dam. The stone it was made of was a brilliant white now, as were the walls of the surrounding protective fence. Then Cecelia looked as, in the center of the pool, the Purification rune appeared in the floor, as if it was carving itself into that floor. It glowed for a minute, then faded to reveal it sunken into the floor. Eventually she reigned her power back in, as the dam-cum-pool was completed, and looked beautiful.

Stellar looked at the thick, solid wall behind them and at the pool before them. “You’ve changed it.” She accused Cecelia, who was grinning.

“I always wanted a swimming pool.” She explained. “So.. I took the chance. We can still use it as a dam, after all, the purification rune will keep the water perfectly clean, no matter what.”

“Very true.” Stellar agreed. “Well, it’s your station, so if you want a pool, I’m not going to argue.” She grinned.

Cee-cee grinned as she got to her feet. “Now... how to fill it?” She asked.

Stellar chuckled. “That’s up to you.” She replied as she headed for the gateway.

“Hey! I can’t manipulate water, you know.” Cecelia said loudly as she ran to catch Stellar.

“Are you asking me to help fill your pool for you?” Stellar asked as she trotted out the gate.

“That would be a great help!” Cecelia replied.

Stellar laughed. “Of course.” She said back. “I want to go for a swim, too.” She told Cecelia.

Cecelia got out of the pool area, then gave a loud whistle. A minute later, a horse came trotting up to Cecelia. She neighed and whickered at Cecelia as Cee-cee gently handled her head. Stellar turned and walked up to the taller mare and looked at her. Cecelia moved aside as the mare moved to Stellar and lowered her head, actually giving Stellar what looked like a bow. Cecelia was amazed at this, but then Stellar walked up to the mare and gently nuzzled her, the mare returning the nuzzle with a nicker. “Damn...” Cecelia said. “This is Mandy. I raised her from a foal.” She told Stellar.

Stellar looked into Mandy’s eyes and nodded. “She’s quite intelligent.” Stellar said. Mandy nickered in a long string of sounds, and Stellar answered, to Cecelia’s surprise.

“Do you understand her?” Cecelia asked.

“A little.” Stellar admitted. “She’s... the noises she’s making are similar to an old dialect of a language that used to be spoken in the western part of what’s now Equestria.” Stellar told Cecelia. “While it’s not exactly the same, it’s close enough that I can make some sense out of it.” Stellar looked at Cecelia. “If I got what she said right, she just welcomed me to the herd.”

Mandy nodded her head and said the same thing again. “Yep, that’s what she’s trying to convey.” Stellar confirmed.

“That’s amazing.” Cecelia looked at Mandy, who rubbed her head against Cecelia’s chest.

Stellar chuckled. “And she added that she loves you.” Stellar told Cecelia.

Cecelia chuckled. “I can tell that, even without being able to speak Horse." Cecelia told Stellar. She jumped lightly onto Mandy's back, who accepted this without any argument. "Come on, Mandy. Follow Stellar!" She yelled, and as Stellar galloped off, Mandy raced after her...

=======

Mark saw Stellar and Cecelia racing down to the river from the top of the walkway. "I wonder what they're up to now?" He asked Azure, sort-of rhetorically.

Azure chuckled. "I have no idea." He replied. "But I bet it's going to be good."

"Define 'Good'." Mark said back, as the pegasi landed around them, Rumble sitting on the railing of the walkway.

Azure chuckled. "That's the trick, isn't it?" He asked. "Hopefully, it means good for all of us." He said as he got to his hoofs. "So, what's next?" He asked.

"Well, these big boys can eat to their heart's content now, until the roustabouts we usually hire get here in a week's time." Mark said as he got to his feet. "I guess we wait and see what Stellar and Cee-cee are up to."

"I'll go ask them." Rumble said, and he was off like a shot, dodging Mark and Thunderlane, then racing off towards the river.

"Damn, that colt is fast!" Azure commented.

Thunderlane chuckled. "Like his big brother." He said with a happy sigh. "I am so glad we got stuck here together. I'd hate to be worrying about where he'd been put once we changed back."

"Yo're lucky there." Azure agreed. "I left a wife behind on Equestria. I hope she got away." He sighed sadly.

Thunderlane put a hoof on Azure's shoulders. "I'm sure we'll find her if she got sent here." He told Azure.

Azure nodded. "Yeah, I bet we will, too." He admitted.

=======

Rumble found Stellar and Cee-cee down by the river again. He hovered as Stellar was lifting spheres of water and teleporting them somewhere. "See... that would be so handy to be able to do..." Cee-cee was saying to Stellar as she moved the water.

Stellar chuckled. "Sorry, this is a unicorn ability. Don't stop trying, though. Since you're actually human, you never know what you might actually develop the ability to do, if you keep trying." She told Cecelia. "You are the start of an entirely new class of human... or the revival of a possibly-much older one, Cee-cee. You have legends of mages and magic-wielders in your culture. Usually myths don't develop in a vacuum; they have to have some basis in fact for legends to be made, and to devolve into myths." She gestured to Cecelia's cutie-mark. "That alone, and what we've done this morning, is proof enough that humans can do magic. Now, all we have to do is find some others, and survive the probable backlash against you from the rest of the idiots that make up a good deal of Humanity."

Rumble washed his hoofs off in the water before he landed gently on Stellar's back. "What'cha doin'?" He asked.

"Filling Cecelia's swimming pool." Stellar replied.

"A pool? Awesome!" Rumble stated, grinning widely. "Can we go for a swim later?"

Cecelia laughed as Stellar just smiled. "Yeah, I think we can swing that, Cuddle-colt." Stellar answered.

Rumble looked up as Mandy moved to inspect him, snuffling all over him. Then she nickered and whuffled out something at Stellar. Rumble sniffed at Mandy's nose, then nuzzled her, a gesture that Mandy returned. "Did she say something?" Rumble asked Stellar.

Stellar grinned as another big ball of water disappeared. "Yes. She said you're cute." Rumble's eyes opened wide at that, then he gagged as Cecelia and Stellar laughed. "What, Rumble?" Stellar asked. "I can call you cute, but if a horse does the same, you gag like it was a filly of the same age as you who said it?" Stellar looked back at him.

Rumble poked his tongue out at Stellar, then carefully lifted off from her back. He hovered near Mandy's head as she looked him over, then she nuzzled him so hard it shoved him a foot sideways. "Whoa!" he said as he held onto Mandy's head to steady himself. "Uh, hi." He said to Mandy, who just nickered softly and nuzzled the ten-year-old colt.

Stellar looked at Cecelia, and they both giggled. "I think she likes you, Rumble." Cecelia told him. "Her name is Mandy."

"Hiya Mandy." Rumble said to the mare, who seemed to like Rumble a great deal. She actually scooped him up with her head and slid him down onto her withers. "Whoa!" Rumble said as she did so, then he grinned as he sat on the much-bigger mare.

"Yep. She likes you." Cecelia confirmed. "If she didn't, you'd never get on her back, let alone her actually putting you there."

"Cool." Rumble said as he looked at Mandy as she looked back at him. "Thanks, Mandy." He said to her, and she nodded her head at him, then walked off a little way and started munching out. Rumble just moved back and settled down on her back, stretching out and relaxing.

Cee-cee giggled as she watched another huge ball of water rise out of the river and vanish. She noticed they were about ten metres in diameter before they vanished, and she could see Stellar concentrating hard as she made them vanish. "You're not over-straining yourself again, are you?" She asked.

"Just... making sure I don't... drop them into the pool, rather than letting them settle gently." Stellar answered. "I don't want them swamping everything around it."

"Ah." Cee-cee nodded. "Understandable. So, is it almost full?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." Stellar said. She sent one last ball of water off, let it settle, then took to the sky, heading up. A few minutes later, she settled again and sent three more balls off, then nodded. "It's full." She told Cee-cee.

"Wonderful." Cecelia grinned, and moved to mount Mandy again. "Come on, Cuddle-colt. Time to get going again." Cecelia said as she shoved a dozing Rumble forward, making him yelp, then mounted Mandy. They cantered off as Rumble found his balance, then they headed for the pool, with Stellar cruising along beside them at head-height.

= = = = =

Ten minutes later they were at the pool, Mark and the others there as well. Cathy was walking along on her hoofs, wearing a very short pair of shorts and a halter top, and she was showing a touch of fur at her ankles, and below her curled hair was the beginnings of a horn. "Looks like I'm a unicorn like Azure." Cathy told them as Stellar landed and Cee-cee and Rumble got off Mandy, who trotted off to her yard.

"Congrats, Cathy." Cee-cee said, giving her a hug.

"Yes, congratulations." Stellar agreed as she moved to Cathy and stood up, hugging her as well.

"Thanks, People." Cathy replied as she got down on her haunches and hugged Azure to her. He nuzzled Cathy tenderly as they snuggled. Then Rumble's yell broke the silence as he dive-bombed into the pool. That broke the ice, and soon everyone was enjoying the water as they relaxed. Stellar took a lot of the heat out of the water, bringing its temperature down to just above thirty-three degrees, where it cooled everyone down a good bit.

"Ah, that feels better." Stellar said, as she floated in the water, using her wings to support herself.

Mark smiled at her. "So, you taught Cee-cee how to make stone?"

Stellar nodded. "Yep. She took to it like a pony to water." She giggled, watching Rumble splashing Thunderlane.

Mark gave a chuckle at that. "So... we won't need filtration equipment, if I understand what Cecelia told me about this pool?"

"Nope." Stellar confirmed. "Actually, we'll probably come out of this cleaner than when we went in. But you will need to set up some system to refill it as the water evaporates." She informed Mark. "Also, if you wanted to, when you get those big bladders set up, pump the water through the pool first, then pump it into the bladders. The water will be so pure you'll probably find it could exceed distilled water for its cleanliness."

"Wow." Mark replied. "Thanks, then. I see you like making one solution into many solutions."

"It's more efficient, true. And much less costly. But Magic has a tendency to do that if you use it properly." Stellar explained.

"Right..." Mark shook his head. "Any more suggestions?"

"Get Cee-cee to turn that excavation you made from soil to stone. That way you won't need concrete to line it." Stellar answered. "If you're good enough, you might even be able to form a roof for it to keep the water cool by making a form over the bladders, then pouring soil into the form. Have Cee-cee turn the soil to stone, and you have a roof over the pit." She suggested.

"Hey, not a bad idea at that." Mark agreed. "It'll probably have to be strongly supported and braced, but it'd hardly cost anything compared to concrete or a few other methods."

"And you can use the soil you dug out of the hole to do it with, too, if you didn't have any other plans for it." Stellar pointed out, before she flipped her wings shut and dived down, coming up again a little bit later, soaked again and with her wings open. "Ohh, that feels so nice." She commented, sweeping her mane off her face with a hoof.

"Hmm... Maybe I could make some money off this." Mark then speculated.

"How so?" Stellar asked.

"Well... I could bottle the water and sell it as 'purified' water." Mark suggested.

"I guess it would be the truth." Stellar agreed.

"Do you think this pool would be good for burns victims and those with skin conditions?" He then asked.

"It's very probable." Stellar agreed. "But if you had a healing rune or circle carved into the floor as well, that would be even better." She suggested. "Are you thinking about going into the faith-healing business?" She asked, sounding sceptical.

"No. Not 'faith' healing. I mean real healing." Mark replied. "Mankind have been using natural mineral springs for treatment for millenia. Imagine what could be done if you combined a natural spring with pools that have that rune and a circle carved into them." He told Stellar. "There's so many people we could help treat, especially those with conditions like flesh-eating bacteria and such. They've got barely anything that works against things like that. This could be something that could benefit anyone who could make it here." He said.

"And how would you charge for it?" Stellar asked, not truly liking where this was going...

"Well... for those that really needed it, we wouldn't." Mark answered, easing Stellar's concerns a little. "But for the general public that wanted to come and just 'take the waters', as the term was known, then we'd charge them no more than, say a public swimming pool would. Plus we wouldn't use the more powerful healing magic on the general pools, just maybe the purification rune. That way people would go away feeling better, even if they're not truly being 'healed' as such."

Stellar nodded. "That's a better way of doing things." She agreed. "You do realise you'd have people lined up around the block, like Lourdes in France, once word got out you have a real cure for things here." She reminded Mark.

Mark chuckled. "Our isolation would help a bit about that." He said. "But we'd work out how we're going to do things first, before we start selling healing to the public. Make pools for the adult population they can stand up in, with their heads out of the water, and smaller pools for kids. Then specialist tubs with the healing circle in the bottom of them for those who really need healing in a separate section."

Stellar thought on this as they floated there. "It could work... as long as you don't get greedy with it." She told Mark. "Cee-cee won't let you abuse anything we give you, you know that." She pointed out.

"Yeah, I kinda figured on that." Mark said. "But... we need something to make our station a going concern for the long-term... or we might be forced off here eventually. We owe a lot of people a lot of money, and they do not have infinite patience."

Stellar winced. "Okay, I can understand that." She commiserated with Mark. "How bad are things?"

"Could be worse." Mark admitted. "With the cattle on that incredible feed you made for us, and the market getting a little better, we should pull things off this year and keep them off our backs for a while... but one bad season could make or break things, especially now that the Twins are leaving." He sighed as Stellar winced again. "Then again, with Cee-cee's new abilities... if we can pull off three good seasons in a row, it will makes things a hell of a lot better. Without needing to buy feed, that'll take a massive burden off our finances. Not buying water, too, will help once we get the bladders in place and filled. We might even be able to sell drinking water to others around here, which brings in a pretty penny, especially really pure water. The other stations in the area have to have big filtration plants for really good drinking water, and some of them just can't afford the equipment." He thought on about things.

Stellar nodded. "I guess we could help you there, before we leave." She agreed. "And there's nothing saying we can't come back for a visit, now that I know where you are and have been here for a bit. I can teleport back here from anywhere in the world."

"Really? You know you're always welcome here, Stellar. You and yours." Mark gently stroked the side of Stellar's neck. "With what you've done for us, you're as good as Family, Pony-girl." He grinned at her. "We owe you a debt that can't be repaid."

Stellar sighed happily as she was stroked. It felt so good, for some strange reason. "Then let's agree to say you owe me." She said. "Whether or not we get around to payment... that's for another day."

"Agreed." Mark stated to Stellar, as he moved closer and started stroking her on both sides of her neck and down her long mane. "Do you mind your horn being touched?" He asked as Stellar whickered softly.

"Not really. It's just a horn. We often get them filed and shaped as they grow and wear a bit." She explained to Mark. "Using magic through them often makes the outer layer turn a little brittle and grow out-of-true, so we have them filed and shaped to get rid of the 'dead' layer. Ponyville had a spa that specialised in treating ponies to the best care we could hope for. Canterlot had spas too, but Ponyville's just seemed to be more popular."

Mark chuckled. "Maybe we could set a spa up here, too." He suggested.

Stellar looked at Mark with a sly smile. "Trying to get the pony tourist dollar, too?" She asked.

"Whatever works." Mark said as he shrugged. "In business, it doesn't pay to limit your horizons."

"Very true." Stellar had to agree.

= = = = =

Eventually, shifting outdoor furniture around the pool area and a bit of work had Lunch served, big folding umbrellas keeping the sun off. With a bit of work, Mark had used an old rotary-drum hand-pushed lawn-mower to shave the top off the grass in the house paddock where it was richest (the spot where Stellar had made it grow), and the ponies all enjoyed a grass salad with extra vegetables tossed in, as well as dressings and sauces.

"Now this is how grass SHOULD be served!" Thunderlane commented, and just about everyone laughed with him.

Even Cathy was trying out some of the salad, and she found it quite sweet, as well as palatable. "I suppose I'm going to end up eating stuff like this full-time eventually. I might as well see if I have the taste for it yet." She said.

Azure was concerned about Cathy, but as Lunch went on and she showed no signs of bringing the grass back up again, his worry faded a bit and he enjoyed sharing lunch with Cathy very much.

Stellar looked at the other ponies, as well as Cee-cee and Mark, then nodded. They all nodded back and kept on eating...

Author's Note

Another chapter. This one is full of personal interaction between the humans and ponies, as Cecelia comes to learn how her new-found powers work. Plus the day is only half-done. What happens in the afternoon? Stay tuned and find out...

10 - Departures

"So... how are we going to get to the U.S.?" Flitter asked as the five friends stood out in one of the paddocks. The sun was going down on a very eventful day, and they now had time to be curious about what Stellar had worked out.

Stellar smiled as they stood there. "Okay, Thunderlane saw me do this yesterday morning. I've developed a method of shaping my personal field into something resembling a large ramjet engine, with help from an array." She told them all. "The thing is, it works for me, but now we have to see if I can merge it with your fields, so we can all travel inside it. If we can, then we'll be able to cross the expanses without using a huge load of mana, or having to stop constantly to let Rumble recharge." She gently stroked Rumble's mane . "Sorry, Cuddle-colt, but you're a little too young for long-distance flight on your own power." Stellar told him.

"I know." Rumble admitted.

Stellar nodded. "Okay. So, when we get to about three thousand feet, I want you all to formate with me closer than we've ever been before, in-line with one another. I'll need to have Rumble right behind me, then Thunderlane to hold Rumble in place, then you two girls behind us." Stellar explained. "Once we're in that formation, as we dive, just hold your wings out from your sides and concentrate on merging your fields into the larger one I'll project. If we can synch our fields properly, then we'll be surfing along on a wave of jetwash that'll propel us as fast as any jet could, without a huge mana deficit and with hardly any physical effort on our part."

Stellar had them line up on the ground and showed them their spacing. "I've almost got my nose in Thunder's bum!" Flitter complained.

"Almost is good enough." Stellar said. "If you don't like it, put your muzzle up on his tail-root."

Flitter snorted, but didn't complain any more as they practised. But as they took a break, Flitter came up and asked "Why does Rumble have to be behind you?"

"It's so that, if he does get tired, Thunder can help him up onto my back." Stellar explained.

Flitter blinked as she took that in, then went "Oh. Right. Yeah, you'd be better at carrying him than we would." She agreed.

Stellar nodded at Flitter. "Sometimes it's hard to see the method in my madness, Flitter, but you can rest assured there is always a reason for why I do things."

"Yeah, you're right. I guess that's why you're the princess." Flitter said back.

"Somepony's got to do it." Stellar replied with a grin.

Thunderlane and Rumble chuckled at the reply, while Cloudchaser looked a little puzzled, but then got the joke. Stellar handed out silver helmets to them all, with radio packs that fit around their necks. "These will help dampen the noise and allow us to communicate." Stellar explained. "Okay, let's get airborne and see if we can pull this off." Stellar said to them all, and they took off easily. Used to formation flying, Thunderlane and CloudChaser stayed behind their siblings to make sure they were kept in the formation. Eventually they reached the height Stellar wanted, and they started a shallow dive, tightening their formation as Stellar bled her field back along the formation.

Each one of the pegasi felt her powerful field gripping onto theirs, keeping them tightly where they were, until she felt all of their fields locked in her own. She shaped the inner field to a streamlined shape, as she cast the heating array spell inside the outer field which shaped itself into the proper venturi shape to compress the air into the heating array, which started to glow. The formation started to pick up speed as the heated air began to thrust out the back of the double-field, until there was a 'whoomph' sound, and they found themselves heading for the ground extremely-quickly. Stellar pulled them up, and they found themselves racing along at a thousand feet, going over eight hundred kph with hardly any effort. "How's things?" She asked.

"This is really easy!" Rumble said back, almost yelling, before the volume on his radio decreased slightly.

"I have to agree." Thunderlane said next. "I'm just sitting here in my field, wings spread, hardly using any mana, save to support my field."

"Yeah, same here." Both the Twins agreed.

They soared up into the higher layers of the Tropopause, the breathable layer of atmosphere, and they raced along like a jet. Even the sound of the ramjet-effect sounded very normal for a jet aircraft. They soared along over the Australian Outback, maneuvering and working out their flight envelope. They learned that with both Stellar and CloudChaser working the angles of their wings, they could pull very tight turns. "That's good!" Stellar replied, as they headed down again, heading back towards Mark and Cecelia's station.

Thunderlane chuckled. "I bet the Wonderbolts would have loved to see this flight technique in action." He said. "I just know there'd be some of the higher-level squads would have tried their best to replicate it."

"The heating array would be the hardest part." Stellar replied. "But I guess I could make it castable with an artifact, instead of a spell."

They raced over the station, seeing the two humans and two ponies on the ground waving as they shot past. "Okay! I'm going to drop the field, as if we're dropping out for an emergency." Stellar told them. "Get ready for the rush of air, strengthen your own fields and move apart so you don't slam into each other."

"Aye!" They replied, and braced themselves. Then the rush of air hit them as Stellar dropped down. Thunderlane put his hoofs on Rumble and flipped his younger brother over onto his back, as CloudChaser and Flitter took off to the sides and they pulled back into the Plus formation again. Rumble dropped off Thunderlane into the rear spot as they slowed down, Stellar coming back up ahead of Thunderlane to take the lead spot.

"Well done!" Stellar told them as they curved around in formation and headed for the Station's Main House. As they pulled up and landed in formation, there was applause and cheering from the front verandah.

"That was awesome!" Peach yelled. "You guys are amazing."

Thunderlane smiled. "Shows what proper flight training can achieve." He replied, sounding justifiably smug.

Stellar grinned as she led them up to the house and they spent some time there, reviewing what they'd done and going over it until they'd checked over every possible scenario they could think of occuring.

=======

Later, Stellar approached Mark as he was checking over the feed lot fences. "Hey, Mark." She said as she trotted up beside him.

"G'day Stellar. What can I do for you?" He asked.

"You're probably going to be getting a load of ponies from other lands coming here, if my mission is successful." Stellar told Mark. "Most of them won't speak English. But all of them will know Equish, the common Equestrian language."

"Equish?" Mark asked.

"I know, it's not really the common tongue of Equis, but that's the way it translates through into English." Stellar explained. "I've taught it to Cee-cee, and now I want to teach it to you as well. You're probably going to need it."

Mark chuckled as he crouched in front of Stellar. "Okay then, let me have it." He said with a grin.

Stellar's horn lit up, and she gently touched Mark on the forehead. Her magic inscribed an entire new language into his head as she rested it there, until the spell faded. "" Stellar asked.

"Uh yeah, I can understand what you're saying..." Mark replied in English... then he tried speaking in Equish. "" As Stellar stifled a giggle, he frowned and said "No, that's not right."

"No, it's not." Stellar agreed, still trying hard not to giggle.

"Let me try it again." Mark closed his eyes and concentrated. He knew the language was there, he just had to let it settle into his mind properly... "I speak, therefore I am saying." He said in English, then said "" in Equish... very badly accented Equish, but it was understandable.

"" Stellar replied.

"Cool." Mark said, grinning. "So, every pony that comes here will know that language?" He asked.

"They should." Stellar confirmed. "Some might not remember it properly, but I think that as soon as they hear it, it will resurface in their memories." She explained.

Mark nodded. "Okay. I'll spend some time just conversing in it with Cee-cee while we're waiting, that way we'll be a bit more fluent in it when the time comes."

"A good idea." Stellar agreed. Stellar stayed with Mark, talking with him, until they headed to the house for Dinner.

=======

After a good dinner, Stellar was sitting on her verandah of the bunkhouse with Thunderlane, when Peach and Azure came over to them. "Um, Stellar, can we talk?" Peach asked.

"Sure. Pull up a cushion." Stellar told Peach, and gestured both of them to sit down.

After they'd made themselves comfortable, Peach started to talk. "Azure and I have been wondering... do you have any plans for us once you're gone?" She asked.

"Well... I was hoping you'd stay on here and help, if there are ponies that need a place of shelter." She answered Peach. "Of course, if I find some of your family, I'll bring you to wherever we are and reunite them with you." She looked at Azure. "Did you have any family, Azure?" She asked.

"Just my wife." Azure said. "And... I don't know if I'd feel the same for her as I did before." He admitted. "I'm... I'm not the same pony I was before we got shunted here by Discord... if she's even here." He turned to look at Peach. "I think... I have somepony else in my heart, now." He told Stellar as he and Peach lovingly nuzzled each other.

Stellar smiled at them both, then looked at Thunderlane. He gave Stellar a loving smile, then they lovingly nuzzled one another as well. "I know how you feel." Stellar said to them both. "Twenty-five years is a very long time to be away from someone. Especially with how much we've changed, I think it's going to be a very hard thing for couples to stay together." Stellar had to admit. "Even I find myself noticing very large changes in my personality in certain areas. I don't think I could have loved Thunder here as my old self."

"I'm not sure that much if I had someone special for myself before." Thunderlane admitted. "I do remember being in a very casual relationship with the Twins, but after having them as my cousins... the spark's not there anymore. It's a 'too-close-to-home' situation."

Azure nodded. "I can understand that." He agreed.

Peach nodded. "So... you think my family might still be out there?" Peach asked Stellar.

"It's quite possible." Stellar admitted. "After Thunder and Rumble finding themselves reborn together, the same with Flitter and CloudChaser, it's more than a possibility there could be families all reborn here, and just waiting to find each other."

Peach nodded as she looked down, thinking on what Stellar had just said. "I'd want to know." She finally told Stellar.

Stellar nodded to her. "If I find them, I'll bring you to them. Then you can decide what you want to do." She promised Peach.

Peach smiled and nodded back. "Thank you." She replied.

"You're welcome." Stellar said, stretching out her long neck and nuzzling Peach nose-to-nose. Peach softly nickered at the gentle touch and returned it in the spirit it was given, from a friend to a friend. Then Stellar did the same for Azure, as Peach nuzzled Thunder in friendship.

=======

At the same time, the Twins were talking to their parents again as they looked after Rumble, the little colt drawing in one of their old art pads from school they hadn't thrown out yet. "So, tomorrow you're off to America, then?" Mark stated more than asked.

Flitter and CloudChaser nodded. "Yep." Flitter said back.

"It's gonna be fun!" CloudChaser added, smiling widely.

"Yeah, it will be, even if we're not flying there on an airliner... then again," Flitter thought about it for a minute, "no crowds, no long check-in lines, no bad food, no crying kids or people running their seats right back, no-one farting at us in the sealed cabin..." She giggled, CloudChaser joined her in giggling. "I knew there was an advantage in not flying commercial." Flitter finally said, as they all laughed.

Mark and Cecelia nodded as they moved down off the lounge and crouched by their daughters, scooping them up into a big group hug together. The Twins hugged their parents back, so amazed, in a way, that their parents had been so accepting of their changing back into Ponies again. After watching and knowing what Alicia was like and had done right before them, they were so grateful that their parents were so... sane.

Rumble grinned at watching his cousins and aunt and uncle interact. Even if his own mother was a total freak-case, he missed his Dad. Maybe there'd be time to talk to him later and get his head wrapped around what had happened. The way Alex had hugged him when he'd thought Rumble was just a little fallabella colt was the warmest gesture his father had ever shown them when they were growing up... because Alicia had forbidden him from being too 'close' to them, as she pummelled her controlling influence into both of them. He didn't know why she was so crazy. Cecelia and the rest of the family never talked about it, which made him wonder even more... Rumble just sighed. Dad wouldn't know the story, but Aunt Cee-cee would. He'd have to have a talk to her sooner or later...

=======

The night passed more quickly than any of them, even Stellar, had expected, and the morning dawned bright and clear. Before they left, however, Stellar had the four gather together for one last piece of training. "Okay... I was doing some thinking last night."

"That's it, we're in trouble now!" Rumble said in an extremely-cheerful voice that made everypony crack up, even Stellar.

"Hush, you, or no snuggle time later." Stellar replied, making Rumble look like she'd threatened to take away his male-hood. She poked her tongue out at him, and he grinned as he did the same, getting more chuckles from the others.

"Go on, Stellar." Thunderlane said.

"Okay. Now, when we're out and about later, I may need to leave you and go rescue some other ponies as we're flying along." She told them. "If I need to teleport back, I could have a problem without a proper locus to focus on. So I'm going to teach you something very important and very special: how to act as a locus for me."

The others looked at each other and nodded. "It's not going to hurt, is it?" CloudChaser asked.

That got a soft smile from Stellar as the others grinned. "Not at all." Stellar answered. "Now, what you need to do is stand in a square." She had them move to four corners of a square about three metres at a side, facing in. "These are the positions you'll have to take, if I ask you to form a square." She told them. "Thunderlane opposite Rumble, Flitter to Thunder's left, CloudChaser opposite her. Got it?" They all nodded. "Okay. I'm going to lift off above you about ten metres. When I call out, I want you to look directly at my face. Look me right in the eyes. I'll cast a special spell that will lock this formation in as a locus, the same as I would with any other place I make one. The difference is you can deploy this at any location. The instant your eyes lock in on the height that I cast the spell at, the locus will form, and I can teleport directly to that same spot again, along with anyone or anything I'm carrying." She explained.

Flitter just shook her head, as CloudChaser said "That is so cool."

"So... how do we know when our gazes meet properly?" Thunderlane asked.

"You won't need to." Stellar told him. "The spell will automatically aid you in locking your gaze on the exact same height that we set today. The instant it does so, you'll know because I'll appear, and the teleport will complete."

Thunderlane looked at the others as their understanding grew. "Okay then. Let's do this."

Stellar nodded and drifted upwards, until she reached the right height. Then she looked at them all until they signalled they were ready, and she cast the spell.

As the others watched a shiver of magic ran through them and Stellar vanished, then appeared again. They blinked for a moment as the magic settled, while Stellar lowered herself to the ground between them and said "There. It's all set."

"How long will that spell last?" Flitter asked.

"That depends on how often we use it." Stellar answered. "If we barely use it, it'll last maybe three years at the most. Constant use could see us need to re-apply it every three weeks."

"Right." Flitter thought on this. "That's pretty long-term." She said.

"Most loci spells are." Stellar pointed out. "Most of them are supposed to last for decades, if cast on a fixed point. Some of them can last much longer. This one's just more flexible than most, so I thought it was more suitable. If it was just me teleporting, I can use Thunderlane as a locus, but if I'm carrying a load or sending one, then the four of you make a far more powerful and accurate locus to home in on."

"That makes sense." CloudChaser said as she trotted over to where Stellar and Flitter were.

"Everypony got that now?" Stellar asked. At the nods from the others, she continued "Okay then. Let's get our bags and get moving. We have a lot of sky to cover."

The five good friends then headed back to the Main House.

=======

Mark and Cecelia took a little longer than anticipated to say good-bye to them all. Stellar left Mark a few big sacks of gold Bits as well. "Because, as sure as I'm an alicorn, we're going to find ponies that need help along the way, and I'm going to be sending them here to you for the moment." She told him.

"I kind-of expected that, yeah." He said with a smile. "This will help a lot, especially with Cee-cee being able to do that trick with the grass. Not having to buy feed will definitely help."

Stellar smiled and hugged him, as Cecelia was hugging Rumble like she didn't want to let go of him. "You take care, Cuddle-colt." She said to him, giving him a tickle in parting.

"Uh-huh, Aunty." Rumble replied as she put him down on his hoofs again.

"And you take care too, Thunder." Cee-cee said to Thunderlane.

"Always, Aunt Ceece." He replied, before she tickled him under his wings. "Hey! Not fair, I don't have hands." Thunderlane protested, as Mark gathered up the Twins in his arms.

"We'll miss you, Daddy." Cloudchaser told Mark.

"Yeah, Dad, whole heaps." Flitter agreed.

"I know, Girls. Your mother and I will miss you, too. Come back when you can." He told them as he nuzzled them as best he could. Cee-cee joined the family hug, as Stellar approached Peach and Azure.

"I know you want to stay here a bit longer." She told them both. "But remember, if you need to call us, we have our sat-phones. I'll be looking out for other members of your family, Peach, and we will return from time to time." She told them.

They both nodded. "Take care, Stellar." Peach said.

Stellar nodded. "You two, too." She replied. "Oh, Azure, stay on the Internet and see if you can find any more ponies here in Oz, and get them to either tell you where they are, if they're staying, or make them the offer to shift if they're either unwelcome or under threat. Also, check out the various State Rules for changing one's name and possibly species. If we can do it legally, then so much the better."

"Will do, Princess." Azure replied, nodding his head.

"Then we'll see you once we find where others have settled." Stellar told them. She gave them both parting hugs, then got her bags on her back and moved out to where they were taking off from. Once everypony was in position, they gave one last wave, and took to the air. A few minutes later, those on the ground heard the 'Whoomph' of Stellar's magic ramjet, and the flight group swooped down and flashed across the front of the House paddock, then soared upwards at a fast rate, disappearing into the open sky.

"Well, there they go..." Cee-cee sighed sadly.

"It had to happen one day, Love." Mark said. "But we had them for twenty-five wonderful years. And got to know them as their pony selves before they left. That's more than Alicia or Alex got."

"Very true, Love." Cecelia replied. "Come on, we have work to do as well."

Mark nodded as Azure and Peach lay on the verandah, the day's heat just starting to swell. "I wonder if I can still cook...?" Peach thought aloud as Azure settled in beside her.

"You were a cook?" Azure asked.

"Yeah. My family ran a coffee shop and eventually a small restaurant back in Canterlot, before this all happened." Peach told Azure. "My Dad, Frothy Brew, was the finest barista in Canterlot, and my mom, Cherry Delight, could make the finest cakes and pastries. Only Sugarcube Corner's were our equal, and only because they had Pinkie Pie there." Peach grinned. "Mom may have been blind, but she could still beat almost all but the most upper-crust chefs with her cheesecakes, danishes and full-on cakes." Peach sighed. "The only problem with the National Dessert Competition was when they ruled that the desserts had to be the work of one chef only. Since Mom couldn't do everything by herself, they ruled her desserts ineligible two years... um... two years before we got sent here, that is." Peach explained.

"That sucks." Azure said, sounding sympathetic.

"Yeah, but we'd worked out a way around that... then this happened." Peach poked her tongue out.

Azure shrugged. "Maybe once things settle, you can start again." He suggested.

Peach nodded. "I'd love to." She agreed.

=======

The five travellers soared high above the Outback, heading for the Kimberley coast and eventually onto one of the busiest air corridors through Asia. Stellar had her VH-PON transponder going, and the five found themselves shooting along at six hundred kph, flying at thirty-seven thousand feet, surfing the air between two jetliners. "Everypony doing okay?" Stellar asked as they just cruised along.

"This is so cool!" Rumble said as he hung in the field behind Stellar. "I could never fly this fast or high by myself."

"That's why we're flying this way, Little Dude." Thunderlane said.

They could take the time to look about, but there was little to do save for float along inside the combined field and use their keen vision to spot aircraft around them. Every so often, Stellar was contacted by one of the control towers as they entered the territory it controlled, and responded exactly as if she was aboard a private jet, heading for Spain, using the flight report she'd filed that morning.

An hour after they'd left the station behind, Thunderlane was listening to his MP3 player, Rumble was playing a hand-held video game he'd saved from their former home, and Flitter and Cloudchaser were watching a DVD on a portable player that was sitting on Thunderlane's side-bags' backstrap, held on by velcro. Eventually Cloudchaser just fell asleep as they cruised along. Flitter chuckled. "She was so excited we were actually leaving, I don't think she got any sleep last night." She said to Thunderlane over their helmet radios.

"Yeah. Well, this might be smoother than flying commercial, and less irritating, but it's still somewhat boring." He admitted.

Flitter shrugged. "Eh, there's not much to do on any aircraft... save maybe for an Airbus A380." She replied.

Thunderlane chuckled. "You could put a theme park inside an A380." He told Flitter, who giggled as well.

"You could be looking at the scenery, save for the fact the cloud cover is at six thousand feet today." Stellar then said. "And it's pretty substantial as well, with the Spring rains up in the Northern Hemisphere."

"We are we now, approximately?" Flitter asked.

"We're just leaving Indonesia behind and heading for India." Stellar answered. "There's really not much to see beside ocean now for another hour."

"Meh. I'll just put on another movie." Flitter replied, and did so.

=======

India came and went quite fairly quickly, the cloud cover over the sub-continent being sparse enough that they could actually see the land below from time to time. They landed on a cloud-bank over the Arabian Sea and had Lunch, giving Stellar some time to rest. It was midday there, and the sun was almost hotter than it was over the Outback, especially since they were now almost in Summer weather near the equator. "Yow! I thought we were in late Autumn." CloudChaser said.

"Technically, we still are until we cross the Equator." Thunderlane told her. "But this close, it doesn't really matter. The temperature in this part of the world hardly varies with the seasonal changes."

"So, we're technically going from autumn to spring..." Flitter added. "Technically, that's not a bad way to be. I mean, America's not quite as hot as Australia is in most places, so it'll almost be comfortable."

"And our bodies are still pretty much adapted for Summer living, coming from Australia when we did." Stellar gave her two-bits' worth. "So we probably will feel it just a bit less than if we were doing this from an Australia Outback winter to an American winter... seeing as your area of the Outback probably has never seen snow since it was where Antarctica is now."

Rumble giggled. "That sounds so freaky... how long ago was that?"

"Quite a few hundreds-of-millions of years ago, Rumble." Flitter answered him.

"Woah! That's almost older than Celestia." Rumble commented with a grin, that made the mares laugh as Thunderlane grabbed him and gave him a big noogie for his cheek, eliciting squeals of outraged colt-speak from the little foal.

Stellar had barely managed to not snort water out of her nose when Rumble had made his joke, and she gave him an evil glare. "I'm going to tell her you said that, Cuddle-colt." She threatened. "You know what that means..."

Rumble's outrage dissolved into horrified realisation. "I'm..." He gulped. "I'm gonna be one of her new garden ornaments?" He asked.

"Maaaay-bee..." Stellar smirked at Rumble and gave him an evil eye. "Or she just might give you a huge noogie herself."

The adults laughed as Rumble looked relieved. "That might actually be fun." Rumble admitted. "I mean... how many other foals could say that Celestia's given them noogies?" He asked.

Thunderlane thought on that as the mares smiled. "Y'know... you might have something there, Little Dude." He admitted.

Stellar just shook her head and got to her feet. It had been an hour after they'd landed, so it was time they got flying again before their next tower contact decided they were overdue and called them as being in trouble. Once they'd cleaned the area up, the five travellers dived off the cloud, slipped into formation and the field wrapped around them much quicker this time. The ramjet ignited and they soared upwards again, Stellar contacting the coastal station in the U.A.E. as they entered their airspace...

= = = = =

They'd barely been in the air for half-an-hour over the Arabian peninsula that afternoon, Stellar tracking their progress, when a sharp pain went through her neck, one that bit very deep and she felt like she was gasping for breath. She yelled at the others. "I'm going to have to go! I'll be back in a bit!" And she vanished, the ramjet collapsing as Thunderlane grabbed Rumble and put him on his back. The twins flew either side of Thunderlane, and they headed down for a cloudbank.

Once they'd landed, Flitter asked "Where do you think she's gone?"

"Probably to help somepony in trouble." Thunderlane suggested as Rumble dropped to the clouds.

"Okay." CloudChaser said, as she curled up on the cloud and dozed.

Thunderlane and Flitter got some of their supplies out, and they started to eat.

=======

Stellar appeared over a big city, the feeling coming from below. She put on her red-and-gold armor, before heading down to where she could see a large crowd of people, dressed in traditional clothing, around a rock platform. She came down hard, slamming into the rock platform and scaring the masses back. As she looked about, she saw a pony was lying to one side, the unicorn mare holding her magic in a brace around her neck, trying to stop her cut throat from bleeding out. Stellar turned to a large bare-chested human male with a long knife in his hand, standing over another bound unicorn, as he started to charge at her. Her horn lit up and she blasted him across the top of the crowd, to watch him slam into the wall of the square hard enough to crack the plaster. "YARUKD!(RUN!)" She yelled out as she looked at the crowd, who obeyed her almost instantly.

Stellar moved to the mare and held her lit horn over the wound, invoking a powerful healing spell. Once the wound had closed and healed, she teleported the blood out of the mare's lungs and helped her to sit up. "" Stellar asked her in Equish as several double-ended daggers held in her magic cut the bonds of the male unicorn and several others there.

"" The mare replied.

Stellar nodded, then concentrated, her horn lighting the square up brilliantly magenta, as ponies from all around the area started teleporting into the square in singles or small groups. Eventually there were none within her range outside the square, and she looked at them all as she dropped off the stone platform amongst them. Most showed signs of starvation or deprivation, some with marks of hobbles or harnesses around them, especially any of the larger stallions. As she walked amongst them, they clamored to see her, recognising her status almost instinctively. Stellar was relieved to find none of the unicorns had had their horns cut off, but two pegasi had had their wings amputated... and not professionally at all. She knocked them out, then made their wings regenerate. It cost her a lot of mana, but she just couldn't leave them like that. Regenerating wings was, at least, easier than trying to regenerate a horn. That took way too much mana and time to be done in such a bad place.

As the mana array on her armor started to pump mana into her body at an accelerated rate, Stellar got up on the stone platform again and said in Equish ""

She took a deep breath. "" She saw the two pegasi whose wings she had regenerated had managed to stand up with the others, and that made her smile even more. ""

Stellar closed her eyes. She reached deep into the earth below the stone platform and drew its power to her. Then she called Cecelia through the earth. "Hello, Cee-cee. I have a number of ponies to send to you. Be prepared to receive them." As her horn and eyes lit up a brilliant white, ponies started to vanish... until the square was empty.

=======

A world away, Cecelia was regenerating the grass again, as huge sprinklers sprayed water all over the area from the pool, while other pumps filled it again from the river. Mark had brought some watering troughs in from other fields and cleaned them up, then got them ready to be used, Azure helping him to set them up at the proper height for ponies to drink from. Then Cee-cee gasped as she stood up, Mark noticing this and coming to her side. "What is it, Love?" He asked, as Peach and Azure also noticed.

"" Cee-cee then said in Equish, her eyes and cutie-mark lit up.

Mark got Cee-cee back to the back steps, as ponies started to appear all over the back paddock, until it was nearly full. Azure and Peach were on their hoofs as well, and moved down to talk to the newcomers as the glow in Cee-cee's eyes and cutie-mark died away. "It's a good thing we've been cultivating those new paddocks." Mark said to Cee-cee. "If Stellar keeps sending us ponies, we might need even more land under cultivation."

Cecelia nodded. "Bring it on." She said as she looked at the ponies and their condition. "These ponies need our help. If providing them with a sanctuary to help them is what is needed, then we'll do so... because our daughters could have ended up like this, if they'd been born elsewhere."

Mark nodded. "Too bloody right." He agreed. "No-one, human or pony, deserves to be treated as it looks like these ones have been treated."

Several of the new arrivals came up to them, Azure and Peach joining Mark and Cecelia on the verandah. The new ponies looked very much relieved to see two ponies standing beside the humans. The unicorn mare who'd had her throat cut looked at Azure and bowed her head. "" She said in Equish.

Azure chuckled, getting an odd look from the mare. "" He explained. ""

She turned and looked up at the two humans. In very halting English, she started to say "We... thank... you..."

Then Mark grinned and said in slow Equish ""

The Mare's eyes opened wide as Cee-cee added. "" She explained in much better Equish.

"" She asked, stunned, as others gathered around.

Mark chuckled. "" He admitted. "I am Mark, this is my wife Cecelia." Mark told them in English, since names didn't translate too well.

Just about all those ponies there bowed to them. "" They all chorused, then most turned back to eating.

Mark nodded, then Azure looked at the mare with the mark across her throat. "" He asked.

The mare blushed, but shook her head. "" She replied shyly.

Azure nodded. "" He explained. ""

The mare's eyes opened wider as Azure explained. ""

Azure nodded. "" He sighed. "" Azure shrugged.

"" She replied. "" She said sympathetically, before she turned and walked away to graze.

Azure sighed sadly, then felt Peach hug him. Smiling again, he turned to her and nuzzled her lovingly.

= = = = =

Mark smiled as he saw that, then turned to Cecelia as they reached the end of the verandah, facing an older shed that was a lot bigger than the newer machinery shed. "Well... the upper floor's been refurbished." He told Cecelia. "Azure and Peach were fantastic at helping me lay down the makeshift bedding into areas for the pegasi to sleep on... until we get another floor above the one there now for them." He told Cecelia.

"Does it have that capability?" Cecelia asked Mark.

"Well, not exactly, but it shouldn't be any harder to put one in, save the holes for the floor joists aren't pre-drilled at that level." Mark answered. "Put in the joists, put up the supports over the ones on the lower level, and then lay the floor. I've already ordered everything we need over the internet. The company that made the shed in the first place still stocks the floors as a package, so that made it easier. Their Darwin store should be shipping it out here no later than the Eighteenth." He gave Cecelia a one-armed hug. "Then, perhaps, we'll insulate the roof, too."

Cecelia nodded. "Maybe we should cultivate some of the soil around the shed. It would give the earth ponies something to do, and growing more food is always going to be a big help."

Mark nodded. "A very good idea. I'll pull that old rotary hoe out tomorrow and make up a few garden beds. I'll get some seed stocks from Katherine in the afternoon, and you and the ponies can start growing things." He smiled at Cecelia. "I'll call into Darwin on Monday and deposit the gold Stellar left us with the bank. That should make our manager sit up and take notice!"

"I'll bet!" Cecelia agreed, and they stood and watched as ponies peacefully grazed before them... before another lot appeared in the field beside them. "Here we go again..." Cecelia said as the ponies looked about nervously.

=======

The travellers looked up as there was a flash in the sky about five hours after Stellar had vanished. They saw the alicorn mare slowly spiralling down towards them, her red-and-gold armor retracting from over her purple fur as she drew close, then landing beside them and walking over towards them. Thunderlane rose and moved to greet her, as Flitter awoke Cloudchaser and Rumble.

Thunderlane saw the sorrow, anger and weariness in Stellar's face as he got close. "Welcome back, Beloved." He said to her, and lifted his head to nuzzle her as she lowered hers. "Was it as bad as you thought?" He asked.

Stellar sighed. "Yes... and a thousand times worse, as well." She said. "I have seen unicorns with their throats cut, pegasi with their wings almost torn off them. I saved one group of unicorns from being hanged; another one from being burned alive, thank Celestia I got there before the flames reached him." She shuddered. "I'll never forget the sound of his screams of panic, as the fire was being applied all around him..." She nearly sobbed aloud as Thunderlane nuzzled comfortingly at her face "I... I think I shifted over a thousand ponies to Mark and Cee-cee's property... I think I may have emptied the entirety of the Arabian peninsula and a good deal of the Middle East of its ponies. They're not as common here as elsewhere, if what I've seen and calculated out is the reality of our situation. Israel seemed to be one place where they weren't being persecuted, but in the Arab nations... " She shook her head. "I shudder to think what ponies are facing in Africa, if the Arab peoples are so supersticious of unicorns and pegasi."

Thunderlane stayed close as they walked back to the others. "I can't imagine what you faced, Love."

Stellar nodded. "I found all the pegasi seemed to have gathered on an island out in the Dead Sea." She told Thunderlane. "There's a kibbutz, the old-style type, not too far from it. The owners had changed into earth ponies, while their fathers, mothers, sons and daughters haven't changed." She chuckled. "I told the pegasi about it, and they all took off in one huge constellation, heading there. They promised me they'd pick up or redirect any other ponies they spotted to it." She smiled at the memory of the sight. "I just hope they'll be safe."

Thunderlane nodded. "I hope so, too." He agreed.

The Twins and Rumble welcomed Stellar back as she reached them, and they lay down with her for a while, as she recharged herself and had something to eat and drink. Rumble sat right up against Stellar and didn't want to leave her side as she rested, Thunderlane, Flitter and CloudChaser sitting facing her, offering silent support and comfort to her.

By the time they thought about resuming flying, it was late in the afternoon and Stellar was worrying about flying at night. "I hadn't anticipated us doing so," She told Thunderlane, "So I think we should bed down here for the night and resume in the morning. I don't want to run into any flights that might be heading elsewhere overnight."

"Yeah. The last thing we want is to run into any other aircraft in the sky." Thunderlane agreed. "I shudder to imagine the whole 'Pegasus-sucked-into-a-turbine thing."

Stellar winced, as the others made sounds of horror. "Ewww! I didn't need that in my head!" CloudChaser commented.

"Yeah, thanks, Thunderlane." Flitter added.

"Still, he is essentially correct." Stellar said. "That is the major thing we have to avoid up here."

"Still not nice to think about." Rumble's comment was quiet, but correct.

"Death never is, no matter how you contemplate it." Stellar agreed. But they bedded down for the night and rested under the light of the Moon as it rose in the east...

=======

Mark watched as Azure and Peach were working through the crowd of new ponies, taking names and pictures of cutie-marks. The count with the last batch Stellar had sent now numbered over a thousand, and Cecelia was lying in a field he'd just ploughed the surface of, as water sprayed over the surface, and grass was rising up out of the disturbed ground. He shook his head as gum saplings shot up into the air, becoming young trees in less than fifteen minutes. Earth ponies were watching and learning from her as she tapped the Earth's power, and they helped work with her to focus that power into generating new food for the sometimes-starving ponies. With night closing in on them, they were working to get the newcomers fed and bedded-down as painlessly as possible.

Mark looked at where the station's cattle were actually watching the ponies now, as they milled around the back-edge of the station's feed lots. Bullock and Pony occasionally interacted, sniffing at each other and Mark smiled as a young foal actually nuzzled one of the gelded male cattle, to a soft low from the bullock. The cattle were fattening up very nicely now on Cee-cee-grown grass. Although it always touched him to have to send the bullocks off to the markets, they were the livelihood of the station, and without funds, even with Stellar's incredibly-generous donation, there would be no chance of them keeping their home from bankruptcy. Mark was sure that Stellar's funds would allow them to finalise their mortgage and get their property out of the hands of the bank, but running costs, especially with so many other mouths to feed right now, would drive them under without a steady source of income. Mark was working out some of his other ideas, hopefully into full-blown profitable businesses, but it might take years for them to generate a good income. Until then, they'd have to do what Outback people did best: Tighten their belts and keep on keeping on.

Azure came up to Mark where he was standing, and the human sat down beside the pony and placed a hand on Azure's back. Azure smiled at Mark, who smiled back, and they sat together, watching their partners interact with the newcomers. "Do you think you and Peach might get married some day?" Mark asked Azure.

Azure chuckled. "If you and Cecelia can pull together so well, even with having over a thousand ponies get dumped on you... there might be hope for us both." He replied.

Mark just shook his head. "It's a good thing you guys aren't the size of full-blooded horses, or we'd never fit you all in the house paddocks." He sighed. "Now... to get you lot bedded down for the night."

As Mark, Azure, Cecelia and Peach started moving the massive herd towards the converted shed, a lot of the Stallions refused to leave. One who seemed to have taken on the role of spokespony told Azure ""

Azure saw that all the stallions there were nodding. "" He told them.

Cecelia was taking the foals and the few mares who either were their mothers or wanted to look after them to the bunkhouse. The mares settled on mattresses on the floor, while allowing the foals to pile onto the beds. Cee-cee counted forty-four foals under ten, and nearly sixty teenagers. Most of the over-fifteens told her that "" And stayed on the wide verandah.

Cecelia shrugged, but replied ""

They grinned and settled onto anything comfortable.

Cecelia was grateful there were no foals so young that they needed to nurse. Finding infant formula that would suit the off-world ponies could have proved a nightmare. She did put aside one room in the bunkhouse for five pregnant mares, who were most grateful for the accomodations. "" One said to her.

Cecelia, who found the concept of having one's pregnancy put on-hold for twenty-five years to be almost inconceivable, and somewhat diabolical, did her best to make them all comfortable. She did manage to guesstimate that only one of the mares might give birth within the next month, so that was a relief. "Hopefully, we can find a sympathetic doctor or vet before then." She said to herself. Then she heard the clip-clop of tiny hoofs behind her. Turning around, she saw a little foal following along behind her. Smiling, Cee-cee crouched down and looked the little one over. She found he was a colt, one of the youngest there at about three years old. He was an Earth Pony, too, and looked at her with big sad eyes. "" Cee-cee asked.

"" He replied.

Cee-cee gently ran her hand through his mane, making him whicker softly. "" She told him, and he brightened up immediately. "" Cee-cee asked him.

The colt thought about it as they walked up the stairs onto the house verandah. "" He answered, somewhat unsure.

Cee-cee actually picked him up. He seemed to weigh less than a big dog, so it didn't matter to her. Cee-cee had found her strength seemed to have increased quite a great deal since she'd gotten her cutie-mark and tapped into the Earth. She knew the reason Mark, who wasn't augmented, had manage to pick up the Twins the way he did was due to them being Pegasi. They could reduce their apparent weight using their magic. "" Cee-cee told Jumble. ""

Jumble's face lit up brilliantly as Cee-cee told him that, and he hugged into her as she cleaned her boots off, then walked inside.

By the time Mark, Azure and Peach returned to the house, both Cee-cee and Jumble had had a shower, and the little colt was eating the alfalfa pellets Stellar and the others had left behind out of a bowl on the floor beside the set table. The others didn't hesitate. Mark headed for the shower in their ensuite, as Azure and Peach headed for the main bathroom.

Two happy-but-tired couples settled down for the evening not that much later on. They were all tired out from dealing with their new guests. Mark settled in behind Cecelia, who had Jumble snuggled up in front of her. Mark chuckled. "He is really cute, isn't he?"

"All that and more, Love." Cecelia agreed.

Mark slid an arm over Cecelia and rested it atop Jumble's withers, and the little colt nickered softly at the reassuring touch. "I guess we're going to have to find out what it takes to adopt a foal then, won't we?" He asked Cecelia, knowing all-too-well her mood right then. If she hadn't grown attached to the colt, Jumble would be curled up in the dog-basket old Hacker used to sleep in, in the corner. No... with him on the bed, Cee-cee had definitely fallen for the colt's charms, and in a big way.

"You mean that?" Cecelia asked, her voice hopeful.

"Absolutely." Mark said to Cecelia. "We have two daughters who are ponies. Why not a colt for a son?" He asked.

Cee-cee's face lit up brilliantly and she kissed Mark hard, then turned back and settled as Mark turned off the bed-lights. Mark chuckled. He knew that only Jumble's presence was stopping Cee-cee from pouncing him there and then. They'd work something out... later.

Author's Note

Yay! I've broken the curse of Chapter Ten!
After many days of trying to get this chapter together (and doing others as well) It's finally ready for posting!

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Interlude - Cherry Blossoming 02

"Hi, it's me again, Cheryl. It's been another three days. I'm still stuck in here, in my apartment, but since my last entry, things have been going even wierder. The voices outside have stopped. There seems like there's no-one in the entire building now. No-one answers at all when I call out to them... I am starting to get seriously wierded out now. It's like the sense of placitude I'd built up before, as I changed, is dying away."

"I stll can't get out of my apartment. The boards are so solid that not even a good solid kick from my rear hoofs will even make them come the slightest bit loose. Even the windows here are mostly fixed solid, after they put air conditioning in five years ago."

"The thing is... I'm not sure if what I'm finding out is real... or I am going crazy. This morning, after smacking a hoof into my coffee table for the umpteenth time, I swore out loud and I wished to high heaven that I could see what was going on in my apartment... Then as I fumed harder than I'd ever done before becoming a pony, I felt a sensation from my horn, as if it was heating up a little. For the first time since I was nineteen... I saw a light. I ... SAW... a light! A glowing ball of energy that floated up from my horn... which I also could see! It was like my horn was a neon outline, and it sat there at the top of my vision, as this ball of light glowed. I tried to watch it, but when I focussed on it, it seemed to move... until it hit a wall. It slid along the wall to the corner, and I could almost feel it rolling onto the edge of the corner moulding. As it traced its way up the moulding... I could barely believe what happened. I still can barely believe what... I saw!"

"Over the course of twenty minutes... I directed this ball of light over every surface in the lounge room... and it traced an image of it into my mind, as if it was a tracer pen on one of those old CAD programs. Eventually, I could see all around me a three-dimensional image of my lounge room and everything in it... well, almost everything. I could see the picture frames, but the pictures in them weren't showing. I could see my television, but the images on it I still couldn't see, of course. But it was like the image was right in my mind. It vanished when I closed my eyelids, but came back, even if I turned around with my eyes shut. I guess I went a little hysterical for a minute or two, because... I still can't believe I did this... I bounced all around the room, laughing almost crazily. But I was doing something that had been denied me for years! I. CAN. SEE!!!"

"Even now, sitting here and saying this... I am still feeling the urge to squee and bounce in my chair. Eventually I learned how to put out more than one light-tracer, and I went over my entire apartment with them. It's not perfect, but it is so far above what I have had to live with for the last six years, that... it's good enough for the moment. It's made moving around in my little place so much easier, especially after I traced myself as well... The craziest thing is... I can see myself in a mirror. I don't know how the... how this thing really works, but when I stand in front of a mirror, I can see the reflection of my outline. And I really am a pony. I'm about four-and-a-half feet tall, four legs with hoofs, a long, straight tail and a long, straight mane with fringe and bangs, and what have to be the biggest eyes on a land mammal... that don't work. :P "

"I can see my horn now. It's not quite as big as I thought it was. It's not quite as wide at its base as my nose is, and it stands up just a little higher than my ears do. Oh, that's another thing. My ears are a lot bigger now, and my hearing has improved way beyond even how sensitive it was before I changed into... a unicorn. I have big eyelashes too, and my mane looks... well, more like hair in one way than a horse's mane. I guess it must be the way it's draped.. I kinda like it. I used to have short, curly hair that never grew long. I do like the look I have now a lot more. If it flares out, like hair does, I can almost see every strand lit up like it's made from neon fibres. Yeah... My face... what of it I can see, definitely does not look like any real-world horse I know. My eyes are MASSIVE! And my face is definitely orientated more towards the foreward view like a human's face is, more than a horse's, which has two sides and a small overlap at the front. And my front hoofs can turn and move about in ways no normal horse's forelegs can, as if they'd been given the dexterity of human wrists and forearms. Huh... maybe that's right. Maybe I am a hybridised equine-human. Definitely not bipedal, though. I can walk on my hind hoofs, but not for very long. I'm definitely orientated towards the Quadruped."

"I guess the only thing missing... is color. All of the outlines are in neon gold. The rest is just the normal black I used to see for six years, since my sight completely shut down. But I do remember colors. I don't know how accurate my memories are, but I can remember them, at least. Now if I can figure out how to fill in the black areas with color, then maybe I might be seeing things as close to the way I used to be able to when I could see like everyone else."

"And there it is again... I swear that I'm hearing the craziest things from outside my apartment. There's no sounds of human activity at all in the corridor, even the Pakistani voices have stopped. But I can hear... a chicken. I would swear on a stack of bibles that I can hear a chicken outside my apartment, moving up and down the corridor. Sometimes I can even hear the flapping of wings. But what the scariest thing is... if I move to the door and listen carefully, it approaches, pecks at the barrier, then it... it hisses at me, like a cat or a snake. It seems to know I'm in here, and it seems frustrated that it can't get to me. How wierd is that?"

"My phones are still out. I've tried contacting the phone companies over the Net, but it's really hard trying to do so when you can't see the screen. My audio interface is good, but it's not perfect. My document reader is good, too. I've managed to get my power and water switched over to auto-payments for the moment (I usually love to get out and pay them manually. It kept me from being a hermit... not like I have any choice now). I've even managed to master using the mouse with my new 'fingers'. With the new 'tracing' thing I have, I can see them now. They're strange to look at when they've been traced: not truly like the fingers I remember seeing, but there's still four of them and a thumb, which is good. And they do seem to 'retract' (if that's the right word for what they do) when I put my hoofs to the floor. No toes on my back hoofs, though, I found out when brushing my teeth this morning. I nearly skidded backwards on the tiled floor in the bathroom, but my front hoofs managed to grip the sink and keep me from faceplanting on the sink. I have to be more aware of my posture and stance when standing on my hind legs."

"There have been a smaller number of stories on the net and news about people turning into ponies, like I have, but they seem to be dwindling. But it's not like the stories' are just dying off as people get used to it. I can't even find references to stories or articles that were published before the present day. The net 'chatter' over it is also disappearing, as if it's being removed or censored. Even the 'Are you a pony?' style netgroups are fading away. I mean, you'd think people who've had this happen to them would be talking about it more. It can't be something that people around them are just saying 'Oh, you're a pony now? Okay.' and just ignoring it... Gods-damn it! This is one time in my life that I really NEED to be able to see what the hell's going on out in the world... and I can't. I spent a good half-hour kicking those damned boards across my doorway this afternoon, in sheer frustration. I managed to do it without hurting my hoofs or legs (a positive), I'm getting a lot better at doing it, too (another positive), I didn't budge them at all (sigh, a negative), but I think I scared that fucking chicken into flying off down the other end of the corridor, and maybe even down the stairs (a REAL positive!). Really. I mean, who keeps a chicken in an apartment building? It had to be the Pakistanis. Everyone else knows pets like that are verboten in the apartments here. Mr Askersley would have a screaming fit if he found you with a chicken in your apartment. Budgies and canaries, okay, but a chicken? He'd catch it and roast it."

"Mmm... found and opened a packet of that dried seaweed snacks you can get from some asian stores. The smell is wonderful and the taste! But I had one huge problem. One of the sheets got stuck along the top of my tongue, and it wouldn't peel off! That's another thing: my tongue is different than before as well. Obviously I have no trouble talking with it, but it kinda feels funny... or it did. And the only thing I have had trouble with when using my new fingers are scissors. I fumble badly when trying to use them, especially small pairs. Maybe they can't flex the same way... no, it's the 'palm' of my new 'hand', or my hoof. It's inflexible, so it can't close like my human hand could. So while I can use bigger pairs of scissors or shears, the smaller ones won't close completely, because I don't have the flexibility there to use them... or I haven't got the knack of it, yet. Maybe that's the problem. Still, it beats trying to use my teeth for everything... which I still do, occasionally. I'm sanitising everything that I may have to carry in my mouth. Really, I mean, yuck! But I do what I have to do. Which reminds me, where did I put that other tube of toothpaste?"

Author's Note

Okay! We see Cheryl's dilemma and transformation progressing...

Jump to top

11 - Travelling, Part One - Dark Duties

The sun was just starting to rise as Mark and Cecelia rose for the start of the new day. After doing their House checks, Mark and Cee-cee went out to check on the ponies. The stallions were stirring and stretching, the teenagers on the verandah walking out to get a drink from the troughs. Cecelia went to the bunkhouse to check on the foals and mares there, while Mark went to the stables and did the morning routine with the horses, fed the chickens and the pigs, then checked over the feedlots. By the time he got done with the normal routine for a morning, most of the ponies were out and about and munching on the regenerating grass, Cee-cee and the earth ponies helping it to grow properly. The foals and pregnant mares got bowls of pellets and oat cereals to help with their diet.

After breakfast, Mark loaded up the Landcruiser with the bags and a big trailer and got ready to head into Darwin. Azure jumped up into the passenger seat and made himself comfortable as well. "You coming too, Mate?" Mark asked.

"Sure." Azure said. "You might need a hand at the other end."

"I won't discourage you." Mark agreed, and after giving Cee-cee a big kiss good-bye, the pair headed off to the Northern Capital, as Darwin was sometimes known.

"So... been doing this long?" Azure asked as they headed down the long drive.

Mark chuckled. "Third generation stockman." He replied. "It's been in the family for decades now, but with the girls going away... not to mention being Ponies now, I'm not sure what's going to happen." Mark sighed.

"Ah. No son, so..." Azure stated.

"Yeah. Never got disappointed in the girls, though. They've proven they can be as tough as any boy could have been." Mark smiled to himself. "But somehow, I don't think this has changed things much, at least in regards to what's going to happen to our station. But if some of my new ideas pan out... we might have a business that ponies could take over and look after." Mark grinned. "Adapt and diversify. Isn't that the catchcry of the business world nowadays?" He asked Azure.

"I guess." Azure said back with slight uncertainty.

Mark chuckled. "Yeah. I wonder if Cee-cee got her abilities after carrying the Twins, or she's always had them?" He asked more to himself than to Azure. "I wonder if there's anyone who could tell?"

"Maybe Stellar could... her and her sister." Azure suggested. "If this Twilight is as powerful a mage as Stellar suggests she is, maybe together they can figure out how Earth is going to adapt to this... revelation of Magical talent."

"Yeah. I do know one thing: it's going to be something a lot of people are going to stay quiet about for a very long time." Mark told Azure. "There's going to be exploitation, jealousy, paranoia, government interference, outright attempts to control those with Magic or sequester them, and a lot of other things." He sighed. "I just hope that it doesn't end with us leaving this land for somewhere else."

"Yeah... say, maybe that's what happened to all the people in the world that could use magic, way back when and/or if it ever was prevalent." Azure suggested. "Maybe they all moved to Equestria, or opened portals to some other realities and left Earth for good."

"As good a theory as any." Mark agreed. "If it is the truth, hopefully History isn't going to repeat itself." He glanced at Azure. "As much as I would love to see Equestria once it's cleaned up, I don't know if I could live there permanently."

Azure sighed. "Yeah, I'm not sure I want to, either." He agreed with Mark. "But, if Peach wants to go back... I'll go with her. I just hope it's not because we're forced to, that's all."

"Yeah. Governments never seem to get that people never like being told what to do beyond a certain level of compliance. There's always a breaking point, and for a lot of people, it's all very different." Mark said as he did an end-run around a road train.

"Let's hope our government decides to be sensible..." Azure wished.

"Amen to that, Brother, amen to that."

=======

Cecelia was walking along through the paddocks, heading for the pool area. Little Jumble was trotting right beside her, a big smile on his face. He watched as Cee-cee started measuring up the pool enclosure's opening for gates. "" He asked in Equish.

"" Cee-cee explained.

"" Jumble asked as he walked to the side of the pool and looked in.

"" Cee-cee told Jumble, who looked up at her and turned to walk over to her again. "" She said to Jumble. "" She asked.

"" Jumble asked.

"" Cee-cee commented as she had Jumble move outside the enclosure. He even followed her around the feedlots, the cattle making way for Cee-cee as she moved through them, with Jumble staying very close to her. Cee-cee noticed the bullocks seemed to be better behaved than normal, not jostling her as she checked their tags and generally staying clear of bumping her, as Jumble stayed between her legs when Cee-cee was standing still.

Once they were outside the feedlots again, the checks on the cattle in just one of the four lots taking the best part of three hours, Cee-cee headed for the house again. She was feeling hungry, and she could guess that Jumble was feeling the same, as he'd been snacking on bits of grass here and there. "" Cee-cee asked Jumble.

"" Jumble answered.

"" Cee-cee told him with a smile.

"" Jumble replied as he pranced around Cee-cee, until they got to the verandah and headed inside. After the construction of several sandwiches and a salad, the pair headed out onto the verandah and sat, eating, as Cee-cee looked out over the back paddock. There were ponies settled around under the shade of the trees, some were out grazing, and many more were sitting in the big shed, just relaxing and coming to terms with their new/old lives, as Peach talked to them and helped them where she could.

Foals, fillies and colts also ran around in groups learning about themselves and their new/old bodies and learning what they were capable of, especially the pegasi. The younger ones saw Jumble sitting with Cee-cee, and they gathered around, looking at Cee-cee and wondering why Jumble was sitting with her all the time. Cee-cee hugged Jumble to her and told them. "" She explained in Equish.

"" They replied. "" Asked one of the older ponies.

"" Cee-cee asked.

"" The six-year-old filly replied, to lots of giggles from the others.

Cee-cee could barely stop herself from laughing out loud at what they'd said. "" She asked

"" The filly told Cee-cee.

Cee-cee shook her head. "" Cee-cee admonished her. "" That made the filly cringe away. "" Cee-cee asked her.

The filly thought for a second. "" She answered. Cee-cee urged her forward, then whispered in her ear. The filly's reddish-pink coat faded to a light pink around her face and neck as her eyes widened with fear. "" She asked Cee-cee.

Cee-cee nodded. "" Cee-cee told her, and she nodded.

"" The filly replied.

"" Cee-cee told all of them.

"" Another, even older filly asked.

"" She told the twelve-year-old filly. The older foals nodded, then many of them sat down on the verandah in the shade and relaxed together, around Cee-cee and Jumble.

=======

It was close on three hours after leaving their station that Mark and Azure got into Darwin. Mark went around to the branch of his bank and waited for it to open. As they sat there, waiting, they saw a commotion up ahead. It looked as if a number of people were blockading a shopfront in a small mall off the street. "What do you suppose that's about?" Azure asked Mark.

"Maybe you can tell me." Mark said. "Any Ponyfolk in there?" He asked.

Azure lit up his horn, then nodded. "I can sense... Four... No, five ponies in there. Three earth ponies, a pegasus and another unicorn." He answered Mark.

Mark sighed. "Okay, then. I'm going for a walk up there." He told Azure. "Stay cool and stay hidden. Your spells in place?"

Azure nodded. "I renewed them this morning before we left."

Mark slipped Azure's headset in place over his head, and got the UHF handset from its mount. "I'll call you if I need your help." Mark told him as he opened the driver's door.

"I'll be ready." Azure said back.

Mark nodded and moved off, casually strolling down the footpath. He reached the entrance to the small mall and looked in. There were about forty people all standing across the shopfront of a vet's office. He walked towards them and as soon as they saw him, they started getting in his face. "Hey! What gives?" He asked them all.

"Why are you going in there?" One lady asked him.

"I need some dog-wash for my girls, and they carry the brand I prefer." Mark answered. "The supermarket ones don't do a good job."

They looked at him suspiciously. "What sort-of dogs?" They asked.

"Border collies." Mark answered without hesitation. "Here." And he got out his phone and showed them some pics of the dogs he used to own, before they passed on. There were a number of smiles and pleasant noises. "So, what gives with this blockade?" Mark asked.

"They've got some of those weird little ponies in there." One of the ladies said.

"We heard over the radio that they used to be people, changed by some kind-of weird plague." One of the men added. "You're not supposed to have them out in public, because they could be contagious."

Mark snorted. "Sounds to me like you've been listening to the chat shows." He told them.

"And you've got better information?" One of the other men asked.

"Listen... I know someone in the Queensland Police. He's my nephew. And he got the word directly from the people in ASIO and the CSIRO." He told them.

"Yeah?" A number of them asked.

Mark nodded, then showed them a picture Curtis had given him from his graduation parade, with Jessie beside him. "Here, this is my nephew Curtis and his partner, Jessie."

The crowd grew a little less hostile as they realised Mark was on the up-and-up. "So, what did he tell you they told him?"

"Okay. Yes, the ponies used to be humans." Mark confirmed. "But what they have is not contagious. If you live with someone and they start showing the symptoms, don't worry about isolating them, because this can't be 'caught' by just anyone. There's extenuating circumstances that means this can't effect anyone who hasn't had it for years already." He explained to them. "Think of it more as a genetic condition than a disease, and you're very close to the truth."

One man snorted. "So... what do we do with them, then?"

"Okay, this thing doesn't change the fact that there's still a person under the admittedly-vibrantly-colored fur. They're not fully animals, there's still a person inside them." Mark explained. "So listen to them. They're still fully-capable of thinking and talking like they did before this happened."

"What about eating only vegetables?" One woman asked.

"Well, that's only natural." Mark answered her. "Their bodies are Equine in nature, so they will eat mostly vegetables and fruits."

"What about the ones with wings? And the ones with horns?"

"The ones with wings are called Pegasi." Mark replied. "And yes, they can learn to fly with them." That got a lot of chatter. "The ones with horns are, as you might have guessed, are being termed 'unicorns'. And they can use them, too. If you do find one that's upset or angry, they might accidentally fire off a burst of their power, so it's best to keep them calm and content."

"So they're dangerous?" One woman asked.

"Well, so are you with a gun in your hands." Mark said, to nods and chuckles. "The most important thing is that most of them will have no idea what they're doing at first, especially if they're freaking out about changing. So just try to keep them calm and rational. Once they've been changed for a while, and they get used to being the way they are, then they'll start to sort things out."

The crowd looked a lot more thoughtful. "So, you know this how?" The man who'd asked him if he had better information asked again.

"I've lived through this." Mark said. "My brother turned into a unicorn." That got some real looks at him. "And as you can see, I am not growing a tail or wings either." He said with a grin.

The man frowned. "Prove it." He demanded.

Mark nodded and lifted the UHF handset to his face. "Hey, Allan Bro, you want to come over and meet the people here? A few words might help them see that you're nothing to be afraid of."

"Sure, Mark. Be there in a moment... uh, could you unlock the door? I can't grip the lock." Azure replied.

Mark face-palmed as the crowd chuckled. "Sure." He pulled the keys out and unlocked the doors, then locked up again once Azure was outside. "As you can see... there's still problems to be sorted out." Mark told them, as Azure walked along the footpath towards them, crossing the road at the crossing. He had a small bag around his neck, and inside was his wallet and other things. Cecelia had managed to put this together for him before they'd left, and he was most grateful that she had.

As Azure reached them, he waved with a hoof. "Hey everyone." He said, having relaxed the Wallflower spell for the moment.

"Everyone, this is my brother, Allan." Mark said. "I know it's him, because I was there with him throughout his change. My wife was also there." He stated.

"G'day." Azure said to them, smiling. The protesters gathered around the two of them, firing off questions at a fast pace, but Azure and Mark handled the questions easily.

It took the best part of an hour, but eventually a lot of the protesters left, and Mark and Azure were able to enter the vet's office. Inside, they found a number of very worried staff and other people, a trio of earth ponies and a pegasus sitting with those that were their parents or, in one case, a husband. "G'morning, everyone." Mark said as he closed the door behind them.

The ponies' faces lit up when they saw Azure. They walked over to him and started chatting, while Mark sat down with the people. "So... seems like everyone here has at least one thing in common." He said to them.

"Who's that?" One of them asked. "Your wife?"

"No, my brother." Mark answered. "But he wasn't the only family I had change on me. My daughters and my nephews all changed as well." He told them.

That got a lot of startled looks. "So, how many more of us are going to start changing?" One woman asked.

"Look, if you're over twenty-five, forget it. You won't change." Mark told them.

"And you know this, how?" One of the men asked.

"How old was your son when he started changing?" Mark asked. "Wasn't it exactly the day of his birthday he got the mark on his hips?"

"How did you...?" The man asked.

"I've had five of my family members and Allan's wife change almost exactly at the same time." Mark said. "And for each of them, it started exactly to the minute of the time they were born twenty-five years ago. Even Cathy, Allan's wife, was the same, and she started changing ten days after he did, the minute she turned twenty-five." Mark told them all. "So, if you're over twenty-five, you're safe."

That got a lot of relieved looks on the people's faces. "So... is there a way to change them back?" One woman asked hopefully.

"Sorry to dash your hopes, but no." Mark said. "I've been told by an expert in all things Pony that it's permanent. Once the change starts, there's no going back."

"And how do they know that?" The man asked.

"Because she changed as well." Mark answered. "She knows more about this than almost anyone else on the planet, and she told us that the change is permanent."

While Mark knew he was fudging the facts a little, it felt safer to claim Azure as his brother than as a random-but-good friend. And claiming Peach/Cathy was Azure's 'wife' wasn't that far from the truth. But the relevant and vital facts were being passed on without distortion, and that was the main thing.

Meanwhile, Azure was answering some very important questions...

= = = = =

"Oh yes, hoof care is very important." Azure told Climbing Rose, one of the earth pony mares. "But any of the products they make for smaller horses do us just as well. Also, the rules for caring for your hoofs the humans have discovered are still true for us: make sure you keep checking them regularly for anything stuck inside between the frog of your hoof and the wall, and watch for cracks in the top of the hoof-wall. Keep them painted and you'll find the heat won't dry them out."

"But does the paint have to be black?" Jasmine Buds asked. "It clashes with my coat."

"There's clear paint you can get. A lot of produce stores carry it these days." Azure informed her. "Hey... I wonder if they'll start making coloured hoof paint soon? Imagine it, with all the colours of nail polish. I bet you mares would like that."

The mares giggled and nodded. "It would be nice." Climbing Rose agreed.

"What about horse shoes?" The male pegasus, Star Shadow, asked. "I don't know if I could stand getting them nailed into my hoofs. And wouldn't they be too heavy?"

"You can get aluminium shoes made. They use them for racehorses." Azure answered. "And as for nailing them in, you can get them stuck on these days. Adhesives are strong enough to allow such. Or, you could do what I'm getting made over the Internet: A set of slip-on-lock-on boots that fit over my hoofs with built-in shoes on them." He explained. "I'll give you the site if you're interested. They also make some with hard-rubber bottoms for indoor wear, if you're worried about your hoofs scratching wooden floors or damaging carpet."

"Almost like slippers." Jasmine Buds commented.

"Very much so." Azure agreed. "Oh, and keep your hoofs trimmed and neat, too. If they're trimmed at the wrong angle, it can lead to all sorts of nasty complaints for your legs, like walking in really high heels can really hurt your tendons and ankles as a human... but these you can't take off and give your legs a rest. So find a good farrier and establish a good rapport with them. If they're worth their salt, they won't care that you can talk, and it should make a pleasant difference to their day." Azure grinned.

"That's one of the reasons we came here." The earth pony stallion, Silent Stride, told Azure. "My... err... well, partner and I were hoping to find resources like that." He said, looking sad.

Azure put a hoof to his withers. "Don't tell me: You went from female human to stallion, right?" He asked.

Stride nodded. "Yeah. It's made things... really awkward."

Azure nodded. "I can understand that." He patted Stride gently. "If things get too bad, I know a place you can go where they will help you... I hope it doesn't come to that, but you're not alone. There are actually others who have had the same problem... although, most were guys turning into mares, which seems more common, but there are a few others like yourself."

Stride turned and looked at the man who had been giving Mark a bit of a hard time, then sighed. "I think it might come to that." He admitted, looking back to Azure. "Jacob's very 'old-school' in his opinions, and pretty religious, too. I don't think he's coping with having his wife turn into a male, let alone a male Pony." He looked sad, as the mares moved to comfort him. He smiled at them both. "Thanks." He told them as they pressed themselves against him and nuzzled him softly.

"No-one deserves to be treated badly, no matter the circumstances." Jasmine said.

Stride looked back at his... partner, then back to Azure. "Do you think you have room for one more on your trip home?" He asked.

"I think that can be arranged." Azure answered with a smile. "Do you have much in the way of belongings?"

"A bit... but nothing major. After all, furniture's made for Humans, not us."

"That'll change soon, too." Azure stated. "Okay. I'll talk to Mark, but consider it a done deal.

"Thanks." Silent Stride said, sounding relieved.

Then Azure's horn-tip lit up again, as he felt somepony was probing the waiting room. He replied with a gentle pulse of mana and was rewarded a few seconds later by the sound of hoofs on the sprayed-concrete floor. Azure smiled as another unicorn, a mare this time, came out of the back and, upon seeing him, walked slowly up to him. "Hello." He said with a calm voice and a warm smile.

"He... Hello." She replied.

"I'm Azure Tracks." Azure introduced himself, holding out a hoof, as he saw a male human coming down the corridor from the back.

"I'm Melody Lane." She replied, as she touched hoofs with Azure.

"Pleased to meet you, Melody." Azure said to her, as the male human stopped behind her.

"This is my husband, Roger." Melody introduced the male human.

"A pleasure." Azure looked up at Roger, holding out a hoof.

Roger had been frowning a little as Azure was talking to Melody, but when Azure addressed him and held out a hoof, he was a little relieved to crouch down and shake Azure's hoof. "Yes, a pleasure." He said.

"Good to see you're already a little experienced with us Ponies, Roger." Azure said to him.

"Well, I am fully-qualified in dealing with horses and normal ponies so, strictly physically-speaking, there's not that much difference between you Ponies and normal ones." Roger informed Azure. "Of course... well, unicorns and pegasi aren't exactly within my normal field, but the body is basically the same. The rest, we're still learning about."

Melody smiled. "I was studying to be a veterinarian myself, before this happened, and I have some of the weirdest memories about working with other ponies." She told Azure. "But the medical knowledge I've managed to remember seems to be very accurate so far."

Azure nodded. "There's a reason for that." He told her, then gathered everypony there around him. With them hanging on every word, Azure explained to them their Equestrian origins and about Discord.

"So... The reason I can remember about Pony-specific stuff is that..." Melody looked around at the others there, "We were all Ponies before we were born as Humans."

Azure nodded. "Yes. I cannot express how important this fact is to us all, once we've Changed." He looked at the others. "You have to come to terms with your inner selves: the Pony you were, the Human you were and the Pony you are now. As I found out, you have to reconcile your previous lives with one another and accept that they are both a part of you, as you are now. Once you can do that, you'll find you'll be a lot more comfortable with who and what you are now, and you can fully begin living your lives again." He looked at Climbing Rose and Jasmine Buds. "Some of us here have already done so, I can tell." He grinned at them, and they grinned back. "The rest of you... Take some time out to think it over, and search your inner feelings."

"Is it hard?" Star Shadow asked.

"It's as hard or as easy as you make it, Shadow." Azure told the sky-grey pegasus stallion. "But it's a wondrous feeling when we finally come to terms with ourselves and realise that we are who we are, now. We don't have to leave what we were behind, the experiences and memories of us as Humans are not just to be discarded like they're no longer relevant. They're always going to be a part of us... and we have to become whole again, to be ready to either face this world we are on as equal with Humanity, or to return to Equestria again and face what's there."

= = = = =

Mark looked at the man who was looking at Silent Stride with a scowl on his face. He was the one who'd asked if Azure had been his wife. "I take it this change has made things... complicated for you and yours?" He asked in a soft, sympathetic tone.

The man swung his head to glare at Mark, but then his face softened and he sighed sadly. "Yeah, you got that right." He replied.

"Mark." Mark introduced himself, holding out a hand.

"Jacob." Jacob replied, taking Mark's hand and pumping it three times, before letting go.

"Want to talk about it?" Mark asked. "I take it that the dark-grey stallion was your wife, by what you asked about Azure?"

Jacob glared again at Mark, but nodded. "You said you had Family change as well?" He asked.

Mark nodded. "My daughters, my nephews, and my brother Allan." He gestured to Azure.

Jacob nodded again, then asked "How do you cope?"

"They're still the person they were, inside their new/old bodies." Mark explained to Jacob. "Admittedly, Stride's a stallion now, but he was before as well, and spending twenty-five years as a human female probably won't have changed her that much." He sat back. "From what my wife and I have learned from watching our daughters is that their core personalities aren't that much different from the human they were to the ponies they are now." He told Jacob. "They both show the same personality traits they did before, in most ways. Sarah's still the organised and more mature one, while Sharrah's still a little more scatterbrained and wants to be snuggled more. That didn't change. Admittedly, they haven't changed gender, either, but if you look closely at Stride, you'll probably find out his personality and that of him as a human female are pretty much the same still... with maybe a little bit of adjustment for the gender switch.”

"Will they ever return to who they were?" Jacob asked Mark.

Mark sighed. "That's just it: They were Ponies long before they were re-born as Humans. As I said, what we're seeing here isn't the start of a curse, it's the end of one that's run its course, and they're now reverting to the ponies they were originally." He told Jacob, as the others listened. Mark shook his head. "l know it makes things extremely difficult... but it's not their fault. It's not your fault, either. Only one of those changed so far has had any idea that this was going to happen before it did, or any real memories of who they were before they were sent here. The memories of their lives as humans are still there, with them; but nothing any of them could ever do can change time back again. They're as stuck with this as we are."

Jacob listened to Mark, then looked at Silent Stride. Closing his eyes one more time, he thought for a minute or two, then rose and approached Stride. Leaning down, Jacob softly said something in his ear, then turned and walked out of the waiting room.

Stride shuddered as he watched Jacob leave, then hung his head and big tears starting to flow from his eyes as Rose and Jasmine hugged him, trying to comfort the big stallion. Azure and Shadow put hoofs on Stride's shoulders as well, and eventually Stride stopped crying. "Thanks." He said to all of them there, then he looked at Azure. "I'll be taking that ride with you." Stride told Azure, who nodded in reply.

Mark rose and moved to Roger. "Hey... interested in a really big job that we'll pay you well for?" He asked.

Roger chuckled. "Thanks, we could use it." He said. "We haven't had many customers since... Melody changed, to be honest."

Mark smiled. "I have over a thousand Ponies staying on my property. Some of them have been badly abused and neglected, and I'd like you to check them over, if that's not too hard."

"Whoa! You weren't kidding when you said it was going to be a big job." Roger said.

Mark nodded. "They're all refugees from Middle-east countries. Some of them... well, you can imagine as to what was being done to them." He said to Roger.

Roger frowned. "Yeah, I can imagine." He replied in an angry tone.

Mark smiled. "They're doing okay, but we also have five pregnant mares, one possibly due any day. It would probably be a good idea of you could come down soon." He suggested.

Roger looked at Melody, who nodded, then he smiled back at Mark. "Tomorrow be okay?"

"Sure." Mark grinned. "See you in the morning, then? We'll spring for lunch and dinner, if you like."

"That would be perfect." Roger said back. "We'll see you bright and early, then."

Mark nodded, then noticed the time. "Can I leave Azure here for a little while? I have to take care of some business across the road." He asked Roger.

Roger frowned. "Is your brother... you know, a gentlemale? He seems to be getting a little close to Melody." He expressed his concerns, but was surprised when Mark just chuckled.

"Don't worry about my brother, Roger. He's already got himself somepony special." Mark told Roger.

Roger blinked, then breathed a sigh of relief "So, he's not on the hunt for a... What would you call it?" He asked Mark.

"If they're young enough, it's a filly-friend, or at their age, a mare-friend." Mark explained. "Males are colt-friends. But Azure has a mare-friend called Peach Delight, back on my station. And while it's not forbidden for a stallion to have more than one mare, I don't think my brother's in the market for another mare while he's pursuing the one he loves most." Mark reassured Roger, who nodded.

Roger sighed with relief. "Then we'll see you tomorrow."

Mark nodded, then got up and walked to Azure. "Hey, Azure, I'm heading over to the bank. If you want to stay here and enjoy the company, I'll pick you up later."

"Sure, Mark." Azure replied. "Everypony here could use some more conversation and information."

"Then I'll be back in a while, Bro. Stay safe and call me if there's any trouble."

Azure nodded to Mark, and after Mark said farewell, to everyone there, he went out and headed back to the Landcruiser. He had a date with his bank manager...

=======

Stellar slowly came awake on the cloudbank they'd rested on as dawn breached the horizon behind them. Her dreams had started troubled, but a comforting presence seemed to help her sleep better and she was most grateful for it, whatever... or whomever it was. It felt familiar to her, although she couldn't say for sure if it was Luna she'd felt. However, it had helped her sleep, and she felt that all of her mana capacity had regenerated as well, so she was ready to face the day.

The first thing Stellar did as she sat up was check their position. She frowned at what she saw on the GPS screen: They'd drifted almost half-way back to India overnight. "Ah well, it's not like I expected the clouds to stay still, not without Pegasus control, at least." She looked around at the sleeping ponies about her, a soft, loving smile coming out on her face as her gaze fell on them all, but especially Thunderlane and Rumble.

Rumble yawned, stretched, then his pretty eyes popped open, to see Stellar almost nose-to-nose with him. Squeeing, he moved his head forward and they nuzzled lovingly. "Good morning, Little Bro." Stellar said softly to Rumble.

"G'Morning, Big Sis." Rumble replied, as Stellar kissed the top of his muzzle, getting another squee from Rumble. "What are we doing today?" He asked.

"Hopefully getting to the States today." Stellar replied, as she opened her bags and started laying out breakfast. Rumble grabbed a granola bar and started munching on it, as Thunderlane yawned widely and scratched at his flank. "Good morning, Beloved." Stellar said to Thunderlane as he lifted his head to hers.

" G'Morning, Love." Thunderlane replied, a good bit of sleep still in his voice as he nuzzled Stellar tenderly. "So, we still where we were?"

"Not even close, Love." Stellar answered. "We're back near India again." She informed Thunderlane.

"Yeesh... yeah, pretty much what I thought would happen when I felt the weather last night." Thunderlane said as he rose and shook himself out. He settled his wings and moved to nuzzle Stellar again, as Flitter groaned and Cloudchaser let go a foot-wide yawn as she shivered. The twins moved slowly, their bodies still waking up, as they headed for what Stellar had provided for their morning meal.

"So, you think we can make the States today?" Flitter asked.

"That's the plan." Stellar replied. "I'm hoping to get there around dusk. We can rest near New York, then head inland tomorrow to where Twilight is, and meet up with the others there." Then she shivered all over, a feeling of wrongness coming from somewhere...

"Something wrong, Stellar?" Thunderlane asked.

"I'm not sure." Stellar replied. "I've got a... a nagging feeling something is very wrong, somewhere along our path." She looked to the West, then sighed. "Hopefully, it's something we can avoid by just going around it... but I have a nasty suspicion that it's something I'm going to have to deal with, before we reach where we're going."

Thunderlane nodded. "Then get some breakfast into you, Love. We need you at full-strength if we're going to be dealing with problems as well as travelling." He counselled Stellar.

Stellar gave Thunderlane a warm smile. "Good advice, as always, Beloved." She replied to Thunderlane, before nuzzling him. They settled down with the others to eat, as the Sun fully emerged behind them. Good conversation and some funny moments ameliorated Stellar's feelings of worry, but the feelings that something was wrong never completely left her. However, she did not let it ruin the morning for everypony else. Breakfast was not the time to be concerned with anything more than making sure everypony was fed and happy.

= = = = =

Taking off had been easy for the practical... but filing a new flight plan from India through to Spain had been a pain, even with a laptop and sat-phone connection to the World-wide Traffic-control system. But it took them less than an hour to fly from India to the Arabian Peninsula once again. Stellar's uneasiness grew, however, the closer they got to Europe, for a reason that hadn't made itself clear as yet. She was trying her best to keep this from the others as they flew along, the bright day making sightseeing perfect for the four pegasi and one alicorn... if Stellar could just shake the feelings of dread that creeped at the edge of her prescient vision.

Stellar led the group north-north-west up over the Red Sea, towards the coast of Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. She was getting very disturbing feelings from her prescient vision as they headed along... as well as a part of her she rarely felt and was definitely not comfortable with. But if it was acting up, she knew what that meant all too well...

Stellar looked back at the others. "We might be taking a couple of diverts in the next few hours. There's some things I'm going to have to look over... for various reasons."

The four looked back at Stellar, their faces showing concern, especially Thunderlane's. "Whatever you feel is necessary, Stellar. We're here to support you." He told her, and the others nodded.

Stellar smiled back at them. "Thanks, my friends." She sighed as she turned to look forward again as they crossed the mouth of the Suez Canal below them. "I'm not sure what we're going to find... some of it could be good, some of it could be very bad... but I am not going to put you in any danger, not if I can keep you out of it." She reassured them. "But there are things I have to do here... and some of them are nowhere near as pleasant as what we've done up until now. So, if I tell you to stay back and stay safe... please understand: it's because I don't want to see you harmed in any way."

Thunderlane and the others nodded in response. "We understand, Stellar. Just realise... we all want to help you, too."

Stellar smiled to herself. "I know. If I need you, or even if I just want you close to me, you'll be the first to know." She assured them.

= = = = =

They approached the island of Cyprus after an hour of travel, and Stellar led them down to a deserted town on the coast. It looked as if no-one had been here in decades, as the buildings slowly aged and crumbled. Thunderlane was feeling grim as their hoofs touched down, and the Twins shivered as Rumble moved to under Stellar, as she looked about. "I smell Death..." Thunderlane said in a soft, cautious voice.

"Yes, you do." Stellar confirmed. She looked down at Rumble and moved him to her back as she started moving forward, towards a pile that sat out in an open courtyard. Only the slightest sigh of a breeze floated across the five Ponies as they walked together.

Then Thunderlane saw something in the pile of what he realised were ashes. "Oh no..." He said, choking up, as the Twins squeaked, eyes wide in horror.

Rumble buried his face in Stellar's mane as she shivered slightly. "Yes, you see correctly, Beloved." Stellar told him and the others. "And these were not dead when this was done, either.

"Celestia preserve them..." Flitter said as she, too, realised what they saw. Cloudchaser moved back and tried to hide behind her sister, as Stellar lifted Rumble from her back.

"Stay with your brother, Little Bro." Stellar told Rumble. "This is no place for you while I have to do this."

"Uh-huh." Rumble nodded, moving beside Thunderlane, who covered him comfortingly with a wing.

Stellar moved forward to the edge of the pyre and opened her huge wings. She started chanting softly as a crystal vessel emerged from a H-S pocket. The cold pyre started to glow with many different colors, as Stellar invoked ancient magic in a language much older than even Equussese. Her purple fur and dark-blue mane took on the grey-and-black color of ash as small motes of multi-colored light emerged from the ashes and moved up before her. Her eyes glowed darkly, and her horn's glow was nearly black as the motes moved to the crystal decanter and slid down into it, the decanter glowing with a dim, grey essence.

The other four Ponies saw there were intact bones in the pile of ashes, including several skulls, that showed that all the tribes were present; even the Crystal Ponies were there, by the look of one skull. A curved horn showed the presence of a Thestral Sabrehorn, while there were several unicorns as well, their horns cut off obviously by saws. There were even two Griffon skulls amongst the Ponies, their beaks making them very obvious. Thunderlane was grim-faced and held Rumble close, as Flitter quietly muttered prayers to the Celestial Deities for the dead.

Once the motes were captured, Stellar corked the decanter and put it away; her fur, mane and tail returning to the usual lustre as the enchantment died away. Then the pyre started to move, swirling under her influence as her horn lit up brilliantly with Light magic. The ashes and bones separated themselves out into groups: separating the bones and ashes out by sub-species. As the Four watched, Stellar started one lot grinding down much finer, the bones being crushed into powder. One lot began solidifying, changing into stone; another one eventually changed into what looked like a crystal horn-like spire, with fluting running around it in a spiral pattern.

Now that the remains were ready, Stellar took out a small, black-covered book and opened it. She started reading out-loud as she disposed of the objects, reading from the service that all Ponies' remains were buried to...

The finely-ground remains curled up into a disc that shot high into the air, until it reached a hundred-thousand feet up; there it halted and blew apart, the remains of the Pegasi, Night-Wings and the Griffons dispersing into the air.

The stone containing the ashes of the Unicorns and Sabrehorns moved to where Stellar's magic lifted a tall column of earth and concrete from the ground and it slid reverently into the hole, the column lowering down over it again. The earth was rammed down into the hole, levelling out and receiving the concrete cap, which sealed back into place.

The crystal spire with the remains of the Crystal Ponies turned upside down, moving to a section of stone that went very deep. It started spinning fast, making a noise like an ethereal drill, until it flashed down and drilled right down into the stone, a cloud of dust rising as it moved down faster than any earthly drill could manage. The stone-dust was captured and returned to the hole once the drill's noise had ceased, and solidified into stone again.

Finally, the only group of unmodified remains was reverently buried in the soft earth, a concrete marker sitting up behind the plot of ground as Stellar sprinkled some of the earth into the grave. The Four also moved then, copying Stellar as they said a traditional phrase of final goodbye to those Earth Ponies and Nightwalkers lost and far from home soil. Then Stellar shifted the rest of the soil into the hole and tamped it down well.

Stellar slid the book away again, then turned and looked to the south, towards the buildings in the near distance. Thunderlane could see the tears streaming from her eyes, but it was the look of sheer rage she had in her eyes that made him back the others away. Stellar snapped her wings open once they were a good distance behind her, the Solar Disc on her cutie mark blazing with fire. Her mane and tail ignited with flames as she roared out her rage, her horn blazing like the Sun as she reared up, then she fired a massive ball of brilliant red light at the tallest building there as her hoofs hit the ground again.

The ball crashed into the building... and it vaporised. The red plasma fire blasted out sideways, melting two adjoining buildings into puddles of liquid concrete and steel, as other buildings also caught alight almost instantly. Only after thirteen buildings were destroyed, did Stellar shoot into the sky and move over them. With a shout, all the flames, heat and light raced into the air and back to her. Then she fired them off into the sky above, where they exploded out harmlessly. She then returned to the others, who were cringing behind Thunderlane.

Thunderlane was as steady as a rock, though. He knew Stellar would never hurt them... and better she take out her anger on empty buildings, than on inhabited ones. "Feeling better?" He asked as Stellar reached them.

Stellar took in a very deep breath, then slowly released it. "Enough to continue." She said, as the sound of sirens came from far off. "Come. Let's fly on. There's still a lot of the day left, and a great deal of ground and sea to cover."

The pegasi nodded, Rumble even coming up to Stellar and receiving a feathered hug and a soft kiss on the head, as Stellar smiled at him lovingly. They them all headed skyward again and turned to the west, Stellar's ramjet wrapping around them and propelling them on. In seconds, they were out of sight of the humans who turned up, hearing the explosion and fearing the worst, only to find missing and destroyed buildings, as cold as if they'd burned years before.

= = = = =

"What was the decanter for?" Thunderlane asked Stellar on their private channel.

"To hold their souls, until we can return them to Equestria." Stellar replied.

Thunderlane's eyes widened. "Can... you DO that?" He asked, incredulous.

Stellar snorted with a smile. "Obviously." She answered smugly, then her face fell again. "Both Twilight and I received training from the Royal Morticians in conducting funerals, to help Celestia and Luna by taking their place at smaller, individual ceremonies and remembrance days. We both also received training in dealing with the souls and remains of Ponies lost far from Equestria. Since we don't know if there is truly a portal here back to Home, it is one of my duties to find and keep safe all the Pony souls I find, until they can be returned Home for delivery to those who will take them to their final rest." Stellar explained. "There is no connection to the Afterlife here that I can sense, so the souls of those who die will dwell near their remains until they are found and transported Home. I will not leave them to whatever fate awaits them on this world; they have as much right to go Home as the living have, and so they will return with us to their final rest."

Thunderlane nodded. "I never realised how complex and diverse your duties can be, Stellar Love."

Stellar nodded. "The duties of a Princess can encompass every aspect of a Pony's life, from birth to death, if it has to. Otherwise, we interfere as little or as much as is needed, and only to the least degree as is necessary. A Pony's life can be complicated enough without us interfering more than is truly needed."

Thunderlane looked at Stellar. "I don't envy you..." He remarked.

Stellar smiled. "I would be worried if you did." She simply replied. "But if I don't do this... who would? I will not let the souls of those who are my charges be left to wither and fade on this sorry world. No-one deserves to die far from their final reward... or punishment. Not even the most evil of Ponies deserves to be lost forever. I would not wish that on even Sombra. For all he was evil, for all the evil he did... he was still a Pony."

Thunderlane could only nod and think as they soared across the ocean towards Crete and Greece...

Author's Note

Yay! I finally got a new chapter done.

This was the first part of a much bigger chapter, but when it passed 15,000 words, i decided it needed to be broken up into two. So you get this part delivered whole and ready to be read.

I hope everypony who's been waiting enjoys some more interaction with Mark and Cee-cee, as well as our regular five-some. Hopefully the next half won't take so long this time...

Jump to top

12 - Travelling, Part Two - Light in the Darkness

It was close to eleven in the morning by the time Mark got out of the bank. His branch's manager had been... a little overwhelmed by the amount of gold coins Mark had brought in to be credited to the family's account. But at least they could handle the bullion, since fossikers often brought their finds in to be assessed and processed. The gold being in coin form just made weighing them and assessing their purity much easier, if they ignored the strange markings, which included Celestia's profile on one side. By the time Mark exited the bank, the mortgage on Deep Waters Cattle Station was well and truly paid out and their bank account balance was much healthier.

Mark chuckled to himself as he crossed the street, heading for Roger and Melody's office. "I have never seen that asshole so flustered before... but at least he jumped right on processing the Bits, as Stellar called them." He said to himself in a soft voice. He promised to buy Cecelia something special for tonight, and maybe a little gift for Jumble as well. He moved to the vets' office and saw there were more people outside... but these people looked a lot less like the protesters. Most looked like the parents of older offspring; they gave him a smile as he passed them and opened the door... to a cacophany of chatter. Mark blinked with surprise, then headed in.

Inside, Mark found about thirty more Ponies there now, as well as the six that were there before. They were sitting around, chatting, as Azure Tracks explained things to the newcomers, and Melody gave them preliminary checks before they went down the hall to Roger's examination room. She was writing a lot more clearly, by the little notes that hung around some of the Ponies' necks by lanyards. Mark appreciated why many of the people were standing outside: the Ponies took up a lot of room, even if they were only about four foot high on average. Mark saw Silent Stride standing over in a corner, as he stood a full head higher than even the unicorn or pegasi stalllions. He saw Mark, his face lit up, and he made his way through the throng over to where Mark just sat down. "Uh, hi." Stride said as he reached Mark, who gestured him closer.

"Heya, Stride." Mark replied. "How are you handling things now, Mate?"

Stride sighed, looked down at the floor, then shook himself all over. "A bit better." He finally answered. "I'm still getting... getting used to being on my own, let alone with being a Pony." He looked at Mark. "Azure Tracks says that you have over a thousand Ponies staying on your station?"

Mark nodded. "Yes, we do." He said back. "Most of them are refugees from the Middle East, sent to us by our friend, Stellar Light Sparkle." Mark shook his head. "They were in such trouble, and we couldn't help but want to help."

Stride nodded. "Azure said you have room for one more?" He asked.

Mark smiled and nodded. "Sure. We won't leave any Pony out in the... well, the relative 'cold'." Mark told Stride.

Stride nodded as well. "So... if they're from the Middle East, how can you talk to them?" He asked.

"Stellar told us that Ponies have their own unique language, called Equish." Mark explained. "Apparently all Ponies know it, even if they don't remember it straight away. " Mark said the last sentence in Equish, as Silent Stride's eyes opened wide.

"" He said in Equish as well.

Mark nodded. "" He explained further to Stride. ""

"" Stride agreed. "So, how many humans understand Equish?"

"Probably just myself and my wife, Cee-cee, understand it perfectly. Then again, we were taught it using magic, by an alicorn princess." Mark informed Stride.

"A... Princess?" Stride asked. "I... I remember Princesses... four of them."

Mark nodded. "As far as Stellar said, there are five of them. Stellar said a lot of you might not remember her, since she and her sister Twilight look almost identical. And with Discord screwing with your memories, it might take a while to get everything back again, if ever."

"Yeah." Stride agreed. He looked about. "So... what now?" He asked.

"Now... we wait for Azure to finish, and then we'll grab some lunch and head home." Mark said with a smile at Stride.

Stride nodded. "Sounds... like a plan." He sat beside Mark, who soon had Stride blissed out by stroking his mane and scritching his ears gently.

=======

Cecelia and Jumble had finished cataloging another herd of the feedlots' inhabitants by the time Lunch rolled around. "" She asked the little colt.

"" Jumble replied

Cecelia came close to giving a squee of her own at what Jumble had said. He'd started calling her that so easily, it made Cee-cee's heart swell with affection for the little foal every time he referred to her as his mother. As they walked back through the huge herd of Ponies, Cecelia was wondering what it would be like to be one herself; to run and play and laugh with Jumble, and snuggle with him as if she truly was his dam. She sighed as she watched him trotting ahead of her long-legged stride. Maybe she could ask Stellar if she could do something when the alicorn princess returned to Deep Waters in the near future.

They settled into Lunch together after Cee-cee had made up more food for the pregnant mares and foals, both of them sitting on the verandah of the bunkhouses with the pregnant mares as Cee-cee talked to them about what they could remember about their former lives. "" Cee-cee told them in Equish. ""

"" One of the mares, a pegasus named Airy Skies, replied, the others nodding in agreement. She was extremely round, Cee-cee suspecting that Airy Skies might be carrying twins. ""

Cee-cee nodded seriously. "" She said to them. ""

"" One mare, who wasn't as far along as the other four, held up a hoof. ""

Cee-cee nodded. "" She agreed. ""

They all nodded in agreement. "" They all said together.

Then, with a shout from over the other side of another yard, the foals all rose as one and galloped off, to the amusement of the mares and Cee-cee. Cee-cee saw that the herd of cows they also had on the farm were coming into one of the closer yards. There were only two hundred of them, and they weren't really used for milk production, but Cee-cee and Mark usually took enough milk off of them that it helped in various ways. She watched as one of the stallions closed the yard after the last cow was in, a unicorn mare putting the chain latch in place and securing the gate.

Cee-cee was so impressed at the way the ponies there had started coming together and helping where they could. They weren't too organised just yet, but it was early days at the moment, and they were still settling in at Deep Waters. Eventually things would settle into a routine, and then things would only get better. Cee-cee's head told her that this would happen, and she believed it with all her heart.

=======

After doing some shopping and another three-hour drive, the three males approached the gates to Deep Waters. Azure was relaxed in the front passenger seat, but Silent Stride had spent the time just looking about the landscape as it passed by. Mark had noticed this as he'd been driving along. "You haven't spent much time outside Darwin, have you, Stride?" He asked.

"Does it show?" Stride asked with a grin.

"Oh yeah, Buddy. It shows." Azure replied.

Stride sighed as Mark punched in the code to open the gates into the keypad mounted to the side of the drive. "Yeah... I was born in Canberra, of all places. Lived there my entire life, right up until Jacob and I married." He looked down at his front hoofs. "Our families arranged the whole thing. I was seventeen, young and very pretty, and had just finished High school. Everyone was so happy that I'd been given to a bloke with such high prospects... then his job required us to move up here after six months."

"Ouch." Mark said. "From Canberra to Darwin? I bet you locked yourself into the air-conditioning for the first summer!"

Stride chuckled. "And more! I swear I slept in ice baths as well." He sighed. "But Jacob was making money hand-over-fist. We were doing so well... even if we were so far away from everyone that had mattered to us before-hand. I managed to make a few new friends over the years, but it seemed as if everyone back in Canberra kept forgetting about us... unless they needed money." He snorted. "I don't think I need to tell you how that went down every time."

Mark chuckled. "Believe me, I know how crazy Family can get." He told Stride.

Stride nodded. "Yeah. It's kind-of why Jacob was so upset at me changing like this. I was the only real support he had for the last three years. And now..."

"And now he doesn't have you any longer." Azure finished the sentence. "But in a way, that's his fault, not yours. He could have tried to make things work between you..."

"I honestly don't think he has the mental capacity to handle something like this." Stride interrupted Azure. "He has a great organisational mindset; any kind-of problem involving business logistics or organisation, and he could solve it." Stride looked at the two in the front as they went over a cattle grid. "But... this..." He sighed again. "I don't think he has the mentality it takes to deal with something he can't put on a spreadsheet or place in a box. Celestia knows I still have feelings for him... or did. But he isn't one for fantasy or science fiction, or any type of 'alternate' thinking. And he won't ever let his feelings get in the way of doing things 'his' way."

Mark said nothing for a little bit, then asked "What did he say to you?"

Stride looked up as they crossed the last cattle grid. "He told me he wished he could love me still, but he hoped I had a happy life as I am now... He said 'God works in mysterious ways', and that he didn't blame this on me." Stride told them, as his eyes teared up again.

Mark nodded as Azure looked at Stride. "I think he still loves you more than even he realises." Mark said, as he slowed to pull up before the main house.

= = = = =

Cecelia welcomed Silent Stride to their home as warmly as any pony could have asked for; the big stallion got a massive hug from her and she personally showed him around the home paddock, introducing him to a lot of the other stallions. He eventually found himself working with a lot of the other Earth Ponies in organising the way they used their abilities to raise food. Mark had tried, but he hadn't had much luck. Cee-cee could train them to use their magic, but helping them to use it to the best of their collective abilities was not her strong suit. But Silent Stride threw himself into the work with a passion. And it seemed he also found he was adept at herding cattle as well. He and about fifty of the other earth Ponies, as well as some of the Pegasi, took over handling the bullocks, once Mark showed them what needed doing. It seemed the cattle were far more willing to follow Pony directives than even Human ones, save for not trampling on Mark or Cee-cee when they moved through them.

"I was wondering what this meant." Stride said to Mark as they sat later on, enjoying a cool drink in the dimming light of the dusk, the Sun heading slowly down behind the ranges to the west of Katherine. He gestured to the circles on his flank, with strange letters running between the two circles.

Mark chuckled. "Maybe you also have a predeliction for organisation." He suggested. "Although that suspiciously looks like a magic circle, like a few that Stellar showed us when she was here."

Stride shrugged. "Who knows? But I feel so much better, now I have something to do."

Mark nodded. "Sometimes that's all we need to keep us on-track. For you Ponies, living up to your cutie marks seems to help you feel fulfilled with your lives."

Stride nodded. "Maybe I do have a purpose for my life as a Pony, after all."

Mark patted Stride on his withers before getting to his feet. "Maybe that's all you needed, was to find your purpose." He suggested. "Anyway, if we don't get back to the house soon, Cee-cee is going to have your hide as a rug and mine as a car-seat cover, if we're late for Dinner." He started walking back towards the house.

Then Stride cantered past Mark. "Race you!" He yelled out with a grin.

"Hey! No fair! I don't have four legs!" Mark complained as he picked up the pace... but inside, as well as outside, he was grinning as well.

=======

As they moved over the coast of Italy almost an hour after leaving Cyprus, Stellar's head lifted from its relaxed position and looked North. She could feel concentrations of Ponies far to the north of their position, and some of them were full of ponies that, while not being tortured like the ones in Arabia had been, were definitely not happy. She looked back at the others. "We're diverting North." She told them in a calm voice over the helmet-coms. "There's groups of Ponies there we have to visit and check over."

"As you see fit, Stellar. You're driving." Thunderlane replied, the twins tittering softly at Thunderlane's casualness in answering, after what had happened on Cyprus.

Stellar smiled back at Thunderlane as the group rolled and banked, changing course towards the North. She contacted Traffic Control for the area and got permission to divert from their planned course, then started scanning for the nearest group of Ponies. Eventually, they found themselves flying up over the Alps and Switzerland, then into Germany. "There's a big group very close now..." Stellar informed the others as they looked about.

"Over there!" Rumble said loudly, pointing with a hoof at a once-familiar sight.

Stellar looked closer, to see a group of pegasi walking and bouncing on a group of low-lying clouds. They seemed to be making it rain over a certain area, and the new group looked up as they heard Stellar's field-ramjet approaching. They waved as Stellar and the others circled them, and Stellar announced "Okay, I'm going to drop the field." She said, as she slowed them down to as slow as she could with the ramjet still working. With a flash from her horn, the heating array vanished and the field collapsed, releasing the five ponies to fan out in line beside one another, as they moved to land on the clouds with the other Ponies. As they landed, Stellar noticed some of them were taking up a defensive position, as the others seemed to move away from them. That certainly wasn't what she'd call friendly, or even normal for Ponies. But she put on a big smile as they steadied themselves and yelled out "Hello!"

As the other ponies gasped and started talking to each other in what Stellar recognised as German, she could feel their surprise at seeing her. It was obvious that it was her that had caused their reaction, since they seemed to be ignoring the other four. "" Stellar whispered to Thunderlane in Equish, then she strode forward towards the others. "Um... Hallo...?" She tried in a more-German accent.

The Ponies chuckled, but one of the stallions stepped forward. Stellar could see there were nearly twenty mares and three stallions there, a fairly normal distribution. "Willkommen." The stallion said, then he switched to accented English. "I am Air Blaster. I hold out a welcome to our community for you." He held out a hoof to Stellar, who smiled widely as she clopped her own against his.

"Danke." She replied. "I am sorry. My German is very limited." Stellar apologised.

Air Blaster waved a hoof dismissively. "It is all right. Many of us understand English quite well, even if we do not speak it." He told Stellar. "So... You are remarkably large for a Pony mare... and you have a horn as well as wings?"

"Yes, I do." Stellar answered. "That's because I'm not just a pegasus, I'm an alicorn."

Stellar felt something sweep through the pegasi at that moment; the word 'alicorn' obviously had triggered memories for all those there, seeing her for the first time. They all talked on in very fast german for a moment, then, as Air Blaster gestured, they all lined up and bowed to her, the word "Prinzessin" being whispered through the crowd.

"You may rise." Stellar told them, in what she hoped was a less-than-condescending tone, as the twenty-three stood up again.

"What... what are you doing here, Princess?" Air Blaster asked. "And escorted by so few?"

Stellar chuckled. "I'm travelling to the United States, to try and connect up with the other Princesses." Stellar replied. "I am Princess Stellar Light Sparkle, junior princess in Princess Celestia's court and sister to Princess Twilight Sparkle." She introduced herself, then the others, as Rumble settled onto Stellar's back and waved at the other pegasi.

That small action looked to break the ice a lot more than anything that Stellar had said, as the german pegasi seemed to relax and gathered closer. After answering a number of questions, Stellar and her group were invited down to the Pony colony, just outside of the town of Heidenheim. They found the town was, for some reason, being very welcoming of the Ponies as they flocked there for safety's sake, supposedly, until Stellar uncovered that a lot of the folk there knew horses well, and had accepted that, if people were going to be turning into sapient animals, 'At least they are horses... of a sort', was the popular opinion amongst the resident human population.

"Air Blaster, do you think your group would be amenable to taking in more ponies, especially if they're in trouble?" Stellar asked him.

"I would think so." He answered with an assuredness that heartened Stellar. "Why do you ask, Princess?"

Stellar sighed at her title being used... again. But if it got help for those who needed it, so much the better. "There are other Ponies to the east of here whom I can feel are in dire need of sanctuary. Not every human town or group feels the way towards us that the people here do." She explained. "I need somewhere close to them where I can send these Ponies that I know they'll be safe and cared-for, until the way home to Equestria re-opens."

"I see." He replied. "And you would like us to help look after them?"

"If you would." Stellar confirmed.

Air Blaster nodded. "I am sure most of us here will agree to this, Princess." He replied. "Will there be many?"

"That I am unsure of at this time." Stellar answered with a little uncertainty. "I do have alternate places I can send some, but I feel it would be better to keep them as close to their original location, if there is a safe place nearby, like you have here." She explained.

Air Blaster nodded his head. "That I understand most perfectly." He replied. "What about language?" He then asked.

"" Stellar replied to him in Equish, and Air Blaster was most surprised that he understood it almost immediately. ""

"" Air Blaster replied. ""

"" Stellar explained to him. ""

Air Blaster nodded. "" He said to Stellar. He then inquired ""

"" Stellar replied. "" She moved closer to Air Blaster. "" She told Air Blaster.

"" He promised, then called to the others in German, as Thunderlane, Rumble, Flitter and Cloudchaser walked up to Stellar.

"What's going on, Stellar?" Thunderlane asked.

"They're taking us to the center of their refuge." Stellar explained. "You lot can see what the go is here, and if there's any other resources in this country that might be useful to us, such as other refuges. I have to go East and deal with some problems... hopefully not as bleak as the one I dealt with earlier today." She sighed sadly, as the others hugged her. Stellar smiled and nuzzled them back. "Thanks for your support, guys. I don't know how I'd handle things if you weren't here with me."

"We're always here for you, Stellar." Flitter said back.

"Yeah! Without what you've done for us, we'd probably still be back in Brisbane, scared out of our wits and so confused, we wouldn't know what to do." Cloudchaser added.

"Not to mention what could have happened if that American idiot, Durrach, and his team had gotten their hands on us." Thunderlane said.

"Yeah! We might have been in a one-way trip to the States with them, too, but as little better than prisoners." Rumble chimed in.

Stellar nodded. "Very true." She agreed. "And that is very disturbing, that some faction in the U.S. government... or maybe operating outside its control, is rounding up Ponies for very nefarious reasons." Stellar said. "I'm going to have to put a stop to it, as soon as we have a base of operations and the time to do so."

Thunderlane and the others nodded. "We're with you all the way, Stellar!" Cloudchaser said emphatically.

"Tell us what to do, and we'll do it." Flitter agreed.

Stellar grinned. "Thanks. For now, let's follow Air Blaster down and see what the go is here. Then I'll see about what I can do elsewhere."

The Four nodded, then walked over to where the other pegasi were jumping off the cloud and drifting down towards what looked like a very large farm. They joined them as the lead pegasi touched down inside a large cluster of buildings, seemingly made to ward off prying eyes as well as inclement weather. As Stellar landed, the Four clustered around her in formation, other Ponies emerged: Unicorns and Earth Ponies came out of the buildings, most of them wide-eyed as they saw Stellar standing a full-head higher than the others.

Air Blaster addressed them in rapid German as Stellar found herself the center of a growing mass of foals of various ages. Rumble tried to help the Twins keep them orderly as they massed around Stellar, who gave them welcoming smiles and the occasional "Hallo, meine kleinen Ponys", to their delight. Stellar found she was remembering more and more German, the longer she was there. It was as if her memory contained the language, but it needed refreshing after a long absence of use.

As they cautiously moved through the throng, Stellar learned they were just outside the town of Hiedenheim, in southern Germany, next to a large reserve and other farms. The owners of this farm had changed back into Ponies only four days ago, yet had been more than happy to welcome others there when Ponies approached them, needing shelter and a refuge from those who were showing various degrees of hostility towards them.

"Are you leaving soon, Princess?" Air Blaster asked Stellar.

"As soon as I can." Stellar replied.

"Then may the deities protect and guide you, Princess. We shall await the ones you send to us, and await your return as well." Air Blaster told her, and almost all the Ponies there bowed to Stellar as she spread her huge wings.

"I shall return before sunset." Stellar told them all, gave Thunderlane and her friends a wink, then turned her attention to the skies. Stellar leaped into the air, leaving Heidenheim behind as she shot forward, heading eastwards. The border that no longer existed was crossed in seconds, the real one at the Country's eastern frontier was crossed minutes later. Stellar winged her way across Czechia and Slovakia. She could feel Ponies there, but few were feeling anything close to being afraid, save for a few young ones. Most of the Ponies were also on the move, already heading for Germany's borders. Stellar mapped where they were going, but moved on. There were Ponies far more lost than these ones were that needed her help first. She'd return and direct these ones on her return flight.

Hungary was her first destination on this flight. She could feel concentrations of Ponies out in the wild, most likely forced out of the cities and into the countryside by Humans who couldn't understand what was happening. But at least she couldn't feel that part of her precient vision acting up again. There would be no mass graves this time to deal with... at least so far. She found the closest point to the center of the massed Ponies and landed, deep inside a lovely forested area that seemed to be preserved. Once down, Stellar lifted her horn and charged it up, a ring of soft, white magical energy drifting out from it and heading out across the forest.

Wherever the ring went, seemingly drifting slowly, but moving at a very fast pace, Ponies lifted their heads at its touch as it located them within the country's borders. Stellar then teleported them to her, as she had done in Arabia. As they arrived, Stellar welcomed them all to her. "" She said to them in Equish. "" She explained.

The Ponies were startled, of course, but they calmed down with Stellar's presence and influence. A mare walked up to Stellar and asked ""

"" Stellar answered. "" She explained, to lots of chatter in Hungarian, a language Stellar had no real inkling of how to speak.

Then they all approached her. "" One of them said. ""

Stellar nodded. "" And she spread her huge wings, her horn glowing brilliantly as she teleported them all to the outskirts of the Heidenheim refuge. They were not there for more than two minutes when they were spotted, then met by others from the refuge and taken in to where they were made very welcome.

Once Stellar was sure the first group were safe, she took to the skies and headed south. Over the next few hours, she located and transported groups of Ponies in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo, then east to Bulgaria. She found a great number of Ponies, in all around two thousand, and sent them to the refuge in Heidenheim. Stellar knew they would send some of the groups onto the other two refuges in the north of Germany, once they were identified, their names and cutie marks recorded, and any issues they had were handled.

= = = = =

It was close to mid-afternoon as Stellar flew over Romania, towards the ancient Carpathian mountains. After sending the other ponies she'd found in the south of the country to the refuge at Heidenheim, she'd felt an urging to head up north this way, towards the mountains. A part of her was sensing more ponies... but not the usual feelings. It wasn't her Solar disc from her cutie mark that was twitching, it was the Lunar crescent... which hadn't reacted like this before. As it grew stronger, Stellar glided lower, across the face of the cool and ancient peaks in this old part of the planet.

As she banked around a ridge that came down from one of the peaks, she saw the mouth of a large cave, sitting at the top of a sheer section of cliff. She realised it would be practically impossible for humans to ascend the face of this overhanging cliff-face, so steep it was as to actually stick out farther at the top than at its base. The feeling she was getting was coming from inside the not-overly-large entrance, so she landed and walked inside cautiously.

There was a breeze coming from inside the cave out through the entrance, and a familiar smell came with it, a smell Stellar recognised intimately: The smell of Thestral ponies. Having served alongside them for a lot of her careers in many lives, it was as familiar to her as the scents of her parents. But there were enough different scents all mixed together that it proved impossible to separate out any one individual scent from the others... at least at this stage. Her violet eyes adjusted to the dark as she went in beyond the reach of the direct sunlight, and she moved deeper into the caves, which opened out the further she went.

Eventually Stellar emerged into a section of the cave which was a huge cavern, full of many small bubbles in the walls. She let go a loud chirp, imitating Thestral sonar, and her keen ears picked up and differentiated between continuing tunnels and the finite bubbles. But what she didn't expect was that the return of her sonar echo was accompanied by the chirps of dozens of others. She found she was surrounded by literally hundreds of other lifeforms, all Pony-sized, and not just up along the walls. She heard the faint whispers of Thestral-speech, wondering who she was and why she was there. As she reached out with her magic, the glow of soft magenta light from her horn-tip barely lighting the grey darkness, Stellar felt the fear from many of those there. Most of them didn't know who or what she was, to her astonishment. Their public minds... were of older times, without Human contact or that of anything from Modern Equestria, which puzzled her greatly.

Then she heard one of them, who was very close, whisper ">She bears the mark of the Queen! But also of the Princess of the Day!<"

">Do you think she serves them both?<" Came another voice. Stellar realised both voices were young, maybe eight-to-ten-year-old foals at best... which probably explained why they were whispering so loudly.

">I do not know. Her fur is dark, like ours... but she has feathered wings... and a horn as well! She looks like a Day Pony... but not.<"

">Maybe she is another of our mother's Children, like we are, but she hasn't been changed yet.<" One other, a male voice this time, suggested.

">She's too big to be a child!<" The second voice answered.

">Maybe we should try to make friends with her?<" The first voice said again.

">Best to stay away. We don't know where Mother Luna is now, or where we are, but we know this place is not anywhere near Home, or where Mother Luna left us.<"

">I wish she was here...<" The third voice said sadly, and the other voices answered him in kind.

Stellar felt their sorrow as she looked about. There were so many others here who feared her, but had hope that Luna would return soon. Then Stellar remembered something Luna had told her about, something the older Alicorn had confessed to one of her other 'sisters' in another reality... about the foals she had taken from Canterlot before she became Nightmare Moon, and had tried to make herself followers like Celestia had; her 'Children of the Night', as Luna had explained. More memories of her other selves came back to her, and she remembered anew something Luna had taught some of them...

Opening up one of her pockets, she pulled out a big music box, one that Luna had gifted her with. Putting it down, she slowly wound the mechanism, then prepared a spell for herself. As the spell started, Stellar lifted the lid of the music box, and a tune started...

...And Stellar sang...

Listen, Night's Children
I've come here today
For to make good on a promise

Listen, Night's Children
The time will be soon
To leave this Cavern of Shadows

As Stellar sang in Equish, the crescent moon in her cutie mark lit up brilliantly, as did her horn, and the ceiling of the cavern changed above everypony. As soft clouds seemed to swirl about overhead, a beautiful full moon appeared in the center of them, slowly filling the cavern with silver moonlight and highlighting where Stellar slowly danced around the music box, as if spot-lit.

Fear not, Night's Children
I'll show you the way
Through all the darkness around you

Weep not, Night's Children
For there is a place
Flowing with Beauty And Passion

As Stellar sang, the Thestrals came out, entranced by the familiar tune and the similar-but-different verses to those they remembered from when Luna sang to them. They gazed upon the alicorn mare as she turned and treaded around, singing with a voice that carried to all the levels, even though it seemed soft and inviting.

I'll lead thee, Night's Children
Off to a new home
Where many others await thee

I promise you, Children
That soon, we'll away
Back to the land we were promised

As Stellar danced, she began to change, the spell altering her looks. Her huge, feathered wings seemed to shimmer in the silver light and became even bigger bat-wings, like a Night-wing. Her long horn curved back at the tip and along its length, rendering it like the horn of a Sabrehorn. Her eyes became slitted, and the whites turned to silver as the slitted pupils dilated in the soft light. She now looked like a Thestral Alicorn mare; a look that suited her very much. She smiled as her fangs emerged from her upper lips, to a mouthful of sharp, carnivore teeth. She turned, raising her head proudly and crooned to the Thestrals, a lot of the adult mares crooning with her...

Ooooo-ooo-ooo, ooooo-ooo-ooo
Ooooo-ooo-ooo, ooooo-ooo-ooo
Oooooooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Oo-oo-oo-oo-ooooo, oooooooooo

Ooooo-ooo-ooo, ooooo-ooo-ooo
Ooooo-ooo-ooo, ooooo-ooo-ooo
Oooooooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo,
Oo-oo-oo-oo-ooooo, oooooooooo

Soon now, Night's Children
A new world awaits,
Where soon your mother will join thee

So come now, Night's Children
Very soon, we will stay
Far from this Cavern of Shadows

Sung to 'Come Little Children'
By Kate 'Erutan' Covington

Stellar looked about her as she closed the lid of the music box. All around her, the Thestrals were out of their bubbles and tunnels in the soft moonlight, looking at her with awed expressions. She smiled at them all, trying to channel Luna and win their trust, if only enough so they could talk.

Finally, one young mare... Stellar saw they were all quite young, not one of them over their twenties... stepped out of the ring and moved closer. She bowed to Stellar, and they all bowed. Stellar could see all three sub-species of Thestral were represented; Night-wings, Sabrehorns and Nightwalkers. There seemed to be about three hundred of them or maybe more, at a quick count. ">You may rise.<" Stellar said in a soft, friendly voice.

After they did so, the mare closest to her asked ">Mistress? Who art thou?<"

Stellar was about to answer when, from one of the upper galleries, a shout came. "" called out an incredulous male voice, as one of the thestral stallions, bigger than almost all the others, spread his wings and leaped into the air, heading down towards her.

Stellar recognised him almost instantly. "" She asked in reply, as he came down and landed in a space that had been quickly vacated. Stellar trotted forward and she hugged him to her, as they both laughed.

= = = = =

Cimmerian Shade had been further back in the caves, trying to make more rooms out of smaller caverns, when he'd heard the beautiful singing and recognised the voice, if not the song. He'd trotted through back to the main cavern as the song finished, amazed at the moonlight filling the cavern during the day time. 'Could it be Luna?' He'd asked himself. 'But that sounds like Stellar!' He emerged through the other Night-wings, to see the altered figure of Stellar standing in the middle of the cavern floor, surrounded by the other Thestrals; and so happy was he to see her, he couldn't contain himself...

= = = = =

Stellar hugged Cimmerian for a long laugh, then let him step back again. He looked Stellar up and down then nodded appreciatively. "" He asked.

At that word, all the Thestrals gasped and immediately bowed again, some touching their noses to the floor. "" Stellar said in a soft whisper, looking about her. Sighing, she repeated ">You may all rise.<" In the Thestral tongue; the Thestrals did so, but kept their eyes downcast. Stellar glared at Cimmerian. "" She asked him in a voice that threatened many, many wing-ups in his future.

"" Cimmerian replied. ""

"" Stellar said back.

"" Cimmerian pointed out.

"" Stellar rebuffed Cimmerian's point.

Cimmerian chuckled. "" He asked.

"" Stellar replied, before lifting her head and allowing her Lunar guard helmet to slide onto her head, before the armor slid out and encased her in its protectiveness. That got another gasp of astonishment from the Thestrals as Stellar stood tall and proud before them, every inch a Commander of the Guard. "" Stellar informed Cimmerian.

Cimmerian grinned. "" He said, saluting her. Then a large number of other Thestrals, almost all larger in proportion to the other Thestrals, emerged and lined up, saluting Stellar.

Stellar returned their salutes with a joyful grin, then said "" Stellar asked Cimmerian.

"" Cimmerian confirmed to Stellar what she had felt.

"" She asked as she peered at the mare that had approached her, gesturing her forward as her armor retracted again.

"" Cimmerian reported. ""

Stellar nodded. "" She shuddered as all the Thestrals chirruped a warding against Evil, with even Stellar joining in.

"" Cimmerian confirmed. "" Cimmerian surmised.

Stellar nodded. "" She told him. She turned to look at the Thestral mare who had approached her before Cimmerian had butted in. Stellar gave her a smile, then moved to her. ">I am Princess Stellar Light Sparkle, Second and Apprentice to Princess Luna.<" She said in Thestral-speak.

The Thestrals were consumed in chatter at Stellar's statement. The mare was awestruck at what Stellar had replied. ">You know our mother?<" She asked.

Stellar gave her a soft smile. ">I do indeed.<" She answered. ">My Mistress and I are very good friends.<" Stellar confirmed. ">And to whom am I speaking?<" Stellar asked.

Looking shyly at Stellar, the mare replied ">I am Dusky Shades.<"

Stellar moved past Cimmerian and lowered her head to gently nuzzle Dusky. ">I greet you, Dusky Shades, as a Princess should.<" Stellar said to her in a kind voice. ">I greet all of you, as Second to Princess Luna.<" She called out after lifting her head to the assembled Thestrals.

">Why... why are you here, Princess?<" Dusky asked, still shy even after the warm welcome from Stellar.

">I am here to give you hope, my little Ponies.<" Stellar answered. ">You are on a new world, far from Equestria at this time. But Luna is here as well as myself. While she is still lost to us, I will help you to find your way from these caverns, to somewhere far better.<" She looked around as the Thestrals drew closer, moving past the Guard to gather around her.

Dusky looked at Stellar, her heart feeling the truth of Stellar's words, but her head was still full of questions. ">Where, Princess, will we go?<" She asked.

">There are sanctuaries for Ponies being created around this new world.<" Stellar answered. ">I myself am heading for one in a distant land which my sister, Princess Twilight Sparkle, is putting together as we speak. She is also trying to find the way back to Equestria, so we can return home.<" Stellar explained. ">When my sister and I reunite again and find the Princesses, then I shall return to you and bring you from this shelter to somewhere far safer for you, where other ponies will welcome you as brother and sister Ponies.<" Stellar told them.

">What of the Princess of the Day? She hates us!<" One Thestral stallion called out.

Stellar sighed. ">That was... a very long time ago.<" Stellar answered. ">Things have changed greatly since that time.<" She moved towards the stallion, her eyes filled with sympathy. ">Celestia reconciled with Luna and the Thestrals a long time ago.<" She told him as she reached him. ">Ask Cimmerian Shade if you do not believe me. He served in Celestia's Night Guard before Luna was reconciled with her sister, and became part of the Lunar Guard after that.<" She grinned back at Cimmerian, who was standing proudly at attention. ">And he and I have served together a great deal in the past.<"

">It's all true.<" Cimmerian confirmed. ">I was a private in Princess Celestia's Night Guard, advanced to Corporal, then because a sergeant in Princess Luna's Lunar Guard upon her return. Now I am a Lieutenant in the Lunar Guard, and serve our Mother faithfully in her Personal Guard as well.<" Cimmerian told the others.

">So do not be afraid of Celestia. She knows that you Thestrals are just Night-Ponies, like any of her own Day-Ponies, and are not vamponies or monsters of any kind.<" Stellar reassured them. ">Now, I have to go. My sister awaits me where she searches for the way home to Equestria. I will come and bring you all to where it is safe and far more pleasant as soon as I can.<" She told them all.

Dusky Shades looked at Stellar ">But... how much longer are we to wait here, Princess?<" She asked.

">A week.<" Stellar promised them. ">The trip across the great ocean to the lands of the west should not take me more than a week.<" She answered to Dusky Shades. ">If things work out better than I plan for, even that time will be lessened, but even if Discord himself were to cause me trouble, I shall return for you as the week ends. I promise you this, all of you.<" The sincerity in her voice rang true to all there. ">And those in the service of Mother Luna shall remain here to guard and protect you all against the dangers that lurk in this place, until I return. Once we all move on, then they will help to guard all Ponies from danger, whether Ponies of the Night or the Day... it does not matter. We are all Children of the First, born from the stars, just as Mother Luna was, and she loves us all. Even Celestia loves you now, as much as Luna will allow her, at least.<" Stellar smiled.

That got a round of chuckles and giggles from all those there. ">We thank you for your comforting and loving words, Your Highness. We will wait patiently for the day of our deliverance from the shadows.<" Dusky Shades said, and chirps and whistles of agreement filled the air.

">And I thank you for your faith and trust in me.<" Stellar replied to them. ">I shall return as soon as possible.<" Stellar flicked her ears at Cimmerian, who recognised the ear-flick code immediately. He followed Stellar out towards the caves' entrance, and he smiled as Stellar shifted from Thestral Alicorn back to her normal self as she approached the light. She stopped short of the light-spread from the cave entrance and said "" She sighed. ""

"" He replied, knowing that Stellar liked to be called by name when alone with friends... and he also knew she considered him to be a very good friend. "" He looked around at the caves. ""

Stellar nodded. "" She grinned and nuzzled Cimmerian tenderly. ""

"" Cimmerian asked. "" He bowed to her, and Stellar bowed back. "" He asked.

"" Stellar answered. ""

"" Cimmerian looked both shocked and surprised. "<Thunderlane? That Wonderbolt-wannabe?>"

Stellar laughed. "" She informed Cimmerian.

Cimmerian snorted. "" He replied. "" He grinned.

"" Stellar asked slyly.

"" Cimmerian agreed.

"" Stellar congratulated him. "" She said, and Cimmerian nodded. She gave him one last nuzzle, then spread her wings and took to the air, shooting out of the cave entrance and off towards the North-west.

Cimmerian watched Stellar until she was out-of-sight. "" He said. Then he turned and headed back inside. ""

As he passed under the moon-image, he failed to notice a small magic circle engraved into the stone beneath it, the runes and lines glowing faintly in the moonlight...

=======

Stellar soared on, back over the lands she'd crossed before. Her magic could find no Ponies in distress, none of them that remained behind feeling threatened or out-of-place. She sighed with relief. She'd always known not all those who found themselves on Earth would want to leave; and not every human who came in contact with Ponies would feel threatened by them. Stellar also knew that, eventually, she would have to begin playing the games of Politics. Some human governments might want to try and take 'responsibility' for the Ponies, both before and after the eventual return to Equestria. As a princess and as the only one that Stellar felt would remain on Earth, she knew that she would eventually bear responsibility for those who stayed. How things would play out... remained to be seen.

The U.S. government was playing dirty at the moment; although Stellar could sense something was driving them; something, or someone, who was playing forces off against one another, and her heart and mind could only think of one person: Discord. He was here... every part of her told her so. She, who knew him better than most through her association with the Council of Thirteen, could almost feel the slimy touch of his chaos worming its way imperceptively around the world. And she knew in her heart there would be a reckoning; Discord Prime had hinted strongly at it, that it was why he'd sent her there. But for now, until she found him, other matters had priority: She had to reach America; find Twilight and the other Princesses; and help re-establish the portal home, or find a way to make one. There were spells, but they would take time to enable from here. But that was a problem for Future Stellar, as Twilight would say. For now, getting back to the others and heading for America was Step One.

Heidenheim quickly came into view; the touch of her friends filling her with hope and joy as she circled. She could see trucks and other vehicles with Ponies aboard heading there, and even columns of Ponies walking along the roads, some pulling carts. Pegasi guided the columns, flying low overhead. She waved to them when she was seen, pegasi rising up to greet her and fly with her. Eventually, Stellar saw Air Blaster bank towards her. "Willkommen, Prinzessin!" He yelled to her, and Stellar waved as she headed down with him to the center of the refuge. Stellar could see truckloads of fresh supplies were also arriving at one big warehouse next to the village, unicorns handling the unloading with various degrees of efficiency as she came into land in the center of the small-but-growing township on the outskirts of the human town.

Once she'd landed, Stellar found herself surrounded by the Ponies of Heidenheim, as well as the multitude she'd rescued from the countries to the East. Most were speaking Equish properly and constantly now, only reverting to their human languages when speaking to those they knew. It took a long while for Thunderlane, Rumble, Flitter and Cloudchaser to reach her, so surrounded was Stellar by those who wanted to express their thanks.

Afer giving her friends huge hugs, and settling Rumble on her back, she addressed Air Blaster. "" She told him. ""

Air Blaster just grinned as Stellar saw that he was now flanked by two pretty Pegasi mares. "" He answered Stellar, to rousing cheers from all the Ponies there.

Stellar felt tears welling in her eyes. "" She told them, seeing a group of Griffons who were seated to one side, chattering on to each other. ""

Everypony there nodded towards Stellar. "" Air Blaster stated, to more cheers of agreement, even from the Griffons and some others. ""

It took hours for Stellar to receive all the hugs from everyone there; even the Griffons saluted her and shook hoofs, some of them wanting hugs as well, especially the chicks. The Five even stayed for Dinner, not wanting to turn down such an invitation and maybe insult their hosts. And the Sun slowly set in the west as Stellar and her friends said their goodbyes and took to the skies again, the Pegasi and Griffons escorting them as best they could, until Stellar's ramjet ignited again and the five travellers soared up into the darkening sky, leaving their new friends behind them.

"Are we gonna come back there again?" Rumble asked Stellar.

Stellar grinned as the others giggled and chuckled. "Oh, most definitely, Little Bro. Most definitely." Stellar stated with absolute certainty.

= = = = =

It had already gotten dark as the five travellers crossed the French coast and headed out over the dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean. "Next stop, New York!" Stellar said back to her friends as they trailed along behind her.

Thunderlane chuckled. "I can't wait." He commented as they soared along out into the darkness, only the stars out above them tonight...

Author's Note

Hi everypony!

Here's the second part of the chapter that has delayed me for so long. I hope no-pony's offended that it took me nearly ten freaking months to get this chapter sorted out! However, Life in general and other story ideas had parts to play in this, as well as me reviving another hobby I used to enjoy greatly before I lost the room to work at it. Now i have the room back to set up my work area, and while getting back into it is slow going, there has been progress. Progress here, too.

Things should be a bit more regular now. i have a backlog of chapters for certain stories, some are also being worked on as well as I sit here, and with the Christmas holidays approaching, i should have more time to sit down and work out where some stories are going, and how i can get them there.

So, here's hoping.

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13 - Travelling, Part Three - A New Complication

The five travellers had been shooting over the North Atlantic for nearly five hours. Stellar was scanning the skies ahead a couple of hundred kilometres forward, noting several aircraft within that range, when she felt ponies scream in terror as there was a flash and an explosion in her scanning range, quite close. Something catastrophic was happening to a large group of them, and they were in mid-air. She momentarily looked back at Thunderlane as her armor wrapped around her. "Everypony! I am going to have to go! I'll drop you out of the field. You'll find a small group of ponies on clouds up ahead. Make a large grouping of clouds around them, then stand in a square like I taught you. I shall be back as soon as you're ready!" And Stellar vanished in a flash of energy as she teleported.

Thunderlane felt Rumble get on his back and, as the Twins slid beside him, the field dropped, leaving them shooting forward at just under eight hundred KPH. They decelerated and took stock of the area as Thunderlane saw an aircraft heading down in a death-dive. Then he saw a pony not a pegasus dropping down quickly. "Get that pony!" He said to the Twins as he pointed.

"Aye!" The mares replied, and they raced off and headed on an intercept course.

Thunderlane saw four more ponies, three pegasi and an earth pony, dropping down to do a semi-hard landing on clouds. Then there was a flash from the plunging wreck, just before it hit the ocean. He turned back to see Flitter and CloudChaser had caught the other pony and were heading for the others. Breathing a sigh of relief, he headed towards the four with Rumble jumping from his back into flight as they circled in. As the brothers got close, they could see one of the mares had just finished a huge rant, and they appeared to be getting ready to leave the clouds. He brought himself and Rumble around in front of them before they could take off...

The reaction of the four on the clouds was nothing short of amazement as the brothers touched down on the clouds before them. One of them, a pegasus stallion whom Thunderlane felt was known to him, asked "Where the buck did you come from?"

"Tell you in a minute. Is everypony okay?" Thunderlane asked as his flight visor retracted to reveal his eyes.

"Pretty much." Another mare, who was wearing military fatigues, answered. "How the hay are we just sitting here?"

"And why can't I do this?" Asked the Earth Pony.

"Well, the answers to both questions are: you're a pegasus; you're not." Thunderlane replied as the Twins and their passenger joined them. "Pegasi abilities include cloud-walking. There is a spell, but you need a unicorn who knows it. We have somepony with us who can cast the spell. She had to leave in a hurry, but I think she'll be back soon." He explained as best as he could.

"Uh, okay." Said one of the pegasus mares. "So, it's natural for us to be sitting on clouds, then?"

Thunderlane nodded. "Yep. As natural as having wings." He confirmed. That got a few chuckles. "If one of you can take the other pony we rescued for a little bit, there's something we need to do right now." He told them.

"I'm Daring Doo. I'll take him." She said. and the Twins handed the pony over to her.

"I'm Thunderlane, and this is my brother, Rumble. The mares are Flitter and Cloudchaser." Thunderlane introduced them. "Give us a minute." He added, as the quartet walked off to a clear section.

"I wonder what they're doing?" Firefly asked.

"Dunno." Flash Sentry replied.

= = = = =

Thunderlane reached a good spot. The cloudbank was wide and deep, and should be able to support a large group of ponies easily. He took his place, Rumble facing him, with the Twins taking their places beside them, making a square. Then they lifted their heads to look at a spot in the sky.

=======

Stellar's perception of Space had allowed her to jump into the plunging aircraft, using the lifeforces of the ponies inside to triangulate her position. Her perception of Time allowed her to speed up her thought processes to incredible speeds, allowing her to orientate herself and use her magic to lock onto every soul within the doomed ship of the sky in a second, as it creeped down in its inevitable plunge to the ocean below.

Discord had gifted one of her in the Equestrian Multiverse with a unique gift: the ability to link into a finite number of her other selves and share information across the realities she was present in, giving all of those in the link the same knowledge within their number. One of those others had had contact with another alicorn, whose perception of Time and Space was almost infinite. And while his ability was impossible to fully-reproduce, any alicorn who knew what they knew could reproduce his ability in very small ways. Stellar used her understanding of that ability now, as her mind locked onto four wonderful, incredible ponies she knew extremely well, looking up at her in a square formation that they'd practised before...

...and she and every living soul on that aircraft disappeared instantly...

=======

There was a huge flash, and the skies were filled with ponies floating in magenta magic, as well as several humans. In the middle of them was Stellar, her armor making it easy to recognise her. Her horn was ablaze with her magenta power, and the quartet saw several pulses of magic flow over the group. Stellar then slowly floated down with them all, landing them gently on the clouds.

Once she'd arrived, the quartet broke their formation and headed to help.

= = = = =

Daring Doo's jaw was almost on the clouds, the other four the same way, as they saw the group of ponies and humans appear in mid-air, being held up in a way they'd never contemplated. They started moving towards the descending group.

"What the hell?" Firefly asked, looking around as they moved along.

"I have no idea, save to say, it HAS to be magic... and powerful magic at that." Daring answered.

As they reached the grouping of ponies and humans, Stellar's Royal Canterlot Voice carried up over the group from where she floated in the sky just above them. "OKAY! LISTEN UP! YOU HAVE ALL BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF A MAGIC SPELL THAT ALLOWS YOU TO WALK ON THESE CLOUDS! IT IS SUPPOSED TO LAST FOR THREE DAYS, BUT IF YOU FEEL YOUR LEGS SINK THROUGH THE CLOUDS AND YOU LAND ON YOUR BELLY, TELL ME OR ONE OF THE PONIES WITH A SILVER HELMET! I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS! IF THE SPELL IS NOT RENEWED, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY SLIP THROUGH THE CLOUDS AND FALL TO YOUR DEATH!"

Stellar took a deep breath, then shook herself all over. She then went on in a slightly-softer voice: "Right! Everypony just relax and stay away from the edges of the clouds. We cannot spend all our time rescuing you if you fall off while we're trying to get us to land again. Just stay where you are and obey orders, and we should have you back on solid ground again with plenty of time to spare." She smiled as her friends reached her. "We good?" She asked.

"All good." Thunderlane replied.

"Great." Stellar sighed as she sat down. "That took more out of me than I thought it would. I guess I'm still not up to full strength yet."

Thunderlane chuckled. "Considering what you did, I'd be awestruck to see you at full power." He replied. "We have a couple of other ponies who could use a cloud-walking spell." He told Stellar.

Stellar nodded. "Lead on." She said, getting to her hoofs. "Thunder, get the Twins and make a list of the personnel we have here: Names, Cutie-marks and professions if they remember." Stellar asked. "I need to know who we have here and what they can offer us in terms of skill sets."

Thunderlane nodded, as Stellar passed him several tablet computers. "Rojer that." He replied, and left with the tablets.

= = = = =

Daring Doo couldn't believe her eyes as she saw a figure in white and gold armor approaching the five of them. She was bigger than any of the other ponies, and had a long horn and huge wings. "It's... it's an alicorn!" She told the others.

"An alicorn? You mean, one of the Princesses?" Flash asked.

"Yes, one of the Princesses. But I may not be one you were expecting." Stellar answered as she reached the group. "My name is Stellar Light Sparkle, and I'm Twilight Sparkle's twin sister." She told them.

The five ponies bowed to Stellar carefully, making sure their non-pegasus companions didn't fall off them yet. Stellar's horn lit up again, and all five were surrounded by the glow. Daring Doo felt something happen in her mind, but it faded without any pain or result, as far as she knew. "Okay, I'm sure our non-pegasus friends can stand on their own four hoofs now."

Redheart looked at Stellar, who nodded to her. She slid carefully off Firefly's back and touched the cloud with her rear hoofs. Satisfied she wasn't going to slide through them to her death, she slid off entirely and stood up, smiling. "This is... just magic!" She told Stellar and the others, which had most of them laughing.

The other pony slid to his hoofs, letting Daring Doo stand up straight again. "Thanks ever so much for showing up." She said. "And thanks way beyond that for saving everyone else."

"It was more than my pleasure, it was my duty to do so." Stellar replied to her. "What happened?" She asked Daring, as Stellar's horn-magic made little spheres of light appear and spread out over the clouds' surface.

"We were being transported Stateside when the Russians blew us out of the air." Daring told Stellar. "Thanks Celestia you came along when you did. How in hell did you manage to save everyone on the aircraft?"

Stellar grinned. "I'm an alicorn. That's how." Stellar answered, then she barely stopped herself breaking up in laughter as Daring just stared at her.

Daring Doo just sighed and shook her head "Never mind. How are we going to get Stateside, with the aircraft gone?" She asked as Stellar's horn lit up brilliantly white.

"I'm working on it." Stellar said, as she traced a rune in the air before her with her horn, then sent it drifting down to a section of the cloudbank. There was a brilliant gold flash, and a section of the cloud flattened out and turned to gold. As they watched, she concentrated even harder, and bits and pieces of the wrecked transport appeared over the spot, dropping onto it fairly gently, along with a lot of personal luggage and things from the interior. As the other ponies mulled around in groups, Flitter, Cloudchaser and Thunderlane doing as Stellar had assigned them with Rumble just looking at the humans, Stellar gritted her teeth as bigger sections appeared and slammed onto the gold section. The biggest section was the cockpit area which, while the nose was flattened, the interior was somewhat intact. Relaxing as the glow faded from her horn, Stellar shook all over and cast a small array around her horn that glowed softly.

Then one of the humans came stomping up... well, stomping as hard as one could on a cloud. "What's going on?" He said "Sheffield?" He looked at Daring Doo.

"Don't ask me, Wellman." She retorted. "Ask the big lady here. She's the one that pulled your fat out of the fire."

Stellar looked the human up and down. "And you are?" She asked with as much politeness as she could manage through her fatigue.

"My name is Agent Wellman." The human male replied. "I was escorting these... ponies back to the States to assist in a research project about all of you and why you're changing." He explained.

Stellar nodded. He smelled as much like NSA as Durrach had. "No need to do that now." Stellar said. "I know exactly why we're changing. And before you ask," Stellar added as Wellman opened his mouth to say something, "No, you can't 'change us back' to being human, because we weren't truly human to begin with." Stellar stated.

Daring Doo, Firefly, Flash Sentry and Redheart looked at each other, as Wellman frowned. "And would you explain further what that's supposed to mean, Miss...?" Wellman asked.

"My name and title, Agent Wellman, is Princess Stellar Light Sparkle." Stellar introduced herself fully. "You're welcome for me saving your life, by the way. And as for what I mean... the Ponies you see here before you were born Ponies long before they were born human. What you're seeing in their transformations is not a plague or disease. This is the end of a curse, placed upon tens or even hundreds of thousands of Ponies from another reality entirely. We were captured and sent here to be born and live for twenty-five years as humans before we reverted to our original forms on our twenty-fifth birthdays. Since the day we first started being born here corresponds to the First of May, 1995, the first of us to start changing took place on the First of May, 2020, fifteen days ago." Stellar looked at Wellman. "I hope that's comprehensive enough for you." She added.

Wellman's expression was one of confusion as he took in what had been said. "So... we're not humans that turned into ponies..." Firefly started to say.

"...But Ponies that were turned into humans, and now we're reverting?" Redheart asked.

"Exactly." Stellar confirmed.

“And... who is responsible for this? Your Government?” Wellman asked.

“No. A being whom we know as the Lord of Chaos; a person of almost-infinite power; a usurper by the name of Discord.” Stellar revealed... and every Pony in earshot shuddered at memories of being grabbed by Discord and his curse...

“Five Score, Divided by Four...” Said all the ponies around Stellar and Wellman, who looked about, somewhat spooked.

“What the hell was that?” Wellman asked.

“That was the opening phrase of Discord’s Curse, Agent Wellman.” Stellar said. “It was also what set the time of our reversion. Five score is a hundred years. Divide that by four, and you get...”

“Twenty-five years.” Wellman concluded Stellar’s sentence. He frowned in thought at this.

“And there’s one thing you should be very worried about, Agent.” Stellar then said. “If he sent us here to get rid of us, so he could take over Equestria...”

Wellman grasped it immediately. “He knows where Earth is.”

“Yes. You can be sure he’s watching what’s going on here, and playing us all like puppets from behind the scenes.” Stellar told Wellman. She knew he wasn’t being honest about what the Ponies had been headed for, but she hoped if she scared him enough... it might make him re-evaluate his priorities. She led Wellman away from the other ponies to where she could talk with him in more private circumstances.

Wellman walked along with this... Princess pony, but what she had told him was going against everything they'd assumed up until now, and it was making him... tense. “If he is as powerful as you say... what can we do against him?” He asked Stellar.

“I can handle him, if it’s done the right way.” Stellar informed Wellman. “The problem is finding where he is and getting close enough to him without him being suspicious.” She explained. “He’ll try to be in a position of power and control. That’s what he likes the most: having control in order to spread chaos. That’s why he got rid of us from Equestria, because we could stop him. And now I would bet my crown that he is trying to do the same here.”

Stellar looked at Wellman. “Why do you think everything is so tense at the moment? Why are the governments of this world so up-in-arms at our appearance? Who is driving the hysteria? And why is someone trying to get Ponies so mad at humanity that we would do anything to stop you hurting us? I have the power to erase humanity from this world if I so desired. Discord knows that. Any Princess could do it, if pushed hard enough. But he bucked up badly, sending me here.” She turned to stare at Wellman, her face full of righteous determination. “Because I am NOT going to play his little games. I am going to find him and stop him, then find a way to return us to Equestria, then deal with him there!” She stated. “Before he turns your world into the same chaotic mess I am sure ours is in right now... or worse.”

“He’d do that?” Wellman asked, a little incredulous. But at Stellar’s look, he just nodded and added. “Uh-huh, yeah.”

“In Planck Time.” Stellar replied. “Or, in his own good time. He enjoys the process as much as the result, if not more so.”

Wellman nodded, his face now thoughtful. “I have to talk to my superiors.” He told Stellar.

“You do that.” Stellar agreed. “Make them understand how important it is that we calm everyone down, stop attacks on Ponies and free those in captivity within the US and other countries. We need to stop prodding this hornets’ nest and work together to get this crisis cooled down, or we could find ourselves nursing a problem that’s worse than Chernobyl before it melted down... with far worse results.”

Wellman looked at Stellar. “You’re laying it on a bit thick, aren’t you?” He asked.

“Not at all.” Stellar answered. “Because Discord would love to see this world teetering on the brink of a nuclear war. The tension, the fear, the chaos... it all feeds him, makes him stronger.” Stellar emphasized to Wellman. “He’s working behind the scenes at the moment. You have no idea what he could do if he got powerful enough here to work openly.” Stellar looked at Wellman, her face deadly serious. “I have seen it. Just the very sight could drive people crazy over it... and I mean the ‘Wearing a tutu, singing the Halleluyah Chorus, riding a tricycle and shooting assault rifles all-at-the-same-time’ kind-of crazy.” Stellar shuddered.

“God preserve us.” Wellman said instinctively.

“You’d better pray he is real, your god.” Stellar replied. “Because if Discord comes into his full power here, what he has done to Equestria will seem like just a warm-up.” And she walked away from Wellman, heading for the other ponies.

=======

Stellar looked about for Thunderlane and the Twins. She had set them a task to do before she'd started talking with Wellman and the others, and she hoped they'd be done by now, as she retracted her armor and shook herself out again, feeling a lot better.

Thunderlane saw Stellar walking towards him, and he grinned. He trotted up to her, a spring in his step, and as he got close, the couple nuzzled lovingly. "Heya, Thunder." Stellar said softly.

"Heya Stellar." Thunderlane replied. "Got those lists for you." He said, handing her one of the computers. "We compiled everything onto here for you." He added.

Stellar gave him a smile. "So thoughtful." She then kissed him on the cheek, getting a soft nicker from Thunderlane. Then Stellar sat down and started reading. "Oh. I put some of our foodstuffs out on the solid platform there, as well as bowls and such. Try and give everypony here something to eat. And the Humans, too, if they don't mind fish sandwiches." Stellar grinned.

"I don't mind fish sandwiches." Thunderlane said with a grin as he rose and nuzzled Stellar. He trotted away as Stellar went through the list. She nodded as she looked over the cutie-marks and names of the ponies, then her eyes widened as she recognised several of the names and cutie-marks. She chuckled as she got to her hoofs.

The moon glinted off the solid platform Stellar had made in the clouds they were standing on. It caught Stellar's eye as she walked past it. Tapping it, she stood up onto it and tapped at it again. "It's just magic, cloud magic, but..." Stellar frowned thoughtfully as something teased tantalisingly at her thoughts. "Cloudsdale is just clouds, but it stays together and can be moved from place-to-place..." Stellar remembered what she knew of Cloudsdale's construction; thinking about the abilities of the cloud-magic that formed it. "Moving clouds... riding on moving clouds..." Stellar's mind was racing furiously through several threads of magic at once, as she contemplated their biggest problem. "No, a cloud city won't do, it's much too random in its construction for a proper aerial vessel..." She tapped the solid magic field that held clouds inside it. Then her eyes widened as her thoughts crystallised into a solid concept. "An airship!" She whispered loudly to herself. Stellar shook her head and grinned. A snort of laughter escaped her grin as the idea grew. "By Celestia! It would be perfect... but can I make it work? And do I have anypony here who knows anything about airships?"

Getting to her hoofs again, Stellar remembered the names and cutie-marks of the ponies she was with, and nodded. "Now, to approach the ones I know..." And she walked off across the clouds.

= = = = =

Sunset Blaze was sitting, munching on a fish sandwish and alfalfa pellets when the biggest pony he'd seen yet walked up to him. He then saw her horn and wings and, as his mind made the connection, he scrambled to his hoofs. "Your Highness!" He tried to say, but had to swallow a mouthful of alfalfa before he tried again, this time successfully.

Stellar smiled kindly on him, trying hard not to laugh. "How are you, Sunset Blaze?" She asked.

Blaze kept a frown from crossing his face. The Princess seemed to be being rather familiar with him, as if she knew him. "I'm... doing well, Princess, especially after a meal." He replied.

Stellar nodded."Good." She said. "Now, I need to ask you a few things. Can you remember much about your former life in Equestria?"

Blaze blinked with surprise, but he frowned as he thought back to the few memories he had at that time... although they were confused. "Um... I do remember some things... I think I was married, maybe to two mares. I have two filly-faces that seem to mean a lot to me, but one of them..." He shook his head. "I'm not sure if I'm seeing things properly or not." He explained.

Stellar nodded. "Yes, I know." She agreed with him. "And there's a reason for that."

"Does... that mean you know me, Princess?" Blaze asked.

Stellar grinned. "Indeed I do, Blaze. You and your siblings are god-foals to my sister, Twilight." She revealed.

Suddenly, Blaze's eyes widened as he remembered a younger filly-face, and an even-younger colt-face. Then two older faces, a stallion and a mare, smiling down at her... him... He shook his head in confusion. And then another face appeared: A changeling with blue eyes, smiling softly at her. That broke his reverie.

Stellar was there, her face showing understanding to him. "You remembered, didn't you?" She asked.

Blaze nodded. "Yeah... I think I remembered my... my family." He said. "But... why do I keep feeling like I'm a mare? And why do I see a changeling looking at me, as if I was it's child?"

"There's a very good reason for both of those, Blaze, and they are both related to the same explanation." She told him. Stellar touched his forehead with her horn lit up, and Blaze found himself changing. As he looked at himself, where a stallion had been, a mare now sat, and he remembered another name... "Dandelion Dreams..." Stellar whispered softly, and she gasped as she remembered.

"The changeling... that's my Dad!” She said, aghast.

“Easy, Dandy.” Stellar said to her, wrapping her in her huge wings. “Your father is an independant changeling called Zevan, but you know him far better as your father, Whirring Cogs.”

“Daddy...” And Dandy’s eyes filled with tears as she remembered all the time she spent with her father, how she’d been his apprentice, how he’d helped her with her complicated wedding, and how much she loved him, changeling or not.

Stellar just held Dandy to her as she cried softly. When she’d regained control, Stellar smiled at her. “Hopefully, we’ll find others of your family soon, Dandy. But I do know where one of them is, right now.” Stellar told her.

“You... you do?” Dandy asked.

“Yes.” Stellar grinned. “Come on.” And she led Dandy away, after the young mare had picked up her food.

= = = = =

After leading her through the pack of ponies on the cloud, Stellar spotted the other mare she was looking for: One with three lovely blossoms on her flank in three different colors. She led Dandy to her.

Lavender Dreams sat, trying to think. Her memories were there, she knew, but she couldn’t remember much about herself at all. She’d almost given up for the moment, when the crowd parted and the Princess everypony had been talking about walked towards her. Lavender’s eyes widened as she recognised her... from very close personal experience. As she mouthed ‘Twilight’, a huge crash of memories invaded: showing them having tea together, being her guest at her castle, the Princess actually playing with her foals... and that triggered more memories, and more, and more...

As Stellar and Dandy reached Lavender, Stellar frowned with concern. “Oh dear, she’s having a cascading memory reboot.” Stellar said to Dandy. “Go to her, Dandy. Tell your mother you love her.” Stellar coaxed Dandy on.

Dandy nodded and moved to Lavender and said “Mom?” But nothing happened. Lavender was stuck remembering. “MOM!!” Dandy shouted and shook Lavender, who squeaked and then actually saw Dandy standing there.

“Dan... dy?” Lavender asked in a halting, soft voice.

Dandy grinned, then hugged Lavender. “Mommy!” Dandy said loudly and held Lavender to her. Lavender’s mind then connected fully to who was hugging her, and she cried out and hugged back, laughing with relief.

Stellar smiled at the happy reunion, then she walked away, letting them have time together as she searched for one other pony.

= = = = =

Once they were able to think straight again, Dandy and Lavender sat, discussing their lives and what had happened to them, more memories resurfacing as they were able to fill in the blanks for each other.

"Do you think Dad's here?" Dandy asked her mother.

"Yes. I know he's here, somewhere." Lavender confirmed. "I saw Discord send him here. Do you know what happened to Sky or Forest?" She asked Dandy about her younger siblings.

"I'm not sure." Dandy replied. "I saw Sky Fern disappear. I think she might have teleported." She told her mother. "And Forest was nowhere to be seen when I looked for him. I think he might have been camoflaged. Then Discord grabbed me and that was it, until recently."

Lavender nodded with a sigh. "I guess we'll just have to keep looking for him." She told Dandy. "But at least I found you... or you found me." Lavender grinned. "I thank Celestia that Twilight was here to find us both."

"Uh, Mom... that's not Twilight." Dandy corrected Lavender.

"It's not?" Lavender asked. "But... but she looks just like her." Lavender looked to where Stellar was talking with a stallion.

Dandy nodded. "I know she does, Mom. But the Princess' cutie-mark isn't Twilight's. It's very different... and she said Twilight was her sister."

Lavender looked confused. "But... Twilight doesn't have a sister."

Dandy shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to ask her when we get a chance."

=======

Stellar made her way through the pony pack, when she found the pony she wanted to talk to: A unicorn stallion of subtle browns and golds, with a hot-air balloon cutie-mark. He saw and bowed to Stellar as she approached. “Your Highness.” He said.

Stellar really didn’t like being called that, but she had philosophically resigned herself to it at the present time. “Salient Weather, I presume?” She asked.

Salient nodded. “Indeed, Your Highness." He answered affirmatively. “What brings you into my humble presence?” He asked.

“I know you were the Captain of the airship Northern Wind, Salient.” Stellar reminded Salient. “I need your skills now, to help bring these ponies and many, many others safely to America, and many other parts of Earth’s skies.” She told him.

Salient blinked as memories slowly filtered in... of his time on the Northern Wind; of his wife, Fairweather; of how he’d risen through the ranks; and all the skills he’d learned started coming back as well. He looked at Stellar, who was smiling. "More memories returning, right?" She asked.

"Um, indeed." Salient agreed. "What do you require of me, Your Highness?" He asked.

"We need to find a way of getting every pony here, and a huge number more, to safety." Stellar explained to Salient. "Right now, we're sitting on a large cloudbank over the Atlantic. It's about an hour before midnight. I've been thinking hard on what to do, and I had the craziest thought. I know how to pilot aircraft. I know how to imitate aircraft." She grinned. "But I don't know how to handle an airship. You do." Stellar told Salient. "If I provided an airship for you, even if it's an extremely unusual one... could you command it for me?" Stellar asked Salient.

Salient thought about it. "Well... if it is not too different from any design I am familiar with... I would say, yes." He answered.

Stellar nodded. "I'm still trying to figure out the details in my head, but If this works, it'll be big, as in really big. I'm thinking about a kilometre in length." She detailed for Salient. "But if we can shift Cloudsdale all around Equestria to where it's needed, especially when it's unpowered, then a streamlined structure that's self-propelled shouldn't present as many problems as moving that city around did."

Salient gave that some thought. "That's... a very interesting idea." He agreed. "But how can we make it?" He asked.

"I have access to some spells that can anchor clouds into a field that can be shaped to any form I desire." Stellar answered, pointing out the golden section of 'fixed' clouds. "Once the field is filled, it becomes even more solid than Cloudsdale's clouds, which means that even ordinary ponies can stand on it like they were pegasi." Stellar laid things out for Salient. "Once the field is in place and everything is shaped properly, we can add decks inside and facilities. And because it's made of magically-charged clouds, it's inherently bouyant, like Cloudsdale is. No need for mucking around with gasbags and all the other problems of normal airships."

Salient chuckled. "Yes, I can see where it would have advantages." He agreed. "How would we power it?" He asked.

"Mana crystals." Stellar answered. "I attended a workshop in the Crystal Empire a year before Discord about how they're made and what uses they have." She told Salient. "The crystals we worked on were the same ones they used in the construction of the new generation of Equestrian airships."

Salient looked surprised. "I remember seeing those powering their engines." He replied. "But those engines were very complicated. Can we reproduce them here, especially where we are now?" He asked.

Stellar shook her head. "No, not here." She agreed. "But I have another idea for what we can do. The humans designed a technology that we can copy in a slightly-varied form for propulsion. Do you remember the Dyson company and their ring fans?" She asked.

Salient's eyes widened as what Stellar said finally clicked. "We could use those for engines?" He asked.

"In a modified form, I think we could." She confirmed. "A large annular housing shaped as an airfoil, with a ring of crystal as an anchor point for a large mana crystal in the center, pulling air past it using a mana field instead of the magnetic field the Dyson fans use. I figure eight 'fans' about fifty feet across would give us the propulsion we need to move a structure as light as this is going to be possibly at speeds up to a hundred knots." She handed Salient a tablet comp with the maths calculated out on it.

Salient checked over Stellar's projections. "Hmm... are you sure your figures here are accurate?" He asked.

"As much as they can be, considering I'm projecting from what we do know about Cloudsdale, what it takes to move a cloud structure, the projected output of the engines and weight projections for the equipment we'll need on-board it, as well as the weights of projected supplies and the ponies I hope to have on-board her." Stellar showed Salient where her figures lay and came from. "I'm putting in a twenty-five percent safety margin as well. Those figures include the weights of small lightning-powered converters for electrical power and equipment weight calculations for things like kitchen equipment and other engineering components, plus water storage that we can use for on-board requirements, like toilets and drinking water, as well as trim requirements."

As Salient perused the design, his composure changed from sceptical to positive. "I remember when your sister brought out the plans for the new airships. I originally thought it was too good to be true, such a fast rigid airship seemed almost impossible. But she made it work, and it's proven itself time and time again." He looked at Stellar. "If you're half the engineer your sister is, then I'd have to say this looks like a possibility... if your frame spell works the way you hope it does, that is." He added.

Stellar nodded. "Yes. I do admit there's a lot riding on that, but the small section I made up of the cloudbank here to take the weight of the aircraft components seems to be stable and holding up quite well, and it's not showing signs of destabilising, either, even with the weight. If it stays the same through the night and in the morning, then I can try projecting and shaping the much-bigger field necessary for the airship frame after Dawn."

Salient nodded. "I would be happy to add my expertise to yours, Princess, when the time is right." He said.

Stellar smiled. "Good. Then we'll get started tomorrow. Right now, we'll get everypony bedded down and warm in the clouds. It's going to get much colder very quickly, and not everypony here's a pegasus. So we're going to have to reassure them and make sure they're tucked in properly."

Salient nodded. "I'll start working with your ponies to that effect."

Stellar gave a bow of her head. "Thank you, Captain." Stellar replied, then moved with him to the center of the group. Once Thunderlane and the others she'd talked to gathered there, Stellar's voice rang out over the Ponies and humans. "Okay everyone! We're going to get you bedded down for the night." She told them. "It's going to get much colder here pretty soon. For those of you who have never curled up in a cloud before, you're going to be very surprised how warm it can get. Just ask any pegasus who's slept in a cloud-bed; they'll regail you with tales of their softness and comfort." She grinned. "So please, listen to the pegasi and take their instructions to heart, and we'll all get through this night." Stellar nodded to Thunderlane and Salient Weather, and the pegasi and one unicorn spread out, helping the ponies to get settled in the clouds.

Stellar, on the other hand, moved to the humans. There was Wellman and the flight crew of the downed Globemaster there, and they looked up at her approach. "Hello, people. Did I manage to retrieve at least something of everyone's belongings?" She asked them.

"Um, pretty much." The Air Force major replied. "Thank you for that... Princess?" He said, a little unsure how to address the alicorn.

"You can call me Knight-Commander or just Commander if it makes you feel better." Stellar told him and the others. "I don't stand on ceremony or titles the way the other princesses do. Now, did you hear what I have said already?" She asked.

The flight crew nodded. "So... the clouds can act as insulation and bedding?" One of them asked, as she looked about. She saw Ponies peeling a cloud into layers, then lying down and tucking themselves in with the lifted piece.

"Just as you see the ponies doing." Stellar confirmed to them. "While the cloud-walking spell is in effect, you have the same ability to use clouds to walk and rest on as any pegasi. So if you stay away from thin spots, you should be fine." She said. "Any questions?" She asked.

"Umm... how are we going to get home from here?" The lieutenant asked.

"Working on it." Stellar said. "But for now, keeping everyone from freezing tonight is more important. " Stellar answered.

"Definitely!" The Major said. "So, we wait until the morning, then?" He asked.

"Well, you might as well wait. I'm going to be starting work pretty much right now. After all, certain things have to be ready for the morning, and I have to get those done now." Stellar explained.

"Understandable." The Major said, as some of the flight crew were already trying out the impromptu 'cloud beds', and really being surprised when they found them so comfortable.

"I'll see you in the morning, then. Have a good night." Stellar said to them, then walked away, the glow globes made of magic following her.

As the Humans settled into the makeshift beds, even Wellman had to agree... this was the most comfortable surface he had ever slept on.

= = = = =

Once Stellar was sure everyone was settled down and warm, she moved off to one side and made several large sections of cloud float down with her to the surface of the ocean below. Sitting just above it, she looked back up at the big cloud bank, noticing more clouds slowly forming as things cooled off even more. Smiling to herself, Stellar began preparing for the most important part of her plans: making Mana Crystals...

=======

Having awoken before dawn, Thunderlane looked about for Stellar as he walked along the clouds. He then saw a flash from below. Fearing lightning, he took off and flew below the cloud layer. To his surprise, he saw a couple of big clouds hovering over the ocean, with objects glowing with soft blue light on several of them. Gliding down towards them, he saw a large glowing object slowly appear before one cloud, and a magenta glow he recognised as coming from Stellar's horn was before it. He came around behind her and touched down on the cloud she was sitting on, and he saw four long, thin rods being created just before Stellar. The other clouds around her were covered with glowing artifacts, ranging from huge thirty-metre-long and ten-metre-wide crystals, to what he swore looked like the tops of commode seats. The four long rods joined a stack of them on one of the clouds.

Stellar saw Thunderlane as she put the rods down. "Heya Thunder Love." She gave him a tired grin.

Thunderlane moved to Stellar and kissed her softly, making her murr. "Good morning, Love." He replied. "Have you gotten any sleep yet?" He asked her. He could see a circular array sitting over her back, feeding her mana.

"When we're heading to America." Stellar told Thunderlane. "Once we have everything going, then I can rest." She started making more rods.

"What are those for?" He asked.

"Lighting." Stellar explained. "These will help light the decks."

"Right." Thunderlane nodded, impressed. "You're good at this." He offered his opinion.

Stellar snorted self-deprecatingly. "I'm nowhere near as good as a true crystallimancer." She replied. "They coax crystals into doing things I don't have a hope in hay of doing. I'm making these with something I have in great quantity: the magical equivalent of brute force."

Thunderlane nodded. "Seems it works." He commented.

"I hope it does." Stellar agreed. "At least they seem stable."

"It seems you listened to the lectures." Thunderlane said with a smile.

Stellar chuckled. "It was absolutely fascinating." She told him as he sat down beside her. "The incredible things they made out of mana and so many other things! The crystals they wove: many with cascading light displays, or ones that sang beautiful music, or could show images placed in them like digital picture frames can here..." Stellar sighed. "These crystals... they are very basic, if very powerful. They're made pretty much out of just plain water, a resource we have no lack of at the moment." She explained.

"Water..." Thunderlane could hardly believe it. "And... you say these are 'basic' mana crystals?"

"Yes." Stellar said. "They have... no true finesse about them, to be honest. All they're designed to do is one function each. The engine crystals will create a mana field flow through the cylinder rings; the lights will light, the power crystals will provide electrical power until we can get some lightning field accumulators set up; and the other parts will do what they're designed to do." She shook her head. "I've even made toilet seats here for a waste disposal idea I had." She chuckled sadly. "Most crystallimancers would shudder at the very idea of what I'm going to be using them for... but we have little choice in how we are going to do some things." She told Thunderlane.

Stellar looked really sad at the moment. "It's... I'm trying to put together a ship, a place where we can work from, with no shipyard, no facilities for construction, no resources... it's going to bleed my accounts dry to set this up, Thunder. But I don't have a choice. Out there are tens of thousands of ponies who need our help, and while there are other groups finding the huge concentrations of them in main countries, as we've seen... it's the scattered ponies, the ones and twos and small groups that will slip through the cracks if I can't get to them and help them." She looked at Thunderlane with tears in her eyes. "I... I can feel their pain, their lack of hope. I know I can help them... but it's not just pulling them out of areas. We need to feed, house and reassure them they are not alone, until we get them to a refuge. And all I can offer them is a makeshift base that will be cobbled together out of radical ideas and second-hand parts... not the shining display that I dreamed of..." And Stellar broke down into tears.

Thunderlane quickly moved to her and hugged her as she cried on his shoulder. "Easy, Love." He said. He looked into her eyes and could almost feel her pain... something was wrong, he could tell. Stellar's confidence was at its lowest ebb, far more than he'd ever seen it before. "What's wrong, Love?" He asked. Stellar looked down, trying to avoid his gaze. Thunderlane kissed her horn softly, then lifted her face to his. "You can tell me anything, Love. Strictest confidence, I promise."

Stellar nodded, as she took a deep, shuddering breath. "I love doing things like this, Love. Creating, making things... you remember how I used to be with my cars and things." She smiled.

Thunderlane chuckled. "Oh yeah." He agreed.

But Stellar's face turned down again. "My grandfather would be so disappointed in me, if he saw me like this." She sniffled. "But he'd do what you're doing: trying to encourage me to accept what I've done is the best I can do, with what I have..."

Thunderlane frowned. "I sense a BIG 'but' in there..."

Stellar snorted, a flash of anger racing across her face. "I never realised until recently how much the two families I had were so much alike." She told Thunderlane. "Twilight suffers from OCD. She gets obsessed with things, and if things don't go as planned, she can worry herself into a tizzy the likes of which were legendary." Stellar snorted again, but smiled. "Remember when she took her entire library apart and spent three days just resorting the books because she wanted to?" Stellar reminded Thunderlane.

Thunderlane chuckled as well. "I do remember hearing about that, yes." He replied. "And you?" He asked gently.

Stellar looked ashamed. "With me... it's perfectionism." She revealed. "I can't leave things alone. If I can see they can be improved or enhanced, I have to figure out how. If things aren't as perfect as I want them to be... it frustrates me so much it drives me to tears." She told Thunderlane. "With Mother, though..." She shuddered. "BOTH my mothers, Velvet and Hannah, were both raving perfectionists. With Velvet, Grandfather shielded me from her for most of my young life and taught me how to convert my perfectionism into a drive to strive that aided me instead of dragging me down." She explained. "But I had no such figure there to shield me from Hannah, who was much worse than Velvet ever was. Nothing I ever did was good enough for her. She beat me over the head with my two older siblings' accomplishments for most of my childhood, saying that I could never live up to them, but that I had to, because nothing less was acceptable." Stellar went on. "It almost undid everything Canopus Star did to aid me in my former life, and because I couldn't remember the lessons he taught me, I couldn't apply them... until recently. But it's going to take a long time before I can sit down and look at something I've made and say 'It's good enough'."

Thunderlane nuzzled Stellar lovingly, making her nicker and snuggle into him. "Maybe this is the big project you need, Love. Make this ship work. It doesn't matter if it isn't perfect, as long as it works." He moved back and looked into her eyes. "Nothing like this has ever been made before, probably in Equestria as well as here. YOU are defining this, right here and now, so why try to compare it to anything else? Because there is nothing to compare it to. Every step you do will define its perfection, because there is no limit that's been set." Her smiled at her. "Believe in yourself, Beloved. Because I do." And he put his nose to hers and nuzzled softly.

Stellar sniffled as they rubbed noses, a smile coming back on her face again. "Thank you, Beloved. You don't know how much I needed to hear that." She said softly.

"And no more moping." Thunderlane told Stellar. "If I catch you moping again, I am going to tickle you until you lose it." He threatened Stellar.

That broke Stellar up into giggles. "No fair!" She cried out.

"Yes fair." Thunderlane replied and ran his wings up under hers, making her squeak and floof her wings out.

"Oh, I am so going to get you for that... later." She promised Thunderlane. "And remember, alicorns have very long memories. One day, I am going to corner you and get my revenge. You will be living from this moment on in constant fear of my carefully-planned and executed attack." She almost growled at him

"And... loving it." Thunderlane replied as he gave Stellar a kiss on the nose.

Stellar burst out into laughter as she got the reference, Thunderlane joining her as they sat together in the pre-dawn twilight. Looking about her, she sighed. "I think I've got almost everything ready for the next stage." She told Thunderlane. "Making the windows for the three main decks can wait for tomorrow. It's time I really started this project off for true."

"Then do it, Beloved. Make History today." Thunderlane encouraged her.

Stellar nodded and, drawing the clouds with the mana crystals with her, she flew with Thunderlane up to where the others were still sleeping. As he watched, she took two of the most massive crystals he'd ever seen, both bigger than Stellar herself was, and headed off into the near distance. "Do it, Beloved. Show the world what we're capable of." He said softly as he settled the cloud-pallets down where Stellar had indicated.

=======

As the dawn approached, Stellar was in position above the group, incanting, one of the biggest mana crystals she'd created floating there with her. A kilometer away from her, another identical one floated in a direct horizontal line from her position. As the sun breached the horizon, a pair of enormous arrays appeared, one around each crystal, and a golden line shot from one to the other, expanding out into a cylinder three hundred meters in diameter. It encompassed the cloud formation the ponies and humans were on, linking up to the golden panel she'd created the night before as well. Once it was done, Stellar streamlined the cylinder, sharpening the west-facing end into a pointed dome a hundred-and-fifty-metres in length. Once it was set, she flew to the other end of the cylinder and made a cone two-hundred-metres long, completing the cloudship's basic shape. Four massive fins were then exuded from the cone-end, two vertical and two horizontal, making it look like the older type of zeppelin airships. Stellar landed on the top spine of the enormous shape, and flattened the top of the cylinder to form a landing platform and external deck. Down on the bottom, the cylinder swelled downwards to provide a flat 'gondola'-type deck, for landing on the ground; as well as positions for landing ramps and extensions for the placement of the engine discs and their mounts just above the deck on the hull.

Stellar rested for the moment, as she perused her work. Making a few small adjustments to the outside of the shape for equipment placings and such as she walked the length of the top deck, she sat down at the foremost point of the flat section, looking out to the west. Shaking her head and remembering what Thunderlane had told her, she said to herself. "I guess this will have to do... now, for the internal arrangements." And she created the start of two rampways heading down into the interior.

As sleepy ponies turned, yawned and stretched, Stellar made massive open decks in the golden structure, five internal decks in all, as well as other closed sections in the interior for storage and water tanks. Sections of the decks became facilities and sleeping areas, and two smaller rooms, one just below the nosecone of the shape, with it's mana crystal, and one on the front of the lowest deck became the new flight control bridges. Ten big rooms connected to open areas would become kitchens once outfitted, and the open areas dining rooms. The area where most of the ponies were settled for the moment would become part of a multi-deck loading area at the back of the ship, covering the middle three decks in that section at the rear. By the time most of the ponies and the humans were rising, Stellar was walking into the Flight Bridge area, shaping the sections in more minute details. Her horn hadn't stopped glowing since she'd started, but eventually she sat down in what would be the Captain's position, and allowed herself to fully rest and recoup her mana reserves.

It was there Thunderlane found Stellar a little later on. "So, here you are." He said, as he trotted to her, then softly kissed her. Stellar murred into the kiss as they hugged. "You have been busy." He commented as he looked around.

'What do you think?" Stellar asked him.

"It's... well, it's big, that's for sure." He said with a grin.

Stellar chuckled with a sigh. "Yeah... The basics are laid out." She said. "I'm going to need all the pegasi gathered together after they've had something to eat. This structure is just the layout for the skin. We need to start filling it with clouds until it's packed as solid as we can make it."

Thunderlane nodded with a soft smile. "Sure. I'll get them ready... oh. There were a few ponies asking about..."

"Facilities?" Stellar asked.

Thunderlane nodded. "Yeah. I think some of them have a real need pretty soon."

Stellar got to her feet. "Already covered. I'll give everyone a briefing once I finish the next stage, which should take all of ten minutes... with a little help?"

"Of course." Thunderlane agreed, and kissed Stellar again. They walked out together down through the ship until they reached a section that Stellar had left walled off. She brought out from the loading area, where all the mana crystals were parked, a cloud with a series of commode tops on it. "There are stalls laid out on either side, ready to have these implanted in them." She told Thunderlane. She took one and took him inside the portside enclosure, where obvious stalls were laid out. She put the seat down on the floor in one and locked it in place, then activated it.

"Right." Thunderlane said.

"Just add these to all the stalls in this block. Once it's set up, I'll brief everypony on how they work." She told him.

"How many of them are there?" Thundelane asked.

"The main five decks will have three major bathrooms on each of them, fore, middle and aft. This is Deck Three Aft we're out-fitting at the moment." Stellar said. "Once we have the plumbing all fitted, we'll have showers in all of them as well, in the section behind the wall here." She tapped the dividing wall. "I know the walls are mostly translucent at the moment, but as the ship gets filled with clouds, they'll turn opaque." She explained.

Thunderlane nodded. "So, we're going to get plumbing as well?" He asked.

Stellar chuckled. "Every ship has plumbing." She reminded him. "There's going to be a number of main and secondary tanks fitted out for each deck and for trim tanks. Once the ship is filled with clouds, we can fit the piping and fixtures, then gather up rainclouds and fill the tanks. There's two stations on the Top Landing deck fore and aft; they're designed to transfer the water down into the tanks as we make the clouds drop their loads."

"Wow. You're really thinking this through, aren't you?" He asked as they moved across to the second restroom area.

"I have to." Stellar said. "This is going to be a big community once it's done. I figure if we set it up properly, we can manage to have about two thousand ponies at a time here, plus the ship's crew and ancilliaries."

Thunderlane nodded, impressed. "You don't do things by half-measures, do you?" He asked.

"Well, with the way this ship is going to be built, it can't be small." Stellar explained. "This design magic was really meant to build cloud cities. I've shrunk it down to the smallest size that it'll work at, reinforced the magic to be far stronger than the way it is used in Cloudsdale, and it should still be capable of being routinely mobile. That's why I call it a cloudship instead of an airship. It's more a cloud city that's designed to be mobile, rather than a large airship vessel." Stellar sighed. "I just hope it works once we get things finished.

Thunderlane patted Stellar's shoulder. "I'm sure it will, Stellar. You seem to have a habit of making things work when they really need to."

Stellar gave Thunderlane a loving smile. "And you have a very good habit of reassuring me when I need it most." She told him, kissing him again. "Keep it up."

Thunderlane chuckled. "Anytime." He told her.

= = = = =

Eventually, Stellar called everyone on the makeshift airship together. "Good morning." She said to them all, and grinned as they responded. "Okay. As you can see, we're in the process of making this more than just temporary shelter. For those of you with a pressing problem, the two restroom blocks behind me are now open for business... but first, you might find they're a little different than what you've used before." She explained. Bringing out one of the commode seats, Stellar took time to explain how the new toilets worked. "There's forty stalls each side. Portside is for colts, starboard side is for fillies. For those of you who are directionally-challenged, when you face the bow or front of the ship, Port is to your left; so Left, Port and Colt all have four letters. Is that clear?" She asked, to a good number of chuckling ponies. "Okay then. It'll take us a bit longer to get showers and other things going, but for now, food is where it was yesterday, and water is available for drinking from bottles, the same as yesterday again. Once we get the plumbing completed, we'll make another announcement. Thank you for your continued cooperation."

Stellar stepped down and, as ponies moved to get to the restrooms, she found the Major and Wellman walking up to her. "So, you've managed to get all this done already? Whatever this is?" The Major asked.

"It's a little Equestrian spell-tech." Stellar replied. "As I said, we're working on getting everyone... well, back to the US for the moment. After that, we'll see."

"And you made toilets for us as well?" Wellman asked.

"You'll find the middle block, in front of this area, has had four toilets for each sex installed in a section just before us." Stellar said, leading them forward. "Same as for Ponies, men to port, ladies to starboard."

"Cool!" the lieutenant piped up, and she headed inside the block.

Wellman watched as others did the same. "So, where does the waste go? There are regulations for the disposal of biological waste from air vehicles." He reminded Stellar.

"And the services here work with that in mind, Agent Wellman." Stellar said. "You'll find that, as I said, the commodes themselves have no plumbing: instead, they have a one-way portal that opens when somepony sits on them. The portal transfers all waste material from wherever we are in the world to one place: A little town called Port Pirie in South Australia. Last year, they upgraded their sewerage treatment plant to a brand new facility that's ten times what the city needs at this point in time. I anchored the other end of the collective portals over the beginning area of the plant, and where it is, no-one's going to find it, ever." Stellar grinned. "And all the waste we generate here goes for safe disposal right there."

Wellman had been nodding as he listened, then shook his head. "You really do have a flair for doing things differently, don't you?" He asked. "Well... I don't think any officials could quibble about your disposal methods, considering."

"That's what I'm hoping for." Stellar said as they walked towards where the food was being served. "Now, all I have to do is get this collection of improvised spell-work to work together properly, and we'll be heading for the U.S. pretty soon."

"Should I be worried, if you're not sure this will work?" He asked.

Stellar shrugged. "The technology for using clouds as building material has been in-use at Cloudsdale for centuries. Mana crystals have been made in the Crystal Empire for millenia. The spell-technology is proven, but I'm putting it together in ways that haven't quite been done this way before, so there's always a hint of uncertainty. The best reassurance I can give you that I know for certain is that the one thing that's not going to happen is us dropping out of the sky in a sudden fall."

Wellman actually laughed at that. "Well! That's one reassurance that's good to know!" He replied.

Stellar laughed with him, and they headed for breakfast.

=======

Stellar gathered all the pegasi around her that they had. "Okay, Ponies, the next part of this is up to you." She told them. "I want you to grab all the clouds you can and bring them to the ship. Shove them through the gold skin and keep pushing them in until the frame can't take any more. You'll know this is right when the skin either won't admit any clouds into it or they get stuck half-way in. If that happens, then simply slide the potruding piece of cloud off at the skin and push it in somewhere else. We need to pack this frame as solidly with clouds as is possible." She instructed them. "From time to time, I'll use my magic to contract the clouds in the frame deeper in and fill in the holes inside the walls, to make sure every cavity is full. Just keep shoving clouds in until you can't get any more inside."

They all nodded. "Aye, Commander!" They all replied.

"Lieutenant-Commander Thunderlane will be in charge of you as you work, but don't hesitate to come to me if there's something very wrong occuring. Otherwise, he's in charge." Stellar reinforced.

They all nodded, then saluted.

"Right. Get them out there, Thunderlane, and let's get this ship constructed." Stellar told him.

"Aye, Commander." Thunderlane replied. "Okay, Ponies, let's get cloud-pushing!" And he led them out the side of one of the open decks, where they flew off and started shoving the cloud mass around them to the ship.

Stellar got the unicorns installing the lights and upper fixings, and earth ponies fitting the lower ones, including the other restroom facilities and such. Some earth ponies she had push clouds into the eight fifty-foot-diameter rings in the cargo area, especially the few foals they had, since the Pegasi simply delivered the clouds and let others handle them while the cloud-walking spell on the others lasted. Stellar took time to install the huge crystal rings in the engine housings, as well as the control rings in the mounting points. These would allow the engines to swivel on their mounts, the same way the annular fan housings did on modern blimps. The crystal mounts would also be able to be controlled from the two bridges, as would the crystal bladeless engines. Even the humans helped by disassembling the instruments from the panels of the damaged cockpit of the Globemaster, as unicorns installed the mana power crystals in places they were needed.

"I hope the Air Force doesn't mind me reusing their instruments, Major." Stellar asked as she carried the big instrument panels to the flight bridge.

The Major chuckled. "Considering the Air Force will probably consider this aircraft lost, I don't think they'd make a salvage claim against it." He told her. "As long as we can show how the aircraft was destroyed."

"I can show them footage if they need to." Stellar told him. "I saw what happened to it from a good distance away, so I think it should show that you were shot down." She said.

"Good." He replied. "With your testimony and Sheffield/Daring-Doo's testimony, it's going to be pretty obvious the Russians shot us down." He sighed. "What the hell were they thinking?" He asked as they moved past Ponies installing light-rods.

"I think they thought you'd found a number of powerful Ponies, and were trying to stop you getting them home." Stellar said. "After all, why else would an Air Force transport be asked to carry home a bunch of Ponies?" She suggested.

The Major chuckled. "That sounds about right." He agreed. They entered the flight bridge, and Stellar spent some time putting the few relevant instruments in their places. Fortunately, the water landing had done less to shake up the instruments, so Stellar had little trouble repairing the few damaged ones they needed, as well as the air-speed indication system from the damaged nose. Others simply weren't needed, such as the engineering units. But the throttles and flap controls were altered and duplicated to serve their new engines. The Major nodded as he looked about as the bridge lit up, then he chuckled and shook his head. "If someone had told me that I'd be up here, floating above the Atlantic, making an airship out of clouds... I'd have said they were crazy, honestly. But... you do this all so easily."

"Making it look easy is the real magic." Stellar agreed. “I am macgyvering so much with this ship, it’s probably going to have to be redone before it passes FAA certification in the most basic ways.”

“Well, so far, so good.” The major replied. He looked around at the bridge and chuckled. “So much space...”

“A good airship’s bridge is more like a ship’s bridge than an aircraft cockpit.” Stellar stated. “And as what is probably the first cloudship ever constructed, I’m using a LOT of cues from other airships and ship designs I know.”

The Major nodded. “Yep. Keep doing just that.” He told Stellar. “Use what you know. “ To Stellar’s surprise, he patted her withers. “You’re doing just fine, Commander.” He told her. “Your people look up to you, and you have their trust. You kept them safe and warm last night; you have kept them fed and active. And now, you have given them hope: hope that they will get through this, and in style.” He grinned.

Stellar smiled a small blush on her face. ”Thank you, Major.” She said to him.

“So, what rank is Knight-Commander in your Guard, Commander?” He asked as he sat and watched Stellar install the controls for the engines.

“In The Royal Guard, the Knight-Commander’s rank is a historical one. It puts me above a normal Commander, but below the Captain of the Guard.” Stellar detailed for the Major. “I’m basically his Exo. I speak with the authority of the Captain’s rank, unless he’s there as well, then he takes precedence over me. It means there can be two Captains there for big emergencies, which means we can be at both ends of Canterlot at once, or I can take command of the Flying Squad, since I have wings and Captain Gallant Heart didn’t, and he can be on the ground, controlling the ground forces. Other than that, I go where the Senior Princesses detail for me and do whatever missions require my expertise.”

“Makes sense.” The Major agreed. “Then again, there’s not much you Ponies seem to do that doesn’t make sense, eventually.”

“Eventually.” Stellar chuckled as she agreed with him. She rose up and stretched. “Okay, that’s done. Now for the Landing bridge.”

=======

Thunderlane watched as masses and masses of clouds had been pushed through the golden glowing skin of the airship for half-a-day now. He and the others had watched as, at mid-morning, Stellar’s magic had encompassed the interior and pulled all the clouds deep into the interior of the cloudship, crushing them almost solid inside the airframe. Once she’d done that, they’d continued filling it until it was almost full again. “Okay everypony! Lunchtime!” Thunderlane called out, his voice carrying across the clouds to all the pegasi, and it was passed onto the others. Forming a constellation, they swirled through the air and landed on the upper deck, now called the Top Flight deck, trotting down the ramps as they furled their wings, looking very happy after a half-day of solid work.

Below, as they reached the middle deck, they could smell the smell of fresh fish being cooked, some of the unicorns having gone ‘Fishing’ before, using their magic to haul in and clean fresh fish from the ocean below. The pegasi thanked their brothers and sisters profusely as they chowed down on the freshly-grilled fish, the makeshift electric grills doing their duty well. Stellar sat as well, beside Thunderlane and Rumble as they enjoyed the delicious repast. “So what’s for after Lunch?” Thunderlane asked Stellar.

“Going shopping.” Stellar said. “I’m going to go and bring back things we need, like fittings and pipework for the water tanks and showers, as well as maybe some water coolers for installation around the ship.” She told Thunderlane. “And kitchen gear. We need something better than just these grills, although they can be part of the kitchens, too.” She told Thunderlane.

Thunderlane nodded. “So, a lot of teleporting, I’m thinking?” He asked.

Stellar chuckled. “Yeah, a lot. But it’s necessary.” She told him. “And I can do it quietly as well, so hardly anyone will see me coming and going.” She told Thunderlane.

“Yeah. Good idea, that.” He agreed.

“Many of them might ask me to teleport them to the U.S., and I can’t do that. Since I’ve never been there, I can’t teleport there.” Stellar explained.

Thunderlane nuzzled Stellar lovingly. “I know, Love. But we need those fittings.”

“I know, Thunder. I just hope this doesn’t backfire on us.” She said. “I’m also going to pull some more ponies in here, especially pegasi. We need crew and hopefully some ponies that can cook. I’m also going to grab some fresh supplies. It’ll be Sunday morning in Australia once it gets dark here, and some of the best produce stores are open then, as well as the supermarkets. I’ll grab us some stuff then.”

Thunderlane nodded. “And tonight?”

“After I get back here, I’ll make the crystal blocks for the windows and transparencies. The unicorns can cut them up and install them tomorrow. Salient Weather is doing well commanding them, so they should be able to handle it okay without me having to supervise.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Thunderlane agreed.

"Now, what I want you to do is build a cloud bank right around the form. Something that we can use to fill the form with clouds and keep us hidden as we work." Stellar said to Thunderlane. "Make it look as natural as you can. It'll be easier doing this without any watchful eyes seeing us."

"As you command, my Beloved." Thunderlane replied, and his smile made Stellar's heart leap in her chest. Stellar grinned him and kissed him tenderly.

=======

As soon as she was ready, Stellar went to the cargo deck at the back of the hull-shape and inscribed a massive winged Sparkle Star on the deck there. "There. Now I can home in on this from anywhere on Earth." She said to herself, before she concentrated and teleported out, landing back in Brisbane, Australia. Knowing the town intimately, she visited some building supplies stores, big ones, and ordered a mass of plumbing fixtures and piping, mostly in plastic. Once she had everything lined up on pallets in one of their yards, she cast a distraction field around them and teleported them one at a time to the ship. Once they appeared, waiting unicorns carried them aside, so that the crew could begin installing the plumbing.

While she was flying to a place she knew carried second-hand shop and kitchen fittings, Stellar's ears started to twitch as she sensed Ponies nearby. She landed next to a University of Queensland agricultural school area, one she used to pass by every day. She carefully followed her feelings as she scanned, to find a group of ponies inside yards within one of the buildings. She moved inside the building they were in and said "Hey! Everypony okay?"

The reaction was immediate They had all been lying about, somewhat listless, but as they saw Stellar, their demeanours changed from dull to excited. She smiled as she opened the gate and walked into the yards. It was obvious to Stellar that many of them had at least some memories back, as they addressed her as "Princess!" as she came amongst them.

"Easy! Easy, everypony. Relax." She said to them. She noticed there was an unusually high number of foals there, at least thirty; ranging from a five-year-old to some in their early teens. "Is everypony okay? No-pony hurt?"

"This little one's hurt." Answered a mare, nudging a little unicorn colt to her, who looked about seven. He had a cast on one hind leg. Stellar looked the cast over, scanning it as the colt giggled. It was a simple break, nothing more.

Stellar put her glowing horn to the leg, invoking a healing spell, and after a few minutes she removed the cast, to the colt jumping up and down in delight then moving to an older filly, who looked about twelve. "Thank you, Princess." The filly said, as she nuzzled what obviously was her little brother.

"You're welcome." Stellar replied. "Do either of you know your pony names yet?" She asked.

The filly nodded. "I'm Sky Fern, and this is Forest Breeze, my brother."

Stellar's face lit up in a brilliant grin. "Well, well! I know a few Ponies that are going to be very glad to see you two." She told them.

Sky Fern looked confused, but Forest Breeze picked the implications up instantly. "You found our mama?" He asked.

Stellar chuckled as she hugged them both. "And your older sister, too." She confirmed to them. "I'm going to take you to them shortly."

That got two foals very happy. As she went around to the others, Stellar found a good cross-section of a lot of the students and teachers of Celestia's school for gifted unicorns in the group, plus some of the other residents. She was especially glad to find "Coriander! Saffron!" Stellar said as she trotted up to the two Canterlot residents she recognised instantly. "How are you doing?" She asked them.

"Uh... we are doing well, I guess, Princess." Saffron replied. "I take it, you know us?"

"Indeed I do." Stellar answered. "You two own one of the better, if smaller, restaurants in Canterlot... or did." She said.

"Yes..." Coriander then said "Yes, I remember now." He looked at his daughter.

She nodded back. "So do I... but it seems a little vague..." Saffron frowned. "But I do remember cooking... and loving to cook."

"Then come with me." Stellar said. "I have need of ponies with your skills."

"Of course, Princess. Lead on." Coriander said.

Stellar led the Ponies into a circle around her, then her horn lit up, they all were surrounded by her magenta magic and vanished. Once they were safe, she made her way out of the school and kept on shopping.

=======

The unicorns waiting for more parcels were surprised when a group of Ponies showed up instead, but welcomed them and escorted them out to where the others sat, talking and watching others work.

Sky Fern and Forest Breeze were a little nervous, but their faces lit up when somepony called out "Sky! Forest!" And Dandy came racing up to them. There were squeals of delight from the foals as their big sister hugged them close. "Oh, I am so happy to see you're all right! Did Stellar find you?"

"Uh-huh." Sky answered, as Forest nodded. "We were being kept in a big barn with others in Brisbane, until the Princess came and found us." She explained.

Dandy grinned. "She found myself and Mama, too. Come on, she's over here." And Dandy led her siblings to another happy reunion.

=======

More equipment found its way to the construction site, as Stellar made the best use of her money. Electrical equipment for the kitchens was also obtained, as well as some information for Stellar on how to assemble it. The man who 'donated' the information was unaware that Stellar had downloaded what she needed to know from him, but she certainly thanked him well. She also managed to put together two big metallic containers, well insulated, as the traps and accumulators for the lightning clouds they would use for electricity. Big capacitors would help moderate the flow from the accumulators to the power runs and inverters for the ship.

Stellar was flying back up to another place she was planning to look through, when her senses picked up a pony in pain... great pain. She raced forward, out over the mountains that circled Brisbane, to find a farm in the rich lands beyond. She landed, her face showing fury, as she headed for a large shed where the pain was coming from. She rapped on the door to the shed, taking a step back and lighting up her horn, and when a gruff-looking young man emerged, she grabbed him in her magic and hauled him into the air, as he yelled "What the fuck?"

Stellar ignored the man's ribald shouts and went inside. In the dark, she saw a figure lying on the floor. There were a couple of more huddled together in one corner, but as Stellar's horn cast a light-ball spell, she saw one stallion lying on the floor, badly beaten; the others were mares. When they realised who it was, they shuffled forth to greet Stellar. Stellar was shocked. They all showed signs of being badly beaten, none more so than the stallion, who was a youngster, barely an adult. She looked up at the human, who was still trying to hit her and hadn't stopped swearing at the top of his lungs. Then he felt a very sharp edge press into his throat, making him come to a shuddering halt. "If you do not cease that infernal cursing, I shall make sure you never say a word again!" Stellar yelled at him with a menacing tone. The man took the hint and stayed silent.

"Th... thank you..." The oldest of the mares said.

"What happened?" Stellar asked.

"We... this started happening to us... eight days ago." She began to tell Stellar. "He... my husband went insane. He... he locked us all up in here... and started beating us... as if it would make us change back. My poor cousin..." She looked at the prone stallion.

Stellar went to the stallion and scanned him carefully. She sighed with relief. "He's got no major internal injuries, thank Celestia." She told the mare. "Do you have a name in your mind yet?" Stellar asked.

"Um... I think I was called Tangerine Treats." The mare said. "All these were my relatives here, but none of them are my relatives in Equestria. Only Salacious Curves was my Equestrian-born son." She revealed.

Stellar nodded. "You." She looked at the human. "Hang about for a while." And she raised him to the ceiling and left him hanging there from a huge bolt. Once she'd done so, she began repairing Curves' broken ribs and a few other fractures. "You all need medical help." She told Tangerine.

Tangerine nodded. "Thank you for helping us." She replied. "But where can we get looked at by others who know what we are?"

"I have just the place." Stellar said, as she sealed Curves' bleeding wounds and reset his bones. She then gently nuzzled the stallion, who twiched and groaned. "Come on, Youngster! I can't send you to be treated when you're just lying there." Stellar said, gently helping him to his hoofs.

"Ow... uh, thanks." Curves said in reply. He peered at Stellar. "Do I know you?" He asked.

"Possibly." Stellar answered. "Now, I'm going to send you to a special place." She said. "There are ponies there who will take care of you. Tell them you need Redheart's attention, and that Stellar said it was a priority, okay?" Stellar told them.

Tangerine nodded and braced Curves against her. "Okay, here you go." And they vanished in a flash of Stellar's magic. There was a scream from above, and Stellar turned just in time to catch the human and save him from plummeting into the floor of the shed, which could have been fatal. "You idiot!" Stellar said as she walked over to him where he was floating just centimetres above the floor. "I was going to get you down from there before I left, you know."

"How was I to know that?" He asked in a violent tone. "You could have just left me up there to starve to death!"

"Sure, I could have... but I don't roll that way." Stellar replied. "If I'm going to kill someone, it is always quick, clean and painless... as much as it can be, anyway." She informed the human.

"And how many people have you killed, then?" He asked.

"How many humans?" Stellar asked. At his nod, she answered. "None, so far. I've been careful not to get into situations where I'd have need to do so. And before you ask, I used to be a cop right here in Brisbane before I changed. Used to be a very high-ranking officer back in Equestria as well. So I don't take life wantonly or unnecessarily." She explained. "You may have come the closest so far, so don't push your luck." Stellar warned him, though.

"They were my family!" He yelled out. "They were... everything to me..." And Stellar saw his eyes begin to water. "Why them? What did I do to deserve having them become... whatever they are now?"

"Why were you beating them?" Stellar asked.

He looked at Stellar with sad eyes, but she also saw the hate in them. "I'd hoped... I hoped that, if I beat them, they might revert and drive out whatever did this from them." He said. "Christ only knows, I'm not a godly man... but some things are not of this world and were never meant to be." He told Stellar.

"Yes, you're right there." Stellar actually agreed with him, which made him look at her with surprise on his face.

"Why... why do you say that?" He asked.

Stellar sat and let him down gently. "It's true, we're not from Earth." She told him. "We're from another reality entirely. We were sent here against our will by a monster... a god of Chaos called Discord." She explained. "All of those he sent were reborn as Humans, but for a limited time. Twenty-five years he cursed us all, and when those twenty-five years were up, we started to revert to our natural forms, as you see us now." Stellar looked at his face, as he started to realise what she was saying. "So it's not our fault; it's not your fault. The only person to blame for this is elsewhere, beyond all of our reach... and we who are Ponies have to try and find a way home again."

The human hung his head. "Go." was all he said... Then he added. "Tell them.... I am sorry."

Stellar nodded and headed for the door. It closed behind her and she took to the sky again. "Discord, you bastard. When I get my hoofs on you, I am going to shove my swords so deep in you, you'll think I was cutting my way out of you from the ninth level of Hell!" She swore...

Author's Note

Well, here's where things start to get really interesting for our intrepid team, and Stellar starts making bigger plans, as well as gathering more ponies around her.

This chapter also intersects with another of the Five Score stories: Earning Wings Of A Different Nature. Go and read it (if you haven't already) to find out how Daring and the others got to that cloud bank.

Oh, and certain ponies from some of Goldfur's stories are also going to be making cameos as well, so read that Sunset Blaze A.K.A. Dandelion Dreams, Lavender Dreams, Whirring Cogs/Zevan, Sky Fern and Forest Breeze, as well as Peach Delight and others who will appear in later chapters are all copyright to Goldfur and used with hir gracious permission.

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14 - Travelling, Part Four - Resumption/Crossing The Coast

By the time Stellar arrived back aboard her creation herself, it was a hive of activity. All the equipment she'd sent was being installed as best the others could do. The plumbing was nearly complete, only certain things needed doing, but they were having trouble with the electrics still.

Stellar picked out five unicorns. "Come here." She said. And when they were close, she touched her horn to theirs, one at a time, and downloaded the knowledge of an electrical engineer directly into their minds. It set them reeling for a minute or two after she'd finished, but then they grinned and returned to work with a will.

Stellar checked on the plumbing next and made several special collars for the main drains from the restrooms. Once she explained to the plumbers installing the drains what they were for, they understood and put them in place.

She found Coriander Cumin organising the installation of the kitchen appliances and benchtops where he wanted them in the Fourth Deck kitchen. "Ah, Princess!" Coriander greeted her with a deep bow.

"I take it all is satisfactory, Coriander?" Stellar asked him.

"The installation is going apace." He told her. "The bow kitchen on the Second Deck is merely awaiting power to be put to it, once they complete the wiring. But another group have taken over the aft kitchen on that level." Coriander told Stellar. "They said they will be cooking there themselves, making the types of foods they were familiar with." He informed Stellar as they walked along.

"Hmm..." Stellar thought on that. "That might not be quite a bad idea... as long as they know what they're doing." She told Coriander. "I'll go and see them. I shall tell them that YOU are the Managing Director of the catering on-board this cloudship, but that they can run their kitchen themselves as long as they pass your standards of service and hygeine." Stellar stated. "Is that okay?"

Coriander smiled. "It shall do." He replied. "And thank you, Princess."

"You're welcome, Coriander." Stellar replied.

Stellar looked at the work others were doing around her as she walked up to and along the Second Deck to the rearward kitchen area. She looked in, to see about fifteen teenage and near-adult ponies working to help install the kitchen gear Stellar had brought them, as well as boxes of cooking supplies and serving supplies. They all seemed eager to get this kitchen done, she saw as she watched them work. "Okay! Who's in charge of this mess?" Stellar asked with a smile on her face as she stood in the doorway.

A young unicorn stallion, about eighteen, Stellar guessed, walked up to her. "And who's asking?" He asked, until Stellar spread her wings. Then his eyes opened wide, and everypony in the area dropped their heads almost to the floor.

"Thank you, you may rise." Stellar said to them all. "And you are?" Stellar asked the older teenager.

"Um, I think my name's Flapjack." He replied, gesturing to his cutie-mark. "Or, that's what I remember it as being."

Stellar blinked. "Flapjack?" She asked. "It IS you!" And she gave him a hug.

"Wha...?" Flapjack was startled as a princess hugged him.

Stellar grinned at him. "Yes, I know you, colt. Your father's coffee shop was a favorite place for a morning brew or afternoon rest on a busy day." She reminded Flapjack. "And I know where some of your family is, too." She told him.

"You do?" He asked, elated.

Stellar nodded. "Your sister is currently staying on an outback station in Australia, with her new boyfriend." She informed Flapjack.

"Peachy..." Flapjack looked so happy, as happy memories funnelled back into his mind. Then he asked "Boyfriend?"

Stellar nodded, looking happy. "Yes. She and Azure hit it off as she was changing, and they've decided to be a couple." She told Flapjack. "So, what are you Ponies making here?" She asked.

"Well..." Flapjack said, sounding reticent to say anything, but at Stellar's look, he opened up. "A lot of us have been missing things we used to have to eat on Equestria." He said. "A lot of the Ponies here have had experience working in fast-food eateries, both on Earth and Equestria. So we're putting a place together where we can have food like hayburgers and hay-fries again, as well as the other things we like."

"Yeah, kinda like a McHays." One of the others said.

"But they needed somepony to help run it. And since I've had experience helping Peach run the restaurant back in Dad's place, I said I'd help them out... until somepony better came along." Flapjack explained.

Stellar nodded, impressed. "Okay then. This place is yours to run." She agreed. "But Coriander is the Managing Director of Catering and Supply on this cloudship, so anything you need goes through him." Stellar told them. "And your kitchen has to meet his standards before you start cooking anything more complicated than a s'more. Got it?" She asked.

"Got it!" Shouted all the ponies there.

"Right then, I'll leave you to it. One of the electrician unicorns should be along later to check out your wiring and hook you up." She told Flapjack.

"Cool." Flapjack said with a grin.

"Be good and I'll see you around. I like a good hayburger myself occasionally." Stellar revealed as she headed back out.

=======

It was close to five in the evening local time, when they announced the water tanks were full and the showers in all the amenities blocks were working. There was a mass run for the facilities, but the ones who'd been doing all the work got first shot. Stellar stood inside the forward shower block on Deck Three, enjoying the sensations as the near-hot water cascaded over her body. All around her, mares, fillies and foals also enjoyed the new facilities. Then Dandelion Dreams moved to Stellar, a long-handled brush in one wing. “Scrub your back, Stellar?” She asked.

“Oh please! If you would be so kind.” Stellar pleaded. And soon the alicorn and the pegasus were scrubbing each other’s backs and flanks, like so many others were doing. Stellar made sure she did a thorough job on Dandy’s flanks and rump, as she felt her friend doing the same. Once they were clean, a stand-alone doorway in the adjoining open space made all the water in their fur just drain away as they passed through it, leaving them dry and ready for grooming and preening. Stellar let Dandy groom and preen her first, as they stood in the open space. Dandy then asked “Where does all the water go?”

“I rigged the system with purification spells permanently set on collars on the main drainpipes.” Stellar told Dandy. “The water passes through the field, then gets returned to the main tanks. It’s probably purer going back in than it came out of the clouds to start with.”

“Nice. That way, we won’t use up a huge amount of water every day.” Dandy replied, impressed.

Stellar smiled as she started preening her wings. “I’m trying to make the ship as enviromentally-friendly as I can.” She told Dandy. “And as cost-effective as well. Our biggest bill is and always will be food, and if that’s the case, then that’s a good thing.” She said. “As long as our passengers realise this isn’t a 'luxury-liner-in-the-sky' type-of ship, then they should realise how good they have it here.”

Dandy nodded. “So, what’s left to do for tomorrow?” She asked.

“Minor things, mostly.” Stellar answered. “A lot of the more complex internal fittings, like the kitchens and the medical center on Deck Three are going to be completed tomorrow morning, and maybe we'll be ready to get underway.” Stellar said. “I am hoping we don’t have to stay another full day out here. Sooner or later, someone is going to get a radar return from us, and they’ll send someone out to investigate. I’d rather us be under way before that happens, then there won’t be any ambiguity as to what we are. Being reported as an airship is far better than being reported as a giant UFO.” Stellar grinned as Dandy chuckled. “Damn.” Stellar said as she carefully pulled out one of her minor Primaries which had came loose. “I hate losing flight feathers.”

“I know. It imbalances your flight characteristics.” Dandy agreed. “And with your-size wings...”

“Yeah. Celestia has it even worse. But she’s had thousands of years to learn to compensate.” Stellar revealed. “Have you ever tried being a unicorn?” Stellar asked Dandy.

Dandy nodded. “Yeah. My magic’s nowhere near the standard of unicorns my age, but Mom taught me a lot about how to focus the tiny little amount of magic I can channel as a unicorn. I can do very basic levitation and a few other tricks, but that's about it, and that's after a LOT of practise.” Dandy explained. "It proved a real bonding lesson for us as well, with her teaching me the basics.”

Stellar smiled widely “I’m glad you get along so well with your parents.” She said. “Makes me think that there’s hope for mine yet.”

“You don’t get along?” Stellar asked.

“Mostly my mother.” Stellar revealed. “Dad and I get along pretty well, but Mother’s been a thorn in my side for years.” She said with a sad sigh. “Maybe this experience might mellow her a lot.”

Dandy nodded. “I can’t say I know what you’re going through, but I can sympathise.” She replied.

“Thanks, Dandy.” Stellar said back, openly honest. “Hopefully, I can find your father within my next few runs over the planet.” She added as she saw Lavender come in with Sky Fern beside her.

“Thanks, Stellar. You’re a godsend for all Ponies.” Dandy said honestly. The pair moved out as soon as they were done, as the lines for the nine working shower blocks were still long ones.

Stellar smiled. “Dandy, if you and your mother could be persuaded and supplied with enough resources and flowers... could you make a really huge wreath for me?”

“Uh, sure.” Dandy answered. “What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, just a fitting tribute for when we cross the coast eventually.” Stellar said as they walked to a table to wait for Lavender Dreams...

=======

Later, Stellar spent some time creating a number of big arrays for the defense of the cloudship. Two different ones were inside the skin of the ship, duplicated around the two main mana crystals that would help power them, and two outside them, at either end of the ship. They would power the four higher phases of the ship's defense systems: Code Two to Code Five. Code One was in-built into the skin of the ship already, as she had it deploy. Each of them would give greater protection to the structure of the cloudship as well as protect those who travelled in her.

Stellar knew these arrays well. They were all proven, just in different places and for different reasons. Again, she didn't think anypony had ever brought the arrays and their effects together on one vessel before, but maybe there'd never been a need to before now. In the end, though, it meant the cloudship would be far better protected than any other airship had been, and that she would hopefully survive against whatever could be thrown at her.

Stellar was under no illusions. She knew Discord would react eventually to the huge product of Equestrian magic. It would call to him like a beacon, as she hoped it also would to all the Ponies who saw it. She hoped it would eventually become a beacon of Hope itself, that said 'We are here. Come to us, and we will help you.' Stellar smiled as she watched the arrays slowly revolve, not fully powered-up as yet, but complete. They would be deployed by a lever on either bridge, or she could instantly activate any or all of them if she felt the need was imminent.

Having completed them, she powered-down the arrays to standby and headed in again, landing on the Top Flight Deck and walking along, taking the salutes from the pegasi as she passed them, before heading down the bow ramp.

=======

That night, as most of the ship-load of Ponies slept, Stellar was lying on the Top Flight Deck, just relaxing in the cool of the night. The wind had died off an hour before, making the air still and not draining of all body-heat, unlike the previous nights. Thunderlane walked out to where Stellar was lying and lay down beside her. “Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, before Stellar nuzzled him close.

“Just... enjoying myself.” Stellar answered. “I know, I know,” She said at Thunderlane’s shocked look, “But I have the time now. I’m clean; everypony’s safe, everypony’s warm and sheltered; they’re clean, fed and content.” She sighed happily. “And their contentment makes me feel content, too.”

Thunderlane chuckled. “So, this ‘princess effect’ I’ve heard about really works?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Stellar confirmed as she stretched, then rolled her head onto Thunderlane’s back. “I’ve never felt the full effect, because lots of ponies don’t think of me like the other princesses. Twilight’s felt it a lot more than I have, but she is the one they call the Ponies’ Princess. I guess here they’d call her the Peoples' Princess, like they did with Diana.” She stretched again, arcing her back and using Thunderlane as a prop, as he chuckled. “But out here, I’m the only princess they think about. All their feelings flow into me, rather than the other princesses. So I’m feeling it a lot more, even if there aren’t millions of Ponies out there giving their warm emotions and love to me.” She smiled at Thunderlane.

“Can you feel mine?” Thunderlane asked as he looked around at Stellar.

“I’m lying on you, Beloved. Let’s just say, it’s so strong you’re like an electric blanket for my Heart.” Stellar replied. She reached up her head and gave Thunderlane a long, deep kiss. “You will never have to ask me if I know how much you love me, Thunder. I will always feel your heart, no matter where you go.” She told him.

Thunderlane nuzzled Stellar tenderly. “My love is yours, Beloved. Now and forever.” He said to her in his gentle voice, the one he kept for her.

“Then once we find enough Ponies, maybe we can be wed?” Stellar asked.

Thunderlane blinked. “What? You want me, a second-rate Wonderbolt-weather-pony, to be your...?” He then stopped. “What would I be? A Prince, like Shining Armor?”

“Technically, a Prince-consort.” Stellar informed him. “Because, unlike Cadance, I don’t rule a kingdom of my own. Nor do I have any wish to, unless it becomes absolutely necessary.” She added. “But yes, I want you for my Prince.” Stellar confirmed.

Thunderlane chuckled. “Royalty is confusingly complicated.” He commented before kissing Stellar again. “But yes. If you want me, I am yours.” He agreed.

“And I am yours.” Stellar replied in the traditional vow of engagement. She rolled off Thunderlane and moved to beside him, putting a huge wing over his back. Then Stellar chuckled. “This is going to be a game-changer. Me, getting married before Twilight? I bet Mother never predicted that would happen.”

Thunderlane laughed out-loud at that. “Yes! My mother, too, would probably not have predicted I’d ever get married, let alone to a princess!”

They both laughed and snuggled until Rumble found them. “So here you are!” he said, a number of sets of hoofs trotting with his, as Stellar and Thunderlane found themselves surrounded by twelve young pegasi, from twelve to seven years old. “Whatcha been doing?” They all asked.

Thunderlane barely kept himself from breaking out in laughter, as Stellar smiled at them. “Looking at the stars.” She said. “What have you lot been up to?” Stellar asked them.

“Training.” They all said. Rumble then added. “I’m hoping I can put a squad together, to help out while we’re here. Otherwise, it’s a bit boring.”

That’s a very good idea, Little Dude.” Thunderlane replied, actually impressed. “Once we get underway, if you like, I can help train you... at least in flight skills.”

“Cool!” The foals chorussed.

“Right. Now, to bed, my young Ponies. It’s going to be another big day tomorrow.” Stellar told them. They all looked a little sad, but followed Rumble down into the ship. “They’re all adapting so well.” She commented to Thunderlane.

“Yeah. It does seem the younger they are, the less conflict there is between their Pony side and their human side, as if it doesn’t matter to them.” Thunderlane commented back.

Stellar nodded as they rose as well. “Hopefully it’ll all come together eventually, before anypony has to return to Equestria.” Stellar said as they walked back to the ramps leading down and headed inside themselves.

=======

The rest of the major construction began that morning, as unicorns sliced off curved sections of the huge crystal blocks Stellar had made overnight. They were carried to the open sides of the three middle decks and installed with Earth Pony strength, Pegasus guidance and Unicorn power, locking them into place in the hull material, to prevent non-pegasi from falling out. Even the two open decks on Levels One and Five got half-height crystal railings and panels, that could close up completely if circumstances required the decks to be sealed. The Top Flight Deck received similar rails and panels that could be lowered to allow for pegasi landings, and raised again to allow access by the other ponies. The Bridges and the few other rooms on the hull also got their windows that day. The other Ponies made the most of the safety arrangements, adults taking fillies and colts up to the previously off-limits Top Flight Deck, to look about at the sky above them and the water below them.

Six more amenities blocks went in on the pegasi decks, as materials become available for them, so they no longer had to crowd out the main decks' blocks. Stellar was heavily involved with assembling and testing the eight huge mana ring-fans that would propel the Cloudship through the sky. She watched as each fan was swivelled around on its main axis through a full three-sixty degrees in both directions, as she kept a close eye on the mana crystal-rings that powered the movement. She sighed happily when each engine was approved and proved it was ready for operation. They briefly fired up each engine as well, making sure it started and stopped predictably and easily.

When she reached the Landing Bridge, where the engines had been controlled from for the tests, Stellar looked at Salient Weather and grinned. "It looks like I really have delivered you a working ship, Captain Weather." Stellar told him, using his rank for the first time.

"And for that I and every Pony aboard thanks you, Commander Sparkle." They both laughed together, then Salient said "I hope I'm not putting you out by out-ranking you, Princess." He commented hopefully.

"No, not at all." Stellar said. "There are times when I shall have to be the Princess... but there are times when I can do my duty under your command and be the Commander." She replied. "And then there's times I can have fun and be the Owner of this incredible structure of the air!" She giggled happily.

"And more's the fun to you then, Stellar Sparkle." Salient said. Then they saw a lot of shadows on the clouds that were butted up against the hull, just under Deck Four. "All right, everypony. Skeleton crew to the Flight Bridge. Everypony else, to Deck Four and outside, please." Salient's voice carried through the ship's intercom from one bridge to the other. Then he switched it to general broadcasting throughout the ship. "Attention, all hands, humans and Ponies. If you will make your way to Deck Four and outside onto the cloud mass, there is going to be a short ceremony, marking our readiness to leave. There will be unicorns with the cloud-walking spell there at the exit, ready to cast it on anypony who thinks they need it... so you might as well all get it done. No need to make more work for the pegasi today." He told everypony there. After hanging up the mike, Salient looked at Stellar. "Shall we, Princess?" He asked.

"Of course, Captain." Stellar replied, and they walked out of the bridge together. Once out on the clouds, Stellar joined Thunderlane and the rest of the pegasi as they hovered off the nose of the huge cloudship, as most of the other Ponies stood on clouds where they could see what was going on. To Stellar’s surprise, Dandelion Dreams came out, holding a bottle of champagne. Stellar frowned. She’d spent some time the night before using one of her special daggers to score the bottle’s outside to make it more fragile... then she realised what Dandy was about to do.

Looking at Captain Weather, who was cloud-sitting with a lot of other ponies and the humans, who were standing amongst them, Stellar saw Salient Weather just nod his head and Thunderlane called to his teams. On the bow of the cloudship, clouds were shifted aside, showing a name written on the hull under the cloudship’s call letters. Stellar’s eyes misted up with happy tears as she saw what they’d named her creation, giving her a very Pony name for an airship. Dandy’s voice soared out above the crowd as the headset she was wearing sounded her voice out the PA system...

“I name thee the Cloudship Stellar Wind. May Celestia and any other gods bless and protect those who soar in you!” And she smashed the bottle against the nose of the cloudship, to roars and cheers of approval from the ponies.

Stellar hugged Thunderlane and kissed him hard. “You wonderful bastard, you!” She told him. “You kept this from me!”

“Of course! You have to have good surprises sometimes, Beloved.” Thunderlane pointed out as Rumble came up beside her and hugged her, too. After a lot of hugs and cheers, the pegasi started ushering the Ponies across the clouds and onto the Stellar Wind through the opened sides of the fourth deck. Once they were all back inside, Stellar followed Salient Weather through the cloudship to the Flight Bridge, as Thunderlane headed for the Top Flight Deck.

As she stood on the Flight Bridge of the Stellar Wind, Stellar watched as Captain Weather gave orders to the flight crew, while she kept a magic eye on everything. “Very well. Engines, power up to ten percent, please.” He ordered.

“Aye, Captain.” The pony at the eight throttles replied and pushed the controls away from him. There was no sound, save for what sounded like a gentle breeze; but soon the airspeed indicators were showing ten knots and the GPS screen was showing them slowly moving along. Cheers came up from the crew as they finally got underway.

Captain Weather gave Stellar a smile. “So far, so good.” He replied.

Stellar nodded. “Yes. Let’s take her up a notch, then. Try going to half-speed, Captain.” She suggested.

“Very well, Princess.” Salient Weather replied, and ordered. “Engines, half-speed.”

“Aye, Captain!” Was the reply, and again, there seemed very little change, but the clouds were now moving by them quicker than before... and then the Stellar Wind broke out of the cloudbank she’d been built in, the sun shining over her golden skin and making her look truly beautiful.

Pegasi soared and raced past her, checking her over, and Thunderlane stood on the Top Flight Deck, keeping track of everypony out there with his tablet computer and the list of flyers and their cutie-marks to guide him. The short-range UHF headsets Stellar had purchased were doing their job well, helping him to guide them along. On the three main decks, the earth ponies and unicorns watched as they moved out of the clouds and headed for America. There were cheers and celebrations as they moved along. The humans were smiling as well as they watched with the Ponies. The Major turned to the Lieutenant and grinned widely, her face also covered with a grin.

Eventually, Stellar left the bridge to Captain Weather and headed back in amongst the Ponies there. They swarmed her, their good feelings radiating out and entering her as she felt ‘the Princess Effect’ in full swing. It made her feel so good, nothing could spoil this moment for her, as they cruised along at ten thousand feet over the Atlantic. She made her way to the Fifth Deck and looked out and down at the four huge engine-housings on the port side. The mana crystals were glowing beautifully, pulling in mana from the air to power them and causing a rush of air through the housings, shoving the Stellar Wind along at a really good pace. She scanned them all and found they were working as she’d hoped. A lot of tension was released from Stellar in that moment, as she finally concluded that all her work was working as it should. “Take that, Velvet, Hannah.” She said to absent figures of her mothers. “I have built a marvel out of magic and second-hand parts, and it works.” Then she grinned. “IT WORKS!” She yelled out in the Royal Canterlot Voice, to cheers from any nearby pegasi within earshot. Stellar waved to them, then headed back up inside. Her mood was soaring as high as her cloudship was.

=======

It was about ten in the morning that the main radar system for New York picked up a massive return off the coast. The controllers watched it as it moved slowly through the sky towards them at about ten thousand feet.

“Do we have a speed for it?” The Head Controller asked.

“It’s moving at about fifty knots.” One of the others called out.

“Fifty knots?” The Head Controller asked. “It can’t be a cloud formation, then. That’s almost ludicrously fast for one like that.”

“And there’s no wind that fast up that high at the moment, Sir.” One of the weathermen added.

“Do we have an estimation on it’s size yet?” The Head Controller asked.

“It’s approximately a kilometre long, Sir.” The one that called out its speed said.

The Head Controller frowned. “Way too big for an aircraft.” He said. “Do we have anything out that way that can eyeball it?” He asked. “Call the local ANG or Coast Guard base. See if they can send something up to have a look at it.” He told one of the other controllers. “How far is it off the coast?”

“About a hundred miles, Sir.” The first controller answered.

“How the hell did something that size get this close without us seeing it?” The Head Controller asked. “Do we have anything in the air close to it?” He asked again.

“There’s a flight off the coast heading up from Florida.” Another controller said. “They might get close enough to eyeball it.”

“Tell them to watch for it and report back after they pass it’s position.” The Head Controller said as he was handed a phone. “Hello?” He asked.

“This is Captain Justin of the USCG West New York. Am I talking to the head controller of the New York approach tower?”

“Yes, Captain, you are.” He affirmed. “Do you have anything up in the air close to these co-ordinates?” He asked, and read them out.

“I’ve got an S&R Poseidon doing a training run off the coast in that area. Why?” Justin asked.

“We’ve got a massive shape on the radar. It’s about a kilometre long and moving towards the coast at fifty knots.” The controller explained. “Could they do a run near that spot and see if they can eyeball it?” He asked. “It’s cruising at about ten thousand feet.”

Justin was a little wary of the request. But he knew it had to be more than just a cloud, or they wouldn’t have called him. “Very well. Tell me again its course and speed and I’ll have them divert.”

“Thank you, Captain.” The controller said. “It’s not going to cross over New York, it appears to be tracking for Jersey.. um.. towards Lakehurst, to be precise.”

“JB-MDL Lakehurst?” Justin asked, with a funny feeling in his mind...

“Yes, almost directly for Lakehurst. Its height is ten thousand, its speed is fifty knots.” The controller added.

“Very well. I’ll call you back if it’s something.” Justin said before he hung up.

He had the flight called up for him. “This is Wyvern to West New York Control, what’s up?”

“Wyvern, this is Captain Justin, WNY-Control. I need you to end your run for the moment and check out a reading we’ve been tracking. A very large object is a hundred miles out and is cruising at flight level one-zero-zero and running towards the coast at fifty knots. It will cross the coast near JB-MDL Lakehurst. Eyeball and report, Over.”

“WNY-Control, this is Wyvern. Rojer that. Eyeball target approaching coast from one hundred klicks out, flight level one-zero-zero and running at fifty knots. Any idea what we’ll find? Will it be hard to spot? Over.”

“Wyvern, this is WNY-Control. You shouldn’t have any trouble spotting it, believe me.” Justin told them.

“WNY-Control, this is Wyvern. Rojer that, heading on new course now. Wyvern, Out.” And the signal cut off.

“Hopefully it’s nothing more than a radar ghost...” Justin said to himself, as he watched the object on their radar now...

=======

The Poseidon search-and-rescue aircraft calmly soared along as it changed direction. "What's this about again? The co-pilot asked.

"New York radar picked up something coming in from the east. Apparently it's not identifying, so they want us to eyeball it." The pilot replied.

"Great. Some bogie out of Africa, probably." The co-pilot replied.

"Maybe. Hopefully its transponder's just gone down." The pilot agreed. "Anyway, we'll be within visual range in five minutes."

=======

Stellar wandered back onto the bridge again and looked everything over. Then she frowned as she passed by one of the two helm panels. She checked out the section near Tactical, then put a hoof to the panel and switched on their transponder, which she'd brought with her from Australia.

Captain Weather watched this, then asked as Stellar moved to him. "What was that for, Commander?"

Stellar looked a bit sheepish. "I forgot to switch our transponder on before we moved out, Captain. Hopefully it's not going to cause us any problems." She told him.

"Ah well, we can always claim it's been giving us the occasional problem." Salient Weather said.

Stellar nodded. "Hopefully, if they have us on radar, they'll get in contact with us before too long."

=======

"Hey, Boss!" The controller that had been monitoring the huge blip called out to his boss. "The unidentified's just switched on a transponder." He said as the Boss almost raced over.

"It has? Can we identify it?" He asked.

"It's not listed... but the coding... I'd swear it was an Australian beacon." He told the Boss.

"Australian?" The Boss asked. He looked over at one of the other operators. "Get on CASA's site and see if this code's listed." He ordered.

"Yes, Sir." She said back, and did so...

==================================

The Poseidon, Wyvern, was closing on the object. "Damn, this thing is huge, Commander..." The radar operator said. "It's a kilometre long if it's five feet."

"A kilometre?" The Commander asked. "Since when did they let ocean liners fly now?"

That got a chuckle from the crew. "Hey! I have a transponder beacon." One of the other operators said.

"Coding?" The Commander asked.

"Dunno... Sounds foreign. Where does Victor-Hotel-coding come from?"

"You idgit!" The co-pilot said. "That's an Australian callsign."

"Australian?" The Commander asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Almost all Australian aircraft registration numbers start with Victor-Hotel... at least the civilian ones do." The co-pilot explained.

"Okay, that's one part of the mystery solved." The Commander said. "Charley, listen in on the civilian bands. See if New York tries to call them." The Commander said.

"Rojer, Commander." Charley replied and switched his radio's bands.

"Hopefully, this is all going to be nothing more than a transponder failure." The Commander fervently hoped as they got closer.

=======

The control tower at New York was a hive of activity as they watched the huge shape getting closer. "At least they're easy to avoid." One operator said to the Boss.

The Boss nodded. "Have we got that code yet?" He asked the other operator.

"Just got it, Sir." The operator replied. "It's Victor-Hotel-Papa-November-Yankee, listed as an... airship?"

"An airship?" Half the operators repeated.

"An airship?" The Boss repeated the line himself.

The controller monitoring the object chuckled. "That explains why it's so big and so slow." He commented.

"Do we have a listing for it?" The Boss asked.

"According to CASA's site, it's listed as the Airship Stellar Wind." She answered. "According to this... it was only listed two days ago."

"What?" The Boss asked. "How in hell can it be here if it was only listed two days ago?" He looked pissed off. "Get them on the horn. I want to speak to their captain."

"Rojer, Sir." The operator said. "Victor-Hotel-Papa-November-Yankee, this is New York Control. We have you on our screens. Please identify yourself and your country of origin." He called out on the frequency the transponder was issuing.

=======

Wyvern was closing even more now. "Hey. See that?" The co-pilot pointed out.

The Commander looked, to see a bright golden object in the sky ahead of them. "That looks like the target." He said. "Damn, it even looks huge." He added.

"Hey, Commander." Charley then said. "New York's trying to hail them. Callsign they're using is Victor-Hotel-Papa-November-Yankee."

"Yep. That's Australian, all right." The Co-pilot said. "Do we go ahead with the fly-by?"

"Hell, yeah." The Commander grinned. "I want to see this thing up close... as close as we can get to something moving that slowly, at least."

"You got it, Commander." The co-pilot said, and he made to approach and cross-over behind the huge shape.

=======

Stellar turned, as did Salient Weather, when their radio flared to life. "Victor-Hotel-Papa-November-Yankee, this is New York Control. We have you on our screens. Please identify yourself and your country of origin. Over." It called out.

Salient blinked as Stellar smiled. "Do you want to answer them, or shall I?" She asked.

"Better that I do it. I am the captain of this cloudship, after all." Salient reminded Stellar.

Stellar nodded and stepped back with a sweep of one wing. Salient bowed his head, then picked up a microphone. "New York Control, this is Victor-Hotel-Papa-November-Yankee. We are the airship Stellar Wind, out of Australia. We are at flight level One-Zero-Zero, heading inbound at fifty knots. Over."

=======

The controller at New York tower looked at the Boss. "Well, the info matches up." He said, as he wrote out a slip for his board.

"Yeah... even if it is very wierd." He said. "An airship? How the hell could something that large cross the Atlantic without us seeing it before now?" He asked. "Where are they going?" He asked.

The Controller nodded. "Stellar Wind, this is New York Control. What is your flight path and destination? Over."

"New York Control, this is Stellar Wind. We are in-bound for Lakehurst Park for a short stop, then we will be continuing on for the West Coast. Over." Captain Weather's reply came from the speakers.

The Boss frowned. "That's a bit vague. Ask them why they're stopping at Lakehurst."

"Right." The controller replied. "Stellar Wind, this is New York Control. Why are you stopping at Lakehurst? Over."

=======

Up on the Top Flight Deck, Thunderlane was monitoring the squads going through the flight maneuvers he'd assigned to them for the day, when his extremely-good vision caught a flash of light in the near distance. Fearing it was an aircraft approaching, he called out over his radio. "All squads, come in by the numbers, quick-time! We've got an aircraft approaching." He ordered.

"Rojer, Commander!" Came nearly eighty voices over his headset, and the squads turned and came in via the bow air-ramp and the stern air-ramp. Lights and markings on the skin of the Stellar Wind designated the landing 'air-ramps', and the pegasi landed easily, then left the deck as quickly as they could, making way for the others as the aircraft passed behind the cloudship and moved to circle around them.

Soon, only Thunderlane and his personal squad were on the deck, watching the circling aircraft with cautious alert...

=======

"Holy..." The Commander of Wyvern said as they closed on the enormous golden shape. "It IS a fucking airship!" He said as they looked down its length, then passed behind it at just under five hundred metres.

"That's way bigger than even the Hindenburg was." The co-pilot said.

"Hey, Commander." Charley then piped up. "The traffic between them and New York says it's called the Stellar Wind." He said.

"Yep, there it is on the bow, under the callsign letters." The co-pilot pointed as they orbited the massive air-vessel.

"What are those things flying around it?" The Commander asked. Then his eyes opened wide, as their cameras took loads of pictures. "Are those winged horses?"

The co-pilot laughed. "Hell, yeah! Freakin' pegasi!" He replied. "Where the hell did they come from?" He asked.

"Commander, it looks like they're landing on top of it." One of the other crewmen at one of the few windows said.

As the Commander watched, he could see the flying figures lining up fore and aft on the top of the airship and taking turns to land on it, as if organised. "Damn... now I've seen everything." He said.

=======

Saliant looked at Stellar who nodded. "Tell them the truth. It's not as if laying a wreath is illegal." She pointed out.

Salient nodded. "New York Control, this is Stellar Wind. We are proceeding to Lakehurst to lay a wreath at the Hindenburg Memorial. Over." He answered them.

=======

The controller looked at his Boss. "Oh." Is all he said.

The Boss nodded. "Okay. Do we have any traffic in that area at their level or lower?" he called out to everyone.

All the controllers checked their screens. A chorus of "No", "Nope", "Nada" and other negatives came out.

"Okay then. Tell them they can head there. Ask them what their intentions are once they get there." The Boss told the operator.

"Rojer, Boss." The controller said. "Stellar Wind, this is New York Control. You are go for approach to Lakehurst. What is your flightplan for approach? Over."

=======

Stellar had moved to the front of the bridge and was watching the large navy jet flying around them. She felt no hostile intent, but she activated the Stellar Wind's defenses to Code Two level, just in case. If they did not act with hostility, the navy aircraft would never learn about their defenses' existence.

Salient watched Stellar for the lull in the radio traffic, but returned his attention to the radio as it flared to life again. "Stellar Wind, this is New York Control. You are go for approach to Lakehurst. What is your flightplan for approach? Over." came through it.

"New York Control, this is Stellar Wind. At five kilometres out, we will descend from Flight Level One-Zero-Zero to Flight Level Five. We will be hovering over the Lakehurst site while the ceremony is taking place, then we will head inland on course ninety degrees west, returning to Flight Level One-Zero-Zero. Over." Salient detailed for them.

=======

"Stellar Wind, this is New York Control. Rojer that flight plan. Watch out for wind gusts from the South-east as you approach the coast, weather over the Site is fine with wind below five knots. Welcome to the United States."

Then the Boss stepped up. "Stellar Wind, do you have facilities to land a helicopter on-board? Over." He asked.

"New York Control, this is Stellar Wind. We have landing facilities for a small helicopter. Over." came the reply.

"Stellar Wind, this is New York Control. Rojer that. Be prepared to receive a delegation from Customs within the hour. Over." The boss told them.

"New York Control, this is Stellar Wind. Rojer that. We'll lift to Flight Level Two-Zero after our stop and make preparations to welcome them. Over."

"Stellar Wind, this is New York Control. Rojer that. Continue on your current course and report back when you are ready to stand over Lakehurst. New York Control, Out." The Boss concluded. He looked at the controller. "Keep an eye on them, but don't stop them.. yet." He turned to one of the others there. "Get in contact with Customs, and tell them they'll need to send a small crew out to the Stellar Wind to assess their personnel and possible passengers." He turned back to the controller handling the airship.

The Controller smiled up at him. "At least we don't have to worry about them out-running anything we send up against them." He said.

The Boss chuckled. "That's for sure." He agreed, then went on to the next crisis...

=======

"WNY-Control, this is Wyvern. We are orbiting the object, which appears to be a massive airship named Stellar Wind, call sign Victor-Hotel-Papa-November-Yankee. Over." The Commander reported back to the Base in West New York.

"Wyvern, this is WNY-Control. You've identified the object visually? Over."

"WNY-Control, that is an affirmative. We're orbiting this huge airship right off our port side. It's similar but different from any other pictures of airships I've ever seen." The Commander reported. "New York Control is talking with them as we speak. Over."

"Wyvern, this is WNY-Control. Rojer that. Return to your scheduled patrol route. WNY-Control, Out."

The Commander looked at the Lieutenant sitting beside him. "I guess we go back to the training flight."

The Lieutenant co-pilot nodded. "Yeah, I guess." He agreed. "Returning to scheduled route." He said as they came around the tail of the airship for the third time, then they peeled away and headed off again.

=======

Salient looked at Stellar as he hung up the mike on the console before him. "I guess we're known, now." He told Stellar.

Stellar chuckled. "Or identified, at least." She agreed. "That went a lot smoother than I thought it would." She added.

"Indeed. I was assuming we'd be buzzed by F-15s or F-22s, armed to the teeth, with orders to veer away from the coast and heave to." Salient replied, smiling.

"Well, I'm going to go and tell our human friends that there is a possibility of them getting a ride home again, if they want to make a call or two." Stellar said.

"Thank you for your presence here, Commander." Salient replied, saluting Stellar, who saluted back and left. Once she was gone, the crewpony at Tactical switched the defenses back to Code One level again.

= = = = =

Stellar found the humans on Deck Five, looking over the translucent railings at the aircraft that was flying away, and at the approaching coastline. "Ladies and gentlemen." She said as she approached them.

They turned to look at her, the Air Force personnel saluting Stellar while Wellman just nodded. "Princess." The major replied as they watched her reach them.

"We've been contacted by New York Traffic Control." Stellar informed them. "Apparently Customs is sending a helicopter out. But as we have only a small space for it to land, I don't know if we could have one come in that could carry all of them and you at the same time. Once they're gone, Major, you could contact your nearest base and have them send a helicopter for you and your people. The ship could support a Blackhawk landing on the flight deck."

They all nodded. "We'll see to just that, Princess." The Major agreed.

"And what of me, Princess?" Wellman asked.

"For you, Agent Wellman, you may wait for them to take you with them, or we could bring you down with us to Lakehurst when we attend a ceremony there." Stellar suggested. "But it might be a bit embarrassing for you, being carried down by some pegasi." She suggested.

Wellman thought about it. "I'll wait to go with the Air Force personnel." He agreed.

Stellar nodded. "It would be easier for you." She said back to him. "We're not designed to have people riding us, unlike in the movies."

Wellman chuckled at that. "Well, true... those pegasi are the size of large horses, not ponies."

Stellar grinned. "And I am not that big, yet." She honestly said.

She turned to the group as Wellman joined them again and said "I hope your stay with us has been as pleasant as we could make it for you. I'm sorry this wasn't a pleasure cruise... maybe our next cloudship might be a little better planned and a lot more professionally executed. But for now, thank you for being patient with us and showing your best friendship towards us. I personally hope we might see many of you again, someday."

"And behalf of the United States Air Force, Princess, we all thank you for saving our lives back there, and bringing us home in a modicum of style." The Major said, to applause from the others, including Wellman.

"And I thank you for your kind words. If you will excuse me, we're getting ready for a small ceremony we're putting on at Lakehurst Park. I shall see you again before you leave." Stellar said and bowed her head to them, then she turned and left.

As she headed up through the airship, Stellar was met by Nurse Redheart, who was looking a little ragged, but very pleased. "How are you, Redheart? Enjoying the new medical center?" Stellar asked her.

"Oh, it's getting there." Redheart said. "I just wish I had some colleagues to share it with!" She sighed exasperatedly. "Now, I have my report for any rep the CDC sends to us. Every Pony on board has received their shots, so that's taken care of. Apart from a few minor bruises and sprains, I have only one major patient: She's a twelve-year-old unicorn filly who has the Cutie Pox."

Stellar was surprised. "All right, can we handle it?" She asked.

"I'm keeping her sedated for the moment. It stops the cutie-marks from driving her to do any number of things." Redheart told Stellar. "Lavender Dreams was kind enough to give us some flowers and plants, which Hay Changer was able to transmog into the plants we needed for the cure." Redheart told Stellar. "It's brewing now, and we have her in Quarantine until she takes it. I don't know if the Cutie Pox is catching here, but best not to trust it." She declared.

"A wise precaution." Stellar agreed. "Okay, I can leave that in your capable hoofs, then. Do we have a census of our numbers yet?" She asked.

"With everypony you've brought on-board since we started building our new home, at this time we have: two hundred and thirty pegasi, of which thirteen are under age." Redheart read off her tablet. "There's a hundred and seventy-two unicorns, fourteen of which are under age, with one due any day now. And two hundred and fifty-four earth ponies, sixteen of which are under age. Oh, and four thestrals, one of which is under age. They're all nightwings." Redheart reported. "And one alicorn." She grinned cheekily.

"That's six hundred and sixty-one Ponies." Stellar said. "And we seem to be just under a third of our capacity."

Redheart nodded. "I have to concur." She answered. "If I can find some more medical ponies, then the center could be really functional."

"I'll see what I can do." Stellar replied. She gave Redheart a nuzzle in thanks, then headed off further on.

All around her were Ponies resting, eating, being comfortable, even if they weren't actually doing much. She did find a group of unicorns tracing a big mural into one of the golden walls of the Stellar Wind on the Second Deck. The mural was of Canterlot, and Stellar provided a little correction now and again to little details in the mural as they progressed.

It was close to an hour later that she felt the Stellar Wind lower her nose and start descending. Stellar moved to the Top Flight Deck, where symbols and markings for a helicopter landing pad had been traced into the most forward part of the widest section of the foredeck, and tie-down points had been coaxed out of the skin. Stellar spent a small amount of time widening the flattened area to make a large square pad for helicopters to settle onto, with lights all around it. A group of unicorns led by Lavender Dreams and Dandelion Dreams were walking up the aft ramp with the huge wreath. Thunderlane was coming up the forward ramp with a group of his pegasi squads as well, ready to escort Stellar down. Stellar looked over the wreath, and nodded, smiling widely at Lavender and Dandy. "It's beautiful." She told them. "Just the message we want to say."

"Thank you, Stellar." Lavender replied before she and her team bowed to Stellar. Stellar had them set the wreath down before the pegasi squads, and the unicorns returned below decks, so they could take up positions for the ceremony on the lower decks. Even the Landing Deck was open for the first time, to give more room for the ponies to watch.

=======

On the ground, thousands of residents of Manchester Township watched as the golden cloudship came down towards their community over the fields of the former Lakehurst Naval Air Station, where the Hindenburg had crashed and burned. Four times the length of the Hindenburg, the giant Stellar Wind slowly came to a hover over the spot, and dozens of pegasi took to the air, Stellar and Thunderlane leading the way. Many people came out and took up positions to watch as the ponies landed. Stellar led the Ponies carrying the huge wreath up to the stone obelisk that marked the place where the Hindenburg's gondola hit the ground, while the rest formed a guard of honor to the sides.

As hundreds of humans looked on, Stellar said a few words in reverent commemoration of the disaster. As she bowed her head, a dozen pegasi lifted the wreath and placed it around the memorial. Once they'd returned to the rest of the party, all the pegasi bowed, then they took off and headed back to the Stellar Wind. Once they were on-board, the Stellar Wind's powerful mana engines lifted her and she started heading inland as she rose.

As the humans walked up to see the wreath, they saw it said:

From Stellar Wind to Hindenburg
Rest In Peace, Sister; you will never be forgotten.

= = = = =

Salient Weather had the Stellar Wind halt her rise at two thousand feet, as they saw a helicopter approaching. Thunderlane had pegasi escort the helicopter in, and others on the deck secured the helicopter once it had touched down. Stellar came up on the deck as the doors slid open and people in suits, uniforms and overalls alighted. They were shown where to go and Stellar met them at the top of the bow ramp. "Welcome aboard. Please, follow me." She yelled at them, then led them down the ramp to the First Deck.

When they were out of the wind and not needing to shout to be understood, Stellar smiled and welcomed them again. "Welcome aboard the airship Stellar Wind, Ladies and Gentlemen." She said to them. "I am the owner of this vessel and one of her commanders. My name is Princess Stellar Light Sparkle, and I am happy to be your liaison while you're on-board."

"Thank you... er, Princess." The obvious leader of the party replied, shaking her hoof. "I'm Lieutenant Calvin Hod, of the U.S. Customs Service. Dr Ainsley Myers is from the CDC, and Don Graveson is from the US Agricultural Service." He explained as the others shook hand-and-hoof with Stellar. "Jenny Kings is one of our investigative team, as is Michelle Tomlin and Graeme Ross."

"A pleasure to meet you all. Just call me 'Commander', if it suits you better." Stellar replied after shaking their hands. "If you'll come this way, you can start your investigation and then we can all continue on our separate ways as quickly as possible." She told them as they headed downstairs.

"This is one huge construction you have here, Commander." Lieutenant Hod said. He tapped on one of the golden walls, and it seemed like it was stone to the touch. "I can't see how it works."

Stellar chuckled. "It's all Equestrian Spell-tech, I'm afraid." Stellar said. "But having said that, the technology has been used for centuries in Equestria, just not to build airships from."

"I see." Hod said. "We'd heard rumors about you ponies for a week or more now, but this is the first time we've actually met any of you."

"Not your fault, I expect." Stellar said with a wry smile.

That got a chuckle from them. "So... I expect your foodstuffs to be... more like agricultural products than traditional vegan fare." Graveson commented.

"We do eat a lot of processed products yes, like alfalfa pellets and such." Stellar answered. "But there's a lot more than just that. We can process hay into forms that you might find hard to tell apart from some meat products. Pegasi also eat a lot of fish and chicken in their diets." Stellar revealed. "Comes from needing the extra protein because of all the energy we expend flying." She explained. "And you'll find bran and oat cereals are in high demand for breakfasts on-board, too."

"So, you have some raw products on-board, then?" Graveson asked.

"There are some." Stellar answered. " But they're kept in areas for special processing. It's mostly hay that we keep raw, but in special conditions to maximise its life and keep it from going off and breeding pests. Plus we make sure that when we bring a hay roll on-board, that's all we bring on board."

Stellar introduced the team to several Ponies, including Redheart for Dr Myers, several unicorns for the other team members, and Hay Changer for Graveson, who instantly took a liking to the down-to-earth Pony, even if he was a unicorn. They all split up and headed in different directions. Stellar stayed with Lieutenant Hod, as she showed him around the ship, letting him look into anywhere he liked.

"This... is an amazing construction, Commander." Hod said to Stellar. "How does it stay up in the air without gasbags?"

"Magic." Stellar answered. At his look, she added "No, truthfully, it is Magic. Pegasi have the ability to reinforce clouds so they can stay together and aloft for years, even centuries. The techno-mancy, if you prefer the term, was used to build a huge city in the clouds known as Cloudsdale. It was hundreds of years old when I first visited it, and it was the home of a great deal of the pegasi population of Equestria. What you see here is that same magic, but compressed and reinforced into a form that we filled with clouds. With the magic that's been infused into this structure, it should never fall apart, save if we abandoned it. Then the form would slowly die away and the clouds would be released. Of course, all the other equipment would eventually fall to the ground as the clouds dissipated, so we'd do it over a scrapyard or something... if we ever did it." Stellar sighed. "Hopefully, this ship is going to be around for as long as I make Earth my home."

Hod nodded. "Well, considering most of those on-board are... refugees, as you claimed, I can see that smuggling things isn't high on your list of to-do things." He said. "Could we bring dogs on-board, if we had to?" Hod asked.

"Of course, as long as they don't start thinking we're something to chase or hunt. But drug dogs, hopefully, are better trained than that." Stellar replied.

Hod chuckled. "They most certainly are." He agreed. "I take it you have plenty of monetary funds to help support your ship and crew, as well as those who are with you?" He asked.

"I've got enough." Stellar said. "I did put a strain on my cards, getting the things we needed to fit out the ship." Stellar admitted. "But as soon as I can exchange some Equestrian currency for Earth funds, then I shouldn't have any trouble keeping things together."

Hod nodded. "Good." He said. "At least you don't have to worry about accomodation costs or fuel costs." He chuckled. "An airship. I can't say many people would have ever considered this as a transport solution." He admitted.

"True, it is a peculiarly Pony solution to the predicament we were in, one could say." Stellar replied. "But, as you said, it solves a lot of problems. And we do have a long history of using airships and balloons in Equestria. As soon as we can make contact with the refuges that other Ponies are putting together in the States, then we can drop off those who want to stay there for when they find a way Home. Then we can go find others." Stellar smiled.

"And if they want to stay where they are?" Hod asked.

"If they're safe and secure where they are, then my mission changes to keeping in touch with them, so they know they are not alone." Stellar stated. "Ponies do not live very well alone. There are exceptions, but as a whole, we are very social beings. We have a massive sense of community when we get together, and we're reluctant to part with our friends, once we come together." She sighed. "I think the only big change to that are those who will want to go home to Equestria again, if we find a way home." She looked at Hod. "I am almost certain such a way exists. We just have to find it."

"And what will you do, if it's found?" He asked.

"I'm staying." Stellar said. "The Ponies staying will need me. Ponies need an alicorn, as an anchor for their community and emotional spirit. The others will be going home. That I am most certain of as well. Their hearts will long for their home again."

"And your heart?" Hod asked.

Stellar smiled. "I won't leave until the last Pony returns to Equestria." She answered. "I may visit there on occasion, but I will always return here. As long as there are Ponies making their homes here, this will also be my home."

Hod smiled at Stellar. "Then I wish you well, Princess. I hope we never give you cause to regret that decision." He said, as they headed up to the next deck.

= = = = =

As the Customs group were coming up to their helicopter several hours later, there was a second pad being created way to the aft of the one the Customs helicopter occupied. Already an Air Force Blackhawk was flying alongside the slow-moving airship, waiting for the signal to land. "I see we have more company for you, Princess." Hod commented as his crew were climbing into their ride.

Stellar chuckled. "They're here to pick up the crew we rescued, I assume." She told Hod. "That's one thing I should have put in the design when I formed her: these helicopter pads." She admitted. "Ah well, better late than never."

"Indeed." Hod said with a laugh. "Fair winds to you and clear skies, Commander. Take care and maybe we'll see each other again, sometime."

"That will probably be true, Lieutenant. Fair skies to you, and stay safe." Stellar said as she shook his hand, before she stepped back and watched him climb in. The doors closed, and Stellar trotted forward, to watch the little helicopter spin up and be released, then watch it take off and surge forward over the bow and out into the clear skies.

Then the Blackhawk moved to land on the bow pad. Its military grade engines were quieter than the civilian helicopter, and with wheels instead of skids, it was secured with chocks and cables quickly. Stellar waited for the doors to open, and two Air Force officers alighted. A colonel and captain in uniform slid out, dropped down and moved under the rotor out onto the clear area.

Stellar saluted them as she reached her. "Colonel, Captain. I'm Commander Sparkle of the Stellar Wind. Welcome aboard." She said to them in a loud shout. They nodded, then she led them down the bow ramp to the first deck.

The Air Force crew and Wellman were waiting there for the officers, and they stood, the crew saluting as the officers reached them. "Major." The Colonel said. He smiled at the other officers and enlisted personnel. "Good to see you alive and well, Major, people. When we heard what happened, we'd feared the worst." He said as he shook the Major's hand.

"Well, it's thanks to the Commander and the Ponies that were with her that we're still alive, Colonel." The Major explained. "If they hadn't come along exactly when they did, we'd have almost all been crushed in the impact, and the few survivors would have been stuck in the middle of the Atlantic, awaiting a cold death of hypothermia."

The Colonel turned to Stellar, who gave him a smile. "Then on behalf of the United States Air Force, Commander, we thank you for rescuing our personnel and returning them to us, safe and rested."

"Our pleaure, Colonel." Stellar held out a hoof, which the Colonel shook. "We also saved the black boxes from the Globemaster, and we also have reports from my own people and the survivors who saw the aftermath of what happened as well. The reports are in video format as well as written reports as well, so it should prove interesting for your president if he tries to bring the Russians to task over it."

"That's for the politicians to decide, Ma'am. But they'll also go well in our own enquiry." The Colonel replied.

One of the unicorns put a very strong-looking alloy case in front of the Captain, and two more were carrying cases with the black boxes in them. "You'll find the video recordings in a fairly unique format, Colonel, but there is a player for them, and full instructions on how to plug it in to transfer them to a DVD or Blu-ray recorder."

"And for that, we thank you again, Commander." The Colonel said, as the Captain picked up the case.

Once the formalities were over, The Colonel and the Captain led the crew and Wellman up to the Blackhawk and everyone just barely managed to fit inside, along with the precious cargo. "Take care, Colonel! Fair skies to you!" Stellar said as the Blackhawk started spinning up.

"And to you, Commander!" He replied, just before the door was shut, and Stellar had to retreat. Again, Stellar watched until the Blackhawk was out of her visual range, then she headed back downstairs again. The sun was starting its descent towards the horizon, and she wanted to enjoy a few more hours with the ponies on-board before Dinner was served.

=======

Later, Stellar and Thunderlane were resting in their quarters, just over the flight bridge of the Stellar Wind and the master mana crystal in her nose. Stellar had put this large cabin together so she had a private place to come with Thunderlane and enjoy intimate moments with him, once they were on downtime. Plates with the remains of dinner sat beside them as they watched the stars and the moon slowly cruise along above them. Stellar looked back for a second over her shoulder, to one of the two bedrooms in the suite. Rumble was fast asleep, a number of his friends with him in a pony-pile as they enjoyed being together. She grinned. The squad he was putting together, in imitation of the squads his big brother had under his command, were really starting to learn the ropes of serving on a cloudship. She turned back to Thunderlane and gently kissed him. “You were right, Thunder Love.” Stellar said softly to him.

“And what was I right about this time?” Thunderlane asked in reply.

“This whole thing.” She answered. “You were right that it didn’t have to be perfect... but it works. It works! And I made it, even if I had a lot of help putting it together.” She sighed happily.

Thunderlane chuckled. “I take it your perfectionism has suffered a massive defeat this day?” He asked.

Stellar chuckled back. “Yeah, I guess.” She said. “It’s nowhere near where it had been before we got sent here, but it’s getting there.” Stellar agreed.

Thunderlane nodded. “Good. Hopefully, it won’t be long before you have full control over it once again.” He told Stellar as he nuzzled her. “Now... shall we enjoy our new bed?” He asked.

“That’s the best idea I have heard all night.” Stellar agreed. They both rose and headed into their own bedroom.

Author's Note

Okay! Everypony finally gets moving again, heading on for the States!

This chapter, along with number 13, have been sitting for the longest time, waiting for chapter/s 11/12 to be finished. I had these done before Chapter 7 was done, to be honest. Along with some re-writes and upgrades, I can now finally post them where they belong.

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16 - Inspections/Going Back Down Under

Things occasionally went slowly for the personnel at the F.A.A. office in Harrisburg, but not today. Doug Banher had found orders on his desk that morning, orders to inspect an enormous airship that had been flying over US airspace for nearly two days. But as he'd prepared his team that morning, another series of orders had restricted anyone from flying in the same airspace as the airship; why, Doug had no idea, but the authority behind those orders was all too clear. So he and his team had been waiting since early morning for clearance to lift.

Eventually, after the local A.T.C. had noticed that other helicopters were approaching the airship, the call came that Doug had been waiting on "We're clear to lift, Doug." Came a call on the inter-building intercom.

"Roger that." Doug replied. "Is everything ready?"

"Everyone's here, almost." replied his pilot, Al Tanner. "Cecily's just getting our clearance paperwork done. Apparently the airship has helipads on top of it, but getting permission to land on a moving structure is a little harder than trying to convince the Navy it needs to park an aircraft carrier so you can land on it." Al replied, using an old joke amongst F.A.A. personnel.

Doug chuckled, but gathered his backpack and slid into it. "I'll be there in three." He told Al.

"Rojer that." Al said back, before Doug hung up the receiver and headed out of his office. Three and a half minutes later, he was climbing aboard a big Bell Twinranger, an older-type helicopter, but both fast and with a large capacity for the team. After Doug had settled, Cecily arrived and climbed into the co-pilot's seat beside Al, and one of the ground crew slid the huge back door shut. Everyone settled into their seats and waited as the rotor spun up and they lifted.

Doug watched Capital City Airport slide away under them, and then they headed north-west. "So, where is this... 'Stellar Wind'?" Doug asked Al as they gained altitude.

"She's standing out north of Hogestown at the moment, between Routes 944 and 850." Al replied. "She seems to be hovering there, for some reason they haven't stated, other than the fact they told A.T.C. they were liaisoning with a group on the ground."

"Really?" Doug asked. "Well, at least that's conveniant for us. We won't have to chase her down."

"Yeah. But it kind-of makes you wonder what they're doing, talking to a group on the ground." Al said curiously.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there." Doug said back.

=======

Stellar, Thunderlane and the rest of her honor guard had just alighted back aboard the Stellar Wind after their visit to Cloudbreaker's township, when they noticed the rear helicopter pad was being readied for use. She strode up to Cloudchaser, who was supervising, and asked "Are we expecting someone, Lieutenant?"

Cloudchaser turned and saluted, then answered "Yes, Commander. A delegation from the F.A.A. are going to be landing here within the hour. Apparently their head office has been almost demanding to inspect the Stellar Wind after the other government agencies came aboard."

Stellar nodded. "Very well. Alert me when they arrive off our beam, and I shall welcome them." She replied.

"Aye, Commander." Cloudchaser saluted Stellar again, then nickered as Stellar gave her a hug instead of a salute, only saluting her back after the hug. Cloudchaser gave Stellar a big grin, then went back to her job, as Thunderlane moved to take over Flight Operations again; while Stellar went back down to her quarters, to get into uniform again.

=======

As the Twinranger approached the Stellar Wind, the scale of the enormous airship became apparent to the F.A.A. personnel. "Look at the size of that thing." One of the inspectors, Jessie Holloway, commented.

Doug chuckled. "It's certainly the biggest vehicle we've ever seen in the air." He agreed.

"Maybe we should call it an 'air vessel', instead of an 'air vehicle'." Al suggested as he angled the Twinranger to come up alongside the airship.

"I guess it might actually be appropriate, considering it's almost bigger than any ocean-going vessel that I know of..." Doug agreed.

"What are those things flying around it?" One person asked.

"Drones?" Another suggested.

"Not unless drones can flap their wings!" Cecily replied. "They're little winged horses!"

That had everyone on the helicopter straining to see for themselves, as a formation of four of them shot past the Twinranger, then circled it. One of them spread out a big sign for Al to read, that said: 'FOLLOW ME', as the pegasus stallion backwinged in front of the helicopter. Al gave the pegasus the 'Thumbs-up', then he found the four were shepherding him up and over the back of the airship, where two marked pads were waiting. "It seems they're prepared for us." Al said back, as he was guided to land on the larger of the two landing pads. Al found his skids were secured to the pad as he began to power down the Twinranger, and more pegasi were there, ready to guide the occupants away from the helicopter once they'd opened the doors. The inspection crew followed the directions, and found themselves heading down a ramp into the airship's interior.

Stellar was there, waiting for them. She had hidden her horn this time and made herself a little smaller, rather than cast a geas on this crew. It was a less messy option, too. "I am Commander Stellar Sparkle, owner of the Stellar Wind. Welcome aboard." She said to the team as they reached her.

Doug was a little surprised by this. The briefing sheets had said that the airship housed a large number of these 'Ponies', but hadn't mentioned they owned the ship, or that they crewed it. He took the hoof Stellar proferred in his hand and shook it for three pumps, then let go. "Thank you." Doug then said. "I'm Doug Banher, head of the inspection team. These are my people." He introduced them to Stellar and the other Ponies that gathered behind Stellar.

"Glad to meet you." Stellar told Doug. "I expect you want to get started right away. Lt-Cmdr Heavy Shades here has organised teams of two to look after your team and take them wherever they want to go." She gestured to the heavy-set earth pony stallion who came up beside her, wearing the armor of the Ship Guard.

"At your service!" Heavy Shades declared, his Trottingham accent quite refined and polished.

Doug was even more surprised, but he nodded. As he broke up the team into their various units, two ponies were assigned to help each unit. Eventually, only Doug and Stellar were left. "So... you own this vessel?" Doug asked Stellar.

Stellar smiled as she led Doug further into the Stellar Wind. "Considering my own capital went into funding her construction and outfitting, plus I also was instrumental in designing and putting her together, pretty much everypony who was there agreed that I own her." Stellar answered.

"Do you charge others to come aboard her?" Doug asked.

Stellar shook her head. "Not yet." She answered honestly. "Right now, the Stellar Wind is home to a great number of Ponies rescued from intolerable hardship and a lot of abuse. Our mission is to bring Ponies out of conditions such as those and bring them to various refuge communities set up to house and care for them, until such time as the way Home is found." She explained.

Doug was more surprised, and somewhat sceptical. "Have you found much of that?" He inquired.

Stellar looked at Doug. "There have been a few very bad cases, yes." She replied. "I rescued a group of Ponies who were having their throats slit, just because they were unicorns. I found pegasi who had had their wings amputated. Fortunately, none of them were beyond saving... unlike some others." She hung her head a little. "You humans tend to think of yourselves as the apex of sapience, and therefore many do not recognise that any other form, save yourselves, are capable of true sapience. While it is true that we do look more like animals to your eyes than humans do, with their bipedal stance, we are as capable as you are of building things, sometimes in ways you cannot. This ship alone is evidence of that fact, Mr Banher."

Doug stopped for a second and looked around. He was walking along the side of one of the restaurant-style kitchens; the smells coming from inside told of sophisticated tastes and use of methods of cooking that normal animals simply wouldn't think of using. He watched as Ponies sitting down outside the kitchen area sat on benches and other types of seating, at tables, using cutlery to eat with... or sometimes using something that he could not identify to scoop food up and deposit it in their mouths. He did see some eating from bowls in a fairly animalistic way, but he realised they were very young, by their size... and it wasn't as if his children hadn't done the same when they were growing up, either. He looked into the kitchen, and saw Ponies working around cooking implements, front hoofs washed and wrapped in some-kind-of sterile glove-like sleeves as they cooked and worked. Most of them remained on their hind hoofs while they worked as well, something he found very interesting. He even saw them using registers and keyboards to type in orders that appeared in the kitchen area on screens, but no money was exchanging hands, just orders and food. "You've got this set up rather well..." He said.

Stellar chuckled. "Thank you." She replied. "There's one thing you have to remember, Mr Banher: all of us here were born and raised as Humans for the last twenty-five years before we started changing back into Ponies. We were brought up in the ways of Humanity... and just because we have our old bodies back and some of our memories of the time before we were Human, doesn't mean we've lost our human memories. Only those younger than Five will ever truly forget being Human." She explained to Doug.

Doug nodded at that. "I see... that explains why everything in here looks like it's to Code." He commented.

Stellar nodded. "We have a number of experts in the fields amongst the Ponies on-board us. Some things are different to what you might expect, but that's only where we could make something better than what's the usual Specifications for aircraft; take the showers on-board, for instance. We waste very little water, using purification collars around the main drains that purify the water so efficiently that the water after them is purer than when we captured it from clouds. Likewise, all the water that goes through the dishwashers and sinks in the kitchens here is recycled in the same way. Our food waste is sent to certain farms, where it is composted and treated for use on the farm."

"And your body-wastes?" Doug asked.

"That gets sent to a sewerage treatment plant in Australia for disposal, just as if we were living on the ground." Stellar said. "It's set up so that there's very little chance of any contamination from anypony using the system... well, save for foals, of course, but all youngsters go through that stage." Stellar chuckled.

Doug smiled back, fond and not-so-fond memories of his own kids' toilet-training coming to mind. "You have young... foals on-board, I see. How safe is this ship in terms of their capacity to cause mischief?"

"Come this way." She said, and led Doug over to the side of the deck. "Now, below the Top Flight Deck you landed on, there are five internal decks, plus the Landing Deck on the bottom that sits like a gondola for three hundred metres along our length." She explained. "Decks One and Five are our Upper and Lower Flight decks, and usually house only Pegasi. The three middle decks, such as Deck Two, which we're on, are pretty much sealed at all times, although the transparencies can be opened, if necessary." She led him up to the floor-to-ceiling transparent panels that ran the length of the deck. "These can be opened only from two places on the deck itself, as well as the Flight Bridge."

Doug gently tapped one, and was surprised to see concentric circles of blue light ripple out from the impact point. "What is that?" He asked.

Stellar chuckled. "Magic." She answered, to Doug giving her a frown. "No, it truly is what we refer to as 'Magic'. Ponies have the ability to manipulate an energy force we call 'Mana' or 'Thaumic Energy', in different ways depending on what sub-species we are." She explained. "For Pegasi, it's what makes our flying ability so powerful. Unicorns can use it to create certain effects using codified formulas we call 'Spells'. Earth Ponies or ground ponies as you would probably call them, can manipulate the 'Thaumic field' energy that flows through the earth itself, to do amazing things. But if you get ponies that truly remember some of the more powerful effects, you can get transparencies like these." She explained to Doug.

"So... what does this 'magic' do, in relation to these windows?" He asked.

"It means that they, like the very skin of this cloudship, can resist incredible amounts of damage." Stellar explained as she turned around to face away from the windows. "Watch." She told Doug, and as she lifted her rear hoofs, they glowed magenta with energy, and she gave an almighty kick to the panel. The panel cracked like a spider's web from the impact, but the cracks never reached the frame; they came to a halt very quickly, glowing a brilliant blue.

As Stellar turned around, the panel glowed all over, and Doug saw the cracks slowly reversing, healing as the light concentrated on them, until even the horseshoe-shaped dents in the panel popped out and healed. Amazed, Doug ran his hand over the solid panel. "That's... incredible." He said.

"The whole structure of our ship's skin is like this." Stellar told Doug. "That's why it glows slightly as we travel along. It's also allowing any breezes or gusts of wind to divert around the skin, meaning we don't feel them as we travel along." Stellar smiled. "It's also what we term as 'Code One' of our security grid. One other effect is that any birds or other lifeforms that come near us will find themselves diverted away from the skin, and harmlessly carried along the sides until they slide free of the tail; then they're free to go wherever they want to." Stellar explained. "We care for the wildlife of Earth, too."

Doug looked at Stellar. "I would not have believed it unless I saw it." He told her. "And you ponies put this together by yourselves?" He asked.

Stellar nodded. "We had a few humans aboard us from Day One, but their help was mostly minimal, and almost totally related to our flight control systems." She answered. "They recently returned to their jobs when we crossed the Atlantic Coast, and apart from the previous inspection team, you're the only other humans to come and visit us... well, beside the constant droning of the news choppers." Stellar chuckled.

Doug chuckled as well. "Incredible." He agreed.

= = = = =

Three hours after they arrived, the inspection team met up together outside one of the Third Deck eateries. Over apple-based delights and non-alcoholic cider, the six leaders sat with each other and compared notes, as Ponies mostly walked by them, save for the odd foal who wanted a hug. "So... what have we found so far?" Doug asked.

Sherrill Miller, an expert in on-board food preparation and sanitation technology said "Well, their food preparation standards do differ from our own in some regards, but from what I can see, like Ag-Service reported, they maintain their food-handling to a degree that attains or surpasses the requirements." She reported. "They even ran through a fire drill for me down on Deck Five. They may be ponies, but they can move like lightning when they have to. They had everything shut down and secured in thirty-five seconds flat. They have sprinkler systems and extinguishers, fire blankets and spill kits in every eatery. Their grills, hotplates and fryers have spill-proof lids that would hold even if they were flipped, once they were locked down." She smiled at Doug. "I'd give them an eight-point-seven; good enough to pass and a bit more, but with just a little room for improvement."

Doug nodded. "Mark?" He asked their electrical engineer.

Mark had to swallow part of an apple fritter he was munching on, but that let him gather his notes. "Okay. I spoke with the Ponies who did the installation work. After some testing, they seemed to have as much knowledge as a university-trained electrical engineer. Some of the systems here are very weird, but the lighting they use doesn't need electricity, so I passed them on that. The eateries and water heaters use power from what they term 'Lightning accumulators': two large insulated metal cylinders that they somehow force charged clouds into and get them to discharge into large capacitors." He shook his head. "I have no idea how they do it, but it works, and apart from being very non-polluting, it appears to be very safe." He told them. "The wiring and other things are up-to-code by not only our standards, but to the best in the world, I'd say. I'd give them a Nine easily, maybe a nine-point-five if I could figure out how that Lightning-control system works."

"What's the crew like?" Doug asked Jessie Holloway.

"Well... ignoring that they're Ponies was hard, I admit." She said. "Captain Weather, Commander Sparkle, Lt-Cmdrs Morning and Evening Mist... god, these names... A good many of the flight crew have pilot's licences and experience with flying aircraft; the Captain has a rating for flying hot-air balloons and also for small-scale non-rigid airships in England. Apparently where they came from, many of them supposedly served in the 'Royal Equestrian Airship Service' as well." Jessie went back over her notes "Yeah, that's what they called it." She confirmed. "I spent about half-an-hour observing the crew on duty... and they appeared to be competent and somewhat experienced. I questioned the Captain, three commanders and many of the lieutenant-commanders who serve on the Flight Bridge, as well as some of the 'enlisted' crew, and they all seem to know what they're doing. Apart from the fact that many of them don't have current certification for airships, the big problem we have is that we don't have an airship that requires such a big and co-ordinated crew to operate at the moment; so testing them would have to take place aboard this very vessel itself, if we're going to insist on testing them." She told Doug. "I would suggest... let them get to where they're going. Let them disembark all the 'refugees' they have on-board, as they intend to, then have them come back here or somewhere where there's people who can certify them for airship operation as a crew. That gives us time to assemble a team to certify them, because god only knows, we hardly have anyone that experienced in Airship operation to certify them."

That got a few knowing chuckles from the others, then Doug turned to Cecily and asked "Okay, what about their propulsion systems?"

Cecily sighed. "I understand the idea behind it, but how it works... it's beyond me." She told Doug. "Those huge rings along the sides of the ship work like Dyson fans; they draw air through them, accelerating it to provide thrust. From what they explained to me, the crystals in the center of the rings are instrumental to how they work, and they're self-powering. The only connections to the rings are for throttle control and for maneuvering the rings themselves for thrust-control. Their top speed is about a hundred knots, which for a structure this size is pretty damned good. They might be able to go faster with their propulsion method, but for this size of vessel, it's more than adequate."

"And how about safety?" Doug looked at Bill Huggens, the closest person they had to an expert on airships.

Bill looked through his notes. "Well... It's kind-of hard to say. After all, Pegasi have their own wings and can fly rings around aircraft, as we've seen. They showed me how quickly they can put together... get this: Cloud platforms."

"Cloud platforms?" Doug asked, his voice betraying a little incredidulity.

Bill nodded. "They can assemble a platform that can hold a hundred ponies in about ten seconds flat. And that's with teams of three working together. They could have platforms at every deck level capable of taking the entire ship's complement in a minute. As big as this ship is, it's not going to go down anywhere near as fast as an airliner would if something happened. They'll have plenty of time to evacuate the entire structure even if they're at capacity."

"What about bouyancy?" Doug asked. "Are they safe for a water landing?"

Bill just chuckled. "Somehow, from what they showed me, this gigantic form is stuffed full of clouds."

"Clouds?" They all said back.

Bill nodded. "It's magic." He replied, shaking his head. "That's why they call it a 'Cloudship'. Apparently though, from what they've explained in terms that I can understand, the cloud-mass is inherently bouyant because of the magic they can focus into it. It is also pretty much neutrally-bouyant as well. If they landed on water, it would probably sink to the top of the 'landing deck' as they term it, and the whole thing would sit there on the water. Plus, whatever the hull is made of, it's not fabric. It's as solid as if it were metal, yet almost weightless. I would swear to you guys that if we could land this thing on a set of scales big enough, it'd probably weight maybe two thousand pounds at the most, basically from all the equipment on-board her. But they have no gas bags, nothing flammable used in her at all, save for the kitchens... This structure's about as safe as anything I could think of, and beyond that." He chuckled. "They could make a mint if they equipped her out for luxury travel and paying passengers."

That got some laughs. "So... Can we honestly say that the Stellar Wind passes inspection?" Doug asked.

"Yes." Bill replied. "As far as airframe and passenger safety goes, she's better than anything we have today."

Cecily nodded. "Yes. Her propulsion method is safer than anything we use today, by far."

Mark smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Her power-source not withstanding, electrically, she's as safe as any aircraft we have in the skies today."

"From what I've observed... they're competent to handle this ship... maybe more so than any other air crew we could put aboard her." Jessie gave her assessment. "They just need to be officially rated and certified."

Sherrill swallowed the cider she was drinking and replied "Their kitchens aren't what we'd see in an aircraft, but they don't have to keep everything compact and suited for short-flight durations. In terms of safety, they rate highly. In terms of garbage disposal and recycling, they're better than a lot of normal restaurants. In terms of sanitation... the methods are beyond anything we have, but they work, and work well. Their lavatory and shower blocks are spotless and kept up to code; they diligently keep the public areas clean and make sure that pests don't get on-board. Their methods of recycling water and purifying it are beyond our scope to duplicate, and how they dispose of bodily wastes... I tried it myself, and it works extremely well. If their... 'Magi-tech' as one of them put it, could be duplicated, it might revolutionise the airline industry." She told Doug.

Doug nodded. "Okay... so they pass inspection." He said. "But what do we classify them AS?" He asked.

All five of his experts smiled. "Airship: experimental." They replied together.

Doug laughed, as he turned his sheet over, with the same words written in the assigned space. "Yeah. I can't think of any other classification, personally, and you've all just confirmed it." He said. "If they ever decide to duplicate this... 'cloudship', I hope we get to see it from Day One. It would be an incredible vessel to see being... constructed."

And they all couldn't help but agree.

= = = = =

As the team made their way back up to the Top Flight deck, Doug handed Stellar and Captain Weather a folder. "This is our inspection report." He told them. "We're passing you as an experimental airship. To be frank," He sighed with a smile, "the magic systems you have on-board are almost beyond classification at the moment; save that they seem to also rate very highly above any other system we've ever documented, in terms of passing the specific codes that cover the areas they fit into. So that's the best we can do at this stage." Doug explained. "If you have a place we can send your certification to, we can have your flight certification sent to you in about a week's time."

Captain Weather nodded, as Stellar held out a card. "I know this is an Australian address, but we get back there regularly. If you have it sent there, we can bring it back here and make sure it's displayed where it will be seen by anyone who wants to know if we're flight-rated."

Doug nodded. "Thank you." He replied. "About certifying your crews to fly... it's difficult, because we don't have an airship of this type or size to train or test you on." Doug said frankly. "But, if you can, once you've dropped your passengers off where you're headed for, we'd like you all to come back to Harrisburg so we can have you all assessed. If the ones in your crews without current pilots' licences want to get certified as pilots, we can handle that, too, then progress along as everyone qualifies. It might take some time, but that way you will have official certifications that will be valid anywhere in the world." Doug told them. "Oh, and it'll give us time to put together a team to certify you all as well." He said with a smile.

"I think we can arrange that." Salient Weather replied with a happy smile.

"Good." Doug said. "Then we'll see you when you get here. But please, don't try and fly out of United States' airspace before you get certified, or else the next time you try and come back here, you won't be allowed to enter. That's not my ruling, that's the way it is." He told them. "Any of you with normal pilots' licences could fly in in aircraft you're rated on, but this lovely lady needs her licenced and rated crew. We're only letting you continue for the time being because you have the closest thing to a rating on her that's available, Captain, and most of your officers are licenced civilian pilots already." Doug stated. "Once we clear up everyone else's status, then we can treat all of you as we would any other aircrew."

"That's entirely understandable, Mr Banher." Stellar stated. "We thank you for your forebearance on the matter.

Doug smiled back. "Oh, and if you ever want to make another one of these... could you let us know before you start? We'd love to see and document how you do it." Doug asked.

Salient and Stellar chuckled. "I'm sure that can be arranged." Stellar answered, as Doug handed her some of the team's business cards. "Thank you." She added as they made their way on the Top Flight deck.

"Our pleasure. Safe skies to you, and fair winds." Doug said as he headed for the Twinranger, which was just starting to power up.

"And to you." Stellar and Salient replied, as they stood and watched the big helicopter spin up to take-off speed then, as she was released, waved as it took to the skies and headed away from the Stellar Wind.

"A satisfactory result, Commander." Salient Weather commented as he and Stellar went back down into the body of the Stellar Wind.

"Indeed, Captain. After the trouble we've had from... other sources, it's welcome to find humans who do their job without prejudice." Stellar agreed as she reverted back to her alicorn-form.

"Then shall we resume our journey?" Salient asked.

"As soon as feasible." Stellar agreed as they headed towards the bridge.

=======

As the night slowly settled over the Stellar Wind, Thunderlane went looking for Stellar after dinner. He eventually found Stellar down on the Lower Flight Deck, blocking off the rear half of the fifth internal deck from the rest of the ship, opaquing the crystal windows and making the deck sealed against day light. Thunderlane guessed what Stellar was doing. "We're about to get a big increase in numbers, aren't we, Beloved?" He asked.

Stellar nodded. "It's time to keep a promise made by Luna a very long time ago, that I renewed three days ago." She answered Thunderlane.

"Do you think they'll all be comfortable in here, Stellar Love?" Thunderlane asked.

"They'll mostly be in here only during the day-time, when they sleep." Stellar explained to Thunderlane. "When night settles, they can spread out on the flight decks and the Top deck, as well as the Landing deck, just like all the other Ponies. They'll have their own shower blocks and eateries here, which we can supply with fish and meat for their diet as well, as well as the blood supplement the Thestrals require to get the special nutrients from Equestrian animals that they need in their diet. Whatever the restrictions, they'll find things a lot better here than in those caves."

Thunderlane nodded. "The Guards-ponies are also used to being in the day-light, so they can sleep on the forward half of the deck if they desire." He pointed out.

Stellar grinned. "I'm making allowances for hammocks for them as well. That should help double the capacity of this area for sleeping."

Thunderlane chuckled. "That'll help." He agreed. "The same for the Pegasi?"

Stellar nodded. "We know Pegasi like hammocks as well, so that will be good on the Upper Flight deck as well as in here." She looked about. "Well, I can't see anything that isn't ready for them." Stellar said. "Most of the Day Ponies are used to Thestrals now, thanks to our resident Night-wing family, so they shouldn't panic as the others start to mingle and take their place with us."

Thunderlane nodded. "I'll get the rest of the Ship-Guard and Sky-Guard aware of the imminent arrival of our newest passengers." He said, before he gave Stellar a deep kiss and trotted for the light-lock in the forward bulkhead.

Stellar watched Thunderlane leave, a loving smile across her face, before she set up a magic circle on the deck next to the bulkhead. As the circle powered up, a portal appeared on the bulkhead's surface. As it stabilised and opened, Stellar added an array that would teach the Thestrals proper English as they stepped through to the Stellar Wind. Once it had stabilised, Stellar walked through to where she'd set up a similar circle inside the caverns inside the Carpathians, to anchor the portal there. She saw Cimmerian Shade and the Lunar Guards waiting for her there, as the older Thestrals gathered around curiously. The Guard saluted her, as the other Thestrals bowed deeply to her and welcomed her.

"" Stellar asked Cimmerian, after returning their salute. ">You may all rise.<" Stellar sounded out to the other Thestrals.

"" Cimmerian replied, as the Guard relaxed a little. "" He asked.

"" Stellar answered.

">Are we going to our new home, Princess?<" Dusky Shades asked Stellar as she came up to her.

">Not exactly.<" Stellar replied, to surprised looks. ">I have a place prepared for you, but it isn't on Equestria yet.<" She explained. ">The way Home is yet to open, so we are heading to where my sister, Princess Twilight, is living. In the meantime, you are welcome to stay with me on my new Home, the Cloudship Stellar Wind.<" She revealed.

Cimmerian Shade and the guards looked puzzled, but the rest of the Thestrals were agasp with wonder. ">A cloudship?<" Cimmerian chirruped, startled into using Thestral-speak.

">It's an airship made of Pegasus magic and stuffed full of clouds.<" Stellar told Cimmerian and the others. ">It is much larger than other Equestrian airships. There is half of a deck especially set aside for you for light-secure sleeping quarters, as well as your own eatery and facilities. Of course, after dark, you can spread out over the rest of the ship and stretch yourselves out, as long as you don't disturb the Day Ponies as they sleep... and they won't disturb you as you sleep, either.<" Stellar promised the Thestrals. She then gestured to the portal. ">Come. Your new accomodations await.<"

Cimmerian gestured to a number of the Lunar Guards, and they followed Stellar through. They were amazed as they found themselves in very different accomodations from the rough caves. With Cimmerian helping to direct traffic through the portal and Stellar directing the Thestrals to move to certain areas, with the soft moonlight-like glow of the light bars above making it easy for the Night-ponies to see; soon all five hundred of the Thestrals had left the caves behind. Cimmerian gave the caverns one last search, finding three Night-wing foals playing Hide-and-Seek and chasing them playfully back to the portal. He gave the caverns one last look, then stepped through to the Stellar Wind.

Once there, he saw a lot of the Thestrals at the open sides of the deck, looking over the chest-height barriers at the sky around them, the lovely full moon lighting up the landscape below and turning the golden skin of the Stellar Wind a shimmering silver. Hammocks close to the ceiling were being checked over by the Night-wings, and comfortable air mattresses scattered around the floor in sunken frames were being appreciatively assessed by the others. Cimmerian saw lines forming at the shower block, with Stellar directing the Guard-Thestrals to guide some of the others to the forward block on the deck as well as in how to use the modern ablution equipment. Delicious smells were slowly wafting from the eatery, where the first Thestral family on the Stellar Wind were showing their talents at cooking for their fellow Thestrals, with a little help from willing Day Ponies.

Stellar led Cimmerian and most of the former Lunar Guards-Ponies up through the decks, explaining to them about how the ship was arranged, what the command structure aboard her was, and the rules of the ship. Eventually, they were all standing up on the Top Flight Deck, watching the pegasi from the Day Watch come in and land. "I am hoping, Fillies and Gentlecolts, that you will all become part of the Stellar Wind's Night Watch in good time." She told them all in English, which they now could understand thoroughly. "And Cimmerian, this is Lieutenant-Commander Thunderlane." She introduced Thunderlane to them and Cimmerian especially. Thunderlane and Cimmerian saluted each other and clopped hoofs. "Thunderlane is in command of the Sky Guard on-board the Stellar Wind." Stellar explained. "He is also my adjuctant."

"Nice to see you again, Thunderlane." Cimmerian said in a friendly tone.

"And you, Cimmerian." Thunderlane replied in the same tone. "Glad to have you and the other Thestrals on-board."

"So... if you're only a commander on-board, Princess... who is the captain of the Stellar Wind?" One of the sergeants asked.

"A very good question." Stellar replied, smiling. "The captain of the Stellar Wind is one of our most experienced airship captains, Captain Salient Weather."

"He's here?" One of the other sergeants asked.

"I take it you know the Captain, Sergeant?" Stellar asked.

"I served aboard the Northern Wind for a tour, Ma'am." The Sergeant answered. "If you have Captain Weather on this ship, then you have the best."

Stellar nodded, smiling. "Thank you for the vote of confidence in our Captain." She replied. "Now, for the non-flyers of our Night-Ponies, there's the Ship Guard, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Heavy Shades. Hopefully, the Ship Guard will have hardly anything to do during the days and nights, save for making sure everypony on this cloudship stays content and safe. Any threats that we can think of will come from outside this vessel, as they have done already. The most you will do, unless we get invaded, is to keep the peace, answer questions from the refugees we have aboard this vessel, and to show the flag to all these Ponies and let them know we care for them and are here to protect them." She informed them.

"When we find Celestia and Luna, things will change, of course. They'll need their guards back again, and this will help keep your skills alive and current. So for now, you'll help your old-time cousins settle into their new home here, and revive your positions as guards in the Service. Other than that, Fillies and Gentlecolts, welcome aboard the Stellar Wind, and hopefully, very soon, we'll find a way back to Equestria." Stellar concluded. "So, stretch your wings if you have them; take a look about the ship and enjoy the facilities if you don't. We're all in this together and I hope the others make you feel as welcome as I want you to feel." She gave them a smile. "Oh, and don't forget: make sure you sit for your uniform fittings if you join either of the Guards, and you'll also be supplied with armor as well-fitting as Lt-Cmdr Thunderlane is wearing. So get to know your fellow Guards-Ponies and become friends with them. Who knows? Most of them you probably already know from serving in Canterlot." Stellar suggested.

As the Thestral Guards-Ponies broke up and started to mingle with the Pegasi and others that were coming off-duty, Stellar manage to call Thunderlane and Cimmerian Shade aside. "Thunder, I'm going to give Cimmer here the same rank as you." She told Thunderlane and Cimmerian. "He'll be taking over the Night Watch, so, you two will be joint commanders of the Sky Guard. Of course, each of you will be ascendant at the proper time of day/night." Stellar smiled at them both. "You boys think you can work together, in Harmony with each other?"

Thunderlane looked at Cimmerian Shade. "Well, I was never a member of the Guard..."

Cimmerian chuckled. "It doesn't look as though that's stopped you setting up a very good system here, and making them look the part." Cimmerian replied, as he looked Thunderlane's duty-armor over. "These look more practical and better than the regular Guard Armor. Who makes them?" Cimmerian asked.

Thunderlane rolled his eyes as Stellar blushed. "Oh, just our resident metal-forging princess here..." Thunderlane answered, gesturing to Stellar with his eyes.

Cimmerian's eyes widened as he looked at Stellar. "You... Princess?" He begged clarification.

"It's... a hobby." Stellar confirmed. "I do love making things out of metals, ever since I learned how to smelt and forge metal under tutelage from Steel Rings." She explained. "I've even made all my own armor for myself, after watching the Ponies of the Small Rings foundry make my first set of armor." Stellar sighed happily at the wonderful memories.

Cimmerian chuckled. "Wonders shall never cease..." He commented. He turned to face Stellar properly, bowed to her and then saluted, a gesture she and Thunderlane returned. "As you order, Knight-Commander. I shall take up command of the Night Watch, starting..."

"Tomorrow night." Stellar interrupted. "You need tonight to orientate yourself and your troops, and get them ready for their shifts."

"As you say, Commander." Cimmerian agreed.

"Then we shall leave you to get used to our home here, Lieutenant-Commander." Stellar smiled at Cimmerian. "We hope you and the other Thestrals find life aboard the Stellar Wind to be as accomodating as the rest of us do."

Thunderlane stood side-by-side with Cimmerian and they both saluted Stellar, who returned their salute, then walked off, to let the two stallions get organised.

= = = = =

Later, Thunderlane walked into Stellar's (and his) quarters, where he saw Stellar grooming Rumble out, as Flitter and Cloudchaser sat, grinning and talking to Stellar as they watched. Rumble was being quiet and, while Thunderlane knew his little brother didn't really like anypony else grooming him, he was standing still as Stellar gently stroked a body-brush through his coat. Thunderlane smiled to himself. Rumble was almost a different colt from what memories he had of his younger brother from the Time before Discord had thrown them to Earth. For some reason, being Human for those years had changed him far more than some ponies had changed. But it hadn't been for the worse, Thunderlane felt. Rumble still had Rusty's memories and a lot of his fun-loving attitude, more than Past-Rumble had, and his devotion to Stellar as the 'Big-Sis' he'd never had before was mellowing him into a much better and more social pony.

Stellar had Rumble spread his wings so she could inspect the job he'd done preening himself. She knew that Past-Rumble had prided himself on the care of his wings, and she wanted to be sure that Present-Rumble lived up to the meticulous attention he'd paid his wings in the past. She only had to gently lick one feather back into place, as its barbs had caught on the feather beside it, then she nuzzled Rumble tenderly. "You've done a good job, Rumble-Bro." Stellar said to him in her 'affectionate tone', one she kept for Rumble and Thunderlane.

Rumble looked back at Stellar with his mauve eyes, their gaze full of pride and love for the Alicorn mare who held him close to her. "Thanks, Big Sis." He replied.

"I am glad to see you're still taking care of yourself, and you're not being lax in your personal care." She told him. "After all, you are a leader amongst the foals now, and you have to set a good example to them all."

Rumble nodded. "I know, Sis. And I won't disappoint you." He reached up his head and muzzle to nuzzle tenderly with Stellar as she leaned down to him.

"I know you won't." Stellar replied. "That's why I trust you." And she softly kissed him on the forehead, to affectionate sighs from the Twins and a proud smile from Thunderlane, as he moved to Stellar's side and hugged Rumble as well.

"We both trust you, Little Dude, and we know you'll do the best you can for your friends." Thunderlane added.

"You betcha, Big Bro!" Rumble replied, grinning as he hugged his brother back.

Stellar nodded. "All right, Rumble." Stellar said. "Are your friends..." And there was a knock at the door just then. "Ah, that should be them, now." She added, knowing that any adult Pony would have used the door-bell instead of knocking. She opened the door using her magic, and Rumble's squad-mates trotted in. He grinned and trotted over to them. They all bowed to Stellar and acknowledged the adults there, then they all disappeared into Rumble's room, closing the door behind them.

Thunderlane chuckled. "He's so growing up." He said to them all.

"Yeah! He's... not as... what's the word?" Cloudchaser asked.

"Confrontational?" Flitter offered.

"Well, yeah, but... I mean, he's not wanting to be alone all the time now, not as forcefully, anyway." Cloudchaser went on. "He likes being with us, now. He used to be so 'I don't need anypony to help me!', like; but now, he likes being with us and doing things with us." She told them. "And I like it." Cloudchaser grinned.

"Yeah. I have to admit, he's more serious than Rusty was, but not as serious as... what did you name him, Stellar? As 'Past-Rumble' used to be." Flitter added.

Stellar nodded as Thunderlane chuckled. "I have to admit it, but the Little Dude is definitely better than he used to be... and I like him the way he is."

"Yes, my little brother is definitely showing his potential now, more than ever." Stellar agreed. "And he will never lack for attention, no matter what." She said, nodding at Thunderlane, who nodded back.

"Anyway, we'll see you in the morning, Thunder, Stellar." Flitter said as the twins rose from their couch.

"Sleep well." Cloudchaser said as they got nuzzles from Thunderlane and Stellar, then left for their own little section of the Upper Flight deck. They'd managed to secure a twin-sized hammock up there, and felt better sleeping with each other... unless invited to 'sleep' elsewhere.

Thunderlane chuckled. "We really are a mess, aren't we?" He asked Stellar.

Stellar snorted, but grinned. "Our entire civilisation's been turned upside-down twice, Thunder. It's going to take a lot of time to put everything back in order again... even if we returned to Equestria tomorrow, with everypony from there returning with us." She sighed. "We're doing the best we can with what we have and can develop. I'm still amazed my idea of this cloudship really worked. But we have what has to be one of the best communities of Ponies anywhere on the globe, and probably the most diverse. Now all we have to do is bring everything together; find the Princesses and bring them to safety; then help Twilight find the way Home. Once most of those who want to go back are back there... maybe not safe, but safer than being here, then we can deal with the issues of those who remain behind."

Thunderlane nodded. "So, what's the plan for later?" He asked.

"We'll head back to Mark and Cee-cee's station about Midnight. It should be morning there, and we can start dealing with the Australian Government's bureaucracy and get our citizenship re-recognised again. Once we do that and get my bank accounts looking healthier, then we'll see from there."

"Sounds like a plan." Thunderlane agreed, before he headed for the bathroom. Stellar smiled as she headed for their bedroom and prepared it for their slumber-time together...

=======

Stellar awoke around midnight with Thunderlane curled up in front of her, Stellar spooned up around him. She stretched, then gently nuzzled him. "Whassah?" Thunderlane asked sleepily, as he looked up into Stellar's face.

"Time to head back to Australia, Love." Stellar told him.

Thunderlane yawned wide, then stretched. "Oooo-kay. Gimme a moment..." He replied, as Stellar slid off the other side of the bed, rolling over carefully onto her hoofs without crushing her wings. She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, to see Thunderlane doing wing-stretches along with stretching his legs. He trotted past Stellar with a high-wing between them, and Stellar grinned as he went into the bathroom.

Stellar checked on Rumble and his friends, noting the soft little noises the colts made as they snoozed in a big pile. "So cute." She whispered softly as she smiled softly at them.

Once Thunderlane was ready, they stood together and Stellar made the connection in her mind back to the house and yard from whence they'd left Australia. The big Winged Sparkle Star she'd placed on the roof firmly fixed in her mind, she and Thunderlane spread their wings, Stellar's horn lit up brilliantly, and they vanished together. It took less than a count of three before they appeared above the outback station in brilliant sunlight. They instinctively came to a hover as their eyes adjusted, then they leisurely spiralled down to a landing before the house.

= = = = =

Cecelia had been sitting out the front of the house on the verandah, grooming little Jumble after he'd found a patch of a prickly little plant known as Cobbler's Pegs, and had gotten the small black prickle-seeds stuck all through his coat. Fortunately, they succumbed to the fine comb Cecelia had remembered she'd had put away from when they'd had dogs there. Now that his coat was free of the seeds, she was grooming him out with a palm brush from the stables. Cecelia gasped as she heard the sound of big wings coming down, and stood as Stellar and Thunderlane landed in the front yard. Jumble's eyes widened in awe as he saw Stellar, and followed Cecelia down to meet the newcomers.

"Stellar! Thunder!" Cecelia yelled as she came down the steps with Jumble, holding out her arms to them.

"Cee-cee!" Stellar called back.

"Hey, Aunty!" Thunderlane added as he lifted himself up on his hind legs and hugged Cecelia to him, then he moved aside as Stellar and Cee-cee hugged. Then he noticed Jumble. "Well, hello there." Thunderlane said to Jumble, who looked confused. Thunderlane then realised the problem and said "" In Equish.

Jumble's face lit up and replied "" The little colt said in a properly respectful voice.

Then Stellar moved before Jumble. "" She said in a soft, kind voice.

Jumble's eyes went fully-wide as he took in Stellar's regal look and stance, then he bowed deeply to her, almost placing his entire forward body on the ground before her hoofs. "" He replied to Stellar.

Stellar gently lifted Jumble's chin with a wing-tip. "" She gently corrected Jumble as she lifted him to his hoofs. Jumble nodded, still showing awe. "" Stellar asked him, before she gave him a soft kiss on the nose, making Jumble blush.

"" Jumble replied, to a chuckle from Thunderlane. Jumble looked puzzled. "" He asked.

"" Thunderlane explained.

Jumble's face lit up with a happy grin. "" He told Thunderlane. "" Jumble asked.

Stellar giggled at that, as Cee-cee grinned. "" He corrected Jumble with a soft voice and a smile.

"" Jumble replied, as Thunderlane rubbed his mane in a friendly manner.

"" Thunderlane told Jumble, treating him like he treated Rumble at the same age.

"So, what brings you back?" Cee-cee asked.

"We need to check on getting our identification changed, as well as deposit some more gold into my bank account." Stellar told Cee-cee, grinning, as Thunderlane and Jumble headed off together. "So, how have you and Mark been coping?" Stellar asked Cee-cee.

"Surprisingly well." Cecelia answered. "Mark's got some of the pegasi and earth ponies helping with the muster, and many of the other earth ponies have increased our growing capacity immensely. We're pretty much self-sufficient at the moment in terms of food for the cattle and the ponies."

"That's great." Stellar said as she smiled.

"And the bank finally came through with our mortgage documents." Cecelia grinned. "We finally own the farm again outright and clear, and have the proof in our hands."

"And that's what I was hoping to hear." Stellar told Cee-cee with a huge grin.

Cecelia grinned back and gestured Stellar inside.

= = = = =

Peach and Azure were working at one of the computers in a small room off the lounge room when Jumble came in and said ""

Peach gave Jumble a smile. He was so polite it wasn't funny, but it was a refreshing change. "" Peach asked in Equish.

"," And Peach's eyes lit up with joy as Azure turned around to face them, "" Jumble concluded.

Peach grinned at Azure. As soon as Jumble had mentioned Thunderlane's name, she and Azure knew exactly who the other pony had to be. "" Peach replied, and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead, to a replying squee and tail-wag. Peach and Azure then rose and walked out to the lounge room, Azure grabbing several folders on the way as Jumble ran on before them. "Hey, you two!" Peach said as they moved into the circle of couches.

"Peachy!" Stellar replied in a delighted voice, and Stellar gave Peach a hug as Azure clopped hoofs with Thunderlane.

"Good to see you again, Azure." Thunderlane said.

"Likewise, Thunder." Azure replied. "Things working out?" He asked, as Stellar let Peach go, to give Thunderlane a hug as well.

"In a way, yes." Stellar answered.

"You're both looking well." Cecelia commented.

"Well, things have taken some very interesting turns..." Stellar replied, as Thunderlane chuckled, Jumble sitting between Stellar's front legs and getting a snuggle from the alicorn mare.

"Yeah... 'Interesting' being the operative word, strictly in the Chinese sense." Thunderlane added.

"Do tell..." Azure said.

For the next half-hour, Stellar and Thunderlane filled everyone else in on what had happened after they'd left. There was shock and consternation about the events in Cyprus, amazement over the rescued Ponies and humans over the Atlantic, and incredulity about the Stellar Wind and what had happened when they reached America. "So... you have an enormous air... cloudship as your current base of operations; you've been attacked, inspected and are still heading for your sister's location in Iowa." Cecelia summarised.

Stellar nodded. "Yep. And Peach... we found Flapjack."

Peach's face lit up. "You did?" She asked, grinning widely.

Stellar nodded in confirmation. "He's doing well on the Stellar Wind... running a makeshift McHays eatery."

Peach laughed loudly, with relief. "Oh, that's incredible." She said. "Anypony else yet?"

"Do you remember Lavender Dreams and her family?" Stellar asked.

Peach nodded. "I do. They were the family with the changeling father... Whirring Cogs, I think his name was; they lived in Whitetail Meadows." She remembered.

Stellar nodded. "Yes. We've found everypony from that family besides Cogs himself. Hopefully, that means we'll find the rest of your family as well, soon." Stellar told Peach.

Peach was all smiles, and hugged Azure as they sat and talked further. Jumble had managed to get out of Stellar's forelegs and was sitting up before Cecelia, snuggled into her lap and in her arms as they sat and listened. Cee-cee had been whispering everything the others had said in Equish to Jumble, who was listening intently. Stellar smiled at the little colt, then lit up her horn and gently pressed it onto his forehead. Jumble's eyes lit up magenta for a second, then he blinked as Stellar removed her horn. "There now, that should make things a little simpler for you, Jumble." She said to the colt.

Jumble blinked his eyes for a bit, but then said "Thank you, Your Highness" in English, to Cee-cee's delight.

"You taught him English." Cee-cee said, hugging Jumble even more.

Stellar nodded. "He needed it." She replied. "After all, if you're adopting him, Jumble needs to understand the language of his new home country. That way he won't have any troubles fitting in in that respect."

"Thank you, Stellar." Cee-cee said, as Stellar grinned and winked at Jumble, who grinned back.

"You're welcome." Stellar replied, then turned to Azure. "Did you get that paperwork done I asked for you to research?" She asked.

"All right here, for both of you." Azure replied. "Also, we have Flitter's, Cloudchaser's and Rumble's paperwork as well, for when you can bring them back as well." He said, handing them over.

"Thank you very much." Stellar said to him. "I take it you're working on your own paperwork as well?" She asked.

Azure and Peach nodded. "We have things to the point where it requires you to sign them, Stellar, Thunderlane. Once you have your name-changes done, we can use you as reference for our own." He told them.

Stellar nodded. "We'll do so before we leave." She told Azure, who laid out the paperwork in his and Peach's folders for them to peruse and sign. When Stellar and Thunderlane had done so, Azure put the folders away and relaxed. "It will be good when we get things officially recognised." Stellar told them both. "Hopefully it will lead to other ponies seeking to do the same."

"Indeed, it will." Azure agreed. "I, for one, will definitely prefer to be recognised again as my new-and-former self, as will Peachy." He moved to Peach and nuzzled her lovingly, as Peach nickered softly, nuzzling back. "Maybe we could even be married someday, properly."

"I'd love to marry you two." Stellar told them both. "Once you have your parents' permission, of course."

Peach poked her tongue out at Stellar, razzing her, as everyone there laughed.

=======

Arriving back in Brisbane again had Stellar feeling a little homesick, in a most un-princess-like way. They flew over the city and traffic until they landed outside the State Supreme Court buildings. Armed with the papers Azure and Mark had helped them put together, the pair headed inside, garnishing an enormous amount of looks from others in the administration area, as Stellar had relaxed their anti-surveillance spells to allow things to go more smoothly. The metal detectors went off as they went through, but when the security guards found out it was reacting to their horseshoes, there was little they could say about them. Hand-held scanners passed them easily, then Stellar and Thunderlane grabbed a numbered ticket each and found some fairly comfortable seats to relax in.

Outside, reporters gathered there for a trial were of two minds, whether to go ahead with their assigned story or try to get an interview with the Ponies who had just walked in... But before any of them could venture inside the building, the object of their assignments arrived and the reporters did their best to get in their way.

Stellar shook her head and looked at Thunderlane. "Very little changes, does it, no matter how much we're changing things." She commented.

Thunderlane chuckled. "Yeah. The Press is always trying their best to out-do each other to the story, no matter what else might be happening." He sighed. "Do you think they'll try and crowd us when we exit?" He asked Stellar.

"I could always just teleport us back to Deep Waters, if they try." Stellar pointed out.

Thunderlane chuckled again. "Yeah, but that's being 'anti-social', according to their phrase-book." He reminded Stellar. "After all, the dear 'Pee-pul' have a right to know every little fact or fiction they try to report on, whether they want to or want to remain ignorant."

It was Stellar's turn to chuckle. "So very true." She replied, before her number was called. Dropping from the seat, she made her way up to the counter, to looks of amazement from the staff.

"Can... can I help you?" The woman at the window asked.

"I hope so." Stellar replied. "I need to officially change my name and species, if that last one is even possible." Stellar told the woman.

The woman was a bit perplexed, to say the least. Then her face brightened. "Of course! You're one of those 'ponies' that were human once." She stated.

'I'm glad somebody's been watching the news...' Stellar thought to herself with a smile for just a second. "That's correct. And while I am an Australian citizen, well, my paperwork needs updating.. as it can plainly be seen." Stellar replied, keeping her smile firmly fixed on her face.

The woman nodded. "Okay, a name-change is fairly easy. I take it you've filled out a deed poll?" She asked. Stellar fetched the paperwork from her saddlebags and handed it all over, safe in a folder. "Ah, that's good." The woman said. "You have no idea how many people don't even read what it takes to do this properly before coming in here." She told Stellar as she began to check it over.

"I can only imagine." Stellar replied, as she saw Thunderlane called to another window down the other end of the long counter.

After answering a few questions for the woman, Stellar waited until she looked back at Stellar. "Okay. The name change is done. Just hand this copy of the deed poll to whichever department you need to, and they should be able to give you new documents... well, within their own time-frame, of course." She smiled at Stellar. "The Species-change... I have NO idea where to even begin with that, to be honest." She said openly. "I've sent a request for clarification down to Records and some other areas, but we'll have to get back to you on that. However, the request is now in the system, so it will be dealt with, eventually." She told Stellar.

"Thank you. Here's my sat-phone number." Stellar gave her the number of the phone she'd bought before all of this even started. "It's more reliable than my normal phone, since I might be a great distance outside the network's coverage area with less than a moment's notice." She explained.

"A very good reason to have one, then." The woman said. Then they both looked down as Thunderlane's raised voice filtered back up the counter. "I think I'd better go down and give them a hand. Our resident newbie is on that window this morning, and it seems he's getting on your... your stallion's nerves?" She looked at Stellar.

Stellar grinned. "Yes, he's my stallion." She confirmed, as she put the folder away again and walked down the outside of the counter, as the woman moved through on the inside.

Thunderlane was looking a little cheesed-off at the young male he'd been dealing with, as Stellar reached him and placed her neck over his. With a sigh, Thunderlane relaxed as Stellar nuzzled his ears, while the woman looked over what the young male had been doing. "No, you need to send it as a PF-347 request for clarification." She told him. "It won't register if you just send it in without the proper headers."

"How did you know that?" He asked. "They never covered this in Admin training."

"I was doing this type of paperwork before they computerised everything, Junior." She told him. "And not everything received new classifications." She finished typing. "There, done." She grinned at him.

He was writing what she'd done down on a post-it note and pinned it to part of the workstation. "Thanks." He replied gratefully.

She smiled at him. "Remember that, Junior. I think we're going to get a number of such requests in the next few months, once these Ponies realise they need to have their documentation changed." She speculated.

He looked at Thunderlane. "Sorry about that, Sir." He apologised, handing Thunderlane's folder back to him.

"Sure." Thunderlane replied, his irritation gone under Stellar's gentle touch. "I guess this is making administrative hell for you guys as well as us."

"Only because it's a situation the system hasn't been configured to deal with... yet." The woman answered. "But now that it's necessary, someone will develop a coding for it, and we'll hopefully be able to do it as a routine fairly shortly." She said with a smile.

"You hope." Stellar replied, with a smile tempering her sarcasm.

The woman sighed. "Yes, we all do hope." She agreed. Then she looked outside the big windows at the front of the office area. "Oh dear. It seems the Press got wind of you being here." She said, as the reporters and their camera teams were almost hard-up against the windows, trying to film inside. Only the garden beds were thwarting their attempts.

Stellar sighed. "Okay... time to make our exit." She told Thunderlane, as they headed for the metal detectors that bracketed the entrance to this part of the complex.

"So, how do we do this?" Thunderlane asked.

"They've got two metres cordoned off before the doors." Stellar pointed out. "If we launch from just inside the doors as they open, we should be able to fly right up over their heads before they can even start to yell at us." Stellar grinned.

Thunderlane chuckled again, grinning. "Aww... that's just cruel." He replied jokingly. "I bet you five bits I can fly above the building before you can." He challenged Stellar.

"You're on." Stellar said back, grinning as well, as they walked towards the doors. As they started to open, the two Ponies extended their wings and, once they had the space, they raced at the exit and took off just inside the doorway. The Reporters could only rotate and watch as Stellar and Thunderlane shot into the air, a huge gust of wind blowing dust towards the reporters as Thunderlane headed nearly vertical, while Stellar shot up at a more conventional forty-five degree angle.

The woman and the rookie just grinned and laughed. "Now that was something to watch." He told her.

"Yes. That's definitely something you don't see every day..." She had to admit as she moved back and headed for her own window again.

= = = = =

Thunderlane smirked as he and Stellar flew along. Stellar did nothing to dissuade Thunder in thinking that he had beaten her in their little bet as they headed for the main branch of the bank Stellar had her account with. They carefully landed in an alleyway, out of the flow of pedestrian traffic, and walked out onto the main street. Almost everyone there seemingly ignored them, as Stellar's spells were again working well at keeping them from more than a momentary curiosity.

One of the greeters inside the branch was almost shocked at first to see the pair of Ponies walk in, but as Stellar was talking to Thunderlane as they did so, she quickly realised that these were not ordinary animals. As she came under the influence of Stellar's spells, she smiled and greeted them. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"I hope so." Stellar said. "We need to change our names on our accounts. We have the paperwork, we just need to sit down with a manager or someone with the authority to process this." She explained.

The CSR (Customer Service Representative*) smiled back at Stellar and nodded. "Of course. If you'd take a seat, someone will be ready to assist you as soon as possible." She told them, and went to log in the appointment.

"Smooth sailing so far." Thunderlane commented as they sat down on the carpeted floor.

"Yes." Stellar replied. "The spells seem to be working well."

Thunderlane frowned. "Hey... isn't there restrictions on spells like these?" He asked. "Y'know, ones that affect the minds of others?"

Stellar nodded. "Yeah, there's a great deal of restrictions on any spells that could be presumed as mind-control spells." She confirmed. "These spells are skirting close to those restrictions, but as they don't alter the mind itself, just the perceptions that it receives and only temporarily at that, they're well within my purview as a high-ranking member of the Guard to use them in a limited capacity." She explained. "Of course, the one that hides us from cameras and other artificial recorders isn't restricted at all, so there's no problems with using that one." She smiled at Thunderlane.

Thunderlane nodded back, as one of the senior CSRs approached them. "Welcome. I'll be helping you today." She said, and led Stellar and Thunderlane into a side office. "Now, you wish to change the names on your accounts?" She asked.

"Yes." Stellar replied. "I also need to deposit some gold bullion into my account, in coin-form."

The CSR nodded. "Well, let's get the name changes done, and then we can see about the deposit." She replied, and started going through the steps with Stellar first, then Thunderlane...

= = = = =

After nearly an hour, Stellar and Thunderlane walked out of the branch, feeling a lot happier. The Bit coins hadn't proven to be a lot of trouble, as Stellar just allowed the bank to process them for their bullion value. The name changes had also proven to be mostly straight-forward as well. With her accounts looking much healthier, Stellar felt much relieved. Now, as soon as their replacement cards and other things arrived at Deep Waters, they would have a much easier time of buying what they needed. At least their old cards would still work until they registered the new ones on-line.

They also took the time to put in new passport applications, and get their driver's licences changed over, which was a great deal quicker and more straight-forward. Stellar had to relax the anti-camera spell long enough in both cases for their photos to be taken for the identification, but that had proven relatively easy as well. She and Thunderlane walked out with their first official identification in their driver's licences after less than an hour of waiting. Stellar also sent off the paperwork to get her Pilot's licence corrected while she was there. "And when we get them back, then we can hopefully get the endorsement for our Airship rating on them as well." Stellar said to Thunderlane as they took off.

Stellar led Thunderlane to some of her known addresses; one that stocked exotic metals. "You need some more metal, Love?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar nodded. "We need some more armor for our new guards and maybe for some other things." She answered. "I know this yard well; they'll sell me what I need for scrap prices."

Thunderlane sat and watched as Stellar haggled at the front counter for a number of bars of titanium and other metals, paying with gold bits, which the yard easily accepted. Stellar smiled as a pallet was dropped outside with her haul on it. Thunderlane watched as Stellar stuffed one of her H-S pockets full of the metal, then they took to the sky again.

"That was easy." Thunderlane commented.

"As I said, Beloved; they know me there from past purchases, and I speak their language: precious metals." Stellar grinned at Thunderlane.

"So, what next?" Thunderlane asked Stellar.

"Back to Deep Waters, Beloved." Stellar answered. "Once we check things out with Cee-cee and Mark again, then we can head home." She said, and they both vanished in a flash of white light and magic, reappearing over the top of Deep Water's homestead again... but this time there was an unknown van sitting on the front apron. Stellar and Thunderlane looked at each other, then descended to the apron.

They were walking up onto the verandah when the front screen door burst open, and Jumble came racing out, straight at Stellar. Stellar laughed and caught him as he jumped into her forelegs, and they snuggled for a little bit. "Hello, Jumble." Stellar said to him, as Thunderlane moved up and hugged him as well.

"Princess! Thunderlane!" Jumble said. "I am so pleased to see you again!"

"And we're happy to see you again, Squirt." Thunderlane replied.

"Come inside! We have visitors." Jumble told them both, and almost danced over to the door, he seemed so excited. Stellar and Thunderlane smiled at each other, and followed the little colt inside.

Cee-cee walked out of the kitchen to see Jumble leading Stellar and Thunderlane back inside. "Hello again!" She said, grinning, as she stopped to hug both the ponies. "I didn't think you'd be coming back here again straight away."

"We have a few things to inform you about, Cecelia." Stellar explained. "So we decided to drop in again."

"You're always welcome, you know that." Cee-cee told Stellar. "So, how'd things go in Brisbane?"

"Well, you should be getting our renewed birth certificates, licences, bank cards and passports in time. Just call us when they arrive, and we'll pick them up." Stellar informed Cee-cee

"Don't forget our F.A.A. certification as well, Love." Thunderlane reminded Stellar.

"Oh yes, and that too." Stellar grinned.

"So your cloudship is legal now?" Cee-cee asked.

"Yes, but we have to get all our crew certified as well." Stellar told Cee-cee. "That might be a very interesting process."

"I can imagine." Cee-cee agreed. "But now you're here, there are a couple who want to talk to you." Cee-cee informed Stellar.

"Do tell." Stellar smiled. "All right, let's talk." And she got to her hoofs and followed Cee-cee out, Thunderlane and Jumble following behind them, with Jumble riding on the big pegasus stallion's back.

Cee-cee led them out into the main house yard, and under the shade of the wide bunkhouse verandah, they saw a human male and a female unicorn conducting a clinic, of sorts. Stellar could see the pattern: The unicorn was doing the preliminary checks and diagnoses, with the human administering treatment on a portable bed-stretcher, if it was necessary. From inside one of the rooms, however, there came the sound of somepony in pain, as the male rushed inside.

Stellar looked at Cee-cee. "What's..."

"One of the mares is giving birth." Cee-cee explained. "Roger and Melody were kind enough to come and help us with them." She grinned. "This is the second birth in two days here."

Stellar smiled. "I see. Ah well, Nature takes its course, as it does everywhere."

Just then, the human male emerged with a little bundle wrapped in surgical cloths. "It's a colt!" He proclaimed to the packed yard, and cheers went up from all the ponies in earshot.

Stellar and Thunderlane added their voices to the throng, stamping their hoofs as well, then everything went silent as the ponies noticed Stellar. They all turned to her and bowed deeply, save for the unicorn in a scrub-top, who looked at the others, then bowed as well.

"" Stellar told them all in Equish, and they all did so. Once that was done with, Cee-cee and Stellar walked down to where the unicorn was standing, gazing in awe at who she saw. "Hello, my friend." Stellar said to the unicorn, not wishing to insult her by calling her a 'little pony'. "I am Stellar Sparkle."

"Greetings, Miss Sparkle." Melody said in an unsure voice. "I'm Doctor Melody Lane, veterinary doctor."

"I am very pleased to meet you, then." Stellar told her. "A doctor's calling is a sacred trust, and welcome are those who can administer to my ponies' needs in that respect." Stellar leaned down her long neck and gently nuzzled Melody's muzzle with her own.

Melody sighed as feelings of reassurance and warm friendship washed over her. "Thank you." She replied. Then she heard other ponies softly saying "" in Equish. A little stunned, she looked back at Stellar, a little disbelief washing over her face.

Stellar chuckled a little, then nuzzled Melody again. "It's okay, Melody." Stellar said softly to her. "I don't stand on tradition that much, unless it is necessary or useful." She explained. "You are a friend, and that's all that matters, here and now." She added.

"Thank you... Prin..." Melody got a hoof over the front of her muzzle.

"Stellar." Stellar told Melody. "Call me Stellar."

"Okay..." Melody replied.

"How are things going?" Stellar asked Melody as she resumed walking towards the bunkhouse.

"Well, we've seen pretty much all of the mares and foals, checked them for problems and given them their shots. We're working through the stallions now." Melody explained to Stellar as she walked along beside the bigger alicorn mare. "They've been mostly well-behaved. Apparently they seem to obey Cee-cee or Mark without question, so the rowdy or obstinate ones were dealt with first and gotten out of the way." Melody gestured to the lines of stallions standing, waiting. "There's only about a hundred left to go. Fortunately, it's mostly just general check-ups and shots; there's no really serious injuries and most of them haven't been ponies long enough for any hoof-related issues to appear, but we're watching them closely, just to be sure."

Stellar nodded. "I am glad it's been relatively easy for you." She replied.

Melody nodded as they surmounted the verandah. "Yeah, it's been a big break for us as well."

Stellar stopped and looked at Melody. "There is a problem, though, isn't there?" She asked.

Melody sighed. "Yeah. The reason we can come down like this every day, is that our regular clientele have... gone elsewere." Melody said in a sad voice. "Apart from those people who either are ponies or have ponies in their families, our customer-base has dried up." She sighed.

Stellar nodded. "I'm very sorry for you. It's an unfortunate thing, with the rumors of how the transformations 'could' be infectious." She commiserated with Melody. "If things are very hard for you, would you consider transferring elsewhere?" She asked.

"I dunno..." Melody said. "After all, our home is here..."

"Maybe temporarily?" Stellar asked. "I have a clinic that's being run at the moment by a somewhat overworked nurse, who's not quite qualified as a pony doctor yet. She could use some help."

Melody stopped to think, as Stellar looked into one of the rooms, to see a mare with a new-born foal snuggled up to her. A flash of magic that surrounded Stellar and sterilised her alerted the mother that someone was at her door. The mare's eyes widened as she saw Stellar, and she bowed her head. Stellar gave her a short bow in return, then gestured for permission to enter. Surprised, the mare nodded, and Stellar slipped inside quietly, moving up and giving the mare a gentle nuzzle. The mare nickered softly, then they both looked down at the little filly. Unlike her mother, a little horn was obvious on her forehead. Stellar hummed softly as she admired the new-born unicorn, then gently leaned down and whispered something above the foal's head, kissing her tenderly on her little horn. She then nuzzled the mother again and said something to her as well. Replying in a whisper, the mother gave Stellar a huge grin, which Stellar returned, before she made her way quietly out of the room again.

Melody watched as Stellar moved out of the room and headed for the second one, where Roger was looking over the little foal that had just been born. His eyes widened as well as the mare's, as Stellar looked at the mother and gestured again. Looking at Roger first, she then bowed her head and Stellar walked quietly up to her, leaning down and nuzzling her, saying something to her in a whisper that Roger didn't quite catch. Then Stellar turned to look at Roger as she walked up to him and the foal. "How is he?" She asked in a whisper.

They both looked down at the colt, who gave a deep yawn and snuggled in a little. "He's fine, as far as I can tell." Roger replied softly, as Stellar noted the colt's almost gunmetal-grey coat and tiny splash of lime-green mane.

Stellar smiled widely. Once again, she lowered her head to the foal's and said something to him in a whisper: "May your life be long, may your family be large and loving, and may all your friendships be magical." Roger heard Stellar say, before she gave the earth pony colt a kiss on the ear and backed up. "Thank you for looking after my ponies for me." Stellar then said to Roger.

Roger gave Stellar a smile. "My pleasure." He replied, before turning and putting the foal where he could begin to suckle at his mother. The mare gave Roger a tired smile, but raised a hoof to him, and he grasped it tenderly for a few seconds, before letting her rest again. After pushing a couple of trays on a stand over to where the mare could eat and drink from them, Roger followed Stellar out of the room.

Outside, Roger bent down and Melody lifted herself up on her hind hoofs to hug him close. Stellar smiled as she watched them. Moving off the verandah, Roger sat down on a folding chair and looked at Stellar. "So, you're the princess Cee-cee mentioned."

Stellar grinned. "Guilty as charged." She answered. "And I must thank you two again for helping my ponies here with their most critical needs."

Roger smiled as Melody replied "It's been a pleasure. Working with the other ponies here has brought back so many memories from my time before I was human, it's made me feel much better than after I changed." She told Stellar.

Stellar nodded. "Melody told me you've had a major drop in your client-base of late, because of her reversion." She addressed Roger.

Roger looked at Melody, who nodded. He sighed, then said "It's sad, but true. It seems people are so scared of this, they're forgetting who their friends are out of fear of catching something that isn't communicable. The government line isn't helping, either. It's almost as if they're deliberately trying to scare people." He told Stellar.

Stellar sighed and nodded as well. "Yes, I know." She replied. "It seems it's happening all over the world, not just here. We're trying to counter it, but the message just isn't getting through to the people who need to hear it." She frowned. "I actually think that it's deliberate. Someone high up in government circles overseas is deliberately making trouble for us... but until we find a way of countering it, we'll just have to work past their interference and find the way Home again." She told them both, then she smiled at them. "If you'd like, you could both join me and my friends. I have a need for medical personnel like yourselves elsewhere."

"Um... we'll think on that very carefully, Stellar." Melody said.

Stellar smiled. "Take your time." She said. "And... I sense you want to ask me something else?"

Roger and Melody both blinked in surprise. "Um, well..." Melody began...

Roger then chuckled. "Actually, we do." He answered. "You said there's no real way of changing Melody back to being Human again." Stellar nodded as Melody pressed herself up against Roger. "Could you make me into a Pony, then?" Roger asked.

Stellar was a little surprised, but not by much. She knew the question would be asked by someone who was in a relationship with a pony, but the moment itself had been obscured from her prescient vision. So she replied "Well, there are a few ways that could be done; one isn't an option yet, with the way home to Equestria still closed... but there is another way." She saw the hope on their faces as she said this. "There's one thing: It's not permanent like the way you want, but it's close enough; and it's easily reversible if you feel you'd rather stay Human, Roger, or if the need arises for your human body and hands to be used by you." Stellar told them. "It might not sound ideal, but it's the best I can do until the way to Equestria is opened."

Roger got to his feet. "It's good enough." He stated, Melody's eyes tearing up a little.

Stellar nodded. "Very well." She replied. As Roger watched, one of Stellar's H-S pockets opened and a fine chain floated out, a necklace chain. Out of another came a tiny ball of super-hot metal, encased in a shield. "Do not move." Stellar told Roger as she floated the ball next to his forehead. Roger stayed totally still as Stellar's magic flowed over him, magic interacting with him and the ball of molten metal. Once that was done, Stellar moved to Roger, a powerful spell forming at the tip of her horn, and she touched it to Roger's forehead. Instantly he was surrounded by white light, his form changing and shrinking down, until the glow faded and a handsome stallion, with fur the color of gold and a mane and tail the same red color of his shock of hair from his human form, stood there in his place. A semi-long but very-thick-based horn was jutting from his forehead, and Melody could see his cutie mark was a perfect cadeceus sitting inside a wreath of green laurel leaves. Roger's blue eyes looked out from a very different viewpoint as Melody rubbed up against him and nuzzled him, nickering to him, as he smiled and nuzzled back.

Stellar smiled. "Now stand aside, Melody." She said, and Melody did so. Stellar brought the little ball closer, and as she scanned Roger again, the ball glowed a different color. Once the scan was done, Stellar muttered the words of the spell again, touching her horn to the ball, which flattened out into a disc the size of a fifty-cent piece. Once it hardened, Stellar slid it onto the chain and put it around Roger's neck. "There. Now, to change back, merely touch the amulet to you and say your name." She explained to Roger.

Roger nodded again, as Melody pressed herself to him and nuzzled again. This time, Roger gave a deeper nicker and kissed Melody back, who returned the kiss with gusto. "Thank you." Roger said to Stellar as he stood there.

"You're welcome, Dr Healing Hoofs." Stellar said to Roger, who blinked but nodded.

"Yes... that is my name." Roger stated.

"Your pony name, My Love." Melody stated, grinning as she nuzzled him again.

Healing Hoofs chuckled as he turned to face Melody and gave her a proper hug.

Stellar left them alone as she walked back over towards Jumble and Thunderlane. "What was that you did, Stellar?" Thunderlane asked.

"Is the doctor really a Pony now?" Jumble asked.

Stellar chuckled. "Yes, Jumble; to all intents and purposes, he is as much a pony as Thunderlane here is." She told the colt.

"And how did you do that?" Cee-cee asked, as she and Mark walked up to them. "I thought you said you can't turn people into Ponies."

"And I still can't." Stellar replied. "It's a cheat, if you will. You remember how I changed Peach into a pony, while she was three-quarters of the way through changing?"

"That's right; you used a spell called... Perfect Disguise." Thunderlane remembered.

Stellar nodded. "I just used it to change Roger into a pony form, but I used the form he would have taken if he'd gone through the portal to Equestria and became a pony there. The spell's powerful enough for it to sense that and overlaid it on his human form and changed him." Stellar explained. "As I said: it's not permanent, but for all intents and purposes, he is a pony now. He can change back into his human persona, though, through the amulet. It has scans of both his forms, and a permanent Perfect Disguise spell woven into it, so he can change back and forth if he so desires." She looked at how the pair of unicorns were snuggling, then chuckled. "Although, by the looks of it, if it's not a medical emergency, Roger's going to spend more time as Healing Hoofs than as his human self from now on."

"Lucky stallion." Mark commented.

"Luckier mare." Cee-cee added, then elbowed Mark in the ribs gently, making him chuckle. "Could you do the same for us, Stellar?" Cee-cee asked.

"You want to become Ponies too?" Stellar asked them both.

"Mainly for when Flitter and Cloudchaser come home, and for their wedding." Cee-cee explained. "And, most of all, for Jumble here." She said, gazing at Jumble where he sat with Thunderlane.

"We know they still see us as their parents, but we'd like to be that way a little more closely to their true forms." Mark added.

Stellar gave them a soft smile. "Of course." She told them. "How could I not honor such a request, from two of our best friends?" That made Mark smile and Cee-cee blush. "Do you want to do this now, or maybe another time?" Stellar asked.

"Um... maybe now?" Mark asked.

Stellar nodded "All right." She replied, grinning. "Who's first?"

"Me." Cee-cee said as she stepped up.

Stellar nodded and pulled another chain and ball of metal out of a pocket, then started to scan Cee-cee, whose cutie-mark on her right hand glowed brilliantly as Stellar scanned her. Once the scan was loaded into the ball, Stellar cast 'Perfect Disguise' on Cee-cee, who shrank and came back as a beautiful Earth Pony mare. Her cutie mark was on her flanks, with a small star marking on her right fetlock. She was a lovely earthy-red ochre with a lime-green mane and tail that contrasted greatly with her human hair. She blinked her lovely mauve eyes and looked up at Mark with a grin. Stellar scanned her again and cast the spell to create her amulet, then slipped it over Cee-cee's neck.

Mark watched, nodding. "Wow, you really look gorgeous, Ceece."

"Thanks." Cee-cee replied as she lifted her hoofs one at a time, getting used to being quadrupedal.

Then she got bumped into by a little equine missile. "Mama Cee-cee!" Jumble said, his enthusiasm and happiness boiling over as he hugged her; and she sat and hugged him back.

"Jumble." Cee-cee said, then leaned over and nuzzled him lovingly.

"Mama..." Jumble said again as he buried his face in her chest-fur.

Thunderlane smiled at the endearing sight, as another flash heralded another change. To Thunderlane's surprise, he saw a light-blue Pegasus stallion standing before Stellar, with a brilliant three-toned burgundy mane and tail. "Whoa!" Mark's voice came out of the stallion, as he waggled his wings. "I didn't expect this."

Stellar chuckled. "Sometimes we can't imagine what we'd look like as another species, Mark... or should I say...?"

"Sideslip." Mark stated, his eyes a little unfocussed. He looked at Stellar. "Sideslip Slash" He told her. His cutie mark was a slash of colors that curled around in a swirl and disappeared under itself.

Thunderlane chuckled and gave Slash a wing-hug. "Now that's a good pegasus name." He said.

Stellar looked at Cee-cee, who grinned back. "Peridot Geode" She revealed as Jumble climbed up onto her back.

Stellar nodded as she gestured Thunderlane away from Slash and scanned him again. Once the scan and the amulet were done, she hung it around his neck. "Welcome to a much larger family." Stellar told Slash and Peridot as she hugged them both, even Jumble hugging Stellar as Thunderlane hugged them from behind. Then everypony there started hugging them as well, Stellar stepping back with Thunderlane as the refugees staying at Deep Waters welcomed their hosts to their families with unfettered joy.

Stellar joined Melody and Healing Hoofs as the others showed their appreciation and gratitude to Mark/Slash and Cee-cee/Peridot. Then Healing's ears turned back as he heard something. He turned, raced off towards the bunkhouse and changed as he entered a room. The three left standing there turned and followed, Melody heading inside, sterilising herself as much as Stellar had done as she entered the room. Stellar and Thunderlane watched from the doorway and saw that a third mare was giving birth. Melody raced in and out bringing Roger the instruments and other things he needed as the birth progressed, until Roger got up from one knee, a little bundle of cloths in his hands that was making soft noises. Roger turned to the mother and said in a voice that everypony watching heard: "It's a filly."

Stellar and Thunderlane smiled at each other, then at Melody as she helped clean up the mother, while Roger cleaned up the foal. After receiving permission, Stellar walked in again and blessed the mother and foal, then retreated with Thunderlane until Melody and Roger emerged. Roger said his Pony name as he touched the amulet, and was returned to his pony form as they walked away. Healing shook his head from side-to-side, smiling broadly. "No matter how many times I have done it; no matter to whom or what I have assisted; there's no greater experience in this world for a doctor than to help bring new life into it." He told them all, as Melody rubbed up against him.

Stellar smiled. "I can't disagree with that." She replied, as Thunderlane nodded.

"And you have got a lot to learn now, Mister, about using that horn of yours." Melody told Healing, gently rubbing her horn on his.

Healing chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I do." He agreed. Then everypony cheered as an impromptu party started up, welcoming three newborns and three new ponies into the world.

= = = = =

The sun was just starting to head towards the horizon as Stellar and Thunderlane took their leave of Deep Waters and its newest ponies. Azure, Peach, Slash, Peridot and Jumble were there to see them off. "Don't be strangers, you two!" Peridot told them. "We want to see you back here whenever you get the chance, and bring our daughters back next time!"

Stellar grinned. "We will! Bye for now!" She replied as they headed upwards in a vertical climb.

"Bye Uncle, Aunty, Lil Cous." Thunderlane added, then they began to spiral upwards, gaining altitude until they were high above and heading west. Then he asked Stellar "We heading Home, Stellar Love?"

"That we are, Beloved." Stellar answered. "There's still a lot to do on the Stellar Wind, and before we reach Iowa. We've got to check what we need to do to make the Stellar Wind an... embassy, for want of a better term, for Equestria and Ponies here on Earth, or even that's even necessary. If we're free of political influence from most of the governments of Earth, so much the better."

Thunderlane shrugged as they reached altitude. "Hopefully it'll work." He said. "Of course, that depends how many governments will recognise it."

Stellar nodded. "Very true." She agreed. "But we shall deal with that, once we get the paperwork rolling." She said as her horn blazed white and they both teleported. They arrived over the Stellar Wind, which looked so beautiful as she floated along in the night, her silver skin glowing in the moonlight and her running lights shining out into the darkness; Thestral Guards welcomed them back as they landed, and they headed back down to their quarters once again...

Author's Note

Official recognition. It's not just for alphabet agencies these days...

Thanks to Da Fennec for some helpful ideas used in this chapter.

Oh, and certain ponies from some of Goldfur's stories are also going to be making cameos as well, so read that Sunset Blaze A.K.A. Dandelion Dreams, Lavender Dreams, Whirring Cogs/Zevan, Sky Fern and Forest Breeze, as well as Peach Delight and others who will appear in later chapters are all copyright to Goldfur and used with hir gracious permission.

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Meanwhile... 01

Things had mostly been 'as usual' for Dan Murphy, the head of the news department at FOX News. The elections were still on the boil, the President was at Camp David, in seclusion with several of his advisors. Senator Corddis was keeping a low profile over the last few days as well, making it hard to get anything decent to air. The 'Pony Plague', as some put it, was still current as more people were changing; and the arrival in U.S. airspace of an enormous golden-skinned airship full of the converted people had been big news for a few days now, after they'd stopped to lay a wreath at the Hindenberg memorial. That had been a very interesting side-story to the massive debate about the 'Ponies' and what to do about them.

Dan had several crews taking turns in watching the airship, which was named the Stellar Wind, of all things; the enormous air vessel was currently over Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg. One of his local crews had phoned in that they had been ordered to stay on the ground for a period of over two hours that morning, something that had made Dan very suspicious. Now he waited to see if any of his other contacts had any idea why this had occured...

Then his mobile rang.

As he picked it up, Dan noticed it was one of the freelancer teams he kept on retainer, usually for doing local pieces. "Yeah, what'cha got?" He asked in his somewhat-fake Manhatten accent.

"Dan, old son!" Came the reply from Fred Hays, a long-time Harrisburg resident. "Have I got something for you!"

"I hope so. You don't call me unless you do." Dan said back.

"Yeah. I'm standing a few klicks away from that big golden airship. You know someone grounded all the helos from its vicinity earlier?" Fred asked.

"Tell me you know why." Dan almost pleaded.

"It'll cost you." Fred told Dan. "Twice our usual, but I got photos and some video as well."

Dan sighed silently. Fred always thought about Money first, but he'd never let him down yet. "Okay, done. What happened?"

"Someone sure don't like those ponies. They tried to shoot that big thing out of the sky." Fred revealed to Dan

Dan was almost out of his seat. "You saw it? What happened?" He repeated himself.

"Sure did. Didn't see everything, but there were four big drones that came in from four sides and tried to take out the airship." Fred explained. "I'm e-mailing you the footage and the digital pics we got. The drones looked kinda familiar, but when one went over us while we were circling, I got a real funny feeling about it when I saw it." Fred told Dan. "Anyway, they came at the ship three times. We didn't see what they did first-up, but I can guess they were probably using cannons on the ship's skin. We did see them fire missiles at the ship the second time, but there were no impacts, no explosions. The clouds around the ship was making it hard to see what happened the first time, but the second time, we saw the drones go in really close before they fired. And what we saw..."

"Stop being dramatic, Fred. That's my job." Dan said as he brought up the e-mailed footage on his biggest screen.

Fred chuckled. "Okay. Well, we saw it from right behind one drone. As it reached close to the ship, a huge hole in space opened and the drone disappeared into it, and it and the hole vanished. I can't say if that happened to all four, but I can guess it probably did."

"Holy..." Dan said in a whisper as he watched the footage. "You're quite the distance away, aren't you?" He asked.

"Yeah. We were trying to get a really good shot of the ship as it hung over some buildings for the sheer scale of the things, and we didn't get our really good lenses in place in time to capture any real close-ups using video. But my son had his 50mm lens on his DSLR and caught some good close-in snaps of the drones. Maybe your lab boys can make something of them." Fred suggested.

Dan nodded. "Okay, you and your boys just earned their cash, Fred. And I'll send your son the usual fee as well." He told Fred as he skimmed through the photos. "Send them through in as high a resolution as you can, thanks."

"Sure thing." Fred replied. "A pleasure, as always." Fred concluded, and hung up.

Dan dumped the footage directly to the photo shop with very clear instructions, then called his resource co-ordinator. "Sarah, get the team together. We've got a really juicy one to thrill our viewers." Dan grinned to himself as he sat back and contemplated the broadcast that would be up-coming...

=======

The staff in the White House swirled around, waiting for their boss to return. Only minutes after Marine One landed on the lawn, he strode in, all Business. "So, what's been going on while I've been busy?" He asked as he headed into the Oval Office.

"We've got a situation, Mr President." One of his National Security advisors replied. "You know that massive airship that's been steadily cruising across the eastern states?"

"The one that's full of Ponies?" He asked.

The advisor nodded. "We've been keeping an eye on it, as requested. This morning at Seven AM, it was attacked... we think."

The President stopped and looked at the Advisor. "You think?" He asked as they then headed into the Oval Office.

"The surveillance crew we were hiding amongst the airborne news crews were ordered to stay on the ground ten minutes before the attack, when they landed to refuel at Harrisburg's Central City airport." He explained. "The ground crews following it saw it approached by four small drone aircraft that they identified tentatively as Predator Combat drones. They were seen to commit several attack runs on the airship, using what we presume were gun pods and missiles, but somehow the airship not only came through unscathed, the missiles and the drones themselves vanished in mid-air before getting close to the airship." He showed the President footage of the attack runs. "As you can see, the drones committed three runs, and on the final run, as you can see here, we tracked one of them as it reached as close as half-a-kilometre from the airship... then it vanished." He waited as the President watched the slowed-time video.

"That's... incredible." He said softly. "Did anyone else get this?"

"Not to our knowledge." The Advisor answered. "We were the only 'official' news-crew on the ground for several kilometres; the news channels have been relying too much on their helos to bother much about ground crews. Plus, since our surveillance cameras are several magnitudes more sensitive than the ones they use, anyway, it's highly unlikely anyone else there got as good a footage of the incident as we do, regardless of the dozens of groups following the airship on the ground." He explained further. "We were lucky to be almost underneath the airship when this happened. As you can see, the camera operators were strapped down in the back of a pick-up with full steady-cam rigs, so we got very clear images as they followed the airship along. The crew also reported there was no falling debris at all. Whatever they did to the missiles and drones, it left no traces behind, not even bullets."

The President frowned as he thought. "Do we know who sent them?" He asked.

"We've inquired. Observers around Langley said four drones took off yesterday morning close to Five, but they lost sight of them as they headed north. It is possible they could have been the ones, but the only information we have obtained since then is that they crashed over three hundred kilometres from the New Jersey coast. The footage of those doing the attack shows they have no markings whatsoever, but we managed to identify the missiles they were using. They looked similar to the usual Hellfire missiles, but after we reviewed the footage, they looked closer to the PRZ-012 anti-helicopter missiles used by the Russian Kamov-50 and 52." The advisor answered. "We're also working to get radar confirmation on both sets of drones' travel routes, but the type we saw earlier today seem to be covered in RAM, rendering them almost invisible to civilian radar. So far, we have no further results."

The president nodded. "Find out more about what happened to the drones that crashed off the coast. I want all the operational details of that flight." He said. "I also want to know who authorised it and what its supposed mission was."

"Of course, Sir." The advisor replied. "Shall we continue to follow the airship?"

"You'd better believe it." The President said as he got to his feet. "With that thing flying around out there, with all the footage the news services have shot while following it, we can barely hope to keep anything about these ponies under wraps any longer." He sighed. "Can you get Mary to put a breakfast tray together for me, John? I couldn't eat on the flight back."

The advisor smiled. "Of course, Sir." He told the President, and moved to the door of the office, speaking to one of the guards.

He turned to one of his other staff. "Warren, I need you to draft an executive order for me. These... ponies, for want of a better term; as far as we have been able to establish, they were once human, as we know from my daughter's example." He told Warren. "I need to put in place an order that will preserve their status as sapient beings, with full rights under the Constitution... at least until it is proven one way or the other that they have not suffered any mental degredation in their sapience due to the transformation." The President detailed.

"Of course, Sir." Warren replied. "Do we expect to see any evidence of degredation?" He asked.

"Personally, I don't expect to." The President replied. "But we have to keep our options open for the moment. What we have to do is make sure people don't start automatically treating them like animals and start trying to take things, such as property or financial savings from them, just because they now look like multi-colored miniature horses... and please stop chuckling, it's infectious." The President grinned as half the staff there was smirking or giggling. "And this is serious." He sighed. "We know some agencies have been trying to 'herd' them, for want of a better term, into facilities for supposed study... some examples we've uncovered suggest that some of these 'agencies' are not above using live vivisection and things we wouldn't condone on real animals to try and study them." He looked at them. "I want to know who is behind this, who is sending ponies to these places, and I want the ponies freed and brought to a place where they can be kept safe. I also want any... remains to be handled humanely and preserved for return to their world, when they find a way back." He stated.

"Yes, Mr President." The staffers replied, then they got up and left the Oval Office.

The President relaxed back and looked at John. "Anything to add?" He asked.

"Senator Corddis is still keeping the line that 'These Ponies are nothing but a distraction from the REAL issues', unquote." John answered. "But he's been unusually quiet since that airship appeared in our skies. There's something going on between the two that we're just not seeing, and it has me... concerned."

The President gave a noise that, if he'd been a pony, might be considered a nasal snort of disgust. "Corddis. He's got his fingers in so many pies, he hardly needs to own the bakery. What's he been up to, besides his anti-Pony fetish?" He asked.

"He's been behind a covert intelligence-gathering exercise into a group called Spectrum, an international 'security operations' contractor." John replied. "We don't know why, but he seems very concerned over them and their less-than-savory activities."

The President nodded. "Find out what you can about Spectrum and what Corddis is doing looking them over." He said. "And get me that draft Order as soon as possible."

"Of course, Mister President." John replied as he rose and left the President alone in his office, as the leader of the United States contemplated the near future, and what he had learned about their 'newest' residents...

=======

The director of the C.I.A. section who had been ordered to attack the Stellar Wind was now regretting the fact that he'd ever listened to Senator Corddis. Thanks to the ponies' magic, what should have been a simple operation had turned into a debacle. "At least we'll been able to use their sending the drones so far away so quickly to put together a good cover story." He muttered to himself as he entered a small briefing room. Several other people in the room sat up straighter and looked at him as he sat down before them. "Okay, so, what do we have as resources to get this to blow over?" He asked them.

One man then said "Whatever they did to get the drones as far away from them as they did, the ponies have inadvertently helped us to put together a good cover story." He told the Director. "We're putting together a training flight profile from Langley out over the ocean, ending where they crashed. As far as anyone knows, they were being piloted by trainees for rendezvousing with a Navy craft."

"Plausible." The Director replied, nodding. "What do we have out there?" He asked a female agent.

"The Navy's newest mini-carrier, the Wasp-class USS Hornet, is very close to the site, as they're doing trials of their landing gear for their F-35s." She told the Director. "We could say that they were heading out there to do simulated attack runs, then landing practice on the Hornet's flight deck once the runs were completed."

"Better." The Director said. "Do we have anything out there to retrieve the drones? Maybe the Hornet and her crew?"

"The USS Ulysses, one of the Hornet's combat group, has a liaison intelligence officer on-board her." A third team member answered. "She could be directed to pick the wreckage up and bring it back for analysis."

"One thing, Sir." The first man then said "We need to point this out to the F.A.A. and N.T.S.B: the drones crashed nearly at exactly the same spot where that Globemaster went down several nights before-hand. We could make suggestions to them that there's something at the spot that brings down aircraft, and suggest they quarantine the area until such time as there are no more incidents, or the problem can be found." He pointed out. "I have information from a contact in the Air Force that the Globemaster might have been deliberately shot down by a Russian aircraft. If that is proven, then we might suggest that a Russian drone, or several, might have been operating in the area and made our drones crash."

"Any possible interference from the N.T.S.B.?" The Director asked.

"So far they're not concerned with the wreckage too much, as the Air Force already has the Black Boxes and the crew to question.' The first man spoke again. "There's very little mystery surrounding the Globemaster crash. I'll have a report about it on your desk as soon as they have anything concrete."

"One thing: How likely is it that anyone could identify our drones while they were firing on the airship?" The director asked.

One of the other men smiled and answered "Quite unlikely, Sir. The drones we used were bereft of identifying marks and sanitised. The weapons were all disguised as Russian weapons systems easily available on the Black Market, even down to the gun pods using 23mm ammunition commonly used by their Frogfoot ground attack aircraft." He detailed for the Director. "If any of the shells and/or fragments of the missiles were found, they would be identified as anything other than coming from the United States."

"Very good, then." The Director replied and nodded, looking relieved. "All right, that's a very good scenario." He agreed. "Write it up for release, schedule a press conference and tell the press that we are assisting the FBI and DHS with their investigation into the owners of the drones that attacked the Airship. Point them, if we can, to assuming that the drones were Chinese copies bought on the Black Market, and that they might have belonged to private contractors." Then he got a smile on his face. "Have our press people give little hints that we might suspect the Spectrum Group of the attack... but nothing more than hearsay or speculation at this stage."

"Of course, Sir." They all said as they rose and left.

The director relaxed back a little. 'Let's see how the dear senator handles having little spotlights cast on his pet contractors...' He thought to himself.

=======

Tim Dalzielle walked through the corridors of the J.Edgar Hoover building, heading towards the garage. He was supposed to be meeting up with Michelle Hastings, an agent he'd never worked with before. They were scheduled to head for Harrisburg in Pennsylvania to lead an investigation into an attack on an airship which, the brief had said, was crewed and inhabited by 'people changed into ponies', something that made Tim shudder. He'd seen some of the poor individuals that had been transformed, then detained by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Many of them were fairly confused and disadvantaged by their new forms. Some of them, however, were very lucid and showed signs of some very interesting abilities... not that that was his purview. That was for others to look into.

Emerging into the building's garage, he headed along the line of fleet cars, choosing a Chevy Lumina wagon. It wasn't the latest model, but it was a good quality car he'd used before; an import from Australia, it was tougher than other cars, yet had plenty of power from its V-8 engine. He put his bags in the back of the wagon, and heard the sound of a woman wearing high-heels walking towards the car as he straightened up. He walked around the Lumina to see a quite pretty woman in her early thirties, dressed in the agency-approved suit, walking towards him. He gave her a friendly smile and asked "Agent Hastings?"

She nodded back to him. "And you're Agent Dalzielle." She replied.

Tim smiled and said "Do we have to pick anything up for you? I've got my 'away' gear here already."

"Yeah. Can we stop at my apartment?" She asked.

Tim nodded. "Sure. Hop in." He said as he moved to the driver's door and slid in behind the wheel. Michelle joined him and they drove out minutes later.

Michelle looked about the insides of the unfamiliar vehicle. "This thing's pretty well-appointed." She commented.

"That's why I chose it." Tim said as they entered the local traffic. "If we're going out to Harrisburg, we might as well ride in style."

"So... why are we driving out there?" Michelle asked.

"The site of the incident is outside town." Tim explained, putting a folder on Michelle's lap. "If we flew in, we'd have to accept what could be a lesser vehicle from a hire company. This car's got a good forensics kit in the back and photography gear, so we're well-equipped to handle the investigation." He detailed for Michelle. "And there's no hire charges as well, which lowers our expenditure."

"Point." Michelle agreed.

They talked on for a while, before arriving at Michelle's apartment. Twenty minutes later, they were heading out of town, heading for Pennsylvania.

Author's Note

Just a little look at what else is going on behind the scenes as the Stellar Wind heads for Iowa.

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Interlude - Cherry Blossoming 03

"By the goddess... I don't know how much longer I can stand being imprisoned in here... My supplies are starting to run low, at least of all the good stuff. The isolation's starting to make me think I'm hearing things. And I swear that chicken has taken up camping outside my doorway. I can hear it all the time now, if I'm close to the door. I swear I can also hear it scratching at the boards and pecking away at them... as if it's trying to get in here to me, and it is determined to do so... which scares the fucking hell out of me, to be honest. Why the fuck is a chicken so determined to get to me, to the point where it's trying to scratch it's way through boards as thick as railway sleepers?"

"According to the Internet clock, it's the Eighteenth of May. I've been boarded up in here since the Second, and I just want to get out so badly! I have no idea how to, to be honest. Nothing works! I've even tried chucking notes to the public out the only window that opens, but no-one seems to be noticing! What is going on?"

"And that nutcase Corddis from the American Senate is going on and on about how 'There are no ponies, it's just the President's attempt at distracting the public from his lack of policies!' unquote. I'd love to get up before him and give him a piece of my mind! Before I lose what little I have left. I keep dreaming of voices, and faces. Other pony faces, one of which snuggles with me, the other being a young face that calls me Mama all the time... and her voice grows older as I go blind and I know her... but I never see her as an adult. Does... does that mean I went blind in both my lifetimes? There, as well as here? And the strong male who cuddles me and tells me he loves me? My... husband? Oh, I hope so..."

"That begs the question now... Who am I? Am I Cheryl Cafari, as I was before May started? Or am I this pony I now 'see' when I look in the mirror? Some creature who's name I don't even know? Or... or do I? Maybe I do, but I haven't recognised it yet. Maybe... Maybe I need to sleep on it a little more and listen for what others call me. Oh, Celestia above! Who am I?"

"Wait."

"Who?"

"Celestia?"

"Who is Celestia?"

"That name... I know that name, but I don't know who it is. Celestia... Celestia... Who is Celestia? What is she? A pony like me? Or something else?"

"Come on, brain! I don't need Four-Oh-Four errors from my memories at this moment! Think, think... What? Come on, I almost have it..."

"Princess..."

"Huh?"

"Princess? Princess. Princess... Celestia... Princess Celestia!"

"Oh gods! Why was that so hard to remember? Princess Celestia!"

"PRINCESS!!!"

=======

In a lonely apartment, Celestia jerked her head around at the voice that seemed to come from everywhere. The others were yet to return, so she wondered who could have called out so loudly. She slipped off the chair, looked around, out the window and even out into the hall. There was no-one to be seen. Sighing, she moved back to the computer and tried to see if anyone out there had seen or heard from Luna...

=======

In a Canadian holding facility, a pink pony princess was startled awake. Looking about her across the darkened area of the improvised quarters, her ears wilted as Cadance realised that the voice hadn't come from anypony near her. Most of them were either sitting in small groups and trying to keep occupied, some of the ponies were eating the admittedly-good food those keeping them there provided for them, or dozing like she had been. Sighing sadly, she lowered her head to the pillow she'd been given, pulled the thin blanket back over her shoulders with her wings and settled into sleep again. There was very little else to do here, where they had her and the others 'for their own safety'...

=======

In a back alley miles from the building she had thoroughly brought down on top of the bastards that had hurt her and her little ponies, Luna was twitching uncontrollably as the person inside her was struggling against the nightmare that had flooded her mind and taken control. Then she gasped and her eyes flew open, as the Voice echoed through her skull. Exhausted, she looked about but found she was alone.

The alleyway was the home of various dumpsters and several large boxes, some big enough to shelter her. After looking at one with blinking, bleary eyes, Luna slowly crawled over to it and carefully slid into the box. She barely managed to pull another one up against the open side, before she collapsed, breathing heavily. Her magic seemed as depleted as she was of energy, and her hunger made it only worse. She slowly allowed blessed unconsciousness to claim her again... but this time, the darkness didn't return.

=======

On a farm near Muscatine, Iowa, Twilight Sparkle launched herself from the chair she was occupying in a near state of panic. She was literally standing on the ceiling, her pegasus magic holding her in place as her eyes raced around the room she was in and her unicorn magic scanned the entire area. The door to the computer room opened and Applejack looked in. "Y'all okay, Twi'?" She asked as she stared up at the pony on the ceiling.

"Okay?!? Do I look okay?!?" Twilight answered in a panicked voice. "Somepony just yelled in my ear... but... there's... no-pony in here but... me." She eventually said, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, using her forehoof to do her almost-patented stress-release gesture. Her magic let go of the ceiling and she flipped over in flight, touching down with only a little stagger as she regained her balance.

Applejack looked worried, but she just moved to Twilight and said "Come on, Twi'. Ah nice piece 'a pie will cheer ya up." And Applejack led Twilight out of the room.

"I swear to you, A.J., It was like somepony was standing right next to me and yelled in my ear..."

=======

And on an airship flying along north of Pittsburgh, another purple pony princess awakened as well...

Author's Note

Cheryl's started something, something even she is unaware of at this time. Will somepony come to her rescue? Maybe next chapter...

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17 - Finding New Friends And Dealing With Dirty Deeds

Stellar was up on the Top Flight Deck at about Sunrise as the Thestral Night-Guard and the Pegasi Day-Guard swapped over, the Thestrals landing behind Stellar's position and exchanging information, as well as casual conversation, with the emerging Pegasi. After their little jaunt to Australia and seeing Cee-cee/Peridot, Mark/Slash, Jumble, Peach and Azure again, Stellar had spent a good bit of the later part of the night making more sets of armor for the Pegasi and Thestrals in the Sky Guard and the others in the Ship Guard from metals she'd picked up while there. Since she only needed two hours' sleep in twenty-four, she was putting her time to good use in equipping her defensive personnel for their job... and they looked so smart, too.

Stellar felt the slumbering contentment of the ponies below her, smiling to herself. After the massive surge of positive emotions from them yesterday, Stellar was still riding on a wave of good thoughts and general happiness. The Love she'd felt directed at Celestia from ponies everywhere in Equestria in the past... Well, she hadn't reached that stage of adoration yet, and frankly, a part of her never wished to feel that way, either. But what she'd felt so far... that she could handle.

She stretched out her senses, her horn and the Sparkle Star in her cutie mark lighting up brilliantly, as she felt ahead for her sister, Twilight. They had done this plenty of times in the past, reaching out with their magic across Equestria to contact each other in a way that not even powerful unicorns could do... not because they weren't alicorns, but because they weren't twins. She and Twilight shared a bond that had only been broken once, she'd learned from perusing her link with her other selves after she'd become conscious of it. And Stellar was not about to let Twilight make that mistake ever again...

...*...

...*...

...There...

Twilight was there, Stellar could feel. Twilight's unmistakeable magic signature resonated with her own as they tentatively interacted. Stellar could feel Twilight was asleep at that moment, so she withdrew, letting her sister sleep. Besides, the Stellar Wind would be at the farm tomorrow, if their calculations were correct. So another day could...

Stellar looked up as something caught her eye: a flash of red rocketing up from below. She made her helmet appear on her head and contacted the Bridge. "Bridge, this is Forward Observation, Commander Sparkle speaking. Did you see that rocket?"

"Aye Commander. It was observed." Come the reply.

"Very good. Slow down and stay as steady as you can near the location. I am going to take some of the Pegasi with me and go check things out."

"That's a rojer, Commander. Stay sharp." The Officer of the Deck gave Stellar a reminder.

"Always." Stellar replied. "Forward Out." And she turned and headed back downstairs. "You six." She pointed to five Pegasi and one Thestral, Sergeant Night Stalker, who were ready for duty in their new armor. "Come with me." She told them.

"Aye, Commander." They said, as Stellar made her Lunar Guard armor extend out over her in its short-form. The group formated around Stellar as they walked back up to the Top Flight Deck, then they took off in formation, heading to where Stellar had seen the rocket come from.

As they headed over the forested area, they found a road running through the trees. Following it soon revealed a shape on the side of the road with flares around it. Stellar came to a hover and looked at the shape, peering through the trees. She soon discerned it wasn't a truck, but a bus. "Lieutenant, we shall land downwind of it and move to it with all-due caution."

"Aye, Commander." Lt Sky Frost replied, and the seven airborne ponies turned, flew back a small ways and landed through a gap in the tree-cover. Once down, they moved cautiously along the road, Stellar staying back within the group of four pegasi as one of the Pegasi and Night Stalker took point, their armor changing to ground-camoflage pattern as they moved along. Although she would have liked to take point herself, Stellar knew that, as the ranking officer, she was required to follow protocols and stay back with the main unit.

Eventually, they heard "This is Point One. The bus is occupied... by Ponies!"

"Are you certain?" Stellar asked.

"Affirm. Looks like mostly earth ponies and a few unicorns. One of the unicorns is under the front of the bus, but I'd say it's not going anywhere. By what I can see, it looks like the engine mounts have collapsed." The corporal reported.

"This is Point Two; I can confirm, Commander. We have what looks like forty ponies, including foals, inside the bus, and three stallions outside, looking like they're conferring with the one under the bus." Said Night Stalker.

Stellar looked at Sky Frost. "I think it's safe enough to make contact." She said to him.

"Agreed, Ma'am." He replied, smiling.

"Then let's go for a walk." Stellar said, and they all started trotting along the road towards the bus. When they got close, Stellar put on her best smile and yelled "Hello!"

The results were immediate. The three stallions started, the movement and noise from the bus ceased. The stallions looked hostile, until they saw Stellar close enough. The hostile looks on their faces turned to awe. "Greetings. Need some assistance?" Stellar asked.

"Um, yeah, we could use a little help." One of the stallions replied.

As Stellar and her team reached the bus, she gave a smile and a wave to the many faces looking down at her from the windows. There were a lot of adults, but she counted a number of young foals and even some teenagers. Stellar gave a wink and a grin to one cheeky little colt, who grinned back and waved to her. She looked down at the stallions as she came close to them. "You look like you're in a bad way, here." She said.

They looked back to the bus, and one just sighed. "Yeah. She gave up the ghost last night, and we've been trying to make a fix for it ever since, but I think she's just had it. Luckily, we've got a good load of supplies on-board, and she was comfortable enough for the night." He held out a hoof. "I'm Verdant View."

"Commander Stellar Sparkle." Stellar clopped her hoof against his hoof. "Where were you headed?"

"Well, we'd gathered together in Maine from a lot of the local counties in three states, after finding each other on the Internet." Verdant told Stellar as the others introduced themselves, Sgt Night Stalker taking names and pictures of cutie marks. "Then we got a message from a place out in Montana, saying there was a place taking Ponies from all states, and said they were offering accomodation and work for Ponies, if they could make it there. We decided to head there." He sighed. "We were still debating which way to go when old Rusty here decided to commit suicide."

"Well, we're heading for a farm in Iowa that's got Ponies, but we're also planning on heading to Montana as well, so if you like, you can ride with us." Stellar told View.

View grinned. "That's mighty nice of you, Ma'am. We were sure we were going to be stuck here until someone found us." Then he looked around to the road, as a shadow fell over the area. "Um, not to be picky, but where's your vehicle? I didn't see you pull up anywhere."

Stellar chuckled, as did her troops. "You're not looking in the right direction." She replied, as she gestured upwards.

Every pony in Verdant's group looked up, as the Stellar Wind slowly hovered to a stop over head and took up position, glowing brilliantly in the morning sun. "By the red sands of Mars..." Verdant said as he saw the pegasi flying around it, like birds around a cloud. "What IS that?"

"That is our cloudship, the Stellar Wind." Stellar answered. "You'll have the pleasure of our company aboard her while we head for Iowa."

Then her radio hummed to life. "This is Captain Weather to Commander Sparkle. What's the situation? Over."

"This is Commander Sparkle to Captain Weather. We have found forty-six Ponies stranded by the side of the road, and we are currently discussing relocating them to the ship, Sir. They are headed for the Montana location. Over."

"Excellent, Commander. We'll instruct pegasi to begin building some cloud platforms to lift them up here, and send you some unicorns to aid in processing them for the lift. Over."

"Rojer that, Captain. We'll prepare our new friends for transfer. Commander Sparkle, out." And Stellar looked back at Verdant View, as other Ponies exited the old bus with everything they could bring with them. "We'll begin taking you up to your new transport in about five minutes, Mr View."

"Um, thank you, Commander." Verdant said as he turned and started talking to the others. Stellar saw several pegasi with hi-viz clothing over their armor land beyond the site in either direction, keeping an eye out for traffic for when the platforms landed on the road. Stellar nodded to them all and they saluted back, then took up formation with batons with day-glow lights on them, as makeshift barriers were landed and cut off the side of the road with the bus on it, funneling all traffic through the other side.

By the time the Ponies were ready to go, the first of the cloud platforms had landed behind the bus and the unicorns were casting the cloud-walking spell on the ponies, so they could ride up to the cloudship on them with their belongings. "You're very organised." Verdant commented. "Have you taken many ponies aboard your beautiful vessel?"

"Actually, you're the first that have come aboard using this method." Stellar admitted. "Usually, the others that joined us have come aboard using teleportation. But your group seemed to fit this method, so we put it together." Stellar explained as the first platform was lifted by pegasi attendants, pushing it up past the trees towards the Stellar Wind.

"Amazing." Verdant said. "I haven't seen these... Pegasi, they are called?" After Stellar nodded, he continued "I have not had the pleasure of seeing pegasi before, but they are a wonder to behold." He told her. "But you, Commander, you have wings like a pegasus, but the horn of a unicorn as well." He stated. "I have never even heard of your type of pony before."

Stellar chuckled. "I'm a type of pony known as an Alicorn." Stellar explained to Verdant. "We're very rare."

"Indeed." Verdant agreed as he looked her over. "And so statuesque and lovely to the eye. No wonder you are a leader of Pony-kind. You would inspire others to do their best at whatever they are tasked with, just with your presence alone."

Stellar almost laughed at that. He didn't know what an alicorn was, but he knew instinctively that she was a princess. "Thank you, Verdant." She said back as one platform lifted off and another landed, the ponies' bags and supplies being loaded aboard it. They talked for a while about what Verdant had found out about the Montana community, then it was his turn to ride up with the second-last platform. Stellar took a little time-out to help the pony who had been diligently trying to fix the broken-down bus... to a huge surprise for her. He wasn't a pony at all, although he looked like one. He was a Changeling. The unicorn stallion he looked like was covered almost from nose to tail in grease and oil. "You look like you could use a cleansing spell." She said to him. Then she leaned closer and said softly "Much easier to explain than changing your appearance." She gave him a wink.

The changeling's eyes opened wide, then he nodded. "As you wish, Your Highness." He said back, as Stellar cast the spell, cleansing his coat of all filth. "Thank you, Your Highness." He said.

"And thank you for not calling me that in front of the others." Stellar said back to him with a smile. "They don't know me as a Princess yet, although that will be explained to them in classes designed to awaken their memories." She explained. "What is your name, my good stallion?" Stellar asked, letting the changeling know she wanted him to keep his secret.

"Elusive Clue, Your Highness." Clue replied. "You do know... don't you?"

"I do know, but your secret is safe. I have nothing against your kind, especially one poor harvester stuck out on his own after Discord sent him here."

Clue snorted. "That vile villian. He killed off a lot of the others, you know. But for some reason, he sent me here. Me. He could have done away with me and nothing would have been said. But instead he gives me that mischievous grin and makes me a human for twenty-five years." Clue sighed. "I do not know what his game is."

Stellar nodded. "We're all still working that out." She agreed. "Have you seen or felt any sign of a friend of yours, if I remember things correctly? Another one of your former hivemates called Zevan?"

Clue's mind ticked over as more memories came to him. Eventually, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no. I haven't seen or felt him since I changed back."

Stellar sighed. "A pity. I have his family on my ship, waiting for him to be found and brought to them."

Clue started. "You have Lavender aboard?" He asked. Stellar nodded. "Dandy? Sky? Forest?"

"All of the above. Whirring Cogs is the only one missing at this time." Stellar confirmed.

Clue shook his head in amazement. "By the First Shell, that is amazing."

"I know." Stellar grinned. "But enough of that. Time for you to ascend to your new home." She gestured to the platform that was waiting. Clue nodded and climbed aboard it with the road crews, and Stellar watched it ascend. Then she walked back as the pegasi in her squad cleaned up the site. There hadn't been a car or any other vehicle pass by them in all that time. She took a look around inside the now-empty bus, the interior having been stripped of anything comfortable that wasn't bolted down. Sighing, Stellar exited the bus and cleaned it of all fluids and anything that could pollute the land around it. She then pushed it off amongst the trees, away from the road. It would sit there now for who-knew how long, rusting in peace. Her squad gathered around her as she stepped out into the middle of the road, then they all took off together, heading for the Stellar Wind. "Stellar Wind, this is Commander Sparkle. We're ready to depart. Over." She radio'ed in.

"Rojer that, Commander Sparkle. We're getting underway now." The reply was, as Stellar saw the cloudship starting to gain headway again.

She and her troops landed on the Top Flight Deck as the last of the cloud platforms was shoved away to disperse, and saw Elusive Clue heading down the ramp into the ship. "Thank you, Lieutenant, Stallions, for your assistance." She said to them, saluting them. They saluted her in return, and Stellar headed inside again, as the troops went back to their patrol stations.

She found Elusive Clue inspecting the structure of the Stellar Wind as he moved down the rampway. "This is... it feels like pegasus-type cloud-based field magic, but I've never seen it used like this before..." He told Stellar as she reached him.

"As far as I know, it hasn't." Stellar agreed with him. "I adapted it myself."

Clue looked at Stellar with a new respect. "That's incredible. How did you come up with the idea?" He asked.

"Necessity can truly be said to be the mother of inspiration." Stellar mis-quoted. "I had nearly eighty ponies and a number of humans stuck on clouds out over the Atlantic Ocean after their aircraft got shot down. Trying to find a way to get them all to safety, as well as put a base of operations together... well, I had an idea, and after talking it over with a few others, we managed to put this together."

There was a chuckle. "You mean, you managed to put this together." Came a familiar voice, as Thunderlane came up to Stellar. They saluted one another, then nuzzled, as Clue smiled at them both. "Thunderlane." He held out his hoof to Clue, who clopped his own hoof against it.

"Elusive Clue." Clue introduced himself.

"A pleasure." Thunderlane said back. "View and the others are starting Orientation now." He told Stellar.

Stellar nodded. "Come on, Clue. Let's get you learning about your new home." She said with a smile.

"Lead on, Fair Princess." Clue said with a grin, and the pair led Clue down to the Second Deck, where the orientation room was located. Also used as a classroom during the mornings, Clue walked in to find some of the professors from Celestia's school and one of the Commanders giving a short lecture explaining about the cloudship, where they could go, where they should stay clear of, and how things worked.

=======

It was close to sunset as Stellar and Thunderlane were lazily snoozing together in their suite, on the big couch that faced out the massive front window after a fairly uneventful day, when Stellar heard in her head:

"PRINCESS!!!"

As if it was right in the room with them. Stellar started awake, lifting her head and looking around frantically... then she sensed the pony that shouted wasn't in the room with them, or even on the Stellar Wind. "Get up, Thunder Love." Stellar nudged Thunderlane awake.

"Wha...?" Thunderlane asked as Stellar slid out from around him and stood on her hoofs, feeling for the pony that had cried out for help. "What is it, Stel'?"

"I just heard a cry for help... from a long way off." Stellar said, as she cast a cleaning cantrip on them both. "Some pony out there is terrified and called for a princess... and it looks like I'm the one who's going to respond." She told Thunderlane.

Thunderlane had managed to get to his feet, and he shook himself out as Stellar strode to the intercom. "Commander Tides, this is Knight-Commander Sparkle."

"Aye, Knight-Commander. This is Commander Tides." Surging noticed Stellar using her full rank. That meant there was something going-on off the ship.

"There's a situation that needs my attention elsewhere." Stellar informed him. "Please tell the captain that Lieutenant-Commander Thunderlane and I will be off the ship until further notice."

"Rojer that, Knight-Commander. Safe travels and may Celestia watch over you." Tides replied.

"Safe skies and fair weather, Commander." Stellar replied, before signing off. She saw that Thunderlane was limbered up and ready to fly, so she crossed to him, lifting a helmet from one of the benches in the room. "Here, Love. I made this for you last night." She slipped the helmet on his head and activated it. A new suit of medium-blue-and-silver armor slid out of it and surrounded him completely, wrapping him in armored protection.

"Whoa! Thanks, Beloved. This is... great." He checked it over. "How much is it like yours?" He asked, as Stellar called forth her dark-blue-and-silver Lunar Guard armor.

"As much as I could make it." Stellar replied. "It's not solid Adamant, but there's enough of a layer of it on the outside to make it pretty much proof against any modern weapon. And it's fully-sealed like mine is as well, so gas and other nasty shit can't bother us once we're sealed." She told Thunderlane. She went with him through all the mental commands to activate the many runes and arrays his suit was equipped with, and once he'd assimilated all the knowledge, they headed up to the Top Flight Deck and took off, heading north.

A few minutes flight away from the Stellar Wind and they teleported, arriving over a city and looking down at a tenement building. "That's it, there." Stellar pointed out. "I can feel the poor mare's anxiety from here."

Thunderlane nodded as he scouted about while they circled the building. "Looks like a lot of people down there. Looks like police, ambulances, fire services... even Army, maybe." He told Stellar. Then he saw her shudder. "What is it, Love?"

"There's something else down there, Beloved. Something... very nasty, but I'm not sure what it is. All I know is it's leaking Wild magic." Stellar answered.

"Oh crap." Thunderlane replied.

"Indeed." Stellar agreed. "I think going in the front door might not be the best option." She told Thunderlane.

Then Thunderlane saw Stellar's colors change, her face turning dark blue, and her mane and tail swirled with long stripes made of many shades of lighter blues, whites, some light purples and light greys. "Stellar, why do you look like Luna now?" He asked her.

"Just a bit of camouflage, Love. I don't want anyone here to know I exist yet, and apparently Luna is known about already. So..."

"Huh. Good idea." He agreed. "So... we use ranks?"

"Affirmative, Commander." Stellar replied. She winged over with him and they descended towards the party gathered around the front door. They landed together just behind the crowd and started forward. "STAND ASIDE!" Stellar yelled in Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice, as the crowd milled in the way.

When the civilians saw who was there, they mostly moved aside, but news crews tried to harass them. Thunderlane did his best to shove them out of the way, as if protecting the Princess. They eventually gave way, and the ponies walked up the stairs to the entrance, where a small squad of what Stellar saw were Canadian special forces were gathered around the open front doors. Inside, Stellar could see someone had welded steel plates inside the entrance, sealing the building off.

Then "Hold it right there... uh... whoever you are." The head officer, a Captain, stood before them. "State your business here."

"I'm Commander Thunderlane." Thunderlane identified himself. "This is Princess Luna."

That got the humans' attention. "A Princess?" They asked.

"Indeed." 'Luna' replied. "As for why we are here, there is a pony trapped in this building, who called us for help. We are here to see her freed and returned to her own people." She looked at the doors. "What is going on here? This... this looks as if these were placed together from the inside..."

The Captain nodded. "Yeah. The entire three lower stories have all been sealed off like this." He said.

"How did you know to come here?" 'Luna' asked.

"We were alerted when a meter reader came around to read the gas meters. He couldn't get into the basement, then found the building sealed up like this." The Captain explained. He had realised that, whomever these 'ponies' were, they were wearing some very strong-looking armor and had military-style ranks and probably training as well. If one of their own was involved, then having them about might prove very handy.

"Why would they seal themselves inside like this?" Thunderlane asked as he looked the doors over.

"That's the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question." One of the other human soldiers said. "At first the Police thought it might be terrorists, which is why we were called in. But there's been no answer whatsoever from anyone in the building."

"There is someone still in there, Captain. We scanned them when we first arrived." 'Luna' informed him. "They are up on a higher level in a corner apartment."

"Really? Which one?" He asked.

'Luna' descended the stairs again, and pointed to the seventh floor. "That one there, on the right."

The captain nodded. "From what we can see, the entire building is air-conditioned, and almost all the windows are sealed. Which begs the question: what were they doing when they put wooden planks over the windows? It can't have been to keep people from getting in, just sealing the doors over would have been enough for that..."

Then there was a cry as one of the police officers looked at a window further up. "I saw something moving at that window!" She said, as she raised her binoculars to her face. 'Luna' and the Captain headed for her, when she cried out... and started turning grey.

"Celestia, no!" 'Luna' said as she raced up to the woman, who'd turned grey from head to foot inside her uniform. "DON'T TOUCH HER!" She screamed out as someone moved to reach out to the woman. A blue force-shield wrapped around the woman, preventing anything else happening until 'Luna' arrived. 'Luna' got to her, then carefully circled her, scanning her.

Thunderlane got down there as well, and he looked as shocked as everyone else. "By Celestia! She's been turned to stone!"

"WHAT?!?" Came a large number of voices.

'Luna's' eyes opened wide and she shouted out "EVERYBODY LOOK AWAY FROM THE BUILDING!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as she invoked a Compulsion spell on all the crowd.

'look away from the building...' 'Luna's' voice echoed in the minds of all the people gathered there, making them obey.

'look away from the building...' Soon, nobody save for herself and Thunderlane were facing the building. "Commander, visor down, mirrored finish active." 'Luna' ordered.

"Aye, Princess." Thunderlane replied, and he dropped his visor as 'Luna' did the same. They looked up at the window where the figure was pointing, and they saw a white and green blob that was gesticulating wildly and slapping the window frantically. "That... that looks like a chicken." Thunderlane said, frowning.

'Luna' looked as well, and she growled. "That is no chicken." She shook her head. "Oh, Discord. Hast thou truly gone and done something most foul?"

Thunderlane looked at 'Luna'. "A bit thick, dost thou not think?" He whispered down their special radios.

"Staying in character." 'Luna' replied.

Meanwhile, the Captain had broken 'Luna's' compulsion, and looked at her. "What the hell was that for?" He asked.

"To save you from the same fate as this poor woman." 'Luna' answered, gesturing with a wing to the petrified woman. "And I now know why they blocked up the entrances and lower windows. It was to stop this happening to anyone looking in them." 'Luna' got out her tome of magic and started looking through it.

Thunderlane's eyes grew wide with shock, as he realised what it meant. "By the freaking Lords of Chaos..." He looked back up at the building. "There's a cockatrice in there!" 'Luna' nodded as she sought a particular spell. Thunderlane looked up at the window, but the white-and-green blob was gone.

"Okay, what the fuck is a cockatrice, and what does it have to do with turning people to stone?" The Captain asked as his group gathered around him.

"A cockatrice is a chimera creature." Thunderlane explained. "It's a creature created out of two completely different creatures, and it's got one nasty little feature: it can turn you to stone if you look it in the eyes."

"Seriously?" One of the other soldiers asked.

"Is that serious enough for you, Sargeant?" Thunderlane yelled back, pointing to the statue that stood before the steps with an armored wingtip.

"Umm... shit, yeah." She answered.

Then 'Luna' found what she'd been looking for. She dropped the field, her horn lit up brilliantly, and she gently tapped the woman on her forehead with her horn. The blue glow spread across her body, under her clothes, then she changed back to flesh again and dropped to her knees, stifling a scream. She looked up at 'Luna' and said "Thank you, thank you..." Over and over again.

'Luna' gestured to some paramedics. "Get her to somewhere she can rest. She'll be dehydrated and nauseous for a while, until her body settles again." She informed them. They nodded and helped the young lady away.

"Okay... so, how can we combat this thing?" The Captain asked.

"Commander, go and see if you can attract the attention of our pony-friend inside." 'Luna' ordered.

"Aye, Ma'am." Thunderlane replied and flew off, heading for the seventh-level apartment.

"Now, as for combatting a cockatrice... The first rule is: do not look it in the eye, obviously." She told the soldiers. "In the older times, it was a lot harder. You had to use mirrors or protective wards to avoid being petrified. But now, I think your NVGs will do the trick quite nicely." 'Luna' smiled. "Since they actually block off your natural sight, forcing you to use what they show you, then they should block the cockatrice's special vision effectively. And since it is almost dark, they should be even more effective inside."

"And then what?" The captain asked.

"Above all, do NOT kill it." 'Luna' stated. "If you kill a cockatrice, its magic will create a dozen eggs in places up to a hundred yards from itself before it passes on. That's the other thing that makes it so dangerous. You kill one, you get a dozen more you have to find before they hatch."

"Wonderful." The Captain replied sarcastically, sounding less-than-thrilled.

'Luna' chuckled. "That means capture is the goal. You can kill it safely if you can get it to see itself in a mirror when it uses its petrifying gaze." She told them. "Once it's petrified, smash it head-first, and it will die without releasing the eggs. Oh, and we'll have to search through the building for eggs as well. It might not have had time to lay any, but we have to be very careful. The tenants of this building were smart enough to trap it inside, so I don't need to tell you what could happen if one of them got loose in the city."

'Luna' saw the soldiers shudder. "So, how do we get in?" The Captain asked.

'Luna' looked up. "We would say, probably through the roof would be safest." She said. "Cockatrices are not the best flyers for altitude. We could easily capture it if it tried to fly down to the street." She told them.

"The fire escapes?" The lieutenant asked.

"I think I can get us up there a lot faster." 'Luna' suggested.

"Then let's get moving." The Captain agreed.

"Gather around us, then." 'Luna' told them, and they did so. Then 'Luna's' horn lit up, they were surrounded by a blue field and they vanished.

=======

While 'Luna' talked with the soldiers, Thunderlane flew up to the only opened window in the building and looked inside. "Hello?" He shouted into the room.

There was a squeal, the sound of somepony tripping over and landing on a carpeted floor, then a scrambling of hoofs followed by them moving closer. "Hello?" Came a mare's voice. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the open window in the bathroom." Thunderlane answered.

The hoof-falls came closer, then Thunderlane saw a figure move in the dark into the room. "Hello? How are you in here?" The mare asked as she closed on him in the darkness.

Thunderlane chuckled. "I'm not actually inside the room." He told her. "I'm hovering outside the window."

"Hovering?" She said incredulously. "How are you doing that? I don't hear a helicopter."

"Ma'am, I'm a pegasus." Thunderlane replied, looking closer as she looked out the window. Then, in the fading light, Thunderlane realised that the mare was blind. Her sightless eyes were unfocussed and milky. "Ah, now I see... that you can't." He said as politely as he could.

She smiled at Thunderlane... as closely as she could. "Yes, I'm blind." She said. "I was for a long time before I became... what am I?" She asked.

"Oh. I can imagine... you can't see yourself." Thunderlane replied. "Okay, you're a Pony, in general terms." Thunderlane told her. "In specifics, you're a unicorn." He saw she was a lovely shade of solid pink, with a green two-toned mane and tail.

"I am?!" She asked with a massive grin, then squeed. "I was right! I am a unicorn."

Thunderlane chuckled. "That's right. Can you remember your Pony name?" He asked.

"Uh... I have one?" She asked. "My human name is Cheryl."

Thunderlane nodded, then realised she couldn't see the gesture. "Yes, you do. We can help you remember it later." He told her. "Right now... why haven't you left your apartment? Do you have any idea what's been going on?" He asked Cheryl.

"I have no idea." Cheryl answered. "Someone boarded up my door on the first of this month, then I started changing on the second. I haven't been able to get outside since then. I had plenty of supplies and they were okay after I changed, since I was a vegan, but I have no idea what was happening outside my apartment... except for the chicken."

"The chicken?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yes. After everypony went quiet, I heard it every day. It would be outside my boarded-up door, trying to peck or scratch its way into my apartment." Cheryl told Thunderlane. "The wierdest thing was, it kept hissing at me when I got close to it."

"Ah." Thunderlane nodded. "That's because... it isn't a chicken. It's what we call a cockatrice. It's a very dangerous creature... although, I think you might be one of the few people immune to its major ability." Thunderlane said, thinking about Cheryl's condition. He looked down in time to see 'Luna' vanish with the soldiers, and there was a flash on the roof. "Okay. We're going to enter the building now." Thunderlane told Cheryl. "Once we catch that cockatrice, we can get you out of there. Okay?" He asked her.

"I will be so grateful." Cheryl said.

"Be back soon." Thunderlane said, as he headed up to the roof.

=======

'Luna' and the soldiers appeared on the roof, and their heels just dropped a few millimetres to the rooftop. "Whoah! Okay, Ma'am. That was something." The Captain said.

'Luna' shrugged. "We have done this enough before to know what we are doing." She replied. The soldiers put their Night-Vision Goggles (NVGs) on, shielding their eyes as they moved across a much-clearer rooftop to the roof entrance. It was locked, of course, but 'Luna' made short work of the locked door by opening it from the inside using her magic. At that moment, Thunderlane landed quietly, tapping a hoof to let them know he was there, before moving up beside 'Luna', as the door opened. "Commander, activate your suit's 'quiet-mode'." 'Luna' whispered, and Thunderlane nodded. Their hoof-falls became totally silent and their armors' noises faded. "Now, bring up 'Night-vision' in your visor, but keep Mirror active."

"Rojer, Your Highness." Thunderlane replied as he did so, marvelling as he could see in the dark better than any Pony could. He realised, he was seeing even better than a Thestral could in the total darkness of the building. They carefully moved down into the tenth floor, checking everywhere they could; the small, dim lights the soldiers had making the corridors almost like daylight. After every apartment was checked, the doors were sealed and marked to make sure they did not have to search them again for the chicken-headed creature they were seeking. They did find something very useful: boxes big enough to hold a cockatrice. The captain had one private carry several of them as they moved through the top floor of the building and headed downstairs. All were silent, their ears listening for the sound of a cockatrice: Its clucking or hissing in the darkness...

=======

Cheryl waited patiently. The male pegasus had said they were in the building now, hunting down the 'cockatrice' creature that had been stalking her so unrelentingly. She moved back to her front door... and there it was again, clucking and scratching.

"Princess! It's here..." Cheryl whispered, her horn lit up as she cringed a little.

= = = = =

'Luna's' head snapped up again. She stopped and looked at the Captain. "I know where it is." She told him.

He looked at her. "How?" He asked, then said "Nevermind, where is it?"

"Outside that apartment on the Seventh floor." 'Luna' answered. "Apparently it is stalking the Pony contained within."

"Great. But that helps." He replied. "Okay, everyone to the seventh floor, as silently as possible."

"When we get there, I shall seal off the approach to the stairs." 'Luna' told the Captain. "That will contain it to that floor."

"Good idea, Princess." The Captain agreed, as they headed down. "When we get down to the floor, I want everyone up the other end to where it is, closing off the doors. If it can't get out of the hall, it'll be easier to catch." He ordered. "Okay, from here down, no more chatter." He added.

There were salutes from all the players, and the ten soldiers and two Ponies moved silently down the flights of steps to the seventh floor. The whole floor was in darkness, the only lights from the tiny deep-green LEDs the soldiers had on their helmets. They could barely be seen two feet from them, but they gave enough light for the NVGs to easily see to the ends of the corridor...

'Luna' stayed by the stairs, and once everyone was down, she sealed the stairwells off with a shield of a dark-blue magic. The soldiers moved up to the far end of the corridor to seal off the apartments, as Thunderlane perused the end where Cheryl's apartment was, the boards over the doorway easy to see. "I see it." He whispered into his mike. "Captain, we have contact." He added.

"Affirm." Came the reply, as doors were silently shut from the other end of the corridor back down to the staircase. Stellar changed the orientation of her shield to separate that end of the hallway from the rest of the building. As the soldiers moved past 'Luna' through the shield, there was a roar of something that did not sound like anything from Earth, and a white and green blur raced from the hall into an apartment.

"There!" Shouted one of the soldiers as the cockatrice disappeared, and three of the ten went into the apartment. There was silence for a few minutes, then some shouting and a squeal of pain from something not human, and the cockatrice launched itself into the hall... and flew straight at Thunderlane.

Thunderlane was no coward and he stood there, letting the cockatrice fly straight at him, as he felt big footsteps running down the hall behind him. At almost the last minute, he ducked, rolled and kicked with his hind legs, sending the cockatrice higher into the air... where the big male sargeant jumped up and slammed the cockatrice with the butt of his rifle, held like a bat. Caught completely unawares in the near-pitch black of the hallway, the cockatrice was sent barreling down the end of the corridor, to hit the back wall. A female corporal, holding an unfolded box, came out of the apartment opposite Cheryl's and dropped it down over the unconscious creature, trapping it. "Got it!" She called out. Carefully folding the box shut around the cockatrice, another box was pressed down hard over the first, securing the creature for good.

"Very good! Now, let us deal with it." 'Luna' said, as she approached. The cockatrice was making very pained noises from inside the box, but 'Luna' did not heed them. She slid her horn through the boxes, casting a spell... and the box grew much heavier as the cockatrice itself was turned to stone. "It is safe. The creature is now properly subdued." She declared as her shield dropped.

Thunderlane moved down to the other end of the hall and found a light switch. "Okay! Lights are on in Ten!" And he began to count down audibly as the soldiers removed their NVGs and waited. "All clear?" Thunderlane asked.

"All clear!" Came eleven replies as Thunderlane raised his visor, and he turned the lights on. The vacant hallway was revealed, the boarded-up entrance of Cheryl's apartment clearly visible. The Captain and the other soldiers looked visibly relieved. "Thank the gods. I thought it was going to be a room-by-room search for the thing." The Captain said, looking at 'Luna' in her armor.

"Indeed. It is a good thing the cockatrice is such an aggressive creature, that it prefers to go on the offensive, rather than hide." 'Luna' agreed.

"Now, where are the rest of the people here?" The female sargeant asked.

"Probably scattered all over the place." Thunderlane said. "But I'd bet the lower floors would be the first place to start." He suggested.

"Good idea, Commander." The Captain agreed. "Sarge, stay with the Commander here and free their friend from that apartment." He ordered, looking at the big male sargeant. "The rest of us will begin searching for the people in here. If you find one that's petrified, notify myself or the Princess, and we'll see if we can free them."

"Aye, Captain." Came the reply, and the squads started searching. The Captain and 'Luna' headed down the stairs to the ground floor... and found a horrific scene. There were three dozen statues gathered around the sealed off doors, looking like they'd been backed against them when they were turned.

"Oh... My." 'Luna' exclaimed quietly, looking shocked in the light from the foyer.

"That's putting it very mildly, Your Highness." The Captain stated as he moved closer.

"Hold fast, Captain!" 'Luna' then exclaimed, moving before him. She had seen that sitting between the legs of one young person was a stone egg. "By the Ancients... it did lay at least one egg." 'Luna' growled. She looked at the Captain. "Dost thou have a heavy object that thou canst smash this with?" She asked.

The Captain looked through his bags. "Got something better." He said, taking out a packet of C4 explosive. He made up a small charge with it, and a ten-second timer. "Can you send this far enough away that it will shatter this without hurting anyone else?"

"Aye." 'Luna' answered. "I shall cast it upwards several dozen miles. It should explode high in the air harmlessly."

The Captain nodded. 'Luna' brought the egg over carefully, and the Captain wrapped the charge around the egg, shaping it and wrapping it to blast most of it's force inwards. Once that was done, he set the timer, put the egg down and 'Luna' teleported the egg, sending it over sixty miles into the air. Five seconds after it appeared, none of the people outside saw the faint flash in the sky, but small debris fell over a large part of Windsor.

"Good." 'Luna' stated with a smile. "Now. We shall scan for more of the eggs, and see if the vile thing laid any more. They shall have to be dealt with the same way."

The Captain waited as 'Luna' did her scan, finding three more eggs. They were carefully brought down to the foyer, and treated the same as the first. Only when it was safe did 'Luna' start attending the human statues the cockatrice had left behind...

=======

Upstairs, the sargeant had found a large power drill fitted with the proper screwdriver bit, and was slowly unscrewing the boards from the door frame. Thunderlane was beside him, watching, as inside the apartment, Cheryl was waiting anxiously. "Cheryl! Can you hear me?" Thunderlane asked, as the first board was put aside.

"Yes! I can hear you!" She said with tense joy.

"Good. We'll have you out of there very soon." Thunderlane said to her.

The Sargeant chuckled. "I haven't heard anyone so eager to get out of their home before, in all my years of helping others." He told Thunderlane.

"So would you be, if you'd been trapped in your home for eighteen days, being stalked by a cockatrice, been changed back into a Pony in the meantime, and having no idea what was going on in the outside world." Thunderlane told the big human male.

"Wait, wait... changed back into a pony?" He asked. "Don't you mean...?"

"I meant exactly what I said." Thunderlane interrupted him. "All of the ponies that have appeared on Earth were originally Ponies from a world called Equis. We were sent here by a personage of incredible power to get us out of his way. We were reborn as humans, and for twenty-five years we lived as humans until our twenty-fifth birthday, when the curse ended and we changed back." He explained to the Sargeant and, as he knew she could hear him, to Cheryl as well.

The Sargeant took down the third board and nodded. "Right. So... that's why you're so comfortable being a Pony? Because you had been like that before?"

"Yep." Thunderlane grinned and nodded. "We all were. Our memories were scrambled and kept from us as part of the curse, so a lot of times we can't remember much about who we were. The Princess can help alleviate that problem, but we all have to come to terms with who we are now, who we were as a human, and who we originally were as a Pony. Only when we reconcile the two halfs of ourselves with each other, can we truly become who we now are."

=== === === === === ===

Cheryl had heard these words, and she sat down for a minute. "Reconcile the Pony I was with the human I was..." She said softly, and closed her eyes as she focussed her mind inside herself.

She saw nothing, but that was normal for her. She heard a voice say "I once was you, when I walked on four legs and had a family I loved very much."

"I was you after that, when I lived by myself and walked on two legs." Said a similar voice.

"Are we that different?" Asked the first voice.

"I do not know... but I feel that we are not supposed to be apart. That does us no good." The second voice said.

"I guess I am closer to our new body, just because I suit it better... but you are needed too, to live in this world."

"I cannot disagree. We are on four legs now. But I am still part of the person that we are."

"Indeed. I cannot see us as being apart. Far too much has been taken from us to allow anything we still have to be left behind."

"Then let us join together. Maybe as one we can find our balance again."

"I agree." The first voice said, and Cheryl's cutie-mark lit up, as did her horn.

=== === === === === ===

Outside, Thunderlane saw the flash of light from inside and he smiled, guessing what had just happened. Once the fourth board was gone, he jumped up over the Sargeant and managed to fly into the apartment, where he saw Cheryl. He turned the light on and watched as Cheryl sat there, her horn and cutie-mark glowing. Once she'd settled down again, he moved to her and said "Hello" softly.

Cheryl was feeling a little disorientated, once her mind cleared, but she was also feeling a lot better as well. She felt complete within herself. Then she heard a voice she'd heard before say 'Hello" and she squeaked.

Thunderlane grinned when Cheryl squeaked with surprise. "Easy, Cheryl. It's just me, Thunderlane."

"It's you?" Cheryl asked. "And what kind of name is 'Thunderlane'?" She asked.

Thunderlane did chuckle now. "It's a Pony name." He explained.

"Oh." Cheryl replied, her face actually looking confused.

Thunderlane moved to Cheryl and nuzzled her gently, something that made her whinny in surprise and nicker with pleasure. "Chill for now, Cheryl. The Princess will help you when she's checked for any other survivors." He told her.

"Thanks, Thunderlane." Cheryl said, real gratitude in her voice.

"We're all in this together." He told her.

"Well... I guess I have a lot bigger family than I thought I did." Cheryl said as she sat close to Thunderlane.

Thunderlane smiled and just rested his cheek next to hers, as they waited...

=======

Down on the third floor, 'Luna' was feeling sad and frustrated. Although she had managed to reverse the petrification of about ten people, so far the majority had refused to return... which meant they were dead. Most of the people had been elderly, and she felt that they just didn't have the fortitude to survive eighteen days as stone statues. But every person she changed back was one she saved, and that made her feel a little better, at least.

The soldiers had cut open the front doors, and paramedics were tending to the unpetrified, as 'Luna' managed to free another, more mature male, who looked like he had suffered greatly in his imprisonment. But he was taken away to hospital and as the soldiers and police kept the general public out of the building, 'Luna' went upstairs towards the seventh floor... and then stopped. Her horn twitched like crazy, as if something was tugging on it. She activated her radio. "Thunder, I'm going to go check something out. Stay with our friend until I get back." 'Luna' said as she changed back to Stellar, and headed for the roof.

"Rojer that, Commander." Thunderlane replied, and Stellar knew then he'd picked up the change in her voice.

=== === === === === ===

Stellar got to the roof and closed her eyes, feeling for what she'd felt. A small wave of intense sadness flowed over her, eliciting a tear from her eye, as Stellar took off and headed over the city. Eventually, she landed outside a house in the suburbs, a fairly non-descript home. She walked up past the fence and past a car into the side yard and then down the back. As she looked about, she saw an old dog-house, a very large one, in the back corner of the yard. The waves of sadness were clearly coming from here, and Stellar moved to the dog-house. "Hello?" She asked softly.

There was a soft sniffle. "Hello." Replied a very young voice.

"I'm Stellar." Stellar said to the young voice.

"I'm Mikie." The voice replied.

"Hello, Mikie. Could you come out, please? I'd like to see you properly."

There was a shuffle from inside, and a foal, a unicorn colt whom Stellar determined was barely more than four years old, came out. A heavy collar was around his neck, a heavy chain attached to that. Stellar kept her temper as she moved to look at Mikie. He was a chocolate-brown color with what looked like a pale yellow mane and tail, although both were quite dirty. The collar was not tight around his neck, so it hadn't been put on in a cruel manner. She gently nuzzled his muzzle as he looked up at her, his sadness slowly draining away. "Wow... you're big." He said to her.

Stellar smiled at him. "Yes, I am quite big." She confirmed. "And you are very young." She said.

Mikie nodded. "Yeah. I didn't used to be, but I am, now." He said.

"Oh? Can you remember much?" Stellar asked him.

Mikie thought about that, but shook his head. "I don't remember much." He replied. Then he cringed and backed into the dog-house, as Stellar felt someone coming up behind them.

"Stay right where you are." A male voice said, an older male human.

Stellar's horn lit up at the tip, and she realised the human was holding a shotgun. "If you think your weapon is going to scare me, I am wearing armor that has survived far more powerful weapons than you are carrying. So I am not afraid of you." Stellar warned him, as she turned around.

He took a step back as she faced him. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I am here for the foal." Stellar answered. "He needs to be brought to where others of his kind can look after him as he grows up."

The man glared at her. "That... used to be my son." He said.

Stellar nodded. "Yes, I understand." She replied, her voice filled with sympathy. "You are not the only one who has had this happen." Stellar told him.

The man frowned. "The government says they need to be kept safe from others, in case they infect others." He said, but Stellar could hear he was starting to waver in the force of his arguments.

"That is a fallacy." Stellar told him. "This isn't infectious. You can't catch it from any Pony."

"Then why do they say that?" He asked.

"Because they don't understand what is happening, and they can't explain it any other way." Stellar told him. "Believe me, I know what did this, because it happened to me."

He frowned. "Why should I give up my son?" He asked.

Stellar almost smiled. Now she was starting to get to the heart of the problem. "If he's your son, why do you keep him chained up like this?" She asked.

He opened his mouth... then closed it. Stellar checked the time. It was nearly Ten o'clock. "I..." He said, thinking.

Stellar moved closer to him. "Listen to me." She said softly. "I sympathise. I have seen other families torn apart by this. It's not your fault. It's not their fault. They cannot control this. They did nothing to trigger this. This was done by a being of incredible power who wanted to create chaos, and he did this as a way of doing so." She told the man.

He looked at Stellar as she informed him of this. "Will he ever become my son again?" He asked.

Stellar sighed. "At his age? No." She said reluctantly. "He's just too young to keep most of his human memories. As he grows, he will make new memories as a Pony, and those will replace any remaining human memories he has." She explained to the man. "He's already almost forgotten everything he's known, save for anything he remembers from the life he's lived up to the age he is now, such as his language. Everything beyond that is probably already lost."

The Human lowered his gun, after breaking it open and ejecting the shells. He moved past Stellar to the dog-house, dropped to his knees and called "Mikie." The little colt slowly came out and looked miserable. The man slid his hands around Mikie's neck and removed the collar from him. "I'm sorry." He said, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"I know. It's okay, Daddy." He replied, putting his front hoofs on the man's leg so he could nuzzle him gently. The Man wrapped his arms around Mikie and held him for what seemed like ages to them, then he let go and rose to his haunches, as Mikie put his front hoofs back to the ground.

"Go with her." Mikie's dad said. "She can help you. I can't any longer." Mikie was crying, too, as he moved over to Stellar. "Look after him well." He said to Stellar, his face showing his sadness, but determination.

"He'll have a new family who will love him very dearly, and others to play with and help him realise he is wanted and loved by all who will be his friends." Stellar replied.

The Man rose to his feet and watched as Stellar lifted Mikie onto her back and made him secure. Then she just nodded at him, he nodded back, and Stellar took to the skies as he picked up his gun. There was a flash in the sky, and they were gone as he looked up again.

As he reached the house, a woman looked out, fearing what might have happened. "Davis, what happended? Where's Mikie?" She asked.

Davis looked at her, then at the rest of his children, who'd come home to help in the crisis. "Mikie's gone." He told them all. "Someone like him came for him... and I realised, she could help him far more than anyone else, Aggie." He said.

"Oh Davis." Aggie said, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. Once inside, all his sons and daughters hugged them both.

=======

After Stellar had left, Thunderlane watched as the Sarge removed the last of the boards. "Thanks a lot, mate." He said to the Canadian.

"Hey, you're an Aussie." Sarge said, grinning.

Thunderlane chuckled. "Too bloody right, mate. Born and bred Down Under."

"Sweet." Sarge said. "So, what brings you guys over here?" He asked.

"Looking for others of our kind who need help." Thunderlane said. "We Ponies have to stick together, or there's others out there who'll take advantage of us any way they can."

"Yeah, you're not wrong." He agreed. "There's a mob up here called Spectrum. They've been 'requisitioning' any ponies they can find. So far, the government's refused to hand any over, but they're becoming insistent, saying you're a biological infestation, a pandemic-level plague." He informed Thunderlane. "So far, the government's not buying it, but if Spectrum brings enough pressure to bear... they might capitulate."

Thunderlane nodded. "Thanks for the information, Sarge. Do you know who's in charge of the situation?"

"The Minister for Agriculture, I believe." Sarge suggested. "He might see sense if your Princess goes and sees him. We're suckers for Royalty out here, like you Aussies are." He grinned.

"Too right, mate. Queen and Country forever." Thunderlane said with a massive grin.

"Oh yeah! Nice to meet someone who actually understands that." Sarge agreed. "Anyway, go and see the Minister for Agriculture in Ottowa. They might see sense a lot sooner than the.. what do you Aussies call them? The Yanks?"

"Ah, you mean how we call the dumber ones 'Septic Tanks', because they usually full of shit?" Thunderlane suggested.

Sarge gave a bark of laughter. "Yeah, that's the one. I remember hearing that term nearly twenty years ago. It still cracks up newbies when you use it for the first time in front of them."

"Yeah, I bet. Anyway, you can return to your unit, Sarge. Nice meeting you." Thunderlane held out his hoof to shake, and Sarge obliged.

"And you, Commander... Thunderlane, was it?" Sarge asked.

"Yep, that's me." Thunderlane said. "Thanks for all your help."

"Hey, if it wasn't for you and your Princess, we'd have probably let that thing out after it turned us to statues, and it'd be outside, running riot." Sarge pointed out. "So your help is also truly appreciated."

"Hey, Ponies help where Ponies can." Thunderlane replied. "See you around, maybe."

"Maybe." Sarge said as he got up, then stretched, before he headed off with a wave.

Thunderlane returned inside Cheryl's apartment, and found her making Tea. "I hope you don't mind Rosemary and Chamomile." Cheryl said. "I don't have many varieties left, after the last few weeks."

"That will do fine." Thunderlane said, as he sat at the table, his armor retracting back into his helmet before he sat, and he placed it on another chair. Cheryl lifted the tray using her horn magic, and put it skillfully onto the table. "You're doing that very well." He commented.

"I know." Cheryl replied. "It seems to have gotten easier to do, after I heard what you said about reconciling both parts of myself.

"Yes, apparently that happens, as well as usually a lot of our memories start returning as well." Thunderlane explained a little more to Cheryl. "Our magic is mostly dependant on our memories, especially yours as a unicorn, because of spells you learn when growing up." He stated. "With Pegasi and Earth Pony magic, it's more instinctive. We don't use spells so much to focus our abilities, we focus them with our minds and feelings."

"I see." Cheryl said, thinking, as she poured.

"Your aim is uncanny." Thunderlane said.

"Oh, I might be blind, but I can 'see' whatever I am holding in my magic." Cheryl explained.

"Ah, that explains it." Thunderlane said. "That's why you're steadying the cups in your 'grasp' as you fill them."

"That's right." Cheryl confirmed.

Thunderlane nodded. "So... do you think you're going to be staying here?" Thunderlane asked after he'd taken a sip of the excellent tea.

Cheryl sighed as she sat down. "I... I don't know." She replied honestly. "This is my home, yes, but... I have been trapped in here, unable to get out. I have been hounded by a supernatural creature, stalked by it constantly for nearly eighteen days. I don't know if I can ever truly feel comfortable here ever again." Cheryl started to shake, putting her cup down before she dropped it. Thunderlane put a hoof on Cheryl's shoulder, and she sniffled. "I was so scared..."

"I can only imagine." Thunderlane told her. "If you want... we have a place with a large number of other Ponies that you can move to, where you should be safe. Ponies always feel better with other Ponies around them." He said.

Cheryl looked at Thunderlane. "I think... I'd like that." She said.

Thunderlane gently patted Cheryl on her shoulder. "I'll make arrangements." He told her.

Cheryl nodded. "Thank you." She replied.

"My pleasure." Thunderlane said, his smile leaking into his voice as he finished his tea off and returned the cup to the table. "Get some things together, whatever you want to take with you." He said as he picked up his helmet and put it back on.

Cheryl nodded as she got up and headed into her bedroom. Thunderlane called the Stellar Wind. "Stellar Wind Control, this is Lt-Cmdr Thunderlane. Over."

"This is Stellar Wind Control, Commander. We read you five-by-five. Over."

"Stellar Wind, please send two unicorns with teleport abilities to my current location. I have one mare to bring back with me. Please bring four sets of side-bags as well. Over."

"Rojer that, Commander. We'll have two of the strongest teleporters we have to your location. Please find an open location for them. Over."

"I'll move to the roof, Stellar Wind. I'll call you again when I'm there. Over." Thunderlane told them.

"Rojer that, Commander. We'll be waiting for your call. Over."

"Talk to you then, Control. Thunderlane, out." Thunderlane ended his call, then went and found Cheryl. "Cheryl, I'm going to go and get some others to bring us to the ship, okay?" He asked.

"Okay." Cheryl replied. "Do you think I need to bring any clothes?" She asked.

Thunderlane chuckled softly. "I don't think so." He answered. "We really don't wear much, save for armor and uniforms."

"Oh." Cheryl giggled. "I guess that makes sense."

Thunderlane chuckled. "Probably all you'll need are some scarfs and maybe a cold-weather jumper. If you do need clothes, I'm sure we can supply you with some that will fit better than anything you have now." He told Cheryl. "I'm going up to the roof to await our lift."

"Okay." Cheryl replied, and Thunderlane saw her horn glowing as she checked over things...

He made his way to the roof and called "Stellar Wind Control, this is Lt-Cmdr Thunderlane. I'm on the roof and ready to receive. Over."

"Commander, this is Control. We're ready to go. Stay still, please." They said, then there was a flash and two unicorns stood either side of him.

"Commander." One said, his uniform showed him to be a senior lieutenant stallion attached to the Stellar Wind's Ship Guard. The other one was a junior lieutenant mare, and both of them had two sets of side-bags.

"Good to see you, guys." Thunderlane said. "Come this way." And he led them down into the building.

Cheryl had a small pile of objects with her in the lounge room. "Thunder?" Cheryl asked, hearing two more sets of hoofs.

"Our ride's here, Cheryl." Thunderlane said to Cheryl as he took one of the sets of side-bags and started carefully loading them. Cheryl had also managed to unplug her special computer equipment and she put it in the other bags, along with a laptop and two external hard-drives. Once the bags were full, Thunderlane put the bags with the computer on Cheryl's back, securing them to her, and he took one set of the other bags himself, the unicorns taking the final two sets. As soon as they were ready, the unicorns stood either side of them and they vanished, to appear in the cargo bay where Stellar had inscribed her cutie mark on the floor.

"Thanks, Guys. Great service." Thunderlane told them.

"You're welcome, Commander. We'll put the lady's bags in the storage area for her, locker space forty-four." They said as they took Cheryl's bags from her and Thunderlane, and walked off in one direction.

"Locker Forty-Four, aye." Thunderlane replied as he guided Cheryl out of the bay and onto Deck Four, taking the ramp to Deck Three. Thunderlane steered them towards the showers. "Do you want to get clean?" He asked Cheryl.

"Yes, that would be wonderful." Cheryl replied. "I haven't had a shower in four days, after the hot water system went off-line." She explained. "Would you help me?" She asked Thunderlane.

Thunderlane scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Well, I'd like to, but the showers are mares only." He explained. "Public showers, you see."

"Oh! Oh, right." Cheryl exclaimed as it got through to her. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, you weren't to know." Thunderlane said. "But I'm sure we can find somepony to help you... Ah!" He grinned, seeing Lavender, Dandy, Sky and Forest walking towards him. "Hey! Good to see you again." He moved to Dandy and Lavender.

"Thunder!" Dandy said as he neared them. They shared a hug with him.

"Hey, I could use a favor right now." Thunderlane told them.

"Well... we were just about to go have a shower." Lavender said.

"I know. My friend Cheryl needs a good shower, too." Thunderlane told them. "I'll swap you if you'll give me a hand. If you help Cheryl get clean, I'll take Forest in with me." He suggested.

Lavender and Dandy looked at each other. "Well, okay." They said. "So who is this 'Cheryl'?" Dandy asked.

"We just found her in Windsor, Canada. She was trapped in her apartment for eighteen days with a cockatrice roaming around outside as she changed." Thunderlane told them. "This is her here." He gestured to Cheryl as they reached her. "Cheryl, this is..."

"Cherry?" Dandy then called out, interrupting Thunderlane.

"Huh?" Cheryl asked, "Who's there?"

Lavender then remembered the blind mare who'd visited them with her family all those years ago. "Cherry Delight! It IS you!" Lavender stated.

"Cherry De..." Cheryl started to say, but then her horn and cutie-mark lit up brilliantly...

=======

Cherry had been rushing with her family away from the True Brew Cafe, as Discord's assault on Canterlot was gaining pace. He seemed to be everywhere, and Cherry found herself being dragged along by the crowd with her son, Flapjack by her side. "Don't worry, Mom. I've got you." He said.

"I know, Dear." Cherry had said as they raced along together. But then there was a mass of screaming, and the crowd split into five different directions as Discord appeared in the middle of them.

"Don't worry, don't worry. I'll get to you all in due time." He yelled, laughing maniacally as he scanned the crowd. Cherry had stopped moving, so Discord homed in on her. Cherry screamed as he picked her up. "Now... Oh dear. You're blind."

"How kind of you to notice." Cherry said, only a little sarcasm creeping into her voice.

"Hmmm... Tell me, were you born blind, or could you see before now?" Discord asked as he looked into her blind eyes.

Cherry was shaken a little by the concern in his voice. "Uh... I lost my sight when I was nineteen, due to a disease." Cherry answered.

She didn't see Discord shake his head. "Ah... Then I have some good news for you, and some sad news." He said. "The good news is, where you're going, when you're born, you will have your sight back." He told Cherry. "The sad news is, you'll lose it again around about nineteen, just as you did before." He explained. "So enjoy being able to see again while you can."

Cherry was thinking this over, as Discord started to chant "For five score, divided by four..."

=======

Cherry found herself surrounded by friends who were pressed in against her, hugging her and holding her up as her horn and cutie-mark stopped glowing. "I... I remember..." She said, looking around. "Lavender." Cherry said. "Dandelion. Sky Fern." Tears started coming out of her eyes as she hugged as many as she could reach to her. "I remember you all!" She yelled, crying.

Thunderlane just smiled as the mares shared an emotional reunion. Forest Breeze was a little puzzled, though. "How come she's crying?" He asked Thunderlane.

"Remember when you found your mother and big sister here?" He asked Forest.

"Well, yeah." He replied.

"This is kind-of like that for Cherry." Thunderlane said. "She's just gotten part of her memories back, and she remembers your family again. To her, it's almost like finding Family again, to find somepony you remember after not remembering anything for so long."

"Oh. Okay." Forest said.

Thunderlane chuckled, as the mares and filly headed for the showers. "Come on, Forest. Time to get you cleaned up." Thunderlane said.

Forest followed Thunderlane in reluctantly, but he did get washed...

=======

Stellar and Mikie appeared over Windsor, and she landed on the roof once again. They went back downstairs, to find Thunderlane and Cheryl were gone from her apartment, and the door was locked.

"Huh." Stellar said. "Looks like they've already gone, Squirt."

"Gone home?" Mikie asked.

"Yep. Shall we go join them, Mikie?" Stellar asked.

The unicorn colt frowned. "My name's not Mikie." He said.

"It isn't?" Stellar asked.

"Nuh-uh." He stated. "My name is Mocha!"

"Mocha, is it?" Stellar asked, smiling as he now confirmed who he was, for sure.

"Uh-huh." Mocha confirmed.

"Okay then, Mocha. Shall we go home?" Stellar asked.

"Yeah!" The colt said with a big grin.

"Okay! Let's get going!" Stellar said as she turned and headed up the stairs.

Mocha giggled as they did so. On the roof, Stellar headed up into the air, and then told Mocha "Hold on tight!"

"Yeah!" Mocha yelled, and they teleported, arriving beside the huge cloudship, making Mocha croon with wonder. "THAT'S your home?" He asked.

"Yep." Stellar confirmed as they banked and headed for the Top Flight Deck. As they came into a landing, other pegasi saluted Stellar as she checked in, then headed for the ramp, Mocha looking around as they headed down. Once they were below on the third deck, Stellar lifted the little unicorn from her back and put him on his hoofs, then she retracted her armor. "Come on, Mocha. Let's go get clean."

"Okay!" Mocha agreed in a bright tone, and Stellar took him into the showers. Mocha took to the showers with a glee that was infectious. Stellar scrubbed him down several times to get him totally clean, as well as casting a cleansing spell on him to get rid of any parasites he might have picked up. A check on Mocha's horn showed it was sound and not chipped or damaged in any way. She also lathered herself up and was grateful when one of the unicorn mares helped scrub her back down. Once they were both clean, dried and groomed, Stellar took Mocha for a meal.

= = = = =

Thunderlane had taken everypony in the group to the McHays eatery for a reason. After all, Cherry's son Flapjack worked there, and he wanted the pair to be reunited. After settling the small herd of mares and Forest down at an outside table, Thunderlane went into the store and up to the counter. "I'd like seven hayburgers, five big orders of hay fries, three cokes, two frozen cokes and two waters, thanks. Oh, and your manager for fifteen minutes." He gave his order to the 'uniformed' filly behind the counter.

She entered the order, then frowned. "The... Manager?" She asked.

Thunderlane nodded. He was wearing his ship's uniform now, so he just said "Don't worry, there's nothing wrong. I just need to introduce somepony to him."

"Oh. Okay." She replied with relief, then headed into the back for a moment.

Flapjack came back out with her a few minutes later, wearing a nice shirt and bow-tie that screamed 'Manager'; that, and the little tag with his name on it. Thunderlane smiled. This group were looking quite professional now, and only after two days. The kid was doing something right... "You said you needed to see me, Commander?" Flapjack asked, reading Thunderlane's rank.

"That's right, Flapjack. Come with me, I have somepony I want you to meet..." Thunderlane told him.

Flapjack nodded and walked out from behind the counter, just looking back to get one of the dozen or so crew to attend a clean-up in a far corner. They walked outside and Thunderlane walked him over to the group of mares. "I have somepony here you might be able to help us identify." Thunderlane told Flapjack. "She's had a rough time of it."

"Okay..." Flapjack said, not recognising any of the mares in the group... until they parted and he saw a face that triggered a thousand memories. "Mom?" Flapjack asked, amazed.

Cherry's head lifted at the voice. "Flapjack?" She asked, more memories flooding into her own mind, as she moved forward.

"Mom!" Flapjack exclaimed, as he moved to Cherry and hugged her. "Oh, Mom! I thought I'd never see you again!" He said, holding her close as a couple of tears escaped his eyelids.

Cherry wasn't so restrained, tears gushing from her blind eyes as she held him and scented him again. "My big colt!" She said in a big, tearful voice. "How wonderful it is to hear your voice again!" She nuzzled him hard, almost overbalancing them both. But the others kept them on their hoofs as Thunderlane returned inside for their food.

Mother and Son were seated together, their friends smiling at the happy reunion as they ate, when another voice said "Well! Looks like you beat me to the punch, Thunder Love." Came Stellar's voice as everypony looked at her. "And I have somepony here who wants to meet you all, too." She added as she furled her wings.

Then a voice that even out-did Flapjack's voice surged through Cherry's memories. "MAMA!" Yelled a little four-year-old colt, who jumped off Stellar and into Cherry's fore-legs.

"MOCHA!" Both Cherry and Flapjack yelled, as they hugged the littlest member of their family to them. Flapjack let their mother hold Mocha closest to her, then he turned to Stellar and said "Thank you! How can we ever..."

Stellar put a hoof over his muzzle. "Never ask that." She told him. "Because there is nothing you could give me that could ever replace the joy I feel as I see you reunited, my young stallion. That alone is more than enough." She told Flapjack. "And that goes double for you, Cherry." Stellar added.

"I cannot ever thank you enough." Cherry said, tears pouring out of her sightless eyes again. "Now, all I need is to find my husband and my daughter."

"We know where Peach Delight is, Cherry." Thunderlane said as he stood near Stellar.

"You... do?" Cherry asked.

Stellar chuckled. "She was one of the first ponies outside our immediate group we met." She revealed. "She's living on an Outback cattle station at the moment with her new colt-friend."

Cherry actually blinked with surprise. "A colt-friend?" She asked.

"That's correct." Thunderlane confirmed. "He's a nice stallion, too, very handsome, and they know each other from before they changed back." He added.

Cherry just nodded her head. "What is he?" She asked.

"He's a unicorn and an ex-national security officer for the Australian Government, which Peach was as well." Stellar revealed.

"Oh..." Cherry said, a little dazed at what she'd been told. "So... does he like her?"

Stellar smiled as Thunderlane chuckled. "I think it's a lot more than just 'liking' one another, Cherry." Stellar told her. "They have something between them that is as powerful and as wonderful as what Thunderlane and I share." Stellar turned her head and nuzzled Thunderlane lovingly.

Cherry's face changed from showing confusion to having a soft smile on it. "That's wonderful." She replied. "But what happened to... oh, what was his name? That red changeling?" She looked towards Flapjack.

"Red Archer." Flapjack remembered.

"Yes, that's him." Cherry said.

Stellar sighed sadly. "By what we've been told, a lot of the changelings that were in Canterlot were killed by Discord, instead of being sent here... save for special ones." She told them all. "Lavender, you and your family know that Elusive Clue and probably Whirring Cogs are here... but apart from them, we don't know if any others were sent here by Discord. I'm sorry to say, but it appears as if Red Archer might be among the deceased... until we find evidence to the contrary."

Cherry and Flapjack lowered their heads. "I am so sorry to hear that." Cherry said. "He was a kind and noble Pony."

Stellar nodded. "Yes, he was." She agreed. "But enough of this sadness. I will see if I can find Whirring Cogs and Frothy Brew in my next trip, after reuniting with my sister and those on the farm we are headed for. I promise you, they will be high on my list of priority Ponies to be found and reunited with their families." She assured them all. "And Cherry, Flapjack, the next time I return to Australia, I'll bring Peach and Azure back with me for a visit." Stellar added, to grins and hugs from all those there.

=======

As Stellar and Thunderlane settled in for the night once again, Thunderlane grinned. "So... are we running a reunification service for families here?" He asked.

Stellar chuckled at that. "It might seem so, yes." She answered. "But these are two families that have had a big impact on my life, as well as Twilight's. So if I'm slated to reunite them, I think it's just Fate using me to do so." She told Thunderlane. "And isn't reuniting all Ponies my job, as well?" She asked her stallion.

Thunderlane sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I'd agree that it is." He replied, as Stellar settled in behind him, snuggling up to his back again.

Stellar gently kissed Thunderlane deeply, then nuzzled him. "Don't worry about it, Beloved. Tomorrow's the big day, and then we'll re-start our hunt for Ponies in distress again, once we figure out how to house and feed everypony at wherever Twilight is now." She told him. "Although, I think the Thestrals are going to be staying with us, no matter what."

Thunderlane chuckled. "Oh yeah. Well, at least until Luna shows herself, or we find her." He said. "Then we'll have to wait and see."

Stellar smiled at Thunderlane. "If I read Cimmerian well enough, he's going to stay, Beloved. Him and probably a quarter of the Night Guard, which will be very handy if we find more Thestrals, or have to do scouting missions at night. We won't need NVGs if we have Thestrals to scour the night for us."

"Yeah... that's true." Thunderlane agreed.

Stellar chuckled. "So let's leave things as they are in that respect, Love. Let's get our sleep and get ready to find Twilight and reunite ourselves with the others and our friends upon the Morrow."

"Gonna name another airship that, Love?" Thunderlane asked frivously, grinning as Stellar giggled.

"Silly." She gently swatted Thunderlane as she snuggled up behind him. "Now, go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day."

Thunderlane chuckled as Stellar held him close, and closed his big eyes. There was nowhere else he'd rather be than exactly where he was, right then and there...

Author's Note

Okay! Getting ready for a major moment here, and Stellar gets a clue that will lead her to find one more of her extended family eventually. Plus, with one little stowaway being found and despatched, what else has Discord dropped on Earth?

And as always, read that Sunset Blaze A.K.A. Dandelion Dreams, Lavender Dreams, Whirring Cogs/Zevan, Sky Fern, Forest Breeze and Elusive Clue, as well as Peach Delight, Cherry Delight, Flapjack, Mocha and others who will appear in later chapters are all copyright to Goldfur and used with hir gracious permission.

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18 - Arrival

Stellar slowly woke up and stretched, as she'd done for the last three days, in her quarters aboard the Stellar Wind. But today would be different. Today, they were going to be at the Farm, and she would finally see Twilight again. The anticipation filled her with an inner joy that Thunderlane could almost see, as he lay there watching her. "Somepony's in a good mood this morning." He said, before he lifted his head and nuzzled Stellar.

Stellar leaned her head down and nuzzled Thunderlane back, then kissed him deeply. "Oh yeah. The big day today. We get to the Farm, we get to meet the other ponies... I get to see Twilight again." Stellar sighed happily. "This is the day we've been working up to, Beloved. Bringing the nearly fifteen-hundred Ponies we have on-board now Home with us."

Thunderlane nodded as he rolled onto his back and stretched his legs up, as his wings stabilised him like that for a time. He pedalled all four legs, stretching them every way he could, as Stellar dropped off the bed onto the floor and did her stretching routine, a trail of magenta sparks coming from her horn as she whipped her head around. "I have to admit, this has been an amazing trip, Stellar Love." Thunderlane said to her as he looked at her upside down. "Only... what? Six days ago? We were leaving Australia, just the five of us flying in-line in that magic ramjet of yours, across Asia and Europe, then the Atlantic... then we see that Air Force jet get taken out, and everything goes haywire." He grinned. "Then you get a surge of inspiration, and here we are, flying in the world's first cloudship."

"I know. I can hardly believe it myself sometimes." Stellar admitted. "I have to pinch myself when I wake up to make sure I'm not dreaming." She moved to Thunderlane again. "Then I feel you in my forelegs, and I know I'm not dreaming." She kissed him again, getting a soft murr from Thunderlane. He rolled over again, stood up and dropped to the floor as well. The pair pressed themselves together, wings raised, and just rubbed against one another for a time as they snuggled, enjoying the intimate contact.

"Shower?" Thunderlane asked as he nuzzled under Stellar's jaw and chin.

"Shower." Stellar agreed, and they headed for their bathroom.

They opened the door to the bathroom, to become wrapped in a cloud of steam and moisture, the sound of many voices filling the bathroom. Stellar looked at Thunderlane, and they started drawing the cloud out of the bathroom, compressing it until they could push it back into the bathroom and squeeze all the water out of it down the drain. "What is going on in here?" Stellar asked.

"Sorry, Miss Stellar." Came a chorus of nine young voices, and the couple could now see ten foals in the bathroom, all of them grooming themselves out after a long shower.

Rumble was in the middle of them. "Sorry, Bro, Stellar Sis." He said.

Stellar chuckled as Thunderlane gave Rumble a look of brotherly authority. "Rumble Bro, what were you told about your squad using our shower?" He asked in a serious tone.

"But the main showers are full!" Rumble protested. "We tried the two closest blocks and they had line-ups."

Thunderlane sighed as Stellar smiled at Rumble. "All right. This once." Stellar told them, and the foals cheered. "BUT... before you go, clean up, okay? Others have to use this space as well."

"Okay, Stellar." The ten said together, Stellar noticing the line-up of Rumble's pegasus squad had changed a little. Four fillies and two Thestral foals had become part of it, and a number of the colts were no longer there.

"What happened to the rest of your squad?" Stellar asked Rumble quietly once she got him relatively alone.

Rumble gave a very adult snort. "Raven Wings didn't want to let the girls in, and when I said they were in, he took five of the colts with him and formed his own squad." He explained.

"Ah." Stellar nodded as she gently stroked Rumble's mane into place. "I'm glad to see you're being so welcoming of the fillies and the Thestrals, Cuddle-colt." She said to him.

Rumble smiled. "Not their fault they're girls, 'cept for Nightwish." He stated, mentioning the name of the Night-wing colt. "And some of them can really fly well."

Stellar gently nuzzled him. "Then I'm glad they meet with your exacting standards." She told him, as the newcomers looked on in awe.

"Wow, Rumble, you really DO know the Princess personally!" They said as they gathered around Rumble, the bathroom almost immaculate again.

"Told you!" Rumble grinned. "She's gonna be my big sister one day."

Stellar could barely stop herself from laughing as the little group moved out of the cabin and headed for breakfast. "Hopefully, one day very soon." Stellar commented in a soft voice as she joined Thunderlane in the shower, and they proceeded to make a mess of their own...

=======

It was just before Eight O'clock that Stellar entered the bridge, dressed in her uniform. She approached Coralite Rings, who was the commander on duty. A unicorn Crystal Pony, she grinned as she saw Stellar approach. "Good morning, Commander." She greeted Stellar.

"And a good morning to you, Commander." Stellar replied. "Good morning, everypony." Stellar added, getting a chorus of replies. "How goes it?" she asked Coralite

"Quietly." Coralite answered. "The contingent of local news helicopters are yet to join us, and we're just about to pass over the town of Sheffield, Iowa. ETA has us at Muscatine at about nine-thirty local time."

Stellar nodded. "That's good." She replied. "I am here to relieve you, Commander." Stellar said formally.

"I acknowledge you, Commander. I hand the ship over to you." Coralite replied as formally, and she stepped down from the Command Seat. "I am relieved." She added once Stellar had taken her place.

"I bet you are." Stellar grinned back. "The midnight-to-eight AM run isn't the easiest to do."

"True, but I've always been an early riser, so it's no stress on me." Coralite told Stellar. "Have fun." She said, as she turned to leave the bridge.

Stellar smiled a wide smile as Coralite left the bridge. She spent half-an-hour going over things with the bridge crew, taking their reports and reviewing things with the O.D., Lt-Cmdr Morning Mist, a female pegasus who'd served with Captain Weather aboard the Northern Wind, and the sister of Evening Mist, who was also serving on the Stellar Wind. Between former airship crew members and Guards-ponies, a few Wonderbolts and others, they'd managed to put together quite a good crew for the Stellar Wind. They could have used three times the number, but with Engineering being so simple and without the complex systems that almost every other vessel of the Sky used to counter gravity and other forces, the Cloudship was almost maintenance-free. Only the electrical and plumbing systems needed to be looked after, and that was mostly for the eateries and shower blocks. They hadn't had any major problems in either areas, most likely because the systems were so new, but the few engineers they had on-board were keeping their eyes on the systems, just to be sure.

= = = = =

Up on the Flight Deck, Thunderlane had taken over from Cimmerian Shade and welcomed Flitter and Cloudchaser, now his Senior Lieutenants. "Heya girls." He said, giving them a hug each.

"Hey Thunder..." Cloudchaser started to say.

Flitter stopped her, though, and they both came to attention and saluted him. "Good morning, Lieutenant-Commander." They said formally.

Thunderlane chuckled. "Okay, okay." He saluted them back. "Good morning, Senior Lieutenants." He replied formally, to giggles from the Twins.

"What's on the go today, Thunder?" Cloudchaser asked.

"Aren't we getting near that farm?" Flitter then asked.

"Yep." Thunderlane answered. "We'll be sending out scouts once we reach Muscatine to fly down and get visual confirmation and a location for us to land, or hover close to until we find a landing site." He explained. "Briefing's by Commander Sparkle once we get close. The Captain's apparently going to take over once we get close, and she'll be telling us all what we'll be doing as the Stellar Wind waits for us to have confirmation of the farm site."

"Cool." They replied together, then grinned at one another. "Normal patrols up to that point?"

"That's the routine, yep. So let's get the night patrols in and get the others out." Thunderlane almost ordered.

The Twins nodded, saluted, then headed to their stations as Thunderlane got his headset in place.

= = = = =

As Captain Weather walked onto the bridge at Nine AM sharp, Stellar smiled at him. "Good morning, Captain." She said.

"And good morning to you, Commander, and everypony else here." He said, getting a chorus of replies. "I am here to relieve you, Commander." He said.

"I acknowledge you, Captain. I hand the ship over to you." Stellar said, standing and, turning towards him, the pair saluted. "I am relieved." Stellar added once she was down from the seat and Salient was in her place.

"How are things going?" Salient asked.

"Everypony's getting ready to make landfall once we find the location of the farm." Stellar reported. "The scouts are receiving their radios and gear, the briefing is in five minutes' time, and apart from four news helicopters following us, it seems we're no longer major news. Oh, and the pegasi have finally finished painting the Equestrian flags on our upper and lower tailfins." Stellar added.

"Excellent." Salient said back. "At least people will know who we are... if they're Ponies, that is." He chuckled. "Otherwise, it at least proclaims we are not of any one particular Earthly nationality."

"Not that that matters much." Stellar said back, as Salient nodded. "But I know it's an important point to any overseas Ponies that might be watching. They have to know they're as welcome aboard us as any are... plus it does tell governments that we aren't under their control any more than regular air traffic is."

"Indeed, Commander." Salient agreed.

"I'll be back in about twenty minutes, Captain." Stellar said as she turned to head for the bridge exit.

"See you then, Commander." Salient replied as Stellar smiled at him, then walked off the bridge.

Stellar walked down through the Stellar Wind, heading for the classroom-cum-briefing room. She entered to find close on eighty well-equipped pegasi there: waiting, talking, planning out where they'd go or be sent. All the chatter died, however, as Stellar reached the front of the room. Then they all stood in rows and saluted Stellar, who returned their salutes.

"All right, Ponies. Have you all received your assigned patrol areas?" Stellar asked. A loud affirmative answer reverberated through the room. "Good." Stellar said with a smile. "Now, you all know what we're looking for: Any sign of a farm that has a large number of ponies on it, specifically my sister Twilight or any of the Element Bearers. You all have been briefed on them, and we need to find where they are. They are somewhere around the city of Muscatine, so that's where we'll start our search. You can head out as far as you can reach, but don't over-tax yourselves; there's a lot of ground to cover, and while it's not as bad as finding a needle in a haystack, it won't just leap out at you and say 'I'm right here!'."

That got a laugh from the assembled Pegasi. Stellar grinned widely, then went on "So, keep your eyes and ears open and alert, and your radios ready. When we find out where the Farm is, we'll be heading straight there, so come back to the ship only if it's on the way. Otherwise, head for the farm and await the Stellar Wind's arrival. We'll need your help in landing the cloudship on the farm." As the Pegasi nodded and looked serious, Stellar nodded back to them. "Okay, get out there and find that farm." She ordered.

The Pegasi scouts snapped to attention and saluted, their medium-blue flight jackets and equipment harnesses making them look most professional. "Aye, Commander!" They replied as one, then headed out by their rows for the Top Flight Desk.

Stellar followed the last of them out, and watched as they flew away. She sighed with resignation. She wanted so badly to be leading them personally, but her duties kept her on her ship. She could see Muscatine in the distance from the bow of the ship. They'd be there within ten minutes, Stellar estimated. Turning, she headed down the rampway and back to the bridge.

= = = = =

Captain Weather greeted Stellar again as she returned to the bridge. "I take it everything went well, Commander?" He asked.

Stellar saluted Salient Weather and nodded after he'd returned her salute. "The scouts are away and heading along their scouting routes, Captain. We should have an answer within the hour, I expect."

Salient Weather nodded with a smile. "Then we should be there fairly quickly, then." He replied. "You may remain on the bridge if you desire to, Commander." He added, knowing how frustrated Stellar was feeling right then.

Stellar gave Salient a warm smile and answered "Thank you, Captain." She turned and headed towards the front windows, taking an observer's position and watching where they were going.

Stellar was looking out over the small city of Muscatine, Iowa, as they started flying over it, when the mare at Communications looked around. "Captain, Commander, the airwaves are going crazy! There's panicked chatter about a missile heading for Des Moines!"

"A missile?" Stellar asked. "How far away are we?"

"About five hundred miles as the pegasus flies." Came the reply.

"Shit." Stellar said as she looked forward and her horn lit up. As the clock ticked to nine-thirty local time, she saw and felt a massive explosion of magic energy, and the sky lit up with an enormous flood of multi-colored light, surging out from one point above the distant city.

"What the hell?" Captain Weather asked.

"That's a Sonic Rainboom!" Stellar stated as she moved right up against the front transparencies. She looked back at the Captain. "Sir, that is the real thing! I know that magic signature beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Captain Weather nodded. "Well, we must be in the right area, then." He said. "Do we have any reports from the scouts?"

"Not yet, Captain." Communications answered.

"All right, then. Hover here until we get a reply. The authorities shouldn't be bothering us too much. We've pretty much proved we're not a hostile... I hope." He looked at Stellar.

"Let's hope they still think that way about us indeed, Captain." Stellar agreed.

=======

Sky Skimmer was flying low over the farmland that surrounded nearby Muscatine, when she saw a streak of multi-colored light race above her, heading down. As it got closer, she saw a pegasus at its head... and she instantly recognised Rainbow Dash. Sky Skimmer grinned. "Follow the rainbow..." She said to herself and raced off, moving to follow Dash home as she lost her rainbow tail-trail.

After a brisk flight, she saw Dash duck down and land near a farmhouse inside a big home paddock, well within a walled property. Grinning, Sky Skimmer landed at the gate to the property and saw a second confirmation: A big sign that read: 'Mac & Applejack's pony farm: Hooves welcome! Any persons caught trespassing will be fined on sight'. Sky Skimmer chuckled to herself. "If ever there was confirmation..." She checked her GPS and got her location fixed. "This is Scout Sky Skimmer to Stellar Wind Control, come in Control, Over..."

=======

The Lieutenant at Communications looked about at Captain Weather and Commander Sparkle. "Sir, Ma'am, we've just got a reply from Scout Sky Skimmer. She's spotted Rainbow Dash and followed her to a farm. We also have visual confirmation of a sign on the gates saying 'Big Mac and Applejack's pony farm', unquote."

Stellar looked at Salient. "That's a pretty positive identification." She commented.

"Indeed." Salient replied. "Helm, steer us to those co-ordinates; speed, twenty knots. Communications, tell Traffic Control we will be descending to below five hundred feet at that location, and remaining there for the time being."

"Aye, Captain." Come the replies from the crew.

Stellar looked at Salient Weather. "Captain, I'll prepare a group to go down and greet our new/old friends." She told him.

"As you will, Princess." Salient grinned. "Have fun."

Stellar saluted the Captain, and left the bridge. She strode out through the Stellar Wind, gesturing at a number of uniformed pegasi, rather than those in armor, and had them follow her.

=======

On the ground, Rainbow Dash was talking with Applejack as a massive shadow fell over them. Rainbow Dash frowned. "What the Hay? That's not..." And Applejack saw her eyes open wide, her jaw dropping open. Turning around, Applejack looked up as well, to see the enormous shape of the Stellar Wind descending towards the farm.

"What in all of...?" Applejack started to ask...

"That's... that's an airship!" Dash yelled out.

Applejack chuckled. "Well, duh." She replied.

They looked back down to the ground as they heard Shining and Big Mac yelling as they came galloping back towards them. "GET INSIDE!" Shining was yelling.

Then the two mares saw Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie coming back from the forest at a slower pace. Behind them, Rarity walked out onto the deck. "Oh my! Where did that come from?" She asked as she joined Dash and Applejack.

"Ah'm more worried about where it's goin'." Applejack replied as the rest of the ponies reached the deck. They saw a large number of winged shapes take off and circle around the airship as it came to a hover overhead, more of them coming in from all directions of the compass to join the constellation circling the massive airship...

=======

"Do we have clearance?" Captain Weather asked.

"Pegasi patrols report we can fit in between the forest and the nearest farm buildings, Captain... just." Communications reported.

"Very well. Helm, bring us to fifty meters. Bow and Stern Stations! Ready the restraints." Captain Weather ordered.

"Aye Captain!" Came the reply, as the Stellar Wind slowly sank down...

=======

On the ground, the seven friends watched as the airship sank lower and lower as pegasi swarmed around it, watching the clearances very closely. As it reached a certain height, there were bright flashes from either end of the ship and glowing cables shot towards the ground, sinking into the earth.

"What the hay?" Applejack asked.

"What're they doin'?" Big Mac added.

"It... it looks like they're anchoring themselves to the ground." Shining Armor then said.

As the cables went taut, the seven heard the airship's engines go to idle and it sank to the ground slowly, until the gondola-deck made contact with the ground as well. Once it was landed, four more bright flashes happened, and they saw more cables fired out from the bow and stern, anchoring the airship sideways as well. Then the faint hum of the engines ceased. The seven looked up as the cheers of over a thousand voices filled the air, faces looking out from every deck, as several hundred pegasi and thestrals in armor and uniforms as well as wearing nothing landed before the great airship. Shining could now see the Equestrian flag painted on the sides of the vertical tailfins. "Ponies?" He asked, confused.

"It's full of Ponies!" Pinkie Pie yelled happily as she headed off towards the grounded gondola-deck. Then she came up to the landed ponies and stopped, for she had spotted the biggest pony she had ever seen here on Earth, right before her.

= = = = =

Stellar had landed with her guards and personnel, once the Stellar Wind had touched down on the earth. She could see seven Ponies there, watching them with wide eyes and dropped jaws. Chuckling, she was about to start moving towards them, when Pinkie Pie raced forward and come to a halt before her. She also saw Shining Armor take off into the house. Looking down again, she said "Hello, Pinkie Pie."

"Wow! Hello, Princess!" Pinkie replied.

"Will you excuse me, Pinkie? I have to go see someone." Stellar asked.

"Sure!" Pinkie grinned, and Stellar vanished.

Pinkie looked up and waved to all the Ponies looking down at her and the others. "Yay! This is the best day yet!" She said, as she got hugs from the pegasi and thestrals before her, then headed for the opening rampways.

=======

Stellar appeared inside the house, having scanned it from outside. She nickered softly to herself. Only a door stood between her and Twilight now. She could hear Shining in another room, rummaging through something, but she ignored him for the moment. She moved up and knocked on Twilight's door, shrinking herself down to match Twilight's present-size. At the reply from within, she slipped inside the room...

=======

Shining Armor came out of his room wearing the makeshift armor he had managed to cobble together. He just saw Twilight's door close quietly beside him, then shrugged and raced outside again. He came to a halt, however, as he saw the others talking to a large number of ponies other than pegasi gathered around them all.

Then a chorus of voices from above started singing:

"We're here!"

"After all of our travels, and all of the battles!"

"We've come so very far, guided by our own star!"

"And we're here!"

Shining blinked... then realised that even with everything... there was no threat. He could see Pinkie was inside a group of others, dancing around to a lively tune with another pony he didn't recognise, while others pronked in a circle around them. He looked up to see Dash surrounded by a group of pegasi on the wing, as she talked to a stallion he saw was... Thunderlane? Applejack and Big Mac were surrounded by others they seemed to know, as was Rarity. Fluttershy wasn't on the ground, but he finally found her up at one of the open decks, talking to a number of others as she hovered there. Shining slowly got out of his armor and piled it on one of the outside chairs, then shook his head. Then he just had time to see a mass of grey fur heading his way, before a ten-year-old colt gently impacted with his head, holding onto him tightly. "Prince Armor!" He heard ten voices say, as he turned his head and saw seven more young pegasi and two young thestrals hovering in front of him.

Pulling the clump of colt off his face, he looked at the youngster, and something registered in his memories... of a colt that had done exactly the same thing to him ages ago. "Rumble?" He asked the colt, who giggled.

"Yep!" Rumble replied, as the others landed and moved to hug Shining, while Rumble hugged his muzzle again.

"Um, hey, little friends. Good to see... you... all of you..." Shining was a little taken aback by the warmth shown to him by young foals, no less. "Are... you lot together?" He asked, searching for something to say.

"Uh-huh!" Came the reply from all of them.

"This is my squad." Rumble answered, and then Shining noticed the little vests they all had on, in medium-blue.

"Your squad?" Shining asked Rumble.

"Yeah!" He answered with a big grin. "My Big Bro is Commander of the Pegasi Sky Guard on the Stellar Wind, and I put together a squad of my own to help him with stuff." Rumble said proudly.

Shining then got it. "Oh, like cadets, then." He said, smiling.

"YEAH!!" The ten proud foals said emphatically.

"So... that big airship's called the Stellar Wind, is it?" Shining asked

"Uh-huh!" They all answered.

"Okay... and who's the captain?" Shining asked.

"Captain Salient Weather." They answered.

"Salient... Wasn't he the captain of the Northern Wind?" Shining asked, having flown on the other airship from time to time, he remembered.

"Yeah." The ten foals chorused.

"So he's now the captain of this airship." Shining stated. "Where did it come from?" He asked, but the foals' answer was interrupted as Shining saw Thunderlane land behind them, in his new armor.

"Heya Captain Armor." Thunderlane said as he saluted Shining, who grinned and saluted back.

"Heya Thunderlane... Oh, excuse me, Lieutenant-Commander Thunderlane." Shining replied, noting Thunder's new rank. "Nice armor."

"Yeah. It's a bit different from the Wonderbolt jumpsuits, but it suits my new assignment better." Thunderlane admitted.

"I think I was just told about that." Shining said, looking at Rumble. "So... Commander of the Sky Guard?" Shining asked.

Thunderlane nodded. "During the daytime, at least. There's the Sky Guard and the Ship Guard, who are under the command of Lt-Cmdr Heavy Shades. We work to protect the Stellar Wind from any threats which, fortunately, have been few and far between." Thunderlane said with relief, as Rumble and his squad took off again. "I share the Sky Guard with Lt-Cmdr Cimmerian Shade, who commands the Night Patrol."

Shining chuckled. "Sounds like you've come up in the world since getting here." He commented. "So... you still with the twins?" He asked.

Thunderlane shook his head. "They were born here as my cousins." He told Shining, who winced. "Yeah, I felt the same way." Thunderlane agreed. "They may still be cute and cuddly, but it's... just too close to home for comfort any longer."

"Ain't it the truth." Shining agreed back. "I've got somepony new, too." He revealed to Thunderlane as they walked to the verandah of Applejack's house.

"You? The happily married Prince... have got somepony else?" Thunderlane asked.

Shining sighed. "Yeah... I mean, I haven't even heard if Cadance is here or not, to be honest. And I found somepony new while we were changing... and she and I click so well." He admitted. "Things are just... too different now." He looked depressed.

Thunderlane gave Shining a sad smile. "I know how you feel, mate, I really do." He sympathised with Shining.

Shining nodded. "Thanks, Thunderlane. Really." He took a deep breath and slowly released it. "I just hope she hasn't pinned her hopes on getting back with me, if she is here." He told Thunderlane. "I really don't want to break her heart... just... give it back to her, I guess." Shining speculated as he and Thunderlane sat down. "Thanks for listening, pal. Sometimes there's just way too many mares here to talk guy-stuff over with, you know what I'm saying?"

"Sure do, mate." Thunderlane answered. "I had the same problem for a while... but things have really looked up recently." Thunderlane gave a smile.

"Is that an Aussie accent I hear there?" Shining asked with a smile.

Thunderlane grinned and gave Shining a wink. "Too right, mate."

Shining chuckled. "The cultural side of Equestria is going to take a huge leap of diversity, I'd say." He commented. "So... has the great Thunderlane found himself somepony yet?" Shining asked. Thunderlane just sighed happily and gave Shining another wink. Shining laughed softly. "So... after all the tail-chasing, somepony finally caught you?" He asked.

"Yep. And there's no way in heaven and earth that I'm gonna give up on her, Cap." Thunderlane told Shining. "She is a once-in-a-lifetime catch, and I'd be certifiably crazy if I gave up on her."

"Yeah..." Shining sighed. "I thought that, too, when Cadance decided she wanted me... And now, I've discovered Rarity's grabbed me for her own."

"Owch, mate. Not good." Thunderlane stated. "You sure Cadance is gonna give you up without a fight?"

"I have no idea." Shining admitted. "I'm hoping so... twenty-five years is a long time to be apart from each other."

"Yeah, it sure is." Thunderlane agreed. "Say, you want to come and have a look at the Stellar Wind? She's not like any other airship you've ever seen before." Thunderlane offered.

"Yeah, sure." Shining replied, glad to be off the touchy subject. "Oh, wait. I want to get Twilight out here, too. She has to see this or she'll never believe it!"

"Sure thing, Shining. I'll be here waiting." Thunderlane said as Shining turned and headed back inside the house. Thunderlane hoped he'd given Stellar enough time for her own reunion...

=======

Twilight was working on the figures for her log lift, when there was a knock at her door. She sighed, then said "Come in."

The door opened and closed quietly, and Twilight heard hoof-steps coming across the floor. They stopped behind her but the pony said nothing. "Is there something I can help you with?" Twilight asked, feeling a little annoyed.

"Well, not so much help, but I thought you might like to know about the enormous airship that's sitting outside at the moment." A voice said... a voice that Twilight thought was extremely familiar.

"What do you mean, an airship...?" Twilight asked as she turned her chair around... and found herself looking at her own face. "What the...?" She asked softly.

"Hello." The doppelganger said with a cheeky grin.

Twilight squeaked and shot backwards, her magic pushing the chair along until it hit the wall. "Who the buck are you?" She whispered.

The figure, whom Twilight could see was wearing a strange blue uniform, walked closer to her with a wicked grin. "Why Twilight, can't you tell? I'm you!" She said.

Twilight began to shake her head, her mouth moving but nothing came out. The other Twilight walked right up to her, still grinning, then planted a kiss on Twilight's nose. Twilight gave another squeak, but her entire countenance changed from fright to puzzlement as the other her started to giggle. "Oh Twilight! You are so easy to rattle, as usual." Her copy said to her.

Twilight's face changed to one of frowning anger. "Okay, who the buck are you?" She asked.

"Why Twilight, don't tell me Discord took ALL the memories of me from your mind?" The other Twilight said with some sadness. She took a deep breath, then answered. "I am Princess Stellar Light Sparkle, Knight-Commander of the Royal Canterlot Guard; Knight-Commander of the Crystal Guard... and your twin sister, Twilight." Stellar informed Twilight.

Twilight's jaw headed for the floor again. "Yousa whatnow?" She finally asked.

Stellar giggled again, grinning at Twilight's confused face. "Okay, to put things in order of importance for now... I'm your twin sister, Stellar Light Sparkle."

Twilight blinked. "My... twin sister." She then replied.

Stellar nodded. "Kind-of obvious, don't you think, to see us together?" She pointed out.

Twilight frowned. "And... you just got here?" She asked.

Stellar nodded. "Yep. All the way from Australia."

Twilight blinked, surprised. "Australia? Is THAT where you ended up?"

Stellar nodded. "Yep. Me and some old friends." She confirmed.

Twilight frowned again. "Okay... say I believe you... after all, you do look exactly like me..."

"Not completely exactly, Sis." Stellar turned and showed Twilight her cutie-mark.

Twilight's eyes widened as she saw Stellar's cutie-mark. "That's... incredible. I've never seen a cutie-mark like that before."

Stellar sighed. "You have, Twi. Obviously that bastard made sure all your memories of me were suppressed." Stellar told Twilight. "But I might be able to help with that."

"You can? How?" Twilight asked.

"You and I shared a lot of memories when we were younger, sis." Stellar explained to Twilight. "As you gave me your memories, I should be able to give them back again."

"Huh? You have my memories as well as your own? How'd you manage to keep all that from Discord?" Twilight inquired, now looking very interested.

"Okay." Stellar sat as well. "I was five days after you in being caught by that bastard. That gave me time to find out what had happened when I got back near Canterlot. Once the survivors told me what spell Discord was using, I used my Tome to download a copy of my memories into it and seal it from his influence, then I hid it from him so he couldn't find it." Stellar said with a grin.

"Okay... so, how did you get it here?" Twilight asked.

"Sealed in a hammerspace pocket with a spell to hide it from his senses." Stellar answered. "Once my magic kicked back in completely, the spell auto-activated and opened the pocket, shunting my tome out to where I could open it. The first spell I said from it retaught us all Equish, and from there, I downloaded all my memories back into my mind again... along with all my spells." Stellar grinned widely.

Twilight looked amazed. "That's... impressive." She had to agree. "So... you included all my memories in there too?"

"All the ones you gave to me, yeah." Stellar confirmed. "And I have a lot of your spells, too." She informed Twilight.

Twilight looked absolutely delighted. "Oh, Celestia, yes! I have been so frustrated trying to make my magic do what I want it to. I've mastered levitation, but I think that's a pretty basic skill."

"Yeah, it is, Twily." Stellar agreed. "Most unicorns can do basic lifting from a young age, but it takes training and practise to improve control and capacity. How much have you lifted so far?" Stellar asked.

"Uh," Twilight grabbed her figures from the desk, "About two-point-five metric tonnes, so far." She told Stellar.

"That's pretty good." Stellar admitted. "I'm about the same, I think. I lifted a dual-cab ute on a trailer and with the bed loaded up with about three hundred kilos worth of foods."

"That's about six-sixty pounds, right?" Twilight asked, scribbling on a pad with a pencil in her magic.

"Yeah, about that." Stellar agreed. "The ute weighs about one-point-seven tonnes gross-empty, the trailer about six-hundred kilos."

Twilight nodded as the pencil scribbled like crazy. "Yeah... that's about the same as me." She agreed. Twilight grinned. "So, even with my magic hampered by lack of spells, my ability to dead-lift is about the same as yours." She said to Stellar.

"Well, we ARE twins, Twily." Stellar reminded Twilight. "Your raw magic ability and mine were always at a similar level, we just went in different directions with our studies."

"Oh, okay." Twilight replied as she got lost in facts and figures.

Stellar grinned as she felt somepony familiar coming their way. "Hey, want to give Shiny a near breakdown?" She asked Twilight.

"Huh?" Twilight asked, now distracted. "Why would you want to do that, and how?"

"Because it's fun, and it's extremely easy to do with both of us here, especially if he doesn't know we're together." Stellar explained. "Wait until he comes in looking for you and sees us together." Stellar winked.

Twilight's jaw dropped... then she grinned and giggled. "Oh yes! I owe him, too." She told Stellar.

Stellar grinned wickedly. "Okay then, this is what we'll do..." And she began to brief Twilight...

= = = = =

Shining Armor had finished talking with Thunderlane and he headed in to get Twilight. "She has GOT to see this thing! That cloudship is awesome!"

He opened the door and looked in, to see Twilight standing near her computer. She turned and looked at him. "Hey Shiny. What's up?"

"Sis, you have GOT to come and see this Cloudship! I've never seen anything like it!" Shining said as he walked inside.

Then the door closed and locked behind him. Shining turned to see a second Twilight at the door. "Why Shiny! I'd love to come and see it with you! It sounds fantastic." The second Twilight said as she walked up to Shining, who spun around so he could see both mares with just a turn of his head.

"Uh... wha...?" Shining asked as he turned his head back and forth.

"Yeah, Shiny, you really have to take me out to see it." The first Twilight stated as she drew closer.

"Uh... wha...?" Shining reiterated as the mares drew closer. "Twi'...?"

"Yes, Shiny?" They both asked him as they got up close to him.

"Has... your magic...gone haywire or something? 'Cause I swear... I'm seeing two of you."

"Do you?" They both said at once, their voices merging perfectly.

"Uuuuuuuuhh..." Shining was finding his mental processes were starting to short-circuit as they tried to make sense of this, as both mares gently nuzzled him in exactly the same way, save for being mirrored.

"I love you, B.B.B.F.F." They said as they gave Shining a kiss on both cheeks, touching their horns to his and holding him there.

Shining's eyes took on a new aspect, as Stellar downloaded memories of them interacting into both his and Twilight's minds, as her horn touched both of theirs. It was tricky to do, but Stellar knew she was doing it correctly when they fed information back to her. Then, as they finished the kiss, the girls moved away, and Shining shook his head, Twilight blinking and nodding her own. "That was... wow." Shining stated, and he looked at Stellar and said "Stellar?"

Stellar grinned back at Shining Armor. "Hello, B.B.B.F.F." She replied. "Good to see you again, after all of this." She nuzzled him lovingly, and Shining nuzzled her back this time, a huge smile on his face.

Twilight's eyes stopped spinning as she finished assimilating all the memories Stellar had given her. "Whoa... So. Much. MAGIC!" She stated with a massive grin. "So many spells! Thank you so much, T.S.B.F.F.!" She then hugged Stellar as well.

Stellar laughed as Shining entered the hug, too. "You're both welcome." She replied.

"So... did you just help us regain our memories?" Shining asked.

"Some of them, yeah." Stellar answered. "Those that relate to ones I share. It'll take a while for the reaction of your minds to fully remove the shroud that Discord placed over them, but that should help your brains get into gear a bit faster than most."

"Thanks." Shining replied. "I must admit, things occasionally get wierd when things come out outside of context, and our memories can't tell us what the context is." He explained to Stellar.

"I know that feeling all too well." Stellar agreed. "Hey, come on outside, and I'll show you around my cloudship." She grinned.

"A cloudship?" Twilight asked as she and Shining took up positions either side of Stellar.

"Yeah. It's made with the same magic that helped hold Cloudsdale together for so long." Stellar explained. "I put it together, with a fair bit of help and a lot of my money, so it's been agreed that it technically belongs to me." She said as they reached the living room and headed outside.

Twilight looked up as she saw the golden shape out in the back yard, her eyes going up and up... "By Celestia! That is enormous!" She stated.

"Told ya, Sis." Shining said as he grinned at Stellar.

Stellar gestured them forward. "Come on, I'll show you around." She told them as she led them towards the rampways that led into the Landing Deck.

Twilight and Shining looked around as the multitude of ponies greeted them with warmth and hugs... lots of hugs. The happiness and joy they were radiating filled Twilight to the brim in a way she was just barely starting to remember. She could see Stellar was grinning from ear-to-ear, almost, as well, as those about them either hugged or bowed to her... and Twilight saw the ponies were now doing the same to her. She fluffed her wings out a little, but she couldn't feel threatened, not in the slightest. She just sighed happily and hugged back. There was little else she could do...

=======

As the afternoon progressed and after returning to her room, Twilight felt more and more of her memories returning to her... at least, she thought they were hers. A lot of them had Stellar in them... but a lot that were very similar didn't, as if she didn't exist. There were foalhood memories, of playing together, with Stellar as a pegasus to her unicorn... memories of them being separated as Stellar and her grandfather, Canopus Star, went to live in Cloudsdale, so Stellar could learn to be a pegasus properly. Memories of the pair meeting from time to time, through the years, especially as She and Stellar ascended when they were four...

"No, that's not right." Twilight said to herself as memories of her growing up as an alicorn filled her memory. But the alternate version told her she grew up as a unicorn. Both sets showed her as being personal student and protegé to Celestia, but the memories flowed side-by-side, events being similar, yet very different as well in some regards. Stellar only appeared in the memories that showed Twilight as an alicorn, and even then it was very seldom that she was there after Canopus Star and Stellar returned to Cloudsdale after a massive fight with their mother. Things only truly converged again after Twilight and her friends found the Elements of Harmony and freed Luna from Nightmare Moon. The two proto-princesses finally met again in Cloudsdale when Celestia rewarded Rainbow Dash for her spectacular display and her sonic rainboom, Stellar in the armor of a Lieutenant in the Royal Guard. Twilight shook her head. "Why... does that seem so... wrong?" She asked herself

From then on, the events in Twilight's life differed a great deal. Stellar remained in Canterlot as Twilight moved to Ponyville, although she often was there when Twilight needed her, as she rose through the ranks of the Guard. Stellar was there as a Senior Lieutenant in the Guard when Chrysalis invaded Canterlot. A lot more changelings died that day. Stellar managed to cut Celestia free of the cocoon she was trapped in as Twilight got Cadance to Shiny and Shiny's love-re-energised shield blasted the changelings out of Canterlot.

Stellar was also there when Tirek attacked. She'd managed to hide Shiny from Tirek's rage through Canterlot, and she distracted Tirek at a critical junction after Tirek pulled the magic of the Alicorns out of Twilight, just before the centaur was about to blast Twilight into oblivion. That gave Twilight and her friends time to get to the tree and release the power of Harmony. But instead of Tirek going back to Tartarus, Stellar had removed his head from his shoulders, and that had freed the princesses from Tarterus as well. Celestia was there when Twilight had accused Stellar of cruelty for having done so, telling Twilight that if Stellar had not killed Tirek, then she, Luna and Cadance would still have been locked away in the underrealm, unable to return. Twilight apologised to Stellar, who forgave her sister very easily, and the pair were even closer together, with Twilight being crowned Princess the next day.

But Twilight realised the memories, while not false, were not the ones she knew so well. While she knew that it was her in those memories, she also knew it wasn't, and it confused her greatly as she compared what she knew with what she had. Eventually, Twilight realised that the only way to resolve things was to confront Stellar. Nopony else was questioning Stellar being there, Twilight had noticed. Was she the only one who felt her 'sister's' presence was wrong somehow? She finally got to her hoofs and headed out of her room.

=======

Stellar was sitting some distance away from the Farm. She could see the Stellar Wind easily from where she was sitting, but this was a time when she wanted to be alone. She felt Twilight taking off from the farmhouse and searching for her, so she let out a little spark of magic along the shared 'consciousness' the Twins had, and Stellar felt Twilight instantly change course to head towards her. She waited patiently as her sister drew closer and closer...

Twilight had been wondering where Stellar could be as she took off from the house. She couldn't sense her twin in the enormous cloudship that sat there between the buildings and the forest, but before she could start scanning, she felt a little tweak of magic in that part of her mind that had opened up to her when Stellar had touched horns with her. Twilight frowned at that. Having a part of her mind accessible to somepony else was something she wasn't used to, and scared her a little. Still, Stellar had not attempted to do anything to her through it, save for sending familial love and wonderful feelings through it... as well as letting Twilight know where she was then and there. Twilight turned and flew off towards the source of the feeling...

Eventually she saw Stellar sitting on a hilltop under a huge, beautiful tree with a picnic blanket, relaxing. She landed before the spread of the tree's canopy and walked steadily towards her twin, her face neutral even as Stellar gave Twilight a very warm smile. "Hello, Sis." Stellar said to Twilight as she stopped next to her.

Twilight frowned. Stellar looked... bigger than she remembered; taller, with a longer horn, bigger wings and a more muscular body. "I.. I don't even know if I should let you call me that." She replied, a little tension in her voice.

Stellar nodded her head. "Does it matter, Twi?" Stellar asked. "You can scan me all you want. All that will tell you is that you and I are almost totally identical Twins, save for the infinitesimal differences Twins have between them." Stellar said. As Twilight looked Stellar over, Stellar added. "I know you've found... discrepancies in what you remember now and the memories you got from me." She told Twilight, who looked a little shocked. "Don't look so surprised, Twi'. I knew you would." Stellar revealed. "And I am willing to explain, if you're willing to have an open mind to understand what I'm going to reveal to you."

Twilight searched inside herself for any answers... then she reached out in that place they shared, and found Stellar there as well. Twilight searched Stellar's feelings, finding that her twin was an open book at the moment. All Twilight could find was patience, trust, understanding... and Love: a kind-of Love she had never felt before. Not even Velvet's love for her was the same as what Stellar was showing her. "You... really do love me, don't you?" Twilight asked, as she sat down on the blanket.

Stellar grinned. "Of course I do, Sis. More than just about anypony else, Twilight." Stellar replied, as she shuffled to Twilight and hugged her close. Twilight slowly sank into the embrace. Something about the Love she felt coming from Stellar made her let all her guards down and embrace it. It felt so familiar, yet unfamiliar, but it didn't feel wrong to her heart: just... different. The two twins hugged for nearly five minutes before they moved slightly apart, then stretched out together. "Sandwich?" Stellar offered. "They're cucumber, lemongrass and daisy sandwishes."

Twilight grinned at that. "Of course you'd know what I like." Twilight retorted.

"Not that I don't like them myself, of course." Stellar said back. "But I do prefer freshly-made fish wraps."

Twilight hummed in pleasure as she ate the sandwich. It was perfect, but she said "Almost as good as Spike's sandwiches, but there's something... different..."

"I think the mayo isn't quite as good as the one we used to have in Equestria." Stellar suggested as she poured two glasses full of brewed non-alcoholic apple cider, from a town in Australia called Bundaberg.

The sisters sat, enjoying the light dinner, then once they were both full and content, Twilight looked at Stellar and said "Okay. Now that you've bribed me with such excellent fare, why do I have two sets of memories, once where you're present and one where you're not?" She asked.

Stellar smiled at Twilight. "To begin: You know about the Multi-verse theorem?" Stellar asked. Twilight nodded. Stellar went on "It's true. There is such a unbelievable number of alternate realities just in the Equestrian multi-verse segment that it is very hard to encompass all of them in ways that can be told of in less than sixteen months' telling." She revealed to Twilight.

Twilight's eyes widened at the revealed facts. "So...you're from an alternate reality?" She asked.

Stellar nodded. "Sometimes I'm called upon to go to realities where I don't normally exist and do damage control." She explained. "Unlike you, I am only normally in about a third of the realities encompassed in our segment of the Multi-verse, so I can easily be slipped into realities where I don't exist; mostly as myself, but sometimes as others." Stellar continued.

"So... do you do this by yourself, or do you have help?" Twilight asked.

"Okay, new explanation thread." Stellar clarified. "There are only thirteen Discords in all of the Multi-verse segment we exist in." Stellar told Twilight.

"Thirteen?" Twilight asked, becoming very interested in what Stellar was telling her.

Stellar nodded. "Yes. The one who cursed us and sent us all here is Discord-Thirteen, as the others have designated him." Stellar said. "Now, Discord-Prime, the appointed leader of their Council, is extremely upset that Thirteen has done this, even if he understands why it's been done. Discord-Prime is the one I work with. He sent me to Your Equestria five days after Discord Thirteen went on his rampage, and I allowed him to curse me as well, sending me here." Stellar took a sip of her drink as Twilight absorbed the information. "I'm actually a clone of the Me we designate as 'Stellar-Prime'. I'm not going to disappear after my work here is finished, because I am meant to be part of this reality from now on. That's why everypony I go near accepts me totally as meaning to be here, save for you. And that's because of our sympathetic magic, Twi'. While you don't need to accept me as your twin sister, and I could understand if you didn't, things will be so much better for us all if you do. But the choice has to be consciously your own, Sis. I can't make you accept me. You have to accept inside yourself that I am truly Stellar Light Sparkle, your twin sister and part of your life from our beginning, from now on and for all eternity." Stellar told Twilight.

Twilight nodded. "I understand the 'sympathetic magic' you've told me about." Twilight replied. "I can almost see the strands of magical 'sympathetic vibrations', gathering about us here. They're... incomplete. Some of them are so strong, so powerful... But, as you said, I have to make the final connections myself." She looked at Stellar. "What happens when I do? How much does History change?" Twilight asked.

Stellar smiled. "No more than the memories from your other self I gave you, Sis. It will be as if we have always been together. But your other memories won't be erased, just... disconnected and re-filed. You could still access them, if you wish, and maybe gain insight from them; but everything we do from that point on will be of our own making, fresh and unique." Stellar answered.

Twilight nodded as she though this over. Stellar refilled Twilight's drink twice as her sister mulled things over. "So... if I don't do this... everypony else will still feel as if you've always been a part of this reality, just as I have been." Twilight asked.

Stellar nodded. "As far as those who are here on Earth are concerned, yes." She confirmed. "I don't know if that will hold when everypony who goes back to Equestria returns there. It could stay that way, or ponies' memories might revert partially or completely. But if you accept this, let the threads between us meld together, then as far as I can see, they will always feel as if I was always with you, Sis."

Twilight was still unsure. "I think... I need a hug, Sis." She said to Stellar, who was more than happy to move up against Twilight and wrap her forelegs and wings around her. Twilight reciprocated and the pair sat there for a time, just being close. Twilight felt that the more she was with Stellar, holding her so close, the sympathetic vibrations of their shared magic became stronger, more solid. It felt so wonderful, almost as wonderful as how she'd felt when she ascended; her alicorn body filled with the power of the magic of all three types of Ponies, and then the Alicorn magic that swelled in her as she became connected to all the new magic she'd received. Twilight realised their shared magic was on the Alicorn level, unique to the pair of them, and unlike any other she'd ever felt. Not even the power of Harmony was this... this intimate. Smiling, she made her decision...

=======

The ponies back on Applejack's farm all turned to look as a huge star blazed off in the near distance. The purple twelve-pointed star had a massive pair of golden wings, and six smaller-but-no-less-brilliant stars were arrayed around it. Then it slowly faded in the light of the setting sun. There were those who wondered what it could mean, but nopony there denied the wash of accompanying magic was full of Love and felt wonderful as it filled them. But the other bearers of Harmony and most of the Ponyville ponies felt they'd seen something like this before.

=======

The sisters slowly separated, wing-tips and fore-hoofs touching and linking them for they-had-no-idea how long a period, but only as the moon started rising in the east did they realise it was dark. They were glowing softly in the darkness, their magic showing even as the night tried to cover them. They grinned at each other, then giggled as they realised how late it was.

Twilight felt so wonderful. Her magic, she swore, was even more powerful than it had been, and her mana pool was much bigger. She also realised she'd grown a little as well, and now she and Stellar were truly twins. "So... what happened?" Twilight asked Stellar.

"Well, if you remember, in our new reality, you and I have been alicorns since we were four." Stellar pointed out. "So we've had a little more time to develop and grow as alicorns. Naturally, we're more powerful and more developed, so you just caught up to where I was."

"Oh, yeah." Twilight said. "Hey... my cutie mark's changed." She said as she looked at it. "I remember... the others told me that, as I returned as an alicorn before, the huge cutie mark that blazed in the sky had six secondary stars, not five like my cutie mark had." She reminded Stellar. "But now it does have six other stars."

Stellar smiled. "Who knows? Maybe that sixth star is for me."

Twilight snorted as she looked back at Stellar, then she grinned. "Maybe." She replied.

Then the sound of a mass of wings raced around them, and almost every Pegasus and Night-Wing that were on the farm came to land around them, Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane in the lead. "Are you okay, Twilight?/Stellar?" Both of them asked together, then they looked at each other.

Twilight and Stellar looked at each other too, then burst out laughing, rolling onto their backs and letting the mirth envelop them.

Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash just glared at the twins. "Yeah, they're okay." Thunderlane said with a little disdain in his voice, as all the others around them began to laugh too.

Author's Note

Okay! Last chapter here for a while, as this is the end of Part One.
Don't worry, though, there is going to be a Part Two, I just want to finish up another story and correlate the plans for where Part Two will be going.
As always, Feedback is welcome, and I hope this proves as fun for everyone as it has been for me as I wrote it.

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01 - Transference

It was after Lunchtime in Canterlot, when Stellar Light Sparkle stepped out of the family's mansion and headed for the Palace Complex. She and Twilight had just had their twenty-fifth birthday luncheon with their parents, Shining Armor and Cadance; and she was feeling a little full, especially after the breakfast party Ponyville had thrown for them that morning. Pinkie Pie had gone all-out that morning, and encouraged heartily by the friends the Sparkle Twins had in Ponyville, it had been one incredible party.

Stellar was feeling even better about this birthday. She and Twilight had finally managed to completely put their differences aside after a long talk well into the night before. Even though the process had started five years ago on the same day, so many things in their lives had kept them from fully reconciling with one another. The trouble had been over the way their lives had been split apart by the fued between their parents and their grandfather over their training, with Twilight becoming Princess Celestia's student, and Stellar moving to Cloudsdale with Canopus Star. While both had been alicorns now from almost the time they turned four, their training had started very differently, since Twilight had been born a unicorn, and Stellar a pegasus. While Stellar had forgiven her parents a few years ago, Twilight had still harbored... uncertainties about their status as sisters and twins, after being separated one from the other for nearly fifteen years. That had finally been resolved for good that night with the pair now closer than ever.

As she walked along, She could see the preparations going on at Canterlot Castle. Celestia was throwing the pair of them a massive birthday celebration ball worthy of a pair of princesses... even if Stellar still didn't like being called a 'princess'. But she endured it for Twilight's sake, who was trying to out-do Celestia in the popularity stakes with her title of 'Princess of Friendship'. Stellar chuckled silently to herself. When they'd tried to find a title for her, asking her what she did best, Stellar had gone to the Arena at the Royal Guard Barracks and taken on all-comers in a sword-fight that had lasted nearly five hours, with even Luna herself falling to the younger alicorn. Once she had Luna on the ground and yielding, Stellar had declared that she was usurping a title from Luna: 'Princess of the Blade', a much older title that Luna hadn't used since her fight with Sombra over a millenium ago. Luna yielded the title to Stellar and Celestia had bestowed it upon Stellar that evening in a very formal ceremony.

Stellar returned her full attention to where she was going as a griffon hand slid out of an alleyway up ahead, and gestured to her to come in there. Stellar frowned, but headed into the alley after deploying her armor around her. She could see no-pony in the alley, but as she walked into it, she found herself sliding out of reality into the Shadows, a realm slightly out-of-phase with Normal Space.

"Congratulations, Stellar Sparkle." Came a masculine voice she knew well. "And congratulations on reconciling with Twilight. It hurt my heart to see you two so divided against one another."

Stellar snorted. "You were just worried that Twilight wouldn't be able to stop me removing your head if you played up again, Discord, like I did with Tirek." Stellar replied. "But thank you for the birthday wishes." Discord sat there in an easy-chair, a comfortable stool beside him. Stellar retracted her armor and jumped up onto it, settling herself. "I take it we're not just here for a friendly chat and maybe a birthday cupcake?" She asked.

Discord sighed. "Sadly, no. I am in need of you, or another one of you." Discord answered. "There are dire deeds afoot, and you are needed in another place where you are not."

Stellar nodded patiently. "I understand. Then we'd best do this now."

Discord smiled. "I am so glad that you understand your place in the Multiverse now, Stellar. You really can make a lot of difference." He told her as he got to his feet. Stellar nodded as Discord started weaving a familiar spell:

Your body cloned, your spirit copied, your destiny duplicated;

Your belongings to both and not forgotten, your soul bifurcated;

You are needed for the task ahead, and no-one else will do;

So, Warrior, go where you are needed and to yourself be true.

Stellar felt herself grow and her power swell deep inside her and, just before it could turn into a massive mana-surge, she felt the newness slowly flow away from her into another place, another reality. Once it had finished, she opened her eyes to find herself standing in the alley again, whole and unchanged... with a little cupcake in her colors sitting on a pedestal before her, a pair of candles on top that were in the shape of the numerals for '25'. Sighing, Stellar resumed her walk to the Palace, enjoying the delicious pastry, wondering what Discord needed her for this time...

=======

In the city of Brisbane, Australia, there was a young police officer who, at that moment, was facing off against a man with a katana. Jessie Maescen knew the sword was a fake, as blunt as a brick, but it could still deliver a nasty blow if it hit her the wrong way. Whatever the guy was on, the tasers she and her partner had used had had little effect on him. But she didn't draw her gun, just the truncheon she carried as back-up.

"Curtis... you got your cuffs ready?" She asked her partner.

"Yeah... shit, Jessie, you've got balls of steel if you're gonna be taking that guy on." He said, as the sword-wielder puffed and twitched his vision between the two.

"Can't be helped. I don't want to shoot this twit. The papers would have a field day." She replied as she sized the bloke up. His pupils were the size of pinheads, his eyes wide, and he was sweating like crazy, grunting like a pig stuck in mud. "Do we have back-up coming?"

"They said five minutes." Curtis replied.

"Yeah, they always say five minutes." Jessie said back, a smile on her face. "I just wish I could take him on on equal terms right now." She added as she watched the man's chest. He was bigger than her, but she would be faster. And unlike him, she was trained in armed and unarmed combat. "If he wants to wait for back-up to arrive, then we're fine. If he doesn't..."

At that moment, the man yelled at the top of his lungs and charged, sword held high over his head for a strike. Jessie almost grinned. The move was a classic mistake from every idiot who watched samurai movies and felt they knew how to wield a sword. As he closed on her, she crouched, truncheon held firm against her outer right arm, and when he swung the sword down, she acted. Deflecting the sword to one side with the truncheon, rather than blocking it, she flipped her body around in a high roundhouse kick to the back of his body. Her steel-capped boot delivered a blow just below the neck, between the shoulder-blades, and he screamed, his back arching as the nerves to his arms went numb. The sword dropped to the ground and bounced away as she followed through and slammed him to the ground.

Curtis was right there with Jessie, and before the bloke had finished bouncing, they had him down and one cuff around each hand, dragging his arms behind him, they cuffed their cuffs together on the man's arms, double-cuffing him and holding him on the ground. The man screamed bloody murder, but with the pair holding him down with a special hold and his arms still numbed, there wasn't much he could do. They both breathed a sigh of relief as sirens heralded the approach of their back-up, and two other cars pulled up beside their own. Four other officers alighted quickly and assessed the situation.

"Ankle-cuffs!" Curtis yelled out as the bloke they'd subdued was kicking with his legs, trying to push himself and Jessie off of him.

"Gimme your cuffs." She said to the two officers who approached and, as they handed them over, she cuffed his arms together further up from his wrists, making the crazy one even more secured. Then another officer handed Curtis the ankle-cuffs and they held the crazy one down and secured his feet as well. He screamed incoherent insults at them all, as a wagon pulled up.

"Damn this guy's really on something strong." One of the others said.

"Yeah." Jessie agreed. "It's not just Ice, or something simple like that." Then she felt something in the crazy's hip pocket. Pulling out a wallet, she flipped it open to check his driver's licence. "Hey, Curtis, after this is done, you want to go check out his apartment? It's just up there in that block." She told her partner.

"Sure. Once we get him signed in and locked up... and the sheets done, of course." Curtis reminded Jessie of the most tedious part of police work.

"Ugh, don't remind me." She replied as she allowed the six newcomers to lift their capture off the ground and carry him over, still screaming, to the wagon and put him inside.

Curtis chuckled. "Dammit, Jessie. How did you know he wasn't going to change his strike and take your head off?" He asked.

"Same way I knew the sword was a cheap fake." Jessie replied, pointing to the fake katana that lay in the dirt, the hilt nearly slid off from the blade and tang. "He had no real idea of what he was doing. He wasn't making any of the signs that said 'I have trained with this weapon before'. He wasn't even holding it properly." She took out a pair of gloves and slid the blue latex on as she approached the dirty metal blade, gently picking it up and looking it over. "Yep. Not even good steel. He probably picked this up in the nineties, when even smoke shops were selling these cheap sets." She showed Curtis as he brought over a very big, long ziplock evidence bag.

As Jessie slid the sword in, Curtis sighed. "I just hope we never come across someone who really knows what they're doing with one of these, real or not." He admitted.

"I have to agree with you there, Partner." Jessie said, looking at Curtis as he zipped the bag shut. They marked where the sword had fallen, as well as their taser leads, and waited for the investigators to arrive and take over.

= = = = =

Later, at the station, Jessie had filled out her paperwork and was in the changerooms, enjoying a shower. She checked her watch as a sensation of anticipation filled her. It was May Fifth, her twenty-fifth birthday, and she could almost feel something building inside her. As the digital time on her watch changed to read Seven PM, Jessie moaned as she felt a release deep inside her, something wonderful flowing through her and centering on her hips. In a big mirror opposite her stall, she saw something start to appear on the side of her hip... and she smiled.

"You know why I have brought you here..." A voice sounded in Jessie's mind as she leaned against the stall's wall and closed her eyes.

"You need me to handle something that you can't, for various reasons..." She heard a voice that sounded like her own reply.

"Good. I am so glad we are on the same page." The male voice, smarmy and somewhat sarcastic in nature, replied. "One of my other selves has gone too far. He has separated from our group mind and is attempting to usurp power in the most blatant fashion. He is also trying to create chaos on a world filled with a race that seems to be destined to create chaos by themselves, although not on the scale what he has done will create there. I would send you directly, but he would try to counter this, so you'll have to go there just like every other pony that he has sent there. I am sorry for forcing you to become Human, but there is little I can do without very serious repercussions across the Multi-verse. He has set the rules, and we have to work within them."

"So, what advantages can you give me?" She asked.

"He's set the other ponies up so that their original memories will be very repressed until they change back and return to Equestria... if they ever truly recover them." The male voice said. "I can block that effect to a degree. You will start to remember things before you change, to the point where all your memories will return to you, if you can find a way to activate them after you've fully changed back." He explained to her. "Also, all your little toys and suits will be available to you once you've fully changed... but only if your memories are restored. Only one of them will you have full access to before then... and that's of your choosing. Choose wisely, my dear. Ponies will be counting on you for their lives on this new world, once they start changing back. The humans are paranoid and xenophobic at best, primitive and barbaric at their worst. In the more primitive countries, the ponies will be considered as mere animals, or worse. Even the civilised nations will seek to exploit their abilities and imprison them, maybe even experiment on them to understand them. Many will die." And she felt him actually shudder.

"You don't like Death, do you?" She asked.

"There is little point to creating chaos if those who make it for you die in the process. It is far too final a blow to Chaos." He sighed. "My other self no longer cares. All he wants is for things to be as he wants them, regardless of the consequences." He looked at her. "I have always been mindful of the consequences of ALL my actions, even if it never looked like it. Your sister and her friends will subdue him in the end... but there will be many changes to the two realities because of this. Hopefully none of them are permanent or ones that cannot be borne by those changed. Your job is to assist in finding ponies in places no-one else can go and survive, and to help them come home. Some will not return and will stay on Earth. Many will want to return, and once things settle and the way home is found, you will help bring the others there and let them return. Whether or not you stay on Earth, that is up to you... in the end." She saw him draw himself up to his full height. "Prepare yourself. The fun begins... Now."

= = = = =

Jessie started awake, the water flowing over her quite busty chest was still warm. She checked her watch: It read Seven-thirty. Jessie sighed and turned the water off, shaking herself to dampness and reaching for her towel. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she saw the lines on her hip-thighs had completed: Her Cutie-mark had returned. Jessie blinked as she realised she knew the designs' names, and other memories were waiting under the surface of her conscious mind, ready to come forth. She dried herself off, quickly dressed, and headed out of the change-room.

Her bags were waiting for her in her cubicle. She'd handed her gun back into the small armory at the conclusion of her shift, and her badge was locked in her drawer. Tossing her backpack on, she picked up the gym-bag with most of her belongings from the station in it, including her uniforms. Smiling as she moved through the station, her ID on a lanyard around her neck, she waved to a lot of her colleagues and stopped by the Chief's office. "Heya, Sir." She said, after knocking on the door.

The station's commander, an older male with plenty of experience under his still-lean belt, smiled. "Heya Jessie." He replied. "So, you really are taking the holidays you've been putting off for years now?"

Jessie chuckled. "Yeah, Chief. I've got reservations and everything." She replied.

"Good, good. After that nutcase you and Curtis brought in this afternoon, I'm glad to see you taking some time off. God knows you deserve it." He told Jessie.

"Did they find out what he'd taken?" She asked.

The Chief nodded. "It was a wierd concoction of Ice and PCP. I don't know how he got the PCP to put in it, but it's really driven him over the edge." The Chief told her. "They don't know if he'll ever come down from it, or if he'll be sane again afterwards."

Jessie looked sad. "That's just so wrong, on whole levels of wrongness." She commented.

"Yeah, you can say that again." He agreed with her. "Well, leave it to the drug squad, that's what they get paid to do." He advised her. "Now, get under way and out of the city before the traffic gets bad."

Jessie grinned and nodded. "Sure thing, Chief. See you in a month's time." She gave him a quick salute, which he waved off, then Jessie was skipping out the door. Down in the parking garage, her Crewman 4x4 ute was waiting for her, loaded up with her things, and she added the two bags to it before climbing in and driving out. She had to be careful, though, with swinging the ute through the traffic, as the bed was loaded to the sills with things she'd bought before her shift, and it was close to the certified tonnage limit. But Jessie handled the traffic like the expertly-trained police driver she had become over her career's seven years. But she knew, if the memories she'd had and the dreams she'd been experiencing were correct... this was the last day of her police career in Australia. Something very new was around the corner...

=======

Several hours later, Jessie was piloting her ute down a dirt track and approaching a number of small houses built out on a headland near the ocean. With national park gazetted all around the small freehold-title area, there were ten of these old beach-houses here, some in slow states of decay as they had been abandoned, but the pair of them her family owned and four others of the ten were intact and looked in very good condition. As she parked between the two beach-houses she was staying in, Jessie knew there was little chance of meeting anyone else here at this time of year. If it had been six months earlier, then the three other families who had freehold titles of the land here would have been here as well, enjoying the summer. But now, as Autumn came into its closing month and things were becoming a little cooler, most were busy with their lives. And that made it the perfect time to be here, for what would come.

She brought everything in from her ute and loaded up the fridge and pantry. But besides the normal human food were bags and bags of equine-fodder-grade alfalfa and oats, the best she could buy. She also had medical supplies and inoculations for equines, covering diseases from many countries around the world.

Jessie sighed as she checked down her list. Ever since she had begun remembering things a year ago, she had been doing research and finding out what she'd need to survive the time of her transition from human to... well, whomever she'd become. Things like her new name and form were still mostly hidden from her, but she knew enough generally to make informed guesses. After all, she knew generally what she'd look like. Most of the ponies she'd seen in the show were pretty much the same size and similar in details. She'd made guesstimates of size, weight and structure from carefully watching the show in her spare time and she was sure she'd be able to adjust for any real-world discrepancies once she was fully-changed.

After making sure everything was inside and ready for her stay, Jessie changed down to a comfortable pair of old jeans and a hoodie, with nothing else underneath. She knew wearing restrictive clothing would be stupid, considering how different her current and end-form bodies would be. She needed clothing she could remove in a hurry, if radical changes came faster than she expected them to come. If the breeze off the ocean wasn't so cool, she might have been tempted to just put on a bikini, but that might be a choice for the daytime. Heading into the bathroom, Jessie looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled as she saw her eyes had changed. The green in them had changed to a nice shade of mauve-purple, and her red hair was starting to darken a little at the tips. Jessie nodded. Things were changing as she hoped they would. Then, from the kitchen, her phone rang.

"Shit." Racing out of the bathroom, she managed to grab the phone before it switched to her MessageBank. "Heya, Curtis." She'd noted it was her partner's private phone number. "I'm on vacation now, you know."

"Jessie... I need help." He sounded like he was very desperate.

"Why? What's up?" She asked.

"Please don't think I'm wierd, Partner." Curtis answered. "But... something very strange has started happening... and not just to me! My brother and my cousins have all had this happen..."

"You got a big, strange tattoo on your hip-thigh area that came out of nowhere." Jessie guessed. She checked the time. It was after midnight, so the timing was right.

"How the buck did you guess that?!?" Curtis asked.

Jessie almost giggled at what Curtis had said. "Has it happened to all four of you?" She asked.

"Yeah, Jess. How'd you know?"

"Because the same thing happened to me earlier tonight." Jessie answered. "Now, get your cousins, your brother and yourself up here A.S.A.P., partner. If you think the tattoo's crazy, it's just the start. You need to be somewhere away from everyone else for this, and I have a place you can shelter at. Okay?"

"Umm, yeah, I guess." Jessie could almost see him looking over his shoulder at the others. "Okay, We're on our way."

"Bring only personal essentials." Jessie warned. "I have food and everything else already here. If anyone rings or asks, you've been invited to stay with a friend at their beachside apartment for your vacation."

"Okay, Jess. I'll give you a ring when we're close." Curtis told her.

"Fine. I'll come and guide you to my place when you're in town." Jessie told Curtis. "Bring your computers, too, if you want to."

"Will do. See you." Curtis then signed off.

Jessie sighed and relaxed back against the doorway from the Dining Room into the kitchen. She always knew she'd have people around her when she changed, HE had hinted that this was something she wouldn't go through alone... She just hadn't expected it to be her partner. She grinned at the way Fate was playing 'silly-buggers' with their lives... then she remembered who was behind this, and her face turned to a hard scowl. "I'm going to shove his curly horn so far up him that it'll stick out his nose from inside..."

She went and opened up the other house she owned here, ready for the boys... depending on how many of them still remained boys after they'd changed.

=======

Curtis took one more look at the tattoo on his thigh before he pulled his pants up. At least it was kind-of masculine: A dark-grey cloud with a golden lightning bolt coming out of it. He chuckled as it reminded him of how trouble seemed to strike him repeatedly, whenever he and Jessie were out on patrol together. That sword-wielding druggo was just the last in a long line of arrests and busts they'd made together, since they'd gotten out of the Academy. It seems they were a real pair of trouble magnets.

Not that that had made their arrest records any less impressive. But the most impressive thing was that they'd managed to stay relatively unscathed during all the action they'd seen. Most of that was down to Jessie, he had to admit. While he'd been an amateur boxer in High School, he couldn't hold a candle to Jessie for martial arts. She'd proven that to him once, when she'd tied him up in knots during the Academy in a section contest. Even as she admitted he out-scored her on the shooting range almost consistently, she could hog-tie him and anyone else she'd faced on the mats faster than anyone else he'd ever seen. AND she somehow had learned to use blades of all sizes. As she'd said, if she'd faced down that nutcase with another sword, she could have had him dead with one pass... which meant it was a good thing that she couldn't carry one on duty.

"Okay. Jessie says she'll help, but we have to go to her place." He told the trio waiting in the lounge room.

"Aww!" Curtis' cousins Sarah and Sharrah looked disappointed. "But we only just got here yesterday!" Sharrah complained.

"Then it's a good thing you won't have to pack much, right Bro?" Curtis' brother, Rusty, replied to them.

Curtis smiled. Rusty and him were polar opposites in looks, but so close in temperament that they got along really well. Curtis was clean-shaven; Rusty had hair like a wire-haired terrier all over his face and head. Curtis was tall and lean, while Rusty was short and somewhat squat, but was all muscle. Curtis liked his unusual name, Rusty hated his real name, which was Dennis, with a vengeance. But all-in-all, they really got on well. "Yeah. Bring your systems and stuff, and your bed-gear and clothes. Jessie says she has plenty of food for us all." He said as he left a note on the fridge's whiteboard for their parents

The two women grumbled, but went and retrieved their suitcases and bags, and Curtis led them out to his old, trusty Landcruiser Troop-Carrier. After piling in everything he'd thought they'd need, the sisters got in the back and Curtis slid into the front driver's seat, Rusty beside him. They backed out and headed out of the city as the night's traffic settled down before them. They had a four-hour drive ahead of them...

=======

Jessie had finished making arrangements for her guests, and took time out to look at herself again in the mirror. Her hair was still changing color, with the dark-blue already half-way to her scalp. Two streaks of other colors were also becoming more distinct. "Damn... if I didn't know what was happening, I could imagine how much this would freak out anyone not expecting it." She closed her eyes and could almost see another face looking back at her: A face with huge eyes and a cute little muzzle covered in lavender-purple fur, and a purple horn in the middle of her forehead. She opened her eyes to see her human face again, then smiled. At least she now knew what she was going to look like, even if most of her real history was still locked away from her. She checked the time, then went and checked the Internet. The signal down the new fibre-optics was really fast tonight... then again, it was after midnight.

She checked the Australian on-line forums for MLP:FiM, and there had been a wash of new activity there, about others changing. She'd managed to work out that things seemed to have started on May First this year, five days ago, and possibly all over the world. But her keen senses also told her that things were being repressed. There'd been no news broadcasts, no reports in most of the media, and now whole sections of the on-line forums seemed to have been deleted. Most of the older posts about Cutie-marks and other such things were gone. "Hmm... someone's clamping down on things. That's not good." She said to herself. "Typical government reaction, though. If something's happening they can't explain, then they shut it down or try to debunk it." Jessie sighed. "If only I'd been in the first wave of Changes, I would be in a much better position to help..." She closed her eyes, and her relaxing triggered more memories that were hers... and weren't of her.

= = = = =

Stellar creeped slowly through the wreckage of Canterlot. Discord had done an enormous amount of 'deconstruction' to the capital of Equestria. She was wearing her white-and-gold armor, which she hoped would keep Discord from feeling her until she was close enough to start her plan.

Then, as she peered out from inside a partly-wrecked bakery, there he was. Canterlot Castle was gone, she saw. Where the Audience-Hall court had once been, Discord was sitting on a throne just his size, and she sized him up. He'd changed from the figure she'd seen before: He was bigger and looked meaner, with more of the dragon in his facial features now. She so much wanted to wipe the smarmy look from his face... but she'd have to play this smart... and with a little chaos of her own thrown in.

Discord was relaxing, grinning to himself. It was so nice to have all those annoying ponies out of the way... Then he heard:

"DISCORD! HEY, DISCORD! WHY THE LONG FACE?"

The chuckling was so familiar that Discord sat up and said "No..." He looked about to see a face and mane he'd hoped to never see again. There was Rainbow Dash, looking as if he'd never zapped her into the Human World. "How...?" He asked, stunned into incredulity.

Rainbow just grinned. "You know I'm like a bad bit, I always show up again." She boasted.

Discord growled. "Then I shall have to rectify that." He said, sliding off his throne and heading for the rainbow-maned-and-tailed mare.

"Gotta catch me first." And Dash was gone, like she'd never been there.

Discord blinked in surprise. Not even Dash could be that fast...

"Did y'all think that was fast?" Another voice asked from beside him. "I kinda thought that was fast."

Discord blinked again. "She is most annoying." Discord said, hoping to lull the pony in question into a false sense of security.

"Ah hear ya, Discord. That she is." Applejack's voice wafted up into his ears.

Discord turned suddenly, but the blonde, orange-coated pony was nowhere to be seen. The only thing there was a hat sitting on a spire of shattered marble. Discord gently picked up the hat and looked it over, but nothing about it showed that Applejack had ever been there... save for a long strand of blonde hair that was caught in the inside brim.

"Why did you do it, Discord?" A soft voice then asked.

Discord winced as he sat the hat back down on the spire again. He knew that voice, and even his hardened heart felt bad about what he'd done... for three seconds. He turned to see Fluttershy lying on top of a slab of marble, looking at him. And he could see she'd been crying. "Fluttershy..." He said, his voice small and somewhat sad.

"I had hoped we could have been friends." Fluttershy said to him. "You could be so much fun, when you weren't being silly..." She sniffled. "But then you turned into a meanie..."

"BIG MEANIE!" Two voices came from two stallions in red-and-white pinstriped jackets and straw hats.

Then they ducked down behind some chunks of marble, popping up again and singing "BIG MEANIE!" Before diving down again.

They popped up a third time behind Discord and sung one more time "BIG MEANIE!"

Then Fluttershy sang:

Discord, you are a big meanie

Discord, you're really mean

Discord, you are a big meanie

The biggest one I've ever seen...

Discord was baffled by this. He looked around again, but Fluttershy and the Flim-Flam Brothers were gone. "What the BUCK is going on?" He asked, looking all around him.

Then there was a giggle from above him, and he felt somepony on his head. "Silly! We're punishing you! What you did wasn't nice at all!"

Discord face-palmed. "Pinkie." He said.

"Yeppers!" She replied with a grin. "My turn!" And out of nowhere, an enormous pie slammed Discord in the face.

Pinkie giggled as Discord fumed for a second... then licked the pie from his face. "Banana cream, my favorite." He said, a little smile on his face as his tail came up and almost whacked Pinkie from his head.

But Pinkie slid down into one of his ears, and Discord was even more surprised when he heard "Hey! There's a door here." And the sound of a creaky door opening came out of his ear.

"Whaaat!?" Discord asked as he heard hoofsteps inside his head.

"Wow! There's a lot of space in here!" Pinkie's voice came out from inside him. "You could rent it out for some real bits! What's in here?" Discord heard another door open. "Hey! Its got its own bath and everything." He heard the sound of a toilet flushing. "It needs a bit of a clean, though. Do you mind if I wash your brain out?" Pinkie asked, as her face appeared in one of his yellowed eyes.

"What the...? Yes, I do mind, actually. My mind is in perfect condition." Discord answered.

"Still dusty." Pinkie replied, as she wiped the yellow out of the insides of his eyes with a cloth she'd pulled out of her mane. "That's better."

Discord blinked his eyes. This was beyond even him.

Then Pinkie headed back inside Discord's head. "Wow! There's cable and everything in here. Where does this door go? Ohh! It goes down!" She said, and Discord heard hoofsteps on metal stairs heading down through his neck and into his chest. "Woozies! There's a basement and everything in here! You really should think of renting this out, Dizzy."

"My name is NOT 'Dizzy'!" Discord replied. "Now, would you kindly remove yourself from my interior, Pinkie?"

"Sure thing! Keep your tail on!" Pinkie giggled, as he almost felt her bouncing back up the 'stairs'. Then there was a scrape, a screeching sound, Pinkie let out a squeal of panic, there was the sound of metal slamming against metal, breaking glass, shattering crockery and many other sound effects. Then, as the sounds died away, Pinkie's voice was heard to say "Owwie..."

"I am almost afraid to ask..." Discord said to himself... then he noticed there was no sound from the Pink One, and no sign of her being around, either. Discord growled to himself. "There's only one pony who could do this... but I have already gotten rid of her..."

"What? Surely you don't mean Trixie?" Another familiar voice sounded out from the ruins.

Discord scoffed. "Of course not! And don't call me Shirley." Discord scolded. "Her illusions are good, but illusions are all they are. To conjure up the souls and spirits of ponies like that into their images... that requires true magical talent as well as skill and immense power." He replied. He turned about to see who he thought was Twilight Sparkle sitting behind him, on his throne. "And I am right, once again." Discord added.

"Maybe." 'Twilight' said back. "The main question still stands, Discord. Why? We offered you your freedom. You could create chaos... albeit in limited forms, but you wouldn't have been frozen in stone any longer. We even offered you our friendship. But all you did was..." She sighed. "Or did you even bother to have a reason any longer?"

Discord crossed his arms over his chest. "Freedom..." He said in a scoffing tone. "You have no idea what the word truly means, Twilight Sparkle. You have such power, more than Celestia or Luna, and yet you play the dutiful student..."

"Daughter." 'Twilight' slipped in.

"...To Celestia..." Discord frowned. "Daughter?" He asked.

'Twilight' nodded. "I was Celestia's surrogate daughter, I found out recently. I went from being a student to holding a place in her heart almost as dear to her as Luna is." 'Twilight' smiled happily. "Do you know what that feels like, Discord? To be loved by somepony so much that they love you as if you were born to them?" she asked.

Discord frowned. "I don't really care." He replied.

"Are you so sure of that?" 'Twilight' asked.

Discord snorted with derision. "I need no-one and nothing, Twilight Sparkle. All I need is the feeling of chaos around me, and others reacting to it. If you'd get that broomstick out of your plot and climb out of Celestia's shadow, you'd realise that you are as capable as I am of making things work the way YOU want them to... and you wouldn't need Celestia to lean on."

To Discord's surprise, 'Twilight' chuckled. "I understand better than you might think." She said. "But was it worth it?" She asked Discord. "What good is your chaos... if there's nopony to appreciate it?"

Discord snorted again. "I made my decision." He said. "And besides, I couldn't change things if I wanted to. That's the price of the spell I used. It is irreversible until it runs its course." Then he glared at 'Twilight'. "That's why I will ask you once, Twilight Sparkle: How did you break my spell and return here?"

'Twilight' smiled and shook her head. "I can't tell you what I don't know." She answered.

Discord frowned. "Very well. Then I shall send you back there..." He said to 'Twilight'. "Let's see if you can return again..."

"For five score, divided by four..." Discord began...

...And Stellar just smiled a wicked smile...

= = = = =

Jessie jerked awake as her phone went off next to her. She picked it up and said "Talk to me."

"We're just turning off the freeway now." Curtis' voice sounded in her ear.

"Okay. I'll be waiting in the Square down the road from my place. It's pretty much just outside the south section of the main beach area." Jessie told him.

"Will do. See you in twenty." Curtis said, before signing off.

Jessie grinned and got up. Grabbing her handbag and keys, she headed out to her ute and drove out, heading for the heart of Noosa.

=======

Curtis looked at the others. Rusty was still awake, but the twins had fallen asleep in the back. Curtis noticed Rusty had been very quiet for a long time, which wasn't like him. "Something on your mind, Bro?" He asked softly.

Rusty sighed. "I just wonder where all this is headed." He replied. "Your partner Jessie sounded like she knows a lot more than we do about this."

"Yeah... that's been bugging me a little, too." Curtis admitted. "But driving put it out of my head. You know what I'm like when driving at night."

"Yeah. All concentration." Rusty agreed, chuckling. "I just hope that whatever we change into, we can live with it."

"Not like we have a choice." Curtis replied.

"There's always a choice." Rusty said back. "The big thing is having the courage to grasp what you choose and run with it, without reservation or regret."

Curtis chuckled. "That's not the first time you've said that." He replied.

"Nope." Rusty agreed. "I told you that the day you signed up for the Academy, remember? You were so fracking nervous about taking the plunge. I told you that, and then you strode up there and laid your name down on that recruitment form... and you never looked back."

Curtis smiled as he remembered that day. It had been the biggest change in his life, for sure, but it had felt so right once he'd signed up. Even now, he'd never felt so sure about anything in his life... and it was about to be taken away from him by forces he could barely comprehend. But Curtis shoved his uncertainty down inside him. He couldn't think about that at this moment. There'd be time enough for being uncertain later, once he had as many of the 'facts' as any of them knew.

Rusty chuckled. "I know that look." He said to his brother. "You've just shoved everything deep down and decided just to attend to the task at hand."

Curtis chuckled as well. "Can't do much else at the moment, mate." He replied. "Can't make heads or tails about anything without the facts... and we have hardly any of those at the moment."

"Too true." Rusty sighed. "I guess we'll find things out when we're safe and relaxed."

Curtis nodded. "And at least we have a place where that will be a reality, thanks to Jessie."

"Yeah... which begs again the question; How much does she know and how?" Rusty asked.

"I guess we'll know when we get there." Curtis replied, as he checked his Sat-nav and turned off at the next corner.

=======

Jessie arrived at the Square near the Park entrance and waited. By this time, her hair-slash-mane had fully changed color, she'd noticed, and her human ears were gone, she could see in the vanity mirror of her ute. Pony ears in purple took their place. She swivelled them to practise their range of movement, and grinned as she saw them do as she directed them to do. Then Jessie remembered the dream... and her old name came to her mind, as well as a number of memories about her Family back in Equestria. She sighed happily as she assimilated them all, and waited for Curtis to arrive.

The streets of the community were almost empty this early in the morning, so when a big four-wheel-drive turned down the hill esplanade towards the square, Jessie rightly guessed it was Curtis. She blinked her lights twice, then once more, and the other vehicle did the same. Jessie started up her ute and pulled out in front of Curtis' Landcruiser, and she led him out to the park entrance and beyond it.

In the back, Sharrah snorted. "We there yet?" She asked in a sleepy voice.

"Almost." Curtis replied, as he drove after Jessie's ute. Sharrah gave Sarah a shake, and she yawned widely.

Curtis followed Jessie along until she showed him where to park, then she went around the house and parked on the other side. As the four newcomers tumbled out of their big four-by-four, Jessie stepped out and walked over to Curtis. "Hey, Partner. Good to see you made it."

"At this time of morning, it wasn't hard." Curtis said. In the light of the Moon, Jessie could see Curtis' hair was changing from it's dirty blonde to two shades of aquamarine, one lighter than the other. His smooth locks were also straightening up and heading for a mohawk-style look.

Jessie grinned at that. She had a fair idea of who she was looking at. "Okay. Girls in here, you guys can have the bungalow beside us." She told them as she led Sharrah and Sarah into her family's bigger house.

"Hey, not bad." Rusty said as he headed inside the smaller beach-house. "Bet this place has a great view."

"Yeah, it does, right over a very special beach." Curtis grinned at Rusty.

"Oh? What's so special about it?" Rusty asked.

"You'll see in the morning." Curtis told him. "By the way, is your hair turning black?" He asked his brother.

"Probably." Rusty replied. "Yours is going aquamarine."

"Don't remind me." Curtis said back as he put his first load of bags down.

=======

Jessie helped Sarah and Sharrah bring their things in and put them in two of the other rooms. "Hey, is that hair natural?" Sarah asked Jessie.

"Nope. Started changing just last night." Jessie replied. "Looks like your hair's changing as well."

Both the girls looked embarrassed. "Well, yeah." Sharrah said.

"So... Curtis said you might know what's happening to us?" Sarah asked.

"And that it's happening to you, too?" Sharrah also asked.

Jessie nodded. "Yep." She dropped her jeans down to show off her cutie-mark: A large tower-shield with two crossed swords and a large six-pointed star with wings. There were three other smaller elements, consisting of a sun-disk and crescent-moon on the swords' cross-guards, and a little jewel-faceted heart on the top of the shield.

"Wow! That's really... complex." Sharrah commented. "I've just got this." She showed them what looked like a five-pointed star with a comet's tail.

"And mine's just these three insects." Sarah showed Jessie her cutie-mark.

Jessie felt that she should know their marks, but nothing came to mind yet. "Yep. You're changing like me."

"Is that why my hair's gone this wierd light-green?" Sarah asked Jessie.

"It's called 'Sky-green', Sarah." Jessie told her.

"Mine's just..." Sharrah began, then just lost what she was going to say.

"Looks like a bluish-white to me." Jessie opinionated.

"Yeah! That's it." Sharrah agreed.

Then Sarah peered at Jessie. "What IS that in your hair?" She asked.

"Oh, these?" Jessie moved her hair around to show her pony ears. "These are my new ears. You'll get them, too."

"They... they look like horse's ears." Sharrah commented.

"Bingo." Jessie replied, grinning. "We are, in fact, becoming ponies... but not ponies from Earth."

"Alien ponies?" Sarah asked.

Then you could almost see a light go on in Sharrah's brain. "Oh fuck." She said softly. "We're becoming Equestrian ponies, aren't we?"

"Huh?" Sarah asked.

"You know, Sis! From 'My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic!" Sharrah reminded her sister.

Sarah snorted. "Yeah, as if." She scoffed.

"Actually, Sharrah's right, Sarah." Jessie confirmed. "That's exactly what we're becoming."

"But... but that's crazy!" Sarah exclaimed.

"So is changing species, but we're doing it." Jessie countered. "But that's not the worst part."

"If it's not... then what is?" Sharrah asked.

"Tell me... what do these words mean to you?" Jessie asked, then said "Five score, divided by four..."

Both Twins' jaws dropped as their brains siezed up...

=======

Curtis looked about at the interior of the bungalow. It was really homey and snug, he felt, more than the bigger house their parents owned. Rusty had already taken over a room and was sleeping in his underwear on the bed. Curtis just closed the door and shook his head as he went into the other bedroom.

He looked at himself in the big mirror the bedroom contained. His hair was even more changed now, with the color slowly creeping down towards his scalp, in reverse, which was practically impossible. His hair was also standing up now in the middle, and was falling out gradually at the sides, the bald sections slowly creeping up his head. He slowly got undressed to his underwear and looked at the tattoo on his hip-thigh. It still looked like a grey cloud with a golden lightning bolt coming out of it... and he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen something like it before.

Then something caught his eye, and he peered closer to the mirror at his face. His dark-brown eyes were gone, the color now was a sunburst-gold. He shook his head, then looked again. Nope, they were the same color. "What the hell is going on...?" He asked himself. He ran his hands up either side of his hair, and it stayed upright. "Dammit... it IS a mohawk... or..." Curtis growled. "SO not going there." He said to himself. He slid on a pair of shorts and a shirt, then went outside.

The night was still, without a cloud in the sky. It was mild weather, too, the nights not so cold as yet, with the Summer weather still hanging around through Autumn. He saw a single light was on in the other house, so he walked over and knocked quietly. "Come in." Said a soft voice from inside. Curtis walked in to find Jessie sitting at a computer, pictures on the screen.

"Hey, Jessie." He said softly. "The girls in bed?" He asked.

Jessie smiled back at Curtis. "Yeah. I zoned them out something bad, and they just went to bed after that.

Curtis chuckled. "How'd you do that?" He asked.

"I told them what we were becoming." Jessie answered.

Curtis frowned. "So... you know?" He asked.

"Not specifics, yet." Jessie told him. "For example, I think I know who you'll become, but the girls are a mystery to me still. I'm doing some research now, to see if I can match their cutie-marks with their appearances." She explained.

Curtis nodded. "Okay... so what are we becoming?" He asked.

Jessie turned around to face Curtis. "Have you ever paid attention to a TV show called 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'?" She asked.

"Um... not really." Curtis replied. "I have seen the odd episode, but never really paid that much attention to it. I do remember it was a great deal better written than a lot of the other cartoons made at the same time."

Jessie nodded. "That's because the episode plots were mostly taken from real life. The lives of ponies from another reality, where a good deal of what we see on the show is real." She told Curtis.

Curtis was stunned at this. "I... presume you're speaking from experience." He guessed.

Jessie nodded. "Curtis... we're all from that reality. Not all humans, but you, me, your brother, and everyone else getting a cutie-mark and changing." She told him. "The only differences between myself and the rest of the ponies is that I have memories of those times, and that I'm an alicorn."

Curtis pulled over a chair and sat down. "Okay... assuming this is true, why don't I have these memories?" He asked.

"You'll find you will, eventually... at least one sequence: What happened to you before you were sent here." Jessie revealed to Curtis.

Curtis nodded. "Okay..." He said. Then he noticed Jessie grinning at him. "What?" He asked.

"Your ears are coming in." She replied.

Curtis' eyes widened, then he reached for his head... and felt the small equine ears emerging from his head, his human ears having almost shrunk to nothing. He opened his mouth to say something... and nothing came out.

Jessie moved to Curtis, wheeling her chair to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Curtis. I know you're freaking out inside at the moment. Believe me, if I didn't know what was happening and why, then I'd be freaking out even more than you at the moment." She said softly to him, then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Curtis' jaw snapped shut and he blinked with surprise. "Uhh... thanks." He then said.

Jessie grinned. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that for." She said.

"Really?" Curtis asked, looking more stunned.

Jessie nodded her head. "I've had a huge crush on you, ever since we were partnered, Partner." Jessie admitted. "But regs being what they are, I wasn't allowed to tell you, of course.'

"Yeah... that sort-of thing's not on, right?" Curtis agreed.

"Not in the Service, no." Jessie smiled. "But we're not going back now, are we?"

Curtis grinned and chuckled. "I guess not. Not as... ponies?"

Jessie nodded. "Ponies." She replied. "From the land of Equestria."

Curtis nodded, still a little confused. "Tell me about it." He said, but seriously.

"We'll watch some of the episodes in the morning, once everyone's awake." Jessie answered.

"Fair enough." Curtis said. "So, how come you still have memories, more than the rest of us?" She asked.

"Because I knew what was coming, and prepared for the spell that sent us here." Jessie explained further. "Now, I don't have all my memories yet. Most of them, like the spells and magic I knew, are still hidden from me. But when I confronted the bogan that did this to us, he thought I was my twin sister, and used the wrong spell on me."

"Wrong spell?"

Jessie nodded. "Each version of the spell Discord, the bogan, used on us alicorns was individualised for us... to an extent." Jessie explained. "So when Discord used the spell he'd used on my sister to send me here, it didn't quite work as it was supposed to. A protective spell on my mind managed to keep a good deal of my personal memories from being completely suppressed, and certain personal items I usually carry with me everywhere will be available once I fully change and get my memories back. Once I fully become myself and get my spells and gear back, I'll be able to start my mission here."

"Which is?" Curtis asked, as his ears flicked, having fully-grown-out by now.

"To find ponies in really bad situations and free them." Jessie said. "As an alicorn and a member of the Royal Guard, it's my duty and responsibility to protect ponies from any and all threats. So that's what I'll be doing here: Finding ponies in dire trouble and getting them to safety."

Curtis chuckled. "No wonder you became a cop here." He said.

"And it's no surprise you became one as well... Thunderlane..."

Curtis heard the name and his mind froze...

=======

Thunderlane looked about as the Wonderbolts were diving on Discord, trying to distract him so the Royal Guard could bring him down... the commanders Gallant Heart and Flash Sentry were doing their best to direct operations on the fly, but without Captain Shining Armor, their actions were just that little bit less coordinated, and Discord was taking full advantage of that. Thunderlane gestured to some of the other Wonderbolt recruits, and waved them over.

CloudChaser had somehow managed to find her sister Flitter, and the twins came over with twenty other Wonderbolt recruits they'd collected together. "Thunderlane! What are we gonna do?" Flitter asked.

Thunderlane looked about, then had an idea. "Get as many other pegasi as you can here! We're going to form a thunderhead and give that bastard Discord a real shock!"

The recruits grinned and saluted, even Flitter. "Aye Sir!" They replied and headed off. Eventually nearly two hundred weather-trained pegasi had joined them, and they started gathering clouds from every direction, piling them up in a big formation. Thunderlane could see that the Wonderbolts' numbers were being depleted, as were the Guards, but there were no bodies to be seen. Then he saw Discord grab Commander Sentry and grin menacingly at him, chanting something, and Flash Sentry just vanished in a flash of white light.

"Mother of Celestia above!" Thunderlane said, not believing what he was seeing. He shook his head and turned to the others as they formed a huge dark cloud-mass right over Discord. "Okay! We're gonna push this right down over him and compress it!" He told them all. "That should get a really large bolt to hit him right where it hurts."

"Yeah!" they all shouted, and took up positions. As Discord made Spitfire and Soarin vanish, the cloud dropped over him before he could grab anypony else, and they compressed the cloud right down around him. It darkened to black and there was a huge flash within. There was, indeed, a scream from Discord, and he shot up out of the cloud, his tail on fire. But before the pegasi could cheer, he managed to grab CloudChaser and Flitter and vanish back into the dispersing cloud. There was a brilliant flash and Discord emerged from the cloud alone, smiling maliciously. His hand shot out and grabbed Thunderlane, dragging him down towards himself.

"I have to admit, that was a very gutsy move, Thunderlane." Discord said, his voice sounding impressed. "But it won't save you or the other pegasi."

"Leave my brother alone!" A very young voice said, as a small pegasi colt shot out of the ruins and bit down on Discord's thumb, making him howl.

Discord almost dropped Thunderlane, but his tail grabbed the little colt and brought him up to Discord's face. "My, we are a feisty one, aren't we?" Discord asked.

"Rumble!" Thunderlane said, worried sick now that his little brother was here, on the battlefield, instead of safe wherever the ship that had left with the foals had been heading...

"Aww... now, I am not that heartless that I would separate siblings, so..." He put them both in one hand, and started to chant "For five score, divided by four..."

=======

Author's Note

Hello, everypony!
As you might have guessed from the title, this is my attempt at a Five Score, Divided by Four (5S/4) story. It's still a work in progress, so bear with me.
And yes, I know there's stories out there for Thunderlane, Rumble, Flitter and CloudChaser, but I have been told that the characters can be used in different stories, and I liked the foursome interacting with Stellar, so I'm using them.
So sit back and enjoy the ride, and let's see what I can piece together...
NOTE: while this is a sidestory, and I'm not really trying to say it's canon for the story outline, I'm hoping I can merge it into parts of the main story and maybe some others (if i get permission) with Stellar eventually linking up with Twilight and the Mane Six. After all, being Twilight's twin, of course Stellar wants to see her...
Please leave comments. If you don't, I can't see if I'm doing things properly or not...

PS! ten points if you can figure out what tune goes with the words Fluttershy is singing...

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09 - Confrontations

The afternoon sun beat down heavily on the outback, but it seemed like it was being extra-harsh on the property the Ponies were on, as if it demanded recompense for the ponies making rain on its turf. The ponies were all resting on the back verandah, panting as the sun bore down three metres from their resting places. It had dried them off well after they'd gotten out of the pool, but it had started them getting hot again even before they'd reached the house. Now, after Lunch, they all rested in the hottest part of the day.

"I have got to get some shadecloth over that pool." Mark made a note as he rested there on a big wood-and-canvas deckchair, a cold drink at his side.

Each of the ponies had a metal mixing bowl in front of them with water and ice in it, a towel wrapped around each bowl helping to keep them cold. Azure sat beside Cathy, who was gently stroking his head as she stretched out on another 'squatter's' chair, as the specific style of chair was colloquially known. Her horn was still slowly edging out of her forehead, and was now five inches long. "Am I going to get lessons too, Stellar?" Cathy asked Stellar as the alicorn mare lay on a towel-covered cushion, Rumble laying with her between her and Thunderlane.

"Sure, if you think I can teach you more than Azure can." Stellar replied with a soft smile.

Cathy looked down at Azure, who chuckled. "I think that it's pretty probable that she could." He told Cathy.

Cathy looked back at Stellar. "Well?" She asked.

Stellar giggled. "Okay, okay... I'll give you both some lessons, but I'm sure that Azure can teach you the basics, like Levitation and light creation." Stellar replied. "I can download some primers I have stored in my Tome for you to read through." She added. "Since they're meant for foals, I think they should be easy enough for you to understand." Stellar grinned.

"Great. The unicorn equivalent of 'See Sam Run'." Cathy said. That got a lot of snorts, laughter and some comments from the others.

"So, are you still planning to leave tomorrow, Stellar?" Cecelia asked Stellar as she sat beside Thunderlane, gently stroking the pegasus stallion's mane and head, to him blissing-out beside her.

"Well, I would like to be in America by the morning of the Sixteenth." Stellar replied. "If we can get there a little quicker, then I could leave it until the Fourteenth to leave. That depends if an idea I've been working on really works well. If so, then we can fly a lot further at a better speed without using a lot of mana, as normal flying would." She turned and looked at Rumble, who was snoozing soundly beside her. "Rumble here's the deciding factor, because of his youth. He's not going to be able to fly as long and as far as any adult pegasus can. So if my idea works, then we can fly as a group, and Rumble will hardly have to spend any mana at all staying with us." Then she nickered as a big hand gently rested on her head and began to stroke her as well.

Mark was sitting with Stellar on one side of him and Flitter on the other side, where he could stroke them both. Cecelia was sitting on the other side of Thunderlane, with CloudChaser sitting on the other side of her, both of them getting stroked as well. All five ponies were becoming blissed as the stroking made them feel incredibly relaxed. "You lot really like being stroked, don't you?" Mark commented.

"Mmm... it feels wonderful, Dad." Flitter said.

"Yeah, Daddy. I feel so relaxed...." CloudChaser added.

Cecelia giggled softly. "I never thought I'd be stroking my daughter's... hair/mane and she'd love it." She commented to Mark. "Remember how much Sharrah hated having her hair touched?"

"Yeah." Mark agreed, grinning. "She doesn't now." He added.

CloudChaser moaned softly as her head collapsed on the cushion and she stretched out, wings limp and legs splayed, almost purring if she could. Soon, all five adult ponies, even Stellar, were the same way as they succumbed to the gentle, caressing fingers. "Okay, now we know how to subdue ponies." Mark chuckled. "Don't fight them or shoot them. Just stroke them."

Cecelia giggled as she continued her gentle caressing of her daughter and nephew. "Yeah... and it's so relaxing to do so as well." She said back. "I can't feel stressed or uptight when I'm doing this. It just feels so nice to do."

Mark sighed. "I know what you mean." He replied, then chuckled. "Imagine ponies going into hospitals and helping stress victims, or maybe into psychiatric care facilities and helping out those with problems. I bet they'd become the greatest therapy personnel under the banner of psychiatric care."

Cecelia smiled down at CloudChaser, who had the biggest grin on her face she'd ever seen. Her ears were drooped, her tail was drooped, her wings were drooped, her eyes were shut and Cecelia could swear she was sighing contentedly. "If she rolls on her back and begs me for a belly-rub, I am going to tickle her until she squeals!" Cecelia said to Mark, who chuckled out loud.

"What if I do that?" Thunderlane said in a slightly-muffled voice.

"You flash your wedding tackle at me, Nephew, and I will geld you." Cecelia answered.

"Not if I can help it!" Stellar yelled in a muffled-if-angry tone... but without getting up or moving. "I have a use for those, and any damage to them will result in one very enraged alicorn."

Mark could barely help himself. He finally burst out into full-blown laughter, holding his belly as he couldn't help but break up over the comments. Finally, everyone there was laughing, except for one very hard-napping Rumble. When the laughter finally died off, Stellar sighed and moved to nuzzle Thunderlane. "You still my snuggle-stallion?" Stellar asked him softly.

"Always." Thunderlane answered, nuzzling Stellar back.

=======

As the afternoon wore on, Mark wandered into a shed, where Thunderlane's Landcruiser and Stellar's Crewman were being stored. A cover was over the Holden ute, but the bonnet on the 'Cruiser was up and Thunderlane was standing on the engine cover, his hind-legs on the bullbar as he looked the engine over.

Mark looked in from the side, as Thunderlane held the engine dipstick in one wing, checking the oil over. "So... will we be invited to the wedding?" He asked Thunderlane.

Thunderlane chuckled. "You've got more chance, Uncle, of being invited than Mum and Dad are, to be honest." He replied. "I mean, what they tried to pull while we were changing... I'm still sorry they dragged you into that, Mark." Thunderlane said.

"Eh. I've had to put up with Alicia since I married her sister." Mark said. "I know what a nutcase she can be at times. Frankly, if I didn't know she would have driven all the way up here to harrass you and us, I would have told her that you were helping out up here and that you were safe." He told Thunderlane. "I am still surprised you and Rusty turned out as good as you had been, to be honest. You two were the sanest blokes in the house." He said with a grin.

"Yeah. maybe we were being influenced by our pony selves long before we changed back, in that it kept us from going crazy." Thunderlane suggested. "Cathy swears Azure was like he was now, to a degree, before he changed. Maybe there was more of our personalities showing through than we considered."

"Quite possibly." Mark agreed. "So, you two and our girls are still going to follow Stellar off on 'some damn-fool idealistic crusade', then?" He asked.

"Yes, Uncle Owen." Thunderlane replied with a chuckle, referencing Star Wars just like Mark was.

Mark chuckled as well. "Well, your human memories are still in working order, I see."

"No, that hasn't changed." Thunderlane said as he slid the dipstick back into the engine.

"Damn, this engine's a beast." Mark said. "I see you cut down the shroud a bit and widened out both the front surround and the firewall to fit it in."

Thunderlane nodded. "Yep. And then rebuilt the wheelguards a little at the back for the twin turbos." He pointed out. "Everything fits... just."

"Yeah, just is right." Mark agreed. "This engine bay's tighter than an old Mark-VB Commodore with the three-oh-eight Vee-eight wedged in it." He looked closer. "Can you even change the spark... oh wait. It's a diesel, isn't it?"

"Yep. That's why it just fits." Thunderlane chuckled. "All mechanical fuel-injection and no spark plugs, so it's pretty low-maintenance."

Mark nodded. "Damn. You make me want to get one of the Seventy-eight-series 'Cruiser traybacks, just to get this done to it." He grinned at Thunderlane.

"Go ahead. I'll even give you the name and address of the shop that did it for me." Thunderlane told Mark.

"Oh, now you're really tempting me." Mark replied. "But maybe in a few years. I'll start hunting for the 'Cruiser ute right now, though. My old Hilux isn't going to last forever."

Thunderlane nodded. "Very few things in this world last forever." He agreed.

"Yeah." Mark sighed. "Stellar said she'd be able to get back here any time she wanted... Cee-cee and I want to make a request of you two." He said to Thunderlane.

Thunderlane nodded. "We'll try and make it so." He replied.

"We'd... we'd like it if the girls can make it back here for their birthdays every year." Mark requested.

Thunderlane nodded understandingly. "Well... you might have to throw all of us our birthday party, if that's what you want." Thunderlane responded. "After all, we all share the same birthday, Stellar included."

Mark smiled a soft smile. "I think we can manage that." He agreed. "But if you're inviting friends, call ahead, will you? Don't be like your mother and show up with a busload of protesters needing a place to stay while we're in the middle of getting ready for the Autumn sales."

Thunderlane chuckled as he winced. "Yeah, I remember that." He replied. "Don't worry. we'll make sure you get a message... and most likely, we'd bring our own supplies with us, in that event."

"That would help." Mark admitted. "Okay, then. We'll make sure to have enough supplies here for the five of you next year."

Thunderlane chuckled. "You might be needing some more, if the girls find stallions for themselves, or Stellar and I find ourselves with a nice little someone special before then."

Mark's eyes widened, then his eyebrows lowered. "You're really going to...?"

Thunderland shrugged. "We've been... practising." He admitted. "Even she's not sure what it takes to get an alicorn... that way, but She'll ask me sooner or later."

"So, it's the Mare that asks the Stallion, then?" Mark asked.

Thunderlane nodded. "As far as I know, yeah." He confirmed. "It's because the ratio of mares-to-stallions is seventy-thirty, as I told you before. So a mare knows that, if she's interested in a stallion, she has to ask first and fast before somepony else decides to get him first."

"Ah." Mark stated, nodding. "Makes sense. So... wedding rings?"

"Usually for unicorns, they go around the horn." Thunderlane informed Mark. "For others, they're more like bangles than rings, and just fit over the top of the fetlocks." He showed Mark where they'd sit.

"Right." Mark looked and understood. "Again, it makes sense."

Thunderlane nodded. "I just have to be patient." He told Mark. "Stellar will ask when the time is right. And I am not going to rush her, no matter what."

"Smart stallion." Mark agreed. "Just make sure she knows she has your heart, and if you're looking at other mares, it's not because you're going to ask for it back again, Nephew. A smart stallion knows where his heart lies."

Thunderlane nodded. "Oh yeah. Never going to do better than Stellar, that's for sure." He agreed.

=======

Cecelia was looking for her daughters. She wanted to talk to them before they left, and it seemed like a good time, especially when she found them in one of their bedrooms. "How's my girls?" She asked as she walked in, after knocking.

As she dropped to her knees, the Twins walked over and gave their mother a huge double-hug, snuggling with her. "We're doing okay, Mum." Flitter said. "We're just... organising things so we can leave."

Cecelia nodded as she kept one hand on each of them as they sat together. "I'd always thought we'd have this chat... with you getting married, to be honest." Cecelia said to them. "To see you two in white, marrying two of the handsomest blokes around here..." She sighed. "I'd never thought you'd be literally spreading your wings and flying away from us."

That got a round of giggles from the mares. "Yeah... it still feels a little wierd to us as well, Mum." CloudChaser agreed.

"But whatever comes, Mum, we are who we are now, and we wouldn't want it any other way." Flitter added. "But that doesn't mean you aren't still our mother. We'll never forget you... barring interference from Discord, that is."

Cecelia nodded. "Your father and I would like you to try and get back home again for your birthday every year." She told them both. "But, if you can't make it on that day, a visit once a year will suffice. We still want to keep in contact with you, in more ways than just e-mails and phonecalls, even if you can video-call us these days." She grinned at them. "Nothing beats a hug in person."

"Yeah." Both mares agreed as they demonstrated how right their mother was. "So, you and Dad gonna be all right?" CloudChaser asked.

"Your father's got some interesting plans for diversifying our holdings, making use of my new abilities." Cecelia revealed. "It should prove interesting, to say the least."

"Really? Are you really thinking of making a business out of Geomancy?" Flitter asked.

"Possibly. That, and a few other ideas." Cecelia confirmed, a grin on her face.

"Ut-oh..." Flitter said, as CloudChaser giggled. "When Dad starts getting ideas..."

"Hush." Cecelia said, but with a wide grin. "Your father ran his ideas before Stellar earlier, and she didn't disapprove of any of them... if we do things the proper way, that is." Cecelia told her daughters.

"I guess that's one thing." Flitter replied. "If Stellar doesn't mind them, I guess they could be okay."

"Yeah. She'd veto anything she thought was off-center or underhanded in an instant." CloudChaser agreed. "Not that Daddy would do something like that. But sometimes he gets lost in the details."

"I have to agree there." Cecelia said to them. "But our family has successfully run this station for nearly three generations now. I guess we have to be doing something right." Both mares nodded in agreement. "So, any idea what you're actually going to be doing with Stellar?" Cecelia asked.

The mares looked at one another, then looked at their mother. "Um... apart from getting in contact with other ponies... I don't think even Stellar knows for sure what's going to happen." Flitter answered.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like she can see the future or anything like that." CloudChaser said. "It's not like she's Celestia."

"There's that name again." Cecelia asked. "Who is Celestia?"

"Well, she was the oldest and most powerful of the Alicorns, one of the rulers of Equestria, before Discord trapped her and, we presume, sent her here." Flitter explained.

"Yeah! You saw what happened in the last episode of My Little Pony, Season Five." Cloudchaser reminded them. "Apparently, according to Stellar, that episode is really accurate."

"Hmmm..." Cecelia thought about it. "Maybe it's time to watch it again." She suggested.

"Okay!" The mares got to their hoofs and pressed themselves against Cecelia, as she wrapped her arms around their strong necks and hugged them both. Then she got up as well, and they headed out to the lounge room...

= = = = =

They found Stellar was sitting to one side with Rumble, Azure and a slowly changing Cathy. Her horn was now eight inches long and looked fully-formed, the fur on her legs above her knees now and barely moving. Her mane was right down the back of her neck, and there was peach-colored fur creeping out from under her mane as well.

Stellar was talking to Azure and Cathy as she worked with a small book, about the size of a paperback book, but looking a little more a fancy diary, with solid covers and a lock-clasp. The Twins and Cecelia could see words being inscribed on the pages as it hovered over Stellar's much-larger tome, the letters Cecelia could see being both Equish and Equussese characters, and she could read them. Azure nodded at that moment and his horn lit up, and a Pyrex bowl appeared before him in the air, wrapped in his magic, to Cathy applauding.

The mares looked at each other, then at Cecelia, who smiled softly. They sat down together, mother between mares, and turned the entertainment system on to watch the final episode again.

=======

Mark and Thunderlane were walking back from the equipment shed, when Mark's phone beeped at him. He pulled it out and looked at it, and saw a glaring face looking at him through a camera he knew was on the outer gate. He sighed. "Hello, Alicia." He said, making Thunderlane start with shock.

"Where are they? I know they're here." She said, her voice level even if her tone was menacing.

"Curtis and Rusty are not here, Alicia." Mark replied. "But I know you're not going to take that as a positive affirmation, and you'll want to check for yourself." He added as Alicia shut her mouth, a long, screaming diatribe averted. Mark activated the outer gate's lock, and it slid open. "See you in half-an-hour." Mark added as Alicia drove through.

"Hey, how come you didn't know we were coming if you have security like that?" Thunderlane asked.

"Who said I didn't?" Mark answered. "But I knew it wasn't anyone we didn't know, because you opened the gate using the keypad. So it had to be the Twins." He explained.

"Ah, right." Thunderlane nodded. Then he groaned. "Bloody Alicia." He said. "Would you like a new statue for your growing garden? I'm sure Stellar could turn Alicia to stone if she gets too irritating." He suggested.

Mark laughed as they jogged and trotted for the house. "That sounds very tempting, but no. However, if Cecelia does it, then what can they say? A pony didn't do it." He said with a smirk.

Thunderlane joined in laughing as they headed up onto the verandah. "At least the 'Cruiser's hidden away in that little garage section." He said as they headed in. "Bet you twenty that everyone will just want to hide from her." Thunderlane dared Mark.

"You're on." Mark replied as he held the door open for Thunderlane.

Everyone looked up as Mark and Thunderlane came in. "Red alert, people and ponies! Alicia's here, and she sounds like she's on the warpath."

"FUCK!" came from most of those there.

Azure looked about, as Cathy looked concerned. "Is... this something to be concerned about?" Cathy asked.

Cecelia sighed. "Alicia is my younger sister. She is also somewhat certifiably crazy. She's come here looking for her sons, but doesn't know they've been pony-fied. So, are we going to do hide-and-freak, or just confront her with the truth?" Cecelia asked.

"Hide And Freak." Came the reply from the five ponies who knew Alicia.

Mark chuckled. "Okay, Thunder." He said, and pulled out a twenty-dollar note, handing it to the black stallion.

"I know my herd." He said back to Mark, as he slid the money away in his mane.

"So... where are we gonna hide?" Rumble asked.

"Barn." Flitter and CloudChaser answered. "We have a hidey-hole in there. Plus with the other horses below us, they won't smell us out, either."

"Good thinking." Cecelia agreed.

"Me too?" Cathy asked.

"Oh yeah." Stellar answered. "You can't possibly pass for human any longer, Cathy."

Cathy nodded and everybody got up, Stellar's tome levitating up, along with the little book. "I'll bring some supplies out as well, so you have something to munch on while we're waiting." Mark said as they started heading out.

"Thanks, Mark." Thunderlane replied as they all headed for the big barn, a very traditionally-shaped red building with stables underneath and a hayloft up above. It looked... a little out-of-place on an Australia cattle station, but Cecelia had wanted one when they started working the station, and the old stables needed replacing... so she got what she wanted. "A little work, and this would look like it's right out of Sweet Apple Acres." Thunderlane commented.

That got a round of chuckles and giggles as they headed inside. The pegasi flew up to the hayloft area, and Azure showed his growing talent by lifting Cathy up and then lifting himself up into the loft. Stellar then followed after making sure that Azure and Cathy were safe. The Twins led the group over to one corner of the loft, which was filled with bales of hay, and they triggered a switch with a hoof. Some of the bales seemed to come loose, and they slid out a door that showed a comfortable internal space. "Everypony inside!" Flitter said with a grin, and they all walked in. As they sat down and made themselves comfortable, CloudChaser started the small air conditioner as Flitter turned on the lights. There were cushions on the floor and two bunk beds at the back, a medium-sized television and DVD player as well as stacks of DVDs. Everyone found a comfortable spot, even Cathy, as Mark said "Give me a bit. I'll be back."

The Twins nodded as the others looked about. "So, how are we going to stay quiet in here? Our hoofs make a bloody loud clomp every time we move about." Azure asked.

"That's the subject of your next lesson, Azure. A noise-cancelling spell." Stellar told the unicorn stallion. "Once the door is sealed, we'll hit it with a secure spell, then the entire room with a noise-cancelling spell. That way we can do whatever we want to without being heard... well, except for maybe watching a Motorhead or Apocalyptica concert at full volume." She said, chuckling.

"You have eclectic musical tastes, Beloved." Thunderlane commented as he stretched out on a long cushion.

"I enjoy all genres of music... even a couple of rap-type songs. I guess Gangsta Rap is the only one I have never followed as a whole, to be honest." Stellar revealed. "I even enjoy Disturbed and some other death-metal bands. But my absolute favorites are the Piano Guys."

The Twins brightened visibly. "Oh yeah! We love them, too!" CloudChaser agreed.

"Yeah. It's what started us learning musical instruments." Flitter added. "I can play the cello passingly well, and CloudChaser can play piano pretty well, too."

Stellar laughed. "I bugged my parents for a piano from the day I could learn to play." She told them. "I learned how to play, then learned as many of Ron Schmidt's tunes and songs as I could. I love 'Waterfall' the most, though, although 'Falling in Love' is a very close second."

The Twins nodded. "Maybe we can play something together before we leave." Flitter suggested.

"I'd love to see if I can still play, to be honest." Stellar admitted.

"We'll do that later." Thunderlane agreed, as they heard Mark coming back in. Stellar and Azure trotted out, and they looked down at Mark, who had some bags of alfalfa pellets and boxes of other pony-friendly foods with him. "Here you go." He said, and while Stellar levitated the bags up, Azure brought the boxes up.

"Thanks, Mark." Stellar said, as he gave her a wave, then retreated. They moved the supplies into the room, placing them to one side, then Stellar sealed the door. She taught the noise-cancellation spell to Azure, and he cast it all around the room, even to the ceiling and the floor. "Hmm... you seem to have got it right." Stellar told a grinning Azure. "Congrats." She added.

"Thanks!" Azure's entire demeanour was one of satisfaction.

They all started to relax while, out in front of the house, Mark was waiting. Cecelia was finishing checking to make sure no trace of the ponies' existence would be visible to a predatory and suspicious Alicia, especially bags that weren't theirs. Fortunately, most of the luggage had been easily returned to the Landcruiser that was locked up in the enclosed garage within the machinery shed. All that was left belonged to the Twins, and was easily concealed in their bedrooms. As she joined Mark on the verandah, Cecelia looked worried. "I never like it when she comes here." She told Mark. "She always makes out like she runs this place."

"She tries that this time, and I will throw her out, my sister-in-law or not." Mark declared.

"Remind me to give you some extra-special snuggles once she's gone." Cecelia replied, smiling, as the dust cloud of Alicia's vehicle came closer.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Mark replied as Alicia went over the last cattle-grid.

Five minutes later, she pulled up in a modern Mercedes ML500 SUV. She barely had time to shut the vehicle down before she was out the door and looking around. Her husband, Alex, was more leisurely about alighting, the only really crazy thing he'd done in his life was marrying Alicia. He waved to Mark and Cecelia as Alicia started poking around. "Okay, where are they?" She asked Cecelia, getting up into her face. "If you tell me now, we can leave and let you get back to your peaceful, country lifestyle."

Mark shrugged as Cecelia answered. "We told you, repeatedly. They are not here. You can see for yourself, but if you pull things down on you like last time, we might not spring for the Flying Doctor to come and pick you up this time." Cecelia warned her sister.

Alicia snorted. "Fine." She replied, and stormed inside.

As Cee-cee followed her sister, Mark sat down with Alex and asked "Why is she so uptight this time?"

Alex shrugged. "Meh. She's got a bee in her bonnet that the government is doing wierd experiments with people, turning them into animals." Alex answered. "She's got a little hideout holiday planned, and she wants the boys with her." He explained.

Mark chuckled. "Business as usual, then."

"Yeah, pretty much." Alex replied as Mark handed him a cold beer. "I almost decided to stay home this time, but thought 'what the hell', and came for the drive."

Then from inside they heard "I want to check out that little cubby-house the Twins have in the barn, as well."

'Shit.' Mark thought to himself. He got out his phone and texted quickly...

= = = = =

Thunderlane was relaxing, when his phone went off. He picked it up and read the text. "Shit." He said, as everyone looked up. "Alicia knows about the hidey-hole and she wants to look it over." He told them.

"Great! Where are we going to hide, then?" Azure asked.

They all started worrying, when Stellar gave a chuckle. "I know where we can hide." She said, looking at them all.

"Where?" They all asked, looking back at her.

Stellar grinned. "Right out in the open." She told them.

=======

Alicia was going through the house like a forensic team looking for clues in a murder. Cecelia was there making sure she didn't take anything apart while she did so, and was getting close to booting her out for good.

Mark got a message from the ponies, telling him to give them five minutes, then the coast would be clear. He frowned, but sent 'O.K.' back, as Alex and he relaxed.

Five minutes and two beers later, Alex looked at Mark after telling him all the ways Alicia had been going out of what little mind she had left, and asked "Anything new for you out here?"

"Yeah." Mark said. "The girls might be going overseas to study, and we have a new swimming pool. I just have to get some gates made up for the enclosure."

"Really?" Alex asked. "A new pool?"

Mark almost chuckled to himself. It showed how much interest Alex really had in things outside his own family. "Yeah. We did a bit of work on that old dam, and it's now quite a big swimming pool. Care to go see?"

"Sure." Alex replied, and they both got up. "I see you got a good bit of rain here, by the level of the grass."

"Yeah, but not nearly as much as we could have used." Mark admitted.

Alex chuckled. "I think that's universal out here, isn't it?" Mark also chuckled at that, as they rounded the house and headed across the House paddock. 'Say, were those gums there last time?" He asked.

"Yeah, but they were looking pretty dry last time. They've filled out a lot more." Mark explained.

"Ah. They're looking healthy now... and say, what do we have here?" He asked, as he saw seven little ponies clustered in groups under the shade of the trees. "Aren't they Fallabellas?" Alex asked.

"Yee-eah." Mark answered, surprised where seven real-world ponies had come from, instead of the technicolor wonders from another... world. 'Nah, they couldn't be...' He thought to himself.

Alex smiled. "They're cute." He said. "You got... lessee... two stallions, four mares and a little one?"

"Yeah. The young one's a colt, too." Mark confirmed, as he realised who these ponies actually were...

= = = = =

"Am I doing this right?" Cathy asked as she put her head down near Azure's and nibbled on the grass. "Ah wow! This tastes even better this way than as a salad."

"I know! Isn't that weird?" Flitter said as she grazed beside CloudChaser, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Thunderlane chuckled as he sat in the shade beside a prone Stellar, the big mare keeping Rumble next to her, as if she was his mother. "Now I know what you meant by 'hiding in plain sight', Beloved. This is brilliant." He told Stellar as they all stood or sat around, looking like any regular Fallabella ponies from Earth.

"Well, a little illusion magic makes for great disguises." Stellar replied as she nuzzled Rumble, who whinnied at her lovingly.

Azure chuckled as he stood by Cathy, who was getting used to walking on four legs. "You make a magnificent mare, Cathy." He said.

"Thanks, Azure." She replied with a soft voice. "So, this is what I'll be like after I fully change?" She asked.

"Well... somewhat, yes." He replied. "Of course, as you have seen, we are not this... hairy, and you'll have your horn as well for doing magic, but otherwise it is rather close." He agreed.

"Cavey! Someone's coming!" CloudChaser said, as Mark and Alex moved around the house to the House paddock.

"Remember, talk only in that language I taught you." Stellar said at the last, then went totally 'horsey'.

= = = = =

Mark grinned as the pair of mares that could only be the Twins whinnied and trotted over to him, nuzzling his hips and rubbing against him. He gently reached down and scratched behind their ears.

"These two seem very friendly." Alex commented as he stroked Flitter's mane.

"They're all hand-raised." Mark explained, making things up as he went along.

"Ah." He said as he looked at the little colt. "Three groups by the looks of things?"

"Yes, and three different lots, too." Mark told Alex. "But be careful of the big mare over there. She doesn't like strangers getting close to her colt."

Alex nodded. "I can imagine. The stallion there looks pretty protective of her, too."

"Yeah. She seems to tolerate him around his colt, too... maybe because she knows she can boss him about if he tries anything untoward." Mark commented.

"Yeah, she's a big one all right. Finer features, too. Maybe she's got some Connemara in her." Alex suggested.

Mark was impressed. "I didn't realise you knew so much about ponies." He said to Alex.

Alex chuckled. "With Alicia so uptight about all these wierd ponies appearing everywhere, I decided to read up on them so that if she went nutzoid, I could point out regular ponies from the strange ones before she made some real mistakes."

"Yeah, good idea." Mark agreed as they continued to walk along, the two little mares following along with them.

"They do like being around people." Alex commented.

Mark chuckled. "Cecelia loves them." He admitted. "They follow her around everywhere when she's out walking or working. With the girls finally leaving the nest, so to speak, they're going to be good for her to look after."

Alex chuckled as they approached the big stone wall. "Wow, this is fancy." He said. "Local stone?"

Mark nodded. "Yep. The quarry's not too far from here, even if it only works part-time."

The mares stopped as they reached the wall and trotted back to the others, as Mark and Alex walked along the wall to the entrance. As Alex looked in, he shook his head. "This thing's huge!" He told Mark.

"Well, we got rid of that defunct dam, and with the massive hole, Cecelia said she wanted something different." Mark explained. "So I let her have her head, and this is what she came up with."

"It must have cost a fortune." Alex stated as he looked down into the crystal-clear water.

"Not as much as we thought it might." Mark informed Alex as they walked along the side of the deep pool. "Once we got rid of the muck, the river clay fill we took out went to someone else, and they paid well for it. So we really didn't have that much costs in the end."

Alex nodded. "Looks good. You used it yet?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, B-I-L. Went for a swim yesterday, and we nearly didn't want to get out again." Mark grinned.

"I can totally see that." Alex agreed as they walked back out. "I wonder if Alicia's finished yet?"

"I hope so." Mark answered. "Cecelia's this close to throwing her out on her ear and making her walk to Katherine if she keeps this up."

"Don't blame her." Alex agreed.

"Why do you put up with her?" Mark asked.

"Because when Alicia is in her right mind... she is every bit as gentle and loving as Cecelia is, Mate." Alex explained. "If she'd just stay on her meds, this type of thing wouldn't happen." He sighed. "But she keeps reading those fringe group magazines that tell her she needs 'natural therapies' to get rid of the 'nasty chemicals' the drug companies put in their pills, and this is the result. I have to almost make her take the pills now... And she is this close to going back into Belmont again."

Mark nodded. He remembered helping Alex take Alicia into the Belmont Psychiatric Hospital in Brisbane two years ago, when she was totally out-of-control. It hadn't been pretty. "But you're not going to leave her, are you?"

"Lord knows I am sorely tempted, Mate. Sorely tempted." Alex growled. Then he sighed and hung his head. "But no. If I don't help her... who will? You guys don't have one-tenth the facilities anywhere near you out here that Brisbane has for her... and I couldn't just dump her on you and take off. That just would not be right."

Mark nodded. "You know we'll help anyway we can." He told Alex.

"Thanks, Mate, really." Alex said back. "So... you really gonna tell me what happened to Curtis and Rusty?" He asked.

"Can't." Mark reluctantly said. "I promised I wouldn't tell you or Alicia before they tell me I can. That goes double for Cecelia. All I can tell you is that they are with the Twins... and Curtis might have someone special now. You might get to attend a wedding in a year or two's time if things work out."

"Really? Curtis has a steady?" Alex asked, Mark nodded. "Well, miracles shall never cease." He chuckled, grinning. "So, they're overseas, then?"

Mark nodded. "Well, they should be leaving either tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on which flight they're taking." Mark informed Alex. "And I have no idea what airport they're leaving from, so they might already be in Sydney or even Melbourne instead of Brisbane, depending on what their plans are."

Alex nodded. "Well, hopefully I'll get a nice postcard or letter from them soon. I don't blame them for flying the coop with Alicia as she is. I just wish I'd seen them one more time."

Mark chuckled. "I think you're the only one they'd write to, once they get settled, Alex." He handed Alex a mobile phone. "Keep this hidden. Curtis said if he calls you, it'll be on this." He told Alex.

Alex nodded and slid the small phone away in one of his cargo pants' pockets "Thanks for that, mate. It'll be good to hear from him."

Mark nodded. "Yeah, I know. But the time had to come, and it has. At least there's no real animosity between you and the boys."

Alex sighed, but nodded. "Yep. And at least they're willing to stay in touch. It could have been a lot... hey!" Alex said, as the bigger black stallion nearly knocked him off his feet, rubbing against him, as the colt bounced on its front legs at him, the big mare standing close, but not interfering. "Hey you two!" Alex laughed, as he went down and hugged the colt gently. "Well! This is unexpected."

"I guess they felt your sadness." Mark suggested.

Alex nodded as he hugged the little colt, then turned and hugged the big stallion. They nickered softly and nuzzled him almost affectionately. "These guys would make great therapy animals." Alex said, as he saw Mark hugging the two mares from before, the other stallion and mare standing by the big mare.

"Yeah, I know." Mark agreed. "It's hard to stay sad around them. I think it's one reason we took them in. Cecelia really loves being with them." He told Alex.

Alex nodded as he hugged the pair, then got to his feet. He approached the big mare, hand out, palm down, and let her sniff him. Then he gently put his hand on her neck and stroked her until he was stroking her mane. "Yeah, this mare is really a beautiful one, more refined and very regal." He grinned at Mark as he gently scritched her ears. She softly whickered at him and butted him gently. Alex laughed and smiled as she moved to the colt and put her neck over his. "Yeah. Be proud of your little colt, Big Lady. He's a fine lad." Alex said, before he walked over to Mark and they headed back to the house.

= = = = =

Thunderlane watched his father walk away, and he shivered. "You okay, Beloved?" Stellar asked him in a whisper.

"I was so close to telling him, Love." Thunderlane replied, as Rumble came up to them and pressed himself against his older brother. "I knew he always did love us both, but hearing it like that... I wish I'd had more time to talk to him about it."

Stellar nodded as the others gathered around. "Maybe you will, in the future. If we stay here, we can always come back and see him again."

Thunderlane nodded his head. Rumble was sniffling. "I'm gonna miss him, Bro." He said softly.

"So am I, Little Dude. So am I."

The others gathered around the pair of brothers and stood close to them, supporting them with their presence and their gentle touches.

=======

Cecelia stood outside the hidey-hole in the barn as Alicia almost ransacked it. After making her put everything back again as it was, she looked at her sister. "Are you satisfied now they aren't here?"

Alicia looked as if she was about to burst a blood vessel, but then she sneezed and said "I'm getting out of here." And she headed for the stairs, Cecelia close behind her.

Once they were outside, Alicia then turned on her sister and asked "If they aren't here, then where are they?" She asked Cecelia.

"Considering what you've put them and us through, I hardly feel obliged to tell you, Sis." Cecelia pointed out.

"Don't give me your sanctimonious claptrap, Cecelia." Alicia said back in an angry tone. "They are MY sons. They will do as I tell them to."

"They are twenty-five years old, Alicia. They don't have to do a damned thing you tell them to anymore."

Alicia growled. "They WILL do what I tell them to." She said. "You'll understand one day, when your precious Twins turn on you, because you didn't keep them in their place..."

Then Cecelia turned and slapped Alicia right across her face, the force of the blow sending her to the ground. "Get out." Was all Cecelia said to her sister, but the intent in her voice was enough to scare Alicia more than any time in her life previously. Alicia looked shocked, crawled away for a little bit, then headed for the SUV at a sprint. She jumped in and started it, then raced off. Cecelia returned to the front verandah and watched her leave.

"Hey! Where's she going?" Came Alex's voice from behind him.

Cecelia turned to see Mark and Alex coming out of the house. "I don't care. The further away, the better." Cecelia told him.

Alex face-palmed. "You hit her, didn't you?" He asked, knowing what probably happened.

"I gave her a good slap, yes. And she deserved every erg of force I put behind it, too." Cecelia confirmed.

Alex sighed. "I knew she'd go too far this time." He said. "But maybe this time it might do her some good, coming from you." He watched the cloud of dust retreat into the distance. "Can I get a ride back to Katherine from you, Mate?"

Mark chuckled. "I think we can even go as far as Darwin, Mate." Mark replied.

"Cool. Well, it's a good thing I brought my bags out then, eh?" Alex grinned, and the three of them broke up into laughter.

=======

The ponies watched as Mark drove off in his own ute, the car trailer behind it, as he headed out to take Alex to Darwin and the trailer back. Once they were gone, Stellar relaxed the illusion spell, and the illusions dropped away into the earth, revealing their true selves again... all except Cathy, who still stood there as a Fallabella pony. "Uh, what's going on?" She asked Stellar.

"Well, because you weren't through changing yet, I had to use a different spell on you, Cathy." Stellar explained. "Instead of a regular illusion, I used one called 'Perfect Disguise' to give you a total change. The thing is, only you can release it." Stellar told Cathy. "Just think of being yourself, and you'll change back. Don't think of being Human, or a pony, just leave the visualisation out and think of becoming yourself again." She counselled Cathy.

Cathy nodded and relaxed, thinking of being... 'herself'. As she did, the illusion shimmered and slowly fell away... to reveal a pony. Not someone in the final stages of becoming one, but a fully-changed pony.

Everypony there save for Stellar gasped, then the Twins went "Wow..."

Azure moved up to Cathy and looked her over. "You're... whole, Love."

"Yeah..." Cathy replied. She looked her hoofs over, they were the same peach color as her coat was. Her eyes were huge, like the others, and her mane was fluffy and bouyant. And after three days of being in-the-middle... she felt complete and it felt fantastic. "I'm me!" She shouted happily, and danced around everypony there, Rumble and the twins joining in. Then she trotted to Azure and nuzzled him lovingly... "Hello, Azure Love. I am..." Then she stopped and looked at Stellar. "You said... you know who I am?" She asked.

"You don't, yet?" Stellar asked back, surprised.

"I'm... not sure." Cathy replied, feeling... ambiguous. "It's like... I can feel I should remember... but I can't."

Stellar nodded as she moved close. "Apparently that happens sometimes. But I think I can jump-start your memories... Peach Delight." Stellar whispered in Cathy's ear.

Cathy's jaw dropped as her cutie-mark, eyes and horn lit up brilliantly...

=======

"Mocha!" Peach yelled as she ran through the destroyed streets of Canterlot, looking for her younger brother, who'd ran off in the confusion. It had been nearly ten days of hiding for the pair after Canterlot fell. Her father, Frothy Brew, had stayed to help with the defenses... what little could be done, while she and Mocha had gotten separated from their mother and Flapjack, the crowd carrying the pair away from their kin. They'd managed to hide for a long time, edging closer to the Million Stairs' entrance, when she'd heard a squeal of a mare in distress. She saw Discord towering over the ruins, a mare in his hand, and he was whispering to her before she vanished in a blaze of white light.

She moved low and slow as she tried to stay out of sight, but it wasn't to be. His clawed griffon hand reached down and grabbed Peach with a predatory grin on his face as he brought her up to look at her. "Well, aren't we a pretty peach?" He said mockingly. "I know just where to send you..."

"Mister Discord, please?" Peach asked haltingly. "Can I just ask one thing before you do whatever it is you're going to do?"

Discord raised an eyebrow, but then he smiled a much nicer smile. "Why not? Even criminals get a final wish." He replied.

"Have you seen my little brother?" Peach asked, describing him.

Discord listened, then snapped his other fingers. "Yes. I found him barely an hour ago. He has already preceeded you to your new home. But you won't likely see him there for a while. He is in quite the different zone from where you might end up."

"Oh." Peach's face fell. "But... he is there, with everypony else?"

Discord nodded. "Yes. Now, I have indulged you by answering two questions, so do not struggle, or I shall send you half a world away instead."

Peach nodded and just hung there, limply.

"Excellent." Discord said, then started chanting "For five score, divided by four..."

=======

The glow from Peach's eyes, horn and cutie-mark faded, but she kept remembering more, and more, and more...

Azure looked worried. "Is she all right?" He asked Stellar.

"I'm not entirely sure..." Stellar replied, as she scanned Peach. "It seems... she has an associative memory, and a strong one." Stellar frowned. "Well... if I had to call this anything, I'd say the proper term would be a 'Cascading Memory Reboot'." She stated. Stellar looked at Azure. "Go to her, Azure. Distract her. Bring her back to you." Stellar told him.

Azure nodded and hugged Peach to him, nuzzling her and calling her name. When that failed to rouse her, he turned her head and kissed her full-on.

Peach, who'd been becoming more and more lost in her memories, took a deep breath through her nose and returned to her present to find Azure kissing her deeply. She sighed through her nose and kissed him back, her forelegs wrapping around him and holding him to her.

Stellar, who'd watched this closely, smiled and nodded. 'A very satisfactory ending', She thought to herself.

Author's Note

Dun-dun, dunnnnnn! Alicia makes her big entrance, and we find out who Cathy is (If you hadn't worked it out already!)

Just like to say that Peach Delight, Frothy Brew, Flapjack and Mocha are all copyright to Goldfur, and are used with hir kind permission.

Jump to top

15 - Confrontation/Finding Old Friends

The makeshift McHays eatery on Deck Two was starting up for the morning, Flapjack in the middle of getting the day-shift into gear as they anticipated a horde of hungry ponies wanting breakfast. The night-shift, who had been mostly preparing for the day-shift's inaugural run, had moved out into the restaurant area and were peparing to leave, when the lights in the little eatery turned red and a klaxon sounded. Stellar then burst through the back doorway as the ponies scrambled to complete their pre-assigned tasks.

"CODE THREE, PONIES! COME ON, GET THE LEAD OUT! CODE THREE!" She yelled out at them, with her covered in her red-and-gold battle armor. A stop-watch floated in her magic as she watched them, moving deftly aside as they raced around her, dumping what little food was on the grills and in the fryers out into serving bins and locking down the cooking surfaces under armored covers, then securing all cupboards and making sure the eatery was empty. Armored shutters came down over the counter area, as well as over both sides of the windows in the front of the restaurant area. As all the teams finished their assignments and called out, Stellar stopped the watch and looked at the time. "Very good, ponies! Thirty-five seconds." She looked at Flapjack, who was wearing a helmet now, like other ponies were. "Good job, Team Leader." She said. "But try and get those last five seconds off."

Flapjack nodded, then saluted Stellar. "Aye, Commander!" He replied.

"AYE, COMMANDER!" They all yelled and saluted.

Stellar returned their salute and nodded. "Stand down. You may resume your normal routine." She told them, before turning and heading out of the eatery.

"You heard her, ponies! We have customers to get ready for! So let's hustle!” Flapjack said, and they all started returning to cooking-mode.

Stellar chuckled as she retracted her armor. The crew in Flapjack’s more-than-makeshift McHays eatery had managed to beat the best time Coriander’s crews had set so far by fifteen full seconds. The young ponies were going to be keeping the older ones on their hoof-tips, that was for certain. While the defenses of the Stellar Wind were designed not to let anything get through to her passengers, there was still a slight chance she could be buffeted by a sudden impact, or bad weather. So a quick shutdown and securing of the more dangerous facilities on the ship was a procedure that was entirely necessary, and needed to be practised. While fires were hardly something the normal structure of the cloudship needed to worry about, in the kitchens, it was still a very real hazard. Fire extinguishers were all through them, in prominent places, and a sprinkler system was also in place, save for where a fat fire could occur. Fire blankets and both foam and powder extinguishers were things Stellar had made absolutely sure were part of her shopping list.

They were in American airspace now, completely, and Stellar knew whatever forces were trying to hide the existence of ponies and maybe even incarcerate them were watching them. The cloudship was the biggest news event at the moment, overshadowing a lot of others in the states they would be crossing. Even now, she saw the first of many news helicopters hovering beside them, cameras rolling as they filmed them and did stories from the air, Live, which made it harder for the Powers-That-Be to censor the stories. Stellar shuddered for a brief second. Her danger senses told her that there would be a reckoning, and sooner rather than later. Some idiot would think they were a threat, and they would take action. Maybe not in the military, but they weren’t the only ones who had aerial firepower. And all it’d take is one nutcase with a helicopter and some serious firepower, like an old Huey gunship, which there were some of still in civilian hands, and it could all go very badly. The cloudship’s defenses were all magic and pretty much passive, but if she’d configured them properly, the first group to actually attack them was in for a really big surprise.

But the worst threat to her plans was sitting right off the starboard side of the cloudship. She was careful to keep the spell which made her invisible to cameras and the ones that made her be ignored by humans active at all times, now. The last thing she wanted was for certain individuals to learn she, an alicorn, was here. Almost all the humans who had been on-board she’d placed a geas on them, like the spells she had now, that would make sure they ‘overlooked’ reporting about her... or if they said anything, it would be as her capacity as ‘Commander Sparkle’, and as a pegasus, not an alicorn. Stellar’s family weren’t the only Sparkles in Equestria, just the most prominent branch of the family.

After doing the drills, Stellar waited her turn in McHays for breakfast for herself and Thunderlane, seeing Rumble and his squad also waiting their turn. She headed back to their suite and contemplated her first shift as a commander on the bridge...

=======

Captain Salient Weather was perusing their course for the day. Always heading west, he’d had to order the massive cloudship steered around several restricted zones, and at that moment, they were running forward at only twenty knots, as they’d skirted around Philadelphia and several other areas. They were now almost over Harrisburg, running just outside the airport’s control zone there. The magic display showing the airspace around them was watching as it tracked several helicopters that were formating with them, as well as lots of light aircraft who were coming in for a good look. He commiserated with the traffic controllers as the cloudship seemed to attract helicopters the way roadkill attracted flies, but all he could do was follow their directions and stay at two thousand feet. It seemed that all the controllers so far had agreed it was a ‘safe’ altitude for the airship; to move along at twenty knots meant that there was plenty of time to avoid any problems and for the controllers to admonish any aircraft that got too close to them, save for news helicopters.

Flitter and Cloudchaser, as Lieutenants of the Stellar Wind’s new Sky Guard, kept an eye on the squads as they went about their drills and normal duties. Occasionally, a squad had to move to one of the helicopters and gesture to them to move away, back to the outside of the stated envelope around the cloudship. Most of them obeyed without question, the odd ones that hadn’t obeyed originally found that pegasi could do harmless but nasty things to them, like wrapping them inside a small cloudbank that even defied the shifting power of their rotor’s downblast. After this had been used three times, no other helicopters had refused orders to move out.

Things were going peacefully, but Captain Weather still had their defenses on Code One Alert, which would protect the Stellar Wind quite well, even if it wasn’t her full capacity. He’d thought about telling the helicopters to break off and move out further so he could move to Code Two, but he resisted for the moment. The news footage of cameras showing waving, happy Ponies and foals was Public-Relations-gold, and they needed all the good press they could get at that time.

He looked around at the bridge officers. He had four hours on the bridge, then he'd transfer command to Commander Sparkle. He had five alternate bridge officers, Commander Sparkle included. At this time, he was swapping out with them every four hours, giving them all some command experience before he switched to full eight-hour shifts. The rest of the crew were also getting experience by swapping around from one shift to another at random, getting them used to working with different crew members. It had worked before, and it should work now. Given time, he should have nearly six full shifts ready to take over in regular order within two weeks, and that made him feel... confident that the Stellar Wind would be in the best of hands.

=======

At about the same time, certain forces within the American Intelligence Community were watching the massive airship as she cruised over the skies of America. One person in particular, who'd set themselves up to run all of them from behind the scenes, was frowning at the golden creation, as well as the images of Ponies coming from news helicopters that circled the airship. Keeping the Press away from the giant airship had proved impossible and the ship was too massive to even think of hiding from the public.

One of the individual's contacts within the American Intelligence and Security Community looked at his Boss as he sat there, contemplating. "Shall we do something, Sir?" He asked.

"Yes." The individual said. "Order the helicopters away. I don't care what you have to do to make them leave, but do so without alerting the airship's personnel." He said.

"Very well, Sir." The underling replied. "And then?"

The individual smiled. "I understand the CIA's drones could use some aerial target practise..."

=======

When the news helicopters left one-by-one, Captain Weather wasn't too concerned. Unlike the Stellar Wind, they needed to refuel, and often. But when they failed to return after a time, that made him suspicious. He checked the skies around them using their 'radar', and found the skies were almost deserted of the usual light aircraft. "Okay... that is not normal." He said to himself.

Stellar walked onto the bridge five minutes later in her new duty uniform. After getting some sewing and material supplies, some of the more-talented mares had managed to reproduce the uniforms used by the Royal Equestrian Airship Service, and they were equipping every member of the crew that had time to sit for a fitting. Stellar had made it a point to sit for hers, to set a good example. She saw Captain Weather was seated at his station, but she also noticed he looked concerned. "Captain Weather." Stellar said as she faced him and saluted.

Salient Weather looked up, smiled at Stellar, then saluted back. "Commander Sparkle." He replied. "Very sharp-looking uniform, Commander." He added with a grin.

"Thank you, Captain." Stellar said back. "Is something up?" She asked.

Captain Weather nodded. "But first, relieve me." He reminded her.

Stellar nodded. "I am here to relieve you, Captain." She said.

"I acknowledge you, Commander. I hand the ship over to you." He said, standing and the pair saluted. "I am relieved." He added after he stepped aside and Stellar took his place. He then pointed out certain things to her. "The airspace around us is totally clear, and has been for nearly thirty minutes." He told Stellar. "The news service helicopters have not returned yet, either."

Stellar frowned at this. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked Salient.

"Yes, and it stinks." He agreed. "The only reason to keep all aircraft away from us is if they could be in the line of fire."

"I agree." Stellar said. "Tactical, bring us up to Code Two Alert." Stellar ordered.

"Code Two Alert, aye Ma'am." The mare at Tactical replied as she shifted the Alert lever on the console one notch higher. At both ends of the ship, the mana crystals glowed brighter, and two large magic arrays appeared within the envelope, one at each end. The ship's skin glowed a little brighter as well.

Picking up the mike for the UHF system, Stellar said "All Pegasi teams, this is Commander Sparkle. Keep watch out for anything unusual, especially aircraft approaching directly at the Stellar Wind with possible intent." She ordered.

= = = = =

Thunderlane had just taken over from the Twins, when the orders came through. "Shit." Thunderlane looked at Flitter and CloudChaser. "Get below, you two. I'll handle this. But stay around. If we need to pull everypony in, I'll need you two on the open decks to help co-ordinate landings."

"Aye, Commander." They replied and saluted, heading down the ramps quickly to the deck duty stations.

"Okay, Squads. Formation seven. I want every part of the sky we can cover being eyeballed." Thunderlane ordered.

"Rojer, Commander!" Came the replies, and the Pegasi spread out, keeping an eye all around the cloudship.

=======

Ten minutes before-hand, in the Drone Operations Center inside the CIA Headquarters building, four operators were sitting in their booths, concentrating as their Predator attack drones were launched from a nearby runway. Each armed with one gun pod and four air-to-air missiles, they were expecting things to be easy... their target was supposedly an unarmed airship of massive size.

They didn't talk to each other, keeping silent as they'd been ordered. They were far enough away from each other this time to make chatter impossible. And armed 'security personnel' were standing by them, as well as orbiting around the room. One of the operators said to himself in a whisper. "Okay... whatever this mission is, this shit is serious."

"You got that right." A soft whisper came from behind him. He looked in a mirror on his console, to see one of the suited guards smiling at him. "Don't worry. Whispering to yourself isn't gonna get you shot... at least for the moment." He half-heartedly reassured the operator. "Just make sure that, if anyone's going to hear you, it's only me."

"Rojer that." The operator, a twenty-two-year-old graduate of one of the better flight schools around, whispered in reply. He returned his concentration to the task at hand, realising that this operation was very different to any they'd flown before...

= = = = =

In the operations center, several figures stood, watching through the drone feeds as the Predators heading for Pennsylvania and the pony airship. "Are we sure this is necessary?" One asked.

"The order came from above the top." One of the others said.

"Is the President even aware...?" Was asked.

"Apparently not. He's at Camp David... supposedly." Was the reply.

"Very well, proceed." The order confirmed, everyone there fell silent as the drones headed onwards...

= = = = =

The drones flew on as the day clouded over, but the big airship was still easy to find. Anything that’s a kilometre long and glowing gold is not hard to spot. "Approaching target." Was said by all four operators, and acknowledged.

"Operation is green, I say green." Came the reply.

"Rojer." Was the only reply from the operators as they started heading in for the attack.

=======

Stellar was watching what the equipment was telling her, trying to figure out what those who were against them would do. Jet fighters were most likely out. They were too big, too fast, too noisy and too obvious. She went back, reviewing everything she'd ever watched about warfare with the US armed forces... then the CIA...

Her eyes snapped open to their limits. She grabbed the mike. "Lieutenant-Commander Thunderlane, get the Squads in right now! I'm going to Code Three." She told Thunderlane in a crisp and controlled voice.

"Rojer that, Commander. Code Three." Thunderlane's voice came in her ear as he acknowledged the order.

She looked at the bridge crew. "Tactical, bring us up to Code Three level."

"Aye, Commander." She replied as she slid the Alert lever one notch higher. "We are at Code Three Defensive Level." She informed Stellar.

Stellar switched the mike to PA-mode. "All ponies, all decks. This is the Bridge, we are going to Code Three Alert! This is not a drill. All ponies, take shelter where you have been assigned. Follow the orders of the Station Crews and the Guard and remain in your shelters until further notice." Stellar's voice rang out over the PA system all through the Stellar Wind.

"Helm, take us down slightly towards that big cloud bank, then take us in." She ordered.

"Aye Commander. Heading for the cloud bank." The helm officer replied, as the engine controllers angled the engines to help bring the ship down on a smooth slide.

= = = = =

All over the ship, ponies moved quickly and without too much panic, as the pegasus Sky Guard, having returned aboard, helped the Ship Guard move them to shelter. The eateries' lounges filled with ponies hiding under the low tables, as huge golden panels rose or descended from the floors and ceilings, cutting the interior of each deck off from the external windows. As soon as all the pegasi were aboard, the windows on the open decks rose and closed, sealing the hull decks as golden walls descended over the inside of the windows as well. The ramps leading up to the Top Flight Deck closed off as well, sealing one of the few possible breaching points of the hull.

The mana crystals glowed brilliantly as they powered the airship's defenses. At both ends of the cloudship, another pair of arrays, even bigger than the first pair, powered up outside the skin of the cloudship as the first pair glowed even brighter. The ship's skin glowed brighter as well, as the air around the airship shimmered at five hundred metre intervals out twice that distance from the airship. From inside, small clumps of black clouds arcing with electricity were shoved out and drifted away from the ship as she slowly descended towards the thick clouds.

Stellar took the reports as each station and preparation came on-line. Eventually, the Officer of the Deck (OD), Lt-Cmdr Evening Mist, reported "We are at Code Three one-hundred percent, Commander."

"Very good, Lieutenant-Commander. Five minutes... not bad for our first real emergency. We'll have to do better in drills later." She replied.

"Aye, Commander." Evening Mist said. He had been airship crew, like Captain Weather, and it showed in his professionalism.

Stellar closed her eyes and reached out with her magic senses, way beyond the range of their magic 'radar'. Five minutes later, her eyes snapped open. "They're coming." She said. "Two, Four, Eight and Ten o'clock, at our former altitude. Stand ready!" Stellar ordered, getting to her hoofs as her Lunar Guard Armor closed around her, its color the closest to the Airship Service colors.

Pegasi were looking out from the deck stations, now looking in those directions with binoculars. "This is Station Two! We have something incoming. It looks like a very small aircraft."

"This is Station Four! We have the same!"

"Station Eight! We have a similar aircraft in-bound!"

"Station Ten! We can confirm the same!" The Alert Stations replied.

Lt-Cmdr Evening Mist looked at Stellar confused. "Commander...?"

"Drones." Stellar answered, looking angry. "They've sent drones after us."

"So... it's not the Armed Forces?" He asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's the CIA." She answered. "They aren't drilled to need official orders before they act."

Evening Mist turned and looked things over. "Shall we go to Code Four?" He suggested.

Stellar shook her head. "I'm holding that back for when we really need it." She responded.

Evening Mist nodded. "I take it that Code Three can handle anything they send at us?" He asked.

"More than adequately." Stellar smiled.

=======

The drone operators noticed the shimmer in the air as they approached. "Control, we have an atmospheric effect around the target." One reported.

Another one said "Control, the target is descending towards a large cloudbank. Suggest they are moving to deny us engagement."

"Rojer that. Engage at will." Was the reply.

The operator who whispered said "Here we go..." And he moved in, firing his gun pod first.

=======

Stellar and her crews were ready. Then the stations reported "They're firing!"

"Rojer! Everypony brace.” She stated, sitting down and waiting, using her magic to see what was about to happen...

= = = = =

Outside, the twenty-millimetre bullets hit the golden skin...

And stopped dead, not even squashing. The skin glowed in rings where it had been hit, but then the bullet simply vanished, allowing others to hit the skin as well.

Stellar smiled as she now knew her defenses worked, and exactly as she had made them.

=======

The drone pilots had to break off as their firing runs ended, but they saw there was no damage to the glowing skin of the airship. “Control, Unit One reporting no damage by shells to target.”

Control listened as all four operators replied the same. Then he heard from his superiors. “Rojer that. Move away and switch to missiles.” He passed on.

“Rojer that.” The four operators acknowledged and flew out further before they turned back.

=======

Evening Mist looked at Stellar. “Is that it?” He asked.

Stellar shook her head. “Now they’ll go for the long-ranged attack.” She told him. “But I've thought of that, too.” She added softly as she grinned.

Evening Mist nodded and returned to watching. “We’re three minutes out from the cloudbank.” He reported.

“Acknowledged.” Stellar replied, watching the drones...

=======

The drones turned around at five kilometres out and returned to tracking at the target. The operators were still a little rattled at the fact their gun attacks had seemingly done nothing to hurt the massive airship, but they had their orders and headed in. At two kilometres out, they released half their missiles, two from each drone, and the missiles went racing in.

The missiles passed the atmospheric shimmer at a kilometre out, sliding through it harmlessly. But then, at five hundred metres, in front of each missile, a small portal ring appeared and opened, the missile not even reading it as it plunged into the ring and vanished. The rings then shrank and faded.

= = = = =

Out in the Atlantic, just under where Stellar had made the mana crystals for the Stellar Wind, a series of small portals opened at fifty metres above the surface, and the eight missiles shot out of them, straight at the ocean. Two exploded, the others did not, but their engines doused as water flooded into them, and the crushed casings floated and/or descended under the waves.

=======

The operators, the guards, the personnel at Control and the executives were all speechless as they saw the footage of the missiles just... disappearing from view, as if they’d never existed.

“What in blazes?” “What the fuck?...” The list of expletives was long and copious as they took in their failure.

One of the executives grabbed a mike and told Control “Get them in close and fire again. Hang the expense. We can always replace drones.”

“Aye, Sir.” Came the reply, then Control told the operators “Get in there! Go to five hundred metres and fire!” He ordered.

The operators did as they were told, turning the drones in towards the Stellar Wind and racing in, ready to fire inside the protective field.

=======

Stellar grinned as the missiles vanished as the defense portals opened up and swallowed each of them. “Works like a charm...” She said to herself.

Lt-Cmdr Evening Mist, shook his head. “You really are a Princess.” He said to Stellar. “You destroy danger without killing or harming...”

Stellar glared at him. “Don’t be too quick to adorate me, Lieutenant-Commander.” She told him. “I am NOT Celestia or my sister. I have killed in the past and more than likely I will have to kill again. But I do not do so where it is not necessary. Our defenses do not require killing, therefore it is not a part of them. If killing is needed, I am more than ready to do what has to be done myself.” Stellar stated.

Nodding his head, the stallion went back to his duties as Stellar returned to watching the drones as they turned around...

= = = = =

Thunderlane was watching from his station on the First Deck. He could see the drones in-bound again, but he was more than confident Stellar had thought about this as well. Her measures had proved more than adequate so far, and he was confident she knew what she was doing with this newest attack. He looked at some of the other pegasi clustered around him in the Alert Station. “Don’t worry, Friends. We’re as safe as if we were home in our beds, Celestia and Luna themselves standing between us and Danger.” He told them, and they relaxed a little, from scared to alert. ‘As they should be.’ Thunderlane thought to himself.

=======

The operators were rattled by the apparently-easy repulsing of their first two attacks, but they persisted, pressing their drones in for the attack. They kept their cool as they raced in, passing the kilometre mark and still heading in at their top speed.

As they reached the half-kilometre mark, they were about to fire when the portals appeared again and swallowed all four drones. The last vision they got was of the airship vanishing and being replaced by the surface of the ocean. Almost none of them had time to pull up as they slammed into the ocean at their fastest speeds. Two of them, their missiles firing just as the portal opened, were engulfed by the fireballs as the missiles hit before them and exploded. One of them barely managed to pull the nose of his drone up before it pancaked on the surface, it’s cameras showing it was floating on the ocean, the wreckage of the others around it.

The operator checked the GPS signal, while the others cursed around the room. “Control... my GPS is still active.... it reads as being about three hundred kilometres off the coast of New Jersey.” He reported.

The executives who heard that were stunned. “How the...?”

The head of the division growled. “Their fucking magic.” He said, the situation eliciting a rare curse from him. He walked out of the room once he had calmed down, leaving the others there to contemplate what had happened... and what they now faced.

= = = = =

The division head went to one of the teleconferencing rooms and activated the system. Across the state, in an office, the person who had ordered the attack looked at the large ULED screen on the wall and perused the demeanour of the Division head. “I take you saw all that, Sir?” The division head asked.

“Indeed, I did.” The figure said. "It seems we underestimated their... resourcefullness."

"Yes, Sir." The division head agreed. "What shall we do now?" He asked.

"Leave them. I need time to look this situation over again and formulate a new plan." He told the CIA executive. “Continue with the other directives, though.”

The CIA executive nodded. “As you say, Sir.” He replied, and the image faded.

The figure turned his attention to another individual, as the system connected. The person turned and faced the Camera. “Ah, Sir.” He said, giving a little bow.

“Have you gathered all the information on the Spectrum Group I have asked for?” The figure asked.

“We have delved deep into their overseas activities, as you requested. The information you gave us was most comprehensive.” He told the person. “We have a complete breakdown of all their activities, funding, money handling and laundering, as well as drug running, experimentation and other activities. Everything has been documented and broken down, laid out and saved for you, burned permanently onto an external hard-drive that is currently making it’s way to your office. Any committee or judicial enquiry would instantly indict them on a quarter of the material.” He assured his boss.

“Excellent. I await it’s arrival.” The figure said, as he shut down the connection. As the screen changed to show a news feed, he said “You Ponies. Such trouble. I just manage to contain one lot of you, and another lot I have nothing on makes such a fabulous entrance.” He steepled his fingers together as he smiled a mischievous smile and looked at the television footage of the giant airship. “How could you have made such a wonderful toy? Who is aboard you? And who designed your defenses? Could it be you, Luna? Or maybe you, Celestia? The design suggests you, Tia, with that lovely gold color. Is that where you disappeared to, after Luna embraced the Nightmare and destroyed Spectrum’s east coast lab?” His brow wrinkled and he rapped his fingertips together. “I will find out!” He stated emphatically as the smile fell away from his face...

=======

After thirty more minutes of sitting in the cloudbank as they slowly motored along, Stellar looked at Evening Mist. “It seems the danger has passed.” She said. “Stand down from Code Three to Code Two. Resume our normal activities.”

“Aye, Ma’am.” Evening Mist replied, then passed on the orders.

Stellar picked up the PA-mike. “This is Commander Sparkle. We are standing down from Code Three. All personnel remain at Code Two readiness. To all our guests and friends, you may now relax and return to whatever you were doing before. Our defenses held easily, and the danger has passed. I and the crew of the Stellar Wind thank you for your patience and cooperation in this troubling time.”

All over the airship, barrier walls retracted, the open decks resumed their normal readiness positions; pegasi returned to the Top Flight Deck once the ramps opened and they resumed their duties, clearing clouds away from before the cloudship and making a tunnel for them to follow.

Ponies came out of the shelters and started to relax, the knowledge that they’d not only survived, but were not even scathed, boosted their confidence in their leaders, especially Stellar. Their joy returned as they laughed and celebrated their win against the forces of Darkness.

Stellar felt the warmth and confidence of the other ponies as it blazed up like a fire throughout the ship. It filled her and made her feel so wonderful inside, she almost felt like breaking out into song. But she contained it for the moment, using her abilities to feed it back through the crew and the rest of the ponies as well, making their confidence and happiness grow even more. All the anger, worry and the little fatigue she felt drained away, flushed out by the love of her ponies, as her armor retracted, leaving her in her duty uniform again. Then they broke out of the cloudbank. The sun was shining on the beautiful golden skin of the Stellar Wind, and ponies throughout the ship started singing a song of joy and victory. The Pegasi outside heard it and joined in, as even the bridge crew softly sang along. Stellar was grinning like a cheshire cat and hummed, tapping one hoof to the beat. Then she recognised the tune. The words were different, but she laughed as the Chorus was so familiar: “We're walking on Sunshine....” The ponies sang, as they skipped around the decks in long lines, just bursting with good emotions.

By the time Commander Surging Tides came to relieve her, Stellar was almost ready to float through the air without her wings. Surging Tides saluted Stellar and said "I am here to relieve you, Commander."

"I acknowledge you, Commander. I hand the ship over to you." Stellar said, and after they exchanged positions, Stellar said “I am relieved.”

Surging Tides nodded. “That was some encounter you had this morning.” He said to Stellar.

Stellar nodded. “Oh yeah. Now, we’ll go over it and that way, you’ll know what to do if they come back.”

Surging Tides nodded, and they spent half-an-hour going over everything. Stellar also left copious notes in a report for Captain Weather as well, before going off-duty.

= = = = =

Stepping out of the bridge, Stellar saw Thunderlane was sitting at a table in the general area in the distance. She trotted towards the eatery that was behind the bridge and up to him, nuzzling him lovingly as she sat down. “That was a hell of a first encounter.” Thunderlane commented. “I take it by the state of the ship and, by the fact you’re almost bursting with good emotions, that everything went to plan?”

Stellar actually giggled. “Oh Celestia... this is the one bad thing about the Princess effect. It’s so hard to turn off. Then again...” She blew a raspberry. “Eh. Yeah, everything went as I’d hoped and planned it to, with our defenses.” She agreed.

Thunderlane nodded. “The way your portal screen handled the missiles and drones was obvious, but what happened to the bullets?” He asked. “From what I saw, they hit the skin and just stopped dead.”

Stellar nodded. “Remember how I told you that a pegasus’ field can dampen inertia and manipulate gravity?” She asked. When he nodded, Stellar continued “Well, I have an array that I use for instant braking. It absorbs all potential and kinetic energy as well as inertial energy and converts it to mana when you fly through it.” She told Thunderlane. “The two arrays inside the ship’s envelope are arrays like those, but they cast the same effect over the entire skin of the ship instead. So when the bullets hit...”

“...They had all their energy converted into mana, that fed back into the arrays, and the bullets simply came to a complete dead halt against the skin.” Thunderlane completed.

Stellar grinned. “Exactly.” She agreed. “I told you you could figure out magic if you put your mind to it.” Stellar said.

“That’s... that’s brilliant!” Thunderlane said. “And such a great solution, too! It’d be impossible to counter if you’re only using kinetic impactors like bullets.”

“Yep.” Stellar grinned. “Oh, they’ll know it’s magic. They might even figure out how it’s done. But trying to get around something like that without magic would nearly be impossible. So I think we’re pretty well-defended for the moment.” She said.

“Can’t disagree.” Thunderlane replied. They looked up as a young unicorn came up to them with a tray covered in delicious treats. “I hope you don’t mind that I ordered us some late Lunch.” He asked Stellar.

“Since when do I ever mind you treating me?” Stellar asked.

Thunderlane grinned and they dug into their meals.

=======

Later, in their quarters, Stellar looked over the information she had on Senator Corddis, as well as that she'd teased from the Dark Net, as it was called. What technology she was lacking, magic had managed to replace to a certain degree. And there was a lot of information to be found.

He had been born, yes, but so had they. His meteoric rise to his position now had caught many by surprise. By all rights, he was just another Kennedy, one with the skill to make people believe in him. His sincerity seemed to be there, but something about it always seemed... 'off' to her, as she watched the videos of him over and over again. As she focused her magic senses on one live broadcast, her Tome started rumbling. It fell open and the pages turned, to show a spell that was highlighted, one of the forbidden mind-control spells. Stellar frowned as she read the spell. It was a very minor one, but it set up in the mind of the receiver that the person casting the spell would seem very wise to them, and the wielder would gain their favor.

Stellar looked at the video again. She could feel the spell as Corddis cast it. Was it just that he was like Cecelia? A human magic-wielder? Stellar entertained the idea for as long as it took to go over it in her head. No, he wasn't like Cecelia. Any mage could cast the spell on a live audience, but to make it linger in visual recordings like this? No magic she had ever known, save for one, could produce such an effect... and that was Chaos magic. Chaos magic could bend the rules of even Wild magic to make the universe do what it wanted to do. She found the section of the recording that showed Corddis casting... and it was there. She teased it out for her Tome's spells to interpret. After a few minutes, there it was: a very familiar signature. Discord loved to think he cast pure Chaos magic, but whatever he cast always had his signature, just like every other magic wielder.

Thunderlane came in and looked over her shoulder. "You interested in Earth Politics, Love?" He asked Stellar.

"Just the one politician, Beloved." Stellar answered.

"And what makes this bloke so special?" He asked, looking at Corddis.

"Remember when I told Agent Wellman that Discord loves being in positions of power?" Stellar looked up at Thunderlane, who nodded. "If I am right... then this is Discord's new form."

Thunderlane actually took two steps back. "What the...?" He blurted out. "Freakin' hell, Beloved. Are you sure of that?" He asked.

"Not a hundred percent, no." Stellar answered. "But he is casting Chaos Magic with a very familiar signature... that even lingers on digital recordings."

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle." Thunderlane stated as he sat down beside Stellar. "So, are you going to try and confirm this?"

"Oh yes, Beloved." Stellar grinned. "I will before I act. But first, I think it might be a good idea to do a little snooping around in Senator Corddis' office, to see what can be found."

Thunderlane chuckled. "Better you than me, Beloved. I'd never make a good cat-burglar or computer hacker."

Stellar giggled back. "Then it's a good thing I know a bit or two about how to be stealthy." She said as she faded from view.

Thunderlane blinked in surprise, then sniffed the cushion she'd been lying on. Then he turned the other way to look about the room, and his muzzle connected perfectly with Stellar's in a soft kiss. Startled, Thunderlane had the presence of mind still and the reflexes not to pull back from the kiss. They mooshed lips for a few minutes, then slid their muzzles along one another's to nuzzle each other affectionately. "Mmmm... Best surprise of the week, Beloved." Thunderlane murmured softly.

"Glad... you liked it." Stellar replied as Thunderlane started nibbling her long neck. "Ohhh yeah..." She said as he worked his way up and down the muscles either side of her neck. She hugged him close, then said "I think the senator can wait a few more hours..." And they grinned at one another.

=======

Corddis was still fuming at the failed assault on the Pony airship as he headed home that night. Five minutes after he left, however, a package arrived for him by courier. His long-suffering secretary, Monna, looked at the courier. "He's gone home." She said. "You want to take it around to his place?"

The courier scoffed. "No way. I'm off-duty as soon as I get back to the office. If you can't sign for it, it goes back and waits there until we can get around to bringing it back again."

Monna sighed. "All right." She said. She got out the rubber stamp she kept in her desk of the Senator's signature and pressed it into the display, and it registered.

"Hey, nice one." The courier said, impressed, as he handed the impact-plastic case over. "Thanks for that." He said. "The boss hates us bringing stuff back, but he knows that sometimes happens with these late, personal deliveries."

Uh-huh." Monna said, not impressed at all. She put the case behind her, as the Senator kept his office locked at all times when he wasn't there. The courier left and she was gone as well, fifteen minutes later. Apart from security guards checking every hour, there wasn't another soul who entered the area...

Then Stellar teleported in. It had taken her a modicum of time to find the building Corddis' office was located in, and she had used video recordings of the outer office to focus on. The artwork there was... unique, compared to the rest of the staid art that graced the other reception positions outside the senators' offices.

The anti-surveillance spells she used even worked here. She looked about the outside area, then scanned Corddis' office and teleported into it. Stellar found it to be a mess. For a senator, it was quite chaotic... and she realised that, even in Human-form, Discord's chaotic nature still showed through. "I guess he really can't help himself." She said to herself in a voice that only she heard. She checked all around the office for anything that might prove informative... but found he'd placed anti-tampering devices on most of the good things, like his filing cabinet and his computer terminal which, she found after she scanned it very carefully, that it had a separate hard-drive installed into it that was very encrypted... at least, the access lines to the drive went through a hardwired encrypter. The case itself was magically alarmed as well, so if it were turned on or moved physically, it would 'sound' a magical alarm. Stellar was under no illusion that Discord would be here faster than lightspeed if she triggered that off.

"How to get the information without touching the drive or computer..." She thought about it. She didn't have all the time in the world, she realised. She got out her Tome of Magic and looked it over. She thought about teleporting the drive out, scanning it into her Tome, then putting it back, but she realised that would trigger the alarms, too... Then she realised... She didn't know how far a book or drive had to be from her Tome for it to read them. Checking under the desk, she realised she could just fit the Tome in position under the computer case for the great gem to be in-line with the drive and its encrypter. She aligned the Tome under the computer system and pressed the jewel up against the underside of the desktop, then said "Load."

The gem glowed softly, and she could see from her scans that the drive and encrypter were being read. She sighed with relief at that. It seemed the glass and wood of the desktop weren't stopping the download from happening as normal. She realised, by the maker's mark on the desk, that it was also kevlar-covered, but it didn't seem to impede things, either.

Then the door to the office opened.

'Shit!' Stellar mouthed silently, and she muttered a spell and vanished from sight, still holding the tome in place. She could watch from under the desk as the guard started looking about. He went into the bathroom, giving Stellar the chance to pull the big office chair back under the desk where it had been. It passed through her easily, the 'Sideways-Shadow' spell making her slightly out-of-phase with the real world, like the 'Realm of Shadows' was. He came out, slowly circled the room, looking around carefully, checking the windows and closets, even glancing under the desk but not flashing his light up more than what he needed to see if anyone was under there, so he never saw her tome. Eventually he made his way back to the door, then stopped before he closed and locked it. He lifted a case from outside the room, Stellar saw, and put it inside next to the desk, then he left, locking the door behind him.

Stellar almost breathed a huge sigh of relief, when she saw that his torch was still on outside. She realised he was crouching near the door, just waiting for something like that to sound out or other sounds to echo through the quiet room. Only after he walked on did she slide the chair back and return herself totally to the real world again. 'Got to give Discord credit, he hired good security...' Stellar thought to herself as she checked her Tome, finding the download was complete. After sliding out from under the desk, she returned the chair there... then saw the case. "I wonder..." Stellar said softly to herself. She placed her tome up against it and said "Load." To her surprise, the tome started downloading something else. She saw more computer files being downloaded into her Tome. "Must be an external hard-drive in there." Stellar surmised as the download continued.

Stellar waited for the drive to load, then slid her Tome away again. She made sure she left no tracks, no scents, no magic essence or signature with the room, before she teleported out of the room and out front again. Thinking fast, she made an entry into the secretary's daily appointment book for her human name and Thunderlane's human name as reporters for the First of June. She knew that date would have great significance, but she was unsure as to why yet. But what she'd seen marked it off as a red-letter day. Some pony she knew or would know soon would die that day without her intervention, and it involved Discord and this very office. She went back in the office and made the same notation in the Senator's day planner as well. Once that was done, she made her way back out and teleported back home again.

=======

Thunderlane had been busy as well. He might not have had Stellar's powers, but he had command authority over the pegasi on-board that were part of the new Sky Guard, as Stellar called them. In the new medium-blue armor Stellar had been making in her spare time for the Ship and Sky Guards, Thunderlane organised them into scouting parties and sent them searching over the territory that they passed over. He was pleasantly surprised when a large group of pegasi rose from the ground in front of the cloudship, but was less so when he saw they were armed. His frown deepened when he saw two old Huey helicopters rise up off the ground, obviously to support them. He decided to perhaps approach them first. "Bridge, this is Lt-Cmdr Thunderlane. Bring us to a halt, we have a situation. Go to Code Two, please."

"Rojer that, Commander." Came the voice of one of the other commanders, a pegasus named Sky Sprite, if Thunderlane remembered the female voice's owner accurately.

Thunderlane gestured to two of the pegasi in their new armor as the internal arrays powered up inside the ship's skin, and the three of them took off and approached the party, as the two helicopters tried to block the path of the far-more-massive cloudship. The three pegasi flew out as the Stellar Wind came to a halt behind them, holding position somewhat more easily than the gunships were. Thunderlane looked about for any of the pegasi that might be in charge, seeing one who had a number of others clustered around him. They all seemed to be holding modified rifles and shotguns, the triggers and furniture modified to make it easier for them to be carried and fired by a pegasus. Thunderlane had his escort come to a halt, then moved slowly a few feet before them. "Hello!" He called out in what he hoped would be interpreted as a friendly voice. "Can we be of assistance?" He asked.

That got a lot of looks and even more chatter amongst the group, which Thunderlane counted to be close on fifty pegasi. He could see some humans in the Hueys, but also other ponies as well, such as unicorns and Earth ponies carrying more weapons and even manning a number of minigun-emplacements. 'One thing's for sure, this mob are loaded for bear... or anything else big and nasty.' Thunderlane thought to himself.

After some discussion time, the one Thunderlane pegged as a leader approached, two others with him. They came to a hover a similar distance away, and the leader moved forward to within two metres of Thunderlane. "And just who might you be?" He asked.

"Well, my name's Thunderlane." Thunderlane introduced himself. "These are Sky Frost and Keen Skies." He gestured to the lieutenants, who were a stallion and a mare.

The pegasi looked them up and down. "That's pretty unusual armor you're wearing." He said.

"Those are unusual weapons you're carrying." Thunderlane pointed out. "You've done quite a good job modifying them."

The trio chuckled. "Well, yeah. Couldn't use them otherwise." He agreed. "So, what the hell is that behind you and where're you going with it?" He asked.

"That's our home." Thunderlane answered. "And usually by now, good manners would normally dictate that you might actually introduce yourselves as well." Thunderlane pointed out in what he hoped was a non-offensive tone.

The pegasus frowned, but nodded. "I'm Cloudbreaker. These are my... well, they used to be my sons, Greycloud and Nimbus." He introduced the stallion and mare behind him.

"Pleased to meet you." Thunderlane replied. "So... what brings you up into the sky today? I guess you weren't just up here enjoying stretching your wings?" He asked.

Cloudbreaker chuckled. "We saw that great big thing of your's on the news, and that you were headed for our locale. Others have been speculating that it's part of a way for the government to control the weather, like them HAARP sites. So we decided to come up and make sure that you weren't doing anything nasty like that." Cloudbreaker explained.

Thunderlane just shook his head as the lieutenants laughed. "No, no. Nothing sinister like that." Thunderlane said. "Our cloudship is just our transport for over eleven-hundred ponies. We're heading for a place in Iowa, where there's supposed to be a community of other ponies. We're hoping to find Family there."

"Is that all?" Cloudbreaker asked. Thunderlane nodded. Cloudbreaker then turned around and swung one hoof in a circle over his head three times, then dropped it fast. The Hueys turned away and headed downwards, while the pegasi drew closer. "Shoot. If it's only ponies aboard that thing, then you're welcome. We've been having troubles with the blasted Eff-Bee-Aye, trying to come on our land and say that those of us who changed have to 'come with them'." He snorted. "No danged-blasted Federals are gonna drag me and my kin off our land."

Thunderlane could tell that Cloudbreaker had probably had a similar-if-thicker accent as Applejack at one stage, but changing back into his pony-self seemed to have increased his vocabulary and tempered the accent to one that sounded much more educated. "I can understand that." Thunderlane said. "We've had troubles with them, too."

Cloudbreaker snorted. "So... would you care to show us about your fancy cloudship?" He asked, sounding a lot friendlier, as the others in his group looked on curiously.

"Sure, we could do that... but if I may ask, could you leave the hardware elsewhere? You won't need it. Ponies like yourselves are ponies we just haven't made friends with yet." Thunderlane said to them, not trying to sound insistant, but not wanting a group of armed ponies amongst the refugees.

Cloudbreaker gave Thunderlane a funny look, but then nodded. He handed his shotgun to one of the others, and then most of them did the same, five of the bigger pegasi ending up loaded down with weapons to the point where they could only descend slowly. "Normally, I'd never leave my shotgun behind... but this is your home. If you don't want us to bring our guns inside, that's your right." He stated, and the others nodded.

"I thank you for that." Thunderlane told Cloudbreaker. "It's not that we don't trust you, but we have a number of foals on-board, my own brother included, and many of them have never been exposed to firearms before." He explained. "We'd rather not have anything happen to any of them out of ignorance."

"Ah, shoot." Cloudbreaker said, his face showing understanding. "I can understand that totally. Kids shouldn't be allowed near guns before they're at least ten and with a year's worth of training at least, before they even lay a finger on a real one."

Thunderlane nodded, liking the attitude. "Exactly." He agreed as they flew over the Stellar Wind. Thunderlane led the way down to the Top Flight Deck, showing them the proper procedure, and Cloudbreaker watched how all of the pegasi in armor saluted Thunderlane as he landed. "Fillies and Gentlecolts, welcome aboard the Stellar Wind." Thunderlane said as they'd all landed. Thunderlane assigned a number of the Sky Guard and the Ship Guard to escort small groups of the newcomers around the ship, while he and Sky Frost led Cloudbreaker's group of ten around the ship.

"So... are you the commander of this group?" Cloudbreaker asked.

"I'm the Commander of the Sky Guard." Thunderlane informed Cloudbreaker. "The Ship's Guard have their own commander, and we're all under the command of both the Captain of the Stellar Wind and the Princess."

"A princess?" Cloudbreaker looked astonished. "We'd heard rumors, but... where the hell did a princess come from?"

Thunderlane looked at Cloudbreaker. "You don't remember?" He asked.

"I'm not sure... well, to be exact." Cloudbreaker admitted. "Others say they had a figure talk to them in their dreams, but we weren't sure if they were going crazy or not."

Thunderlane nodded. "Okay, to put things straight: Equestria had five Princesses, all of them alicorn mares. One of the junior princesses created the Stellar Wind and it is her home." He explained to them. "She's not here at the moment, or else I would introduce you to her."

Cloudbreaker looked sceptical, but said nothing as Thunderlane showed them around the rest of the cloudship. After they ended up in the Upper Food Hall, Cloudbreaker looked at Thunderlane as they sat, enjoying a meal. "So... you ain't going to make us come with you, then?" He asked.

"Not our style." Thunderlane answered. "If you were in danger and couldn't help yourselves, we could offer to help, or take you somewhere safe... but from what I saw before, you don't look like you need much in the way of protection." He pointed out.

Cloudbreaker chuckled as Greycloud and Nimbus, who was talking to some other mares who'd once been human males like herself, sat and munched down on several delectable delights. "Yeah, we're pretty well-protected." He agreed.

"The only other thing is... a lot of ponies want to go back home to Equestria." Thunderlane informed Cloudbreaker. "The group at the farm we're headed for are spearheading the search for a way home. While not all of us are wanting to do this, a lot are, and if there's some amongst your group that feel the call to go there, we'd be willing to take them." He told Cloudbreaker. "Now, it's not as if we want to break you up, because I can see that's what you're starting to think, by the look on your face." Thunderlane said quickly.

Cloudbreaker snorted. "That's pretty astute, youngster." He said.

Thunderlane nodded. "I know a lot of you would rather your groups stick together." He replied. "But there will be those, as I said, that will feel the pull to return to our homeworld, and the pull is very strong, a homesickness that's almost physically-assertive. I'm just telling you that, if they do feel it, that's where to go. If anypony can find the way Home, they will." Thunderlane stated.

Cloudbreaker nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, Kid." He agreed.

"I'm not asking any more than that." Thunderlane told Cloudbreaker. "The call to go Home can be a powerful thing."

"Have you felt it?" Cloudbreaker asked.

"A little." Thunderlane revealed. "But I have somepony here who means far more to me than anything back Home." He added. “Until she returns Home, or I get close to my time... I’ll be staying here.”

Cloudbreaker smiled. “Fair enough.” He looked over Thunderlane’s shoulder, to see a much-bigger figure walking towards them. “Holy...”

Thunderlane looked about, then grinned. He stood as Stellar approached them. “You asked me what might be keeping me from going Home to Equestria.” He reminded Cloudbreaker. “You’re looking at her.”

Cloudbreaker just nodded, standing as Stellar reached them. “Hello, Thunder.” Stellar said, smiling at them both. “New guests?” She asked.

“No, Princess.” Thunderlane replied, telling Stellar she needed to be more formal in this case. “This is Cloudbreaker, leader of a very-well-equipped enclave of ponies near where we’re hovering.”

As Thunderlane called her Princess, Stellar’s whole being seemed to change. She seemed to draw herself up, opened her wings and took on a far more regal air, and it was as if her power exuded around her in a way that had almost every pony there bowing to her... including Cloudbreaker. “You may rise.” Stellar said, and in those few words her royal authority rang out in the hearts of all there. Cloudbreaker was a little stunned at how easily she commanded his obediance... and not a little respect. “We are always glad to receive those ponies who are secure with and by themselves, Cloudbreaker. It lifts a weight from our shoulders to know you are self-sufficient and secure.” Stellar said, and gave him a smile that warmed his heart.

Cloudbreaker was almost at a loss for words. He had scoffed at the idea of ‘Princesses’, thinking that such could never command his respect, such a die-hard republican as he was. But now, in her presence, there was something deep inside him that almost demanded he respect her authority, even as gentle as it seemed displayed to him. "I... I thank you, Your Highness." He replied, bowing his head slightly. "I also thank you for not usurping us from our homes into yours."

Stellar smiled at Cloudbreaker again, and it was like the sun coming through the clouds after a bad storm. "If you are comfortable living where you are, Cloudbreaker, why should I upset that?" Stellar asked. "We do not have infinite room aboard the Stellar Wind. Better it be used for those without a home and in need of shelter and safety, than to upset the lives of those who have both. Your community is welcome to join ours in being host to ponies who are in need, if you can spare room and food; but if not, then at least become a part of the Pony communities here on Earth, so that together, we can stand strong against those opposed to us."

Cloudbreaker looked into Stellar's eyes, but even the cagey older pony could see she was being sincere. "I think that would be a wise thing indeed." He agreed. "Are there many who need help?" He asked.

"We have helped many others living under oppression, Cloudbreaker." Stellar told him as they started to walk on. "There are more primitive cultures that cannot even conceive of the possibility that we are sapient lifeforms, equal to their own." She growled. "I had to save one such group of ponies from having their throats slit by humans, just because they were unicorns and could wield magic. Two pegasi had had their wings amputated in the crudest way." She explained. "Such ponies need to be removed from such a hostile environment, to where they can wait for either the way home to Equestria to be opened, or places found for them in communities where they can be free to live their lives as would any person, human or pony, in peace and safety." Stellar took a deep breath and slowly released it. "I'm afraid Harmony can wait until our ponies are safe. Those communities that are large enough... they are finding Harmony again. But many more need safety and security first. That is this ship's mission... MY mission. To bring ponies out of danger to safety, as any good Princess would do in similar circumstances."

Cloudbreaker nodded. "Then perhaps my ponies should work towards that as our goal: Making a safe community for those who wish to live on Earth."

"You would be well rewarded by those you took in if you did." Stellar told him. "And you would have our thanks, and the friendship of every other community that are doing the same. Their support and mine would also be there for you."

Cloudbreaker looked at Stellar, then at Thunderlane. He turned to face them and stated "We will be a part of this. I can say with some certainty that my ponies will vote to help in this initiative, Princess. Thank you again for letting us see your cloudship, and find out for ourselves what you are doing to help all ponies." He said with a smile.

Stellar and Thunderlane smiled back, then Stellar got a quizzical look on her pretty face. "Cloudbreaker..." She said. "Do you know a pony called Stormbreaker, by any chance?"

Cloudbreaker looked surprised. "I do indeed." He replied. "He's my father."

Stellar looked pleased. "Wonderful. And do you know where he is?" She asked.

Cloudbreaker nodded. "He and my mother live with my wife and I, even now." He answered.

Stellar grinned. "Incredible!" She said to him. "I must come and visit him sometime. It has been a long time since I last met him."

"You've... met him before, Your Highness?" Cloudbreaker asked.

"Indeed." Stellar confirmed. "It was Stormbreaker who taught me how to control Lightning properly." She explained. "When I was very young, too."

Cloudbreaker looked impressed. "Really? His memory... isn't what it used to be, not with the way Discord sent us here." He told Stellar.

"Then maybe I can help him remember a little better." Stellar offered.

"We would be appreciative, Your Highness." Cloudbreaker admitted. "Sometimes he barely seems to know any of us. My mother and sister are becoming very worried by the state of his mental health."

Stellar nodded. "That being the case, I think it's best we go and see him now, then. Such a state is not something that should be left to later to attend to." She looked at Thunderlane. "Organise a proper escort, Commander. Time to show another group of ponies they have our support." Stellar told Thunderlane.

"At once, Your Highness!" Thunderlane replied as he saluted, then headed off towards the bow rampways.

Stellar strode off towards the stern rampways, Cloudbreaker at her side as she walked along, the smaller pegasus stallion almost trotting. Stellar had had a lot of practise doing the 'Royal Celestial Stride', as she had often called it, and now she used it to great effect. Cloudbreaker couldn't help but notice as all the adult ponies bowed to Stellar, their faces wreathed in wide smiles and not solemn, and how foals came up to her and how she stopped for a smile and nuzzle with them. "Your ponies here seem to really love you, Princess." He commented.

"Yes... it is always gratifying to have the good will of those who travel with me." Stellar told Cloudbreaker. "Sometimes I wonder how I was ever so lucky to have been given the love and friendship of so many ponies."

Cloudbreaker frowned. "Interesting. You speak of 'love and friendship'. I would have thought that respect and obediance would have been more important to such as yourself, as a Princess." He said bluntly and honestly.

Stellar chuckled. "Respect is earned, Cloudbreaker. Obediance is a response to that respect... but without Love and Friendship, we princesses would be no better than dictators, or just wise rulers, perhaps." She answered. "I would rather have the love of one pony, or the friendship of ten, than the respect of thousands. Because with friendship and love, respect comes with them... as long as you strive to keep it. Those on this cloudship know that I love and respect them as well, and want only the best I can provide for them." She sighed as he saw a sadness in her eyes. "I only wish I could save everypony..." Stellar said softly in a sad voice that Cloudbreaker just heard.

Cloudbreaker nodded as they reached the Upper Flight Deck and headed for the ramp to the Top Flight Deck. "It is a wise pony who knows their limitations, but strives to surpass them." He told Stellar.

Stellar nodded back, bowing her head. "I will always strive to help every pony I can, while they are here." She told him. "I may only be a junior Princess, but it is still my duty to help every single pony I can to safety and to offer them the chance to go home again."

Cloudbreaker nodded his head again as they started up the ramp. "I may doubt your motivations, Princess, but not the sincerity in your words. It is not in the nature of Americans to trust Royalty, but I will believe you... but also hold you to your words." He cautioned Stellar. "We will not brook external interference, but we will accept any help you offer."

"All I ask is that you try and find it in your hearts and homes to take in those less fortunate than yourselves, Cloudbreaker." Stellar reiterated to him. "Any other support you wish to give us is up to you and your ponies. But if you ever need help against forces inimical to you... do NOT hesitate to call for aid. We will come to render all help you might need, from negociation to all-out combat, if it is needed." She told him. "I was ranked Knight-Commander of the Royal Canterlot Guard back in Equestria, and I can lead troops very effectively. Your freedom, and the freedom of every pony on Earth, is sancrosanct to myself and my ponies here. I know the other princesses would feel the same way, if they knew what was going on."

"Where are the others?" Cloudbreaker asked.

"I'm not sure, to be honest." Stellar answered. "My sister is at the farm in Iowa we're heading to, but the locations of Celestia, Luna and Cadance are unconfirmed at this time. I'm hoping that, once we get our current group of refugees to safety, we can find them and bring them there as well."

"Then I wish you well with that, Princess." Cloudbreaker said as they reached the Top Flight Deck. Six armored pegasi moved around Stellar, Thunderlane taking the lead, while Cloudbreaker's ponies moved with him as the Stellar Wind held her position. Stellar extended and slid into her ceremonial armor, its white-and-gold metal gleaming in the sun as they readied themselves. She had also allowed her crown and other rainment to adorn the beautiful suit, showing off her Royal status without doubt. At the proper signal, the two groups lifted off in the breeze, then they headed down together, Stellar's group inside the others.

The reaction as the groups landed was all Stellar hoped for. The Ponies down on the ground all milled about, looking at her before asking questions of those in their group that had returned. Cloudbreaker led Stellar and her honor guard towards a very nice house inside the small community. Stellar noted there were ponies everywhere here, almost fifteen-hundred of them, she could feel. She suspected every pony in the area had gathered here, as the government had started their round-up of people who were changing. Her guards stayed outside as she and Cloudbreaker went inside.

Inside, Cloudbreaker introduced a lovely unicorn female, who bowed respectfully. "Princess, this is my wife, Radiant Light."

"Princess." Radiant said as she bowed. "It is an honor."

"For myself as well." Stellar replied. "I am Stellar Light Sparkle, Radiant. I am glad to meet one who might be a cousin, however distant." Stellar said to her.

Radiant blushed. "Surely you jest, Princess." She accused.

"Never." Stellar answered seriously. "I never joke about Family. The Sparkle Family has many branches and cousins within the Light Clan all over Equestria. But the family charts are still in the archives of the Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville, so proving such will be a problem for a while. However, I will not deny you a possible place in my family until it is disproven, Radiant." Stellar moved to Radiant and nuzzled her tenderly. "I am very pleased to make your aquaintance."

"Thank you, Princess." Radiant replied as she blushed brighter.

"Where's Stormbreaker, Love?" Cloudbreaker asked.

"He's out on the deck, watching over some of the youngsters." Radiant answered.

"This way, then, Princess." Cloudbreaker told Stellar, and they led her outside as Stellar retracted her armor, her rainment staying in place, though. Stellar's mind flashed back to an incident when she was four, and she remembered trying to hold and use a very large charge of raw lightning. The older pegasus in front of her was the spitting image of the strong, handsome stallion that had landed and helped her to gently release the lightning she was holding inside her, and taught her how to control it in a much easier manner as she grew up in Cloudsdale. Cloudbreaker moved to Stormbreaker and said "Father, somepony to see you." He told Stormbreaker. "She says she knows you."

"Huh?" Stormbreaker said, his eyes a little vacant. "Somepony who knows me?" He asked.

Stellar smiled. The voice was the same. "Indeed, Stormbreaker. I know you very well, my old teacher." Stellar said, as she stepped from behind Cloudbreaker to where Stormbreaker could see her.

His reaction was everything Stellar had hoped for. His eyes opened as wide as they could, his jaw dropped down, and he lifted himself to a sitting position. "I... I know you..." He said in a whisper.

Stellar moved closer as Cloudbreaker moved back. "I know, Storm. It has been a very long time, hasn't it?" She said as she moved right up to him and laid her head against his, her horn glowing. "Do you remember how you taught me to control lightning, when I was just a little filly?" Stellar asked...

...And Stormbreaker remembered...

= = = = =

Stormbreaker, a large pegasus stallion with a cutie-mark of three lightning bolts crossed over a black cloud, was shifting storm clouds away from Canterlot that day with his weather squad. They were experts in handling the electrically-charged clouds, the squad taking them to Cloudsdale to drain them and power the cloud city. But then he and his squad were thoroughly confused as the clouds they were moving were surrounded in a magenta glow and taken out of their hoofs. "Hey!" He exclaimed, then followed it, wondering who had managed to pull a cloud in from so far away.

As the dark-grey pony with the lightning cutie-mark came over Canterlot, Stormbreaker saw the clouds were gathered in one spot over the Royal Gardens, and they were being squeezed. Stormbreaker and his squad cringed as a large bolt of lightning shot out of the cloud-mass right into the gardens themselves. "Break the clouds up!" He told the others. "Get them away from each other and to Cloudsdale as planned. I'll see what's going on." He told the others as he saw lightning flashing around in the gardens itself, as if somepony was actually controlling it.

"Aye, Sir!" The others replied, and they did as they were told, while Stormbreaker headed down. He saw two purple fillies in the gardens, surrounded by Royal Guards, one of them crackling with the lightning she was somehow holding inside her. Stormbreaker shook his head. No pony that young had ever shown such a weather talent before... if that was what it was. The one with the lightning was standing in the middle of an open section of the gardens, the other filly nearby, shielding herself well from the first one... whom Stormbreaker could now see was identical to the other... and they both had both horns and wings! NOW he understood how the little filly had gathered the clouds together. He realised these must be the new alicorns he'd heard rumors of from others. As he came in over the little filly, close enough to hear her, he heard her say "I got it... I got it..." She kept repeating to herself.

Then, in his deep, masculine voice, he spoke. "Indeed, you do have it." Stormbreaker said in a calm manner, as he landed next to the young filly. She turned and looked at Stormbreaker, but a bolt of energy slashed out of her horn directly at him. Her twin was about to cry out, but Stormbreaker caught the bolt easily with a front hoof and channelled it down into the ground without hurting himself. "Well... you do indeed have a lot of power inside you at the moment, young Miss." Stormbreaker gently looked her over.

"She can't get rid of it!" Her twin called out.

"Hmm... yes, it seems to like you, Miss." He told the charged-up filly. "I am Stormbreaker. I think you need my aid for this."

"P-p-pleee-ease?" She managed to stammer out.

"Of course." Stormbreaker answered. "Commander, get your troops away from here. Their armor makes them walking targets for the lightning." He told the Guard Commander, who nodded and made his troops withdraw. Stormbreaker looked up and saw that his weather control group had broken up the small bank of heavily-charged clouds above them, so he smiled and said "Now, for you, Miss...?"

"St-st-Stell-ll-llar." Stellar answered as her body stopped jerking and started shuddering...

"I'm Twilight." Twilight added.

"A pleasure to meet you both." Stormbreaker replied, giving Twilight a doff of a non-existant cap. "Now..." He moved over Stellar, his height making her fit underneath his barrel almost perfectly. He gently spread his wings over hers and said "Now, close your wings slowly..." Stormbreaker told Stellar softly. Stellar obeyed, closing her big wings against her sides as Stormbreaker helped her. Once they were closed, Stormbreaker looked about. Spotting a metal tap and pipe beside one hedge, he grinned and started steering Stellar over towards it. "That's it, Stellar. You've got a good grip on the lightning, but you need to learn to let it go instead of firing it like a weapon." He told her in a gentle voice.

Stellar actually sniffled, her glowing eyes leaking tears. "I know." She replied softly as Twilight walked beside them.

"There, there. You have a great deal of strength of will for somepony so young." Stormbreaker admitted. "Now, let's see if we can teach you control." He said. "Hold out a hoof close to the pipe, and see if you can bleed off a small amount of the voltage you're carrying."

Stellar nodded and she held out her front hoof. As it neared the pipe, a small arc of electricity jumped to it and raced to the ground. "Nnnnggg!" Stellar whined as more electricity tried to surge out of her, but she fought to keep it to a minimal pace.

"Good! Very good." Stormbreaker commended Stellar. "Remember, you control the lightning, it doesn't control you. You will allow it to leave you when and how you decide to. Just keep your focus and feel how much you allow out at any one time."

Stellar nodded and kept a slow, steady stream of electrical energy flowing out of her into the pipe. "You're doing great, Sis!" Twilight encouraged Stellar.

"Indeed! Is the pain easing now?" Stormbreaker asked.

"Yeah, a... a bit." Stellar replied as her eyes' glow started fading a little.

"Excellent." Stormbreaker said with a smile. "Keep going at a pace you feel comfortable with." He told Stellar. "So... you two are the new alicorns I have heard about." Stormbreaker commented. Stellar almost lost control at that, as Twilight winced a little, but Stormbreaker just went on. "It is a pleasure to meet you both. I had heard things, but to see two such pretty and polite fillies as yourselves shows the Royalty is still improving." He gave them a nice smile.

"Thank you." Twilight said with a smile as she returned to sitting and watching.

"Um, yes, thank you." added Stellar as she regained her focus.

Stormbreaker smiled back. "How did you grab those clouds from me, Stellar? You must have some very powerful weather magic to be able to do so at such a distance."

"I guess." Stellar answered. "I started learning when my grandfather and I were staying in Cloudsdale." She explained. "I used to watch some of the advanced classes when Grandpa attended them."

"Oh. Right." Stormbreaker replied, wondering how advanced the classes had been.

Eventually, Stellar leaked all the lightning inside her out into the pipe, and she was able to relax. "Ouch." She said softly.

Stormbreaker nodded. "You did that very well, Stellar. But I think next time, you should not try to take on such a large bolt before you receive some proper training in lightning control. You have a natural talent for it, but as you probably both know, while pegasi can flutter from usually a very young age, it takes more than raw talent to become a superior flyer. So it is with you, Stellar. Take as much training as you think you can handle, and some day you'll be wrangling lightning clouds with the best, if that is your destiny."

Stellar nodded as Twilight moved to Stellar and nuzzled her. Stellar nuzzled her sister back, and they both said "Thank you, Stormbreaker."

Stormbreaker bowed to the pair most gracefully, then gave them both a wink. "A pleasure meeting you two." He replied to them. He nodded to the Commander who'd been watching everything in a calm manner, and who nodded back. "Now, I think you two had better head home. Stellar, you're probably going to feel a little out-of-sorts for a few hours, so go lie down when you get home and get some sleep." Stormbreaker advised her.

The twins nodded, then floated up into the air. Stormbreaker could see that Stellar was much more at ease in the air than Twilight was, who was struggling a little at the hover. He took off himself and stayed with them as they headed for the Rich Quarter, as that part of Canterlot was known. As they reached a fine-if-smallish mansion and estate, the twins banked around and landed together quite well on the outside terrace. They waved up at him, and Stormbreaker waved back, grinning, before heading off for Cloudsdale.

Stormbreaker felt very good that day as he reached Cloudsdale again. He'd helped a young filly and maybe saved her from a much greater problem...

= = = = =

Stellar moved back as Stormbreaker took a shuddering breath, then looked up into her eyes. "Princess." He said in a soft voice... "Stellar?"

Stellar grinned. "Hello, Stormbreaker." She gently nuzzled his muzzle, which got a soft moan from him. "It's been a long time since we saw each other last, isn't it, my old teacher?" She repeated for him.

"Too long... far, far too long." Stormbreaker agreed, a tear coming from his eye. "But look at you!" He said, his voice growing stronger as he looked her over. "You have grown so much since I saw you last! You truly are a princess now." He said, and a smile broke over his face that warmed the hearts of Cloudbreaker and Radiant as they watched.

Stellar chuckled. "Yes... I was only ten when I left your classes for the advanced ones." She reminded him. "And I have truly grown up, now... thanks to you and so many others who helped me become the mare I am today." She said to him, the gratitude in her voice obvious to all there.

Stormbreaker sighed happily. "Thank you for coming to see me." He honestly said to her.

"It was truly my pleasure." Stellar replied in a similar tone. "The more I find my old friends are here on Earth, the more it makes me want to stay here, with them." She sat down and gave him another hug, this time with her forelegs and wings.

Thunderlane just smiled as he stood there, then he looked at Cloudbreaker and gave him a wink.

Cloudbreaker saw that and grinned as he nodded back at Thunderlane. Then he hugged Radiant to him and cuddled her, as Stellar furled her wings and let go of Stormbreaker. Then they were surrounded by the young foals, who all wanted to know everything about Stellar and what had happened to Stormbreaker...

Author's Note

And we get an inkling of what our story's villian has been getting up to...

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