Five Score - A Knight's Tale
10 - Departures
Previous ChapterNext Chapter"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. "
"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.
"
"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 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. "
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.
"
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. "
Azure chuckled, getting an odd look from the mare. "
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. "
"
Mark chuckled. "
Just about all those ponies there bowed to them. "
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. "
"" 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. "
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 "
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. "
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 gently ran her hand through his mane, making him whicker softly. "" She told him, and he brightened up immediately. "
The colt thought about it as they walked up the stairs onto the house verandah. "
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!