Author's Note

As always, a mighty big thanks to the editor himself, Regreme!

I'm already working on the next chapter too, so I hope that this is me getting back into the groove. Y'all have fun with this one in the meantime.

Ch 3; Small Blind

The room remained quiet for a moment as this last statement settled in.

“Um, excuse me. What do you mean by ‘not just ponies’?” Isabelle meekly asked the question on the other conduits’ minds.

“Woah, wait!” Sam interjected, “That D.U.P. wannabe griffon wasn’t the only one?”

This also got the other humans’ attention. Especially the part about their mutually hated enemy, the D.U.P. More arguments broke out between them. Some demanded explanation, others tried to answer or placate, and others threw in the occasional insult.

“Shut up!”

The electric conduit was on her feet now, alongside Sam. Her dominating shout quieted the others so she could speak.

She looked at Sam and directed her next question toward him, “The D.U.P. were here?”

Sam made a motion with his hand, tilting it from side to side, “Eh, not exactly. Like I said, D.U.P. ‘wannabes’. Standard pawn gear, limited though. Armor was cobbled together. I actually never got a chance to look into it before leaving.”

“Then, I’ll explain,” Aegis Flare said.

All heads turned to the pegasus. He motioned for the humans to sit and reinstilled some order. So far, the gruff pegasus was still having a tough time gauging the newer humans. Each had wildly differing personalities, not unlike ponies. However, humans seemed to be vastly less predictable in behavior. He didn’t know if this was a common trait, or something specific among these four. Only time would tell.

With everyone reseated and calm renewed, Aegis Flare spoke, “During the time the first human was here in Equestria, I, and a significant portion of the royal guards, were in the midst of a string of missing pony cases. We came to find out that these were Visionary Dusk’s ponynappings that he was conducting for his illegal experiments. He was aided by a band of mercenaries made of two unicorns, one pegasus, and one griffon. Our first encounter with them came about during the failed assault of her majesty, Princess Celestia. I won’t be afraid to say that if it wasn’t for the first Human, the mercenaries may have succeeded.”

The other human conduits wanted to ask more about that story, but remained quiet as the gruff looking pony had more to say. “It wasn’t until after the Human returned to his world that we discovered that he was not the first to arrive in ours. Visionary Dusk, who is currently serving his sentence in Tartarus, revealed to us during our interrogations that he encountered several humans, these D.U.P. agents, during his exile. He was very detailed in his actions of subsequently conversing with them and learning about conduits, then drugging and experimenting on them for his ‘research’. This is where he was able to gain the humans’ equipment and equip his mercenaries with gear from your world.”

The explanation made sense, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t any less of a shock to the human conduits, including Sam. They sat there, stunned at what they heard. Initial feelings of ‘good riddance’ to the displaced D.U.P. agents were felt, but their months of recovery from traumatic events allowed them to feel a small pang of pity as well.

“I certainly have a lot of questions about all of this,” Natie said, “but I think we’re getting a little off topic.”

Princess Luna hummed in agreement, “I concur. Twilight, would you be so kind as to proceed?”

Twilight looked a little anxious, having been put on the spot like so. Her wings ruffled at her side to show her agitation. Sam still couldn’t quite believe his little unicorn friend now sported these new, feathery appendages. He would have to ask more about them later, seeing as the purple bundle of anxiety seemed to have finally collected her thoughts.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out to calm herself, Twilight timidly spoke, “Sam, and, um… Natie, Lu, and Isabelle was it? Wait, no. I-I really only can ask this of Sam.” Directing her hopeful gaze upon the wire conduit, Twilight swallowed hard. “I know this is out of the blue, and we- that is, ‘I’ really have no right to ask this of you, but… We need your help to teach some of the newly activated conduits on how to control their abilities.”

It was a good thing that Sam had been sitting down for that one. He could actually feel his mind grind to halt as he tried to process what he just heard. Not even the other humans could tell what to say next.

With nothing else that could be said, Sam asked the only thing that his mind could come up with at this point in time, “You want me to do what?!”

“I’m sorry, Sam,” Twilight apologized rapidly, “I know it’s a huge favor, and I wish there was another way than relying on you. It’s just, with Administrator Aegis Flare already having so many responsibilities, we didn’t have anyone else to call upon.”

Natie watched with rapt intrigue, although she could see how very uncomfortable the request had made Sam. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, even fighting a full squad of D.U.P. Knights by himself. Knowing him for so long, she already knew why he was so nervous, and it wasn’t about the request per se.

“Look, I know I helped get the guards up to speed on fighting conduits, and I helped stop a megalomaniac from destroying the city, but being a teacher? Do I look like someone with an ounce of teaching ability in this head of mine?” Sam asked, smiling nervously.

“He’s right,” Lu chuckled, “This dumbass wouldn’t know how to teach a fish to shit in the lake.”

Sam cast a sideways glare, but didn’t really do anything to counter the insult.

“Do not sell yourself short, Samuel,” Princess Luna said.

Aegis Flare grunted in agreement, “The princess is right, Human. Out of anypony that I can think of for this task, you’re the only one that I would put my full support behind for this decision.”

Natie watched as Sam’s anxiety rose. She hadn’t known he could be this uncomfortable with attention. Although, if she thought about it, he was always more at ease when that attention was directed more toward his antics and not himself directly.

“Okay, sure, but if you really want someone who can help you. Natie’s got much more experience at being a leader. Plus, she’s already been planning on setting up a training center for conduits back on our world, just like you’re asking here!”

Natie looked a little surprised at being put on the spot, even feeling slighted by Sam’s pass off like that. The wire conduit at least had the decency to look apologetic.

“Samuel,” Luna spoke up, “Excuse me for being blunt, but this isn’t like you. Honestly, we- that is to say ‘I’, half expected some form of quippy remark about ‘if we trusted you enough not to have a whole band of conduit pranksters running around by the end of this’... Listen, maybe you don’t believe in yourself, but we wouldn’t have thought of you to call upon if we didn’t think you were the best choice for this. Not just Twilight, nor Aegis Flare, but all of us.”

The wire conduit looked between the reassuring pony faces, and then over to his fellow conduits for help. Each carried various levels of support or sympathy.

Twilight was the next to speak up, even getting up out of her seat to canter over to her human friend’s side to show her compassion with a gentle hoof over his hand, “Sam. I can’t, and I won’t force you to help us. I’m sorry I dragged you and your friends out of your world just to ask for a favor.” The purple princess nodded to him and the rest of his friends. “None of you are obligated to help us at all, and I understand if you don’t want to. Like we said before, we’ll get the SpARC gate repaired as soon as possible, and you can return home. In the meantime, you’ll all be treated as ambassadors of your world, and provided with everything you’ll need for as long as you stay.”

The solemn vow was met with contemplative silence. Sam looked up to the other ponies across the table and saw they were all in agreeance with Twilight’s words.

“Well spoken, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said approvingly.

Natie considered everything she knew so far. It wasn’t much. There were plenty of unknowns that she’d rather be aware of, and she still couldn’t help but feel this was all just a crazy dream brought on by Sam’s nutty story months ago. Either case, Sam, and the rest of the motley crew were looking to her for a decision. Sighing internally, she did the only thing she could think of to do.

“Can you give us a minute?” she asked the ponies across the table, “We need to talk this over.”

Another nod from the Solar princess as she replied, “Of course. Take all the time you need.”

Natie thanked her and silently motioned for the others to follow to the other side of the room. Sam gave Twilight a quick smile before hopping up himself, also thankful to put off the stressful request. She was actually quite grateful for the spaciousness now as they moved out of the alien horses’ earshot. Now in a circle among her friends, she looked to gauge each of their current moods.

Isabelle seemed rather comfortable, trusting Sam’s words of the aliens’ hospitality. Now, she was taking periodic glances about to admire the colorful world when she had the chance. Lu just looked disinterested as always, but appeared to be listening all the same. Then, there was Sam. Natie still had trouble believing the alien horses, but Sam said they could be trusted. His relaxed demeanor around them helped reinforce that. Though as of right now, his misgivings of being asked to help them now was more evident, even as he tried to cover it up with his usual laidback attitude.

“Ok. First thing’s first,” Natie started off in a lowered voice, “Sam, what are we gonna do?”

Sam leaned back in surprise and replied in a hushed tone, “What?! What are you asking me for?”

“You’re the expert here,” Natie stated matter-of-factly, “Are we going to help them or not?”

This made Sam lean back even more. Just as Natie expected, he was still uncomfortable when put in the position to take the lead. It was a minor flaw he always had, even back during their time fighting Vice Director Michael Bertrand. He was smart, witty, and quick on his feet, but put in the spotlight, and he still flinches. Augustine’s second-in-command took full advantage of that when she had been captured, leaving the other three to fend off the assaults back in Memphis. Sam did his best to keep the other two together, but the constant pressure had been too much. They got lucky though, but Sam’s confidence took a big hit at that time.

Natie wanted to give some advice, but she, Isabelle, and Lu were the strangers in this land compared to Sam, so her perspective would’ve been bias, which in turn was why she was leaving the decision up to the wire conduit. Besides, unlike before, this wasn’t a do-or-die scenario. Natie believed this might be a good opportunity.

Sam contemplated everything that was said so far. He could train another conduit in how to use their powers, probably. He could at least give a few pointers, but this was definitely more up Natie’s alleyway. She was the leader, she was the mentor, she was the one already working on creating a conduit advocacy center for this very type of situation. He looked around the circle of his fellow conduits, each looking to him on what they were to do. He was the one they now needed.

Then, it hit him. The ponies only had intended to call for him, not them. Sparks, Sunny, Loony, and Cappy were his friends as well, and they needed his help.

“...These ponies did so much for me the last time I was stuck here. They took care of me, gave me a place to stay, and did everything they could to help me get back home. I owe them, so I don’t know how much help I can be, but I’m going to help them, help these new conduits, even if it’s just a little. Don’t worry though. I’m the only one they need, so you all can just relax and wait until Sparks gets that SpARC gate up and running. Equestria’s pretty awesome, or at least, Canterlot is. Most of when I was here last time was right here in the capitol.”

Sam looked like he had more to say, but before he could, Isabelle grabbed ahold of his hand with one of hers. Her smile clearly showing as a bright, fiery determination lit her eyes.

“I’ll help too,” she stated firmly, her determination having helped her overcome her usual timidness, “You said they helped you back when we thought we lost you for good. They deserve to know how grateful we are for helping our friend like that. Besides, if you call them your friends, I’d feel terrible for not offering to help anyways.”

Sam was taken aback. He wanted to say that this had nothing to do with the rest of them, that they weren’t obligated to help like he was. However, before he could, Natie cut him off.

Crossing her arms, she shook her head with a light smile, “Isabelle’s right. We owe them for keeping you out of trouble. Not to mention, Twilight, was it? She said that it’d take a couple of weeks to fix that gate. So, we’re stuck here until it’s fixed.”

Sam felt so relieved that he had such friends to support him like this. His guilt of having dragged them into this situation was still there, but the reassuring remarks and smiles were enough perk him back up. It was at times like these that he was glad to have them. Maybe with their support, he might actually be able to be this mentor figure his pony friends needed him to be.

Lu groaned in frustration, effectively ruining the moment, “Are you fucking kidding me?! I’ve got shit to do back in town! I don’t have time to waste being stuck in ‘Rainbow Horse Land’.”

“I thought about that, too,” Natie said, “but remember when Sam disappeared last time?”

Lu’s eyes rolled in their sockets, “Yeah, he gets to go on a vacation for three days while we had to bust our asses to get him back, and beat down those flying kill drones the Dupes sent after us,” Lu turned and glared at Sam, “By the way, thanks a lot for not being there, Asshole.”

Natie sighed, but turned to Sam to inquire about something that had been bugging her, “Sam, exactly how long did you say you were here, in Equestria, when you disappeared?”

Sam was about to just say ‘three days’ to avoid arguing with his friends again, when it suddenly clicked in his head what Natie was truly asking for.

“Four weeks,” Sam stated in realization, “I was here for four weeks!”

Natie nodded in confirmation, “Twilight said that two years have gone by since you were last here, yet it’s only been three months back on Earth. I don’t get how it works, but I think time must go by differently here. So, I don’t think we need to worry about people wondering where we are too much.”

“Well, I guess we’re playing by Narnia rules here,” Sam chuckled, much to his friends’ chagrin, “Who wants to go on an adventure to find some Turkish Delight?”

“Sam, shut up,” Natie pointedly glared at the wire conduit, “Ok, point being, it looks like even if we are here for a couple of weeks, we won’t be gone from our world as long, so there’s no point in lazing around when we can be useful.”

Sam was so grateful for his friends to be here with him, now more than ever. He hadn’t been sure how much he could offer before, but now with his fellow conduits by his side, he felt like he had a better chance. Of course, there was still one more that hadn’t thrown in his support. Then again, Sam wasn’t sure if the meathead of a concrete conduit would even be a good choice for this.

All eyes were on Lu now, who had folded his brawny arms over his chest in a defiant stance against the others. Who cared if he didn’t join in? These rainbow-vomit colored aliens already said he didn’t have to do jack shit. Why did they have to be so nauseating colorful anyway? Especially that gay-ass purple one that’s all buddy-buddy with Sam?

‘You know what? Fuck it. It doesn’t matter,’ Lu thought to himself, ‘If I get to fuck off for a couple weeks and still get back to Memphis before the foreman really starts asking? Then, that’s what I’m doing. Screw Sam! This is his problem anyway. They don’t need me, I-’

“Lu?”

The gentle call of his name snapped him out of his stupor. Isabelle beckoned to him with her pleading expression. Not just her though, both Sam and Natie were waiting expectantly for his answer. Lu wanted nothing more than to tell them to ‘Fuck off’ and to ‘Count him out’. What actually came out was a strangled, frustrated growl as he turned to the side to avoid looking at his companions directly.

“Fuck, fine! I might as well teach whoever the fuck these newbies are how not to take shit from anyone while they’re packing a good shard of concrete.”

Not exactly what they had been hoping to hear, but the others knew Lu meant well. That’s what mattered. They all shared a couple of knowing looks, and they now knew they were in agreeance. With their minds made up, they all came back from the far side of the dining room to be greeted by varying expressions of anticipation. The human conduits took their seats across from the ponies, a moment of tense silence reigning over all of them.

Sam’s serious expression fell away to reveal one of his trademark smirks, “We’re all in!”

Twilight let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Luna and Celestia both tittered at Sam’s usual crass mannerisms. Aegis Flare grunted in approval, but gave Sam a warning look over his nonchalant response, although the other three humans seemed to chide Sam in their own way over the casual agreement.

“Thank you all for your support,” Celestia chimed in, “It can’t be said enough how grateful we are in having you here. Sam, Natie, Lu, and Isabelle.” The solar princess rose from her seat and splayed her wings out in a welcoming manner. “Let me be one of the first to say that if there is anything you may request of us, we will do our best to provide it to you. Thank you again for your kindness and willingness to help us in our time of need.”

With that, the solar princess bowed her head deeply in respect and recognition. The other princesses and Aegis Flare did the same, making the humans feel a little overwhelmed by the grand gesture.

“...Well, since you’re offering,” Sam broke the silence, a mischievous tone in his voice.

Natie tried to glare him down. So far, she’s been able to retain that these alien horses in front of them were royalty, and that the pegasus conduit was some form of military leader. All in all, these were some of the top dogs in the world. So, she had been careful not to seem disrespectful out of courtesy. She knew Sam was familiar with them, but that doesn’t mean that she also knew that his civility filter was faulty at best. Maybe he wouldn’t say something out of place, but the electric conduit knew that tone in his voice too well to know that he was about to lose all tact.

The ponies looked up to see the all too familiar smirk on the wire conduit’s face. Some were happy to see the expression on such a familiar face, but there was still a bit of dread on what it might bring as well.

Sam inhaled dramatically, and spoke in an unabashed manner, “You said these were just the appetizers. Let’s see where the real grub is, cause I’m starting to get hungry! Oh, and since we’re at it, I don’t suppose you’ve got some extra thaumium wire laying around, do ya?”