Chapter 4: "Of Government the Properties to Unfold"

It looked like a castle from a child's fantasy painting; all gleaming white, pristine, and decorated like an oversized cake.

And the town they flew over to reach it was massive. They doubted that even London was any bigger, though of course they had never seen London from this high in the air (nor had pretty much any human).

As they were flown over the town, a few of the ponies below looked up. It was hard to see what was being transported in the net that overflowed the chariot. There had been rumors of some strange magical activity recently. A few of the local pegasi flew up to have a look as the vehicles whooshed by, and they gawked at the strange pink things.

"They welcome us as we would welcome them," Page observed.

"Yes," said Bardolph, "over the past hour, thou hast successfully convinced us that our captors are human in temparament. We require no further reassurance that they are civilized."

"I shall be quiet now."

Mistress Quickly, emptying a wine flask down the throat of Falstaff, said, "If anything, they are marginally kinder. It is lucky they only confiscated your weapons and did not more thoroughly search the rest of us, as Sir John might have been speechless for an eon."

Falstaff came around. The alcohol, as usual, only made him more alert. As he took in his surroundings, he said, "So. The talking horses were not a dream?"

"And the cloven-footed beasts have a court of law," Pistol muttered.

"In a realm of fairies, we meet lawyers," Falstaff mused. "There are constants in life."

"Perhaps they are too human," said Bardolph.

"Sir John, have those spirits of thine returned to thee thy gifts of prevarication?" Quickly had a hunch they were going to have to talk themselves out of a tight spot.

"If Hal cannot rob me of my wits, unicorns and pegasi cannot."

The carriage, still accompanied by the purple balloon, arrived on a bridge between two towers of the castle. The ties on the net glowed and untied themselves via magic, and the net was opened, releasing the humans.

Falstaff, refueled, was about to try and run when he saw that they were surrounded on both sides by more armored ponies with spears.

Pistol, though slightly calmer than before, was still aggressive. He semi-accurately quoted the poet Horatius, "What better way for man to die than by facing great odds?"

"Perhaps we could try not dying?" Falstaff gurgled.

Quickly agreed, "Or perhaps thou wouldst like to spend the rest of our days in bondage?" She was referring to chains, but she still got odd looks from a couple of the ponies. Rarity and Fluttershy in particular exchanged scandalized glances.

At that moment, one of the two rows of guards parted, to admit two more horses. One a stallion, of the same size and white color but wearing a more distinctive uniform; and the other a larger, even-more-oddly-shaped pink mare.

"Twilight!" the stallion said, putting his forelegs around the purple one in an apparent embrace.

"Hey, big brother! Hi, Cadance."

Cadance (as the oddly-shaped one was apparently called) said, "Hey Twilight. We got your reports." It then glanced at the humans, trying not to laugh. "So this is what came out of the rift."

"Yes. They were almost as confused as we were, and there was a misunderstanding that turned into an argument, so we had to restrain them." Twilight was being tactful, but it was true that the humans had not actually caused any damage before being subdued. "However, nopony actually got hurt, so if it's possible, I'd like to request that the criminal charges be postponed, at least until after presenting them to Princess Celestia?"

"Twilee, you don't need to file formal requests for that kind of thing anymore," said the stallion, gesturing to Twilight's wings.

She looked a little uncomfortable. "Even so, I'd rather not just wave my hoof and decree it."

"I'm sure Celestia and Luna won't mind," said Cadance gently.

"Speaking of which," said the stallion, "Princess Celestia is still in the science wings going over the data. Until she gets back, Princess Luna is holding court this morning."

"Princesses?" Falstaff wrinkled his nose. "I have had enough of royalty for one lifetime."

"Or the two lifetimes thou hast already lived," Doll Tearsheet quipped.

Twilight had to raise a reassuring hoof to stop her brother from responding. "Shining, we're all a little on edge, okay?"

Rainbow Dash had been examining the confiscated human weapons for a while, but reluctantly handed them off to a robed pony for analysis. They walked the prisoners up through the castle, all ignoring stares from the ponies milling about. Twilight whispered a little advice to them. "Now look, I get that you're upset, but really, you will have to watch your manners around... other princesses."

Rarity elaborated. "Indeed. Luna can be the sweetest and kindest pony in Equestria, but dear me, what a temper. And when up this late?" She levitated a small makeup mirror in front of her face. "Speaking of which. Twilight, dear, we have been up for almost an entire day, are you sure we couldn't take a moment to make ourselves presentable?"

"Think of it this way, Rarity. If we go in there looking like we haven't been running around all night, it would look like we thought we were too good to get our hooves dirty."

Rarity heaved a dramatic sigh. "Well, I suppose the 'returning from battle' look can be reasonably fetching in times of crisis." But then, having spent far more time than Twilight learning about social cues, Rarity picked up on Twilight's real motive as well. "Oh. And I do understand your desire to not be seen as too above-it-all, now that you're a..."

"I just want to set a good example, okay?" Twilight whispered.

Rainbow Dash trotted a little faster to walk alongside Twilight and Rarity. "Is that why you didn't wanna take the lead in our tag-team flight? You don't wanna look like you were bossing me around?"

Falstaff, Bardolph and Quickly exchanged glances. This sounded rather familiar to them. Falstaff whispered, "I believe I may have a trick to exonerate us."

"What's that whispering?" Shining Armor asked, suspicious but trying to appear casual.

Falstaff also tried to act normal. "I was wondering if we would only be encountering princesses and not the king."

"King? What king would that be?"

Twilight, grateful for a change of subject, once again reassured her brother. "Shining, they're from somewhere further away than that, remember?"

He still looked a bit suspicious, but he became polite. "Sorry. It's just, there's been all this weird stuff going on. No offense."

"None taken," said Page.

Twilight explained to Falstaff, "The highest rank in Equestria is 'Princess' or 'Prince.'"

"Is it?" Falstaff said. "Seems far superior to the English system. Princes make much better friends."

At the notion of being friends with princes, Twilight couldn't help but snicker. "Well, the only prince I've met so far is Blueblood."

"Aren't all princes blueblooded?"

"Huh?"

Fortunately, they managed to get that sorted out before they arrived at the door to the throne room.

Falstaff, despite his longtime camaraderie with Prince Hal, had only set foot in England's throne room once, when he had weaseled his way into a commendation for defeating the rebel leader Hotspur. He tried to remember how different it was.

The primary difference, of course, was that it was an equine being sitting on the throne here. This beast was about the same size as Cadance, but with a midnight-blue color and an iridescent mane. It did indeed look slightly brusque as it levitated some papers in front of it, with a few fancy-dressed ponies gathered round. Those ponies looked up as the doors opened, stared, and moved to give a wide berth.

The dark monster on the throne blinked, as though it was not quite sure of what it was seeing. Then it said, "Welcome, Princesses Cadance and Twilight Sparkle. And these, presumably, are the monsters?" That started whispering amongst the courtly ponies. Cadance strolled up to the the throne and sat beside it like a deputy. The dark one looked at Twilight and asked, "Twilight, are you not joining us?"

Twilight looked at her five friends alongside her there on the floor of the throne room. She'd have to leave their sides. "Thank you, Princess Luna, but I can help hold court just fine from here."

The one apparently called 'Luna' seemed a bit puzzled, and was about to press further before being hushed by a covert hoof-gesture from Cadance. So instead it just said, "Very well. Certainly you are within earshot. Now then, to business. What are these things?"

"They're humans."

More whispering among the assembled ponies. Luna stared for a moment. "Humans. After all these eons." It looked from Page to the other humans. "They are somewhat larger than in the books."

"You are somewhat smaller than in our land," Pistol whispered.

"Peace!" Doll hissed.

The manners of Luna, however, were more familiar to Falstaff and the others. Falstaff went to one knee, and hurriedly motioned for the others to do the same. "I imagine many tales of our natures become twisted over time, Your... forgive me that I have not been tutored on local etiquette, but is it 'Majesty' or 'Highness?'"

Luna paused for a moment, thinking. "Interesting you should ask. 'Princess' seems to be the general address these days," she said, casting a disdainful look at some of the court nobility who were still whispering on the sidelines, "but I do sometimes miss being referred to as 'Your Majesty.'"

"Well then, your Majesty, far be it from me to disappoint."

This was a pleasant surprise for Luna, who straightened up and became more formal. "We greatly appreciate it. Now, by all means rise."

They rose, and Falstaff laid it on thick. "Forgive our trespass in your majestic land. The gate between our lands resembled a mere fog to our eyes. We still are not quite sure when we crossed over."

"This is plausible enough. The rift was visually inconspicuous on this side as well. Which leaves us only with the question of what to do with you until we are able to return you."

"If it please your Majesty, we request naught but sanctuary."

Luna beamed. "Finally, somepony with civilized manners!" She saw Doll Tearsheet stifle a giggle, and assumed it was a response to her error of pronoun (rather than a commentary on the level of accuracy in her appraisal of Falstaff's decorum). The all-powerful Princess of the Night corrected herself, "Our apologies, we momentarily forgot thou wert not a pony."

"Quite all right, your Majesty."

Luna then spent the better part of an hour unloading her frustrations. Falstaff commiserated, mostly by being very vague about his own problems in order to feign comparisons. Page and Rarity joined in somewhere along the way, with Bardolph providing some head-nods and quiet grunts of agreement. Cadance just observed with a silent smile. Twilight was trying to listen in while preventing Pinkie Pie from speaking, just as Doll Tearsheet and Mistress Quickly were endeavoring to keep Pistol silent.

Everypony else was either keeping awkwardly quiet, fighting to stay awake, or had fabricated excuses to leave.

"...and then, of course, they tried to 'sacrifice' candy to us, in a ritual with even less historical basis!"

Falstaff rolled his eyes. "Of course, tradition is prioritized over decency!"

"Your Majesty," Page said, "may I suggest a course of action should this disaster occur again?"

Luna indulged him. "Certainly, little one."

"You might try actually wearing a costume of the Night Mare, and thus turning it to a game instead of a fear."

Falstaff tried to covertly shush Page, but Luna laughed. "That is precisely what our solution wound up being! Was the key so obvious all along?"

"Well, it's good to know we all have some things in common," said Rarity.

Pinkie Pie, when Twilight finally trusted her to speak, whispered, "I've always wondered, how do they decide when to say 'thou' instead of 'you?'"

Twilight explained, "The pronoun 'thou' is informal-singular. You don't say 'thou' to somepony of higher status. And the second-pony plural is always 'you' or informally 'ye.'"

"So that's what it means," Fluttershy whispered.

"You didn't know?" Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy. "But you can understand all their weird stuff."

Fluttershy looked embarrassed. "I can speak to animals, but I only hear their meanings, so I don't always know what the actual sounds mean."

Pinkie Pie thought for a moment. "So, 'thou' is single and informal only?"

Twilight began to explain. "Yes, it's a holdover from the days when it wasn't just royalty who used the plural pronouns, but all ponies of a high station in–"

To the relief of the other four ponies listening to their side conversation, Pinkie interrupted Twilight. "But they used the informal versions with us when we met."

"They didn't know us then." Now Twilight became puzzled once again. "But even so, it's more polite to use the formal terms when in doubt. I wonder why they risked escalating hostilities."

Pinkie Pie was also confused, but the other four figured it out. Fluttershy understood it from her animal friends, and Rarity knew it from her stints in high society. Rainbow Dash may not have spoke the language, but she understood that concept from her memories of fending off bullies at Summer Flight Camp so long ago, and Applejack had inadvertently learned it from Rarity and Rainbow Dash in their own squabbles a few years ago.

It was an eternal barrier to understanding.

"Really? The great sorcerer of Wales, and you can't even break a simple ice seal?"

"Yet I was not the one who wrote the spell."

"The exact spell that worked before."

"They have reinforced your cage since then, perhaps?"

"Or maybe you are not as strong as you claim."

Glendower considered a number of replies. He could state, truthfully, that he had held up his end of the bargain, but of course this thing would never be satisfied with failure. So instead, he assumed an aggressive stance once again, and said, "And you would measure that how?"

Shining Armor now came rushing back into the court, sat beside his wife, and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but Princess Celestia has returned, and is ready to see you all."

Luna looked at the sun outside the window. "Goodness, is it that late already? My apologies. I must retire for the day. Twilight, I don't suppose you could bring these creatures before us again some night?"

"I'll see what I can do," Twilight said, trying not to yawn.

The princess of the night exited, and several new beasts entered via the large doors on the other end of the throne room.

It was fairly obvious which one was the monarch. The equines in this land had a fairly uniform Shetland-esque height, with Cadance and Luna only slightly larger, but this beast was a full-sized horse.

In fact, she was the height of a dray. A large dray. Even Falstaff was dwarfed in comparison.

The monarch glanced at Cadance sitting formally by the throne and Twilight still beside her friends in front. She didn't comment, but she gave a small, knowing smile as she sat down. "Sorry for delaying proceedings, but I am pleased to inform you that, now that the rift has been closed, things seem to be getting back to normal."

There were sighs of relief from the assembled ponies who were still there and still awake. They slowly started to file out, leaving just the princesses, a few guards, and Twilight's friends. Plus the humans.

Once the company were fewer, Celestia levitated a tea set up to take a drink, then clarified. "I'm still waiting for Discord to report back from his latest fact-finding mission. But the energy surges seem to have quieted down as of last night." She turned her attention to the humans. "Unfortunately, this means our extradimensional visitors are temporarily stranded here. For which I humbly apologize, and promise that, as soon as it can be done safely, my personal technician will pour every available resource into finding a way to return you to your home."

Falstaff thought back to what awaited him on Earth. "We thank you, Your Majesty, but please, do not feel pressured."

Quickly added, "By all means, concentrate foremost on safety. We do hope to return someday, but not at the cost of further strife here."

Rarity whispered, "Goodness, what a reaction! Half of them don't care at all."

"They don't wanna get home?" Applejack was confused.

Fluttershy remembered something. "When they were talking to each other, I think I overheard one of them say their world was in trouble."

Rainbow Dash returned her attention to the proceedings. "Really?"

"That would explain some things," whispered Twilight. "I did notice they were being rather vague about their own backgrounds, even with Luna."

The reaction was not lost on Celestia either. For the moment, though, she let it slide. "Well, I am glad to hear the situation isn't urgent. In the meantime, you will be sheltered and provided for. Regarding that, however, there are a few things that will need to happen first. Is it all right if we clear up one or two things now, or would you like to wait?"

"Ask away," Falstaff mumbled, having gone back to squirming.

"I will have to ask you to submit to a medical examination, for your own safety as much as ours, as well as some interviews as to your dietary needs. Ordinarily I would want this sort of thing to remain confidential, but due to the sociopolitical angle of this situation, the records will have to be made publicly available, to maintain transparency. Now, it would be wrong of me to coach you on answers, but I can tell you ahead of time some of the questions you'll be asked, to give you more time to prepare."

"Much appreciated, Your Majesty," said Falstaff.

"I would like you to be honest as much as possible, but considerate of feelings as well. Speaking of which, there are a few topics that won't be specifically mentioned, but they will be at the forefront of some ponies' thoughts."

"Double meanings are a specialty of mine, Majesty," said Falstaff.

"They certainly are," Quickly seconded.

"A proverbial area of expertise," thirded Doll.

"The best I ever had the poor judgment to consort with," Bardolph added.

"Cozening the devil is a pastime of all the damn'd," said Pistol.

Doll exchanged a glance with Quickly, and said, "We humbly request permission to subdue and gag one of our fellow prisoners."

Rainbow Dash snapped awake long enough to shout, "Permission granted!" before falling asleep in midair once again.

Cadance was about to reply in the negative, but Shining Armor whispered in her ear, "Let them do it, let them do it!" and she rolled her eyes and refrained from speaking.

Celestia remained silent, one eyebrow raised.

It took a moment for Twilight to realize nopony else was going to speak, so when she said, "Now wait a minute..." it was already too late; Mistress Quickly and Doll Tearsheet had already begun the long and laborious process of holding down, tying and gagging Pistol, using whatever was at their disposal.

Falstaff, meanwhile, turned to the monarch and meekly said, "To summarize, five of us are capable of reasonable diplomacy."

Celestia laughed. "Yes, I'm getting that. Now, first let's go over a couple things. I reiterate that what is said in this room does not have to leave it; so regardless of how 'tactful' you may wish to be with others later on, we do need you to be honest here and now. Can you be?"

Falstaff replied, "If I speak falsehoods, call me... uh... call me jockey."

Bardolph carefully stepped around the skirmish on the floor, to move forward stand at Falstaff's side. "I will do all I can."

"Thank you." Celestia turned momentarily to Twilight's friends. "Fluttershy, you might want to cover your ears for the first question."

Fluttershy needed no convincing.

"Now then. First off: Under normal circumstances, what do humans eat?"

"Ah." Falstaff nodded slowly. Then, patting his belly, he said, "I personally may not be a representative sample of human diet, and as such I will momentarily defer to my compatriots."

Page shrugged. "We eat a number of things."

Bardolph had figured out what they were really being asked. "May one inquire what your storybooks say we eat?"

Celestia was poker-faced. "I don't recall."

Falstaff now understood as well, and he became defensive. "We do not eat horses!"

The monarch's expression didn't change. "Good to know."

"I say by this hand, we do not!" Falstaff was quite used to talking his way out of his misdeeds, but being accused of something he hadn't done was startling, and he wasn't quite sure how to react.

"And I am genuinely glad to learn that, but I asked what you do eat. Now please, calm down and start over."

Falstaff looked at the others. Bardolph said, "I think we know not where to begin."

"Start with what sort of meat you eat."

The humans weighed their options. On the one hand they could just state that meat wasn't a necessary staple of their diet, which was technically true. But some of them did wish to clarify the truth to avoid rumors later on, so Page said, "Well, there are capons, beef, ham and fish..."

Celestia thought for a moment. "Those are... if I recall correctly... chickens, cows, pigs and fish, correct?"

"You have them here as well?" Falstaff asked.

"We do. They are not, however, game animals."

"That's good to know as well," replied Falstaff, not quite looking like he meant it.

Bardolph said, "Would one be correct in assuming that 'livestock' is not a classification at all, in this land?"

"For meat, it isn't. But, how are you on dairy, or eggs?"

"Are those an option?" said Falstaff.

"Of course they are."

"Those would be sufficient," Page said, "for products of flesh."

"I see. And as for organics, such as fruits, vegetables, grains?"

"We are certainly no strangers to those," said Bardolph.

Celestia pressed just a bit further. "And am I to understand that those, all together, would sustain you?"

Page pointed out, "Some of us thrive on such a diet voluntarily."

Celestia remained furtive, not showing whether she believed them or not. "So, just to make things clear... if I were to inform the cooks that all of you can subsist entirely on natural foods and dairy, this would not cause any health problems later on? Even long term?"

She was greeted with nods, of varying degrees of enthusiasm.

Finally the monarch allowed herself a smile. "That will make things run quite a bit smoother."

"How about wine?" Falstaff asked.

"Hard cider is more popular, but we can try."

Quickly and Doll had finally finished tying down Pistol, and now they returned to the conversation. Quickly had heard the mention of alcohol and it reminded her of her main profession. She asked, "What is the distribution of such drink?"

"Later," Doll Tearsheet whispered to her. She too was hopeful, though.

"Never mind."

"Quite all right," said Celestia.

Twilight gently nudged Fluttershy. "It's okay, they're done."

"So far so good," said Celestia. "Now, between us and these four walls, what were you running from?"

"Pardon?"

"You were fleeing from something last night, in the woods. That's what brought you through the portal." Celestia didn't mention how she knew that, in order to give them less chance to evade. "What were you running from?"

There was an uncomfortable silence among the humans.

"I understand if this is upsetting for you, but we need a general idea, at least."

It wasn't so much 'upsetting' as it was that they didn't want to admit they were fugitives from justice. They might get arraigned at some other point, and a past record wouldn't exactly help them. Eventually, Falstaff took a deep breath and answered in one semi-truthful word: "Politics."

There was a silence.

Rainbow Dash whispered, "War. I knew it." She pointed towards the tower where the humans' confiscated weapons had been sent for analysis. "Did you notice their weapons? Those weren't designed to fight ponies."

"I noticed. The balance and range are all wrong," said Twilight.

"We can't send them back now," Fluttershy insisted.

But before they could discuss all this further, they were interrupted by the sound of a finger snap, a flash of light, and, oh yes, a flying serpent-quilt-thing that appeared over their heads. "Behold, I have returned!" it proclaimed melodramatically. It then noticed the humans, and flitted around them, cackling, "What are these? They look hilarious!"

"They're from the rift."

That made the monster a bit more serious. "Oh. I see. Speaking of which, I have a few updates for all of you, when you're free."

"Are we free now?" Twilight asked Celestia.

"We probably should be." Celestia then addressed Twilight's five friends. "I trust we can leave these humans in your capable hooves for a few minutes?"

"You can count on us, princess!" Rainbow Dash saluted. "Twi, you'll keep us updated, won't you?"

"On anything I can."

The royalty adjourned. The five ponies still present encircled around the humans. There were some stony glares tossed around, though some were more amiable. Fluttershy nuzzled Page in an attempt to break the ice.

"That will be awkward once he is grown," Doll whispered to Quickly and Falstaff.

Rainbow Dash heard that, and crossed her hooves in midair. "For the record, Fluttershy has tamed full-grown bears, manticores and dragons!"

Quickly was stunned, but Doll didn't miss a beat. "I meant no aspersion to her capacities as a beastmistress, though Sir John will be the first to tell you he hath wrestled bears as well, with as much apparent veracity."

Rainbow Dash cast a sideways glance at Rarity and Fluttershy, hoping for an interpreter.

Rarity was trying to play peacemaker. "Now, now, we mustn't repeat the quarrel that landed us here. Let's try not to be passive-aggressive about it, shall we?"

"A lack of that may not be the forte of all present," said Bardolph.

Falstaff got down to business. "So, about that cider she talked of?"

Applejack looked a bit sheepish. "We don't normally ferment all that much of it, but we can make a bit more if you need." She then looked a bit more suspicious, though still sympathetic. "Thing is, how y'all gonna pay for it?"

Mistress Quickly replied, "I am but a poor barkeep. Depending on available positions, I have now begun entertaining the possibility of continuing in this vein, or perhaps even becoming proprietor of my own tavern and inn again."

"Ah." Applejack also didn't quite understand some of that, but she got a general idea. "Well, glad to see y'all... or most of y'all... displayin' a bit of work ethic."

"I love the way these things all talk!" Pinkie Pie squealed. "Hey, can we untie the grumpy-pants one? I wanna learn some more new words!"

Discord snapped his claws and a map appeared in the air. It was a map of Equestria.

He then plucked a candle from a chandelier and touched it to several points on the map, setting them alight. But instead of spreading, the flames stayed in the place he put them, acting like little glowing markers that he could move around the map by pulling them, with the map seeming to heal behind them as they moved.

He put one mark over the Everfree Forest, one beside Canterlot, one over Cloudsdale, and another over Manehattan. Then he turned the candle into a pair of oversized glasses and placed them on his nose, lapsing into a not-all-that-good impression of Twilight giving a science lecture as he delivered his report. "So, here's that rift we finally managed to close last night, and here are the origins of those energy pulses that caused the rift to open." He dramatically put one paw over his chest, closed his eyes, and said, "If you may recall, I was kind enough to put those instruments in place for you to try and measure the areas."

"Which we've been doing," Twilight said.

"What did you find?" Cadance asked.

Twilight shook her head. "Unfortunately, the ambient energy in those areas has been completely normal since then, so unless it happens again, we won't know exactly what caused it. I'm torn between wanting the rift to stay closed, versus wanting to find out what caused it to open."

"Well, you might not have to make that decision yourself," Discord said. He looked around for the candle, and remembered he'd turned it into the glasses, so he grabbed another one and put a flame on the map over the Crystal Mountains to the north. "Because, there's been another one here."

"Isn't that where King Sombra was imprisoned?" Twilight said.

"Indeed," said Celestia, making a note to brief Luna later on.

Discord continued. "And it's not just one spell this time. I felt several of them, in a row. Something is trying to open another doorway there. And it's trying hard."

"Did you catch it in the act?"

"I came close. I also put more sensors there, but whatever this new thing is, it doesn't like being measured, since it smashed those sensors into little bitty pieces the moment my back was turned."

Shining Armor spoke up. "If it's trying to open a gate there, does that mean Sombra's back?"

"It would explain a few things," said Cadance.

Twilight wasn't convinced. "But why that one specific part of the mountain? We defeated him, but we didn't re-seal him in the ice. Why would he need a doorway there if he already got out?"

Celestia pointed out, "It could be that just a fragment of his power escaped, and that his true form is still entrapped."

Cadance nodded. "I did think he went down a little easy, given his reputation."

"I should have checked the ice more thoroughly," said Celestia. "After that battle, I went up there to try and see how he'd escaped, but the seal was intact. I couldn't sense his aura still there, but he could easily have used some sort of concealment spell. Given everything else, I just assumed he had bypassed it entirely." She returned her attention to the present. "How strong was this new attempt?"

"Stronger than the first three put together, just cast in a smaller area."

"Focusing it into a smaller area to amplify its power," Twilight concluded. "But at that strength it should have succeeded. Maybe these portals can only work in the Everfree Forest?"

Discord took off the glasses and said, "Anyhoo, things have been quiet since then. Can I go do something fun now?"

Celestia nodded. "Thank you, Discord. Just please don't approach the otherworldly creatures without consulting me first."

"Ugh. Oh all right." But they detected a certain gleam in his eye as he snapped his claw and vanished once again.

The map was gone too, so Celestia levitated another map out from a box of scrolls. "Now, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, we need you to return to the Crystal Empire and lend them your protection once again. This includes keeping an eye on the mountains to the north."

Shining Armor looked concerned. Cadance reassured him, "We have the Crystal Heart this time, remember? I'll be fine." She too seemed a little troubled in spite of that, but she continued reassuring both herself and him as they went out together. "His power over the Crystal Ponies is already broken now, too."

As the two left, Twilight asked, "Am I going with them?"

"No. You will return to Ponyville with your friends, to secure accommodations for the humans."

"What? But why?"

"Even if King Sombra is more powerful than before, the Empire is much better defended this time."

"Oh." Twilight looked down, disappointed. "And I suppose I'm needed elsewhere, huh?" Gee thanks, wings, she couldn't help thinking.

"Of course you are. With Sombra's link to the Empire broken, he might now decide it's not worth his trouble at all, and set his sights elsewhere in Equestria. You might have to go elsewhere at short notice, and the Crystal Empire is more geographically isolated."

"Huh? Oh... you're right." Twilight had been expecting some lecture about priorities or political duties; a tactical reason came as a pleasant surprise. She raised a hoof to point at the map. "And if rifts can only open here, he might head here to try and escape Equestria altogether and wreak havoc on some other unsuspecting world."

"Precisely. And for a number of reasons, it will be helpful that your research on the cryptids will be conducted nearer to where the rift opened."

Twilight gave a relieved smile. "You already knew what I was planning."

Celestia smiled in return. "As your friends will no doubt be having to remind you quite often for a while, Twilight Sparkle, wings aren't going to change you."

As they returned, Pistol had his hands free, and was hastily untying the gag handkerchief that kept him from speaking, while shrugging off any attempt to help. Rainbow Dash kept an eye on him, while Mistress Quickly discussed with Applejack the possibility of getting into the cider retail business. Fluttershy had offered Page a ride through the air around the room, but as she saw Twilight and Celestia re-enter, she blushed and descended.

Celestia announced, "Hello again, everypony. My apologies that took so long." She glanced out the window at the sun, and then at the door on the other end of the great hall. From a distance, she opened those doors, and revealed the ponies of the royal court, some of whom now pitched forward due to their having had their ears pressed up against the doors. Celestia smiled gently, and said, "Dare I ask how long you've been there?"

One of them sheepishly said, "We didn't hear anything, your Highness."

"Oh, I know. The doors have a soundproofing spell on them." The eavesdroppers' expressions grew even more embarrassed, as Celestia gently continued, "Well, we mustn't keep them waiting. I'm afraid we'll have to cut this short. Twilight, would you mind escorting your guests to the science wing for more detailed interviews? I'm sure you can brief them on the way."

Once they were out, Rainbow Dash peered at Twilight. "What did she mean, your guests?"

Applejack groaned. "Don't tell me we're takin' 'em back to Ponyville with us."

"We can't just dump them all on Fluttershy's doorstep," said Rarity.

"I don't mind," said Fluttershy timidly.

Twilight reassured her friends. "We'll work something out." She then briefed them on what she had found out in the strategy meeting.

Rainbow Dash seemed disappointed. "You mean, Cadance and your brother might get to do the Sombra rematch without us?"

"Emphasis on 'might,' and we're still not sure it even is Sombra. Now, we're scaring the humans."

The humans had attempted, with varying degrees of success, to follow the conversation. They were about to reassure the ponies that they could handle the news, but then they finally arrived at the science wings for the examinations.

As the humans began to be led away, Twilight consoled them. "Don't worry. The examination will be thorough, but quick, and then we can get you set up in your new interim home in Ponyville with us." She rattled off a few activities she thought would sound appealing. "You can visit landmarks, play games, meet all sorts of ponies... you could even help with some friendship lessons."

"Friendship lessons?" Falstaff raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yes, I forgot to mention. I was once sent to study the magic of friendship, and help others learn as well. I don't know how familiar you are with the concept, but the five tenets are kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty and loyalty."

Falstaff wasn't quite sure what to say as he was led to the exam rooms. Doll Tearsheet was led in shortly after, but she had a parting thought.  "You would bestow upon Sir John a moral compass?"

There was a pause. Once the humans were out of the room, the ponies gathered around a small table in the waiting room to confer. Applejack asked, "What'd she mean by that?"

Rarity turned to address Rainbow Dash. "Dashie, dear, with respect to your brilliant insight on their weapons, I think it might be a slight leap of logic to infer that they were telling the truth."

"I didn't say they were honest about everything. But you don't have to be perfect to have a legit reason to fall back," replied Rainbow, sounding slightly defensive.

"What, you think they're fugitives?"

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Well duh, of course they are. I thought it was obvious."

They all stared at her. After a moment, Twilight asked, "Is this another of your mystery-theories again, Pinkie?"

"Theories? Silly Twilight, you taught me to look for clues instead of making things up, remember?"

"And... and you listened?"

"Yep! And when I'm faced with an entirely new culture to throw parties for, I want to extra-super-hone my clue-finding skills so I also know what will help them feel welcome!"

Twilight exchanged some skeptical looks with the others, but she indulged her energetic friend for the moment. "All right, Detective Pinkie, how much do you know about them?"

Pinkie Pie tossed six manila file folders onto the table. Paper-clipped to each was a drawing and name of one of the humans. "These are my case file dossy-ears, on each of them!"

"It's pronounced dossiers, and that's not the same thing as a 'case file,'" Twilight corrected her, as she opened one.

"Oops. I should probably go over an actual handbook. But how are my clue-finding skills, Chief Detective Lieutenant Inspector Princess Twilight?"

Twilight examined a couple of the files. "Hmm. Actually this isn't too bad so far. But you mistranslated some of the archaic language again, and that threw a couple of your deductions off. Here, let me show you."

The other ponies examined the other folders. Each dossier had several pages of hoofwritten text and a few sketches, detailing everything each one of the humans had said since she had encountered them, with dense notations about expressions and tone of voice, to provide context for her attempts to translate some of the more obscure phrases and terms, plus a massive list of deductions about their biographies and histories drawn from the clues presented.

Applejack stared at the notes. "Wait, when the hay did you make th–"

"Best not to ask," said Rarity, trying not to look too bewildered herself.