Twilight approaches the young human man - Sean, he said - as the newly awoken Applejack finishes trussing up the soldiers. They've already said hello again, but everyone agrees the full story can wait until Rachel and Annie-Jane show up with the later's van to help haul the captives.
"So," Twilight says, leaning a hoof against the large machine still sitting at the center of the wrecked room, "could you really not make a smaller noisemaker?"
He blinks rapidly at her. "Uh...what? Why do you call it that?"
"That isn't what it's supposed to do? It made this awful whine that really screwed up my ears and horn. I could barely concentrate!"
"Oh," it seems to Twilight that he looks sad. "Wow. I could have saved a lot of time and effort. No, it does way more than that - it throws out a ton of static on every frequency we could come up with that isn't harmful. Cellular, radio, all that stuff, none of it would have worked in here. We figured we were bound to hit whatever freaky stuff you did one way or another. The sound was just...well, why not, you know?"
Twilight giggles. "Oh, that's silly! Magic isn't on the electromagnetic spectrum! Though I suppose it's possible one of those things caused the horn resonance, rather than the sound." She turns her head sideways and tightens her mouth in thought. "I suppose we could isolate each component of the device and do some tests..."
"Um, Twilight," Fluttershy's leaning up against Polaris, enjoying a head scratching, "I'd really rather never hear that noise ever again, if that's ok."
"I agree," Applejack calls over, "besides, do y'all really want that thing around when this guy knows where you live and all?"
Twilight frowns, but nods. "You're right, everypony. Much though it pains me, now is probably not the time for science. But, uh, Sean, you could make it again if you needed to...right?"
He thinks for a minute, then nods. Twilight perks up a bit. "Stand back, then."
Everyone moves to the edges of the room, then her horn glows and the device emits some curls of acrid smoke. There are some pops and sparks, and several of the exposed wires fall loose at one or both ends.
"I suppose you'd better just tell me about Mr. Gray, then," Twilight says. "How closely did you work with him? Was he here?"
"Oh yeah! He dropped those two off, and was here until about ten minutes before you got here. He said he was going on a coffee run, but it's only a few minutes away, so I sorta figured he'd gone before you got here. That's one of the reasons I gave up."
"Yeah," Applejack said, "I could tell he weren't coming back soon as he told ya."
"You were awake? How'd we get the dose that far wrong?"
Twilight laughs. "You just didn't know about earth ponies. Applejack's magic isn't quite as strong as mine, and it's in a totally different form, but she's a lot stronger, faster, and tougher than any earth animal her size. If you'd given her enough to keep her unconscious it probably would have looked like a lethal dose."
"Twi'," Applejack glares at her, "don't tell him! What if he's a double agent or something?"
"I'm not really worried about that, AJ. I trust him. They had us pretty well pinned down when he turned that thing off, after all. Besides, if they ever do capture any of us again, I'd rather they not kill you accidentally. Or one of the others when they don't realize only earth ponies are that tough. Can you imagine if they gave Rarity an Applejack-sized dose?"
Applejack winces, then nods. "Fair 'nuff. So how long's it gonna take for your friends to get here?"
"Probably another ten minutes or so," Twilight sighs. "I just hope they beat the real police. They like us, ever since I helped Rachel, but this would be a bit much to explain, especially why they can't just take these guys into custody." She turns to Sean again. "Anyway, Mr, Gray really does work for the government, right? I couldn't really tell if his badge was fake when he showed me."
"Oh yeah," Sean says, "Homeland Security, the uh, shadier side of it. I got recruited last year, right out of college. Seemed exciting, you know? It was right after those marathon bombers and the lockdown," the ponies looked confused, but Polaris just nodded, "and I wanted to stop that from ever happening again. But it didn't turn out that way. Then with you guys, well...it was the last straw."
"Seems like a mighty dangerous move," Applejack says. "If they're willin' to do this to us, what're they gonna do to you when they find out you betrayed 'em?"
Sean looks queasy, but his voice is firm. "They won't be happy, that's for sure. But it was the right thing to do. After that speech you gave, they were never going to let you go, if they got you. Mr. Gray tried to hide how mad he was, but I could tell. He's got it in for you now."
"The Princess will protect him, like she protected herself," Polaris says, voice serene.
"That's very nice of you to say," Twilight can't resist a little eye roll, "but I still have to sleep sometimes. No matter how angry Mr. Gray is, though, he's playing a complicated game here, and I don't think he wants to lose. I can't always be there to protect you, so we have to make sure doing anything to you would be a bad move."
"How do we do that?"
"Well, you can't prove your story, right?"
"Not really. I mean, I have an ID card, but it isn't like my specific activities are public record. That would kind of defeat the purpose."
"Right. So we need to make sure you tell it, and that you stay somewhere visible."
"I don't follow, sugarcube," Applejack frowns.
"No, I think she might be right," Sean says, "or at least, it's our best chance. If I'm outspoken and visible, if anything happens, it'll support my story," he turns to Twilight. "Let me guess, you want me to go to the park?"
"Exactly," Twilight smiles at him. "Well, I'll take you. Can't have you getting attacked on the way."
"Princess?" Polaris looks over at her. Twilight waits for a moment for her to continue, then realizes she's waiting for permission.
"Oh, err, you don't need to ask me before you talk to me."
Polaris nods and blushes. "I will ask my comrades to set up a watch on him, if you don't mind."
"I was planning on just having him stay in the park. It sounded like a lot of them were planning on staying there for a long time to keep up the protest."
"Of course," Polaris nods back, "but I've read about things like this. They don't all have to be snipers and soldiers. If he's just in there in that big crowd, all sorts of accidents can happen. Someone was drinking. A veteran saw him as a deserter, got mad. We aren't earth ponies either. All it takes is a knife, and it's easy to make up a story for that. Uh, no offense, Princess. I'm sure you know best."
Twilight sighs. "Polaris, I appreciate that you respect me so much, but I already told you I'm not a god. I don't know best. Three months ago I didn't know this planet existed! I'll take your advice, if you agree that if I need it again, you won't be so nervous about giving it to me."
Polaris manages a smile. "I'll do my best."
The sound of a car pulling up echoes in through the broken doorway. Twilight glides over and peers out.
"That's them," she says, "AJ, Fluttershy, go back to the bar with them. Polaris, you too. I'll meet you there as soon as I get Sean settled, and I'll fill you in, I promise. I just need to make sure he'll be ok."
Fluttershy smiles up at Sean. "We understand. He was so nice to us, we can't let those mean humans hurt him. I'm sure I'll see you again soon, Sean."
The human grins goofily, then blushes as soon as he realizes it. "T-thanks Fluttershy."
"Come on, you girls can ride in my car," Polaris says. Twilight finds it horribly unfair that she seems perfectly willing to be casual around the other ponies. "That kind of van doesn't have any seats in the back. Besides, I've got a convertible!"
"What's a car?" Applejack says.
"What's a convertible?" Fluttershy continues.
"Don't worry," Polaris grins at them, "you'll love it. Just be sure to hold on to your hat, Applejack."
"Oh. Oh dear." Says Fluttershy.