We drove out of the city, up into the hills. Trixie and Starlight were both curious and eager to see everything while I worried about what I was getting into. Worrying or not, I was doing it, so I kept focused on the road ahead of me as best I can.
"How many do you think they have?"
"I'm not sure. If it's a lot, you'd think we would have already heard about it."
I wasn't paying attention to who said what, just following Swanson's dark car.
It figured that wherever we were going might not have an address I could put into Google.
"At least Trixie's badge of citizenry looks nice." It wasn't hard to figure out which one of them that was.
A hand landed on my shoulder, a gentle touch. "Are you alright?" asked Trixie.
I started with surprise, multiple. I hadn't expected to be touched, nor did I expect Trixie, of the two, to ask that question. "Oh, uh--"
"Trixie understands. You are being asked to perform. When she was young, she had to face that fear to become the showmare she is today. Even now, she gets scared sometimes." Her hand squeezed lightly. "You have a big advantage. You're not alone."
"Yeah," piped in Starlight. "We're with you every step of the way. Oh! Trixie, did you know Linda here is learning magic too, when she's a unicorn that is."
"Really?!" Trixie exclaimed with excitement bubbling. "How far have they gotten? Can they make teacups?"
I could almost feel Starlight's smirk without looking. "She hasn't reach transfiguration yet, but she did cast her first spell. It isn't nearly as flashy as the teacup spell, of course, but she did it."
Trixie's hand withdrew from my shoulder to clap in polite applause. "Trixie will have to show you her magic, real magic, when we have the chance. Welcome to the club of wizardry."
We arrived. It looked like a small village tucked away in the mountains. A village with a big fence and high security. As we approached by the one road in, each car, Swanson's and my own, was stopped and checked. They checked our ID and had a look over everything. One of the two guards had a wand of some sort, that crackled like a geiger counter. The car had nothing that interested them.
At least until they waved it over us. I made it crackle a little. Trixie made it squeal once they reached her head. The guard frowned at her. "Miss, can you remove your hat?"
Trixie grabbed for her hat, holding it to her head. "She will not, thank you."
Swanson came walking up. "What's the issue?"
"Radiation detected," reported the guard. "They're all putting it off, but she's--" he hiked a thumb at Trixie. "--out of normal protocol."
I raised a finger. "I presume we're talking about that 'special' radiation and not gamma waves?"
Swanson looked annoyed at my question, and ignored it. "They're with me. Everything's alright. It's part of an experiment we're conducting today."
"This will be documented," noted the guard as he returned to his station. We were clear to proceed.
Swanson waved towards a parking lot. "Go ahead and get your car settled and we can begin the tour."
With the cars set in their proper place, we began hiking into the village together. Swanson was leading the way, "The guards know just as much as they need to know, so kindly don't go over anything with them. Their main function is to prevent unauthorized humans from entering, or allowing any ponies to be smuggled out. I doubt Miss Lulamoon is smuggling a pony under her hat."
"That would be a trick," agreed Trixie, but she didn't specifically deny it, I quietly noted.
Starlight's eyes wandered across the two story houses we were passing. "So, where are the ponies?"
"They are instructed to remain in a specific part of the town, to minimize visibility." Swanson gestured ahead. "This isn't as dramatic as Jurassic Park, but welcome to Ponyville."
Starlight and Trixie both burst into laughter. I had the dignity to hold it in, instead asking, "Who decided on that name?"
Swanson shook her head even as she continued her march. "Someone else. What's wrong with the name?"
Starlight recovered, following after us. "Oh, nothing. It's just... That's the name of the town we live in."
Trixie nodded. "Trixie does not live there, but has visited enough times. This place does not look like Ponyville."
And yet, it had ponies. As we crossed another intersection of houses, they came into view. There were three in sight. One pegasus with their wings bound and two earth ponies. They appeared to be chatting. One of the earth ponies was much smaller than the others and quite familiar. It was the foal that was shown to me before.
They saw us as we saw them. There wasn't much to stop it. They looked at us curiously, but didn't move to approach.
Swanson didn't stop her walk. "They're nervous. This is one part of several that we want you here. Being in contact with others of their kind will help considerably."
Trixie shrugged as she went. "Why can't they have the badges of citizenry too?"
Starlight nudged her. "I can answer that, because they can't stop looking like ponies. None of them are unicorns."
"Precisely so," agreed Swanson. "Good afternoon," she called out to the ponies as we came into chatting range. "I trust everything is going alright?"
The pegasus nodded. "Any... progress on a place to fly? My wings are getting a little... I want to fly."
A quick idea jumped into my head. "Why not just tarp a large area to allow for private workouts?"
"Not secure enough," flatly denied Swanson. "Construction on a gymnasium is planned, and you'll be given full freedom to exercise and be unbound within it."
The foal, a colt, approached us with his big curious eyes. "You seem different."
Trixie squatted down to be on his level. "Hello there, colt. Have you heard of the Great and Powerful Trixie?"
The colt's eyes shined. "A friend of mine saw her!"
Trixie was pleased. "And now you have as well! We have come to help you."
The colt struck the ground with his little forehooves in an applause. "Are you taking us home?"
Trixie suddenly looked less sure. "That is beyond Trixie's powers, but she will help here."
The larger earth pony was peering at Trixie. "Trixie's a unicorn, not a human."
Trixie stuck out her tongue at the mare. "Trixie can be whatever she wants, because she has magic."
Starlight rolled her eyes. "She has magic friends."
"That too."
Swanson turned to me. "There are others. Can your friends stop hiding as humans, just to prove their claims?"
Starlight put a hand at her hip. "Her 'friends' can be talked to directly." With a shower of sparkles, Starlight released the spell that held her in a human shape and fell to all fours in ill-fitting clothes. She wriggled her way free and her magic quickly folded the clothes in a neat pile. "Ta da."
All three of the ponies were gaping. The little one charged at her and sat down to clop his little hooves together. "Oh wow!"
The pegasus tilted her head. "It's good to see friends, but what can you actually... do?"
Swanson shook her head. "Today we meet everyone. Do you know where the others are?"
The pegasus pointed to one of the buildings. "The others are watching television. They're bored."
The colt shook his head. "Running River's not bored. She's in love with the thing!"
The earth mare gave a smirk at that. "I can't argue that. She can't get enough human plays, and there seems to be an infinite number of them."
I found a hand gravitating towards the colt. I gently mussed his soft mane and scratched behind an ear. He seemed to like it. "So how many are here?"
"Roughly a dozen," answered Swanson in an officious tone. "That number may change. If things go ideally, this will be the center point of all such activity. Now, let's discuss your company." She gestured for me to follow, so I did, even if it meant leaving warm fuzzy ears behind.
"You probably think we have a lot built. I'm going to banish that illusion." She threw open the door to one of the houses, revealing... a lot of nothing. It was a facade, and not even a very secure-looking one. "We need this village built, all of it. Dozens of buildings, that gymnasium I mentioned, and others. It's a considerable project. Your company has a pedigree of making sure such projects are done in a timely fashion, and you need to be here for other reasons. I think you see where I'm going."
I glanced back to see the five ponies (if you include Trixie and Starlight) chatting amiably. "So you want me to head this project? To remind, I'm a lawyer. I'm not usually the one leading the contractors."
"Neither of you are," agreed Swanson. "But you are connected with those that are. You two will make this happen."
"Linnie!" Kevin called out, approaching at a brisk jog. "Hey, welcome!" He was dressed much like Swanson was. Was that a uniform for them? "What have you been told?"
Swanson smiled at that. "Good question. You're already getting the hang of it. She knows the ponies are here, and met a few." She gestured to where the chat was happening amongst equines. "I just informed her of the project I want you two to lead to get this place fully operational."
Kevin clapped his hands together firmly. "I can't wait to get started. I've spent so long telling other people to trust us and our builders, it'll be nice to be on the ground floor as it happens for a change."
A thought bothered me. "How will we get these contractors in here and working without compromising the secrets that you don't seem ready to have blown yet?"
Swanson lifted her shoulders. "The ponies will be relocated during workdays. Leave that to us. There is another matter we're hoping you can help us resolve."
Somehow, I didn't like the tone of that. "Yes?"
"You have contact with the other country, Equestria." She gestured to the conversation. "It would be a poor first move to keep their citizens hidden from them. We want to provide pictures and documentation of the ponies we have to see if they have been reported missing and to assure them that they are safe in our care at this time. We would hope, at minimum, such courtesy would be extended to America were the situation reversed."