Pandemic

by ASGeek2012


Chapter 54 - Cure

Twilight felt like she hadn't slept properly in a week.

She had hoped to get a full night's rest after dealing with Sunset's escape, but that had been based on the premise that Sunset would be back in human custody, her fate still undecided. Twilight never expected to be mourning for her instead. She knew herself well enough to realize that if she let herself wallow in the might-have-beens, she would become an emotional wreck and get nothing done. She had to put aside her feelings and her exhaustion and focus on the task at hoof.

Thus around noon Equestrian time, she was standing before the completed work, something she hoped later she would see as a huge triumph, a stupendous feat of magic and engineering, a monument to what both theory and hard work could do.

Now, however, it looked distressingly fragile and even overly simple. A tall, oval mirror sat in a large stone frame, complex runes inscribed along the edge of the glass with intense precision. Gone was the dangerously metastable magical singularity of the original portal, or the huge mana batteries needed to power it. Instead, the amount of magical plasma required was vastly smaller, running in conduits built into the frame.

Moreover, the plasma could be quiesced. It had to be, or its counterpart could never be transported through the existing portal. She had briefly panicked at one point that this could not be done, which would have meant building the counterpart on Earth, which in turn meant additional days of setting up a proper lab, transporting materials, and so on.

The mirror stood just behind the Crystal Heart. Twilight glanced behind her towards where she knew the denizens of the Crystal Empire were gathering, but they appeared warped and fractured through the faceted Heart.

She heard hoof-falls from the side, and she turned to see Cadance and Celestia approach. "Is the portal ready, Twilight?" Cadance asked.

"I certainly hope it is," said Twilight in a tired voice. "I'm just waiting for Starlight to finish setting up the other mirror on Earth. It should be any minute now."

"I am proud of you for the intense effort you put into this," said Celestia. "This never could have happened without you."

Twilight smiled faintly. In any other context, she would have taken the praise to heart, but at that moment, all she cared about was whether the damn thing would actually work.

As if in response to her thoughts, a sound like vibrating crystal rose from the mirror, and the surrounding frame softly thrummed. The glass glowed faintly, barely visible in the flashing brilliance reflected from the Crystal Heart. Seconds later, the surface rippled like water, and Star Singer stepped through.

Star opened her mouth as if to speak, but her eyes widened slightly as they fell upon Cadance and Celestia. She gave them an awkward bow before finally saying in an uncertain voice, "I always did want to see the Crystal Empire one day, so I guess getting that wish is nice."

"Are you feeling okay?" Twilight asked.

"That's really a loaded question after everything that happened," said Star.

"I mean physically!" Twilight said in a testy voice. "Any nausea? Lightheadedness? Mental or magical impairment?"

"I'm fine, Twilight. In fact, it felt much smoother than the original portal."

"It should," said Twilight. "In effect, the two surfaces are acting as if they are the same entity. If only ... well, never mind that."

Twilight had almost said "if only Sunset had remained in Equestria, she could have helped open peaceful relations with Earth." Now was not the time for lamentations.

She looked over to Cadance instead. "Is my brother going to be here?"

"He will be," said Cadance. "Flurry Heart chose this day of all days to be fussy. Both Shining and Sunburst will be along shortly."

Twilight had hoped to stay in the Crystal Empire for a few days after this was over. She needed all her emotional strength if she were going to face her father and her grandmother in the wake of Sunset's passing. Yet she still craved family contact, and her BBBFF would be just what she needed.

In a way, she envied the Tanners back on Earth. Their transformation had brought them closer together, even if there was still some question as to their future.

It was her personal contact with humans that had kept her going. When the initial shock had worn off concerning Sunset's death, and she was faced with having to finish the portal, she found it easy to think she could just wash her hooves of humanity and leave them to their own devices. It hadn't taken her long to pull herself out of those dark thoughts, but she hated that she had had those thoughts in the first place.

The rest of her friends came to join her, with Applejack leading the way. "We jus' came from the square. Looks like yer gonna have quite a crowd fer this shindig."

"We got everypony in the Empire to show up!" Pinkie said.

"Not that we had a lot of work to do," said Rainbow Dash with a smile. "Everypony was really eager to help."

"I think it helped that they knew there are ponies similar to them on <Earth>," said Fluttershy.

Rarity uttered a soft sigh as she stepped up to Twilight. "Normally I would be reveling in another chance to have that fabulous crystal look again, but at the moment, this seems almost bittersweet. I do hope this works."

"You're not the only one," said Twilight. "But that reminds me. Celestia, have you heard from Luna? How successful was she in getting the night ponies on Earth to contact all the crystal ponies overnight?"

"She was successful in that part of the endeavor," Celestia said.

Twilight could hear the undertone of disappointment in Celestia's voice. "But did she get their consent?"

"She obtained consent from most."

"How much is 'most'?"

"Luna didn't take exact numbers," said Celestia. "But she said about three quarters of them acquiesced."

"Well, that sounds pretty dandy to me," said Applejack.

Twilight frowned. "Except it's not. I need all of them. If that many don't want to cooperate, that's a sizable chunk of the population who could begin transforming."

"Wait, I'm missing something here," said Star Singer. "I thought this technique was going to be assisted by Triss, that the magic would seek out crystal ponies and everything would just work."

"Yes, but I didn't want to do this against their will."

"Is this going to hurt the crystal ponies of that world in any way?" Star Singer asked.

"Well, no, it shouldn't," said Twilight. "Startle them a bit, maybe, but that's it."

"Then what's the problem?"

Twilight frowned and turned more fully towards Star. "We've had enough of doing things to sapient beings against their wishes! I didn't want to resort to it as well."

"I don't think the <humans> would care at this point, to be brutally honest."

Therein lay Twilight's dilemma. This particular problem concerning the crystal ponies was just the tip of the iceberg. For all their talk about how the original transformation went against the collective will of humanity, they were quick to disregard the wishes of the affected when it came to the prospects of changing them back.

Twilight would never admit to such, but she sometimes wished that the transformed would obtain cutie marks just to lift the burden from her. Yet as Luna had told her just a few days ago, she couldn't keep avoiding decisions like this. Or the one she had to make now.

She wished she had more accurate data on how many crystal ponies agreed and where they were located. Then she could make the proper calculations and give her more of a basis to make a decision. It was only when she realized this fell into the same patterns of thought as Sunset that she backed away from it. This couldn't be decided on the basis of cold and hard facts, but what she felt was best.

She glanced towards the mirror. Beyond it lay an entire species depending on her and her friends to help them. What was more important, a personal conviction or the potential survival of humanity? Making the wrong decision risked a future where humans were the minority race on their own planet.

She looked towards her friends. Their eyes looked on in sympathy rather than judgment. That helped.

"All right," Twilight said. "We'll push the spell to all crystal ponies on <Earth>."

"I understand how you feel about this Twilight," said Celestia in a somber voice. "Given that I had to make a similar decision when I cast the memory suppression spell. History did not vindicate me, but I am sure it will vindicate you."

Twilight could only hope so, especially now that she knew she had the potential to one day become immortal like Celestia. She did not want to go that long regretting something she had done.

"Before I address the crowd, is there anything else we should know about?" Cadance asked.

"Well, it's not directly related to this," said Rainbow. "But just before I was called back from the Griffon Kingdom, I found Derpy's parents."

"That is wonderful news," said Rarity.

"Has Derpy been told 'bout this yet?" Applejack asked.

"I haven't had time," said Rainbow. "I thought I'd talk to Princess Celestia about it first, since I think Derpy's parents are still under the memory spell."

"We can discuss it right after we conclude distributing the counterspell," said Celestia. "I hope this bodes well for the future."

Rainbow rubbed a hoof through her mane. "I dunno about that. I was forced to tell Gilda pretty much everything that was happening. She, uh, didn't take it well. But I did manage to get her to promise not to spread the word about it for now."

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash," Celestia said. "As much as we are all eager to move past this, things are still in a very delicate state right now."

Twilight at least could be content with the fact that she was not the one who had to tell the nobility that an Equestrian citizen was killed by a foreign power. While the nobles had no real power over the Diarchy, Celestia preferred them to remain placated, as it was less headache for her. "Star Singer, if you would, please tell Starlight we're about ready."

"Only if I can come right back," said Star. "I've about had my fill of that world for a long time to come. Perhaps forever."


Starlight's horn glowed as she examined the portal to ensure it was functioning properly despite having seen Star Singer go, return, and leave again no worse for wear. The spells she was using she had memorized from Twilight's writings. Where the original portal was magic she at least barely grasped, this new one might as well have been some piece of unfathomable human technology; she knew only how to cast the spells and interpret the results.

The wind blew at her mane, sending a few strands of hair across her eyes. The basement of Sunset's house had been deemed too small a space for the new portal, as they had wanted to increase security around it. Starlight had no idea how much more secure they could get considering the whole town was pretty much a fortified bunker by then. Nevertheless, they had transported it outside. She wasn't sure how placing it right out the open would help, thus she wondered if the humans simply wanted to ensure that nothing impeded the magic when it came out of the portal.

Teaching these humans exactly how magic worked was going to be a daunting task.

Starlight finally quiesced her horn and turned away from the portal. Anthony approached her and said, "Is everything ready?"

"As ready as it will ever be," said Starlight. "The portal seems to be good, and Star Singer told me that they're about to start."

"The President decided to issue another Emergency Action Notification message as a final warning that this was happening. He hopes it will keep enough people glued to their television and radios and thus not be roaming about when the counterspell is cast. The thinking was that the less scattered people are, the more will be affected by the counterspell. That combined with a judicious relocation of some crystal ponies we hope will ensure an even distribution."

Starlight did not bother asking if they had gained those relocated ponies' consent. She glanced around. "Where's Sandra?"

"She doesn't have high enough clearance for this operation," said Anthony.

Starlight rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on!"

"And there is little that she can contribute anyway. The ball is in the Crystal Empire's court right now."

"I was hoping to learn what the latest numbers are concerning ETS," said Starlight. "Twilight wanted to know, but she had to head back early through the old portal so she would have enough time to catch the train to the Crystal Empire."

"Doctor Marlowe apprised me of the latest numbers, and I combined it with additional data from intelligence sources that she would not be privy to."

Starlight sighed. She had thought Celestia's web of intrigue over Sunset's past had been complicated. "Fine, and what are the results? I assume I can be 'privy' to that information."

"If Sunset's last-minute stunt to hasten transformations can truly be stopped, then the number of fully transformed will be between two hundred twenty-five million and three hundred million worldwide by tomorrow morning."

"And if it can't?"

"Three hundred fifty to five hundred million," said Anthony. "That's not counting the additional four hundred million worldwide who are about to show the first signs of the transformation symptoms, or the further hundreds of millions who are in the final stages of the influenza part of ETS."

Starlight's eyes widened. "Y-you're not serious ..."

"Those numbers were most likely a driving force behind the decision that was made concerning Sunset," said Anthony in a somber tone. "They likely believed we faced the complete extinction of humanity if Sunset could escape again and wreak even more havoc. I'll remind you that Twilight has yet to even begin addressing how to reverse incomplete transformations. Her counterspell will simply halt those infected from starting or spreading it to others."

"So even the most optimistic numbers are still a low estimate."

"That's about the size of it right now, yes."

Starlight frowned. "Then tell me this: exactly what's being done to address the issue of having a sizable pony population in your midst? I don't think you can say 'we hope we don't have to deal with that' anymore."

"Those discussions are happening at a far higher level than myself," said Anthony. "You and Twilight will eventually know more about it than I ever will."

"At least something is being done," Starlight muttered.

"Frankly, we don't have a choice," said Anthony. "The community that was founded north of Lazy Pines is not the only one in existence, it's simply the only one that we have any sort of influence over at the moment. It's too soon to say whether the altered vision Josie promulgated overnight is having any effect at reminding the transformed of their origins."

Even now, Starlight noticed that the humans generally avoided referring to the transformed as "ponies" if they could help it. To them, this was still seen as a temporary and unwanted condition. Calling them ponies was almost the equivalent of calling a handicapped person a "cripple."

Not to mention that Luna's task had never been to "remind the transformed of their origins," it was to remind them they shared the planet with humanity. That, Twilight had felt, was a far more achievable goal than trying to go against what was now their very nature.

"What about the issue of consent concerning turning them back?" Starlight asked.

"Yes, I realize that's very much on Twilight's mind, even if she doesn't voice it openly," said Anthony. "We are hoping she will leave that matter to us and go by our recommendations. The prevailing opinion is still that they are, for the most part, incapable of making any sort of informed decision."

Starlight wondered if Anthony were simply resorting to euphemisms again, or if she were hearing a definite shift in tone. Those words were certainly softer than the term "mentally incompetent" that had been bandied about so easily earlier. She hoped that meant they were seeing more signs that the Lazy Pines folk were starting to think for themselves.

Her mind kept going back to that "off the record" discussion with Sandra. Just how many of these transformed now really did have it better in certain ways? How many others had purposely sought to be transformed, and not just for medical reasons? How many would indeed see it as a means to solve their problems? Would they still have no say in being turned back?

"Ultimately, we have to decide what's best for humanity in the long term," Anthony continued. "We don't even know yet what would work best, smaller scattered groups of transformed or several larger groups. Our only example of the latter is Denver."

"Denver? That's the nearest big city, right?"

"Yes, and the single most affected metropolitan area. Estimates are seven to eight out of every ten citizens are transformed or currently transforming. Already there's been reports of asphalt and concrete being ripped up to provide exposed dirt for crops. There's nobody who is able or willing to stop them from causing billions of dollars of damage to property they likely don't even own."

Starlight was again reminded just how radically different Earth was from Equestria in economic matters. While Equestria did have a monetary system, the ponies were not slaves to it. A pony without money could still find reasonable food and shelter. Sure, they had their ponies like Filthy Rich who reveled in accumulating bits, but they were a vast minority.

She wasn't necessarily faulting them for it. Starlight admitted that she had a more harsh view of that world when she had first arrived, and perhaps she still remained cynical about matters at times, but she was starting to understand that what faced the humans was the same thing which had daunted Twilight: the vastness of scale. Earth was far larger than Equestria, had far more sapient beings, and far more challenges than Equestria had faced for a long time. Perhaps Starlight had assumed that the humans should be used to such scale, so they should have had the solutions.

Instead, that scale daunted even them in more mundane matters outside of ETS, and yet they still managed to survive and even thrive. Starlight was only now beginning to realize how much these two worlds could teach each other.

"Huh, I've been hanging around Twilight too long," Starlight quipped. "I'm starting to think more like her."

"Pardon?"

Starlight shook her head. "Never mind, it would take too long to explain, and ..." She trailed off as she heard a faint thrumming noise behind her. She turned her head and saw the glass of the mirror starting to glow brighter. "... and the grandest of all fireworks shows is about to start."


Twilight stood beside Sunburst near the Crystal Heart as Princess Cadance stepped onto the balcony to the loud cheers from the populace below. Behind her stood Shining Armor cradling a sleeping Flurry Heart, the foal wearing an enchanted pair of earmuffs blocking out the general din, and near Twilight were the other five Element-bearers and Sunburst. Star Singer had opted to vacate the limelight in favor of watching with the general population below.

"Citizens of the Cry ... ugh, this won't do," Cadance said as she realized her voice would not carry over the raucous crowd. Her horn glowed briefly, and when she next spoke, her words resonated with a reasonable facsimile of the Royal Canterlot Voice, in volume if not word usage. "Citizens of the Crystal Empire! I am both pleased and proud to see such enthusiasm for helping a world of which you have only the barest glimmer of knowledge. I understand you are all excited about hearing of ponies like yourself, possibly with the same rare gift, existing outside the boundaries of the Empire in such numbers."

Another cheer rose from the crowd. Twilight realized that Fluttershy's earlier comment had been right.

"But please keep in mind that we are doing this not for your potential brethren, but for the people who have had a magical apocalypse thrust upon them," Cadance continued. "What are doing today is not so much trying to cure them as giving them the one thing they most need, the one thing that we have in abundance: hope."

The cheer that rose was almost as loud as the first. Twilight herself started to feel some measure of hope that this was actually going to work. Crystal pony power was not something she had tried to calculate to the last decimal point; even Sunburst had expressed some last minute doubts earlier that morning, but now he seemed more at ease as well.

It at least helped keep her darker thoughts at bay for the moment. Twilight had the uneasy feeling that once the immediate crisis was over, she would have to push herself until she managed to deal with the lingering resentment over Sunset's death. Never before had a larger duty so badly conflicted with her own feelings.

"What we do here is but one step on a long road, but that road will go nowhere unless we succeed here, unless we give them that hope that they need. In times past, whenever I have asked you to give of your feelings into the Crystal Heart, it was for and in the name of the Crystal Empire. My plea is that your hearts are big enough to consider these foreign people as if they were your neighbors, your friends, and your family."

Another deafening cheer, accompanied by hoof-stomps. In a way, Twilight envied Cadance. She carried the bearing and command of Princess authority that Twilight thought she never did and never could. She simply couldn't see herself giving a speech like this. She could express the exact same sentiment, but she doubted it could ever stir the masses.

Twilight then understood another reason why she had so looked forward to opening relations with Earth. On Earth, diplomats didn't have to make fancy speeches. That was what heads of state were for. Diplomats worked behind the scenes to get things done at a more basic level, something that Twilight always preferred to do.

Yet as she looked over to her friends, her heart ached. Committing herself to such a venture would mean long periods away from home and away from her friends. Of course, she knew from her friendship with Kevin that she was perfectly capable of befriending humans, and that she would soon have more than she ever knew on a world with a population several orders of magnitude greater than Equestria.

Cadance smiled, and even though she was more used to this sort of outpouring from her subjects, even her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Her voice remained steady and strong as she continued. "You all continue to be a great joy to me, and I am honored beyond belief to be your Princess. Now, without further hesitation, without losing that incredible sense of enthusiasm and resolve, I ask you now to direct those feelings into the Crystal Heart."

The cheer that rose in response was shorter and less raucous, as many of the assembled ponies were quieting to settle their own thoughts. Cadance stepped back, and Shining Armor stepped over to her with a smile. "That was a great speech, Cady."

Cadance smiled as she canceled the amplification spell with a flicker of her horn. "I hope it worked," she said in a slightly quavering voice.

Rainbow Dash turned her head and jabbed a fore-hoof towards the Heart. "I think it already is. Look!"

The Heart had begun rotating, perhaps sooner than they had seen it do before. As the crowd calmed and settled into a gentle quiet, Twilight could not help but speculate as to what the future held for those on Earth who remained ponies. Would they eventually create and nurture their own Harmony magic? Would their crystal ponies eventually forge something like the Crystal Heart? She realized her main concerns should be with the humans, but was there anything wrong with wanting a positive future for those who were permanently transformed?

As the Heart spun faster and gave off a faintly crystalline whine, Sunburst adjusted his glasses and called out, "Princess Cadance, it's almost time! Do you have the spell I gave you?"

Cadance stepped forward, a scroll held in her magic which she now unrolled. "Right here. I'm ready."

Sunburst stepped back. "Cast it right after the Heart gives off its initial energy burst. Not a moment before, and no more than a few seconds after."

Twilight owed a lot to Sunburst and would make sure he got the recognition that he deserved. He was the one who discovered the means by which to direct the energy of the Crystal Heart. Without him, this would have been impossible.

"What of Triss, Twilight?" Cadance spoke above the increasing volume of the Heart's hum. "Is she supposed to assist you as well?"

"She pledged to me she would," said Twilight. "But most of what she needed to do she already has in place."

Twilight admitted to feeling a twinge of apprehension. While Triss had seemed genuinely contrite and willing to help, Twilight had to remember that the alicorn-like creature had her own agenda from the start. Not a malevolent one; it certainly was not evil to want to seize a chance at destroying something that was responsible for incalculable death and destruction. How powerful did a creature need to be where the future of a whole civilization could be weighed against a larger goal?

Twilight hoped she never became that powerful, second threshold or no.

A surge of magic erupted from the Crystal Heart in a single huge pulse, and at once Twilight and her friends appeared as crystal themselves, sparkling brightly in the sunlight. She heard a giggle as Flurry Heart stirred, clopping her fore-hooves in delight as she beheld herself and her parents.

The wave had barely reached the crowd below when Cadance's horn blazed, and a beam of magic shot from it into the Heart.

"Get ready, Princess Twilight!" Sunburst exclaimed.

Twilight had been ready for this moment for what seemed a long time. It was hard to believe it had been only a few days ago when she and Starlight first arrived on Earth. It seemed like a whole lifetime had passed in that short time.

She readied her modified counterspell in her head and thought back to the time she had finished an incomplete spell first penned by Starswirl the Bearded, the one that had sent her life down a new path with her Ascension. Now she was left to wonder what would be the trigger for passing the second threshold? She dearly hoped something like this would not be it. As much as this crisis had helped teach her more about Princess responsibility, she needed far more time before she was ready for such a leap.

A wide and almost blinding beam of energy suddenly burst out of the Crystal Heart and squarely into the center of the mirror. It began to thrum almost as loud as the Heart, and Twilight silently begged it to hold together as she cast the counterspell.

Twilight nearly gasped. She had not been sure what to expect, but not something quite like this. She felt as if she were riding the beam of magic herself, as if her senses had somehow been extended through the magic of the Heart. Sunburst undoubtedly had not known this, or he would have warned her.

Her heart leapt. She actually felt the magic on the other end of the portal find its first crystal pony and dispense her counterspell as wide as it would go. Like a nuclear chain reaction, two more beams rocketed away from the first and sought more.

"Twily, is something--?" Shining began.

"It's working!" Twilight cried in jubilation.

Her friends cheered, and Twilight allowed herself a smile, at least until she closed her eyes and saw before her the starry realm she had visited when she had first Ascended. This time she did gasp in surprise, and when her eyes shot open, she was once more standing where she was before, as if she had never left.

"Are you sure nothing's amiss, Princess?" Sunburst said nervously. "You looked startled for a moment."

So she hadn't actually left. Had that been Twilight's imagination in all her excitement? Yet when she closed her eyes again, she once more saw that realm, and then her friends upon opening them again.

It's okay, Twilight, came the familiar "voice" of Celestia in her head. Please, close your eyes so we may better talk. I assure you that I have connected you to the realm in mind only.

"Everything's fine," Twilight said in a calmer voice. "I just need to keep concentrating."

She closed her eyes, and now Celestia appeared before her. Twilight tried to speak, but "heard" herself only in her head. I was wondering where you had gone.

It was important that I did this while you were casting the counterspell.

Twilight swallowed hard. I'm not ... this is not the second ...

No, Twilight, said Celestia firmly. Believe me, there will be little doubt in your mind when that day comes.

Twilight felt a measure of relief. That would be just one more thing she couldn't handle right that moment.

And it is not I who wishes to speak with you, said Celestia.

She stepped off to the side, and Triss stepped into view. She smiled softly and said, Hello, Twilight.

I'm feeling something I didn't expect when I did this, so I'm not completely sure I can trust it, said Twilight. Is it really working?

It is indeed, said Triss. I am helping to extend your senses, so you can see for yourself what is happening ... and perhaps a little more.

A little more? Twilight asked. What do you mean? More of what?

Just continue watching, Twilight. You might learn something new that can help.

Twilight had to open her eyes; she was too anxious about what the others were thinking. Sure enough, her friends were still looking at her with concern. "I'm okay, everypony!" she called out, having to almost shout over the combined din of the Crystal Heart and the magic mirror.

The sheer amount of magic flowing around her was nothing less than phenomenal. The only time she had ever felt something like this was during her battle with Tirek. Her heart raced as she fought to understand what her magical senses were telling her. The magic racing across the globe of Earth was like a raging river growing ever more swift the more it spread. Wherever it touched, the lights of the transformation spell flickered out like flames doused by water.

This alone should have been enough to fill her with joy, yet something tugged at the edge of her perception. With the rising tide of magic carrying the counterspell, she could catch something off on the horizon.

She finally realized what she was sensing. It was the tendrils of power flowing into those who were still transforming. Of course she would see them, as she had applied the change to slow their previously accelerated transformations. Yet as she concentrated, she saw something more was happening. Something had disturbed the transformation process more than she could account for. It couldn't be the magic of the counterspell, as that had a completely different resonance.

Twilight gasped, and her eyes widened she she finally understood: somehow, a small amount of the huge pool of accumulated transformation magic was being drained. But how? Where was it going? Had she made a mistake, and now some other portion of the Earth population was transforming faster? Had she only shifted the problem to someplace else?

"No, wait!" Twilight suddenly cried, startling her friends. "It's not just being drained, it's being changed! The crystal ponies are pulling it in!"

"Twily, what are you talking about?" Shining Armor said. "And how close are you to being done? Cady is almost exhausted!"

Twilight blinked and glanced over to the side. Cadance was panting, her hooves splayed as if to better balance herself, perspiration dripping from her face. "Cadance, hang on!" Twilight cried. "We're almost there!"

"You're lookin' a might peaked there yerself, Twi!" Applejack called out.

Twilight refused to feel anything but the sense of discovery and hope that had just come over her. Somehow, the crystal ponies were pulling in a small amount of the transformation magic, changing it, and using it to augment the power behind her counterspell. In all the research she and Sunburst had done about this ability to channel magic, they had never stopped to think that they could change one form into another.

Finally, Twilight had an idea on how to slow and stop the ongoing transformations, and possibly even reverse them.

It wasn't a cure-all. It wouldn't do anything for the fully transformed, but it would remove an enormous burden from her hooves so she could concentrate on that final cure.

If only Twilight could keep pushing, she could accomplish it all now. Even when the counterspell had reached all it could, if they could keep the stream of magic going long enough for her to craft the proper spell, then all that transformation magic could be sucked up and dissipated into a more harmless form ...

Twilight, let go, came Celestia's voice.

But I almost have it! Twilight cried in her head, her distress betrayed to the others by a small whimper. I could solve two problems at once! There's no way we can do something like this on this kind of scale again, it's too taxing on ponies, the Heart, the mirror--

Twilight, you've succeeded at this task, came Triss' voice. The counterspell is still going and can sustain itself. I trust you saw what the crystal ponies were doing?

Yes, which is why I want to continue and--

Twilight, Celestia said firmly. Even Starswirl knew when to stop.

Twilight swallowed hard. All she wanted to do was fix this. She truly believed that Sunset had shown a glimmer of possibility she had rethought what she had done, and Twilight didn't want Sunset to have died in vain. Yet they were right; she could do only so much.

She quiesced her horn. "All right, stop!"

Cadance quit only a second after the words were out of Twilight's mouth, and Shining rushed to her side. The beam into the portal ceased, and the Heart and portal began to subside.

"Well??" Rainbow Dash cried into the ensuing silence.

Twilight heaved a large sigh. "We did it."

Somehow, her voice managed to make it down to the crowd below, and they erupted into their most deafening cheer yet. Twilight's friends swarmed her, pulling her into one large hug. Twilight finally set aside her worry, and the first truly genuine smile in what seemed like forever stretched across her muzzle.


Despite being told that the magic would likely have no effect on her even if she stood dead center within it, Starlight ducked to the ground anyway when the massive beam erupted from the portal. Certainly the humans initially viewed it with some alarm despite being alerted to what the effects would be. Perhaps even they were the same as Starlight, that they had not expected it to be so spectacularly bright.

The beam immediately began to arc towards the pony settlement to the north, as that was where the closest crystal pony was located. The moment it hit, a rapidly expanding dome of light burst from the settlement, quickly filling the valley and swelling far past it and the mountains on either side.

More beams were launched off into the distance, soon curving and spiraling off until they could no longer be seen past the rugged terrain of the Front Range. Yet evidence of their passing came in the form of more silent explosions of expanding light, the height of which reached well above that of the fourteeners.

Starlight gave the portal a quick check. It was strained but holding. She headed over to where Anthony and one of the army commanders were looking over several monitors. She had been told they were live satellite feeds from Earth orbit. Where Equestria had never purposely orbited anything around its world, they had to explain to her how the technology worked.

One of the monitors showed the North American continent, focused on the western half of the United States. As she watched, light blossomed in expanding circles, spreading out from roughly the center of the view. From this vantage point, they looked distressingly small, yet they appeared with increasing frequency as they spread further.

"Well, at least this shows it's working," Starlight said, feeling the need to break the silence.

"It's also showing something else," said Anthony. He turned towards the army commander, who was holding a folder. He handed the folder to Anthony, who extracted a picture and presented it to Starlight.

Starlight took it in her magic. It appeared to be a photo made from a satellite view, though more zoomed-in, as she could make out evidence of human civilization. The picture was dotted with tight collections of clouds. "Uhh, what am I looking at?"

"Evidence of more pony communities," said Anthony. "The arrangement of clouds follows no known natural meteorological pattern. They're believed to be pegasus-made."

Starlight had known that the humans had means to predict the weather in lieu of their inability to affect it, but she had not studied just how they did it. "Well, but it also proves they're not wreaking havoc with it on a large scale. This looks pretty localized to me."

Anthony took the picture back. "Even our best scientists don't claim to know everything about how weather works. There's no telling yet if there are any longer term implications." He turned back to the monitor. "But on the brighter side, yes, it does appear that Twilight's idea worked. The computers are watching this as well and will tally up exactly how much coverage there is."

Starlight glanced at another monitor which she guessed was showing the east coast of the United States. Blossoms were beginning to appear there as well. A few started to cross the border into Canada.

They watched the progress for the next few minutes before the army commander pointed to another monitor. "Sir?"

Anthony turned to look, and Starlight craned her neck to look as well. Now she was looking at a landmass that was not familiar to her at all, a largish one that spread from upper right to lower left, with another splotch of land in the upper left corner. As she watched, a light blossom appeared on the latter.

"It's crossed the Atlantic already," Anthony said. "That's very encouraging."

"I'm glad to hear you say something positive for a change," Starlight blurted before she could stop herself. She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, forget I said that."

Anthony turned to her and smiled faintly. "Don't be. I understand I can sound cool and harsh sometimes. Hopefully you won't take me as an accurate representation of humanity. I'm trained to be this way in times of crisis. I couldn't do my job otherwise."

Starlight knew that all humans were not like him; all one had to do was spend ten minutes with Kevin Conner to understand that. "Yeah, and don't take me to be representative of Equestrian ponies. I actually wasn't always this cynical. I think circumstances just simply thrust me into that role. I get along with quite a number of ponies back home."

"To be perfectly honest, Starlight, while I admire your friend Twilight greatly, I do feel sometimes she leans too far into idealism," Anthony explained. "Talking to you, while it can be a little troublesome at times, is often a breath of fresh air."

Starlight found that praise to be a bit dubious, but she accepted it with all the grace she could muster. Ever since becoming Twilight's student in both magic and friendship, she had tried to put on as much of a pleasant demeanor as possible. It helped that most crises they encountered were not end-of-the-world scenarios.

Her thoughts returned to what Rainbow Dash had said of her talk with Laura. In a way, Laura and Starlight were more kindred spirits. Starlight had to look back on her time spent on Earth and wonder who the real Starlight was, the one who was pleasant to everypony and who fretted over every new friendship lesson, or the snide and cynical mare she had become in the past week?

What concerned her was that the latter was closer to the way she had been when she was in charge of Our Town. Certainly that had been the unicorn whom Twilight had chased across multiple timelines.

Or perhaps she was just being too hard on herself. The image of Sunset lying dead was still too fresh in her mind. That could have easily been Starlight had she done her shenanigans on Earth.

Starlight decided to do what she always did when confronted with awkward questions like these: change the subject. "So, uh, any word on what will happen to the new portal once this is over? Twilight told me you can pretty much put it anywhere you want and it will still work."

"That hasn't been decided yet," said Anthony. "There's debate going on at the top as to balancing ease of access for diplomats and safety considerations. It will hinge on whether there's going to be two-way traffic, so to speak."

"Pardon?"

"The accepted protocol on Earth for two nations maintaining relations with one another is to exchange embassies," said Anthony. "That means each country has a small physical presence on the other nation's soil. As a courtesy, the land where the embassy is located is considered sovereign to the foreign country."

"I'm sure Princess Celestia would be more than willing to host a human embassy in Canterlot," said Starlight, though she realized she was making some big assumptions. She had no idea as to what the reaction would be to Sunset's death.

"Ah, it's a little more complicated than that. Remember, we don't have one central planetary government."

Starlight's eyes widened. "You're not serious. You don't mean every one of those two hundred and whatever countries are going to want embassies?!"

"Certainly the major powers," said Anthony. "If for no other reason than to feel out how much influence establishing good relations with Equestria can buy them back here."

Starlight smirked. "To use an Earth expression, they're barking up the wrong tree."

Anthony smiled more naturally. "Oh, I'm well aware of that. If even half of what I believe of life in Equestria is true, I have a feeling they'll want to be friends with everyone."

This was the most relaxed and personable Starlight had ever seen Anthony be. Perhaps Twilight was right, that the counterspell representing something far more than "just" curing people of ETS.

"It looks like the wave is finally petering out, sir," said the army commander.

"What does the computer have to say about it?" Anthony asked.

"Still crunching the numbers. Should be just a few minutes now."

Anthony nodded and turned back to Starlight. "There's also talk about leaving it to the United Nations, but we'll see if that goes anywhere. But I do have some good news for Twilight. She's going to get what she wants. The President is in serious talks now about how to accommodate ponies in our society."

"Yes, she will be happy to hear that," said Starlight with some relief. "Who finally kicked someone's butt into gear over that?"

"Me."

Starlight's eyes widened. "Er, what??"

"Are you surprised?"

"To be perfectly blunt, yes."

Anthony smiled again. "Let's just say I am not as inflexible as maybe I appear."

"You should be telling Kevin about this, too," said Starlight. "He was the one really adamant about it."

"Yes, but like with Twilight and you, I needed to balance his idealism with practicality," said Anthony. "Once I managed to do that, I had more solid reasons to advocate for it. Don't get me wrong, Starlight, there is still a lot of concern over the mental state of the transformed. We're just simply balancing that with a bit more kindness."

Starlight tilted her head. "And that's all?"

Anthony hesitated before responding in a lower voice, "Let's just say that when I saw what Twilight and her friends did when they combined their powers against Sunset, I was ... impressed. Not at the power itself, but where it came from. I've been told that every one of your friends lived up to the nature of their Element ever since they got here." He paused. "It made me regret the fact that we felt we had to kill Sunset in the end. Hopefully, Equestria will not think too ill of us over it."

Starlight had no idea what to say. This was a side of the man that she had never seen before. It almost made her want to confess some of her own conflicted feelings. Before she could even begin to form a reply, the army commander called for Anthony's attention.

Anthony stared at a monitor displaying lines and columns of text instead of an image. "Are you absolutely sure this is correct?"

"They're doing another run to confirm, sir," said the commander. "But they're pretty sure."

Starlight stepped up. "What's going on?"

Anthony turned towards her. "It seems the coverage of the counterspell well exceeded anyone's hopes. Ninety-nine-point-two percent."

Starlight's pupils shrank. "What?! But Twilight had estimated at most ninety-two, and that was the at the optimistic end of the range!"

"I don't know what she did, but we are quite grateful for it," said Anthony. Even the army commander himself was smiling. "We've finally beat this."

"There's still the humans who are in the middle of transforming," Starlight said. "Twilight doesn't quite have a plan for that yet."

"I realize that, but there comes a point where you have to latch on to some hope and see a possible brighter future," said Anthony. "It's like winning a crucial battle in a war you know will go on for several more years. You bask in the moment, and it gives you the courage to continue. I don't think you quite realize just how many people were very close to giving up."

Starlight could imagine. She was surprised as to how much dedication many of the humans showed in the face of something they were struggling to understand. For once, she thought the war analogy very apt. This was really just the start. It was nice to think at first that all they had to do was fix things up here and then return to their relatively peaceful lives back in Equestria. That wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Anthony stepped up to her. "There's not much more for me to do at the moment until Twilight and her friends return so we can discuss the next steps. Would you like to have a cup of coffee with me?"

Starlight smiled. "Gladly." And not just for the caffeine, she added in her head.