Carmilla’s crossbow dropped from her senseless fingers as she and the other Order-naries stared at the man in the ship in incredulous shock. Carmilla was the first to recover, and a broad joyous smile lit up her face as she sprinted up to him with a cry of “Master!” The others were shaken out of their stupor by the shout and the twins ran to join their friend in hugging and greeting the newcomer. Ash simply rocked back and put a hand to his head as he vocalized his surprise in quiet, alien mutters.
Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were, understandably, utterly and completely confused. “Hey, Ash,” Rainbow said, poking Ash in the shoulder, “What’s up? I thought this ship thing was supposed to be a bad thing.”
“I thought it was,” Ash replied, “but… Well, that’s Carmilla’s mentor, a very reliable ally and something of a legend among the mechanics and tool-smiths of Taryn, but how he’s here and where he…” He shook his head and walked toward the ship, meeting the man and the other Order-naries a few feet from the ship. “Yu-san Maesi,” Ash said, spreading his arms wide to indicate the craft, “I have just three words for you: What. The. Skeb?”
“Good to see you too Ash,” Yu-san said wryly, extending a hand to shake and then clapping it onto Ash’s shoulder when the mage maintained his spread-arms pose. “So, I assume you’re still after Tau’rin,” he said.
“Tau’rin’s history Yu-san,” Ray said, “it’s been close to a year now since we defeated him.”
“Ah, I see. Good,” Yu-san said, looking relieved, “In that case I’m your ticket back home.” He looked around at the Order-naries and then noticed Twilight, Dash, and AJ standing a short way off. “And who are those capable-looking ladies?” he asked.
“Friends,” Ash said simply, “You still haven’t given me the answer I was looking for Maesi.” He spun the older man around and pointed to the ship. “What the skeb is that?” he asked.
“What, don’t you recognize your old ship?” Yu-san asked with a teasing smirk.
“That is not the Lirin,” Ash replied.
“Yes it is. Mostly,” Yu-san said, “It’s been upgraded since you last saw it.”
“Clearly,” Carmilla said, “There’s no way the old thing could have survived a trip through… twelve separate trips between realities. In fact…” She took a few steps back toward the ship and eyed it critically, “It looks to be in superb shape; no signs of having crashed into anything. Master, were you able to remain conscious while flying through the voids?”
“Yes,” Yu-san answered, “Is that significant?”
“Yes,” the Order-naries all said at once, emphatically.
“How did you…” Ash started to ask, and then shook his head and said, “Actually, you know what? Carmilla, give me PC. He’ll need to familiarize himself with the changes anyway.”
“Hey now, I want to see Master Maesi’s improvements too,” the mechanic said, retaining the head-mounted computer and walking to the ship.
“You’re not leaving us out either,” Ray said as he and his sister joined Ash in following Carmilla. Yu-san Maesi smiled wistfully, and then looked at the three former ponies and gave them an apologetic shrug before going to the ship himself.
“Ok,” Twilight said, feeling awkward, “I guess we’ll just head back to town and tell everypo- er, everybody there’s nothing to worry about then?”
“I suppose,” Applejack agreed, shrugging.
Canterlot castle was eerily still and quiet, and what made it even worse was that Shining Armor could see no reason for the silence. There were no signs of struggle, no damage to the walls, floors, ceiling, or furnishings. Nothing that should have been locked was open, and vice versa. There wasn’t even a feeling of latent magic beyond that which was always present due to the auras the Princesses left in their wake. It was as if every single pony in the castle had quickly finished up what they were doing and went home for the day. The guards were just as absent as the servants and courtiers, and Shining knew the ponies that served under him would never abandon their posts, especially in emergency conditions. “I need a weapon,” he muttered to himself, casting glances everywhere as he made his way toward the residential wing. The Princesses’s chambers were some of the most heavily warded rooms in the palace against mind manipulation spells, the type Shining Armor was starting to suspect had been laid over the building even if he couldn’t sense them, and thus they’d be the most likely place to find anypony.
The sound of hooves approaching – softened by carpeting and special shoes but still audible to his trained ear – brought Shining to a stop. He let his ears tilt about to determine the direction and then continued to move them for a bit afterward to not let his stalker know he’d been detected. Readying his magic into a simple shield, Shining waited until the sounds drew closer before whirling around, snatching a nearby vase in his magic, and shifting the shield into an outward magical thrust that broke the cloaking spell on the pony tailing him and sent the white, yellow-maned unicorn stallion stumbling back several paces. “Blueblood!” Shining Armor exclaimed with a mixture of relief and annoyance, lowering the vase, “What are you doing?”
“Captain Armor,” Blueblood replied levelly, “So it is you. What are you doing here, might I ask? Weren’t you down in that… garish little Ponyville looking for your sister?”
“I was lead to believe there was going to be trouble here,” Shining said coolly, “and since you’re the first pony, or rather the first living thing I’ve encountered here I’m inclined to believe it’s true. What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Blueblood answered, gesturing down the hall in the direction of Celestia’s suite, “I was in conference with Princess Celestia when we felt a foreign suggestion trying to get into our heads. I looked out into the hall and saw everypony heading for the nearest exit, and nothing I said had any effect on them. The Princess sent me to search for the culprit.”
“Alone?” Shining asked, pursing his lips, “Well then, I’m going to check in with Princess Celestia and Luna. You keep up the good work, and by the way: the sun shines silver.”
“Pardon?” Blueblood asked, confused for a second, “Oh! The security phrases, right, good idea. Uh… ‘When the moon needs rest,’ correct?”
“Yes, that’s valid,” Shining said with a nod, and then levitated the stallion off the ground and encased him in a shield bubble, adding, “But that was the Pegasus Guard counter-sign, not Blueblood’s. You should have done your research better, changeling.”
“Changeling?” the white unicorn exclaimed, his voice losing the regal tone of Blueblood in favor of a plainer accent as his eyes began to glow red, “Is really that what you think I am Captain Armor? How disappointing, I think you’d know better, the difference between a Changeling and a disguise spell.”
“Well, you’re no pony,” Shining retorted.
“Oh, most astute,” Thamule said sarcastically, “did you finally bother reading the memo about the Order-naries?”
“You are not Ashen Blaze either,” Shining said with calm determination, adding more power to the confining bubble, “What you are doesn’t really matter anyway; you’re under arrest for assault, pony-napping, suspicion of murder, and treason if I can manage it, all on multiple counts.”
Thamule let his Blueblood disguise drop completely as he stared defiantly at the Captain of the Guard, his eyes a dangerous mix of orange and red. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with, little equine,” he said as his horn began to glow with an opaque light that filled the bubble, “Pray you survive long enough to learn.” Shining recognized the warning in the words just in time to put up a personal shield that dulled the force of the explosion that tore apart Thamule’s cage enough to simply send him tumbling head-over-tail down the hall. He regained his feet with practiced ease and kicked at the floor challengingly as he readied himself for battle.
Matron Maha had wisely decided not to wait on the Order-naries at dinner time, as the quartet did not return to the Traveler’s House until after the sun had sank below the horizon. When they did arrive, accompanied by Yu-san Maesi, they found the six Equestrians still sitting in the dining room, most of them looking like they’d lost a pet puppy. Rainbow Dash was the only exception, since she looked like she expected that puppy to come jogging back at any moment. Rachelle was the only one to notice the mood at first, since the rest were caught up in an on-going discussion between Ash and Yu-san about the status of the Lirin.
“I will not pay for modifications I did not request,” Ash was saying, “especially when those modifications were made with help of someone I explicitly and repeatedly refused to grant that degree of access to.”
“If you don’t want to accept my help, I’ll have no problem leaving you here to find your own way home,” Yu-san retorted.
“That is not what I’m saying,” Ash fired back, “Do not twist my words Maesi. I’m extremely grateful and impressed at the effort you’ve gone through, but I am under no obligation to recompense you for a project that you came up with on your own and just so happened to involve my property.”
“He does have a point Master,” Carmilla said, looking apologetic for saying the words, “If anything, you owe him for using the Lirin as the base.”
“What… Kara,” Yu-san sputtered, surprised.
“I’m sorry Master Maesi,” Carmilla said, “I have to side with Ash on this one. Trying to make money off of this is pure extortion.”
“So, it’s true then?” Fluttershy asked in a meek but attention-getting voice, “You’re leaving us?”
“What?” Ray and Ash asked at the same time. They waited patiently as Fluttershy went through her usual flinch and nerve gathering routine.
“Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack told us everything,” she said, “The strange airship and its pilot, they’re – Oh!” She stopped and blushed as she realized who the new face in the room was. “You,” she said, looking into Yu-san’s good eye, “you’re from their home world, right? Taryn? You came to find them and take them back home. Twilight said you were all so excited to see the ship and…”
“My name is Yu-san Maesi, dear,” the old man said.
“I‘m Fluttershy,” the pink-haired girl mumbled automatically, “but… um…”
“We were worried that you’d fly off home,” Twilight cut in, “without saying goodbye. At least I was partly wrong.”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “They’re not going anywhere,” she said, “I don’t believe for a second that they’d just run off and leave us hanging. Especially not you Ash; there’s no way you’re going to let some evil Discord-pony run around Equestria doing stuff while wearing your face, right?”
“Not a snowball’s chance in the desert,” Ash said, giving the table an emphatic pound of his fist, “You girls and your world have been far too good to me for me to just run off in your time of need, and I’ve got a bone to pick with Discord. Yu-san managed to get the Lirin all the way here, so it can certainly make the last jump to the end of Tau’rin chain, and together we’ll stop Thamule and Discord once and for all.” The girls cheered, the relief and joy clear even on Pinkie’s face. “That said,” Ash said soberly, “Carmilla, the M’Dales, and I have a way back to our home and an obligation to protect it. After we’ve settled with Discord, the four of us will have to leave.”
“I can understand that,” Applejack said, nodding, “nothin’s more important than home and family.”
“Will it…” Rarity said, her eyes locked on Ash, “be forever?”
“Nah,” Ray said flippantly, “the portals haven’t closed all the way yet and there’s no reason to think they ever will. We’ll visit. Besides, we’ve still got an adventure or two to get through before the goodbyes, so cheer up everypony.”
“Right then,” Rainbow said, standing up quickly and managing to make needing to catch the table edge for balance look intentional, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
“There might be one little complication,” Ash said, pre-empting the enthusiasm once again, “The Lirin is now designed to shield itself against the sheer nothing of the void between dimensions so that whoever is inside the ship doesn’t lose consciousness or control before emerging from the other end. That’s undoubtedly a good thing, but it seems to have the side effect that any… shifts the universe needs to apply to those that enter it don’t happen.”
“Meaning?” Twilight asked.
“Well,” Ash said, “does anyone recall me mentioning that… I think it’s three or four worlds Taryn-wise from here is another universe populated by intelligent ponies?” Twilight nodded and the others simply looked intrigued. “Right,” Ash said, “Well, Yu-san here flew straight through that world without undergoing any changes.”
“To be clear,” Yu-san cut in, his tone skeptical, “I was only in that world for about thirty minutes, since the portals were so close together, and I don’t recall seeing any rainbow-colored ponies anyway.”
“Trust us Yu-san,” Ray said, slightly sardonic, “they exist.”
“So, what are you saying?” Twilight asked, “If we use your ship to get back to Equestria, we won’t turn back to normal?”
“The possibility is there,” Ash said with a nod, “The only way to be absolutely sure you’ll change back is to go back through the portal the same way you went into it in the first place: unshielded.”
“But, it’s so high up,” Fluttershy said, “how do we reach it?”
“I guess the hot air balloon idea is valid again,” Twilight said, “but we’d still have to get the portal open.”
“The Lirin should be able to handle that, I would think,” Ash said, giving Yu-san an expectant look.
“It’s possible,” the old man said, “but keeping a portal open longer than it takes for the ship to fly through herself would be a serious drain on the power reserves. We could manage maybe ten seconds at most while still being able to fly, assuming we start on a full charge.”
“I hate to rain this parade,” Rarity said, “but I must remind everyone that the last time we were sent through that portal – unprotected – we were out cold for almost an entire week.”
“That only applied to you six inter-dimensional rookies,” Ray said with a smirk, “and which risk would you rather take: losing a little time or potentially remaining human and missing out on your pony talents?”
“That depends,” AJ said, “Y’all are coming along, ain’t ya? Are ya gonna go through it alongside us, or inside yer fancy flying metal box?”
“We’ll be there and do our best to wake you up as quickly as possible,” Rachelle said.
“All right then,” Applejack said, getting to her feet, “Let’s starting building us a balloon.”
Throughout the rest of the day the Order-naries called in favors, a commodity often valued more than coin in outskirt Valden towns like Overlook, and extended some of their own to help the former ponies gather the materials and tools they’d need to construct a hot air balloon. The next morning dawned to a bustle of activity near the crater as Rarity applied her talents to constructing the balloon itself from the gathered cloth with assistance from Pinkie and Fluttershy, while Twilight, Dash, and AJ tried their hands at building the basket. At the same time, the Order-naries and Yu-san were preparing the Lirin for take-off and re-familiarizing themselves with skills and battle strategies they hadn’t used in a while due to the limitations of pony form and simple lack of need for them. The practicing quickly evolved into a sparring match between Ash’s magic and the M’Dale twins’s spirit power, with Gale standing off to the side with a crossbow she’d already grown perfectly accustomed to. She leaned against the side of the Lirin with a sigh of envy, something she hadn’t felt in a very long time toward her three mystically-gifted friends.
Yu-san, hearing the sigh as he came out onto the access ramp, looked at her with concern, and then gave himself a flick on the forehead as he recalled something. “Kara,” he said, using his personal nickname for her, “I just remembered, I have something for you.”
“Oh?” Carmilla asked, “what?”
“Come on in here and I’ll show you,” Yu-san answered with a beckoning gesture. Carmilla followed him inside and toward the rear of the spacecraft, to the storage compartments. “I wasn’t sure what kind of condition I’d find the four of you in when I finally caught up,” Yu-san said, “so I decided to prepare for the worst case I could stomach: You’d still be fighting Tau’rin, but you would have lost your best equipment or had it wear out. When it turned out you’d already beaten Tau’rin, I forgot all about this, but since you seem to have found yourself a new patch of trouble to uproot…” He opened a storage compartment and lifted out a weapon that looked like a short bazooka with a small air compressor attached to the rear end. Carmilla’s eyes went wide as she took it and balanced it in her hands. “Master Maesi,” she said in amazement, “This is… Did you make this? Because it feels like my handiwork!”
“I made sure to take my time perfecting it,” Yu-san said with a smile, “and that’s not all of course. A Gel Launcher’s no use without its ammunition, right?” He reached back into the compartment and took out a large plastic container with three compartments, a branching hose that would connect to the gel launcher, and straps so it could be worn on the back. Carmilla carefully set the launcher down so she could open each compartment in the pack. Each compartment was filled with slightly amorphous balls of gel perfectly sized for the launcher’s barrel, each set a different color.
“Oh my gosh,” Carmilla said, her smile growing larger, “Shock, Caustic, and Magebane gels! Master, this is… Thank you!” She grabbed her mentor in a huge hug, and then put the pack on, linked the hose to the launcher, triggered it to load a Magebane gel, and walked out onto the ramp and took aim at the sparring match in the distance. “Hey Ash!” she shouted just before pulling the trigger, “heads up!”
By the time Ash got over his chagrin at having his sparring match interrupted by flying Magebane, the hot air balloon had been constructed and proven capable of lifting eleven humans off the ground with ease. Since Twilight’s magic ability was effectively absent, the girls had hired one of Overlook’s magi to handle the spells to fill and control the balloon, in exchange for giving the balloon to the magus and copies of the blueprints to the town’s artisan guilds. The plan was for the balloon to fly up to just below the portal’s location and wait for the Lirin to open it, and then quickly get as close as possible to the event horizon, whereupon the girls would jump through as quickly as possible. The Lirin would then wait a second or two before flying through itself, to avoid possibly overtaking and colliding with the six mid-flight.
As Ray, Rachelle, and Carmilla took their seats inside the spacecraft, Ash headed for the cockpit, only for Yu-san to come up from behind and take the pilot’s seat for himself. “Excuse me,” Ash said sarcastically, “I can fly this thing and I’ve got you beat in the depth perception department.” He clapped a hand over one eye to simulate Yu-san’s eye-patch.
“You’re coming with us Yu-san?” Ray asked.
“Yes,” Yu-san replied smoothly, “and while you have a point Ash, I know how to work the new portal system, and I’ve come this far with one eye and no crashes, thank you very much.”
“Ok, whatever,” Ash said, throwing up his hands and sitting down in the co-pilot’s seat, “Let’s just get this over with.” Yu-san nodded with satisfaction and began the start-up systems.
“Say,” Ray said as the ship rose into the air, “seeing as we’re about to do something with high risk and potential to be awesome just as the first step to saving the world, I think a certain battle cry is in order.”
“All together?” Ash asked.
“Why not?”
“As we enter the breach then.”
The Lirin flew into position and waited as the hot air balloon rose up to meet it. Yu-san activated the portal device – a spelled talisman in the nose of the craft triggered by electricity – and a gaping, blue rimmed void of pure black snapped open. Twilight and company threw a suddenly terror-frozen Fluttershy into it and then leaped through as a group. “Ok,” Yu-san said as the magus in the balloon brought it down and out of the way, “here goes.” He hit the forward thrusters and the ship shot into the void as it began to collapse back on itself.
As one, the Order-naries cried out, “Koma Kiyaski!”
End of Act III