Feathery snow fell from crisp and cold skies conjured by Rainy's weather wing that Sunday morning to the delight of the residents of Pony Hope. They awoke to a wintry wonderland, only a dusting for now, but with the promise of a few good inches before the pegasi cleared it out later in the afternoon.
Theresa had to bring an early end to the fun she was having with her daughter. Molly turned to her and whined, "Do I really have to come inside?"
Theresa gazed down at Molly. "We still have some packing to do, honey. I need your help with that."
Molly uttered a dramatic sigh that Theresa was sure she had picked up from her friend Gina. "Oh, all right. It figures we'd be traveling on the one day we get snow."
Theresa chuckled. "Really, it's not like this is going to be the only time you'll see snow this year."
"Yeah, but it's the first snowfall," Molly insisted. "That makes it special."
"Oh?"
"It's a pegasus thing."
Theresa smiled as they headed back towards the house, large snowflakes wafting down and clinging to their manes. "A pegasus thing, hmm?"
"Did you know that the pegasi in Equestria choose a specific day to start winter?" said Molly. "They bring in all the clouds and start making it snow aaaall day so that everything looks like winter by evening." She glanced up at the skies wistfully. "I can't wait until I can do this myself. Maybe then we'll be allowed to do it everywhere! Humans like snow, too, right?"
Like Tom, Theresa also realized that Molly had adapted to her transformation with astonishing ease even compared to herself. The next generation of foals would have no connection to humanity, but now Theresa wondered if even the current generation were fully casting off the past.
"Of course humans like snow," said Theresa before grabbing the handle of the screen door with her teeth, pulling it back just enough to slip a fore-hoof behind it and swing it fully open. "After all, you used to be human yourself, and you loved snow even then."
Molly gave her mother a wary look. "That sounds kinda like something Dad would say."
"It's just an observation, dear," said Theresa. "Nothing more than that. I've told you that the decision rests with you."
Molly stepped onto some bath towels her mother had laid on the kitchen floor before they left. She tossed her mane a few times and shook out her wings. "I've already decided." She lowered her voice, her ears drooping slightly. "Not that Dad cares."
"Hush." Theresa stepped onto the towels and shook herself. "You don't want your father hearing you say that."
"Why not? He never listens to me anyway. Besides, I can hear him upstairs. His hearing is not as good as ours."
Theresa sighed. "Honey--"
"That's what I don't get!" Molly cried. "We're better than we were before. We can hear better, you can make things grow, I can fly. Why couldn't Dad have become a pony? Then we wouldn't have to do all this."
As Theresa stepped over to her daughter, her sister Evening Vista entered the room, a set of bulging saddlebags levitated before her. "I tried to get all of Molly's stuff in these, but it's a bit of a challenge."
"In a moment, Eve," Theresa said before turning back to Molly. "Dear, there's no sense in getting upset over what might have been."
"And there's no chance Dad could ever become a pony?" Molly asked.
"Even if there were, it would have to be his choice, and he would choose to remain human. We need to respect that."
Eve coughed.
"It would just make things so much easier," Molly said in a glum voice.
Theresa had trouble lying to her daughter in the best of times, even more so as a pony where it seemed every body movement lent itself to emotional expression. "Yes, it would, but sometimes we have to take things as they are and do the best we can. Now, I want you to go up to your room and check for anything else that you might want to take." She glanced at Eve. "While I trust your aunt to be thorough, she can't think of everything."
"Okay, Mom," said Molly as she turned away. "If I get that done, can I go out and play in the snow before we leave?"
"We'll see."
Theresa watched Molly go before turning to her sister. "Thanks for the help."
"No problem," said Eve as she set the saddlebags on a table. "But I do have to ask if you really think this lark is going to solve anything?"
Theresa considered before responding in a low voice, "I honestly don't know."
"You talked about respecting decisions. You think Tom will ever respect Molly's decision?"
Theresa turned towards the cabinets. She nudged one open and sniffed. The food inside still smelled fresh. The preservation spell on the fruit stored within should last until they returned. "I'm hoping once he sees that Molly will be undeterred even by the counselors at the rehumanization center that he'll finally come to accept it."
"I wouldn't let her near the counselors if I were you."
Theresa turned away from the cabinet, closing it with a quick buck of a rear hoof. "To be blunt, Eve, it's not your decision to make."
Eve stepped closer to her sister. "Yes, but I'm allowed to be concerned. From what I've heard, the counselors there are just as bad as the ones in Fort Collins."
"Where did you hear that?"
"From Strong Hooves," said Eve. "If anypony would know, it would be one from that town."
Theresa raised an eyebrow. "When did you talk to him?"
Eve smiled. "When he was hitting on me after the Pony Council meeting."
Theresa rolled her eyes. "Oh, Evie."
"What? I'm allowed. I'm a single mare."
"I don't mean that. I mean you can't necessarily trust the words of some stallion who may be looking for a quick roll in the grass with you."
"Nah, he's not like that," said Eve. "I turned him down anyway. Not my type."
Theresa felt a bit guilty that she thought her sister would lift her tail for any stallion. Just because she had tended to be a bit promiscuous as a human didn't mean it carried over through her transformation. "He's also a Shimmerist," Theresa said in a subdued voice. "They tend to think any attempt to convince somepony to be human again is wrong."
"Are they really that far off the mark?" Eve asked. "Think about it, sis. What's easier: letting us decide our own future, or trying to browbeat us into thinking we're all insane for wanting a better life? That's what it amounts to no matter how 'gently' they think it's being done. It's still browbeating."
"I won't let that happen to Molly," Theresa declared. "I'm going to be there myself."
Eve appeared about to respond when there came a thunderous clopping of hooves at the front door and a high-pitched voice yelling, "Hey, Molly! It's laying on now! Come out and play!"
Eve smirked. "That has to be Gina. How one little filly can have such huge lungs is beyond me."
Theresa smiled just as Molly came bursting back into the room, wings fluttering. "Mom, can I, please? Please??"
"Did you check--"
"Yes, I checked my room," Molly said quickly. "I even checked with Dad, not that he ever lets me do anything anyway, even though I can do with hooves everything that--"
"Molly," Theresa said in an admonishing tone.
"So, can I?"
"Why not?" Eve said. "You and Tom aren't leaving for another hour."
"All right," said Theresa. "You heard your aunt, no more than an hour."
Molly smiled. "Thanks, Mom!" She rushed out of the room, leaving a broken feather on the floor in her wake.
Eve levitated the fallen feather. "Her wings are going to need preening again soon."
Theresa's ears rose as she heard footsteps on the stairs. "It will have to wait until we make Grand Junction."
Just as she finished her sentence, Tom walked into the kitchen. His attention immediately focused on his wife, as if Eve were not even in the room. "Theresa, I wanted to talk to you for a moment."
Theresa nodded and looked at Eve. "If you'll excuse us?"
Eve glanced up at Tom before turning away. "Don't need to tell me twice."
Tom spared her a glance as she left the room. He lifted his eyes towards the window and the falling snow. "I wish the pegasi had picked a better day to do this."
"They've limited it to just the town and some of the surrounding area," Theresa explained. "They didn't touch I-70, so the road should be clear."
"I mean getting to the highway."
"The carriage will likely be pulled by earth ponies, it will be fine."
Tom rubbed the back of his neck. "This would be easier if Mary could just meet us here in town."
"And I've explained that as well," said Theresa in a voice of forced patience. "She's doing that out of respect for the town. A lot of us don't care for the noxious car fumes anymore. It's a wonder she agreed to drive all the way out here in the first place just to pick us up."
"I'm sorry," Tom said in a more contrite voice. "I guess I'm anxious to be around other humans again. Which brings me around to what I wanted to talk about."
"You can do that as you check the upper cabinets for me," said Theresa.
Tom gave her an odd look. "What for? You never put stuff up that high."
Theresa stepped up to her husband and gave his side a light jab with her fore-hoof. "But you still sometimes do without realizing it, and I can't find some bowls I wanted to bring."
Tom made a gesture that Theresa was sure was an abortive roll of his eyes. Nevertheless, he dutifully started opening cabinet doors. "Mary did offer to host us, you know."
"I don't want to impose on her any more than we already have," said Theresa as she looked over Molly's saddlebags. "I do wish Eve hadn't packed this so full. I don't want to give Molly back strain or hurt her wings."
"At least I'm not the only one concerned about how fragile she is."
Theresa frowned. "She is not fragile."
Tom lowered his head briefly after closing a cabinet. "Sorry. Anyway, what I was trying to tell you was that I had an idea for what we could do if Molly decides to rehumanize. She can't keep living here anymore. She'll need to be among humans."
"And I'll still need to be among ponies."
"That's my idea. We could resettle in Grand Junction."
Theresa's pupils shrank slightly.
Tom turned fully towards her, leaving the last cabinet untouched. "Why are you looking at me like that? Wouldn't it make sense? Then neither of us would have to leave her behind."
"And you'd do this considering what you think about the Shimmerists?" Theresa pointed. "And you missed a cabinet."
"You're not up on the latest developments," said Tom. "A major decision has come down the pike concerning the disposition of the homes that were abandoned. It looks like they're going to be declared reclaimed land. That means they'll be open for re-habitation by humans. We could get in on the ground floor and get something really cheap."
Theresa stepped up to her husband. "Tom, no!"
"What's the matter?"
"That's the last thing I want to hear!" Theresa cried. "It's going to lead to more conflict between humans and ponies in that area."
"What are you talking about?"
"You of all people should understand," Theresa declared. "You're the one worried about the Shimmerists. You really want us to be caught up in that struggle all the time?"
Tom frowned. "What exactly are they going to do?"
"Again, you need to stop with this preposterous idea that ponies are helpless."
"I didn't say that."
"You don't have to. You express that attitude constantly. It makes no sense, given your own wife can lift about three times what you can."
"Look, I know, earth ponies are as strong as all get-out," Tom said. "And pegasi can control weather. But what else do you have? Unicorns barely have any spells beyond basic survival. Are you telling me that something has changed on that front that I don't know about?"
Theresa's eyes shimmered. She was indeed privy to some advances unicorns had made and were continuing to make. Yet many ponies in the know were sworn to secrecy when it came to humans. Her heart ached that she could not trust even her own husband with that knowledge.
"Not that I know of," Theresa said in a stiff voice. "And you still have that last cabinet to look in."
This time, Tom clearly rolled his eyes before spinning around and yanking open the cabinet doors. He stood staring in silence for a moment before uttering, "Oh."
Theresa sat and held out her fore-legs. "Give it here."
Tom extracted several white salad bowls from the cabinet and brought them over. "Sorry," he said in a sheepish voice.
When he hesitated to lay them in her wife's legs, Theresa snatched them from him with her hooves. "See what I mean? You couldn't trust that I wouldn't drop these just because I don't have hands. Granted, hooves don't have as fine control as fingers do, but I've adapted just fine."
"Okay, okay, I get it."
Theresa was not sure that he had. He often used that phrase as a generic "I don't want to argue about this anymore" response. She decided it was not a battle worth fighting. She drew herself up on her hind legs long enough to place the bowls next to some other odds and ends on the counter that she still needed to pack. "We're not going to resolve this now. Can we wait until we actually see what Molly decides before we go that far?"
"There will be a run on those homes as soon as they open up for sale this coming week," Tom said. "My company pulled a few strings to let me put an early bid on one."
Theresa fell back on all fours with a loud clop. "Which you conveniently forgot to tell me about until now!" she hissed through clenched teeth. She sighed and shook her head. "I shouldn't argue a point about money that I don't personally have any use for anymore. Go ahead and do whatever you need, just realize it may be wasted in the end."
Molly could tell that Gina had something she wanted to talk about -- Gina generally had a hard time keeping anything she was feeling or thinking a secret -- but Molly was too interested in the snow. The field near the house was disturbed only by the tiny paw prints of squirrels and rabbits upon its otherwise pristine fluffy white blanket, at least until three rampaging pony children ravaged it.
"Let's make snow angels!" Molly cried as she romped into the field.
"We already did that," said Gina. "My legs are still sore from trying to stretch them out that flat."
"But we did it!" Juan said with a grin. "And, yeah, it's a little harder as a pony."
Molly was undaunted. This was her favorite thing she liked to do as a human, to the point that her parents had invested in a lot of waterproof winter clothing. As a pegasus, however, she barely felt the cold, and she loved the feel of the snow against her fur when she flopped over on her back.
She did indeed discover that, as flexible as her legs were, they resisted being stretched that far. She grinned and unfolded her wings. She swept them up and down and swished her tail -- which pegasi could flex with more dexterity than other tribes to assist them in flight -- and in short order had a rather neat angel shape around her.
Molly giggled. "What are you talking about, it's easy!"
Juan laughed and Gina stomped a hoof in mock-indignation. "Ooo, you showoff! Come on, let's show her what we can do without fancy wings."
All three were soon romping and giggling in the snow, the task of making snow angels quickly forgotten. Molly tumbled in a flurry of snow and feathers from a playful tackle. She pouted briefly, then smirked as she gathered snow with her fore-hooves and used the tips of her wings to help shape it. Within moments she had a snowball, albeit a little rougher shaped than what she might have done with hands.
She balanced it on her fore-hoof as she admired it. Her mother was right; she could do anything she set her mind to. Her eyes grew misty as she was reminded of last winter, and the epic snowball battles she had with her father. He would always take time out of his busy work schedule to ensure he was available on at least a few snowy days out of the season.
Now all he could do was complain that Molly wasn't human anymore.
She contemplated tossing the snowball just to vent her frustration, but the snow would not compact down enough. Yet a second later, another ball of white whizzed past her ear and smacked against her flank. She dropped her snowball in surprise and fell hard to her haunches. "Hey!"
Juan burst out laughing. "Ohmigod, right on the butt! Got you right on the butt!"
"That wasn't my butt," Molly muttered in irritation. "You were miles from my butt."
"Hold on, I call shenanigans!" Gina said. "How in Luna's name did you get the snow to hold together that well?"
"I'm not sure," Juan said. "It just sorta happened as I put it together. I was thinking that it was too loose, and then it just wasn't."
Gina nodded sagely. "I see. You cheated."
Juan blinked. "I what?"
"You used some secret earth pony magic thingie."
"I did?" Juan asked in a bemused voice.
"Only thing I can think of." Gina's eyes widened. "Oh, wait a minute!" She trotted over to Juan and started scrutinizing his hindquarters.
Juan looked askance at her. "Uh, Gina, why are you checking out my butt?"
"Maybe to see how you would like a snowball hitting it," Molly called out, following it with a raspberry.
"Okay, no cutie mark," Gina declared. "Just checking."
Molly giggled. "A cutie mark in snowball-making?"
"Hey, why not? It's a talent, right?"
"But it sounds more like a pegasus thing," said Molly. "The snow part I meant."
Gina grinned. "Afraid he's stealing your thunder?"
"I wasn't trying to, honest," said Juan.
"No, I didn't mean that," said Molly. "I've just been thinking about what I might get a cutie mark for. I always did like snow, and I'm looking forward to making it myself."
Gina stepped up to her. "That reminds me what I wanted to talk to you about." She smiled. "They're here! They're going to be here today!"
"Who's going to be here?" Molly asked in confusion.
Gina threw open her forelegs. "Equestria! Starlight Glimmer is on Earth again, and she's going to visit Pony Hope!"
Molly's jaw dropped. "Are you sure?!"
"I'm looking forward to meeting her assistant," Gina said. "I mean, come on, how many ponies have the title 'great and powerful'? She must really know her stuff!"
Molly's eyes glistened. "But ... we're going to be gone."
"That's why I had to talk to you. Can you find a way to get out of it? Or delay it long enough for them to get here? All you need to do is ask them about the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
"When are they supposed to be here?" Molly asked.
"This afternoon," said Gina.
Molly frowned. "That's too late. Mom said we were leaving in an hour. Less than an hour now!"
"There's no way to get out of it?" Juan asked. "I mean, your Aunt Eve can mind you."
"You don't understand, I have to go!" Molly wailed. "I'm the reason they're going."
Gina looked askance at her. "Huh? Why?"
Molly's ears drooped. "I don't want to tell you because you'll freak out."
"I won't freak out."
"You sure?"
"Come on, when was the last time I freaked out about anything?"
Both Molly and Juan gave her a dubious look.
"I mean recently," Gina added.
The look went unaltered.
Gina rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, sometimes I get uptight about stuff. But I'm not going to rest until I know what it is."
Molly sighed. "They're taking me to the rehumanization center there."
Juan gasped.
"No, they can't do that!" Gina screamed.
Molly laid her ears back and planted her fore-hooves over them. "Gina!"
"They can't take your wings! You have to run away! Or fly away! Maybe Starlight or Trixie can help you!"
"Ugh, Gina--"
"They can take you to Equestria. They can protect you there. Maybe get Princess Celestia involved. Or, no, wait! I know! We should contact Twilight Sparkle! We--!"
"Gina, stop freaking out!" Molly cried.
Gina blinked at the sudden rebuke. "How can you be so calm about this??"
"They're not going to force me to do anything," Molly said. "Or at least that's what Mom says."
"And your Dad?" Gina asked warily.
"It's his idea."
Gina frowned. "Yeah, that figures. Typical human."
"Look, leave him out of this. He's not like that. He doesn't h-hate me." Though Molly's voice lacked conviction in that last statement.
"But he wants you to give up your wings," Gina insisted. "That's exactly what a lot of humans would want you to do. You can't let it happen."
Molly frowned. "It's my choice. If I don't want to do it, it won't happen."
Gina's pupils shrank. "If? What do you mean if??"
Molly's eyes glistened.
"You've said over and over how much you love being a pony! You're not letting your Dad get to you, are you?"
Molly's throat closed up. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a choking sob.
"Gina--" Juan started.
"He has no right to do this to you," Gina declared, punctuating it with a stomp of her fore-hooves. "My mother always says, stuff like this happens for a reason."
Tears trickled from Molly's eyes. Her lips trembled with words she didn't want to say.
"Gina!" Juan called out.
"If he's not going to support you, he should just leave you the hell alone!" Gina shouted.
Juan surged forward. "Gina, stop it! You're upsetting her!"
"Juan, get out of the way, you ... I ..." Gina looked at Molly and gasped. "Oh, geez ..."
The dam that Molly had steadfastly tried to maintain over the last few weeks finally burst. "All I want is for my father to stop looking at me like I'm some kind of freak!" she wailed as tears flowed freely down her face and around her muzzle. "I w-want to go back to the way it was between us, wh-when he loved everything I did a-and couldn't s-say a single bad thing about me ..."
Gina rushed forward and embraced her friend. "Molly, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean--"
Molly sniffled and shook her head. "I-it's not you."
Gina squeezed her eyes shut and hugged her friend tighter. "I just don't want to see you hurt. I don't want you to be unhappy."
Molly drew back and wiped her eyes. "I don't know what to do. If I stay like this, I'm going to lose my father. If I go back to being human, I'll lose my mother. I don't want to lose either of them! What if they get d-divorced over this? It'll be my fault no matter what I do!"
Juan stepped forward. "Um, Molly?"
Molly sniffled and turned her gaze towards him.
He took a deep breath before speaking again. "There was a time when my parents were going through some nasty stuff. I still don't know what it was all about, but, well, they separated for a bit."
Gina gasped. "You never told us that!"
Juan lowered his gaze and scraped a fore-hoof on the ground, his ears drawing back. "It doesn't exactly bring up nice memories. There was a lot of yelling. I mean a lot."
"But I've seen your parents. They're so affectionate towards each other all the time." Gina smirked. "You were even a little embarrassed about it when I first saw it."
Juan blushed faintly but managed a small smile. "Yes, now. Not four years ago. They almost divorced, and I thought it was my fault at the time."
Molly wiped her eyes again. "You did?"
"Yeah, and I was wrong. It wasn't my fault. A counselor told me it's never the kids' fault. We're just ... being kids, that's all."
"And that's all you're doing, Molly," Gina said. "You don't have any control over who you are."
"But don't I?" Molly asked. "The whole rehumanization thing."
"Tell me the God's-honest truth. Never mind your parents. Do you want to rehumanize?"
Molly struggled to separate her desires from what others expected of her. A lot of her human memories were a blur, yet she could dimly remember having the same debate with herself in the past concerning what she thought her parents wanted. She remembered being afraid of what they would think of her, but each time her fears came to naught.
This time she was no longer so sure.
She settled on her haunches and curled her tail around them, a gesture as simple and intuitive as running or jumping. She extended her wings and craned her neck to look at them. She remembered with a fondness that almost brought her to tears again the day her wings had emerged. That had changed her entire outlook on her condition. From that point on, all she cared about was what she could do with them. Only the day her wings actually started to work had been a more joyous occasion.
Her wings were a part of her now, and not just in a physical sense. Because of her family's association with the Tanners, she knew more about Sunrise Storm than her friends. She knew Sunny had undergone a similar revelation, and she had gone on to be the best pegasus who called Pony Hope her home. She became somepony Molly wanted to be like when she grew up.
Her wings were not just appendages. They defined her. She could no more give them up than she could a leg.
She folded her wings and turned her gaze back to Gina. "No, I don't."
"Then it can't happen, period," said Gina. "You heard what the Equestrians said. You have to be willing. You're never going to be willing to go back, any more than me or Juan."
"Dad doesn't think we're any better off like this."
"It doesn't matter! It still doesn't change the fact that you're a pony." Gina smiled. "And I think you're going to do amazing things some day."
Molly's eyes glistened, and a smile tugged at her lips. She threw her forelegs around both Gina and Juan. She took a deep breath to take in the scent of familiarity and acceptance "Thank you. I'm so glad I have friends like you."
"We're going to try to talk to Starlight Glimmer," Gina said. "I promise, we'll figure out some way to get you your cutie mark."
Molly nodded and smiled more naturally. She was not quite as worried about that anymore. All she wanted was for this trip to be over so she could return to Pony Hope where she had friends she could count on.
As if reading her mind, Gina drew back and raised a fore-hoof. Juan and Molly did the same. Gina smiled and lightly clopped her hoof against those of the others. "Friends forever."
Juan smiled and did the same. "Friends forever."
Molly's smile broadened. She gladly repeated the gesture. "Friends forever."
Bob had not intended to attend the magic class at the Pony Hope school, as he had initially assumed it would be taught by Canterlot mages. Besides having already advanced his own magical knowledge beyond what they were allowed to teach, he found them to be a bit pretentious. Only when he heard that Starlight Glimmer was going to be there did he decide to attend.
Security was tighter than with a normal Equestrian visitation. Secret Service agents stood at all the entrances, likely more in respect of the fame of their Equestrian visitors than any real need to protect them. From what he knew of Starlight, she likely had enough magical ability to deflect any sort of attack far more effectively than her human escorts.
When he approached the classroom, he found Starlight greeting the students as they entered. She immediately recognized him. "Bob, hello! It's good to see you again."
Her blue-furred, silver-maned companion suddenly spun around to face him, a look of surprise on her face.
"Hello, Miss Glimmer," said Bob.
"I'm happy to see you taking an interest in furthering your magical ability," Starlight continued. "Twilight mentioned you had shown a lot of promise." Her eyes flicked to his blank haunches. "Oh, um, if you decide to remain a pony, that is."
"I'm still on the fence about it," Bob said in a neutral tone.
Now the blue unicorn mare standing next to Starlight regarded him with curiosity. She raised an eyebrow as if in silent assessment.
Starlight glanced behind Bob, where a queue of unicorns patiently waited to enter the classroom. "Well, I shouldn't hold everyone up. If you would just--"
The other unicorn suddenly surged forward, shoving Starlight out of the way. "We simply should continue this conversation later!"
"Uh, we should what now?" Starlight said in a wary voice.
The mare tossed a foreleg towards him a dramatic fashion, matching the tone of her voice. "This colt is a veritable prodigy, my dear Starlight. Why would we not want to talk with him at length?"
"I never said he was a prodigy."
"Oh, well, you certainly implied it."
"I did?"
"And even his cohorts agree!" the mare declared, gesturing behind Bob. "See?"
Bob glanced behind him. Several smiling unicorns all nodded their heads. He recognized them as those he had given magical lessons to.
The mare smiled at Bob. "Please, do come see us after the lecture is over. I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about."
Starlight face-hoofed. "Trixie, we can't do that."
Bob tilted his head as he looked at the mare. This was the Great and Powerful Trixie he had heard about?
Trixie turned to face Starlight. "And why not?"
"Because it will look like we're trying to give a unicorn personal instruction, and we can't do that."
"Nonsense! It will be nothing more than a friendly conversation." She waved a fore-hoof dismissively. "Have our human overseer flunky whatever-he-is listen in if it makes you feel better."
"I don't want to be seen as playing favorites, either," Starlight protested. "That wouldn't be fair to the other students."
"Oh, we don't mind, Miss Glimmer!" a pony piped from behind Bob.
"Yeah, Bob is great!" said another. "He deserves a little more attention."
"He's a wonder with that horn of his!" cried another.
Bob whirled around to face his fans. "Please, cool it," he said in a low and urgent voice. He had tried to instill in every pony he taught that they needed to keep a low profile, but ponies being who they were, they were eager to leap to the support of a fellow pony.
Trixie gave Starlight a smug look. "See?"
A man dressed in a dark suit stepped over to them. From the style of the ID that dangled from his pocket, Bob recognized him as from the BMO -- the Bureau of Magical Oversight. He cast a critical look down at the tableau. "If there's a problem, please inform me of the situation, otherwise move along," he said in a firm voice.
Starlight frowned and narrowed her eyes at Trixie. "And maybe now you see what I mean." She looked up at the agent. "Ah, no, nothing to see here! Everything a-okay. Bob, if you would take a seat, please?"
"We'll talk to you later," Trixie said with a smile.
"No we won't," Starlight hissed as Bob quickly headed away, the gaze of the agent lingering on him. By the time he found himself a seat, the agent had turned his attention elsewhere. Bob dearly hoped he had not wound up on a List.
A "list with a capital 'L'" as ponies sometimes referred to it were the bane of some ponies' existence in areas of the country where the worst of ETS was confined to smaller towns or counties. This had been especially true in large swathes of the deep south. Before more concern had been turned towards pony rights, human authorities were more interested in tracking who the troublemakers might be, especially when Shimmerist sentiment took a hold there.
Starlight and Trixie stood just to the side, engaged in a rather ardent but stark silent debate. A sparkling sphere of magic surrounded them, likely a privacy spell. The BMO agent was not looking particularly pleased at this, especially when several pony students started pointing and whispering excitedly at the display of advanced magic.
Finally, the spell dissipated with a pop, Trixie uttering an indignant "hmph!" as she lifted her muzzle and turned away. Starlight rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and put on a warm smile as she trotted to the head of the class. "Good afternoon, all. It's good to be back on Earth again and see so many ponies eager to learn magic."
Bob caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head in time to see Trixie's tail before it disappeared out a back door. The BMO agent soon followed.
"We have some good news for you," Starlight continued. "A new rune has been recently approved for general use. I'm pleased to be the first one to teach it to you. It will help enhance your spatial perception at longer distances, which will allow your levitation spell to work better with smaller objects at range."
A collective groan went up among the students, a typical reaction when they were presented with yet another levitation spell enhancement. Bob, however, saw it as potentially far more useful than his cohorts if he combined it with other knowledge he had unlocked on his own.
Starlight seemed to sense the general mood, however, and she appeared flustered for a moment. "Ah, yes, well, (ahem) on to the lesson plan! Trixie, if you would?" Her smile faltered when nothing happened. "Uh, Trixie?" She looked around and frowned. "Trixie!"
Trixie suddenly burst from the door she had previously exited, a sheaf of papers levitated before her. "You don't have to shout, I'm perfectly capable of hearing you in the next room."
"The point is, you shouldn't have been in the other room," Starlight said in a low, urgent voice.
"I had to reorganize the lesson plans. They had fallen from the folder they were in."
Starlight glanced at the BMO agent who had followed Trixie back into the classroom and now stood to the side of the chalkboard, his hands folded sedately before him. "My apologies," she said in a softer tone. "Please distribute them while I continue the introduction."
Trixie smiled. "With pleasure."
Bob shifted his attention to Starlight. He was starting to see Trixie as more of a showmare than a mage. Perhaps "Great and Powerful" did not mean the same in Equish as it did in English, or something was lost in the translation. He didn't notice her again until she approached and levitated a sheet of paper covered in a combination of arcane symbols and ordinary English.
She winked and dropped the page rather haphazardly compared to the way she neatly laid in the center of the other desks. His horn lighted and grabbed it before it could slide off the edge of the desk.
The moment his magic touched the page, he felt a kick of feedback, similar to what he felt when examining an Equestrian magical artifact. It was not terribly strong, but he flinched in surprise. As he powered down his horn, he felt a spell unfold and deploy right before him.
New words appeared on the page, hastily scrawled across the bottom: Meet me near the pond behind the abandoned church one hour after the last class -- Trixie.
"Did someone cast a spell?" Starlight asked.
Bob's heart pounded, his ears flattening. He risked a glance and saw Starlight looking in no particular direction. Other students exchanged confused glances. Before Bob could think to hide the page, the clandestine writing faded away.
"I thought I felt a weak burst of magic from somewhere in the room," said Starlight.
"Likely nothing more than a horn discharge," said Trixie smoothly. "Nothing to worry about, I'm sure. Or simply an overeager student showing off to his friends."
Starlight considered, then nodded. "All right."
Bob let the breath go that he hadn't realized he had held as a ragged sigh of relief. He might not have been so shocked at the secret message if the writing had not been identical to that he had seen on letters which had been sent to him containing snippets of advanced magic.
The "Great and Powerful" Trixie was his secret Equestrian benefactor.
Starlight smiled. "I know you're all eager to learn, but please refrain from any unsupervised spell-casting. You never know what unintended side-effects you might generate."
Bob took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He risked a brief probing to see if he detected any other magic on the page, but now it was as ordinary as any other student's lesson plan. The spell had been a one-shot and likely had been triggered when his own magic touched the page. That effect alone was something he would not mind learning.
His mind spun with questions as the lesson began. Why would Trixie want to meet with him personally? Wasn't she taking a big risk with a BMO agent in the room? He seemed none the wiser of what had transpired, not even batting an eye when Starlight announced that she had detected magic.
The lesson was slated to last an hour, and he had to wait several hours after that. They might as well be months.
A smiling deep amber earth pony mare with hair only a shade lighter stepped up to Starlight as the students from the last magic class of the day filed out. "Thank you so very much for visiting us again, Miss Glimmer. It's been an absolute treat having you here."
Starlight smiled at the mare and glanced at her cutie mark, that of a ruler laid across a wooden desk. She almost found it hard to believe this pony used to be a human, or that the classroom was on Earth. It could have very well been the schoolhouse in Ponyville, with as closely as the Harmonist architects had copied the style. She half-expected to see Miss Cherilee here. "The pleasure's mine, Miss, um, Darrow, is it?"
"Butterscotch," said the mare with a hint of pride. "I've taken a new name since we last met."
"It's very ..." Starlight glanced at Butterscotch's coloration. "Appropriate."
"Yes, I thought so as well. Oh, and I wanted to thank you for delaying the start of classes until the afternoon. We have quite a number of ponies who attend church on Sunday morning."
Starlight nodded, though she still had trouble wrapping her head around Earth religious belief systems. The sheer number of them alone was daunting, not even counting the hybrids that had risen among the transformed.
Butterscotch glanced around. "And where is your companion Trixie?"
"That's kinda what I want to know," Starlight muttered. "She said she'd be gone a few minutes, but that was a half hour ago."
"That's too bad."
"You don't have to be polite," said Starlight. "I know she can be a bit trying."
"Oh, not at all!" said Butterscotch. "In fact, I was hoping she would be here."
Starlight blinked. "You were?"
"Yes, I wanted to thank her as well."
"You did?"
Butterscotch smiled. "She's been a real treat as well, quite the breath of fresh air."
Starlight stared at the mare as if she had grown a third eye. "She is??"
"Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but many teachers we get from Equestria are, um, a little stuffy," said Butterscotch. "Oh, but not you! You and the other Element Bearers are always quite nice to be around."
"Um, but I'm not an ... never mind." Starlight rubbed a hoof through her mane. "Stuffy, huh?"
"And Trixie is quite the opposite. So vibrant and colorful! So lively! The foals simply love her, and, well ..." Butterscotch giggled. "I admit I admire her a lot, too."
"Are you sure we're talking about the same mare?"
"Pardon?"
Starlight shook her head. "Forget it. Not important."
"Do you think she might be back soon?" Butterscotch asked. "I was hoping she would consent to giving me an autograph."
"I'm not sure, and I would rather she be back where I can keep an eye on her." Starlight turned to the BMO agent. "Would you please see if you can find her? I'm sure I can be trusted not to give any illicit instruction for the short time you'll be gone."
"Yes, Miss Glimmer," said the agent before heading out.
A small knock of a pony hoof against wood sounded from the front of the class. Both Starlight and Butterscotch turned to see a little creamy orange furred unicorn filly with a pale yellow mane peeking into the room, her fore-hoof still on the door frame. "Um, Miss Glimmer? Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"
Butterscotch turned towards her. "Now, Gina, these classes were for the more advanced unicorns, and they're over for the day."
As the teacher spoke, a red-brown earth colt leaned his black-maned head in from behind Gina. "Yeah, I know, Miss Butterscotch, but ... this is kinda important," Gina said. "Please?"
"The Equestrians are very busy ponies, dear, and--"
Starlight stepped forward. "No, it's okay, really. I need something to distract me." Otherwise she would just worry that Trixie was going to accidentally set fire to the town with her magical fireworks.
Gina and her companion stepped into the room. "We'd have Molly with us, but she had to go off to Grand Junction for something useless. Well, we hope it's useless, anyway, because Molly sure does want to stay a pony and--"
"Gina," Butterscotch said in a gentle but admonishing voice. "Stay on topic, please."
"Anyway," Gina continued. "Oh, this is Juan, by the way."
"Um, hi," Juan said, waving a fore-hoof and smiling faintly.
"He's like me and Molly, we don't have cutie marks yet."
"I see," Starlight said as she started to guess where this was going.
"So we wanted to ask you about that."
Starlight nodded. "Yes, I've been asked this before. I may have done a lot of research into cutie marks, but I can't predict when a pony will get one, at least not very far in advance."
"Yeah, we sorta figured that," Gina said. "But we really wanted to know if there was a way to speed things up somehow. Mostly for our friend Molly, you see."
Starlight chuckled. "Of course."
Gina tilted her head. "Did I say something funny?"
Starlight smiled. "It's just that you remind me of some ponies back in Equestria."
Gina brightened. "We do? Who??"
"Well, you've probably never heard of them. They call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and--"
"Yes, that's who we want to meet!" Gina exploded, throwing her fore-legs apart.
Starlight blinked. "Er, what?"
"We've heard of them!" Gina cried.
"We were hoping to meet them," said Juan. "That is, have Molly meet them."
"They can help us -- Molly -- get her cutie mark!"
"Yes, Molly. We don't care about ours."
"That's right, this is all about Molly," said Gina. "If we happen to get ours, that would be super cool, but, yes, Molly first!"
Starlight face-hoofed and murmured, "Hoo boy."
Butterscotch stepped up to her. "Molly is one of my students. She's the daughter of an earth pony mare and a human man. Her father is, um, not very keen on her transformation."
"That's right," said Gina. "And that's why we want to get her a cutie mark, so she can't be changed back. We heard that the Cutie Mark Crusaders help ponies get their cutie marks in your world."
"Ah, well, not quite," said Starlight, feeling she had an out. "They've turned their attention more towards helping ponies sort out what their cutie marks really mean."
Gina paused for a long moment, then said simply, "Oh."
Starlight nodded. "So I'm not sure they could really help you."
Gina rubbed the bottom of her muzzle with her fore-hoof. "I guess we'll have to go with our backup plan after all."
"I would advise that as well," said Starlight.
Gina smiled. "Cool! We'll form our own Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
"Yes, that -- wait, no!" Starlight cried.
"That's a great idea, Miss Glimmer!"
"Ugh, no, I didn't mean that!"
Gina gave Starlight a confused look. "Why not? It worked for ponies in your world, right?"
"That's ... open for debate, actually." Starlight sighed. "Look, even the Crusaders will tell you that you just can't hurry something like this along. It happens when the time is right."
Gina eyed Starlight suspiciously. "You're not just saying that because the government wants you to, are you?"
"Absolutely not," Starlight declared. "It's completely true. The Crusaders did all sorts of crazy things to earn their cutie marks, and when they finally did get it, it was totally out of the blue and completely unexpected."
Gina looked thoughtful. "Sooo ... these Crusaders tried a lot of stuff that didn't work, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"So maybe they can tell us what they tried so we know what won't work!"
"Er ..."
"That would help, right?"
"But what didn't work for them might be something that could work for you," Starlight said out of desperation.
"Wait, then you're saying we should try a bunch of stuff like they did?" asked Gina. "I'm confused."
"No, don't try anything!" Starlight was met with blank looks. "That came out wrong. I don't mean you shouldn't do anything. Of course you need to do something to find out what you're good at. You just don't need to obsess over it."
"We just want to protect Molly," Gina said in a plaintive voice. "We don't want her to be turned back into a human, not after she's been getting her wings to work."
"Gina," Butterscotch said in a firm voice. "There is only so much that Equestria can do in this situation. Now what did I tell you was the most important thing about rehumanization?"
Gina's ears drooped. "That it doesn't work on the unwilling."
"And is Molly willing?"
"No."
"Then I would suggest you have nothing to worry about."
Starlight could clearly see what the priorities of the ponies were concerning the process, at least in this part of the country. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
"It's fine, Miss Glimmer, thanks." Gina spun around to face Juan. "Okay, so the Crusader idea won't work. I've got a better idea."
"You do?" Juan asked.
Gina smiled and nodded. "Yeah! Maybe they're right, and we don't have to worry about Molly, but there are other ponies I know who are not as sure. We can start a group to help convince them to stay ponies!"
Starlight's pupils shrank slightly. "Um ..."
"Hey, that's a great idea!" Juan said. "We can start on my aunt Emily. She's been considering going back to being a human."
"Perfect!" said Gina. "Molly will want in on this, too."
"I'm not sure that's a good--" Starlight began.
"I've got it!" Gina cried. "A name for our group. We're the Go-Pony Crusaders!"
Juan smiled. "I like it!"
"Wait, that's--" Starlight said.
Gina whirled around to face Starlight. "Thanks, Miss Glimmer! We wouldn't have thought about this if we hadn't talked to you first."
"Great," Starlight said in a resigned voice. She forced a small smile. "Glad to be of help."
Gina spun back towards Juan. "Come on, fellow crusader, we've got work to do."
"I'm with you!" Juan said. He and Gina galloped out of the classroom, their hooves echoing in the empty hallways as they faded into the distance.
Butterscotch chuckled as she turned towards Starlight. "That was quite clever of you, I must admit."
"Um, it was?" Starlight said in confusion.
"Redirecting Gina's prodigious energy towards something worthwhile. That's sure to keep her and her friends busy and out of mischief for a while."
"Heh, yeah," Starlight said with a weak smile as she glanced towards the door. "What could possibly go wrong?"
Bob had to consider the possibility that this meeting was little more than a setup. He couldn't imagine that the FBI had no idea that illicit magic was being spread through the pony communities. The fire control spell he had helped propagate had gone so far and wide that someone must have discovered it.
Thus he had taken a precaution: he had informed the Pony Hope pegasus wing of the meeting.
He admitted he was taking advantage of Sunny's absence. She would have balked at doing anything like this, but Rainy was happy to provide a patrol to alert him to any approaching human authorities. His fillyfriend, however, was not quite as keen.
"I don't like this, Bob," Tina said, her ears drawn back. "I don't like this at all."
"Noted," Bob said in a neutral voice.
"Noted? That's all you have to say? You're about to risk everything you've been working for!"
Rainy flew down and landed amidst them. "Tina, please, calm down. My wing hasn't spotted a single thing that shouldn't be here."
Tina jabbed a fore-hoof towards her. "You know perfectly well Sunny wouldn't like this, either."
"Yes, well, she's not here, is she? She put me in charge of her wing while she was gone."
"And you're using your position to push your agenda," Tina said in irritation.
Rainy frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You've been throwing your weight around ever since Sunny left. Even the snow you created today. Sunny had reservations about that, but you went ahead and did it anyway."
Rainy sighed. "Okay, yeah, maybe I'm not as conservative as Sunny is about these things."
"It's not about being conservative, it's about not doing things that could irritate humans and give them more reason to--"
Bob stepped between them. "Can you two argue about this later? Tina, I get it, this is a risk. But if Trixie is on the level, it could mean we can take another leap forward."
"She's acting stupid, if you ask me," Tina muttered. "From what you told me, she practically pointed you out to the BMO agent. Rainy can fly all the patrols she wants, and it wouldn't prevent him from reporting about all this."
"If he was going to act, he would have done it right in the classroom," said Rainy. "They're not shy about that sort of thing. They're trained to bring an immediate stop to any illicit magic instruction."
"But Tina does have a point," Bob said.
"Glad somepony thinks I do," Tina grumbled.
"But I'll also contend that the die has already been cast. If I am in some sort of trouble, then whether I go to this meeting or not doesn't matter. I might as well go."
Before Tina could reply, Thunderburst spiraled down and landed with a thump of his hooves. "Rainy, we spotted Trixie. She's alone. The BMO agent must be back with Starlight at the school."
"That's about as good a sign as I can hope for," Bob said, though his voice quavered a bit.
Tina stepped over to Bob and gave him a hug. "I hope you're right about this."
Bob accepted the embrace, letting out his breath as a ragged sigh. "I hope so, too."
"You better come back after this. I've grown kinda a-attached to you."
Bob heard the catch in her voice and closed his eyes tightly for a moment.
"Tina, we won't let anything happen to him," Rainy said as she extended her wings. "We're going to be patrolling constantly. We'll warn him if we see anything suspicious. Come on, Thunder."
Thunderburst smiled. "Don't have to tell me twice." Both he and Rainy took off and soared over the snow-covered tree tops.
Tina drew back and unfolded her wings. "I might as well join them. You be careful, I mean it."
Bob smiled faintly. "I will." He watched Tina fly into the sky before taking a deep breath and turning towards the path that would take him towards the old church.
In the absence of his friends, the forest became unnervingly silent. The only sound other than the birds was his hooves crunching against fresh snow. A few flakes still whirled down and clung to his mane and fur.
Trixie's blue coat was easy to pick out against the pristine white of the snow. She smiled as Bob approached, taking a few steps towards him. "I've seen the pegasi overhead," she said. "Not taking any chances, I see."
"Can you blame me?" Bob asked. "I didn't expect what you pulled in class."
Trixie's smile widened and became slightly smug. "A mere parlor trick for somepony of my talent, but that's beside the point."
"I was more concerned about the BMO agent."
Trixie waved a hoof. "No need to be concerned about him." She paused and tilted her head. "To be honest, I had expected you to be older. I was surprised to learn you're a teenager."
"I was into science as a human," said Bob. "I guess it carried over."
"Whatever." Trixie stepped forward, her horn glowing. She plucked a sheet of paper from her saddlebags. "This is what the lesson plan might have been had I been allowed to present it."
Bob tried to take the sheet from her, but Trixie had too firm a magical grip on it. He stepped closer and peered at it. "I've been working on something like that. It allows almost any spell to be projected further, not just levitation."
"Very good!" Trixie said. "You recognized it right away. I'm impressed."
Bob could see why it was still forbidden. Anything that assisted in the projection of magic could be the basis of a shield spell. He remembered what Strong Hooves had told him; this alone could leapfrog their research.
Yet again when he tried to take it, Trixie kept a firm grip on it.
Trixie's smile turned sly. "If you want this rune, you need to help me with something first."
Bob frowned. "None of your other assistance came with a price tag."
"Oh, come now, Bob," Trixie said in a silky voice. "This is what being a pony is all about. We help each other. I helped you, now I need your help."
"With what?"
"I am in need of a courier," said Trixie. "A pony who could deliver this."
She levitated a large green jewel from her saddlebags. Bob's pupils shrank slightly as he sensed the strong -- and completely unshielded -- magic emanating from it. "What is it?"
"A Farhearing Stone," Trixie said.
Bob's mouth dropped open. "That's ... that's very advanced magic! There's no way you should be giving that to me!"
"I didn't hear you object to the other information I gave you." Trixie smirked. "Including that fire crystal which conveniently had no shielding on it."
"But that was at least incremental," Bob protested. "This is a huge leap."
"I'm not giving it to you for its inherent magic," said Trixie. "Now, if some enterprising young unicorn happens to discover a thing or two about it, so much the better. Anyway, I need this delivered to a pony named Strong Hooves."
Bob stared. "The Shimmerist leader?"
"The very same."
Bob heard the sudden rush of pegasus wing before the words were completely out of her mouth. Rainy and Thunderburst landed with a hard thump on either side of him. "Bob, you have to get out of here!" Rainy cried.
"The BMO agent is headed this way," Thunderburst said.
Tina landed next to him. "Yeah, I knew this was a bad idea from the start."
Trixie rolled her eyes and stepped forward. "To use one of your own phrases, you all need to chill out. I told Bob not to worry about him, and I meant it."
Nevertheless, Bob's three pegasus companions closed around him as the agent stepped into the clearing. He spared Bob only a glance before turning to Trixie. "Miss Lulamoon, I just wanted to inform you that Miss Glimmer is looking for you."
Trixie smiled. "Thank you. Hopefully I'll be done with this shortly, and she'll be none the wiser."
Tina raised an eyebrow. "Uhhh, what's going on?"
Trixie chuckled. "Let's just say that this human realizes how much more, ah, profitable associating with me is."
Tina's stared. "You bribed him?? How would that even be possible? We don't have the same monetary systems!"
"Gold," Bob said after a moment's thought. "Equestria is still on the gold standard. All their currency is backed by it. It would be easy for a rich pony to trade money for gold."
"And that's why you're the smart one," Trixie said. "The details don't matter. What matters is getting this stone to Strong Hooves."
"And just who wants to speak with him?" Bob asked in a wary voice.
Trixie sighed. "Does it matter?"
"Yes, it matters!" Bob cried. "Anything that could be seen as secret collaboration between Equestria and the ponies of Earth could--"
"You mean like we've been doing all along?"
Bob wanted to protest that the "collaboration" had been more or less thrust upon him. He had not asked for the help, yet he had made use of it without hesitation. "This goes far beyond that," Bob said in a low voice.
"Bob's right," said Tina. "This is way more than just passing him some magical help."
"This is for your own benefit!" Trixie cried in an exasperated voice. "Fine, you want to know who wants to talk to Strong Hooves? The Canterlot nobility, that's who. They want to protect you ponies from the barbaric humans!" She hesitated and glanced at the agent. "Er, no offense."
The agent nodded. "None taken."
"But we can't--" Bob began.
Rainy rushed forward. "I can do it! I can get the stone to him by nightfall."
Trixie smiled. "Now we're getting somewhere." She started to levitate the stone towards Rainy.
Tina rushed forward and stopped it with her hoof. "No, wait, this is insane!" She turned her head towards Rainy. "And you're insane for wanting to do it."
Rainy frowned. "You can't talk to me like that."
"Watch me. Are you even thinking this through?"
"Yes, I'm thinking," Rainy said. "I'm thinking how long we've waited for something to happen. I'm thinking how after six months we still haven't gotten the training that was promised to us. I'm thinking of the ponies who keep dying at the hands of humans because they don't have the magic to protect themselves."
Tina frowned. "I swear, Rainy, you sound like a Shimmerist yourself."
"But they have a point! How long are we supposed to wait for stuff to be doled out to us? What was the damn point of having a Pony Council in the first place? Maybe this is what we need, a little outside help."
"Do you realize how spectacularly this could blow up in our faces?" Tina cried.
"You're risking something far worse than an international incident," said Bob.
Trixie face-hoofed. "Will somepony make a decision already?!"
"I will," Rainy said. She flew around Tina and snatched the stone out of the air in her fore-hooves. "Thunderburst, you're in charge until I get back. Priority is to clear out the snow by evening and give the town a clear, frosty night."
"You got it," said Thunderburst.
"Just how do you think Sunny is going to view this when she gets back?" Tina asked.
"I'll deal with that when the time comes," said Rainy. "I know she's going to be upset, but this is important to me. We've made something good here: a society without war, without strife, without hate. We can't afford to lose that, and that's what I'm afraid will happen if we don't take matters into our own hooves."
Bob wondered if he should have expected something like this might happen. Rainy never quite got over the death of her army brother a few years back while he was assigned to the Mideast. She saw the ETS transformation as a way to create a world where something like that never had to happen again. Sunny had always been there to help balance Rainy's more extreme views and show her the bigger picture.
Trixie stepped closer and levitated the paper before him. "Here. As promised."
Bob had half a mind to refuse it. It felt tainted. Yet some of what Rainy had said moved him. It was a repeat of what he heard from unicorns he had taught himself. They were all similarly frustrated, no matter what their personal philosophy happened to be concerning the transformation.
He had no way to truly stop Rainy. There was no pony authority he could report her to. All he could do was inform human authorities, and that would only make him feel like a traitor. Certainly other ponies would believe that; he didn't trust that the pony capacity to forgive went that far.
He snatched the page from Trixie in his magic and muttered, "Thanks."
"Oh, and you might want to give that gem a closer look," said Trixie.
"Huh?"
"And I don't mean with your eyes." She winked.
Bob turned towards the gem. His horn glowed brighter as he started to probe the artifact. It was not only unshielded, but the runes which comprised its deeper functions were laid out in a structure that he imagined enabled most unicorns in Equestria to figure out how the artifact worked without requiring instruction, much like how most humans could figure out how a new cell phone worked by simply browsing its menus and applications.
"Bob, I don't think you should be doing this," Tina said.
Yet Bob was already too fascinated by what he was seeing. Much of it was far beyond his knowledge, until he hit the part of the spell that bound the magic to the gem. His pupils shrank slightly, and his ears drew back.
He not only could see the runes very clearly, he actually thought he had a glimmer of understanding of how they worked. The bits and pieces he had learned from other artifacts he had studied suddenly fell into place.
"Well?" Trixie asked with a sly grin.
Bob took a step back, his horn dimming. "That was ... very informative. I think it will help me." He looked at the page. "More so than even this."
Trixie smiled. "Now, see? Everypony is happy. We all will get what we want."
Bob had no doubt about that; he was just not sure that the ends justified the means.