While Ashley was dealing with her loss of anthrofication and apparent sickness as a result of the so-called "cure", her mouse friend Alex set a trap for unsuspecting guards who had confiscated the groups' communication devices as well as her team's gear. In a storage room nearby a guard went to check contents of a cylinder and froze when he saw that it appeared empty. He got the radio and said in a panic, “General!” The mouse creature has es….” He started before a Roman candle effect preceded a fist connecting with his chin. His unconscious body arced and landed on a stack of boxes, crushing them, revealing her, the Smiths, Daring's and Ayumi's cell phones. As well as her Satchel and Ayumi's backpack.
Taking the time to put everything in her satchel, Alex drew a kanji for "Father" on it and put the phone the her ear. “Dad?” she said. “I ran into a General Harrison and he canceled my magic.”
She listens to what her father and says, “So, if I use a restoration pulse, anyone who has been ‘cured’ will be restored to the forms that're more natural to them?” Alex then felt the ripple cause by a dimensional portal opening. Dad, I got to go, or this general is going to plunge this world into a war it can't win!”
She focuses and teleports to where her friends were. When she arrived her eyes widened at the sight of Kurt Smith. The soldiers raise their weapons when she appears. “Stop right where you are, Viator!”
“Traveller!” Alex corrected. “What did you do to my friend?”
“Alex, so I’m not the only one that poison failed to change.” Ayumi said still in her Alicon form but strapped to a table. “This isn’t the work of the Storm King; it’s Grogar who’s helping the alternate version of Starlight Glimmer! I figured it out when they injected me.”
Kurt headed over to help Ayumi, “Ah’m so sorry, guys. Ah hope we can get through to Brian in time. Ah just want to be back t’ bein’ good ol’ AJ again.” When he heard that Starlight was involved, he shook his head, “You don’t mean our Starlight, do ya? She was Sarah Gaines from school. We helped her with the magic of friendship and she was rewarded with her new anthro unicorn form.” Kurt felt weak without the Earth pony magic infused when he represented the Mane 6 group as their Element of Honesty. “Uh, Alex, Ah don’t feel so good…” She collapsed to one knee. “What did ya do to me?”
“We cured her.” Dr Maynard replied. The Doctor then noticed Alex's swollen belly. “General. The cure will not work on Viator.”
“Traveller!” Alex Corrected again.
General Harrison looks at the Doctor then demands, “Why the Sam Hill not?”
Alex blurs over to Kurt and grabs his arms. The movement was so fast that it bought Alex enough time to scan Kurt. She found the virus and noticed it was in a battle with the spell. She also noted that Kurt's body was rejecting the virus.
Meanwhile Dr Maynard says, “Alex Viator is pregnant. That means she has changes in her body that has locked her in that form. And no, the cure won't work after the birth as her body will reject the cure.”
As Alex took a breath the General and his men closed in. Alex felt their suppression field suppress her Alicorn magic, but her chaos magic; the magic that had been a part of her from birth was unaffected. She smiled as she said, “General Mortimer Harrison, you never learn!” Then to the surprise of the General and his men, Kurt was enveloped in an emerald aura and right before their eyes Kurt Smith was replaced by Ashley Smith.
“Yee-Haw! That’s more like it!” Ashley cheered as she felt her Earth pony strength returning to her. She smiled as her clothes fit her better. “Thank ya kindly, Alex!” She said to her mouse friend.
“Don't mention it.” Alex replied.
Dr Maynard gasped “How'd you change Mr. Smith back into an anthro?”
General Harrison stared at Alex in shock, “How were you able to use a spell now when you couldn't when we met earlier?”
“Simple.” Alex said as she helped Ashley up. “Your suppression field doesn't affect chaos magic and I used it to power a cure spell. And too much time has passed since the transformation, and as a result when the healing spell reinfused Ashley, the spell saw your virus as the danger. Of course it helped that Ashley's body was rejecting the virus.”
Ashley glared at General Harrison, “Ah want you to stop usin’ mah cousin as yer pawn and shut that portal down, pronto! You have no right t’ invade a sovereign nation and kidnap us fer yer sick game!”
Alex then crossed her arms and said, “General. You and I have crossed paths a total of four times. Two out of the previous three you came out on the losing side. The one time you were on the winning side was when you & I teamed up.” Alex placed a hand on her belly, “With that in mind, what are the odds of you winning?“
“Especially when your fighting not only Miss Traveller but a Dno’oove too. Remember what my dad did for your kind.” Ayumi said as she broke her restraints apart. “Don’t make me call my uncle and actually allow him to come here you may know him the NUMA agent Dirk Pitt the man who single handedly made the state count jump by 7 at least. All while killing the corrupt government men and other scum like who stood in his way.”
Alex then added, “Your plan won't work, so might as well give up.” Alex turned to look at her mate showing a digital recorder that was on.
General Harrison smiled and said, “Except for two times my plans have always worked. I'll use whatever tactic I can. Use whoever I choose I'll lie, cheat, steal and murder to get what I want. HELL! I even assassinate the President if he gets in my way!”
“Ya just admitted t’ harmin’ government officials and lyin’ ‘bout that cure of yours. Where’s Brian at? Ah want her to hear how your “cure” isn’t real fer herself.” Ashley demanded.
Daring Do calmly walks in through the door with Brian and a shocked Soldier behind her.
Just then, Ashley's Element of Honesty shot a beam at Brian again. This time, the orange beam surrounded her, and gave her the information needed about the fake cure.
Brian shook her head as she processed the information the Element of Honesty gave her. She looked at the “cure” then gripped the syringe then threw it against the wall, shattering it. She then shouted at General Harrison, “YOU LYING PIECE OF CRAP! THAT WAS NO CURE; IT WAS POISON!”
Ashley smiled at her cousin, “That’s the cousin Ah know. You feelin’ better?”
Brian nodded.
The General just said with a smirk “So what? There's no evidence! It'll be your word against mine!”
Alex shut the recorder off then said, “Ooo! Actually, it’s your word against yours!”
“And surprise, General! Ya just stepped in it deep! Alex has you on recording your lil' monologue 'bout killing the President of the United States.” Ashley smirked.
Alex hit the replay playing, “HELL! I’ll even assassinate the President if he gets in my way.”
“To quote Zootopia, ‘It's called a hustle, sweetheart. BOOM.’” Alex copied Judy Hopps’ line from the movie.
The other soldiers turned their weapons the General provided them and lunged at Alex.
Ashley nodded to Brian, “Ya have a choice, sugarcube. Ya fight with the General or us, your family. Remember who ya are! You are Babs Seed!” She hoped Brian would make the right decision.
Brian looked about then raised the taser. “My parents always told to follow my heart and do the right thing.” The taser was pointed at Alex then swung it at the General and fired. “So I'm doing both.” The taser she was carrying this time had up to 6 charges as it threw an arc of electricity that hit the former general and the five soldiers who were his inner circle and knocked them out.
Brian, no, Babs continued to fire at the General and his troops despite the taser being empty. Ashley touched her cousin's shoulder lightly, "It's over, Babs! They cannot hurt ya anymore. Are ya going t' be okay?” Ashley asked Brian as she went over to her, relieving her of the empty taser, tossing it to her big brother, "See that this is turned over t' the proper authorities."
Big McIntosh smiled as he handed over the taser to Dirk Pitt, Ayumi's uncle, who entered it into evidence, along with the General's confession and any of the research on the "cure." Dr. Maynard also had a change of heart and agreed to turn states' evidence against General Harrison in exchange for a lighter sentence. "Just following orders" was what Dr. Maynard's defense offered.
Babs ran into and hugged Ashley, “Guess I'm more like Babs from the show than I imagined.” She said, though her face being against Ashley's belly muffled it a bit.
Ashley nodded as Babs embraced her cousin, “It’s okay, hun. It’s over. Ya still need to make up with your cousin, Apple Bloom, though.” She lifted her cousin’s face from her belly, “Would ya like to come live with us? We’ll have ta talk with yer parents and help ya find a part-time job.”
Apple Bloom smiled as she went over to Brian, “Ah know we didn’t get off to a good start when we first met ya, but if you want, we can start over. Whatya say, cousin?” She went over for another hug attempt.
Brian, no Babs, pulled Apple Bloom into a hug.
Ashley smiled, holding back a tear as the younger cousins hugged it out and joined the hug herself, followed by Granny Smith and Big MacIntosh. “Ah know this hasn’t been easy fer ya since ya changed, Brian, but we’ll help ya get through this. Maybe talk with yer parents and maybe have ya move in with us? Ah think we can get ya a part-time job at the mall after school.” Ashley stated, talking with Brian/Babs on her level.
Apple Bloom nodded, “And, mah friends Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo an’ Ah formed a club called the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders.’ We help others find their Cutie Marks, or what they mean.”
Alex groaned then said, “Better stock up on fur shampoo.”
Just then, several soldiers walked in and surrounded General Harrison. “General Harrison, on the charges of kidnapping, Illegal bioweapons research, and attempted terrorism against a foreign power you're hereby relieved of duty. We're to take you into custody and hold you until a court martial can be held.” The former General was led and he glared at Alex before he was out of sight.
Ashley finished speaking with Brian/Babs, then turned to Alex and Ayumi. “Thank you kindly fer getting our family back together. Ah haven’t seen Brian this happy to be around Amy, er Apple Bloom since, Ah’m not sure when…” Ashley scratched her head. “One thing stood out though; mah Element o’ Honesty helped open Babs’ eyes to the lies that fake cure was offerin’.”
“The Elements of Harmony are a constant in every Verse; AJ, you just tapped into your Rainbow Power.” Ayumi said as purple flames spread across her chest revealing the element of magic embedded within. “In my counterpart’s world, the main six are even more the living embodiments of the elements as you can see. It happened when we took down Tirek we each have a copy of the element we represent in our chest binding us further in our cause.” The flames swept over her chest once more hiding the gem beneath her flesh. “It's a part of who we are and a power unlike any other ."
Big Mac walked up wiping the dust off his hands and Said, “But what about the portal?”
“Don't worry about it.” Alex's Father said as he entered. “Me and Dirk Pitt managed to convince NATO & U.S.A to cancel the invasion and the war was not an option. Section Seven is being closed down and replaced. Though everyone working will still pull a paycheck as it's being reorganized into something new.”
Alex’s Father helps Granny Smith out of the cylinder and handed her her cane. The old mare smiled at him saying, “Why thank you Reggie, you are such a gentlestallion.”
Alex leaned over to Ashley and said, “Your Granny is probably the only person he'll let call him that. HE HATES BEING CALLED THAT.”
Ashley chuckled at Alex’s comment,”Duly noted,” still tending to Babs Seed, “Ah’m mighty glad yer okay. Somepony tell Twilight we’re comin’ home and bringin’ along another family member?”
As they leave Apple Bloom pipes up, “Does anypony know how’re we to get home?”
“I can help if you can fix Mary up.” Raven suggested with a very badly injured Mary on her back.
“Land sakes, girl! What happened t’ Mary, er, Crimson Strings, er...uhm, Serine? What is exactly that ponies’ name?” Ashley stammered.
Raven told the group that Serine/Crimson Strings confronted Grogar about the cure and had let it slip it was not a cure at all. She was injected during a distraction and Grogar fled the scene, vowing revenge.
Alex went over to heal Serine/Crimson Strings, using the same magic she used to heal Ashley. After that, Ayumi's Uncle Dirk arrived and offered the group to transport them where they needed to go.
"If it's okay with y'all, we need to get Babs home t' her parents. It's the right thing t' do. Plus, Ah need t' talk to mah relatives in New York and propose Babs come back t' stay with us in Perth. But Ah'll let that be Babs and her parents' decision."
The group boarded the waiting transports to New York City. On the way, Babs fell asleep on Ashley's lap while her older cousin looked out the window from her seat. Apple Bloom sat next to Babs. Ashley sighed as she thought of her friends back home. She texted Twilight, who called back and was very upset about not responding to her texts, "Whoa, slow down, Twi! Take a deep breath. Now, hear me out. We were kidnapped by some evil military organization, and they were using mah cousin Babs as one of their pawns. We stopped them and Babs is okay; a might plum tuckered out and possibly in need of a shower, change of clothes, and a hot meal. Stopping by her place in New York and we should be back home in about a couple days to get things cleared up. Okay, thank ya kindly. Yeah, yeah, Ah'll make sure Ah'll get some shut eye too. Okay, Thanks, Twi. Bye now!" She hung up her phone. "Twilight was really stressed out about our absence back home," she told Alex.
After a restroom break, Ashley dozed off near Babs and Apple Bloom. Just seeing Babs and Apple Bloom bonding together made her feel warm inside. Babs was resting comfortably, and Alex got a blanket and pillows for the group .
The plane landed in New York City and Ayumi woke Babs and Ashley up, "Hey, we are here in New York. I believe Babs gave us her home address before we left."
Ashley got her family and gear and disembarked the plane. The group eventually found Babs Seed's family residence. They found Babs' mother out talking with a female police officer about filing a missing person's report when the group approached.
"Howdy! Y'all can all relax. Babs is right here, safe and sound." She ushered Babs over to her mother. "Brian was transformed into a young filly a while back. She was scared and did not know where to go. Truth is, she ended up saving us all from some evil men who were trying to start a war, which we prevented. You're welcome!"