//------------------------------//
// Chapter 31 - Transitions 
// Story: Pandemic: Aftermath 
// by ASGeek2012 
//------------------------------//

Water Wings was anxious to learn more about events unfolding just east of the Homestead lands, especially in the wake the apparent breakthrough the Pony Council had achieved. The last thing he had wanted to see was some last minute incident involving pony magic unravel everything again. It would not have helped him in his efforts to win over the other Shimmerists in his faction, already a hard sell despite Strong expressing his confidence in Water to the others.

Yet now he had to deal with a particular one whom he had assumed would be the most difficult.

Morning Glow frowned. "I'm just worried that you're going to gut everything that this cause stands for as soon as you take over."

Water had expecting a somewhat stronger reaction from Strong's sister. He had prepared for an all-out rebellion with her at the lead. Ponies being who and what they were, he doubted it would break down into some sort of civil war, but they had other means at their disposal to be disruptive.

"I'm not gutting anything," Water said. "All I want to do is clarify what our cause really is and how we can achieve that without antagonizing humans."

"You're sounding far too much like Sunset Blessing did for my liking," said Morning.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she had a point?" Water said, some exasperation creeping into his voice. "She realized that not only are humans in the majority, they control the lion's share of the world's wealth."

"Wealth we have no need for!"

"And just where did that come from?"

Morning stared. "Huh?"

"It's a simple question, really," said Water.

"I know, but why are you asking a question you know the answer to already?"

"Humor me."

Morning rolled her eyes. "The Vision said nothing about wealth or consumerism. It showed a world completely free of such things. How are we supposed to achieve that if we give ourselves over to them?"

"Because it's the reality of the situation," said Water. "Think about it. Regardless of whether you consider it ideal or not, money makes the world go around. For heaven's sake, Equestria has a monetary system! If we involve ourselves more in the world economy, we gain a better audience for our message."

"And just what is our message?" Morning asked. "I'm not even sure anymore."

"It's the same as it has always been. We want to see a world largely comprised of ponies, all living in peace and friendship. We want a post-scarcity society that pony magic can make possible."

"All right," Morning said in a hesitant voice.

"Isn't that exactly what Strong had stated as well?" Water said. "And Rock Steady before him? And Sunset Blessing for that matter?"

"Yes, but how can we get there if we don't pursue that goal more aggressively? Humans are not exactly flocking to us wanting to transform."

"No, they aren't. We have to entice them. We have to make them see that they could have it better if they joined our cause. The only way things are going to change is if there's enough force behind it, and only humans can be that force."

Morning looked about to protest but sighed and said, "I guess I'm still trying to wrap my head around this."

"I have to admit, I didn't think I'd get you to listen to me at all," said Water.

"Let's just say I had an interesting conversation with Molly and Theresa and leave it at that."

Water was about to reply when he heard Strong's voice, "You should tell him exactly what you told me. Don't make him wheedle it out of you like I had to."

Water turned to see Strong approaching, flanked by two pegasi hovering on either side. "Have you heard anything from Prince Blueblood?" Water asked.

"Nothing yet," said Strong in a slightly irritated voice. "And I've been informed that the county sheriff is likely on his way to the settlement to take some of us into custody. I'm almost certain they will be coming for me at the very least."

Morning gasped.

Water arched an eyebrow. "You sure are taking this better than--"

Morning raced forward. "You can't let them do this!"

Strong frowned at his sister. "What would you have me do?"

"Rally the ponies of this settlement to your defense. We can stop them from coming for you."

"And risk harming another human?" said Strong. "Or one of our fellow ponies?"

Morning frowned. "If you won't do it, I--"

"Will do nothing!" Strong thundered.

Morning's pupils shrank, and her ears drew back.

"It is not for you to decide," Strong said in a calmer voice. He looked towards Water. "If Water Wings wishes to organize a resistance, that is his prerogative. I advise against it."

Morning ground her teeth and stomped a hoof. She whirled around to face Water. "You have to do something! You can't let this happen!"

Water sighed and glanced towards Sky Streak.

Sky stepped forward. "Give the word, and my wings will take to the skies at once."

"And do what?" Water asked.

Sky hesitated. "Whatever it is you wish of us. By default, we will simply patrol and report back any movement."

"We can have unicorns hidden along their path use their levitation to put obstacles in their path," said Morning. "Earth ponies can make the ground unstable under their feet. We--"

"No," said Water.

"But--!"

"Listen to me, Morning," Water said. "Right now, we have humans outright hostile towards us. If we keep harboring ponies they see as having broken the law, we're not going to get anywhere. They'll just keep seeing us as outlaws."

Morning's eyes glistened. "But w-we're not ... I mean ..."

Water was rather taken aback; Morning looked as if she were about to cry. Strong stepped up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Let go of the guilt, Morning," he said.

Morning lowered her head. "I can't. I just ... they should just take me. What happened was as good as if I had pulled the trigger myself."

Water was rather astounded to see this side of Morning Glow. She had always justified her actions by appealing to the greater good to be served. He was almost grateful for this reaction despite the pain it was obviously causing her.

Water was distracted by movement off to the side. He turned to see a pegasus with a large set of saddlebags land nearby. Embroidered on them were the letters "PPS" for the Pony Parcel Service. They had been established as an adjunct to the USPS by the Homestead act. The normal postal service delivered letters destined for pony communities to post office boxes in towns along the main highways, and the PPS relayed them from there.

"Hey, is there a Strong Hooves here?" the pegasus stallion called out.

Strong stepped forward. "That would be me."

"Letter for you." The pegasus craned his neck, snatched an envelope from a saddlebag by its corner with his teeth, and presented it to Strong.

Strong gave the postal pony an odd look and took the letter from him, balancing it on a fore-hoof. As the postal pony took off, he looked down at the envelope and raised an eyebrow. "I will read this in private." He turned to Water. "May I use your abode for a moment?"

Water nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you." Strong looked at the two pegasus guards. "As of now, you both report to Water Wings directly."

The two nodded and winged over to Water, hovering on either side of him. Water gave Strong a questioning look.

"I thought it best that the current leader of this faction of the Shimmerists have personal guards," Strong said. "At least until we're sure everypony will fall in line with your leadership." He looked squarely at Morning. "And nopony attempts to stir up trouble."

"I won't," Morning said in a low voice.

Strong nodded once and stepped into Water's home.

Morning watching him go before turning back to Water. "So what about Prince Blueblood? Are you going to keep dealing with him?"

"I honestly don't see how he can meet Strong's demands," said Water.

"That's just it, they're not his demands, they're our demands. Being able to perform transformations is central to our cause!"

"Yes, but does it really need to be done now, and in such an underhoofed way?"

"What's so underhoofed about it?"

"Are you serious?" Water cried. "We're circumventing two governments if we do this!"

"Maybe we have to!" Morning said in a plaintive voice. "You just talked about getting humans to rally to us. Telling them we could transform them in the near future would give them the impetus they need."

"And how do we know they're sincere in that regard?"

Morning blinked. "Huh?"

"Remember that the transformation has a side effect of making you almost one hundred percent healthy," Water explained. "How do we know we won't get people who just want a quick fix for their physical problems? Wouldn't it be better if we know they're rallying to our cause for the right reasons?"

Morning hesitated. "But--"

"Furthermore, if by some miracle Blueblood gets a protectorate over us, it will make us seem more isolationist. Some of the humans who have already rallied to us still consider themselves Americans. We risk alienating them and--"

A loud, cynical laugh suddenly burst forth from Water's home.

Both Water and Morning turned as Strong emerged, still laughing. "Uh, care to share what's so funny?" Water asked.

Strong gave him a wry smile. "You could call it relayed laughter, from one who apparently just got the last laugh on me. Perhaps I will return the gesture at a later date. Until then, I will take it as a sign that my decision to give you the reins of governance was the right one."

Water stared. "Just what was in that letter? And who was it from?"

Strong gestured towards the doorway. "Feel free to read it for yourself. Perhaps you should have it framed as a reminder to never act in such a way that will amuse her."

Water was quite confused, but too curious to turn down the invitation. He and Morning stepped inside. The letter still lay unfolded on the table in the common area. Water peered down for a look:




Dear Mr. Hooves,

While I was working on making some business arrangements overseas -- as well as preparing a sermon for the largest congregation of human Shimmerists in the world -- my human assistant came in and told me to check the news.

Lo and behold, I find that you have once again clearly demonstrated how superior your methods of dealing with humans and advancing the Lord's plan for a pony world are in comparison to mine. How could the prosperity of my southern ponies possibly compare to your feats?

I now have to tell you that I'm being sarcastic, because I don't think you're intelligent enough to figure that out without being told. If only you had a strong brain to go with your hooves.

What on God's green Earth were you possibly thinking?! How did you think kicking humans out of housing developments that ponies weren't going to use anyway was a good idea? You tried disarming armed humans in a community that had as a selling point that it was an all human community, and you expected no violence to erupt from this? The only ponies with less brains than you were the numskulls who you somehow convinced to aid you in this act of wanton lawlessness.

Let me make this abundantly clear. Even if your little stunt somehow miraculously not ended in violence, you would have gained nothing but heightened hostility from the humans. There are better ways of making a statement than trying to kick people out of homes.

You should have been making statements about how it is good that humans are coming to live near ponies and welcoming them into that development. Make it appear they were being gifted the land by ponies so they'd be grateful. We don't need more pony Shimmerists by you taking a stand, we need more human Shimmerists by you being gracious!

I hope that you repent to the Lord and repent publicly for your indiscretions. I will be making a public statement after completing this letter and offering up aid through SPEC to the families you terrorized. If you want to embrace a better form of Shimmerism -- that actually advances our goals -- my door is always open.

Sunset Blessing




"Huh," Water said as he drew back from the letter. "I knew she had made some announcement about this, but I didn't expect she'd send a personal letter to Strong."

Morning ground her teeth. "That fucking bitch. Who the hell does she think she is?"

"Hey, settle down. She's kinda got a point."

Morning spun around to face him. "She whores herself out to humans, and you praise her for it?"

Water frowned. "I didn't praise her for anything. I simply meant that she has a point about how to attract humans to the cause."

"If you're not careful, Water, you're going to play right into her hooves. The moment she hears about the change in leadership, she's going to try to extend her influence here. We don't need that."

"I'm not intending to turn over our faction to her, if that's what you mean," said Water. "But I would like to know why you hate her so much."

Morning frowned deeply. "I can't stand how she ties Shimmerism so much to Christianity. I grew up in a household of fundie nutjobs who always harped on how the Rapture was just around the corner. Even my brother's muted religious beliefs are sometimes too much for me." She stepped closer to Water and lowered her voice. "Please, promise me just one thing. No matter what direction you take these Shimmerists, keep it secular. Don't give in to her claims that appealing to religious values will bring in more humans."

"I can't tell ponies not to have religion," said Water. "Hell, just the other day, I saw two mares who recently immigrated here wearing those head-scarves I often saw Muslim women wear."

"I'm just afraid that if we attract humans who are fundie nutjobs, we'll get a bunch of ponies who are fundie nutjobs, just a little nicer about it," said Morning.

"I intend to appeal to all humans, Morning." After a pause, Water sighed and said, "I'm not sure exactly how yet, but that's my general idea."

"And Blueblood won't be part of that," Morning said in a flat voice. "Right?"

"I'm not going to hinder efforts in that arena, but I'm not going to help, either. At this point, the ball is in his court. Either he can come through, or he can't. Simple as that."

Morning snorted softly and said nothing.

"I have to plan for the possibility that he'll fail," said Water. "It's the only practical thing to do."

As he spoke, Sky Streak flew inside. He saluted and said, "Sorry to interrupt, sir, but the patrol reports that a large contingent of human law enforcement are on their way here now."

Morning shuddered and bit her lower lip.

"What are your orders concerning them, sir?" Sky asked.

"Track them, but allow them free passage," said Water in a heavy voice.

Morning uttered a small gasp.

"Have the guards at the entrance to the settlement insist on seeing their warrants," Water continued. "They're to remain polite and deferential, but have them make absolutely sure those warrants are signed by a judge. If the officers have proper warrants, let them pass."

"Of course, sir," said Sky. "Shall I inform Strong Hooves of their arrival?"

"Please do so. Um, dismissed."

Sky saluted again before heading out.

Water turned to Morning. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted us to put up some sort of resistance, but it's just not feasible."

Morning lowered her gaze and said nothing.

"Look, it's not an easy decision to make. I'm condemning several friends to being arrested. I truly wish humans were of the same mindset as ponies and could just forgive, but--"

Morning lifted her gaze and shook her head. "Not for me. I have to atone somehow."

Water searched for the right words to say, but there simply were none.

Morning turned away. "I wish you luck and good fortune in your new role. I hope you keep the Shimmerists as a cause I can relate to when I eventually return. It's the only thing I've ever had that I could believe in."

Water watched her go. He uttered a heavy sigh and looked down at the letter. Perhaps he would keep it after all. He might even reply to it.

But not now. He had more important things to worry about.





Trixie stepped off the airplane bridge at JFK airport in New York City wondering just why any human who was forced to ride in one of these ridiculous contraptions didn't clamor to be transformed into pegasi so they could use their own wings to get where they wanted to go. For five long hours she had endured the terrible noise of the engines that grated on her sensitive ears, absolutely tasteless food in morsels too small to even be considered a snack by her standards, and seating that felt cramped even for a pony. Now her muzzle wrinkled as she caught a whiff of jet exhaust.

She could not bring herself to lift her head and flash a smile at the humans who recognized her and tried to get a picture of her with their cell phones through her cloud of Secret Service agents. All she knew was that it was late, she was tired, and she desperately wanted some real food and a soft bed that didn't smell of whatever horrible chemicals hotels used to clean the beddings.

Tell her again why Sunset Shimmer had done such a bad thing?

Trixie frowned and shook her head as her entourage rushed her towards the ground transportation area. She knew such thinking was frowned upon in Equestria. The official stance was that it was wrong to forcibly transform an entire species against their will. Trixie understood that, but at the same time, couldn't humans at least be more accepting of magic so they didn't have to resort to such smelly, loud devices?

And to think, Twilight had actually suggested to Celestia that Equestria start adopting some human technology!

She casually levitated her UN-supplied cell phone and used the spell Starlight had taught her to shape the air so that she could tap icons and buttons without using a stylus. As she looked up her contacts list, she hesitated. All right, she had to admit, some technology was rather useful. She wouldn't mind having something like this back home.

She called up a number in her list as she levitated a headset from her saddlebags onto her head. After a few rings, a bored male voice said, "Portal Access Control, Equestrian Division, Desk Jockey speaking. How may I direct your call?"

Trixie spoke in Equish in response, "I need to check if you received my--"

"Ma'am, please conduct all conversations in an Earth language," the functionary pony droned. "All calls are subjected to recording and review by security. I have had translation spells for English, Spanish, Ital--"

"All right, all right!" Trixie snapped in English. "Did you receive my request for an emergency transport back to Equestria?"

"Please hold, I'll transfer you to the scheduling department," said Desk, his voice replaced with sonorous music.

Trixie ground her teeth. Human bureaucracy was so insidious it was starting to affect Equestrians who stayed on Earth too long.

After almost a full minute, the line clicked. "Scheduling department, Desk Jockey here, how may I direct your call?"

"I would like ..." Trixie trailed off. "Wait, you're the same pony I was just talking to."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then why didn't you handle my request right then and there?!"

"Ma'am, we have procedures to follow. They don't pay me enough to make up things as I go along."

Trixie face-hoofed, "All right, fine. I requested use of the portal for an emergency return to Equestria."

"Your name?"

Trixie blinked. "Seriously?"

She heard typing. "No, ma'am, nothing on the schedule for somepony named 'Seriously'."

"I'm Trixie Lulamoon, you idiot!"

She heard typing again. "Yes, ma'am, it's on the schedule."

"Finally, some progress," Trixie muttered. "I assume it's been approved?"

"I don't know, ma'am."

"What?? How do you not know?"

"This is not the right department," said Desk. "Please hold while I transfer you."

"Arrgh!" Trixie cried as the music returned.

Another two minutes passed. Finally, a click. "Approvals Department, Desk Jockey speaking, how may I direct your call?"

Trixie said through clenched teeth, "Trixie Lulamoon. Emergency portal use. Approved or not?"

She heard more typing. "It has not yet been approved, ma'am."

Trixie's pupils shrank slightly. "I've been turned down?? Why?!"

"I didn't say that, ma'am. It has been neither approved nor denied."

"What in Celestia's name is the hold-up?"

"There's a note attached to the form," Desk droned. "Instruct requesting person to report to the Central Security Office on the third floor prior to granting approval."

"Did it say why they wanted me to report there?" Trixie asked.

"All I have is the note I just read to you. Do you wish me to read it again?"

"No, I got it the first time!"

"Is there anything else I can help you with, ma'am?"

Trixie frowned. "No, you've 'helped' quite enough."

"Thank you for calling Portal Access Control, have a nice--"

Trixie hung up the call and stuck the cell phone and headset back in her saddlebags. It was probably nothing. More likely than not some idiot forgot to declare something earlier that day as they were coming through the portal, and somepony panicked and ordered everypony to be tripled-checked from that point on.

As she reached the ground transportation area, she took out her cell again. She drew up Illuminating Spark's number in her contacts list and sent him a text: Being given runaround about heading back to Equestria early. Something up I should know about?

She waited for a reply in the few minutes it took for her car to arrive. She frowned when she didn't get a response, shoving the phone back into her saddlebags before climbing into the car.





Sunburst smiled as he held two styli and the mouse in his magic, manipulating the laptop as good as any human might. He had already put in a request to have it placed on the list of approved technology to be imported into Equestria. To be useful for more ponies, however, would require coming up with a version of written Equish that was more suited to a digital medium. Even the colloquial form of the written language was extremely cursive in nature, and forms often changed depending on the flow of the text. Either that, or formally adopt some Earth language as a digital lingua franca.

In either case, it had simplified his life immensely. Documents that would take hours to write on scrolls now took just minutes. Perhaps some of the Canterlot mages complained about the lack of "elegance" of a laser-printed document as compared to a traditional scroll, but all Sunburst cared about was the end result: he could get his reports done in a fraction of the time, freeing him up for more magical research. He had never realized just how big a chunk of his time was spent on administrative tasks.

Sunburst heard approaching hoof-steps. He glanced to the side, never pausing in his typing as he said in Equish, "One moment, Dusk." He typed for a few more seconds before stopping, looking over his work, and manipulating the mouse to save his document. He turned towards Dusk. "Yes, what is it?"

"I just got word that Miss Lulamoon is on her way here," said Dusk Fire.

"Did the little ruse work?"

"Yes, Miss Lulamoon got quite frustrated. We got a good baseline for her emotional state. She's definitely stressing out about something." Dusk gave him a faint grin. "I have to admit, that little trick you came up with was inspired."

"Ah, well, I can't claim all the credit. You can thank Pinkie Pie for suggesting it."

"In either case, she's more likely to slip up and give us an indication if she's lying to us."

"I was wondering why you felt it was necessarily to rile her up," said Sunburst.

"The lie detection magic is not perfect," Dusk explained. "Somepony very well versed in deception could elude it or give us results that wouldn't stand up to scrutiny in a trial."

Sunburst's ears drew back. "A trial??"

"Well, yes, a trial. Anyway, showmares like Miss Lulamoon tend to have the ability to control their responses enough to--"

"You said nothing about a trial!"

"Pardon?" said Dusk.

"Are you seriously suggesting she might be put on trial for what she did?" Sunburst asked.

Dusk raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't she?"

"We've never done that before! Even Starlight was never put on trial for what she did."

"She didn't do something that was witnessed by another world run by beings who scrutinize everything we do," Dusk said. "And Starlight was exempted from trial only at Princess Celestia's discretion after Princess Twilight advocated for her."

"Perhaps she would exercise the same discretion here," Sunburst said.

"I honestly don't see how she could. The UN already knows there's been a breach of portal security. This is a very serious matter for them."

Sunburst frowned. "Surely they will not dictate how Equestria manages its internal affairs."

"This is not a strictly internal matter to them," said Dusk. "And where so many Earth governments now have embassies in Canterlot, it's not like the Princess can just sweep this under the rug."

"I'm not saying she should. Any apology or atonement that Trixie made would be a matter of public record."

Dusk considered. "You seem to be fond of Earthisms. Are you aware of the phrase 'slap on the wrist'?"

Sunburst sighed. "Yes."

"That's exactly what it will seem like to them if that's all Trixie gets as punishment. For all we know, it's what motivated her in the first place. She's not the only pony who doesn't understand that the rules have changed."

"It appears I am among them as well," Sunburst said sourly.

"How severely Miss Lulamoon gets punished will depend on what artifact she had brought over, what she had done with it, and what effect it might have on magic use among ponies of this world."

"I thought we had agreed it was a Farhearing Stone?"

"It's certainly the most likely, and that could be one of the more damning as well," said Dusk. "There's a lot of magical knowledge that could be obtained from it. Never mind the implications of who would be using it to communicate outside normal protocols."

Sunburst did not envy Twilight's task in the least. She likely had to learn these hard lessons herself. It also explained how easily some Equestrian ponies could fall into the trap of thinking the humans "backward" in their thinking. Quite ironic considering how some humans thought Equestria "backward" for not having technology or still clinging to the "old notion" of an absolute monarch.

"What if Trixie helps us retrieve the artifact?" Sunburst suggested. "Would that allow some leniency to be shown?"

"I honestly don't know," said Dusk. "That would be decided at a level so far above me that I don't concern myself with it."

Sunburst sighed. "Very well. What about Twilight's request that she not be held if the interview reveals she's lying?"

Dusk frowned. "It took some doing to say the least, but UNPOC agreed to give us three days before we absolutely have to extradite her back to Earth if we don't take any action in Equestria."

"Well, at least that gives us some time."

"Frankly, I don't think we'll need even that," said Dusk. "We've interviewed Illuminating Spark, the mage on duty when Miss Lulamoon came through the portal. We already know he's not telling the truth."

"Has he been confronted about this?" Sunburst asked.

"Indirectly. We've told him he's temporarily suspended from duty, and he was strongly encouraged not to have any contact with Miss Lulamoon until we've interviewed her. From his reaction, I suspect he realizes we've caught both of them."

"Certainly he should be informed of the charges against him."

"When it becomes a full-blown legal matter, yes," said Dusk. "We're trying to exercise a lot of discretion and not give any other major players a heads-up.'

Sunburst nodded. "In either case, this gives Trixie a chance to deal with her family emergency."

"If that's even true."

"Can anything be done to confirm it either way?"

"All I've been able to determine is that, yes, Trixie has a sister," said Dusk. "Beyond that, I don't know. I've put in a request in to Canterlot to see if they can find out anything more."

"Please keep me up to date." Sunburst turned back to his laptop. "I still have this report I need to finish for Twilight."

"I'll let you know what I find out," said Dusk as he headed away.





Bob stood outside the abandoned church about a mile north of what was once his home of Lazy Pines. A simple wood structure, it had been built back when the town was little more than a way-point for silver miners. It had long since fallen into disrepair, despite the Lazy Pines city council's multiple attempts to get the church declared a historic site. The ponies of Pony Hope were largely indifferent towards it, and parents tended to keep their foals away from it for safety reasons.

The broken and rotting nature of the building made it suitable for Bob's purposes. As he still retained some of his human heritage, avoiding disturbing the site was more paramount in his mind than it would be for his peers. Fortunately, the building didn't need to do more than exist.

Bob levitated a stone and guided it through a broken window. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to get a sense for the object outside of his visual senses. He opened his eyes and navigated the stone behind a wall and out of sight. He turned parallel to the outside wall of the church and stepped slowly until he came to the doorway, the doors themselves having long since fallen off. The stone appeared in the opening, though a little lower than he had intended.

"That was very good, Bob," came the voice of Green Fields from inside the building. "That's the closest you've come to a straight line."

Bob said nothing in reply. He raised the stone further and repeated the experiment, heading the other way. Whisper Touch had initially volunteered to help him with this exercise, but given the potentially unstable nature of the building, he preferred an earth pony who had a better chance of walking away from a roof collapse with little more than scratches and bruises.

"And that was even better!" Green exclaimed as the rock appeared in the window.

Bob wanted to revel in his success, but his thoughts remained muddied with memories the argument he had with Tina earlier despite his attempts to focus on the task at hoof.

He let out a short sigh and narrowed his eyes as if in attempt to eliminate all other distractions. He gripped the stone a little tighter in his magic and lowered it out of view. He forced himself to take slow, regular breaths as he opened his magical senses as far as they would go.

"It's holding," Green said.

Bob nodded, though he knew the gesture would go unseen. He now willed the rock to drift to the left.

"Moving to the right now," said Green. "Er, my right, your left."

"How much?" Bob asked.

"About a foot."

Bob did not trust ponies to guess human measurements. They were almost always off; he theorized it was because they were not compensating for their smaller stature. "Compare it to something more concrete, please."

"Um, about the length of one of my fetlocks. Does that help?"

"Immensely." Bob willed the stone in the other direction.

"Same distance now to your right, though it dipped a bit."

Bob let out a slow sigh through his nose and raised the rock into view. He pulled it towards him and let it drop to the ground.

Green emerged from the building. "Hey, you're really making progress. I don't think I've ever seen a unicorn who could move objects that well that they can't see."

Bob wanted to complain that progress was not fast enough to suit him, but he had only come up with this idea earlier that day. His plan was to perform his manipulations of the quartz crystal from the other side of a cinder block wall. That way he would be shielded from any explosion were things to go wrong.

That required him to have a complete sense for the crystal in his levitation magic without seeing it. Being able to move or grab things sight unseen was not unheard of among Earth's unicorn population. Yet those cases were very specific, usually an object in a familiar place, or the time spent out of sight was brief, and a sort of "thaumic momentum" allowed them to keep the object moving steadily.

"So, another go?" Green prompted.

Left to his own devices, Bob would gladly continue into the night. He glanced at the ground, the trees casting long shadows, interspersed with yellow-orange light. It reminded him of the last time he and Tina sat and watched the sunset over the lake. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Had he been obsessing over this too much as Tina had claimed?

Green stepped over to him. "You okay?"

"Huh?" Bob said. "Yes, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Because for a pony who can be so focused, you've been really distracted at the same time."

Bob frowned. "That makes no sense. One is either focused or distracted, not both."

Green smiled. "Then you really are a prodigy, as you somehow managed both since we started this experiment of yours."

Bob wanted to continue to protest the logical fallacy, but his thoughts instead tried to prove his friend right. The moment his mind had no longer been occupied with his magic project, it kept circling back to Tina.

"You need to talk about anything?" Green asked.

"That depends," Bob said flatly.

Green hesitated before saying in a delicate voice, "Would this have anything to do with Tina?"

Bob's gaze snapped to his friend's face, and he managed to quell an immediate protest or lie.

"Yeah, I thought so," said Green.

"It's not something you can do anything about."

"I just thought if you needed to vent--"

"There's nothing to vent about," said Bob in a lower voice. "It wouldn't do any good."

"But maybe it'll make you feel better."

"I don't see how."

"No offense, but you kinda keep a lot of stuff bottled up," said Green. "More so than I've ever seen in a fellow pony."

Bob almost pointed out that, in most cases, he didn't have anything worth bottling up. That simply wasn't true; it was more that he trusted only one pony with his feelings, the same one who was angry with him for wanting to pursue his magic research. He wished he knew why she was so upset, but he had been afraid to talk to her about it.

He had never realized just how much he had come to enjoy her company until he had been deprived of it. This was the longest they had ever gone without being with each other ever since they had reunited after their release from the shelters six months ago.

"Are you and Tina having trouble?" Green asked.

Bob gave him a glistening gaze and said nothing.

"Because I kinda know how that feels," Green continued in a softer voice. "I still miss Jenny sometimes."

Back when Green Fields had been a human named James Carlyle, he and Jenny had some budding affection for one another that James had hoped would carry over into their pony forms. Instead, Jenny's decision to rehumanize had hit him rather hard at the time.

"It's not like that," Bob said in a low voice. "At least I hope not."

"If it helps any, I don't think Tina's been seeing any other colts."

Bob flinched. That idea had not even entered his head. What if she was looking for somepony who could better suit her needs, a pony who didn't have his head immersed in magical theory?

"I'm not worried about that," Bob said, only a partial lie.

Green stepped closer to his friend. "So is it something on your end?"

Bob gave him a confused look. "I don't understand."

"Are you interested in some other filly?"

"What? No! Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Well, you really don't talk about her much." Green smirked and rolled his eyes. "Take my cousin, for example. All he can talk about is that cute filly he's been dating. You'd think that flowers sprouted up under her hooves wherever she walked." Green considered. "Well, his fillyfriend is an earth pony, so I suppose that's possible, but that's beside the point."

"I'm just a very private person," Bob said. "Maybe more so than most ponies."

"So you do still like her?"

"Of course I do."

"Does she know that?"

"I think I've demonstrated that time and time again by the fact that I seek to be in her company," Bob explained.

Green face-hoofed. "Listen to yourself. You can't go treating this as an equation. If I learned anything from my time with Jenny, you have to be a little more obvious when dealing with a filly who likes you."

Bob's ears drooped. He had to be coaxed into expressing his feelings to Tina even in the best of times. Was that why Tina was upset with him? Did she not really know what Bob felt for her?

He looked at the stone he had used for his experiment and remembered when Tina had hung around to watch him try out some new bit of magic, always encouraging him. He had not realized how much of that emotional support he had drawn on.

"What should I do?" Bob asked.

"Go talk to her," Green said. "Sooner the better."

"You mean now?"

"If you can find her, yeah."

Bob considered. "I think I know where she might be."





Water stared at Sky Streak. "Who did you say is here?"

"Miss Bright Future, sir," said Sky.

Water sighed and ran a hoof through his mane.

"She states she is answering a request by, ah, quote 'Strong Hooves, leader of the western faction of the Shimmerists' unquote," Sky explained. "I have not informed her of the change in leadership. I thought I would leave that up to you."

"I had not expected her to show up this quickly," Water admitted. He had thought once she had heard about the incident at the housing development, she would not bother, or Rainy would have dithered a little longer on contacting Bright and abandon the idea.

"She said she had left early this morning, and the trip took her the better part of the day."

"I'm not sure meeting with her would accomplish anything, to be honest."

Sky considered. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Water almost rolled his eyes. "Of course!"

"You obviously represent a more moderate voice where the Shimmerists are concerned," Sky said. "Harmonists appear to be moderate by nature. Perhaps this is a good opportunity to forge the alliance that Strong Hooves had hoped for."

Water frowned. "I suspect he pursued that alliance for his own aims."

"Perhaps, sir. But clearly Miss Future sees some advantage to speaking with us. At best, she wants the same, a mutually beneficially alliance. At worst, she wishes the same thing you suspect Strong wanted, that is furthering her own cause."

Water considered.

"From a purely strategic standpoint, it would be worth knowing what's on her mind, sir."

Water thought back to the revelations about the true beliefs of the Harmonists. He had no idea if Bright knew that Rainy had spilled the beans. He hated approaching this in the vein of what advantage he could gain from it, but Sky had a point about knowing what the other faction was up to.

"All right, I'll talk to her," said Water. "Where is she now?"

"She's having dinner in the common dining area, sir," said Sky. "We're arranging a place for her to stay overnight."

"I could use some dinner myself, so now is as good a time as any. Please let her know I'll be there shortly."

Sky saluted and headed out.

"I really need to break him of that habit," Water murmured.





Sunburst had finally finished the report and transmitted it to Twilight when Dusk stepped into the room. "Well, it's official. Miss Lulamoon is hiding something as well."

Sunburst turned towards him and sighed. "I suppose she failed the truth test."

"Well, not precisely," said Dusk. "But she didn't pass it, either."

"Come again?"

"It's what I said about showmares like her. They're so good at lying that they can even believe the lie enough to fool the spell."

"But we rattled her a bit earlier."

Dusk nodded. "Which was the only reason we got anything at all. Not at all admissible in an Equestrian court, but that wasn't the point. We just needed enough to know she's worth keeping an eye on."

"So we're definitely not detaining her," said Sunburst.

"As you said earlier, Princess Twilight was adamant about letting her go through. She wants to know who Trixie's connections are. She's already alerted some ponies in Ponyville."

"What about Canterlot?" asked Sunburst. "If she really is colluding with Prince Blueblood, she'll likely go there. Have you notified the Royal Guard?"

"I have, but this has to be discreet, or we'll just scare her off. We need somepony else to trail her who she won't suspect."

Sunburst considered. "All right, I'll go."

Dusk arched an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yes. I've finished my report to Twilight, and she's still busy with matters in the Midwest." Sunburst smiled. "Besides, I've wanted to visit Canterlot again."

"I'll let them know you're coming," said Dusk.





Bright was delighted to discover that the hospitality of the ponies in Grand Junction was just as good as those in Pony Hope. At the same time, she could sense that something was amiss. Ponies spoke in low and somber tones, and she was sure it wasn't just because they were Shimmerists.

She had a knack for puzzling out a situation. She could put together scant clues and come to conclusions that were reasonably accurate. Her talent was not just being optimistic about the future as she allowed many ponies to believe. She could see patterns and trends, using that knowledge to take educated guesses about how the future could play out. It was what made her certain that an Ascension could be possible.

It was not seeing the future, she was careful to point out to the few close friends with whom she shared her true talent. She could make estimates and calculate probabilities. The only example she could offer of her ability was from science fiction. Isaac Asimov had once written stories based on the concept of "psychohistory," loosely explained as using the psychology of the masses to make broad statements about the future.

As she chewed on a bite of her salad, her gaze found a rather large, sea-green pegasus with a light blue mane. He spoke to one of the servers, then pointed towards Bright's table before starting in her direction.

Bright looked on curiously as the pegasus stepped up to her table. "Bright Future?" he asked.

"Yes, that's me," said Bright.

"My name is Water Wings, a friend of Strong Hooves."

"Oh, is something the matter?"

"You could say that, yes."

"I had a feeling," Bright said. "I imagine Strong has gotten himself in trouble with the law."

"So you heard about what he had done?" Water asked.

"Yes, that and a little, ah, intuition." Bright considered. "That same intuition is telling me that you've taken his place as leader of this faction."

Water looked mildly surprised. "I didn't think word had gotten out already. I only just formally took on the role today."

Bright simply smiled. "Won't you sit down, please?"

"Thank you." Water hovered into a chair opposite Bright. "Though I'm not at all sure what I can talk to you about."

"Oh?"

"Where it was Strong's idea to contact you, I'm not at all sure exactly what his intentions were, and he didn't have a chance to tell me before the sheriff arrived earlier."

Bright was sure that was not the entire truth. She had the sense this pegasus was privy to more details about Strong's agenda than he let on. That likely meant he had little intention of continuing what Strong had started. She needed to find a way to seek some advantage from that.

Bright paused when a server brought over Water's meal before she said, "In that case, I'm more than happy to do some of the talking."

"I am a bit surprised that you chose to accept Strong's invitation," said Water. "He and the Harmonists never did see eye to eye."

"Interesting choice of words, Water."

"Um, how so?"

"You said 'he' rather than the Shimmerists," said Bright. "Can I take this to mean you might be seeking some form of reconciliation between our two factions?"

"I never thought we should be enemies, certainly," said Water. "Sure, we have differing philosophies, but we sort of want the same thing: a prosperous future for ponies."

"Oh, we definitely can do more together than apart. It's why I chose to accept the invitation. I saw something good that can come from it in the future."

The very moment Rainy had mentioned that Strong wanted to talk to her, Bright immediately had visions about a grand realignment of Shimmerist priorities. She was sure now that had heralded this change in leadership. She doubted any pony would have ever suspected that Strong would leave his faction to somepony who would take a radically different approach.

Water took a few quick bites of his dinner before continuing. "At the moment, however, I'm not sure how much I can offer at my end, especially since I have a lot of, ah, loose ends to tie up before I can figure out our next steps."

"Would one of those loose ends happen to be your contact in Equestria?"

Water nearly choked on his lettuce. He glanced around quickly and leaned forward, lowering his voice as he said, "Can you not spread that around too much, please?"

"My apologies," Bright said.

Water frowned. "Rainy was not supposed to reveal any details about that."

"If it helps any, she didn't. I don't know the nature of your contact, just that Strong had some sort of conduit he was drawing on for information, otherwise he would never have made the offer of information concerning alicorns."

"Still, it's not something that should be heard by the wrong ears."

"Oh, I agree, and I intend to remain discreet about it," said Bright.

"And I'll be perfectly honest with you," Water said. "The only reason he mentioned it at all was that he wanted access to your source of information concerning Equestria, That story you told about the Equestrian artifact at the Pony Council is not one that's widely known."

"Sadly, my source of information was more Earth-bound and fleeting. I daresay he would be disappointed."

"I had a feeling that was the case. No offense, of course."

"None taken." Bright smiled. "But this is good, isn't it? It leaves us free to discuss how we can move forward without it being a mere exchange of strategic interests."

Water appeared to consider before venturing, "I still might be able to get information on alicorns for you."

"That's all well and good, but there's something far more important I wish to know."

Water hesitated. "More important to you than alicorns?"

"Yes."

"Just so you know, Rainy did let us in on some, uh, not-so-widely-known aspects of Harmonist belief."

"I know," said Bright. "She admitted as such."

"Then what is it you want?" Water asked.

"I need more information about a particular Equestrian artifact, one I've heard of from my other sources but don't know enough about."

"And what's that?"

"The Tree of Harmony."

Water paused. "I know I've heard of that before. Is it real?"

"Oh, yes, it most definitely is," said Bright in a reverent voice. "It is the living embodiment of Harmony itself. The Element Bearers have a direct connection to it. It may even be sapient."

"It sounds like you already know quite a bit about it. What more could you possibly need?"

"The most important parts: how it came about, how it grows, how it sustains itself." Bright paused before adding in a softer voice, "How we can get one to grow on Earth."

Water stopped in mid-chew. "Um ..."

"Think about it, Water!" Bright gushed. "It could help both our causes. We want to see every being in the world become one with Harmony. You want to see more humans transformed into ponies. Both are going to require a very strong source of magic behind it. Really, our causes are not that far apart when you think about it."

"Well, maybe," Water said. "But I do want to focus on more practical solutions."

"Understood, but we have to think about the future. For all we know, the original Tree of Harmony took years, maybe even centuries to grow. We have to start somewhere." Bright considered. "Is this access of yours able to convey items as well, or only information?"

Water paused, as if debating how much to reveal. "Only information."

"A pity. It would have been nice if we could obtain a cutting or seed from the Tree of Harmony."

"I, uh, doubt my contact has that sort of resource," said Water.

"Yes, it is a bit of a pipe dream, but it pays to think ambitiously," said Bright. "You never know what you can achieve until you reach for the stars themselves."

Water slowly smiled. "Well, you certainly took the right name for yourself, then."

Bright chuckled. "Thank the Vision for it. The Angel of Harmony -- that's what I call the white alicorn in the Vision -- said as her parting words to me, 'Continue to live by the values I have shown you, and you will be assured of a bright future.' I knew right then, even before I woke up, what my name should be and what my talent is." She smiled. "I got my cutie mark only a day later."

Water looked surprised. "A day? I thought the earliest any pony got their cutie mark was about a week."

"Well, they could only go by the ponies in the shelters. I chose not to go into one. Some close friends and I had already accepted that this was the next step in our spiritual evolution, and we saw no need to treat it as a disease. We lived together and supported each other during and right after our transformation." Bright's smile widened. "It's some of the fondest memories of my life. It was what convinced me that Harmony was our future."

"And I suppose Shimmerism really didn't fit into that," said Water in a delicate voice.

"But it can!" Bright said. "The very fact that you're now the leader of the western Shimmerists, and that you're talking to me proves that it's possible. It could be the sort of unity that can help something like a Tree of Harmony take root here. That's why I need your help in obtaining as much information on it as possible."

Water considered. "I'll do the best I can. All I can do is ask my contact for the information."

"Thank you," Bright hopped out of her chair. "I'll be staying overnight, and I can stay another day if needed. Please let me know what you find out."

"I will."

Bright lifted a fore-hoof and offered it to Water. He returned the gesture and touched his hoof to hers. "To a brighter future, for all of us."

Water smiled. "I certainly hope that's in store for us."

"I don't need to hope," said Bright. "I already know."





The sun hung low in the late afternoon sky as Bob approached the little clearing upon the high hill overlooking the lake. Despite the lake having been created by pegasus rain as a means to supply Pony Hope with fresh water, earth ponies had been at work soon after to make it appear as if the lake had always been there. The shores appeared lush with plant life despite most of it going dormant for the coming winter.

He stopped at the end of the trail and peered between the trunks of the trees. A cool breeze touched his fur and made him shiver. The pegasi had already put out the word that it was going to be a frosty night, as they had ceased their gentle nudging of the jet stream during the late harvest.

His heart ached as he spotted Tina. She lay on her belly, her wings loose at her sides, her feathers slightly unkempt. It reminded him of the time Tina had showed him how to help her preen her feathers. It wasn't until later did he learn that such assistance could be considered rather intimate between two ponies who were not blood-related. He wondered if she had even known that, or if she were working off of some sort of pony instinct.

He knew he couldn't approach unannounced. The moment he started forward, his hooves crisp against fallen leaves, Tina jerked her head around. She scrambled to her hooves and turned towards him, folding her wings more neatly against her sides. Her normally lovely eyes were bloodshot, and Bob had to fight down guilt.

Tina looked as if she were about to say something, but nothing came forth when she opened her mouth. She closed it again and looked with glistening eyes towards Bob.

Bob had a feeling it was up to him to start this already awkward conversation. "Tina, I want to apologize to you."

Tina immediately started shaking her head.

"If anything I ever did or said caused you any distress, it was not at all--"

"No, stop it, stop it!" Tina cried in a quavering voice. "You're not the one who needs to be sorry. You're not the one at fault here."

"But maybe you're right," said Bob. "Maybe I am obsessing over this too much. Maybe I'm pushing myself too hard."

Tina again shook her head. "Only if that's what you really believe. You can't make decisions based on what I say." She hesitated before adding in a tentative voice. "You're the one who told me I shouldn't be making decisions about my future based on what you do."

Bob had to search his memory to understand what she was talking about. "Oh, you mean rehumanization and all that."

Tina's ears swiveled at Bob's reluctant tone.

"Maybe I shouldn't be trying to dictate what you do or don't do."

"That's not the tune you were singing before about rehumanization," Tina said softly.

Bob kept telling himself he wanted Tina to do what was best for her and not for him, or even them. Yet he couldn't see himself continuing this relationship if one of them was a pony and the other human. He had heard of some people trying such a thing, and rarely did it ever succeed.

It would also lock them out of a particular expression of intimacy that he had to admit he had been thinking about occasionally whenever he spent time with her.

Tina stepped closer to him, and his thoughts became muddied as he took in her scent. Logic told him the best thing to do would be to back away to prevent a hormonal surge from clouding his judgment; his heart told him it was the most disastrous thing he could do.

He listened to his heart and stood where he was, looking into Tina's eyes.

"I want the absolute truth from you, Bob," Tina said in a tone that betrayed the heavy emotion behind it. "What if I rehumanized, and you remained a pony? How would you feel?"

Again, logic battled emotion. He held back his initial response, which was to ask if she was considering it. That was not the point of the question. She was fishing, trying to find out what his feelings towards her were without having to come out and ask.

He longed to go back in time to that afternoon spent by the lake, him venting his frustrations, her wing wrapped around him. He had settled into a calm silence after venting, snuggled up against Tina, the most content he had ever felt post-transformation.

"I'd be upset," Bob said in an uneasy voice.

"You don't sound that sure of yourself."

"Tina, this is very hard for me to admit!" Bob suddenly exclaimed, causing Tina to draw back her ears and lift a fore-hoof as if to back away. "I-I don't want you to rehumanize."

Tina slowly lowered her fore-hoof. "Why?"

Bob sighed and lowered his head. "Because I've just been fooling myself for the past month. My mother was right."

"You mean Sarah?" Tina asked in confusion.

"No, my real mother."

"Eileen? What did she say to you?"

"Her last letter to me," Bob said in a subdued voice. "It was likely meant as a flippant comment. She was commenting on my answer to her question about whether I had made a decision as to rehumanization. I had insisted I was still undecided. She had replied with, quote, 'sure, but just let me know when your cutie cutecenara is so I can attend.'"

"But you're not taking it as a flippant comment, are you?" Tina asked.

Bob looked up. His heart lurched again at the simple affection and sympathy in her eyes. "She's right. I have made a decision. I have no desire to go back."

Tina gave him a tiny smile. "Because of what you can do?"

"That's part of it."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I didn't say anything was wrong with it," said Bob.

"Yes, but everything else other than your voice practically screams it," said Tina.

Bob clenched his teeth for a moment. "I don't want my existence to be based on what I can do. It's why I admire you so much."

Tina looked taken aback. "You do??"

"Yes. You don't let the fact that you can control weather define you. You do only what you want to do."

Tina nodded slowly. "So ... that's why you didn't want my decision to rehumanize rest on what you did."

"No."

Tina simply stared and didn't say a word.

The single syllable had taken all of Bob's will to say. It was still easy to say "yes" and shunt his own feelings to the side. Again.

Bob took a deep breath. "I'm staying a pony. I don't want you to rehumanize because I want you to remain a pony as well. I want us to keep being together."

Tina's pupils shrank slightly, and her wings trembled at her sides.

"And you're wrong, I do need to apologize. I kept you in the dark. I gave you no indication about my feelings towards you."

Tina's eyes brimmed with tears.

"I didn't even stop to say I love you. I'm so sorry I didn't say that ear--"

His words were cut off when Tina pulled him into a double embrace, her forelegs around his neck and her wings pulling the rest of him towards her.

"And here I was fighting with myself on how to say the same thing to you," Tina said in a choked voice. "I love you, Bob. I'm so sorry I didn't say that sooner."

Bob smiled as he realized that he was glad Tina had become a pegasus. To have both soft fur and feathers touching him somehow made the contact more intimate and real. His mind again flirted with carrying that further, but the last thing he wanted to do was become reckless.

Tina drew back from the embrace, and they came together in a kiss that had been put off for far too long, her wings still gently brushing his sides. When their lips parted, and she gave him a look that went beyond mere affection, Bob feared he would have to be the one to suggest they back off.

At least until Tina had a chance to have a particular spell applied to prevent certain consequences.

"Bob?" Tina asked in a soft voice.

Bob's heart raced. "Yes, Tina?"

"Would you do something for me?"

"S-sure. What is it?"

Tina's eyelids lowered slightly. "Help me preen my wings."

Bob let out a ragged sigh and smiled. "I would be happy to."

Tina suddenly giggled.

"What is it?" Bob asked.

"You thought I was going to suggest sex, didn't you?"

Bob blushed hard. "N-not necessarily."

Tina giggled harder. "I'll be honest. It was, ah, on my mind, too."

"I don't think I'm quite ready for that."

Tina nodded. "Same here. It can wait. We've got plenty of time."

Bob let out a relaxed sigh. "And we don't need to be ruled by pony hormones."

"Exactly."

Bob felt like an enormous weight had been lifted from his barrel. He had feared that some pony mating instinct was at work, but now he could rest assured that it was just their mutual feelings for one another.

Tina drew away from him. "Let's get to that preening, or other ponies will start thinking we went off to have nookie."

Bob chuckled at her word choice.

Tina gave him another desirous look. "And, yes, I am very well aware now how helping a pegasus preen can be rather intimate in itself." She extended a wing and winked. "So make sure you do a good job."

Bob smiled. "I always do."