//------------------------------//
// CH32: London 
// Story: A Dubious Welcome 
// by Maonyman 
//------------------------------//

As Twilight regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was Anon's scent. She took a deep breath and let it fill her head, then began to stretch her limbs contentedly. That meant twisting onto her side in Anon's lap and curling all four legs around his torso, forelegs on his left, hindlegs on his right, her head resting on the armrest.
"Twilight..."
"Mmph?"
Cracking an eye open, she saw Anon looming over her, seeming massive from her perspective. She smiled up at him.
"Mmmwarm..."
And she hooked her legs behind his torso and pulled herself closer to his belly, lowering her head to his side again.
"Eh heh... Twilight, you need to wake up."
She dug her muzzle deeper between his side and the armrest.
"Girl, don't make me tickle you again."
Her ear shot upright, then she began to slowly untangle herself from his body, scooting away from his torso and rolling onto her belly. She let out a huge yawn, then looked up at Anon with a little pout.
"Was that really necessary?"
"Yes."
He tapped her snout with a finger, sending a burst of tingles all through her face that made her want to sneeze, but not quite strong enough to actually do it. She scrunched and wiggled her muzzle to try and dismiss the sensation, and Anon grinned at her.
"Because we're about to land. It's time to meet Starlight."
Her eyes widened and her ears perked up, "Oh my gosh! It's happening!"
She slid to the floor, feeling suddenly anxious for some reason. It made it hard for her to stand still, so she trotted in place to burn off some of the nerves.
Anon leaned forward and placed a steadying hand on her withers.
"Hey."
"Buh?"
"It's gonna be alright."
He met her gaze with a smile and rubbed her shoulder, "Starlight will be thrilled to see you, and you'll be home soon, okay?"
She sat down and leaned into his touch.
"Just sit back and relax. Everything will be fine."
Twilight took a deep breath, then smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, Anon. I... needed that."
He nodded and she turned around to hop up into the opposing seat.
"You're really good at that, you know?"
"At what?"
Twilight shuffled her hooves, "I'm always panicking over little things for no reason. My friends even call it 'Twilighting'."
"They made you into a verb?"
"Yes!" She slumped forward, plopping onto her belly in the large chair and saying, "It's so embarrassing, but I just can't help it. I just... I always have so much to think about, my mind trots away from me, you know?"
Then she raised her head and met Anon's gaze again.
"But you... it's like you can see it coming and reach out to stop it almost before it even happens. You've done that several times now." She looked down and tapped her hooves together, "I, um... I really appreciate it."
Anon didn't respond immediately, so she flicked her eyes back up to him and noticed his cheeks had turned faintly pink. He inhaled sharply as she met his gaze and stammered, "W-Well, I mean... It's no problem, really. Just trying to help, is all."
She gave him a little smirk and said, "I'm only saying 'thank you,' Anon. What's got you so flustered?"
He opened his mouth as if to respond, then abruptly looked away. At that moment, the "fasten seatbelts" sign came on and Twilight jumped slightly as a cool, relaxed voice came from somewhere above her.
"Howdy folks, this here's your Captain speaking. A very good evening to my three passengers, and especially to you, little miss pony. We're on approach to London City Airport, about three minutes from touchdown. Please remain seated with your seatbelts on until the 'fasten seatbelt' light turns off, 'cause it's a mite choppy out there tonight. Once safely on the ground, it's a short taxi to the terminal, then I'll be waiting by the hatch to see you off. Stay warm out there, and thank you for flying with Overt Airways."
Twilight concentrated on the strange words and was pretty sure she got it all pieced together. The bit about the seatbelts she definitely understood, so she quickly focused her magic until the harmonic threads condensed into solid form and shaped it into a long cord, then she bound each side to the back of the chair. 
Not a moment too soon, for the plane then lurched and she was shoved sideways into the armrest.
Anon grinned, "Heh... just a 'mite choppy', huh?" Twilight giggled nervously, then Anon added, "Look out the window, Twi, like before. Wouldn't want you getting sick now."
She did so, and she gasped to see the ground so close and whizzing by at such an incredible speed, far faster than she had ever flown herself.
"Oh wow... You know, Rainbow Dash can--" She was cut off by another sickening lurch. "A-Actually, it can wait."
Scooting over as far as her bindings would allow, she leaned closer to the window so it filled more of her vision. They were really getting quite close now, and Twilight saw a river snake rapidly through the city. Then the plane quickly dropped the remaining distance and there was an odd shriek as they contacted the ground. Twilight began to shuffle nervously at how fast they were still going, but suddenly she felt herself being pulled out of her chair with tremendous force. Hastily, she reinforced the bonds between her cords and the back of the chair.
The pull eased off mere moments later, and Twilight looked outside again to see them gliding slowly over the ground, pivoting slowly toward a large, tall building. In the distance she saw enormous metal vehicles rolling around, and abruptly realized that she must be in one just like them.
"Oh wow..." Anon hummed inquisitively and she clarified, "I just--I couldn't see this plane as we entered, so I had no idea what we were really riding in. Now I see the other planes rolling around and they're all so much larger than I expected." She turned back to him, "And these enormous vehicles... how do they fly?"
Anon chuckled and said, "Well I mean, you saw how fast we were going when we landed, right? The faster the air flows over the wings, the more lift they generate. Get going fast enough, and you lift an enormous amount of weight."
"Yeah, you said that before, but how? Why do they create lift at all?"
"Oh." Anon rubbed his chin for a moment, "Well, some folk say there's this effect where, because the top of the wing curves more than the bottom, the air moves faster there and thus has lower pressure than the slower air on the underside of the wing, so that creates lift. But then, I've also heard that's a myth and it's just because of the angle of the wing. Maybe it's a bit of both?" He grinned and shrugged, "I dunno, I'm just a lowly vet, not an aeronautical engineer."
Twilight looked down at her own wings.
"Fascinating... I wonder if there's a similar effect in faster pegasi's wings."
"Eh, I'd be surprised. Bird wings operate in a completely different way, even very fast falcons and such."
"I suppose you're right."
The plane came to a gentle halt, and the 'fasten seatbelts' light went dark again. Twilight flicked her horn and her bond to the magic coils snapped, causing them to dissipate almost instantly, then she hopped down off the chair and followed Anon out of the cabin. Twilight saw the flight attendant standing in a little alcove off to the side and raised one wing in farewell.
"Goodbye, Jayna!"
The woman looked a little surprised, then slowly waved back at her. Then Twilight paused for a moment.
"Anon, pass me that wad of bandages."
He looked confused, but did as she asked. She lifted it in her magic, causing the woman's eyes to widen with astonishment. Then she focused on the bandages briefly, using a bit of transmography as well as some simple shaping and binding, then finally a pigment spell, and gave it one last look over. 
It had become a decent imitation of her own figure as a hoof-sized plush.
She floated the little doll over to Jayna who, looking bewildered, slowly held out a hand for it. Twilight set the figure down in her palm, then waved a hoof and resumed walking down the aisle, suppressing a giggle.
She kind of liked being such an oddity around these people.
As they approached the hatch through which they had originally entered, Twilight saw a grizzled old man in a crisp uniform standing beside it. His face was pockmarked and wrinkled, but he smiled brightly as they approached, and the happy expression seemed to take a few years off his age.
"Evening, miss pony. It was an honor to fly for you."
She smiled at him as they passed.
"Thank you very much. It was a fascinating voyage."
He beamed down at her, then they exited the plane, Anon in the lead and Lizzy following quietly behind her. 
As they walked down the tunnel, Twilight realized there was some commotion happening on the other end. It grew louder as she approached the entrance into the airport terminal. Then she stepped through the doorway.
An explosion of sound struck her as an enormous crowd burst into cheers and applause. The terminal was absolutely packed with humans, a thin path through the crowd kept clear by short metal fences and dozens of police officers. 
Twilight's ears folded down in embarrassment as she realized they were cheering for her.
"A-Anon...? Anon!" She had to yell to get his attention. "Why are they so happy to see me!?"
He shrugged and said loudly, "Maybe you became famous while we were in the air!"
Lizzy stepped forward and shouted, "They're excited to see a real, live unicorn!"
"Alicorn!"
"Right, yes, sorry!"
She looked around at all the people, feeling like she was back at her coronation as princess. In fact...
She gauged the spacious interior of this enormous building and nodded to herself.
"Anon! What is this place called?"
"What, the airport?"
"No, the city!"
"Oh, London! Why?"
Rather than answer, Twilight spread her wings wide and a sudden hush fell over the crowd. She leapt into the air, flapping powerfully, muzzle breaking into a huge grin as she surged skyward, finally free of the ground once again.
There was a brief moment of almost total silence.
Then the crowd roared with cheers anew as Twilight soared gracefully above them. She swooped into a standstill and hovered in place, horn glowing faintly as she magically amplified her voice.
"Humans of London!"
The cheers halted almost instantly.
"As Princess of Equestria, I, Twilight Sparkle, thank you all for such a warm welcome."
She had to pause as the crowd roared again, then quickly quieted, awaiting her next words.
"I will be leaving this world soon, but I hope to return someday. When that time comes, I will always remember London as a kind and welcoming place!"
She swung her head in a dramatic gesture and beams of light burst from her horn in all directions, spreading out rapidly, then dissolving into glittering sparkles that wafted gently down before dissipating into nothing before it reached the crowd.
A simple spell, but pretty and effective nonetheless. The crowd erupted once more, and Twilight glided slowly back down to the ground beside Anon, who beamed at her as she approached.
"Nice speech, your majesty."
She blushed and waved a hoof at him, "Well I couldn't just say nothing!"
"No, apparently not!"
Lizzy leaned forward and said, "That was very sweet, Princess, but please, let's get going now. These guards won't wait all day."
Twilight nodded and the three of them began walking down the path that cut through the crowd. A sea of faces screamed at her as they passed and she caught snippets of words shouted at her here and there.
"You're beautiful!"
"Why are you here!?"
"Go away!"
"Thank you!"
"Just one feather?"
"Heal my baby, please!"
That last one caught her attention and she turned to see a haggard looking woman with a baby in a stroller. A hush fell on the nearby crowd as Twilight turned to face her.
"What's wrong with your baby?"
The woman, stunned almost to tears that she actually got a response, stammered her reply.
"H-He barely eats... vomits everything, never cries... he is wasting away. P-Please, I'm begging you..."
Twilight's ears folded back. That didn't sound like anything she was familiar with, but she couldn't just walk away now. She took a step forward and several nearby guards collected around her, spreading a gap in the makeshift fence and shoving the crowd roughly back, giving her some space with the stroller.
Twilight reared and placed her forehooves on the edge of the stroller, partially extending her wings for balance, and lowered her horn to the tiny human. Her horn flickered as she carefully began to read the harmonies she felt within. They were... odd, but surprisingly similar to what she might expect from a foal. 
Then she noticed something strange in the baby's gut. The appendix, she thought it was called? It seemed to hiss or glow angrily in her mind. Her horn glowed as she reached out toward it and carefully, almost tenderly, she eased the sickened organ with a calming spell, then mended it with some simple healing magic. The angry sensation seemed to fade. 
Twilight hoped that was it, because she could detect nothing else.
Slowly, she retreated from the stroller and looked up at the woman who had tears streaming down her face, "Um... his, uh, appendix, I think it's called? It should be healed now." 
The woman's eyes widened with pure shock and awe.
"The... The d-doctors said it was his appendix, but they couldn't do a-anything!" She collapsed to the ground, sobbing openly now. "Th-Thank you! Thank you s-so much!"
Twilight smiled awkwardly, then backed into the open aisle once again. The crowd seemed oddly subdued after that, almost reverent as their little party moved toward the exit. 
Then Twilight gasped.
There, standing just outside in a wide clearing made by even more guards, was Starlight Glimmer, a golden shield shimmering around her.
Time seemed to slow as she lurched into a canter.
Her magic flung open the doors and Starlight's head snapped up.
Her own eyes widening, she too broke into a canter.
The mares collided in the middle in a tight embrace and the crowd exploded once more.
Twilight cried, "You don't know how glad I am to see another pony!"
"I'm just glad you're okay!" Starlight shouted in reply. Then she looked around, her horn glowed, and a soundproof bubble popped into existence around them. Twilight's ears rang in the abrupt silence.
"Twilight... I have to tell you something."
Twilight looked back over her shoulder to see Anon stumbling backward, having been shoved aside by the spell.
"O-Oh, let him in, too!"
Starlight looked surprised, but Twilight insisted, and Starlight gestured at Anon to enter. He tentatively touched the bubble with a finger, then, when it passed through, slowly inserted his arm, then finally stepped through completely.
"Oh wow," he said, "Completely soundproof?"
"Yep. Now Twilight, listen... and, uh, maybe sit down first."
Something in her tone made Twilight nervous and she lowered cautiously to the ground.
"What is it, Starlight?"
She sighed and haltingly said, "I... am not the, uh... the first one to come looking for you."
"What? Who else?"
"Celestia."
Twilight's head snapped back in surprise.
"Really? Princess Celestia herself? How come I never heard anything about her?"
Starlight winced and said, "Because she's gone missing, Twilight. Princess Luna felt her get injured. She's hurt, Twi. Hurt bad."
Twilight swayed as the blood drained from her face.
"Celestia... hurt? But... But how?"
"We don't know. All we know is she is hurt, she isn't healing, and she's very far away. Almost as far as you were from me, when you sent that pulse. That was her pulse you felt, Twi. I never sent one."
"Oh no..."
"But Twilight, that isn't even the worst part."
"What?"
"She gave up her power."
"What?"
"She gave the throne to Luna before she left. She's just a normal alicorn now, like you or Cadance."
"Y-You mean she's mortal!?"
Starlight nodded grimly and Twilight began to fidget nervously.
"She's mortal, and she's hurt, and she's lost somewhere on this planet? Tartarus, Starlight, we have to find her! We have to!"
"Yes. As soon as I met with you, that was the plan."
"B-But... where to start?"
Anon finally spoke, "You know..."
Both mares turned to stare at him as if surprised to find him there.
"As much as I hate to say it, Overture might still be of some use. They clearly have connections. They could probably fly us just about anywhere."
"But Anon, fly us where?"
"Why don't you try that pulse thing again? Do a few of them in a pattern, or... I dunno, can you 'pulse' words? Even one word? Try to tell Celestia you need to know where she is."
Starlight gasped, "Twilight!"
"What!?"
"Anchor's Note!"
Twilight's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Anon just said, "Uh, what?"
"An oooold spell," Twilight said, "But it's exactly what we need! It lets you send an image you hold in your head across the ether just like a pulse. It takes a huge amount of power though, so almost nopony can even do it anymore."
"But I have unlimited power!"
"You do?"
Twilight gasped.
"You didn't!
"I did! Well, we did. Luna did it to me."
"The condensed ether gel?"
"Yes!"
"Oh my goodness, we have so little research on that! What was it like? Were the descriptions accurate? How--"
"Twilight!" Anon said sharply.
She jerked her gaze to him, then nodded slowly.
"Sorry, you're right. Another time."
Starlight giggled, "Ooh, he's cracking the whip, huh?"
"Oh hush," Twilight said, rolling her eyes, "He's been very helpful, I'll have you know. Now, can you cast the spell?"
Starlight nodded, "I just need to know what image to send."
Anon said, "How about an image of a written word?"
Twilight grinned, "Great idea, Anon. Here, Starlight:"
She whipped out her little notepad, flipped to a blank page, then scribbled something out in a strange, flowing, circular script Anon had never seen before.
"What is that?" He asked.
"Hmm? Oh, this is Equestrian, our own writing system. Maybe I'll teach it to you one day--it's much more efficient than your silly 'alphabet'."
She held the notepad up to Starlight, who nodded and said, "Okay, I'll send it now."
Starlight closed her eyes and lowered her head in deep concentration. Her horn began to glow, then overglow as the excess magic began to spill out.
"H-Hey!"
"I know, I know!"
Starlight gritted her teeth, and the excess slowly faded back into a normal glow again. Then Starlight raised her head high.
"Hnng!"
A silent explosion of iridescence rippled out from her horn, and Twilight's mind was filled with a bright and clear image of Starlight holding the notebook with the message, "Where are you?" and seeing herself sitting in the background.
"It worked!"
Starlight relaxed and panted, "Oh good... Wow, that was... harder than I expected... even with all these enchantments..."
"Now what?" Anon asked.
"That's a good question," Twilight said, "If Celestia is hurt, how can she get a message back to us?"
"We'll just have to hope she thinks of something," Starlight said, "In the meantime, we need someplace to wait."
There was a hollow thumping noise and all three of them jumped, then turned to see Lizzy tapping on the bubble with a knuckle. After glancing at Twilight to confirm it was okay, Starlight's horn flickered and abruptly the woman's knuckle passed straight through, causing her to jump with surprise. Anon waved her inside.
Once she got over the surprise and they introduced her to Starlight, she said, "Okay, well, you can't just sit here in front of the airport all day. What are you doing to do now?"
Anon said, "Think you could get us someplace to stay for a bit?"
"What? Why?" Lizzy said, furrowing her brows.
"Because there's a third pony somewhere on Earth, and they are waiting for a response to find her."
Lizzy's eyes widened, "A third...? Y-Yes, of course, right away. Let me make a phone call and I'll see what I can do."