//------------------------------//
// Chapter 26: Next Steps 
// Story: Partial 
// by Halira 
//------------------------------//

Jordan looked around the room. All the gaming stuff and furniture had been pushed to the walls, and rows of folding chairs had been set up with a podium and display stand in front of them. The guards had agreed to move things from the other rooms to be put on auction and had a list. They could only have a few items at a time on display, so it would be a regular caravan going up and down the stairs. Amicus and Legal Brief had agreed to help move some things as well. She wasn't sure if the old ponies should be lifting much, but they said they could and wouldn't do it alone. 

Andrea walked into the room and glared at all the chairs like they'd personally insulted her. 

"I don't like you taking so many of my guards for this," Andrea grumbled. "We are stretched paper-thin on security."

"They're going to be walking all over the place moving things, and some off-duty ones are helping; we have more coverage than we regularly do," Jordan protested. 

"They're all distracted," Andrea replied. "Distracted guards make mistakes."

Jordan rolled her eyes. "You're paranoid."

"Paranoia is a qualification for good security," Andrea said dryly. "I'm going to feed the bats, then do another full perimeter check."

Jordan blinked. "Feed the bats? What bats?"

Andrea waved a leg in the vague direction of the backyard. "I've got a bunch of bat feeders set up out back. I've managed to get it to where we get a fair number of them coming by every night. Bats are cool critters and helpful. They spread seeds and pollen from the more exotic flowers on the property, and they keep the bug population under control. We used to have a bad problem with horse flies and mosquitoes around the yard, but I rarely get eaten up by insects anymore, thanks to the bats. I go out there and watch them sometimes. There are a few specific ones that are regulars that I have gotten used to seeing. I like seeing them doing well."

Jordan looked at the old crystal pony in shock. "Grumpy old you has pets?"

"They aren't pets. They're wild animals," Andrea corrected. "Nothing wrong with bats. Your half-sister is part bat. You should understand."

"Night ponies don't like being compared to bats anymore than pegasi like being compared to birds," Jordan reminded her. "Maybe I should get a pet. I've never had a pet."

"Your parents never let you have a pet?" Andrea asked. 

Jordan shrugged. "I never asked for one. My free time was taken up by reading, trying to minimize how much my flank got kicked in Tempest's training sessions, and our house was built in the pre-cataclysm style. That kind of house isn't great for pets like dogs."

Andrea gaped. "You mean it was built in the same style as the houses that my sister's shoddy construction methods allowed that disaster to level? I thought those were all destroyed."

"We rebuilt, those of us that stayed, anyway," Jordan replied. "Don't freak out; we used better materials the second time around. Many ponies moved away after the Cataclysm, and those that moved to Skytree afterward built more standard homes, but those of us who stayed wanted something as similar as possible to what we lost, just not made out of crap this time. It felt like everyone in the city pitched in, both humans and ponies. With everyone helping, the old pony district rose again fast. As a thank you, we even built homes for many humans who had risked their lives to get ponies out of there, with a few modifications to make them more comfortable. It may look the same, but it is stronger, and it isn't just a pony district anymore."

"I never heard about that. It's actually kind of inspiring," Andrea said with a smile. 

Jordan nodded and looked downward. "Auntie's goals in building Riverview might have been to make a Shimmerist-dominated city, but somewhere along the line, intentional or not, she made something more–a community, one that cared about one another and was proud of what we could do together. We went through the Cataclysm together and rebuilt stronger, both in terms of buildings and how much we looked out for one another. I'm just now realizing how much my home meant to me."

"Old home," Andrea corrected. The elderly pink crystal pony let off a long breath, looking older and tired than usual. "Look, I'm not great at explaining myself. I'm no lawyer who can pick her words carefully like Amicus. I'm not naturally friendly like Sinker. I don't play mind games like Sunset. I'm a simple pony with simple goals. I can tell you aren't happy here, and I take part of the blame for that. I know I've been giving you a hard time, but you should know that I give everybody a hard time. I don't want you to think I hate you because of that. Sunset and I barely made it through a day without snapping at one another, but I never hated her. This is my home. Two of my siblings still live here, my parents are buried here, and the place I spent years raising my kids with my ex-husband ceased to feel like home even before I moved out. I care about my home. Whether I agreed with Sunset's decision to give you this place is irrelevant. You live here now, and that makes you part of this household, part of this community, my community, and I'm only hard on you because I worry about us."

"So, are you going to be nicer to me?" Jordan asked, hopeful that things might turn around. 

"No, you dumb fuck!" Andrea snapped. "Are your ears stuffed full of cotton? I just said that I don't get along with anyone. What I also said was I don't hate you and that I worry for you and everyone else in this house. I will be more worried if you can't listen to what's being told. Clean out your ears!"

Andrea then stormed off, muttering to herself about stupid fillies who didn't listen. Jordan was unsure if she would ever understand Auntie Sunset's eldest sister. The old crystal pony was the most thoroughly unpleasant pony she had ever met. Well, no, there were those crystal ponies that had chased her and tried to eat her magic when she was a foal, and then there was Crystal, who had kicked her around during training sessions.  Maybe she just needed to avoid crystal ponies. It seemed like crystal ponies had it out for her. 

Her phone on her leg started ringing, and she answered it. 

"Hello?"

"Miss Gilmore, this is Carmen, your auctioneer. I'm at the gate, but your guards aren't letting me in."

Jordan smiled. "Oh, good, you're here early. Sorry, I don't think the person who set this up ever identified you, so the guards didn't know. I'll just get-" 

She didn't feel like chasing Andrea down to have Andrea give the order to let Carmen in. She owned the house; she could give the order herself. She didn't need Andrea to deal with everything. Andrea was paranoid. 

"-I'll have the guards let you through," she concluded. 





A gray pegasus was working away in the rocky badlands that made up the outskirts of The Oasis. Strewn about him were various notebooks, digging tools designed for ponies, and a flock of birds that were seemingly working together to organize and move some of the lighter tools and materials.

“Alright, gang, let’s get the cataloging done before lunch so the dig team can work on excavating whatever dino they’ve found!” the pegasus cheered to his flock.

To an outsider, it would have seemed like he had a few marbles loose, but anyone who was even remotely active in the ornithology community would know that he was talking to a bunch of birds and was one of the most accomplished scientists in his field… at least out of the last decade. He was one of the few ponies who was known to be able to communicate with animals, but unlike Fluttershy (who was arguably the most well-known animal communicator), Zipper’s special talent was explicitly honed to birds.

This talent gave him a fantastic edge over other ornithologists, and his skills helped pave the way toward a better understanding of avian communication. His theory was that in the aftermath of ETS, birds and other simpler animals somehow gained enhanced intellects. However, the cause and potential ramifications, should there be any, were unknown to anyone. This is what he hoped to help discover. 

That was also why his team had slowly become one of the largest privately funded paleontology teams on the West Coast. It was commonly accepted that birds were the descendants of dinosaurs, and it was one of Zipper’s close associates, River Breeze, who had an intense belief that the hard pressing answers on avian evolution lay in the past. Zipper didn’t quite see that, but then again, he wasn’t exactly a master paleontologist, so what did he know?

He simply shrugged at his mental monologue and continued organizing his notes while his bird friends tweeted along in harmony with the music that he was playing.

“Zipper, is it?” A voice said from all around him.

He quickly looked around, trying his best to discern the source of the voice that greeted him.

“Ummm, hello?” He hesitantly asked aloud.

Before his eyes, the shadow he was standing in formed into the shape of a pony. Its features were undiscernable save for the fact that it had webbed wings and glowing red eyes.

Ravenscroft, my old nemesis, Zipper thought to himself, recalling a legend that had been told to him several years ago about the old mining town’s original founder.

Whether it was the ghost of an old dead baron or some mystical protective spirit that guarded the valley from intruders… it didn’t matter. All it took was the sight of an unknown entity walking towards him to make Zipper instinctively assume a defensive stance.

“Who are you?!” he yelled out. “I always knew this place was haunted!”

The shadow quickly cleared to reveal the form of a pony whom Zipper could swear he had seen before in the dream realm but whose name eluded him. 

“I’m not a ghost,” the mare calmly replied. “I’m just here to make contact and give you a heads up that some important ponies will be here momentarily to talk to you.” She gestured off into the distance, where Zipper could now see a strange all-terrain vehicle traversing the rocky terrain that made up the Oasis’ outskirts. His pegasus vision also let him spot the lettering on the front. 

Zipper’s eyes widened in surprise, and without thinking, he quickly reached down to his gauntlet and hit the speed dial. There was a brief pause, and then he was greeted by a groggy voice on the other end of the line.

“You know you just woke me and Ink up, bird brain,” came the annoyed sigh from Sine Wave.

“Sine, it’s important. I wouldn’t wake you two up if it weren’t,” he frantically said, ignoring the stranger's presence.

His frantic explanation was met with a sigh. “What’s up, hon?”

“The mind magic Five-o are driving towards me!”

“Stay on the line and stay calm; I mean it!” Sine replied. “You still at the dig site?”

“Yeah,” Zipper nodded as the van pulled up.

“We’ll be there ASAP.”

The line clicked off, and Zipper looked back towards the stranger. He sighed and looked away, silently plotting his escape route should things go south. “I always knew you’d get me… didn’t know where, didn’t know when, didn’t know how. If you’re here about my powers, just know that I can’t affect ponies or humans, and the work I’ve done has made some promising strides in understanding avian evolution in a post-ETS world. It doesn’t work on humans or ponies, and I don’t know why you guys are after me!”

The van pulled to a stop, and without so much as a warning, the doors quickly opened, and four people hopped out. Not thinking, Zipper instinctively leaped into the air and began to make his escape.

“You got this one, Josie?” a crystal pony from the group called out.

“Mhmm.” He heard the stranger, apparently Josie, reply back.

He could briefly feel the unmistakable tug of magic draining from him, making his wings feel heavy. Despite this, his adrenaline kicked into high gear, and he pushed past it as much as he could. He suddenly lurched forward, out of the crystal pony’s range. To him, it felt as if someone had cut a rope that was holding him back, and he couldn’t help but smirk and look back at the night pony that was struggling to keep up. He was lucky to have gotten some air and velocity. Night ponies could accelerate in the air quickly, but no night pony could keep up with a pegasus once a pegasus managed to develop some momentum. 

“What did I tell you, bird brain?!” Sine’s voice suddenly caught his attention. 

He squinted his eyes and looked down, catching sight of both Sine Wave and Ink Rose making their way to him.

“Look, just ease off and let Sine handle this,” he heard Ink Rose say to Josie. Seemingly taking control of the situation, the two night ponies backed off. He slowed and allowed Sine to catch up to him.

“This was incredibly dumb of you! You need to fly back to the site right now!” She scolded, blocking his flight path and forcing him to come to a hover. “For all we know, you’re gonna get hit with some charge for evading arrest now!”

“You two always drilled it into my head that I should never fuck around with these guys!” Zipper retorted.

“Yeah? And you thought flying away from the OMMR was a good idea?!”

Zipper began to slow. “Well… I…” he stammered out. “Look, it’s hard to shake my instincts. You know that.”

Sine nodded. “I know, hon, that’s why I sent Ink over to pull them back. I don’t know what they’re here for… but whatever it is, it’s important, and one way or another, they’re going to get you. I recognize some of them. That woman with the mohawk? That's Tempest Shadow, Phobia Remedy's primary bodyguard. The night pony? That's Josie Woods, the first night pony. This isn't a normal batch of agents. These are the big guns. They wouldn't send these guys here to haul you off. You're special but not that special. Let's see what they want."

“Okay,” Zipper nodded. “Let’s just go talk this out.”

It took him only a moment to land. Now that the action had cooled off, Zipper could get a closer look at the group that was surrounding him. 

To his sides were his lovers, Sine Wave and Ink Rose. In front of him was a crystal pony and three humans who weren’t immediately identified, although he remembered Sine telling him the one was named Tempest. The pale blonde-haired woman and Tempest were the first to catch Zipper’s eye, as the blonde had immediately moved in to ensure that Zipper would remain to listen to their talk. Tempest had quickly followed suit, and Zipper vaguely remembered hearing about her from Silver Eclipse in one of his dreamwalking sessions. The last was a big balding man, but he had seemingly little interest in anything around him, including Zipper. 

"Hello, I'm Blanche," the blonde introduced herself with just a hint of some sort of European accent. French, maybe? "Tempest heads this mission, but she isn't the most diplomatic, so I tend to do the talking. Our other companions are Arturo, Crystal, and Josie. I presume you are Zipper."

He nodded. "That's me."

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way,” the blonde continued. “If you think we’re here to arrest you over a mind magic-related infraction, you can rest easy. We know all about your abilities, and also know that it only directly affects a narrow grouping of animals. Your work in your field is why we’re here.”

“It— it is?!” Zipper’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Mhmm. You’re a leading expert on the western yellow-billed cuckoo and avian communication; it was your research on the changing behavioral patterns of birds in the last decade that put you on our radar. Simply put, we need a pony with your special talents for a vital mission, and I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

Zipper idly blinked for a few moments and tried to find his words. “I… uh… I’d love to, but…”

“If you’re afraid about pausing your work or losing any money, we’re willing to compensate you handsomely.”

Zipper nodded. “That’s very nice of you, but I have a whole team here that’s counting on me.”

Blanche raised an eyebrow. “Are they able to operate without you? Surely you can delegate some tasks to your other team members, can’t you?”

Zipper nodded. “I could, but I’m putting a lot of my funds into this dig. You might not know, but ornithologists aren’t exactly swimming in money, and I do a lot of side work to keep my team working. It’s not that I don’t want to help you guys, but I’ve already got a pretty stacked plate…” he grimaced.

“What if we offer to fund your next several digs?” Blanche offered.

“You could do that?” Zipper asked. 

The mare nodded. “Mhmm. The OMMR is well connected, and we know a few conservation funds that would be more than happy to work with a research team of your caliber.”

Zipper contemplated this for a moment and shrugged. “What’s the mission?”

“You’re in?” She asked.

“If you can secure my team’s funding, then yeah, I can’t turn it down. What you’re offering would keep us running for years.”

“Good,” she smiled. “This should go without saying that what I’m about to tell you is strictly need to know and privileged. The reason why we need you, in particular, is that your special talent might allow us to conduct recon in hazardous areas where agents would otherwise be in danger of being caught or even killed. You can communicate with birds, right?”

“That’s correct,” Zipper nodded. “But I need you to understand that I’m not talking to the birds like we’re speaking the same language. My magic helps me get an understanding of what the birds are trying to subtly convey to me. I can talk to them and use my magic to basically give them a suggestion, but I can’t force them to do anything, and we can’t exactly hold conversations. It’s not a guarantee that what they see will be useful.”

“You’re the leading researcher on avian intelligence, so do you think there’s a chance they could tell us some details from what they scout?”

Zipper shrugged. “I suppose I could try to work on it with them. It’s going to depend on what birds you use, though. I’ve been studying bird behavior for years now, and many populations are showing signs of increased intelligence and social behavior, but those findings can vary a lot between different species. I mean a lot, a lot.”

“What birds do you think would make good scouts?” Blanche asked.

Zipper thought for a moment and smiled. “Crows.”

“Crows?” she asked.

“Mhmm,” Zipper replied. “You ever piss off a crow as a kid? Or maybe you gave one food a few times, and suddenly, it started bringing you some random scraps and trinkets? Turns out those little gremlins can remember faces and places. I haven’t studied crow or raven populations as often as the cuckoos, but if those birds show improved intelligence, it’s not a stretch to hypothesize that crows would also.”

“And you could train them?”

“Like I said,” Zipper’s voice filled with confidence. “It’s not hard to get on their good side. If I can find a good flock and befriend them, then there’s a good chance we could work on some training to get them to work as scouts. That said, their health and safety is my top priority, and I need assurance that they will be given top-of-the-line care.”

“Consider it done,” Blanche nodded. “So you’re in?”

Zipper smiled. “I’m in.”





Jessica braced against her quarters' door and closed her eyes as the lights flared again. After the first experience with the Dolphin III's jumps, she wouldn't be caught unaware a second time. It seemed like the flare lasted less time this time, and when she opened her eyes, she didn't feel nauseous, although she saw some spots before her eyes. When she looked out her window, she saw the distinct arm of a solar flare. How freaking close to a star had they come?"

The intercom beeped again. "That wasn't so bad, now was it? I wonder if Jeg'galla'gamp'pi must like being extremely close to stars because it decided to do it again. If we had overshot that jump by another AU, we would be extra toasty right now. Luna would have had time to teleport us out before the hull failed if that had happened, but you'd all be taking a space walk soon after to replace our melted engines. However, we didn't teleport straight into the star, so no problems!"

Jessica's eyes bulged. They could have teleported straight into a star, and Rebecca was chipper about it. Rebecca might like being upbeat, but that was insane!

"So…" Rebecca continued. "You guys and gals should all come to the bridge. You might be able to spy it out of the corner of your windows, but I promise you our view is better this time. We've made it; we are staring straight at Jeg'galla'gamp'pi. It looks like the biggest jawbreaker you've ever seen. We'll start the landing sequence shortly."

Jessica bolted to her feet. "LANDING SEQUENCE?! WHAT THE FUDGE?!" Now she knew Rebecca was insane. Landing on anything this close to a star would fry them, and landing on anything that big would crush them between the gravity and air pressure. Landing on Jeg'galla'gamp'pi was suicide!

"It sounds like at least one of you is excited to be landing!!" Rebecca continued to chirp. "Everyone, to the bridge."

Oh, she had every intention of going to the bridge and telling Rebecca exactly how moronic the idea of landing on Jeg'galla'gamp'pi was. Why would the fat pegasus even begin to think that it was a good idea? 

After practically slamming her door open, Jessica thundered past Charlotte, Smiley, and the human soldier named Terrance. All three of them backed out of her way as she strode past them and opened the bridge door. 

The bridge consisted of a pedestal with the power crystal in the center, a trio of computer terminals just in front of it, the flight crew's luggage stacked in a corner, and the window. The room was only impressive in how impressively little there was in it. Luna and Ashley were at the window looking out. Rebecca and Jonathan were at separate computer terminals. 

Beyond the window was a massive alabaster sphere that took up almost the entire view.

Rebecca looked back at her with a grin as she came in. "Hi, Jess! I hear you might have some critical feedback about my decision to land. I always welcome feedback and concerns, and I'm sure you have some great points, but before you do, I'd like to give you some information that might change your opinion."

"What could possibly make this a good idea?" Jessica demanded as she approached the window for a better look. 

Rebecca looked at the screen of her computer. "Air pressure on the planet is at a steady 1013.25 millibars. The force of gravity is nine point eight meters per second. The atmosphere is seventy-seven percent nitrogen and twenty percent oxygen, with the rest being a mixture of different things–too many to list. Surface temperature is a uniform twenty-one degrees Celsius."

"What do you mean, uniform?" Jessica asked in confusion; sure Rebecca was making some sort of mistake. "The surface temperature for something that big can't be uniform, especially with the star this close. There's no way something that big doesn't have more gravity and air pressure either."
.
Rebecca grinned even wider. "It didn't when we first appeared, but now it does. Didn't take more than a second for it to shift those numbers. It knows we're here, and it knows what we need to survive on its surface. I expected this. Jeg'galla'gamp'pi is eager to have visitors. It's practically rolling out the red carpet."

"Rebecca is correct," Luna said, still not taking her eyes off the planet. "I watched the thaumic flows. It was like the planet cast a spell on itself to adjust its nature. The power that it must have taken to do that and to do it with such ease is unfathomable. Even the combined might of all the alicorns could not have done that, not on such a scale as this. Can you not feel it? The feeling is so intense that even those far less discerning than I should perceive that it is watching us. I sense no intent or emotion, but it is definitely watching, and if it changed all those forces, it seems to have sent us an invitation to visit. I believe refusing it would be unwise. I, for one, wish to know what kind of entity we are dealing with."

Charlotte and the soldiers walked in and joined the others at the window.

"Should we be accepting invitations from alien entities?" Charlotte asked. "This is about as alien as it gets.  We have no idea if this thing is friendly or out to get us. This planet could be leaving honey out for flies."

"There are some dangers on the surface, and your metaphor isn't completely without merit," Rebecca conceded. "General rules should be obeyed if you want to stay safe. This isn't the Dreamwardens' first rodeo with Jeg'galla'gamp'pi, and we know how to keep safe. We're some of the biggest rulemongers, so rules don't bother us. The Junk Peddlers made their homes here for generations before the coming of the Devourers. They may not have survived the Devourers, but they survived Jeg'galla'gamp'pi. If people could raise families here by following a few simple rules, we can visit just fine."

"And if it has changed the rules?" Ashley asked. 

Rebecca chuckled. "If you had experience with Jeg'galla'gamp'pi, you would know how silly an idea that is. Jeg'galla'gamp'pi is beyond eternal. It was here long before the first star; it will remain after the last glimmer of light in the universe fades–the first and last place. It doesn't change the rules."

"It just, defying all laws of physics, changed its gravity, air pressure, temperature, and atmospheric composition; that sounds like changing the rules to me," Jessica said dryly. 

"And it did this before when Triss's race first found it," Rebecca asserted. "It made itself welcoming to them–well, at least this welcoming, and for generations, many lived and died here until the Devourers came and wiped them out."

"And if it let them get wiped out by the Devourers, why do you expect it will help us not meet the same fate?" Charlotte asked. 

"We aren't looking for it to bail us out. We're looking for tools that can help us," Rebecca answered. "Jonathan, begin the landing sequence for the coordinates I gave you. We put a lot of effort into bribing Sha'am for those coordinates."

"Coordinates entered. The expected time to reach the surface is nine hours," Jonathan replied. 

"Nine hours! The planet is right there; we're already up on it!" Smiley exclaimed. 

Jonathan shook his head. "I don't think you appreciate the difference in scale between this and Earth. If the Earth was the size of a nickel, Jeg'galla'gamp'pi would be a basketball. The planet only looks that close because it is much bigger than Earth, but we're further away from it than the Earth is from the moon. Given how far away we are, nine hours is an outstanding touchdown time. With a less advanced ship, it would take a week or more to reach the surface," Jonathan replied. 

"Sounds like a good time to take a nap," Ashley said as she turned away and headed towards the door. "That magic might not have been mine, but those spells still took a lot out of me."

Luna nodded and headed towards the door as well. "The power was mine, and those spells were indeed draining. I too require some rest. I can contact the Dreamwardens while I sleep and let them know we arrived safely."

Rebecca shook her head. "You can dreamwalk if you want, but you don't need to. You can get some legitimate dreams in. That will replenish you faster. My siblings are eager to see this place. I'm about to dance and do my thing."

"What's at the coordinates?" Jessica asked. 

Rebecca gazed out at the planet. "Home sweet home."