Twilight Sparkle stood to the right of Church as the pair looked at the inert Freelancer in gray and yellow armor. They currently stood in the main research tent, with Washington lying on the large operating table that had originally held Tex. A lot of the research equipment had been moved out to make room for medical equipment. There was an IV feeding some sort of clear fluid into Washington and another feeding him blood (that Caboose was more than happy to donate… with some bribing). It was fortunate the head doctor knew a spell to convert blood types.
One of the lower ranking medical ponies - a purple pegasus with a cutie mark depicting a heart with wings - was hooking up a heart monitor to Washington. Once the device started beeping steadily, the pegasus turned to face Church and Twilight.
“Okay, he’s stable…” he reported.
For some reason, this made Church laugh. “Heh heh… stable.”
After giving Church a queer look, the pegasus pony continued, “But we don’t know for how long. My boss is making arrangements to have him taken to Canterlot. The Royal Infirmary should be more well equipped to deal with a… being like this.”
“When do you think he’ll wake up?” Twilight asked.
The medic looked at Twilight and chewed his lip. “Honestly, I don’t know anything about… whatever he is, but he’s out cold. It could be days, weeks, who knows?”
Twilight exhaled sharply. “Great. Every moment counts, and Wash is the only one who can decipher Delta’s message!”
Memory is the key. Those were the words South had left them with, spoken on Delta’s behalf. Twilight wanted to do right by the woman by delivering her last message, but with Washington down for the count it was impossible.
“Sorry, but unless you have a way to psychically commune with him, you’ll just have to wait until when or if he recovers,” the pegasus doctor said as he began to pack up his tools.
Twilight looked at Church; she could see the gears turning in the cobalt clad human’s head. “I may not have ‘psychic powers,’ but I think I know a way I can talk to him!”
Before Twilight could ask how, she remembered a certain little quirk of Church’s. That he was technically dead and can move his spirit to other bodies at will. Could he use this ability to speak with Washington within his own mind?
“Actually, Church. It might be better if I go instead,” Tex’s voice and the appearance of her ghostly black figure nearly made Twilight jump. She’d forgotten that Church’s ex and the mare she was possessing were standing beside Church opposite to her.
“Really?” Church asked skeptically.
“Yes. You forget, Washington was a Freelancer just like me. He might be more forthcoming if he hears it from me rather than some sim trooper he barely knows who doesn’t trust him anyway.”
Church took a moment to mull the suggestion over. Twilight had to admit, there was some merit to Tex’s words. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was another reason Tex was so eager to deliver this message to Washington herself.
“Fine. You go ahead,” Church conceded. Nevertheless, it would seem the decision was made for her. Twilight wasn’t a ghost or an artificial construct, so it wasn’t like she could just go in herself.
Tex turned to the white mare in armor, “Wait here, Sunny.”
With that, Tex’s floating form interacted with Washington and disappeared while Twilight tried to figure out what to make of Church’s… acquaintance. Twilight was only sure of one thing: Tex knew more than she was letting on and if she wasn’t going to let anyone else in on what she knew, than Twilight wasn’t sure if she could be trusted.
Twilight suddenly heard the sound of hoofsteps behind her and turned around in time to see Applejack poke her head into the tent. Rarity was with her.
“Hey, Twi? You mind steppin’ out here fer a bit? RD wants to have a word with you…” Applejack shifted uncomfortably, “she ain’t happy…”
The one thing Twilight hated most of all was failure. It made her feel anxious and queasy to think that she’d let someone down, especially someone she cared about. Thus, when Rainbow Dash showed her the nature of her distress, Twilight felt sick. Though that could also have been the smell.
Twilight found Rainbow Dash outside the medical tent, briskly pacing back and forth. As she got closer, Twilight noticed a furious scowl on her friend’s face. And her eyes. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot.
“Rainbow? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow Dash whipped around and Twilight jerked back at her friend’s furious expression. Rainbow wasn’t mad at her specifically, Twilight realized. She was just mad.
“That is what’s wrong, Twilight!” Rainbow’s scratchy voice trembled as she pointed a hoof over to the space beside the medical tent.
It didn’t take long for Twilight to see what she was pointing at. Next to the medical tent lay the three casualties of the recent battle, each one covered by a gray sheet. Their heads were all that was visible. Twilight’s nose twitched, the smell of death was already in the air. The first one Twilight noticed was Agent South. The armored human was big enough that she required multiple sheets to cover her completely.
Beside her was the mare that commanded the Guard contingent here: The dark gray unicorn Captain Mirage. But it was the last body that Rainbow Dash was pointing at. Underneath the gray sheet lay the body of a pegasus mare with a lighter gray coat and a messy blond mane. Twilight recognized her as the pony that O’Malley had possessed during the battle: Derpy.
Twilight felt her chest clench up when she remembered the lengths to which she’d tried to dispatch O’Malley without doing any lasting damage to his host. That her efforts to save Derpy were all for naught hit harder than all of the blows she’d suffered over the course of her adventure. It was as if she was destined to fail in this, no matter how hard she tried. Worst of all, somepony she cared about was suffering because of her failure.
“Derpy and I went way back in Cloudsdale,” Rainbow croaked. She looked at Derpy and all at once the anger on her face was gone. Rainbow just looked broken. Like she couldn’t fully process what she was looking at.
“She was… not very smart… or a great flyer. Hay, we weren’t even as close as, say, me and Fluttershy. But… maybe we could’ve been… but now I’ll never…” Rainbow sniffled. Her voice was uncharacteristically fragile, “this sucks!”
“I’m so sorry, Rainbow…” Twilight said. The words felt hollow and worthless. The culmination of her failure.
Rainbow faced Twilight again, the fire once again in her eyes. “What’s our next step? How do we find the Meta?”
Twilight gave the matter some thought. In truth, she’d been thinking about it ever since the battle ended. She knew generally where the Meta went, but more importantly, she found herself wondering whether they should worry about it at all. While she was on Repertum with Church and the others, Twilight found herself thinking a lot about what she should do about Project Freelancer, only to remind herself that it wasn’t her fight.
“Why should we even bother looking for it?” Twilight asked. She noticed the cynical edge that entered her voice but didn’t care. “The Meta’s gone! It got what it came here for and in all likeliness will never come back.”
“We should look for it so we can make it pay!” Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof, anger manifesting in her glossy eyes. “It killed Derpy, and tons of other ponies as well! We can’t let it just get away with that!”
“And it won’t! There’s an entire military agency looking for it!”
Rainbow Dash took a step forward and studied Twilight. “What’s the matter with you, Twilight? When something’s wrong you’re always the first one to set it right! Even if you’re right, and that ‘Freelancer’ agency can stop the Meta, it should still be us that does it! It was our friends it hurt! My friend it killed!”
Rainbow Dash had a point. The Meta had committed terrible crimes against Equestria. Should it be Equestria’s duty to stop it? Twilight took another look at the three bodies covered in sheets. She failed to save Derpy. She failed to save South. I closed her eyes for her. But when Twilight remembered it, she only saw herself closing the eyes of Rainbow Dash. And Fluttershy. And Applejack. Rarity. Pinkie Pie.
“No!” Twilight’s shout made Rainbow take a step back. “This isn’t our fight. We’re meant to protect Equestria, not the whole damn galaxy!”
Twilight made to return to the tent where they were keeping Washington, but not before getting one final word in, “I really am sorry about Derpy, but hunting down the Meta won’t do her any good. If Tex, Church and the others decide to go after the Meta, they can. But we should stay. It’s for the best...”
Caboose squirmed on the table as the yellow unicorn did a check of his reflexes by gently striking a nerve in Caboose’s wrist with a stethoscope.
“Okay, everything with you seems to be normal. More or less,” the unicorn doctor said. Of course, that was being generous. “Well, you have a clean bit of health. That’s the important thing.”
“Do I get a lollipop?” Caboose asked.
“We’re a military medical contingent, so no.”
“Oh… den where did I get all of theshe?” Pinkie Pie’s words were obscured by the ten or so lollipops occupying her mouth.
The doctor looked over to the table that Pinkie was sitting on as she happily sucked away on her candy. “Definitely not from me,” he finally said.
Caboose and Pinkie Pie sat across from each other in companionable silence for a while as the doctor finished up some paper work.
“That was pretty cool the way you hugged O’Malley back there!” Caboose said suddenly. “You were all, like, ‘I’m gonna be your friend whether you want me to or not!’”
Both Caboose and Pinkie laughed for a while before Pinkie gave a sigh and removed the lollipops from her mouth. “Yeah. I really thought I could help him…”
“I think you did!” Caboose said. “You made him think about having friends, and now he’s got some!”
“Yeah. His new friends are kinda mean though…” Pinkie’s droopy ears suddenly perked up, “hey! You’re going back to your world sometime, right? Maybe you can visit him! He’d probably like that!”
“Yeah but… I don’t really want to say goodbye to you just yet.” Caboose suddenly gasped, “I can take you with me! That way we can both see O’Malley together! And I can show you where I live!”
Pinkie bounced in place as a big goofy smile grew on her face. “Hey, yeah! We could have a sleepover at my place and then have another one at your place!” Pinkie exclaimed before settling down. “What’s your house like?”
“Well, it isn’t as cool as a giant gingerbread house, but get this: it has no doors!” Caboose whispered loudly.
Pinkie gasped, “No doors? But how do you get in?”
“Through the non-doors!”
Pinkie’s eyes were as big as plates. “That sounds awesome!”
Applejack lingered as Twilight left the tent. She looked past the rows of tables containing research notes at the one holding the unconscious Freelancer. Then she looked at the others around him. There was a purple medical pony and the tall alien in cobalt that Twilight called Church. Then there was her.
Applejack had been holding on to consciousness in the wake of O’Malley’s attack when the strange pony in Guard’s armor showed up. Applejack decided she wanted to know a bit more about the mare who single-hoofedly fought back the Meta. As Applejack stepped further into the tent, she noticed that Rarity was still with her. Apparently the fashionista was also curious about this new mare.
“Howdy Church!” Applejack tipped her hat to the alien in question and did the same for the purple pegasus. “Doc…”
Rarity echoed Applejack’s greetings as the farmpony turned to the white mare, “I don’ believe we’ve met. I’m Applejack!”
“Yes, and I’m Rarity!”
Applejack and Rarity each extended a hoof in greeting. The other pony regarded them for a moment and answered simply, “Sunny.”
After a few more awkward seconds, it was apparent that Sunny wasn’t going to bump either mare’s hoof. Instead, a purple hoof connected with Applejack’s and then Rarity’s. They looked over at the medical pegasus the hoof was attached to.
“I never leave a pony hanging. Ever!” he said. At Applejack’s queer stare, the purple pegasus picked up his medical box and with an awkward attempt at a smile, left the tent.
“Actually, I feel like I’ve seen both of you before,” Sunny said in an effort to break the audible silence that followed, “were you in Dodge City recently?”
Applejack nodded, but wasn’t sure where or when this Sunny would have seen them. Rarity, however, answered this question.
“Of course! Sunny! I remember you! You were one of the Guards that was here on our last visit!” Rarity exclaimed.
Of course, Applejack wasn’t quite sure how Rarity knew this. All of those Guards looked exactly the same when they had that armor on and with the enchantments that makes them all appear to have white coats, the Guards are near indistinguishable. Applejack chalked it up to Rarity’s eye for detail and social outgoingness.
“Yes, you had that adorable blue filly with you when we were about to leave for Canterlot,” Rarity continued.
Suddenly, Applejack remembered. Sunny was the pony that passed by when they were talking to Arcane Star as they awaited their sky-chariots. She had a light blue filly with her who seemed very taken with Pinkie Pie. Applejack then realized why she didn’t recognize Sunny right away. True to her name, the pony was very perky and cheerful when they first met her, talking to them with energy and a smile. The pony in front of Applejack now had a more melancholic look to her. She didn’t seem to have anything to smile about.
Rarity continued her chatter unabated, “Your sister, right? How is she?”
Applejack may not have been great at reading ponies, but the way Sunny stiffened and suddenly seemed very focused on something distant raised a red flag in Applejack’s mind. Despite her immense grasp of social nuances, Rarity only realized the depth of the waters she was treading until that very moment.
“Oh…” she muttered.
Fiddling with her hat, Applejack forced a smile and another topic, “So… you were pretty good back there! They teach those moves in Guard school or somethin?”
For a brief moment, Sunny smiled. It wasn’t the same as the one she wore proudly like a flag last time. The flag was half-mast.
“Honestly? That was pretty much all Tex.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask about that.”
All three ponies looked up at Church. The man had been idly looking through the research notes scattered throughout the various desks in the tent, and the three of them had honestly forgotten all about him.
“You’re letting my crazy-bitch ex-girlfriend inside your head and control you… willingly,” Church folded his arms and leaned on a desk, “why?”
Sunny turned and looked up at Church. “Have you ever felt the need to do something… something important? Something only you can do? Something you have to do?”
Church gave the matter some thought for a fraction of a second, “Pfft… no!”
Applejack thought she heard the sound of Sunny’s teeth grinding together as Church continued, “What does that even mean anyway? ‘Something you have to do.’ What are you, the fuckin’ chosen one or some shit?”
Sunny took a step forward, glaring at Church. “I’m talking about a sense of duty! As a soldier, surely you understand the concept?”
“Duty?” Church scoffed. “The only duty I have is to come home from this war alive!” Church then muttered, “Though, I can’t even do that…”
Sunny’s eyes were wide and furious. “How can you say that?! Why did you even join your people’s army in the first place?”
“Honestly? It was because of Tex. She joined the army and left me without so much as a goodbye, so I decided to go after her,” Church shrugged, “it was either that or med school. And really, can you picture that? Doctor Leonard Church?”
Applejack looked back over to gauge Sunny’s reaction. Strangely enough, the white mare didn’t look like she was about to buck Church into the stratosphere as she had earlier. She just gave him a strange look. One that seemed halfway between exasperation and… sympathy?
The sound of a throat clearing turned everyone’s attention to the research tent’s entrance, where Twilight Sparkle was standing. Applejack wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there, but she had a feeling Twilight caught the latter half of Church and Sunny’s discussion. As Twilight rejoined the others, Sunny turned back to Church.
“Anyway, all that matters is that Equestria is in danger, and as a good soldier I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect it!”
At that moment, Applejack couldn’t help but think about how Sunny’s words applied to herself and her friends. They’d saved Equestria enough times to be considered its protectors. She - and most likely the rest of her friends - considered it their responsibility to take up the Elements of Harmony whenever a threat only they could defeat rose. She’d never thought of herself as a soldier, but thinking about it that way, perhaps they all were. Applejack only wondered if they would be as willing to do their duty as the rest of Equestria’s soldiers when the time came.
The sudden appearance of a tiny black spectral figure interrupted Applejack’s thoughts. Everyone in the room whirled around to face her.
“Tex! Did you talk to Washington? Did you find out what ‘Memory is the key’ means?” Church asked.
“Yes,” Tex floated in front of Twilight, “gather your friends, we all need to have a discussion…”
“...‘Memory is the key’ means there’s only one thing with the memories needed to bring down the Meta and Project Freelancer,” Tex explained to the gathered ponies and blue soldiers. The group was standing in front of the derelict dropship under the stars. “The Alpha. We need to unlock it.”
Twilight took a step forward. “The Alpha? But, wouldn’t that mean… going back?”
Tex nodded, “Yes. Back to Repertum. Back to Freelancer Command.”
Twilight felt her ears droop. So the answer was back there. Back on the planet she’d fought so hard to escape. Back to the center of operations of the military agency that wanted her for reasons unknown. Twilight suddenly felt like she was being crushed by a heavy weight. More than anything, she didn’t want to go back there. Especially not so soon after returning home!
“Sunny and I are going, as is Church,” Tex said.
This was news to Church. “Wait, what? Come with you on what’s basically a suicide mission? What makes you think I’d do that?”
“Church raises a good point,” Sunny said. “He certainly doesn’t know anything about being a good soldier!”
At this, Tex appeared in her spectral form. “Church will come because he traveled across the universe to an alien planet just to find me.” Although Tex was answering Sunny, she was glaring right at Church. “He wouldn’t come all this way only to let me leave again!”
Church seemed about to protest, but after a long pause all he said was, “Goddammit, woman!”
Twilight thought she heard Rainbow Dash cough in a way that sounded like “whipped!” before Tex continued.
“And I’m assuming that Caboose will come because Church is going.”
“Just as long as we get to stop at the toy store on the way home!” Caboose exclaimed.
Tex’s ghostly visage turned to face Twilight and her friends. “That just leaves the rest of you…”
Twilight really didn’t want to go. It wasn’t her fight. She was finally home! All she wanted was to stay in Ponyville and continue her life. She still had a few backlogs of books to read! And so much catching up to do with her friends! I don’t want to close their eyes.
Then Pinkie Pie stepped forward. “I’ll go! Not only do I want to be an astronaut within the next five to ten years, but Caboosey invited me to his house, and I really want to go and see his non-doors!”
Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “If going puts us in a position to stop the Meta, then I’m game!”
Fluttershy stepped beside Rainbow Dash and firmly nodded, though Twilight believed it was more out of interest in staying by Rainbow’s side than anything else.
Applejack was next. “Reckon it’s our duty!”
Rarity stood beside her. “Well, I’d have to pack my traveling kit, my drama couch and my ‘roughing it’ ensemble, but you can count me in! Besides, I’ve always been curious about alien fashion and decor!”
“I hope you like green…” Church muttered.
That only left Twilight. Now that her friends have all gone, the decision was obvious. She didn’t like it, but she knew perhaps better than they did: if the Mother of Invention was still in orbit - waiting to move against Equestria - then they had to go if it meant finding a way to stop Project Freelancer!
Twilight stepped forward. “We’re going. It’s for the best!”
Tex surveyed them all and folded her spectral arms. “Church may be a cynical asshole, but he has one thing right: this mission will be dangerous. Now that it has Delta, the Meta is likely after the same thing we are. Many of us may not make it back.”
“What? Like on time for the Running of the Leaves?” Pinkie Pie asked.
At this, Rainbow Dash took to the air and nonchalantly waved a confident hoof. “Pfft, we have the Elements of Harmony! When we’re together, nothing can beat us!”
“Our recent defeat notwithstanding…” Rarity said under her breath.
Mention of the Elements made Twilight realize the full gravity of the situation. They would need the Elements if they encountered the Meta again, but Twilight didn’t like the idea of taking them to a far off planet while a very real threat lurked just outside of Equestria’s atmosphere. Twilight decided she would need some time to think on this. Perhaps it was past time she sent a letter to a certain Princess. One she desperately wanted answers from…
“Here you go, Spike.” Twilight levitated over the roll of parchment to her assistant and the little dragon sent it off in a puff of green flame. It was very late at night (or more accurately, very early the next morning) and Princess Celestia was likely asleep at the moment, but she would find it when she awoke to raise the sun in the morning.
“Yet another addition to the list of things here that are fucking bullshit…” Church said under his breath as the last vestiges of Spike’s magical flames disappeared in a puff of smoke.
It had only been about fifteen minutes since Twilight arrived back at her home in Ponyville with Church, Tex and the pony she was inhabiting (Caboose had been very insistent that he stay over at Pinkie’s for a sleepover). Tex had suggested everyone return to Ponyville to sort out whatever they needed to sort out before they left. Church had remarked that was uncharacteristically considerate of Tex, but Twilight knew it was because they couldn’t leave tonight even if they wanted to. That and Tex had said there was something important she needed to get from her original body.
It was at that moment that the white pony with the black M.I. in question emerged from the basement steps. Sunny was wearing what appeared to be an old necklace with a couple of metal tags around her neck.
“Huh. I didn’t know you had dog tags, Tex,” Church said as the grim-faced white pony walked past him.
“I don’t,” Tex simply said as she walked past Church and headed up the stairs to the second floor. “Sunny and I will take first watch. You two should get some rest if we’re going to be heading out tomorrow.”
“Can’t sleep. I’m technically dead, remember?” Church pointed out.
As Sunny disappeared up the stairs, Spike turned to Twilight. “Where are you guys going now, Twilight?”
Twilight bit her lip and sucked in some air. Spike wasn’t going to like this. “The girls and I all have to go with Church and Tex back to their world.”
Spike’s eyes grew immediately. “What? Why?”
“Believe me Spike, I don’t want to go, but I have to. It could be the only way to save Equestria!”
“Okay, then I’m coming with you!”
Twilight sighed as she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “No Spike, I need you to stay here…”
“What…?”
“Someone has to watch the library while we’re gone…”
“But I always stay here!” Spike’s raised voice caught Twilight off guard. “Every time you and the girls do something important I’m always here!”
“That’s because I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“That’s the excuse you always use!”
Twilight raised her voice to meet Spike’s, “Because it’s true! Even more so this time...” Twilight had to stop herself from mentioning the fact that she may not even make it back.
“I’m not just a kid anymore, Twilight! Or did you forget the fact that I saved an entire empire?”
Of course he would bring that up. It was one of the times Twilight had most feared for his life. “By sheer dumb luck! My brother’s quick thinking is the only reason you’re not a dragon shaped pancake on the ground!”
Only after the words were spoken did Twilight realize the full implications of what she just said.
“You still don’t think I can do anything, do you?” Spike asked. His voice was low and dangerous.
“No, Spike. That’s not what I meant…”
“No! I see how it is!” Spike turned and briskly walked to the stairs. “Just go on your dumb adventure!” Spike’s voice became more uneven as he ascended the staircase. “Why should I care?”
Spike’s exit was punctuated by the sound of a door upstairs slamming harder than it probably needed to. Twilight didn’t move. She just looked at the floor, feeling rotten.
Church sighed, “Kids…”
Hey Dash,
How’s it going? Y’know, Wonderbolt Academy is taking applications soon. You might want to start thinking about applying!
You won’t have to worry about seeing me there, my dad found us a new client and has the whole company on the move again. As always, I can’t tell you where we’re going in case the authorities get a hold of this, but let’s just say we’re going to need to dress warm.
I really hope you’ve been getting my letters. I haven’t gotten a reply from you in a while. It really sucks not having you around anymore. Anyway, gotta get ready. Talk to you later!
Gilda
Fluttershy placed the piece of paper down on her table and finished off her morning tea. It was early; much earlier than she was used to being awake. Celestia’s sun wasn’t even up yet. Fluttershy was to meet with Twilight and the others to start searching for a way to travel to the alien planet. She was quite nervous at the prospect of traveling to the world where all of those scary aliens were from, but she was willing to go through with it anyway for her friends’ sake.
But first, Fluttershy would need to make arrangements to have her animals taken care of. It was when she went to fetch a piece of parchment to write a letter to Ponyville’s Office of Animal Care that she found the letter she’d left there. Fluttershy couldn’t deny that her curiosity was piqued the moment Rainbow Dash received it and promptly threw it away, but she had no intention of investigating further.
At least until she had found Grif under the tree beneath Rainbow Dash’s house reading that very same letter. Fluttershy was a little annoyed that the orange armored man was casually looking through one of her friends’ personal effects, but hadn’t voiced her thoughts. She didn’t want to start a fight with Grif, and she had other things on her mind anyway. But when Rarity and the alien in maroon armor arrived telling them they had to go to Dodge City, Fluttershy had volunteered to fly up to Rainbow Dash’s house to get her. Thus she had found herself alone with the discarded letter.
Fluttershy couldn’t help it. At first she told herself she was only holding it for Rainbow Dash. But then it had occurred to her that Rainbow clearly didn’t want it, so Fluttershy had allowed herself to take a peek. After all, if whatever was inside bothered Rainbow so much that her chipper mood did a complete 180, maybe Fluttershy could help?
Now that Fluttershy was here, reading the letter for what must have been the tenth time, she wasn’t really sure what to think. By the looks of things, a certain old friend of Rainbow’s - one that Fluttershy didn’t particularly like - was trying to get back in touch. There was something else odd about the letter. Is Gilda involved in some kind of illegal activities? Before Fluttershy could ponder the note any further, a series of hard knocks made her front door shake.
“Hey Fluttershy! You ready to go?” Rainbow Dash’s scratchy voice called out.
This was Fluttershy’s chance to take the issue up with Rainbow now. Instead, she placed the letter face down on her table and went towards the door.
“Coming, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy replied.
“Well, hurry it up!”
Fluttershy didn’t notice how the gust of air from her front door as she closed it behind her caused the letter to fly from her table and land on the floor of her cottage, within reach of a certain white bunny.
Twilight tried to blink the tiredness out of her eyes as her friends and the Blues all regrouped in front of her house in the cool Ponyville morning air. Tiny tips of orange was all that could be seen of the sun as it was slowly brought above the horizon. Sleep did not come easily the other night, and Twilight had found herself tossing and turning as her heart threatened to burst clear out of her chest. Even now, the purple unicorn couldn’t stop shifting anxiously.
“Okay, we’re all here,” Tex said through Sunny. “Has everyone sorted out everything they need?”
A chorus of quiet affirmatives answered Tex’s inquiry. Twilight turned to the M.I. in pony body with an inquiry of her own.
“So how are we getting back to your world? We can’t exactly get there the same way I did last time without Wyoming’s time device.”
“You’re right,” Tex said. “We can’t use the ship back in Dodge, but there may be another one we can use.”
“Would that be the ship the Reds used to drop their big metal auto-carriage?” Applejack asked. “Because that thing made a right mess of my eastern orchards.”
“No, the dropship the Reds arrived on has the same problem as the one in Dodge City: no slipspace device,” Tex explained, “but there should be another ship somewhere close that does.”
“What makes you say that, Tex?” Church asked.
“The Meta,” Tex answered. “It came here to search the ship I crashed in Dodge City, but arrived at some point before the Mother of Invention. So, the question is: how did it get here?”
A switch suddenly turned on in Twilight’s brain as she grasped what Tex was getting at. “You think the Meta has its own ship with slipspace capabilities?”
Tex nodded.
“Surely somepony would have noticed something like a large space vessel, yes?” Rarity asked.
“That’s what’s going to make finding it so tricky,” Tex said. “If a ship like that was able to land entirely unnoticed, we’ll be lucky if we even come close to finding it by the end of today…”
The tail end of Tex’s statement was drowned out by the high-pitched whine of engines that got louder by the second. Soon the deafening noise was all anyone could hear as any loose objects strewn about the empty early morning square were blown away. Applejack held her hat down with a hoof and the rest of the ponies turned away from the violent winds, yet they could not spot anything in the sky but a few clouds. At least, not at first.
Part of the sky above the group suddenly blurred and distorted as a massive object took shape. The ship that materialized above them was much more different looking than the dropships the others had seen before. Instead of resembling an olive green whale, this ship was a darker gray and much more sleek, looking more like some colossal bird of prey. Its metal was smooth and it was built with many sharp angles.
The entire gathering of ponies and blue soldiers were forced to scatter as the ship made an unexpected drop in altitude, landing forcefully in the middle of the square. Once the cacophony of the engines died down, the group all looked over at the now still vessel. A mechanical whirring prevailed as a large ramp began to lower to the ground from the ship’s belly, the ponies and Blues frozen in place as they watched.
The ramp touched the ground and for a while everything was still. Then everyone saw movement from within the ship. The human soldiers all raised their weapons and the ponies lowered their heads in readiness as a great four legged beast descended the ramp. It was an abnormally large tiger that had a second head: that of a goat. Riding on its back were three very familiar humans in red armor.
“‘Sup?” Grif greeted with a casual nod.
For a while, time froze. The ponies and Blues stared at the new arrivals in suspended animation (except for Caboose, who greeted the Reds with a wave). All around them, ponies were leaning out of the doors and windows of their homes, taking in the sight in the middle of the square with as much silence as the others.
“I… uh… wow…” Church finally said. “Are you… intentionally trying to make your entrances more and more ridiculous?”
“Well I gotta admit, we may have slightly overdone it this time,” Sarge said as the Reds dismounted the rather exasperated looking chimera. “Now, we’re going to have to find a way to outdo this!”
Sarge patted the chimera on the side. The tiger head looked over at him and sighed, “Are we done here?”
“Yeah sure, get outta here ya big critter!”
With one final tired look at everyone gathered, the chimera turned and headed in the direction of the Everfree Forest.
“Where did you guys find this?” Twilight asked incredulously.
“Bumped into it after we found that chimera on our way to deliver those pies,” Grif answered.
“And did you deliver those pies?” Applejack asked.
“Sure we did!” Sarge said confidently. “Hit ‘em with a classic ‘pie bombing run!’ Haven’t pulled a maneuver like that since my days in the Pastry Wars of 2530!”
“Does it have a working slipspace drive?” Tex asked.
“Yep! All of its systems seem to be in working order!” Simmons answered. “Well, except…”
“Good. Then we can get going immediately!” Tex turned to Twilight. “Can you teleport us all there using the ship’s slipspace device and the origin coordinates?”
It shouldn’t have been too hard. It was exactly how Twilight got back to Equestria. Still, it was significantly harder when she was using her magic on more than just herself.
“Not all at once,” Twilight answered. “I can teleport us all in groups of three, maybe four at a time.”
“Where are you guys going?” Simmons asked.
Twilight turned to meet the gaze of her one friend on the Red Team. They had helped her before back on the Mother of Invention. Perhaps they’d do it again.
“We’re going back to your world to stop the Meta and Project Freelancer. We could use your help.”
“Could we though? Could we really?” Church asked in a complete deadpan.
“Sure we’ll help you Flylight!” Sarge immediately proclaimed. Applejack smiled at Sarge and nodded her approval.
“Okay, what’s your crazy angle this time, Sarge?” Grif asked. Applejack’s smile immediately reversed as she looked at Grif.
Sarge leaned towards his red squadmates and spoke in a low voice, “The Blues are goin’ back to our world. That means that they could tip the balance of the war in their favor if we aren’t there to stop ‘em! I won’t stand fer that! If someone’s going to win this war with underhanded tactics, it’s going to be Red Team!”
As it happened, Sarge wasn’t quiet enough that Twilight and the others couldn’t hear him.
“Didn’t you hear Twilight? They’re going on a real mission!” Grif exclaimed quietly, but not inaudibly. “We’ll probably die!”
“All the more reason for you to come along at the very least!”
“Yeah? Well guess what? We’re not going!”
“Oh yeah? Says who?”
“Says the CO of this squad!” this time Grif’s voice was loud enough for everyone to hear clearly. “You say I’ve not been doing my job as leader? That I need to start making more decisive decisions? Well guess what? I’m making one! We’re staying here!”
Sarge sputtered for a moment, trying to make sense of Grif’s newfound action, “Buh-but… the Blues! We need to stop them…”
“You’re the one who’s always saying the only thing you need to do is stay Red and die! I’m just sticking to the fundamentals! Hell, I’m improving the fundamentals: I’m cutting out the ‘die’ part!”
Sarge turned away from Grif and adjusted the weight of his shotgun. “Fine. If ya wanna keep playing at commander, I guess I’ll just have to stop the Blues myself!”
Grif folded his arms as Sarge walked towards the others. “If you’re going, don’t even think about coming back! We don’t have room for deserters in my squad!”
Sarge looked over his shoulder. “Good. Any squad with you in command is not one I want to be a part of!”
As Sarge took up position beside Church and Caboose, Fluttershy took a step forward and looked up at Grif with big sad eyes. “Grif...? You really don’t want to help us?”
That Grif didn’t respond immediately like he had with Sarge was telling. The man in orange armor looked at Fluttershy for a long time, his expression unreadable beneath the helmet.
“Sorry, kid…”
“What about you, Simmons?” Sarge asked. “You coming?”
The man in maroon raised his hands and twiddled his fingers anxiously as he looked back and forth from Sarge to Grif. His gaze lingered on Twilight and for a moment, the little unicorn thought her friend from Red Team was going to join them.
“No sir,” Simmons monotonously reported.
Twilight felt her throat clench up and she suddenly found herself unable to look at him. Strangely enough, it was Rarity who spoke up.
“And here I thought you were one of the good ones…”
“Hmph. Should’ve expected you’d obey authority, as loose as it is,” Sarge grunted.
Twilight’s ears folded back as she took the first steps towards the ship, staring at the ground the whole time. “C’mon, everyone. Let’s get going.”
“TWILIGHT! WAIT!”
Twilight’s glum ears perked up at the sound of the prepubescent male voice, and she forgot all about her troubles with one of her friends as she recalled those of another. She looked over towards the voice and saw Spike running out from the front door to Golden Oaks Library, his serpentine eyes wide. He was carrying something shiny in one of his claws, Twilight noticed.
Spike reached her quickly, as if taking too long would cause Twilight to vanish forever. When he finally stopped in front of her, he hesitated. It seemed like now that he was here, he wasn’t sure what to do or say. Spike rubbed the back of his head and looked away.
“Look… I-I’m sorry about getting mad at you and stuff. It’s just… I…” after a moment of stumbling over words, Spike looked straight up at Twilight. His eyes glistened as his voice started breaking, “I-I just got you back!”
Twilight couldn’t have stayed mad at him even if she wanted to. She pulled her number one assistant into a hug and held him tightly. “And you’ll get me back again, okay Spike?”
Spike returned the hug and sniffed, “Promise?”
Twilight pulled out of the hug and looked at him. “Promise. This isn’t goodbye, so I’m not even going to say it!”
Seeming reassured, Spike finally smiled a bit. “Okay. I’ll hold you to that!”
“What’s that you’ve got there?” Twilight asked, pointing a hoof at the shiny red object in Spike’s claw.
Spike held up a familiar heart-shaped gem. “Something for Rarity, actually.” Spike went over to the fashionista and presented his gift. “I want you to take this with you.”
Rarity gasped as she took the shiny gem in her clutches. “The Fire Ruby?” Rarity exclaimed. It had been one of her most treasured belongings ever since Spike generously gave it to her a year ago, earning himself a peck on the cheek (that he later refused to wash for an entire week).
“I thought I lost it when my boutique burned down!” Rarity said breathlessly.
“I went back for it after the fire was put out!”
Rarity turned the sparkling red gem in her magic and studied it. “The anti-theft enchantments I placed on it are even still intact!”
The Fire Ruby disappeared in a flash of light as Rarity filed it away in her pocket dimension. “Thank you, Spike!” Rarity gave the kid dragon an affectionate embrace.
Twilight was thankful she didn’t go for a kiss instead. There would be no one around to force him to wash his cheek for a good long time. Of course, the embrace was all that was needed to turn Spike’s cheeks red as he tried to nonchalantly hide his face.
“Well… I just thought that if I can’t go with you guys, you can bring that,” he said. “That way, it’s like a part of me is with you!”
Even though they’d made their peace, Twilight still felt a little guilty about leaving Spike out of another adventure. An idea quickly reached her as she looked over at Grif and Simmons.
“If you two are going to stay here, you’re free to use Golden Oaks,” Twilight said before turning to whisper to Spike. “I’m sure I can count on my number one assistant to keep them in line.”
Spike’s answer was a nod and a salute. The loud, obnoxious sound of a throat clearing interrupted the sweet scene.
“Okay! Are we going to get this Goddamn show on the road, or should we stand here and talk about our feelings some more?” Church asked impatiently.
“I reluctantly concur with the Blue! This is vomit central here!” Sarge declared.
Celestia’s sun had finally risen over the horizon as Twilight led the group into the large dark ship the Reds had arrived in. It didn’t take her long to reach the cockpit. Once there, she felt out the controls with her magic, searching through the ship’s systems with the same spell she watched Arcane Star use all that time ago. She soon found the massive energy coming from the slipspace device and looked over at the large group crowding the ship behind her.
“Everyone ready?” she asked. A collective nod answered her.
Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated as she enveloped the closest three people in her magic; Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Caboose.
“See ya on the other side, Twilight!” Rainbow said as she and the others began to fade from reality until they were gone.
Next up was Church, Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
“Huh. I have the weirdest feeling of deja vu…” Church mused as Twilight sent him and the two earth ponies across the void.
All that was left were Fluttershy, Sarge, Sunny/Tex and Twilight herself. Fluttershy sighed as she looked forlornly out the cockpit’s window.
“You okay, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.
“Yes…” Fluttershy sighed, her eyes not leaving the window, “I just really thought he’d come with us…”
Twilight followed Fluttershy’s gaze and found herself looking out the window at the pair of orange and maroon human soldiers who had elected to stay. She found herself in particular looking at Simmons.
“Yeah… me too.”
Closing her eyes, Twilight enveloped her magic around herself and the other three. In a few short moments, Twilight felt the all too familiar dizziness set in and soon enough her senses were enveloped in blackness.
Simmons followed the little purple dragon who introduced himself as Spike around the ship toward the front of a large tree with a door and windows carved into it. Grif walked beside him, groaning as he stretched and let his joints crack. Spike was running off a list of rules they had to follow whilst living under his roof, but Simmons only half listened. He was starting to wonder if he’d made the right decision. Following orders was something he was used to doing because, well, it just felt right. But not this time.
Looking back at the ship, Simmons saw Twilight and one of her pony friends looking at him from the cockpit. They were there only for a few moments before disappearing from view. A thought occurred to Simmons at that moment and he turned to address Grif.
“Do you think we should have told them about the malfunction with the nav computer?”
Grif’s response was a non-committal wave of his hand, “Eh.”
“Eloquent as always…” Simmons took one last look at the ship, hoping that those aboard would arrive at their destination safely.
Sand. Every direction Rainbow Dash looked held nothing but an ocean of sand as far as she could see. It was what - or who - Rainbow Dash couldn’t see that made her panic.
“Hello??? Twilight?” Rainbow called out. “AJ? Pinkie? Fluttershy? Anypony?”
Beside her, Rarity gave a few dainty coughs as she opened her mouth and got some sand inside it
“This is going to be the best not-snow angel of all time!”
The pair of ponies looked over to the source of the goofy male voice. Caboose was lying on his back, arms and legs spread out as he waved them back and forth in the sand.
Rainbow Dash gave an exasperated sigh, “Well, this should be fun…”
Twilight pushed aside a lush green branch so she could see the rest of the jungle more clearly. Trees with tropical green leaves and vines hanging around them stood tall around her, sunlight poking holes through the canopy. Unfortunately, the trees were the only thing Twilight could see.
“Hello!?” she called out. “Girls? Church?”
The pony beside her gave a nervous squeak as she looked around the jungle with wide, fearful eyes.
“I-I don’t see them, Twilight!” Fluttershy said shakily.
A gruff voice grunted behind them, “Those dirty Blues gave us the slip!” Sarge exclaimed. “I thought they’d wait at least a little longer before betraying us!”
With a shiver, Applejack wished she’d brought warmer attire. Twilight didn’t mention just how cold the alien planet was! Applejack’s vision was filled entirely by white. She stood in the middle of a wide, expansive field of snow under a blue sky, but big gray clouds were rapidly gathering. Rocky, snow covered mountains rose up along the horizon and little flakes of the white stuff fluttered down all around her.
“I got one!” Pinkie’s high-pitched voice caused Applejack to glance in her direction. The pink party pony had her head tilted to the sky and her tongue extended as she tried to catch snowflakes on it.
Applejack took another anxious look around at her surroundings. “Pinkie? You ain’t seen Twi an’ the others around, have you?”
“Nope!” Pinkie cheerfully proclaimed as she returned to her snowflake hunt.
Beside Applejack, Church groaned, “Crap… not again…”
Dear Princess Celestia,
I know it’s been a while since I’ve written to you, but I regret to say I’m not writing to tell you what I’ve learned about friendship this time. By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the most recent incident outside of Dodge City. In short, my friends and I tried to stop the Meta and failed. However, in doing so we learned of a way to stop it as well as Project Freelancer: the organization that created it.
And before I go further, you should know that Project Freelancer may be a threat to Equestria; their flagship is sitting just outside our atmosphere, but planning what I don’t know. It is for that reason that my friends and I are going back to their world. There’s something there that can end all of this. I’ve placed the Elements of Harmony in my pocket dimension in case we need to use them on Repertum. Enclosed are instructions for how to access my pocket dimension should we be unable to return.
But I hope we can return. I’d like to have a talk with you once this is over. I have many questions I’d like to ask you.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Sighing, Princess Celestia folded the parchment in her magical aura and put it away in one of her own pocket dimensions. The scroll had been at the foot of her bed when she awoke to raise the sun that morning, but she didn’t look at it until her sun was secure in the morning sky. What a fool she’d been.
She’d immediately sent guards to Ponyville the instant she’d finished reading Twilight’s letter. Celestia would have even offered to answer some of Twilight’s questions right then and there if it meant keeping her from going back, but it was too late.
Celestia closed her eyes and attempted a calming breath, but it was unable to quell the fear of her student’s fate. “Twilight, you fool…”
Celestia thought things were finally turning around when Twilight returned to Equestria safely. Now with her student back in harm’s way and news of the Mother of Invention above her world like a predator lying in wait, the situation was worse than ever.
“Excuse me, your Highness?” Celestia opened her eyes and looked down at the yellow unicorn who addressed her.
“Yes, doctor?”
“The patient is fully set up and stable.”
Princess Celestia walked across the clean white room to where “the patient” lay on a large clean bed. The human in gray armor with yellow detail had arrived in Canterlot this morning. He was connected to tubes and wires in various places, and the steady beeping of a heart monitor indicated his good status. The bed was a good fit for him.
Of course, the Royal Infirmary was made for Celestia and her sister on the rare occasion either of them was sick or injured. It was the ideal place to keep a recovering alien, as Equestria’s best doctors were on call around the clock and the beds were large enough to accommodate an alicorn. An armored human was no problem.
Washington, if I recall. The man’s helmet was off and Celestia looked upon his face. He looked much older than he had twenty years ago. Celestia wasn’t sure if humans aged faster than ponies, or if the years were especially hard on the man. His blond hair was fading, gray in some places and hard lines had formed on his face. His eyes seemed dark and swollen; Celestia couldn’t help but wonder if this was the most sleep he’d gotten in a long time.
Celestia looked over at the doctor. “Notify me the instant he wakes up. There are things I’d like to discuss with him...”