I lapsed into sleep for the night, only to find we were pulled between worlds to Luna's garden. Cindy stood beside me, and Sandra was not far away, standing beside Karen. Karen frowned at Cindy before grabbing Sandra up in a hug possessively. She spoke softly, but not softly enough, "At least I'll never try to eat you."
Cindy scowled at the words. "I would never do that without her consent! Besides, it's not 'eating', it's merging. We'd both become someone new."
Luna emerged from around a corner and trotted lightly towards us. "What's this? Is everything well?"
Karen shrank a little at the sight of Luna, avoiding looking at her.
I gestured to Sandra and Karen. "These two are what remain of Neon, the once princess of South America. Sandra has been a friend of mine for a long time, and Karen is the power behind Neon, now bonded to Sandra."
Luna hiked a brow. "Truly? A power that rivals that of a princess? Fascinating, but something bothers me. I have received a report of somepony with your uncanny likeness appearing briefly in Canterlot, and it was no dream at all. Can you explain this?"
I blushed through my fur, even if I had no idea how that worked. "Oh, that was a while ago, when I was working on teleporting. We found out it pushes us through that void between worlds, so if you mess it up, or I guess maybe if I tried, you can skirt between worlds."
Luna tilted her head. "You must have wanted to visit, on some level, to draw you here as opposed to so many other possible places." She gave a gentle smile. "Strange as you are, you would be welcome. On this I swear by my crown, provided you continue to be a good-natured soul. But before we entertain that, please, regale me with tales of your world. Then I will share most important news."
Karen whispered to Sandra, "That one's in charge of this place, don't make her angry. I don't think she likes me much. Neon didn't like her at all."
Sandra nuzzled Karen gently. "But you're not with Neon anymore, just relax. We are both here to be good people."
Luna smiled at Sandra and Karen. "Your friend is correct. If you come with good intention, then I can forgive much." Her gaze returned to me. "Speak, friend William.
I wobbled a furry hand. "I'm glad to, but you've talked a lot about help, and we haven't actually gotten any yet. Did your friend figure anything out?"
Luna nodded. "Actually, yes, but I'm concerned about it. She has determined a spell that will liberate the energy of Equestria and send it to us, but it's been so long, we cannot imagine it would not be an equal shock at this point. To unleash it on all your people would be just as casually immoral as it was to unleash the energy on them in the first place." Her ears sagged. "I don't wish to violate them twice."
I nodded quickly as I thought about that. "Still! That's actually great news. If you can share it with me? I'm assuming it's something you cast on a single person?"
Luna nodded more slowly. "Aye, though with great effort you could blanket an area. It should return a converted pony to that of their birth form."
Sandra stepped forward and raised a hoof. "Wait wait wait, what if they're pregnant? Will the baby become human? Will they be a human with a pony? That's not something you can ignore!"
Luna flinched back at the thought. "I... I confess that I do not know. A child's 'birth' form would be that of a pony. There would be no other pattern to return to, and the energy would not leave them, so, logically..." She tapped her chin. "You would have a human mare with a pony foal within her. It is fortunate our overall mass is not too disparate, and birth should be possible, with care."
We spent some time sharing the spell. She played the magical song over her horn in a wonderful pattern as Cindy and I struggled to remember it. I dearly wished Dusk Hope were there. He'd have that memorized in half the time.
Sandra sighed softly when we stopped looking distracted. "I wish I had magic too."
Karen nudged against her. "I told you, you do. Our magic is just different. Their magic can't heal people, for instance, and that's huge."
Sandra crossed her forehooves. "That's good, sure, but it's so subtle in comparison."
Karen smiled at Luna suddenly. "Permission to violate you, your majesty?"
Luna's quirked a brow. "Denied."
Karen snorted softly. "You would have liked it, a lot."
I waved a hand at both of them. "That's quite enough of that. Luna, America, my nation, is healing. We're handling a troubled part. In a lot of ways, the world is stabilizing in major ways. I'm feeling increasingly confident. The other princesses, how are they doing? Is the rest of the world recovering?"
Luna nodded. "Your 'Africa' and 'Europe' nations are both reporting positively, though their change is not instant, it is in the right direction, and they too are confident, and my heart swells with gratitude to hear it. It is another reason I fear unleashing this power. To forcefully change so many again would be an equal crime. Please, use it responsibly."
I frowned a little with a new thought. "You never ran into anyone from China or elsewhere in Asia? There are a lot of people on that continent, more than any other. If they aren't stabalizing, they could throw the rest of us right off track, especially if they're as bad as they could be."
Luna shook her head slowly. "I am afraid I have not, only once. I know they have a princess, but she never returned after the first visit, so I know precious little of them. From what I am told, they are some distance from you, so I would concentrate on your kingdom first, as the others have, then combine your skill and wit to confront this 'Asia'. Hopefully you can do so peacefully."
I snapped my fingers suddenly. "Question! Would this new spell cure a 'feral'? Would they get their intelligence back?"
Luna lifted her shoulders. "This has not happened before. I could not say."
Cindy frowned sharply. "That's a hell of a thing to find out. At least as ponies they have a simple purpose. As a mentally retarded human, they would have even less options to be a positive part of things. Still, it would mean we could perhaps spare someone stuck in transition or recently infected, or give people who made a smooth transition a way back, if they want it. I'm afraid to try it on a true feral."
Karen smirked. "We could always zap Hope with it."
"No," I flatly denied. "Hope likes being part of the herd, and has grown comfortable being a pony."
Karen shrugged. "But if it might restore his intelligence..."
I felt my anger rising. "He's not stupid in the first place, and he's the best damn magic user around. He's not the best at expressing himself, but he's clever, honest, and loyal, on top of being talented. Even offering this to him would hurt him, a lot. If he became human, he wouldn't be one of us, we would be offering him, what, consensual exile from the herd? I won't do that."
Cindy nodded in agreement. "He deserves better than that, even if he probably would do it, just to prove it was safe."
Sandra joined the wave of head bobbing. "He's a part of us, and likes it that way. We should offer it to Even Faith though? She may take it, or not. She seemed comfortable in her hooves, but offering it shouldn't hurt her like it would Dusk Hope. She could become a he again, and be a father to her daughter like she's supposed to be."
Luna seemed relaxed. "It pleases me to hear you taking this so seriously and with due consideration. I trust you will use it only when ethical to do so. Please, we all apologize for this calamity that we've unleashed on your people. We will speak again. Good luck."
The world faded, and we awoke, filled with new information. Hope was curled up with Dust Kicker. The two were adorable, in my opinion. They were clinging to one another in a circle of content unicorn flesh. It seemed his brave actions the day before had earned him a few points with her.
Reggie, Lizzie, and Even Faith were gathered together in their own pile against the cold, though Reggie was already awake and sitting up, patiently waiting for others to stir.
Neon was beside Sandra. The moment Sandra showed signs of life, Neon began snuggling with her. "Good morning. Sleep well?" Her voice got the others to start waking up, and a chorus of morning greetings and stretching rippled across the camp.
Hope suddenly scrambled back, blushing. Looking at him, it seemed he suffered what most men do at times. Dust Kicker snorted softly at his reaction. "If you want me to respect you as a stallion of action, you can't go hiding the moment you're embarrassed."
Hope quirked a smile. "Of course." He approached her and gave her a little nuzzle. "Good morning." The tension between them melted away at the admission that Dust Kicker wasn't disgusted by his morning condition. He looked deeply pleased by her acceptance.
I considered bringing it up to Even Faith, but Cindy's voice echoed softly in my mind, ~Not yet. She's still getting used to the idea of even having a daughter again.~
"I don't agree." My words made a few of them look towards me. "Oh, Even Faith? We found out something."
Even rolled onto her belly and stood up. "What? Did you sneak off in the night?"
I smiled at her. "Actually, yes, that explains it well enough. We've learned a spell that can return a pony to a human, to their natural form. Is that something you want?"
Even went frigid, then backed away slowly. "This is what it felt like... I feel like such a monster..."
Cindy took control of my hands to wave in the negative. "Noone is forcing you, pro--"
"It's not that!" Even stamped a hoof. "The idea of someone casually offering to let you throw away your identity. I am... me now. I am Even Faith. Lizzie is still my daughter, and Reggie, my brother, but I am Even Faith, a pony, and I've grown into that. Going backwards... It feels terrifying, like dying, again."
Lizzie hugged Even tightly around the neck. "You're my mom as a pony, and I love you." Even smiled radiantly and soon had a leg around Lizzie, hugging her tightly in return.
Reggie chuckled softly. "My brother may be a horse woman, but if he or she's happy like that, fine. They're still my damn brother."