**Applejack**
A hectic few minutes later, Applejack finally allowed herself to relax. As it turned out, all three of the missing Night Guards had survived - even if the one they had found was quite badly hurt. The Solar Guard medics had set up a small aid station for the trio, and it hadn't taken much persuading for them to get Nightshade to surrender to an examination either - she hadn't moved out of reach of Echo since he'd been carried inside in any case. They simply checked her over as best they could while she sat next to her squadmate, alternating between fussing over his injuries and berating him for having them.
The quick application of some strong healing magic would likely ensure the guard would keep his wing, although it would take quite some time to heal up. Applejack hoped he wasn't as attached to flight as Rainbow Dash was - her friend had gone stir-crazy in a matter of hours the last time she'd had a wing in a cast. Echo was likely to be grounded for a lot longer than that, even with a pair of princesses pitching in on the initial burst of magic.
Though I guess if it takes a pair of alicorns just to keep one of yer bits attached ya shouldn't exactly complain about how long it takes to finish fixin'. Tipping the brim of her hat up a little, Applejack glanced towards the slowly clearing sky. Well, at least it ain't rainin' no more.
Fortunately an Extreme Meteorology team had been attached to the Solar Guard unit the Princesses had brought with them. Although they were technically part of the weather service, the ponies of the Emergency Meteorology Service - or "Meteors" as they were generally known - spent a lot of their time training on attachment to guard units due to the similar fitness demands of their respective positions. As a result, alongside their intended role in emergency response, EMS squads were also the force that dealt with meteorological warfare - despite operating outside of the guard command chain. The expert weather ponies were busily demolishing the storm above, gradually exposing the moon and stars of the night sky once more.
Applejack spared a brief thought for Rainbow Dash as she looked up. Hopefully she'd come back to ground level about the same time Rarity had talked some sense into Twilight. The way she saw it, the threat-to-Equestria stuff was over, so it would be nice if the more mundane friendship troubles could be wrapped up too.
Applejack could only afford a brief distraction, however - she was currently stood outside the aid station, trying to explain to both Princesses exactly what was going on as they prepared to head on to the camp site. She'd had to reassure them that the whole thing was basically over a few times before it really sank in, and they slowed their pace a little instead of dashing off after the others immediately. Fluttershy wasn't really in any condition to help with the explanations after the evening she'd had either, and had elected to remain in the aid station while Applejack and the Princesses went on to the Elements' camp.
Poor gal's jumpier'n a frog on a hotplate after tonight, and she weren't exactly comfortable around Princess Luna at the best o'times. Hay, I'm not sure I am. She might not have that whole Nightmare thing goin' on any more, and I oughta be givin' her a chance an' all, but she's still pretty darn creepy.
Applejack wasn't even sure her unease was entirely rational - after all, Princess Celestia was just as intimidating in both stature and power. The thought that her instinctive dislike for the younger Princess was born only of prejudice was discomfiting. That wasn't the sort of pony Applejack wanted to be, and it definitely wasn't the sort of pony she'd been brought up to be.
Maybe it's the other way around, she thought, an' the only reason I ain't as nervous about Princess Celestia is a whole lifetime of bein' told how nice she is...
Princess Celestia spoke up as guards formed up around herself, Luna and Applejack. "So our mysterious visitor is not only armed, but has used this weapon on our little ponies?"
"Well, yeah, but it ain't exactly as bad as it sounds," Applejack replied a little reluctantly as the group began to move out. "That pegasus was lookin' to start a fight, and whatever the beam thing he used was, it just sorta... knocked the colt out. Even seemed to do somethin' to protect him from the fall. And I ain't never seen pegasi build a storm like this, 'specially not one all by hisself. I'm pretty sure RD said it was impossible, an' that word's not normally in her vocabulary. With the freaky powers he was packin', he was dangerous."
Applejack hesitated as something occurred to her, then continued. "Actually, the bit I'm most surprised by is how the big feller knew what was goin' on."
"How do you mean?" Princess Celestia asked.
Princess Luna's expression shifted subtly as Applejack replied, "Well, we had to rely on Fluttershy's special talent to talk to 'im, seein' as we can't understand each other, so-"
Princess Celestia began a confused interruption, but her sibling spoke over her in turn. "This is one part I should probably explain, sister. I was going to leave this as a little puzzle for you, but as I was attempting to explain before you ran out on me a few minutes past I..." Princess Luna hesitated for a moment, controlling her apparent frustration - and rising volume. "Our visitor and myself slept properly, and simultaneously, for the first time since his arrival this evening. There is more at work here than we first believed, and my foalish attempts at levity no longer merely protect mine own pride. Continuing to withhold information now would at best place Equestria itself in peril, but there are... complications."
Before Princess Celestia could ask what those complications might be, Luna continued "First, something I can share. It appears that the veil between our world and his is more than a simple barrier. Not only has it been translating messages we have passed across it, but it has also been altering their content and obscuring information - from both sides."
"What do you mean, altering our messages?" Princess Celestia said, a little concern creeping into her voice. "We've been communicating across that barrier for centuries, how could we not have noticed something like that?"
Luna settled into a pensive silence for a moment, deep in thought as the group continued walking. "I... am not certain," she said at length. "Although it is troubling that such a thing has been taking place, I can think of no real reason for it to be so." She let out a short sigh. "I do not really have any more insight into what might be behind this particular frustration than you, sister. I only have my observations of our visitor's dreams to go on," she said, placing an odd emphasis on 'observations' that Applejack found a little unsettling, "but I can say with confidence that there is some form of deception occurring. Both our knowledge of his world, and what little he has of ours, is quite far removed from reality."
"And this calls into question our communication with every other world we have reached," Celestia commented. "We have to assume the same thing could be occurring there as well."
"Indeed."
"So is there any of this obscured information about his world that might be important? Or, I suppose, anything he might need to know about ours?"
"I... I cannot say," Princess Luna replied. "Please, do not ask anything else of me on this. I..." Applejack was disturbed to see the alicorn become visibly upset as she attempted to explain. "A line was crossed. Unintentionally, but... there are things that you and he need to know, but I cannot be the one to tell you. The means by which the information was obtained already places me too far in his debt to breach his trust further. I have to speak with him first. And yes, I can," she added in response to the unspoken question, "but I doubt he will wish to speak to me."
Applejack wasn't sure whether or not she should speak up - it seemed the Princesses had forgotten she was even there, and she felt like she was possibly hearing things that she wasn't supposed to. But if Princess Luna was uncomfortable saying things about their visitor herself, then Applejack could at least help by telling Princess Celestia what she knew. Her desire to offer what information she could quickly overcame her doubts about her place in the conversation, and she found her voice.
"He, uh, seemed pretty surprised about most stuff t'be honest, Princess. He kinda passed out when he saw us for the first time, like he hadn't even seen a pony before."
If the Princesses objected to her presence, they hid their reaction well. It seemed they didn't mind talking about these things in front of her, at least.
Or maybe I'm here 'cos I ain't bound by whatever's weighin' Princess Luna down.
"Thy presumption is correct, Applejack," Luna said, "he hadn't." Her expression became troubled. "There is much We would tell thee and Our sister both about wha-" Luna cut herself off with an annoyed snort and began again. "I would like to share much of what I have seen with you, but... the things I see in the minds of others are the very essence of who they are, their unguarded self. I have no right to expose that information, and as much as I might wish to, might think it justified in this particular case, I will not begin my descent down that slippery slope. There were-" Worry flickered across Luna's face as she hesitated. "We saw things that he dearly wishes nopony else to know. We already have much to apologise for, even if Our intrusion was unintentional. The best We can do is to keep Our silence, and hope that might allow for forgiveness in time. Even if he holds a grudge against me, you will need his aid - and through him, that of his friends. Just as he will need yours.
"You can figure out some means of communication and all get the information you need from each other, as long as I can preserve some semblance of a trusting relationship by admitting my guilt. Hopefully that will confine his ire to myself, and you can treat with him on friendly terms. Then I can hold my tongue without withholding information that would doom two worlds. If I cannot do that, then I... I shall have to make a choice I do not even wish to contemplate."
Princess Celestia touched a wing to her sister's back, and Applejack smiled inwardly, thinking of her own siblings. "I won't repeat past errors, and pretend I understand," the older alicorn said quietly, "but I trust you to do the right thing, Luna. We'll find our own way around the problem somehow."
Luna's head and ears perked up as her mood brightened. "Actually, there is something... I think I might be able to do." Her smile became mischievous at the questioning glances of the other two ponies. "Wait until we get there, it'll be a surprise. Applejack, I believe there is one rather important piece of information about our visitor you know'st, and could relate to my sister without need for me to speak of it."
So one minute it's no time fer games an' she looks like she's gotta confess to killin' somepony, an' now she's grinnin' like RD just before she pulls a prank. I may not be a psychologist, but I think somepony's deflectin' something fierce.
"Ya mean the, uh..." Applejack said, rearing up to her hind legs briefly, before cantering to catch up with the Princesses.
"Yes."
Celestia looked from Applejack to her sister curiously. "What?"
"Well Princess, he mighta arrived on four hooves like that rest of us, but, well... he's kinda walkin' around on two now. He can do some sorta shape-shiftin' transformin' type thing with them metal legs a'his, and he ends up kinda like a pony version of a minotaur. Makes 'im even taller than he was t'start with, and his front hooves turned into... uh, paws? Claws?"
"Hands," Luna supplied.
"That is... well, it's certainly unusual. I don't believe I've come across magic quite like that before," Celestia said, as Luna smirked beside her. "Even if his limbs are artificial, he must be quite talented to be able to use a transmutation spell like that. Non-living limbs would certainly make that easier, but it is still no mean feat."
"That's kinda the kicker, Princess," Applejack went on, "far as Twi could figure it, his legs are as alive as any of us and it weren't magic. He got Fluttershy to warn us before he did it, but she still kinda freaked out when it happened and she realised it wasn't a spell."
Celestia stopped walking, the perimeter of guards coming to a halt as Luna and Applejack turned to look back at her. Judging by Luna's reaction, Applejack guessed that the expression of slack-jawed shock currently plastered across Celestia's face was the object of this whole line of conversation. The elder alicorn could only stammer half-formed sentences in disbelief as her sister struggled to rein in her amusement. Applejack looked from one alicorn to the other, trying to figure out if she should be laughing or not.
Yeah, she's definitely tryin' to get her mind off things. I gotta say though, Princess Celestia looks mighty funny when she's surprised.
"Yeah," Applejack said slowly, fighting to keep her face straight, "it was kinda like that actually."
At that, Luna lost her composure entirely.
**Thirty-Thirty**
Thirty-Thirty's night didn't seem to be getting any less interesting. The angry little guard had stomped off with Apple and ~Fluttershy~, but they'd only been absent a little under half an hour when a burst of bright light flashed across the desert from the direction in which they had gone. Star had immediately broken off the conversation she was having with Diamond and Pinky, visibly excited about something, although his chances of figuring out what were vanishingly small with ~Fluttershy~ gone.
Speaking of gone, Bolt seemed to have disappeared somewhere after the little shouting match she'd had with the guard. He hoped she wasn't off sulking or anything. The others didn't seem worried about her absence, or even to have noticed it, but it was difficult to be sure of that when he couldn't understand their conversation. For all he knew that was what they were talking about. Thirty shifted his weight slightly as he sat, gun resting across his lap, and looked down to check on his prisoner again.
Still out. Good. Maybe once we get to some kinda civilisation I can hand him over to someplace official.
He'd been a little surprised at the rather direct parallel initially, but once he'd recognised the pony was delivering a grandstanding monologue worthy of Tex Hex or one of his goons it had been pretty obvious he was a bad guy. The group of ponies that had rescued him had been visibly frightened, only one battered guard had turned up at their camp minus a promised carriage, and the airborne pony had been yelling stuff while posing in front of a thunderstorm.
Heck, it was practic'ly a mercy shot. Even Tex ain't that melodramatic most o'the time.
Thirty-Thirty paused a moment to reflect on his choice to shoot first, arrest second and maybe think about asking some questions once the language problem got fixed.
BraveStarr would prob'ly have some complaint or other about startin' the whole thing off with a shot from Sara-Jane, but then again the Marshal ain't here.
Before that thought could drag him into more melancholic reflection on his situation, Thirty's ears twitched as the remaining ponies in the camp became more agitated. Excited rather than worried this time, if he was reading them right - and a moment later he picked up the rhythmic sound of approaching hooves.
It took a second before he recognised the marching cadence for what it was. Even having four hooves himself at least some of the time, the rest of the galaxy was largely bipedal; the cultural predisposition to expect a regular two-step march was still at the front of his mind. Ponies, of course, produced a pair of steps for every one a biped would, resulting in the double-paired *thump-thump, thump-thump* sound of dozens of synchronised hooves now approaching the camp.
Then, suddenly, the rain stopped. It didn't peter out gradually, like a conventional shower - it just cut off as if someone had flipped a switch. He would be first to admit he had limited experience with rainfall living beneath the trinary suns of New Texas, but Thirty-Thirty was pretty sure it wasn't meant to do that. He looked skyward, but couldn't make out much of anything now his vision had adapted to the firelight.
Star cantered over to the small fire and touched her horn to it, causing the flickering purple flames to grow in intensity, before calling out into the darkness in obvious relief. A friendly reply preceded Apple as she trotted into the circle of firelight, having apparently run on ahead of whatever group she was leading to their encampment. Thirty watched as the colourful ponies greeted each other, their animated back-and-forth interspersed with brief hugs and smiles. He felt a brief, painful burst of nostalgic longing at the sight of the smaller equines nuzzling and embracing each other, before crushing the feeling down and trying to ignore it.
Not the time or the place fer that now. I ain't any more at home here than anywhere else.
Then the source of the marching sounds revealed itself as over a dozen ponies moved into the expanded firelight. Thirty-Thirty felt his body tense up as a significant number of the gold-armoured guards focused their attention on him. Star seemed completely unfazed by the display of military might, and ran straight through the ring of steel unimpeded - to greet the individuals the guards were there to protect.
Okay, I'm just gonna give up on classifyin' these darn ponies into groups. Every time I think I've got 'em all, something new shows up.
The newcomers stood head and shoulders above the ponies around them - still leaving them a good deal smaller than he was, but they were noticeably bigger than the rest - and like Star possessed both wings and a horn. He briefly wondered if they might be Star's parents; her lighter purplish colouration was almost a compromise between the midnight blue and white of the coats of the two larger ponies. The fact that both seemed to be mares was something of a wrench in that plan, however.
If most'a these guards weren't stallions I'd almost start to think they didn't have any. And not a single piece'a metal in any of 'em, just the armour on the outside. Two different kinds of winged ponies, regular ones, unicorns, and these winged unicorn ones too... Pegasus unicorns? Pegacorns?
The three were certainly acting as if they knew each other well, nuzzling each other in greeting and talking in animated tones. The most notable thing about the two oversized new arrivals, however, were their manes and tails - or rather, what they had instead.
Both had some kind of undulating cloud in place of both mane and tail. The dark blue pony's could barely be seen against the darkness beyond the firelight, the purple-edged black masses only visible thanks the the sparkling star-like highlights within. The white mare's, on the other hand, were much more distinctive in the night - the gently flowing clouds attached to her neck and hindquarters were shot through with bands of colour, mostly light pastel shades of green, pink and blue.
They also had identifying marks similar to the ponies he'd seen thus far, a stylised representation of the sun and moon on the light- and dark-coloured pegacorn respectively. The moon-marked one also had a darker piece of coat beneath hers, stretching across her hindquarters and providing extra contrast - presumably representing a night sky as well as the moon itself. A search for marks around the ring of guards was less productive, as their armour covered most of their bodies. Their marks - if indeed they possessed any - remained concealed.
So are these two adults? Surely all of these ponies can't be children, they're armed and armoured guards! Maybe they're separate species like all the aliens back home, and I'm just readin' too much into them having the same basic body shape...
Then the topic of conversation apparently shifted to Thirty himself, if the way the ponies were all looking at him was any indication. Several of the golden-armoured guards - one unicorn, one normal pony, and a pair of winged ones covering them from above - made to approach, weapons drawn but not quite pointed at him. Several loud demands were made, concerning his little prisoner if the accompanying body language was any indicator, and Thirty grew more uncomfortable. Then he focused on the weapons they weren't quite threatening him with. To his surprise the guards weren't armed with anything Thirty-Thirty expected of a police or military force - at least not one from the current millennium, at any rate. They each held a large polearm of some kind, which looked far too well-used to be ornamental and lacked any obvious technological additions. It seemed like there were even more differences between this world and his own, if this was what they considered proper arms and armour for what were - judging by the crowns he had noticed the two larger pegacorns were wearing - royal guards.
The approaching guards faltered after a moment as a few comments from Star, Apple and friends apparently confused their orders. Thirty gave a questioning look to Star as the horned guard turned back to the two large crowned ponies for guidance, the remaining three keeping their eyes on him. Star asked something of the bigger pegacorns, and on following her gaze to them Thirty-Thirty saw the dark blue one roll her eyes as her horn flashed briefly.
Then, in perfectly intelligible English, she said "There, that should do it."
Her white companion turned to her, expression puzzled. "Do what, Luna?"
"You'll see," the first pegacorn replied, grinning, "or hear, I suppose."
What the-
Thirty-Thirty froze in shock. Suddenly, somehow, he could understand what the little ponies were saying. He only half-perceived the strangled sound of surprise he made, but all save one of the equines turned to look at him. The blue pegacorn seemed to be quite deliberately avoiding meeting his eyes, in a manner strongly suggestive of a guilty conscience, even as she simultaneously found something about the current situation amusing.
"Is... something wrong with the horse?" the white pegacorn said, concern evident on her face. Her darker companion covered her mouth with a hoof, trying to stifle giggles, while the others looked on confused and concerned.
Thirty-Thirty might have been tongue-tied by surprise, but that comment got through to him.
"Hey!" he said hotly, "Watch who yer callin' 'horse', shorty."