Once Audrey had brought Jade back from where she'd been held - the other three Enforcers had possessed enough common sense to not tangle with an angry giant plant monster that isn't presently looking for a fight - Jackie, Jade, the fillies, and Audrey followed Captain Black to Section 13. With Jade being able to inform them that she'd managed to swallow the Talisman, she was taken to get her stomach pumped to get it back out, if only to prevent having to collect it from the other end. Of course, the fact that Jade and Audrey had floated back once Audrey shrank down enough was enough to convince Jackie of what he'd been told...but his attempts to convince Captain Black proved less than successful.
"I'm telling you, Uncle was right!" Jackie insisted. "The Talismans do possess magic powers."
"Sure they do, Jackie," Captain Black replied, plainly assuming Jackie was disoriented from sleep deprivation.
"Captain, how can you not accept the possibility?" Jackie demanded. "You saw what Audrey III can do!"
"And while Apple Bloom's ability to control such a plant is impressive, it's hardly proof of magic," Captain Black responded readily.
"Well, how else would you explain it?" Jackie demanded. "I mean, just look!" He gestured behind them to where Apple Bloom was walking beside Audrey, plants sprouting up in her wake through the cracks between floor panels. "What else but magic could make such a thing happen?"
"I'm afraid that information's classified," Captain Black responded curtly. "Why don't you get some rest, Jackie? You look tired." He pulled open the door he'd been leading the group to, revealing an exact duplicate of Jackie's apartment above the shop.
"All my stuff?" Jackie gasped out, stunned.
"Ours, too?" Scootaloo gasped out in surprise, pushing herself in on Cumulo, who'd made a full recovery.
"How'd it get here?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Until we can take down the Dark Hand, it's safer for you all here inside Section 13," Captain Black explained. "I hope it feels like home."
"Then how come Uncle ain't here?" Apple Bloom inquired.
"He...refused to move," Captain Black admitted. "Something about messing up his...Fung Shway?"
"Hey Sweetie, Bloom, help me out with this!" Scootaloo called out from a corner of the room where she'd gathered a small cyclone. The other fillies quickly rushed over, Apple Bloom drawing runes on the floor as Sweetie's horn glowed.
"What...are they doing?" Captain Black asked curiously.
"No idea," Jackie admitted.
In a flash of bright light, the cyclone turned green and stabilized, swirling in the spot. Through it, Uncle could be heard shouting, "Aiyah! Scootaloo, what have I said about weather magic in the shop! Keep it upstairs!"
"Sorry!" Scootaloo called out as she ran into the cyclone and vanished, the other two fillies following her. "It must have locked onto your protective charms."
Jackie turned to Captain Black and gestured at the obvious teleportation circle. "And how is that not magic?" he demanded irritably.
"Several possible ways," Captain Black responded. When Jackie looked to be getting even more irritated, he rested his hand on his shoulder. "Look Jackie, it doesn't matter if I believe what you're saying about the Talismans being magical. The Dark Hand wants them, which means I want to prevent them from falling into their hands. As long as we both have the same goal, does the Why really matter?"
Jackie sighed to himself as the fillies came back through the cyclone. "I suppose not," he admitted.
At that moment, two other agents brought Jade in, looking rather unwell. "Stomach successfully pumped," one of the agents explained as Jade groaned.
"What about her?" Jackie asked quietly.
Captain Black said nothing, merely pointing to where Jade's suitcases - still not yet unpacked - were sitting in a pile in one corner. Jade gasped happily at the sight. "I trust you'll keep your niece in check?" Captain Black asked teasingly. Jackie didn't answer, but the three fillies and Audrey III burst into laughter.
"Jackie!" Jade called out eagerly, her eyes alight. "Does this mean I'm a secret agent?"
"No!" all the adults present stated firmly simultaneously.
"Aww..." Jade pouted.
As everyone unpacked and got settled in, Jade decided to address a point that had caught her attention. "Say, Apple Bloom...Audrey's a carnivorous plant, right?"
"Eeyup," Apple Bloom confirmed as she carefully set up a bonsai apple tree she'd grown from a seed from the tree Santa had brought her, making sure it would continue to thrive in the new environment.
"And...he can grow to gigantic size, right?" Jade continued.
"You noticed?" Scootaloo teased, getting a blown raspberry for her trouble.
"So...at giant size, there's nothing stopping him from eating people, right?" Jade continued, trying to focus in on the point that had her concern.
"Other than mah disapproval, no," Apple Bloom admitted. "He knows ah wouldn't like it, though...unless they were people tryin' ta hurt me or those ah care about."
"Then that wouldn't hold him back from eating that giant guy when he found him about to cut me open with a cutlass?" Jade clarified.
"However oddly appropriate the name of the blade?" Sweetie joked, only to get several odd stares. She pouted. "Nobody gets my jokes..." she grumbled.
"Hmm...nah," Apple Bloom told Jade. "Ah wouldn't have objected then."
"So...why didn't he?" Jade asked. "He was ready to eat him...but instead took a sniff and tossed him away."
"Huh," Apple Bloom muttered. "No idea why he'd do that..."
"You could ask him," Scootaloo offered.
Turning, Jade faced Audrey III. "So why didn't you?"
"Cause it's so easy when you're evil!" Audrey sang out.
"I'm trying to sleep!" Jackie yelled back.
"Yeah, didn't think I'd get a straight answer there," Jade grumbled, returning to her unpacking.