Jacob felt very tired when he was done, his extremities cold and his skin pale. Even so, he felt good. Lives would continue because of what he had done, even if they might be… ponies. He still didn’t understand that, and just now he was too tired to care. He slumped into one of the window-seats and barely thought about anything. Clouds and blue sky gradually darkened as they flew, but he didn’t mind. His whole life had been uprooted, possibly with dire consequences, and he couldn’t feel anything but quiet satisfaction with his work.
“Twenty bits say these ponies are back in Equestria a week from now.”
“Huh?” He blinked, and found Harley in the chair beside him. She too was looking out at the clouds, still looking a little bitter.
She lowered her voice, whispering into his ear. Not that it mattered: the only people in the main cabin with them were resting hurt ponies and his own friends. Twilight, somehow not as drained as he was despite healing just as much, was now up in the cockpit with Rainbow Dash. “There wasn’t a single refugee in your regular meeting spot or the park. Nopony came back from the classroom, so we can’t know what happened there. But the park was an ambush. Ponies died…”
“These will be better soon,” he answered, a little defensively. If he didn’t talk about his missing friends, maybe he wouldn’t have to cry. “They shouldn’t even need a hospital. I felt it…”
“Not that easy, kid.” Harley gently turned his head back at the resting people. No more had changed (back) into ponies, yet even so all looked shocked. Those who were still awake stared blankly, seeing nothing. Just as he had seen their physical injuries, now he saw a pain that went deeper. Deeper than any spell Twilight had shown him, anyway. “Don’t be fooled by appearances. Just because these ponies look like humans don’t mean they’re as tough as you. Equestria has care centers for ponies coming back from Earth. Only two of the damn Elements are still going out, and one of those is a princess. What does that say?”
“Oh.” He sighed, slumping back into his seat. “All that pain for nothing. I can’t…” He sniffed. “Is it really just the three of us?” He glanced back at Eric and Danielle—both sleeping now on the other side of the cabin. “You think I lost my friends too?”
“Not forever.” She kept her voice low, though by then it was quite clear nobody was listening. “One day we’ll track down where they take all the ponies we don’t find in time, and we’ll get them out. Maybe after today you’ll want to help.”
“That… That’s possible?” He twirled the wand around in his hand again. “I’m pretty useless. Never contributed anything worthwhile, not even to the damn fandom.”
Harley smacked him. Not very hard, but enough that his face stung. “No self pity on the aircraft. Your life is hard enough without lying to make it worse.” She leered at him, and Jacob realized for the first time she had unusually sharp canines. Almost like they had been filed, though there was no sign of physical damage. How could that be natural? “Lots of the ones going out on rescue missions were rescued themselves, once. This boat has an Equestrian crew, but there are three human crews for every one of ours. We just go in where it’s the worst. As you had to see.”
There was silence between them for some minutes. The helicopter seemed to be slowing down, though he couldn’t see anything but clouds on his side. “Thanks.” He eventually met her eyes again. “For saving the three of us. After seeing this—” He gestured back at the injured where they rested. “If the ones you’re fighting are willing to do that, then I picked the right side.”
“Don’t mention it.” Harley perked up a little even so, some of her weariness gone. “You’ve already paid your keep, Jacob. If you want to run away to green fields with the rest, I say you’ve earned it.”
He wanted to ask what she meant, but didn’t get the chance. At that moment they twisted violently to the side, and the castle came into view for the first time.
Well, castle was his first impression. It was more like a military fort really, something that could’ve been built in the eighteen hundreds. Except that the stones and mortar were fresh, and there were modern-looking artillery embankments set into the higher levels instead of old-fashioned canons. The grounds looked to be about a square mile, a mile of huge trees and flowing grass and what could very well have been a fancy private school. The fortification itself was several stories tall, complete with battlements and a banner flying high over a tall center tower. A flag he had seen over and over on the show, clear to him even at this distance.
There was also a runway, which was where they were going. Just past the furthest edges on all sides ended in sheer cliffs, and past that only an ocean of clouds. Somehow, the “ponies” had built their fortress at the top of an enormously tall mountain. Where were they, anyway? Were they even still in the United States? How long had they been flying? He couldn’t answer any of these questions, except to know that there was still a little light so it couldn’t have been more than a day.
“Ponies, this is your captain speaking.” Rainbow’s voice sounded a little wary over the intercom. “Brace for landing. Do not disembark, a medical crew is already waiting on the runway. Thank you for flying with us.”
“Rainbow, I don’t think n—” Twilight’s voice cut briefly over the intercom, then faded again.
Time blurred a little after that. They landed on solid ground, people in white rushed to the side of the aircraft and unloaded the wounded. They came for him too, though he insisted on walking using his own legs. He was dimly conscious of his fellow not-victims following behind, in shock almost as much as he was. He perceived little of what the grounds might be like other than that there were lots of people. Someone led him down several hallways and flights of stairs, to a small bedroom joining onto a central hallway. Someone gave him fresh clothes and told him where to find the showers, but he ignored both and slept instead. This time, he was too tired to dream.
Eventually he woke, smelling perhaps a little of blood and a great deal of sweat. He found the showers and used them, scrubbing until it hurt. The new clothes he had been given fit well enough, though it was really just a gray jumpsuit similar in cut to the flight suits the people with wings had worn. Similar, but not identical. He wasn’t even all that surprised to notice something strange as he changed, but his curiosity made other things more important and he didn’t dwell long.
There were no windows, only flat white LED bulbs in the halls to light his way. Even so it didn’t feel confined or uncomfortable, for there was plenty of art and potted plants and both were unnaturally cheerful.
He found the only two familiar faces waiting by a little fireplace and eating plates of breakfast. Like him, they had changed from dirty clothes to plain jumpsuits, though they weren’t the same colors. Danielle’s was green, and Eric’s white. By the look of things, there were twenty private bedrooms attached to a common room of sorts, complete with kitchen and enough space for everyone. Some of the tables were freakishly short, and had only cushions. He didn’t wonder why.
“You woke up after all,” Danielle called as he sat down, saluting him with a fork weighed down with omelet. “We weren’t sure if you would.”
“Yeah.” Jacob would’ve said more, but it was at that moment he realized just how famished he was. He pulled his plate into his lap and didn’t even bother with the utensils, scooping everything into his mouth with one hand.
“Told you he would be hungry.” Eric had barely picked off his own plate, and he scooted a little bit away from Jacob with disgust once he started eating. “Guess… all that magic wore you out?”
“How do… you know about that?” he asked, not bothering to slow down. “Did someone come and finally explain what the hell is going on?”
“No.” Danielle glanced once at the door to the common room, which Jacob hadn’t bothered to open. “And they wouldn’t let us leave to find out, either.”
“Then how…”
“We were ten feet away when you two were doing the daughter of Jairus thing.” Danielle rolled her eyes. “If it wasn’t magic, then neither was Harley teleporting me around. Or when they flew us into the sky to a helicopter sitting on a cloud.”
“They didn’t actually do a Jairus thing, Danni. It didn’t look like they brought back anyone from the dead.”
She shrugged. “Whatever. He got the idea. We were still hoping you might know more than we did. Eric says she got you first, so maybe you’ve put together more than we have.”
“A little.” He sighed down at his empty plate. “If someone wants to cook me another one of these, I could explain while they work.”
“Sure.” Eric rose, heading towards the kitchen. “I’m glad you liked it.”
They all followed him, pulling up chairs at the bar-style table overlooking a kitchen big enough to cook for fifty. The fridge was stocked and the modern-looking appliances all worked—evidently they had expected this place to be lived in. Not a surprise. I bet they planned on putting the whole club here.
Jacob recounted everything he knew, starting from the moment he had met Twilight and they fought the Timberwolves. His audience listened attentively, interjecting at all the right places. By the time he had finished the story, he finally felt full.
“So that settles it,” Danielle announced, when he was done. “We actually know quite a bit.”
“Really?” Jacob raised an eyebrow, pushing the empty plate back towards Eric. Without a word, he started on the dishes.
“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “Equestria is a real place, though we don’t know whether it’s another universe or another planet or maybe even another time. It really has ponies on it, that at least resemble the ones from the show. Despite evidence to the contrary, the show itself has to be treated as some form of communication. You said Harley said the ponies were guilty about how we were being treated?” She didn’t actually wait for his response. “So maybe the show itself is connected to what causes powers to manifest. I know I wasn’t Superwoman before I started watching…”
“But I didn’t have any powers just from watching,” Jacob argued. “So far I haven’t had any powers at all except when Twilight’s around.” He slipped the wand out of his back-pocket, twisting it around through his fingers. He had done the same thing with many a pencil in grade school, the wand wasn’t really that different.
“Well, you didn’t have that.” She snatched it out of his hand, and immediately the little glow at the tip went out. Not changing color, as had happened when Twilight put it in his hand. It just went out. “Wingardium Leviosa.” She flicked it at him, in a fairly good imitation of the gesture used in the Harry Potter movies. There was no effect.
She sighed, then tossed it back. “A little disappointing, but I expected that. You should come over and try when you’re done with the dishes, Eric. Maybe you’ll have more luck.”
Jacob didn’t say anything, but he did pull the wand protectively into his lap. Before their flight, he would’ve gotten rid of it without a second thought. Now, though… it felt special somehow. Personal. It was a tool by which the impossible might happen. Death could be prevented if only he kept it within reach.
“Sure.” He didn’t sound very optimistic. “Why would it work for me if it doesn’t work for you?”
“Source material.” Danielle picked up a clean spoon from the counter and casually tore it in half. “Can either of you do that?”
They tried. They couldn’t.
Jacob found he suddenly understood. “Equestria has ponies with different abilities. Except for Alicorns, they don’t overlap. You’re suggesting it might be like that for humans as well. But… that wouldn’t make any sense! For ponies the limitations are physical, aren’t they? Some ponies have horns, some have wings, and some… are built stronger or something.” He shrugged. “Whatever. Humans don’t have wings, we don’t have horns, and we’re all built about the same. Why would we have their limits?”
“I… I dunno.” She sat back down, grumbling. “It looked like pegasus ponies keep their wings even when they had one of those illusion things. That probably means there aren’t human equivalents of flying ponies, since none of us have biological wings.”
“Unless they just get real light or something,” Eric offered. “And maybe just flap their arms.”
They laughed. Even Jacob did, despite the pain he felt. Or maybe because of it. He had already tried to call his sister, but his phone didn’t have service. There was a wifi network here, but he didn’t have the password, and there was nobody to ask. Hopefully someone would be coming for them soon.
“We got off track,” Jacob said, when they had all finished laughing. “We think the show is giving people powers?”
“Maybe. Or maybe being around powers, or maybe both. I got mine a few months back and I never saw any magic, but you didn’t and Eric still hasn’t manifested anything. Anyway, we know other stuff too. We know you can travel back and forth between Equestria and Earth, because of what Harley told you. All that figured out, we narrow down our questions quite a bit. Why is the government trying to stop magic, why haven’t the ponies come out to the world about this, and what do we do about it?”
“The last one is the most interesting.” A familiar voice spoke from the table behind them, so close Jacob nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard it. He wasn’t all that surprised to see Harley sitting there. “What do you do about it?”