The Humans in Equestria Club

by billymorph

Chapter 9: Would You Kindly

“...while the distribution of transition events is not exactly Gaussian, we see a large propensity for crossings in and around the Ponyville area. Specifically, the Everfree is the centre. This is by no means the only area which crossings can take place, however..."

I let Twilight’s magibabble wash over me. I paid far more heed to the steady clatter of the wheels on the track and the swaying motion of the carriage than the explanation of scientific nothings.

I felt... numb. There was no better word for it. The last traces of anaesthesia spells were not helping. In the end, Chrysalis had broken my wing in three places, broken my foreleg, cracked my hoof, snapped a rib, bruised six others, and given me a hairline skull fracture. On Earth, if I were human, the list of injuries would have kept me in the hospital for weeks. I was a pegasus, though, and the finest trauma surgeon in the country had been flown to Ponyville by express order of Princess Twilight. Three days later I was sore but otherwise as healthy as ever.

In body, at least.

“...the human portal device is significantly less accurate than natural crossings, though accurate is probably the wrong word as they aren’t aiming, per se. By overcoming the barrier with..."

Forty-four humans had found themselves in Equestria in the two minutes it had taken me to shut down the castle shield and for Twilight to bring the Earth/Equestria barrier back up. I wanted to bring myself to care about them, but it hadn’t sunk in yet.

Chrysalis almost killed me. She’d tossed me like a rag-doll and held my life in her hooves for a moment. She only let me live because, in her own twisted way, it amused her to see me suffer.

“...I’ve actually been trying to map the various crossing spots. A number only appear during these high energy events and can spread as far as the Crystal Empire. Anyway, Chrysalis’ effect on the barrier is..."

The time I’d ended up back on Earth had been more deadly, in absolute terms, but that had been -- I don’t know -- easier to deal with. It had been an accident, and I’d had someone to be angry with. For all the danger, I’d been up and punching faces within half an hour.

I couldn’t do the same with Chrysalis. I hated her. I wanted to take Wackus Bonkus and smash her smug face in but, well, she terrified me. With her it wasn’t just some petty disagreement, or even a screaming argument. She’d promised to kill me next time we met. Not threatened, not boasted, not even implied. Just said it with all the confidence in the world that she could end my life at any time she felt.

Nothing had ever prepared me for that. How can you just shrug off someone telling you that they will end your life? Around the private carriage the Elements lounged, chatting amongst themselves. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had taken up one of their ongoing petty arguments, and Rarity and Fluttershy watched with some amusement. Pinkie Pie had been distracted by Star Charge, who’d managed to bring up cherrychangas. He seemed to be regretting it.

There was an undercurrent of tension to the group. Pinkie spoke just a touch too loud and fast to be normal, Dash seemed to be even more obstinate than her usual self, Twilight was about ten minutes into a physics lecture and showed no signs of slowing down.

“...Alex, are you listening to me?"

I turned back to Twilight, who was frowning at me. “Not really, no."

The look of consternation on her face was worth the price of admission.

“Twilight,” I began, slowly. “I was out of the hospital for seven minutes before Rainbow Dash found me and dragged me here. Give me a break, and give me the pegasus in a hurry version."

Twilight grumbled to herself, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. “Okay, fine. I guess I got off topic. In short, two days ago we got a message from Earth. They confirmed that Chrysalis and her drones had been sighted in the East of England."

“As desiccated corpses, I hope,” I grumbled, shuffling my hooves.

With a sigh, Twilight pulled a note card out of her saddlebags. “No. Very much alive and very hostile. There was silence for a while, but three hours ago we got a call for help. Chrysalis, with an army of tens of thousands of changelings, is on the march."

I blinked. “Sorry,” I began, flicking my ears as I strained to hear her, “did you say, ‘tens of thousands’?"

She nodded. “They have taken two major cities already, Cardiff and Bristol, and a ‘nuclear power station’, called Hinkley Point, as the site of her new hive."

It felt like someone had dropped a lead weight into my stomach. “Nuclear power station?” I croaked.

“Yes, I understand that humans use them to--”

“I know what a nuclear power station is, Twilight!” I roared. I was on my hooves, my wings fanned out, though I had no clear idea when I’d moved. “What the hell is she doing there?” I demanded.

“Hey Alex,” Rainbow Dash interjected, pressing my wings back down. “Chill out. We got this."

I scowled at her. “Bristol is one county away from my home town,” I snapped. A home-town that was now downwind of a fucking nuclear bomb! "Excuse me for panicking!"

“Alex!” Twilight said sharply. “I understand this is stressful but--”

“You’re damn right it’s...” Everyone in the carriage was staring at me. Swallowing my anger I forced myself to sit back down. “Okay... okay." I took a deep breath. "What’s the plan then? You have to have a plan for all this."

“Right.” Twilight smiled. “We’re going to help. The High Energy Magical Department has been working on a controlled portal to bridge the barrier. With the portal on the Earth side we should be able to create a point to point connection which--”

“We’re going to Earth!” Rainbow Dash declared, punching the air. “And it's going to be awesome!"

“Earth,” I echoed, unable to keep the disbelief from my voice. “You six are going to Earth?"

“Correction,” Twilight began. “We seven are going to Earth. As the Viceroy of Human Affairs you will be invaluable in helping us liaise with the local officials."

I stared in disbelief. “Twilight,” I began. “I almost died."

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Twilight continued, her smile suddenly waxen. “The Earth portal is a hundred miles away from any changelings. We just need somepony who knows the locals to help."

Shaking my head, I repeated myself. “Twilight. The last time you asked me to help, it almost killed me. Are you sure you need me for this?"

She glanced over at Pinkie, who gave a sombre nod. “Yes, yes we do."

I sighed, my wings drooping. “Okay then.” I pulled my small saddlebag back on. “I need a minute."

I dropped off the bench and tried to slink away. All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie was in front of me.

“Come on, Alex,” she chirped, sweeping me up into a one legged hug and pointing off towards the horizon with her free hoof. “It’ll be an adventure!"

I pushed her away, falling back onto my hooves. “I know,” I murmured.

Picking my way through the empty carriage I reached the rear door and stepped out onto the little balcony. The wind was fierce, but, you know, I’m a pegasus now. It just took a moment to force a little area of calm into the slipstream and shelter myself.

I stood there, leaning over the railing, watching the track race beneath me. We were travelling at a breakneck speed, and Ponyville was already just a blur in the distance. That’s what you get when you requisition the Manehatten Express and ditch all but one of the cars.

The door opened a moment. I didn’t look around until Star Charge took up position next to me.

“So...” he began, as the silence stretched between us. “I was wondering if you’d jumped."

I shot him a flat look.

“No offence,” he added hastily. “But you’ve got wings. You could be home by lunch, if you wanted to be."

I grunted. “Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Star Charge?"

He rolled his eyes. “Come on, Alex, we’re over this. You trust me now, remember?"

“Right,” I huffed. “Best friends forever. That, or frenemies, or whatever cutesy phrase you want to use.” I shook my head. “Bloody Equestria. I could use the excuse to punch someone."

“Okay, seriously,” he said, shooing me an odd look. “What’s up with you?"

I shrugged. “I’m tired."

“You just blanked Pinkie Pie,” he shot back. “That’s not even supposed to be possible. How can ‘I’m tired’ explain that?"

The train slowed as we reached the Canterhorn foothills, and I managed to tear my eyes away from the track long enough to look at Star Charge. He seemed worried, actually worried, not faking sympathy or trying to find an angle. With a deep sigh, I reached into my saddlebag and extracted a slim envelope with my fetlock. It was unaddressed.

“This is my resignation."

Star Charge swivelled a hoof in his ear and leaned in closer. “Sorry, I thought you said--”

“Resignation, yes,” I repeated, louder. “I’m quitting, Star. I’m done."

Star Charge did his best impression of a fish. “But... you can’t quit."

I just shrugged. “Sure I can. It’s right there in the job description for Viceroy. I have a deputy to cover the role while Celestia appoints a replacement, and she has no legal right to hold me in my post. I can walk away whenever I want."

“But why?” he demanded. “Why now?"

“I... I almost died,” I said, so softly my voice was almost lost to the thunder of the train. “Chrysalis could have killed me, and... and I shouldn’t have even been in that tower.” Star Charge went to interrupt and I held up a hoof to stop him. “Pinkie asked me to help, and because of that, I almost had my skull caved in... I can’t do that again."

Star Charge didn’t say anything for a long while.

“Alex, I hate to say it, but to hear Pinkie tell the story, you saved the day."

I sighed. “What the hell did I do to save the day, Star? You could have cast anyone with wings in exactly the same role and everything would have worked out the same. The shield would have broken. They would have gotten to the lab. Chrysalis would have beaten them half to death.” I slammed a hoof on the rail. “Hell! I bet anyone else would have been smart enough not to pick a fight with the demigod that once sucker punched Celestia."

Star Charge opened his mouth to say something, paused, thought better of it and tried again. “I don’t think many would have gone in there at all."

“No,” I agreed, hanging my head. “And I shouldn’t have gone in there. I’ve just been -- I don’t know -- following people ever since I got to Equestria. Everything I’ve done has been because someone told me to do it. The Club, flying, becoming a Viceroy... Hell, even trying to stop the jet was Twilight’s idea. It’s no wonder Chrysalis had such an easy time mind controlling me; she just had to ask politely and I’d have leapt to do her bidding."

My voice cracked on the last few words and I paused to swallow the lump in my throat. “I have tried again and again to make people happy, and I have failed every time. And I... And I... I can’t do that anymore. So I’m giving up."

Beside me, Star Charge couldn’t seem to decide on horror or glee as an emotion.

“Alex." he said, faltering. “In the few months I’ve known you, I’ve considered you: stubborn, closed minded, rude, aggravating, and a great many other things that I shouldn’t repeat. You’ve never been weak, though, nor a failure. No matter what our philosophical differences, you’ve always stood up for those under your care."

“And why?” I demanded, rounding on him. “Why did I stand up for them? What gave me the right? I’m not leading them anywhere, Star! All the Club has ever done is tread water, if you were in charge at least we’d have a direction."

The silence stretched again. "What am I doing here, Star Charge?"

“...I don’t know,” Star admitted at last, looking away.

“Me neither.” I tapped the envelope against the railing. “So I’m going to quit."

A long whistle rang out from the train as we raced past a formation of ponies marching in step up the mountain.

“We’re past Rubycorn, right?” Star Charge asked, frowning at the soldiers.

I glanced up. The ancient fortress of Rubycorn stood at the base of the mountain and was, traditionally, the closest to Canterlot the army could march unless the country was at war. It was at least ten miles behind the soldiers.

“I think so."

“Well, that means the Princesses are taking this seriously at least,” he continued. “When are you going to give Twilight that letter?"

I shrugged. “Supposedly, twenty minutes ago. Why?"

“I think you should wait till after you come back from Earth,” Star Charge said, with a pointed look at the soldiers marching to war. “I have a horrible feeling that there might not be an Earth next week."

Closing my eyes I fought down the urge to snap at him again.

“Fine,” I sighed, and passed the envelope over to him. “But give this to Twilight when we’re all back. I don’t trust myself not to put it off again."

Star Charge picked up the envelope in his magic. “Heh, you’re trusting me with your career? It really must be the end of the world."

---

The Royal Castle backed on to the Royal University. In fact, the two buildings were somewhat difficult to tell apart in the older sections. With the practised ease of a mare who’d spent half her life in the building, Twilight lead us down the narrow hallways to the High Energy Magic Department.

Equestria may not have had the resources of a fully industrial nation, but they could get damn close sometimes. A titanic room in the basement of the university was filled with arcane machinery. Giant copper power-sinks, thick crystalline wires and complex-looking brass devices twisted into physics-defying forms, snaked their way around a vast silver ring. The ring itself was six ponies across and humming with enough power to make my fur stand on end. Hundreds of ponies, mostly unicorns and earth ponies, swarmed around the ring, tweaking, checking and, in a few cases, charging, the massive spell.

It took me a good long while to wrap my head around the sheer scope of the project. It may not have been a space program, but I sensed that was more because they’d only had a few months to prepare. Equestria never did things by half measures, not when there was a world to save.

“...we have thirty of the most skilled unicorns in Canterlot already powering the spell circle,” Twilight explained. I’m going to be honest, the nervous explanation shtick begins to wear thin after about half an hour of her narrating everything. “The humans are opening their gateway every hour, so in fifteen minutes or so we should be able to lock in and form a stable connection."

“Girls, a little help?"

We all turned to see that Dash had somehow managed to get tangled up in her aether rig. How, I have no idea, but Rarity untangled her with practised ease. The rigs themselves were simple things. Built to Crystal Cog’s specification, they were reminiscent of scuba suits. A large cage of thunder stones had been strapped to my back, and two crystalline hoses snaked past my head to a rebreather. Best estimate said we had six hours of aether if we were careful; it could be as low as ten minutes if we got into a fight. Rainbow Dashed looked very put out after learning she wasn't allowed to fly.

“Oh, a question,” Star Charge interjected from over the screen. He and Spike had been banished from the small changing area by Rarity for no clear reason beyond ‘propriety’. “How exactly are you going to avoid being burned by all the oxygen?"

“Actually that’s not too much of a problem,” Twilight explained, still in lecture mode. “Crystal Cog used a perversion of the spell ‘Resist Elements’ charm, which has so far seemed to suffice.” I winced, I think the spell ‘Resist Elements: Oxygen’ would be power gaming in any setting you care to name. “We’re going to be using a more comprehensive spell, one that locks down our materia signatures. That should prevent all chemical reactions while we’re there."

“It terrifies me sometimes that you can talk about turning off chemistry,” I sighed, flexing my wings as I tried to find a position where the rig didn’t chafe.

“Well, that kind of materia magic is not trivial, but--” she flexed her own wings. “--I have a few advantages these days.” She frowned and closed her eyes as her horn kindled. The wash of power felt strange, almost slippery; it lacked the usual warmth of arcana and sent my stomach into backflips. Fortunately for my breakfast, it didn’t last.

“There, if you feel any unexplained tingling, shortness of breath or loss of senses please tell me immediately.” She smiled. It wasn't comforting. “Now, if you’d all like to go stand in the safety area, we’ll get ready to go. Alex, can I have a word first?"

“Ooo, how about ‘hootananny’?” Pinkie interjected. “That’s a great word if you want it."

Twilight and I shared a mutual look of bewilderment. Then I grinned. “Hootenanny."

Twilight glared at me. “Alright, but I’d like some other words too.” Pinkie Pie leaned in closer, and was pushed away by a wave of pink magic. “In private."

I cocked an eyebrow at her as she brought up a weak shield between us and the rest of the Elements. “Right then.” She took a deep breath. “Alex, I’m afraid I have to talk to you in an official role for a moment."

I slumped. That wasn’t a good first sign. I found myself wishing I hadn’t given Star my resignation for safe keeping.

“As you’re aware, this situation with Earth could have potentially disastrous implications.” Twilight began to pace. “Too much magic in your universe will destroy the barrier and that may well cause the destruction of all life on Earth."

“And this isn’t going to make things worse?” I pointed out.

“Yes... but, as long as we're careful, we can stop Chrysalis before it gets to that point. Using magic on Earth is always the last resort, but doing something is more important than any--” she stopped, and swallowed. “Anyone who gets caught in the crossfire." Twilight stared off into the distance, then closed her eyes. "Shit," she swore, stamping a foot.

I blinked. Now there was a turn up for the books.

“Alex, there’s no simple way to say this,” she continued, rounding on me. “People are going to end up in Equestria because of this. A lot of people. And there’s nothing I can do to stop that because inaction is going to cause far more harm than good. We have to stop Chrysalis, but this isn’t going to be clean and, if it all goes horribly wrong, we could lose everything."

“I know, Twilight,” I replied, shaking my head. “I know the stakes.” As much as I didn’t want to.

“Which brings me to my key point. Case Five. The Princesses and I have discussed at length how to deal with a catastrophic merger of our universes. While numerous plausible scenarios do not leave us with options we could prepare for, we can, and indeed have, implemented solutions for Case Five."

I pressed a hoof against my forehead. “Okay, I’m starting to get worried now, what is Case Five?"

Twilight flinched. “Case Five: Earth and Equus’ universes begin merging uncontrollably, with Equestria dominating. Humanity has between twenty seconds and twenty-four hours before changes to reality destroys it. In that case, we abandon all attempts to stabilize the situation and draw up to twenty million through Discord’s adaptation spell and place them in Equestria."

Absolute silence stretched between us. I think my jaw had dropped, but, given my brain also seemed to have stopped working, that was the least of my worries.

“Twenty million,” I echoed.

“I know it’s nowhere near enough, but Equestria can’t feed a larger influx of--”

“Twilight,” I snapped, trembling. “When I told you about The Conversion Bureau, it was not supposed to be inspiration!"

Twilight folded her ears flat. “I know. I know. But it’s that or just... nothing. We can’t just let all those people die, not when they have even half a chance of a happy life. If ponies are the only option, then that is what we’ll go for.” She sighed. “And I would like your permission, as Viceroy, to use this plan."

I stared at her. She was really asking me for permission to tear twenty million humans away from their homes, their lives and their very forms. To save their lives, of course, but the cost for each of them would be so high.

“Twilight...” I began, softly. I resign.

The words got caught in my throat. She looked at me with an earnest expression, chewing her lip.

“Twilight,” I tried again. I. Resign.

I couldn’t make this decision. Twenty million consigned to death or a fate very much like it.

“Twilight, please,” I croaked. I RESIGN.

She shot me an understanding smile. “It’s the best option for everyone."

I closed my eyes. “Okay.”

It was okay. Soon I’d be back from this jaunt. Star Charge would give her my letter. Then I could head for the Pegasi Isles and never look back.

“Twilight, I can’t keep doing this,” I told her, hanging my head.

She smiled and put a hoof on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I feel that way sometimes too. You just have to 'stop, breathe, and save the world', as Pinkie puts it."

I really wished I knew how to tell her that I had no idea how to save the world. It’s so much easier to throw yourself into danger when you know you have destiny on your side, and skill, and boatloads of magic. Twilight... Twilight could just stop whatever she was doing and save the day. I couldn’t. And I couldn't just consign millions to a fate not of their choosing with the cool assurance that it was the best option.

“Come on,” Twilight said, snapping me out of my reprieve. “We’ve got five minutes till we can open the gateway.

---

A siren wailed as ponies hurried out of the room. I ached to join them, but instead the Element bearers and I, sans Twilight, stood in a silver cage off to one side of the room.

“All systems charged, Princess Sparkle,” a voice called out via a speaking spell. “Gate opening in thirty seconds."

Twilight grunted an acknowledgement. She stood alone before the gigantic band of silver, at the centre of her own cluster of arcane-tech. Her horn began to glow, and the background buzz of the room grew and grew until it was a deafening roar.

“Excited?” Pinkie yelled, right in my ear. She was bouncing, as usual.

“Something like that,” I grumbled.

“Oh come on! We get to be dimensional travellers!"

I shot her a look. “I’m already a dimensional traveller."

“Ten seconds!"

Pinkie pouted a moment, before continuing in a sing song tone. “It’ll be an adventure."

“Seven... six..."

“Pinkie, I don’t like adventures,” I snapped.

“Four... three..."

She gasped. “How can--”

Whatever Pinkie was going to say was lost as Twilight began her spell. The power of a thousand unicorns poured into the alicorn, the arcane machinery shining brighter than the sun, as the room trembled with barely constrained power. Twilight lifted into the air, as if pulled up by her horn, and spread her forehooves wide. Before her the silver ring began to tremble, quickening, and, on some unseen signal, power began to arc between the alicorn and the circle.

I was very glad to be in an arcane-proof cage. A circle of pink fire consumed the ring, and the blistering heat reached clear across the room. Bolts of lightning flashed in the storm of magic, and it began to spin, the ring expanding into a doughnut-shaped band of pure energy.

“Close your eyes, girls!” Twilight bellowed. “There’s going to be some feedback."

Taking a cue from Fluttershy, I dropped to the ground and hid behind my wings, but in the end the explosion was all flash and no bang. There was a second where the entire world went white, even with my eyes closed. The disconcerting sensation of being picked up and dropped off a cliff washed over me, even though my hooves never left the ground, and then there was silence.

“So... awesome...” Rainbow Dash whispered.

I looked up. The silver ring had been replaced by a crackling hole in space. A curved metal wall could be seen beyond, giving the odd impression of looking out at the inside of a tire.

“Dashie, did you close your eyes?” Pinkie enquired, waving her hoof in front of the transfixed mare’s face. Dash didn’t bat an eyelash.

“Eh, worth it."

“Well, I think that all went rather well,” Twilight said, trotting over with a smug grin on her face. “Now, I-- Rainbow Dash! Did you watch the spell?” She yelled that last part.

Dash shrugged. “I think I saw infinity."

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Leaving aside the impossibility of seeing an abstract mathematical concept, please tell me you haven’t gone blind."

Rainbow Dash blinked a few times and shook herself. “Nah, I’m fine."

With a sceptical glance, Twilight opened the cage with her teeth. Rainbow Dash didn’t walk into the door on her way out, but only thanks to a few gentle nudges from Pinkie.

We trotted over to the portal. “So... now what?” Applejack broached, as we looked up at the solid looking walls.

“Duh, you’ve got to knock,” Pinkie shot back. Before anyone could stop her, she shot forwards, reached through the hole in space, and rapped her hoof on the walls.

Twilight facehooved. “Pinkie that’s--”

Part of the wall swung upwards and a sky blue pegasus, the long lost Tony Acey, stuck his head through.

“Finally!” he exclaimed, looking us over. “I thought you guys were supposed to be fast. Come on. There’s a war on."

He disappeared back through the hole. The Elements and I shared a confused look, during which Pinkie took the opportunity to sneak through after him.

Twilight let of a squeak of alarm, and hurled herself after Pinkie, yelling something about safety precautions. Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed along for the ride.

“This happens a lot, doesn’t it?” I asked Rarity.

She sighed. “I’ll admit they can be a little enthusiastic sometimes. Still, shall we?"

My hoof beating a nervous rattle on the floor, I slipped the aether regulator into my mouth. This was it. Earth. My last trip had been brief and less than pleasant. To be honest this one wasn’t looking that promising either. Still, I put one hoof in front of the other and stepped up to the portal. With one last steadying breath I slipped through.

The portal on the Earth side was actually quite similar to the Equestrian one. We were in a vast cube of concrete which had, at it’s centre, a house-sized torus of magnets confining the portal. A vast array of cables, pipes and magnets surrounded the ring, not unlike the Equestrian side of things, but there was a comforting feel to it all. The colours were right. Big red safety bars separated us from the machinery, yellow lines outlined dangers, and blue and white signs were everywhere. It’s strange to think of all the annoying health and safety precautions being a comfort but, after months of Equestria’s pastel palette, they were a welcome breath of familiarity.

I fluttered down the stairs and landed next to Twilight and the girls, who’d already got into a heated discussion with Tony and Louis. Our errant pair of ponies looked like hell, to be frank. Tony seemed not to have preened his wings in a month and Louis had deep bags etched under his eyes. Their aether rigs were worn, patched with duct tape in places, and had rubbed the fur beneath the straps bare.

“Alex!” Tony exclaimed, cutting Twilight off in mid sentence. “Good to see you again. I hope your trip was more pleasant this time?"

I shot him a flat look and popped the breather out of my mouth. “More fun than being dragged through the air by a supersonic jet,” I grumbled.

Tony at least looked sheepish. “To be fair, we really didn’t expect you to keep up."

“I’m more angry that you thought it was a good idea at all,” I began to say. I ran out of breath halfway through, and had to take a sudden drag on my aether.

Hurried footsteps rang out from the exterior door, a thick metal airlock held open with a bit of wood. A moment later, and at a far more reasonable pace, a woman strode out. She was... completely normal. Average height, solidly built, dressed in pressed army fatigues and with her close cropped hair bound into a tight bun. After months on Pony Planet I’d almost forgotten what a human looked like, but it all came rushing back.

For that one perfect moment, I could imagine that I didn't have wings. That there was no world devouring monster two counties away. That all I had to worry about was the gap between my paycheck and my rent.

For a moment, I was home.

Then I had to take a breath through the regulator, and I remembered just how much distance still stood between me and a happy ending.

The woman stopped smartly before Twilight and saluted. “Lieutenant Maynard,” she clipped. “Welcome to Earth, your Royal Majesty."

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Just Twilight, please,” she said, looking up. It turned out that ponies weren’t so little after all, the Princess came up to Maynard’s belly. If she’d reared up she would have been at the Lieutenant's eye level.

“They said you’d say that,” Maynard continued, with a slight grin. She gestured at the door. “Now, we’ve got a lot to cover and, as we don’t know how radiation resistant ponies are, it’ll be best to step away from the fusion reactor."

My wings flew out. “Fusion!” I demanded.

“Yep.” Tony looked far too happy to be explaining. “Welcome to the Joint European Torus. Experimental fusion reactor--” He pointed a wing at the portal. “--now masquerading as a Star-Gate. Please try not to breathe too deeply. There’s no radiation when it’s doing this, but this place was a bastard to decontaminate, I hear."

“Umm...” Rainbow Dash interjected, holding up a hoof. “Fusion?"

Tony grinned. “It’s an artificial sun.”

“Whoa, awesome,” Dash exclaimed. “Now I can see why Chrysalis wanted to invade this dump."

On that faux pas, we retreated to a small conference room. After a bit of fumbling with chairs, and some minor transmutation, we all found ourselves around a cheap plywood table. I managed to secure the seat nearest the window. The world outside was dull and grey. Patchy clouds drifted lazily across the sky without a hint of direction, and the only colour was the occasional car that crawled along a distant road. It was wonderful.

“So, everyone ready?” Maynard began, dropping a large stack of papers on the table. “There’s a hundred and one generals, admirals and heads of state on their way, but I figured you’d all want to know just what’s been going on before they tear into you."

Fluttershy winced.

Maynard smiled in sympathy and continued. “Seventy-four hours ago we first received your message about a potential hostile crossing onto Earth. Despite some heated arguments that go way over my pay grade, everyone from the Prime Minister to the police were notified. Seventy hours ago, we got a call from a Welsh man who’d claimed to have seen a swarm of giant bugs."

“Chrysalis,” Twilight sighed.

“Got it in one.” Maynard shook her head. “The Marines got called in and we traced a trail of sightings across the country before finally pinning the changelings down near York." She paused for effect. "They found a single drone. It was using some kind of magic to make it seem like there were hundreds of them. We found no trace of the queen."

“Forty-four hours ago we lost all contact with a nuclear power plant called Hinkley Point.” She held up an aerial shot of a boxy factory set on the coast. “It’s about two hundred miles east of here, and we only found out anything was wrong when the wife of one of the workers called us because her husband hadn’t come home. The police responded, and before we knew it, several thousand alien bugs were swarming over the countryside."

“So far we’ve been throwing ourselves at the changelings piecemeal, and we’ve lost a lot of ground and a few cities.” Maynard glared at her paperwork a moment. “But, it seems that Chrysalis doesn’t particularly care about civilians. They're content to just leave people in their homes if they don’t cause any trouble."

“What?” Twilight cut in. “That makes no sense. Chrysalis has always been about controlling ponies... I mean people."

“She skipped the prisoners stage on Nightmare Night, too,” I pointed out.

"That was a rapid attack, under more normal circumstances her first priority should be a stable food--"

Tony rapped a hoof on the table. “Girls. There’s no emotion magic on Earth," he explained. "People are useless to Chrysalis."

“So, what’s she after then?” Dash demanded.

“Power,” Maynard said, scowling. “Specifically electrical power. Every major attack so far has been on an industrial hub or a power plant of some sort."

Twilight frowned. “That makes no sense. Electricity doesn’t even exist in Equestria, what could Chrysalis want with it?"

“Oh, that’s simple, you know how friendship is magic?” Tony began, spreading his wings. There were general nods, though Maynard groaned. “Well, turns out so’s electricity."

A bolt of lightning flashed between his wingtips, with an ear-splitting boom. I felt the blast in my wings, a roar of aether magic like somepony had just bucked a storm cloud in my face.

I pulled myself together first. “How long have you been planning that line?” I snapped, glaring at Tony.

He smirked. “Oh, about a month now. Actually it’s thanks to you Alex that we know about the aether/lighting connection. You blowing all the bulbs out of those streetlights when you landed clued us in, just in time to recharge our thunderstones."

I froze. “Bucking hell!” I slammed my head down on the table. “She showed me that. She bucking showed me!"

With nothing but looks of confusion greeting me, I continued. “When Chrysalis was rifling through my mind she picked out a couple of memories. One of them was the god damned moment where I came back to Earth. She knew I’d been able to-- what? Use magic on the streetlights?"

“There’s a similarity between aether magic and electromagnetism,” Louis chimed in, shrugging. “As a pegasus, you can tap into electric fields."

“Which is why the portal is the biggest damn magnet in the world,” Tony added, grinning.

“Argh, that makes even less sense.” Twilight massaged her head with her hooves. “Even if there is an aether analogue, changelings are prime feeders. They eat emotions, not lightning."

“Well whatever they aren’t supposed to be doing, they are good at it,” Maynard snipped. “We’ve seen everything from energy beams, to flight, to vast illusions. About the only thing that hasn’t happened is any mind control.” A dark shadow passed across her face. “As far as we know, at least."

Twilight shook herself, making her aether rig rattle. “Changeling magic defies explanation. If the world worked sensibly they should be low powered scavengers. Instead, they just seem to be able to do anything that takes their fancy."

“In a sensible world I would not be talking to a pony princess about an alien invasion,” Maynard said, in a deadpan. “Just give us the cliffsnotes. What can changelings do?"

“Well,” she took a deep breath, “anything, really. Changelings don’t appear to have a limit to their magic. Not only do they have access to the same magic as ponies, the sheer power Chrysalis used to defeat Celestia was astounding. Every other species uses their own innate reserves, but changelings are parasites; they use the power of others to fuel their abilities. Theoretically, they could raise the sun if they had enough energy backing them up."

Maynard blinked. “Princess, they have annexed a nuclear power plant. That thing produces enough energy to blow up a town every hour. Are you seriously telling me that the changelings could do anything they like with that power?"

“It would depend on how efficiently she can use the energy, and what exactly she intends to do with all that magic," Twilight admitted. Hedging her bets as usual.

I rolled my eyes. “Knowing her, she wants to steal the sun again,” I grumbled. My head was spinning from all the information and a blinding throb was building behind my eyes. Everyone looked at me. “What? That’s what she kept going on about while I was in that damned cocoon. I bet she was planning this while I... was... oh... Well, shit."

Realisation struck. Chrysalis had been playing a very, very long game throughout all of this. What made us think that we’d stolen a march on her?

“Umm... Twilight,” I began, hesitantly. “How would we know if there were changelings nearby? Say, within a hundred meters or so."

“There aren’t,” Maynard cut in. “They haven’t been able to slip a force closer than a hundred miles. The changelings stick out like sore thumbs to pretty much any sensor you care to name. Plus, they don’t seem to realise we can track them from the air."

That didn’t reassure me. “It’s just that, well, if I were a megalomaniac bug set on stealing the sun, and I’d already been beaten by Equestria before... It’s isn’t that hard to imagine Celestia might send you six on ahead, as usual. And, we are talking about someone who once snuck an army into a capital city... a third of whose residents can fly."

Twilight’s mouth formed an ‘o’. “Ah... Don’t worry, Alex. I--”

Magenta light exploded from her horn, flooding the room with magic. From the window there was a sudden, scratchy buzz of alarm as the mist of invisibility was ripped from the changeling drone. For a moment, there was stunned silence in the room.

“RUN!” Twilight yelled. She hurled a chair through the window, hitting the drone in the face as we bolted for the exit.

It turns out nine ponies and a human can get through a small door very quickly if one decides to just run through the wall first. Applejack shook the plaster dust off as we accelerated down the corridor. Already the familiar rumble of changeling wings was building, punctuated by bursts of gunfire, and I slammed the valve on my aether rig wide open.

The corridor was narrow, a long string of offices and rooms on the one side, and windows overlooking a dreary courtyard on the other. An explosion shook the building, threatening to toss us from our hooves. Shattered glass filled the air as flares of green magic screamed over our heads.

“Get to the portal!” Twilight screamed. Pink magic screens replaced the windows as the glass crunched beneath our hooves. A pair of drones managed to sneak through at the end of corridor and found themselves facing down Rainbow Dash and Applejack moving at a full gallop. The poor bugs lasted three seconds, tops.

“Please tell me there’s a battalion guarding this place!” I yelled, as more bolts of magic tore into the building. Twilight's shield started to buckle under the weight of fire.

“Are you kidding?” Maynard shot back. She was running in a stoop to avoid the blasts. Chalk one up for being quadrupedal. “I’m a lieutenant; there’re forty-eight soldiers here!"

We reached a staircase. Another human invention that wasn’t designed for speedy use by ponies. Us four pegasi abused a little aether magic to vault the rail and just drop the whole flight in one go. Twilight outpaced us all with a teleport, running straight into an ambush.

A drone bore the pony princess to the floor. Dash hurled herself at it, sending the poor creature flying. The second wave of changelings was met by a wave of magic that picked them up and tossed them like rag dolls across the cafeteria.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Twilight insisted. She held her head as Rainbow Dash dragged her to her hooves. “Just keep moving."

There was an almighty boom that shook the whole building. The lights flickered once and died.

“Ah shit,” Tony swore. “They’re going after the power."

“Acey, Hubble,” Maynard snapped, pointing at the pair, “follow me. We’ll secure the control room. Princess, get to the portal. We’ll open it again when we’ve driven the changelings back."

“Right. Let’s go girls!"

We split up. The soldiers going one way, the Elements and I tearing off towards the main building and the reactor. The roar of changeling wings grew louder with every step.

“Why,” I panted, as we thundered down a corridor. “Does. This. Keep. Happening?"

“I’m sorry!” Pinkie wailed, alongside me. “I just wanted to make things up for you."

The drones attacked from the rear that time, exploding from a side corridor, and Rarity met them with her sword. The flashing steel gave them a moment’s pause and Twilight enough time to kindle her horn and drop a light fixture on them.

“Make things up?” I demanded, leaping over an unconscious drone that had got in Applejack’s way.

“For Chrysalis putting you in the hospital,” she babbled.

I did a double take. That was a stretch even for Pinkie. “So, to make up for putting me in danger, you dragged me into a war zone!"

“It was supposed to be a quiet trip!” Even while running for our lives, Pinkie’s lower lip wobbled.

We barged into the reactor room. It was a huge space, a warehouse really, filled with everything from half assembled electromagnets, to a clean room and even a mock tokamak reactor. The changelings had beaten us there and swarmed over the million pound equipment. As a herd we skidded to a stop.

“Well, it was nice knowing you all,” I said, staring. It was too much to hope that Chrysalis would show mercy after our last meeting.

The drones leapt into the air, bolts of magic arcing towards us. With a roar the Element bearers charged, myself following hot on their heels. A pink shield sprung into existence between us and the swarm, but it lasted only a few seconds under the hail of fire and then the drones were in amongst us.

A changeling went straight for me, fangs bared, but Pinkie Pie threw herself between us. The mare stuck to me like glue, as the Elements smashed their way through the mass, straining physics to their breaking point as she drove the drones back with hoof and tooth. Ahead was the reactor, less than thirty meters away, and contained within a solid block of concrete. A hundred drones filled the space between us and freedom.

Fluttershy was the first to go down. One of the changelings got right up in her face and she was double-teamed as she scrambled backwards. Rainbow Dash hurled herself after the mare, screaming in rage, and a bolt of lightning from her wings scattered the drones. The swarm surged around them, cutting them off. We just kept running.

Ten meters from the airlock, the changelings dog-piled Applejack, using numbers to achieve what skill could not. Rarity followed a moment later, her blade was snatched away and she disappeared beneath a tide of mottled chitin. A hoof caught me in the flank, staggering me and I tripped over my own hooves, the ground rushing up to meet me. A pair of pink forearms seized me and, doing our best seven legged pony impression, Pinkie and I staggered into the open airlock, half a step behind Twilight.

“Go!” Twilight bellowed, rounding on the door. A near opaque shield sprung up across the gap, the changelings rebounded off it.

Across the room, the torus of the reactor rattled on its supports, the ring emitting an ear-splitting screech. I had only moment to wonder if we’d just escaped the frying pan to find ourselves in the fire before Pinkie Pie grabbed me by my barrel. Before I could even squeal in protest, she threw me overarm like I was a javelin.

It was lucky that Tony had left the service hatch open. With a flick of my wings I sailed through the open portal and skidded to a stop on the flagstones of the Royal University High Energy Magic Building.

Alarms were jangling all around me. Unicorns swarmed around the portal, their auras forming a discordant rainbow of colours as they fought to keep the connection open for just a few seconds more. Across universes, I saw Pinkie Pie bounding towards the opening, galloping as fast as her hooves could carry her.

All for naught.

An animalistic scream of pain cut across the room as one of the mages staggered backwards, his horn-tip blackened. The sudden loss of a caster blasted through the spell, hurling unicorns across the room, and, like the morning mist, the portal evaporated before my eyes.

Pinkie Pie didn’t make it.

There had only been time for one.

Author's Note:

Wow, I actually kept to my update target. That hasn't happened in months... Something must be wrong . Or maybe, I just didn't get distracted writing a different story for once. We're on the home straight for the HiEC now, just three chapters (and an interlude) to go. My plan is to finish HiEC before anything else, so, hopefully it's going to be a fairly regular update schedule again until then.

Anyway, no side blog for once, I'm actually a little short of ideas for them. If anyone has any questions they'd like to ask me about the story or its construction, feel free to ask.

Comments

[ChrisCornflake]

So much for a chance at that resignation, eh?

[RanmaChaos]

Good

[Doppler Effect]

I let Twilight’s magibabble wash over me.

Silly Alex, that was just simple maths. She hadn't even started into the magibabble yet...

The ancient fortress of Rubycorn stood at the base of the mountain and was, traditionally, the closest to Canterlot the army could march unless the country was at war.

Is this kind of parallel development (Rubycorn/Rubicon) due to whatever Discord did to merge the worlds, or was there some relationship there between the two even beforehand that he exploited to bring them together? The Rubicon in that context is, of course, much older than a thousand years old, so seems likely to be before Discord on that side at least. Since Alex mentioned someone who spoke Chinese getting a translation spell, but that seemed to be an exception, I guess there's something similar going on with English and Equestrian being pretty much the same language?

“There’s a hundred and one generals, admirals and heads of state on their way, but I figured you’d all want to know just what’s been going on before they tear into you."

Uh. Wow. If Twilight's spell hadn't revealed the changelings, all those folks would have been in the facility when Chrysalis decided she was ready to attack. That's a hell of a decapitation attack.

So.. if I understand what Chrysalis is able to do with electricity, she can use whatever electicity she has available to power magic to create more drones and conquer more power plants, which she can continue to drain for as long as Earth exists. When Earth is about to get destroyed, she can then just open more gates back to Equestria with all the magic she'll have stored. With the massive army and/or massive amount of drained electricity to power her magic, she expects to be able to conquer Equus.

It probably doesn't matter in the slightest to her if there's any way to harvest Prime on Earth. She probably doesn't expect to be there long..

[Canary In The Coal Mine]

Damn, this story has gotten really heavy in the last several chapters.

I really want stuff to work out for Alex, but she is breaking down really fast here. Bad things just keep piling up around her. It's like Star Charge said, who knows if there will even be an Earth in a week at this rate. She can't afford to have a breakdown (or quit) but it's happening anyway.

To think when I first started this story I had hopes that Alex would at least start to embrace racing as a pegasus as a way to unwind and show her development toward acclimating as a pony and not just a human in a pony's body. Now I'm not even sure she will survive the next few chapters and she has that feeling too.

[wolfstorm56]

Holy shit!

[Seeking Dusk]

Well damn... On one hand, pegasi are awesome on earth. Epic for them. On the other, they just lost the Bearers... stop being so efficient, Chrysalis!

[SoralTheSol]

Why are the changelings so stupidly powerful in your story. I just cannot accept this, there are too many flaws and not enough info. They suddenly gain tens of thousands of drones on earth because of BS logic. Even if chrysilis is laying aggs at maximum capacity they should still require time to grow. This makes absolutly no sense. You also mean to tell me that in an eviorment where the air makes them BURN they survive just fine, fully exposed, as long as they can syphom electricity?

You have established basic rules of your own universe in this story and then you just pissed all over those rules. WTF is going on!

[Mix-up]

This story as taken has taken en all other level of desperation than I had ever expected from this story . This is different from other HIE were earth it actually in real jeopardy and the main characters are completely out of their league . On top of that, the the mane six are neutralise's. On that, I am actually scared of how things will develop from here on out, as the story doesn't have any easy answers to provide of how things can be resolved. Already the fusion generator base was compromise, means that the Changelings have probably infiltrated several major government branches in a ridiculously short time frame. The Chrysalis rely means business. As thing were going i was just thinking that Alex was just going to keep moping for the next few chapters, and endure more of Star Charge and Cristal Cogg entices in Ponyville, boy I sure was roughs .

Great chapter, can't wait for the next one, I am rely hook on it

[billymorph]

5600005 Well, there are still three princesses left to resign to

5600217 5600074 Glad you guys are having fun.

5600181

Damn, this story has gotten really heavy in the last several chapters.

And it's going to get worse . I think I might have jarred a few people loose on the way, but I hope you're enjoying Alex's ramp up to saving the world.

5600352 Chrysalis, best ponyvillian.

5600628

I just hope Alexis hasn't forgotten that wish Discord gave her. Right now it would come in handy.

5600631 I'm glad you're enjoying things. The threat to Earth that Equestria poses is a theme that HiE stories just don't cover enough (at least, not outside of the Conversion Bureau which is a very different problem), and I find that a shame.

[ferret]

I’m fire,

There had only been time for one.

A-GAIN?!

[Malefic Scholar]

I think if you kept the story focused on the club and not turned the mane 6 into ...what ever they are now, you would have had a much better story.
Also your I think your are moving your plot along way to fast.

[Kage no Brony]

5601974

No, Chrysalis is the absolute worst!

Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! If we can't win, neither will she! Let's burn the world, destroy the portals, leave her to be erased as physics crumbles! Leave her to starve as all life is extinguished! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War! Thermonuclear War!

[CelestAI]

I agree with SoralTheSol. The buildup of the changeling forces is quite illogical. Going by what we know of changelings she could not have laid eggs that quickly. Ten thousand changelings? Hmmm. Not logical. But beyond that the story is good, and unlike some i think the pacing is fine. I will continue to read this with avid interest.

[ABitterPill]

So you're saying that a couple dozen at max ponies can lay waste to hundreds of drones with a couple of century-old Maxim guns and escape from the changelings in their own home territory. However, a modern fighting force numbering over one hundred thousand with actual main battle tanks, air superiority fighters, and equipment like FLIR, ultraviolet, radar, wire guided or GPS missiles, etc is incapable of handling a numerically AND technologically inferior force invading their own home country? Is that about right? Because i am calling bullshit. You've had some really interesting ideas in this story, but this Changeling nonsense is just destroying all Suspension of Disbelief.

[No One Of Nowhere]

9703826
You do know that the Changelings are stronger than ever, right? The whole reason they took over that nuclear power plant, right? Why Chryssi wanted to go to Earth in the first place, right?

Just making sure you know.

[Amos Anon]

“Get to the portal!” Twilight screamed. Pink magic screens replaced the windows as the glass crunched beneath our hooves. A pair of drones managed to sneak through at the end of corridor and found themselves facing down Rainbow Dash and Applejack moving at a full gallop. The poor bugs lasted three seconds, tops.

Get to da choppa!