81: Magic of Food
“Hey Spike!” Spitfire says, smiling as she trots up and lays down beside the dragon.
Spike doesn’t look up from his papers, simply turned a page. “Hey sis.”
“What-cha doin?” Crossing her front legs, Spitfire tilts her head as she looks at the dragon.
“I’ve been looking into the group of ponies in Africa. I really think we can do something to help them.” Spike says, smiling.
“Like what? Send them an aid package?” Spitfire says, taking a moment to look at her wings.
“Most definitely. We are delivering four new Superjet 130’s to Kenya Airways. They are just getting their final paint jobs down in the factory.” Spike says, he looks at up for a moment, smiles, then goes back to the papers.
“Oh, we can load up a few hundred pounds of equipment on each without really affecting its range or such.” Spitfire says, raising her wings.
"Yep, and the best part, Mandera’s runway has been extended out to 5,600 feet. It’s right on the border, we should be able to set them down there, unload the goods, and have them shipped by road to the community.” Spike says.
“We will need some way to let the dragon there know it's safe.” Spitfire says.
Spike blinks, then smiles, “I know just the thing.”
“I’ll get started on getting together some stuff for them, blankets, multilayer filter system, water bladders and spare parts. Some solar panels.” Spitfire is walking in circles as she thinks aloud.
After a few moments, Spitfire turns and runs for the door, “I want this to be perfect, it won’t cost us a lot, but we’ll be able to help so many ponies.”
***
“Happy birthday.” Eric says, walking in to Ballad’s room with a big smile on his face.
“Hey! Knock first, I could be indecent.” Ballad says, looking up.
Blinking, holding the box in his hands, Eric tilts his head, “Ok that I’d LIKE to see, you indecent. Considering ponies don’t always wear clothing.”
Blushing a bit, Ballad looks down, “That’s not what I… and… pervert…”
Laughing, Eric walks fully into the room and sits down, hugging her. “It’s okay. I’m just teasing you.”
“And it's not my birthday.” Ballad says, looking at the box.
Shaking his head, Eric smiles, “Well we can be sure, we don’t know when you were born as a pony. For all we know this could be your birthaversery.”
“Ugh, unicorns don’t have Birthaverseries.” She snorts, “That’s a pegasus thing. We have birthdays.” Ballad says with a firm nod.
“I just don’t know enough about pony aging, but from what we saw you’re just a teenager.” Eric says, “So here you go.”
Blinking, Ballad takes the gift and looks up, fluttering her eyes at him, “Hey I was old enough to date. We just might have to wait an extra year or so before we get married.”
Laughing softly, Eric points, “Well open the gift.”
Opening the box, Ballad goes wide eyed, inside is a forty-nine string solo lyre, almost identical in style to the one in her dream. It is smooth, made of a mix of dark and light wood. Polished, varnished, the strings are perfectly placed.
Looking at it in awe, she cradles it, tears starting to form in her eyes as she looks up at Eric, “Oh Celestia… how…”
“Dad and I worked on finding it, it's from a company that specializes in them. I just had to get them to alter the style slightly and colors.” Eric says, smiling lovingly at her.
Crying, Ballad wraps her forelegs around him, hugging as tightly as she can, “It’s perfect!”
“It was brought in from overseas FedEx.” Eric says, stroking her mane and back.
“How could you afford it.?”
“I borrowed from dad. Dad gets a lot of money from his job. Demolitions experts aren’t cheap.” Eric says with a chuckle.
***
“The change has taken a lot out of him. And he didn’t have much to begin with.” Dr. Ray says, holding the flashlight with his magic. “His feathers look okay, some burns on the body but they don’t look as bad as before.”
“See, I told you it would work.” Mindy says, looking proud.
Shaking his head, Dr. Ray looks at the other unicorn, “That was the riskiest thing ever, and we still messed up the spell horribly.”
“How what?” Mindy says, blinking, “He’s a pegasus.”
“First off, he’s a she. That was never intended, and wasn’t supposed to happen. Second, his wings are too big. Way too big, they are almost fifty percent larger than a pegasus of her size. Third, the eyes. He’s got jewel or crystal eyes. Its like he’s part crystal pony but didn’t change all the way.” Shaking his head, he looks at Mindy, a frown on his face.
“Well he’ll live, heal quicker, and should change back in three days, so no harm, no foul.” Mindy says with a giggle.
“Add to that there are four different colors in the mane, its like each pony’s magic did something different. This is why we shouldn’t do spells we don’t understand.” Dr. Ray says, then he stops and gives Mindy a reassuring nuzzle, “I know you wanted to try but this was so dangerous.”
Moaning softly Sanders whimpers weakly, “The engines won’t power up in time. We have to go under them… I won’t be responsible for hurting…”
His voice is weak, yet soft and very gentle, with almost a British accent to it. It is somewhat of a cross between Octavia and Cheerilee when Mindy thinks about it. Which seems strange coming from someone who she knows has no accent.
Opening his eyes, he looks up at Dr. Ray, then at Mindy. “Hi balloon-butt, who’s your friend?”
“This is Dr. Ray, he’s a medical unicorn.” Mindy giggles, “And I’m not balloon-butt you feather brain.”
Flicking an ear once, Lt Sanders smiles, “Let me guess, you’re here to tell me there was an accident, too late.”
“You…don’t notice anything wrong?” Dr. Ray says, blinking.
Turning his head slightly, he looks up at Dr. Ray, “Humans have this neat thing called morphine, right now I’m so doped that I can’t feel my fingers or toes.”
Mindy starts giggling. She knows she shouldn’t, but she just can’t help herself. “Well we did all we could, but magic can only do so much.” Shaking her head, she looks around, “Were sorry about your face. We tried our best but…”
Sanders smiles at Mindy, “Oh, har, har, what about the face? I ended up looking like myself huh?”
“Nope, sorry, you ended up looking beautiful, its not our fault, just the way the magic worked.” Mindy says, looking innocent, floating a mirror off the vanity in the bathroom over to him. “We sort of turned you into a pegasus to heal you quicker, but the magic made you a mare.”
Looking side to side, he turns his head to look at a wing, moving it a little.
“Don’t worry, it’ll wear off in three days,” Dr. Ray says, “I know its traumatic to become a mare but…”
“Forget about the mare part, when can I try out these awesome wings?” Sanders says, smiling as wide as he can.
Dr. Ray blinks several times, his mouth hanging open a bit until Mindy leans sideways and pushes his mouth closed with a hoof. “Maybe in two days we can get you out for a little bit.”
“Two days,” Sanders whines. “That’s like forever, what am I supposed to do for two days?”
“Umm, read a Daring Do book? You’re almost as bad as Rainbow Dash.” Dr. Ray says, shaking his head, “Are all pegasi like this?” He asks, looking at Mindy.
“Only the ones with wings.” Mindy giggles.
***
“Keep your wings wide.” Blaze says, rolling side to side.
Moaning, Feather flaps as hard as she can, “I’m exhausted… I can only seem to fly about a hundred feet at a time before getting too tired to go on.”
“It’s okay Feather, it’s mostly because you’re young.” Blaze says and drops under her so she can land on his back. “In Cloudsdale and such, you’d just have to fly from cloud to cloud.”
“Will I ever get stronger?” Feather asks, panting hard.
Blaze landed on a cloud and laughed, “Oh, most definitely. You get stronger and grow bigger every day. You’re building up your energy reserves slowly but surely.”
“I wonder how Candy and Cloudy are doing.” Feather muses, looking at her wings, preening them a little.
“Oh I’m sure the are fine. Velvet said she was just going to teach them some basic fundamentals of magic. She even got a puzzle for them to play with.” Blaze says, trying to sound as hopeful as he can.
“In other words she’s going to melt their horns? And I thought I had it rough.” Feather whimpers, “Oh poor things. We have to save them!”
Blaze laughs and hugs Feather. “They will be fine, they’re young. I’m sure Velvet won’t… melt their horns. Much.”
“But we can’t be the Cutie Mark Crusaders if the other two are brain dead unizombies.” Feather whines.
“Unizombies?” Blaze blinks.
“Yeah, we all watched a Walking Dead marathon. I don’t want them to turn into unizombies.” Feather says and pouts.
Blinking, Blaze just shakes his head. “You… are a nut job.”
***
Fleur is laughing so hard, tears are coming out of her eyes. She had fallen on the floor, unable to stay on the sofa. “Stop, stop, I’m gonna pee.”
“It’s not funny!” Jenny whines.
“Oh Celestia it is.” Fleur says, gasping, “Look first things first, crawl off that linoleum. Without hoof boots on, you can’t stand on that. Especially on just two legs.”
“What the heck are hoof boots?” Jenny says, crawling slowly out of the kitchen.
Lifting one hind leg straight up, Fleur points with a forehoof. “Those, rubber soled hoof guards that act like running shoes. Gives us grip on things like wood, tile and such.”
“Well why didn’t you tell me?” Jenny says, huffing as she wobbles, standing on her new hooves.
“I didn’t have time, you freaked out and ran into the kitchen.” Fleur says, “Then you slid right across the kitchen floor, fell on your tail, slammed into the oven…”
“I know, I know, you jerk. And you didn’t do anything.” Jenny huffs, crossing her arms.
“Yes I did, I recorded it all on my phone.” Fleur says, holding up her phone.
Jenny huffs softly and looks at Fleur, “And just why are you here then?”
“To watch over you, to make sure you don’t hurt yourself, go into depression, commit suicide or such. I’ve heard that happened to one of the ponies as they changed over near Lightning Dust’s colony. I’m here to help you understand the changes. In other words, to be a pony friend and help you as you rediscover who you always were.”
Blinking Jenny smiles and hugs Fleur tightly. “Thanks, this has been so hard.”
“Oh this is the easy part actually. Unicorn boot camp is hard.” Fleur says, “Velvet will get you using your magic with ease but you’ll feel totally wasted every night, like you’ve ran a marathon.”
“Is it really that bad?” Jenny says, sitting down.
“It is and it isn’t. She makes it so you always feel like you’ve accomplished something. She tries to make it fun, but its still a lot of work. The rewards though, learning to move things with your magic, being able to cook, clean, do day to day stuff comes second nature. It's wonderful.”
Looking up she rubs her horn nub a bit. “So um, do we fly commercial?”
“Nope, we are going to hop a military flight. Once you’re fully changed.”
***
Just to understand, there are different levels of boredom. These levels often very based on the person, their tolerance, and their energy levels. A child might not want to sit through a car ride quietly. A teenager might not want to play a video game about a person filing taxes.
Trying to keep Pinky or Rainbow Dash with their energy levels, in a small room with nothing to do but watch paint dry, that reaches a new height of boredom.
For Sanders, a person who has lived to fly almost his entire life, now with actual wings of his own for three whole days. He now has chance to fly like he has always dreamed of, on his own, unfettered by an aircraft. A chance to play in the clouds and sleep on a cloud bed, yet bound in a small room. Looking up at the birds and clouds just calling his name. It’s painful, simply painful for him.
He had reached the level of boredom equitable to a child with Attention Deficit Disorder, forced to listen to a lecture on applied thermal dynamics, given by Ben Stein. Actually, he had passed that level, after the ball he was bouncing off the wall had rolled out the door.
“Argh, this is torture!” The mare yells.
Stretching out her wing, she checks out her feathers. Making sure each feather is clean and smooth for flight, she has already preened twice today. She just needs something to do, anything. Anything to keep her active.
Walking in, a nurse swats Sanders nose lightly. “No. Lay still and no messing with your wings. You need rest.”
“Rest! I’m wide awake, I feel like I’ve had a dozen coffees, and a case of Red Bull.” Sanders whines and holds out a wing. “Besides, the wings are fine, take a look!”
The nurse shakes her head, “It doesn’t matter. You need to keep as still as possible. Doctor’s orders.”
“Come on, can’t I get out of bed for a little bit? I think I have to go to the bathroom soon.” Sanders says and looks at the bathroom.
“I’ll get a bed pan.” The nurse responds and walks over to the storage area.
“Argh, but the bathroom is right there!” Sanders says with a huff, “What's a pony got to do to use the bathroom around here?”
“Learn to sit and pee like a good mare?” The nurse says sternly.
“Mares can stand and pee, they just have to keep their tail out of the way, and watch where they aim their butts.” Sanders says and sticks her tongue out.
Walking over, the nurse puts down a nice tray of… some strange green slime, some orange chunks, a white mush with yellow and black bits in it, and a bowl of strange colored cubes, in a brown broth.
“Umm, now that I’ve seen this, when’s food being served?” Sanders huffs, as a pilot he made sure the ponies had proper food. This isn’t proper food.
“What do you expect, you just changed the doctors don’t want you on foods that will upset your stomach." The nurse says with a firm nod.
“I’ve been around enough first time changes. Can I just have some MRE-P’s? Please?” Sanders says, flattening her ears side to side and pouting.
“No. It’s healthy, easy to chew and swallow, hospital food for you. Eat up.” The nurse says.
***
Henry lets out a strange cross between a whinny and squeak as Sugarberry tackles him from behind. It is a strange sound to come from a full grown man. Rather ponyish.
“Hey, careful.” Henry says, looking back at Sugarberry as he lay face-first on the ground.
“Got you!” She giggles. Smiling brightly, she snuggles down on his back.
“Human back riding are we?” Henry says laughing.
“Giddy up?”
Laughing, Henry rolls over, “I was just heading to the clinic.”
“You’re one of the doctors at the clinic now?” Sugarberry smiles and lifts her head.
Blinking, Henry laughs, “Oh heck no, I’m sort of a nurse’s assistant at best. I help out, giving shots and such. Gives me a chance to learn more pony anatomy.”
“You should be like a doctor.” Sugarberry huffs as she hugs him.
“I’m a combat medic, I’m only EMT trained, not a doctor.” Henry says with a laugh as he booped her nose with his finger. “Besides, even if I was a human doctor, I still wouldn’t feel qualified to operate on ponies, silly.”
Pouting, Sugarberry hugs him tightly, “I know, I just think you can be so much more.”
“I’m not greedy. I have you, and that’s all I really need.” Henry says, rubbing his nose against hers.
Blinking, Sugarberry feels her cheeks and ears going red. Turning her ears quickly, she clears her throat. “Well I feel the same about you. I love you so much.”
Smiling, Henry ruffles behind her ears, “I love you too.”
“So what’s going on at the clinic?” Sugarberry asks.
“Oh I’m helping with this and that. Mostly things like vaccinations. I let the real doctors and vets handle everything else.” Henry says and rubs his nose against hers again.
“Can’t you teach them spells?” Sugarberry says, holding him tightly and nuzzling back.
“Doesn’t work that way. I don’t understand how and why my spells worked, so I can’t teach that. The best I can do is offer suggestions.” Henry says and looks around, “And… this time we’re being watched by ponies. We really need to stop laying down on the grass in public.”
“Well at least this time it's you that looks out of place, and not me.” Laughing, Sugarberry wiggles her tail.
“I don’t mind, you’re still my little pony, and I’ll be there, right by your side.” Henry says with a big smile.
*** McLean, Va ***
The reports had come across The Analyst’s desk. It isn’t an overtly busy day, so there is more than enough time to read through the file. The Africa desks are always busy. There’s always something going on, between terrorists, pirates, and warlords.
This, however, is troubling. Kenya has had a long history of buying from every country. From big dealers like China, Russia, USA, and Germany, to used equipment from Ukraine, Serbia, and even Australia. So seeing a contract from the Kenyan Airlines to buy four Russian made Superjets isn’t all that unexpected.
What is disturbing, however, is the flight plan. It calls for all four jets to land at an airfield on the border with Somalia. Rather than flying directly to the capital, they are scheduled to land at a relatively new airfield that had just been extended.
In the past, the CIA had used civilian marked airlines and privately owned planes to fly weapons into freedom fighter and rebel groups. If the Russian government was trying to supply rebels in Somalia, it could destabilize the region even worse.
Standing up, The Analyst walks over to the big board and looks at the map, “Sir, we’ve got a problem.”
Looking up, his supervisor stands up and walks over, “What’s up?”
“Sukhoi International is delivering some airliners to The Pride of Africa airline. The flight plan has the final destination as Jomo, but all four planes are scheduled to land at Mandera. The range of the planes is more than enough to go to Jomo directly.” Using the pointer, he holds up his hand, “Mandera’s right on the border.”
“Smuggling? Breach of the arms embargo?” his supervisor asks.
“I don’t know. I think we should put a drone out there to watch what’s going on. Any chance we could task some eyes in the sky for that time?”
The supervisor nods, “Yeah, not a problem, I’ll have a twenty-four-hour window for an RQ-170 to be there. I’ll also have the field office there check with local assets, have them look into things and see what they hear.”
***
“Fleur! Help!”
Looking over to Jenny’s room, Fleur gets up quickly, “Sea Swirl are you ok? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t move, help!” Sea Swirl cries.
Opening the door, Fleur sees Swirls tangled up on her sheets, she had managed to get herself rolled up, and now couldn’t get her front or hind legs free. With a soft smile, Fleur lifts the smaller unicorn up and unrolls her.
“Unicorn in a blanket, how cute.” Fleur says as she sets Sea Swirl down.
Blinking Swirl looks at her forelegs, “Hey, where are my hands?”
“Hands, where we’re going we won’t need any hands.” Fleur says and brings over a mirror to show Sea Swirl. “Welcome back.”
Looking at herself, she sighs, “And there’s no way for me to be human again?”
“Well there is, you can go through the gate and come back. The problem is, you won’t have your magic but will have your cutie mark.” Fleur says softly.
“And that’s a problem?” Swirl asks as she looks at her legs, trying to move them.
Fleur nods slowly, “It could be, if your natural talent is something magic based. Say you can control the water, you’d lose that but in ways feel the need to keep trying to do it.”
“But what if I don’t like my special talent?” Swirl asks, looking back at her cutie mark.
Fleur has to smile, “Foals and ponies have struggled with that since the first marks appeared. What if I get something I don’t like, what if it doesn’t suit me? The problem is, it never happens. Your talent is always who you are and what you love.”
Fleur looks down at Swirl, “The big thing is the loss of magic. Trust me, once you get used to using magic, you’ll end up wondering what you ever did without it. Sort of like a pegasus, once they get used to flying, they never want to give it up.”
“What about Earth ponies?”
***
“HUP HUP HUP!” Ah-Pee calls out loudly and clearly.
“This is NOT what I meant.” Goldie moans as she runs beside the other earth ponies.
Anthony can’t help but laugh, “You wanted an Earth Pony Boot Camp. Apparently the supervisors agreed with your request.”
“I hate you, you realize that don’t you?” Goldie growls as she continues to run with the other ponies.
“If’n Ya’ll have enough energy to talk, ya’ll have enough energy to run harder!” Ah-Pee calls out, a huge smile on her face.
“How is this helping us!” Suri whines.
“Us earth ponies are about strength, stamina, endurance. We are the backbones of Equestrai!” Ah-Pee says, keeping the pace of the herd. “If’n you can’t handle a simple ten mile run, how are you supposed to do things like the Running of The Leaves?”
“Argh!” Goldie yells, “I’m gonna kill you Anthony.”
“Cobbler, shake that tail, yer give’n the Apple family a bad name!” Ah-Pee says, looking over her shoulder as she runs around the track. The thunder of hooves ringing out loud and clear.
There are nearly a dozen earth ponies in the group. Ah-Pee has been teaching unicorns and pegasi hoof care and the basics of being a pony. So now it’s her turn to run an earth pony boot camp.
“Were going to learn about buckin, about ridin, about pullin wagons, about saddlebags, about how to use your hooves.” Ah-Pee calls out.
“Why would I want to pull a wagon?” Goldie says, panting.
Ah-Pee looks over her shoulder, “Cuz its easier then carrying a piano on yer back. We can haul tons, and I mean thousands of pounds of stuff, at once. And its easer and cheaper then a car or cab. If you want to haul a load of groceries five measly blocks are you gonna call cab? Or load it into a small wagon and pull it.”
Goldie grumbled, “I’ll strap it to Anthony’s back and whip him all the way home.” Then she shoots an evil look at Anthony, who is sitting on a bench, eating doughnuts and drinking coffee.
Ah-Pee laughs, “Oh you don’t even know the fun of it. Our legs can shatter wood or stone. We need to learn how to control that. One mistake and we can kick a can through a person by accident.” Her ears flatten for a moment, then she shakes her head quickly, “So this will be about learning your bodies limits and controlling them.”
“Why are you even here Anthony?” Goldie yells.
“Cuz Fleur is going to be here in a day with Sea Swirl. Swirls going through Unicorn boot camp and learning magic.” Anthony calls back, “Looking good, girl. Keep those legs going!”
Patches is panting hard, but she’s keeping pace with the group, she’s younger than the other mares and newer to the change. Border Security had let her come to Dust’s farm as asylum after her Mexican imprisonment, then when Ah Pee was starting her earth pony boot camp, she asked to be allowed to go, since it was in the fledgling pony town. She’s regretting the decision a little, her legs hurt, but there is a freedom about this that she’s finding that she loves.
***
Opening one eye, the mare looks around. It’s quiet. Too quiet. Somewhere, it is lurking. Somewhere it’s laying in wait for the mare to try and move and she knows it. It’s the spawn of Tartarus. Its evil incarnate.
Slowly, the mare makes her move. As silently as she can, she moves her legs. Letting them slowly slide down to the ground as she slides her body out from under cover. Inch by inch, she moves forward in the darkness. Slowly, she moves one hind leg, then the other. Once free of her cover, she slowly looks around, her eyes locking on the flicking light ahead of her.
She will be free of her captor, she will escape.
Only problem is, Sanders still hadn’t practiced walking as a pony yet. Also, hooves on the smooth hospital floors as a starting place is a bad combination. Quickly she loses her balance and falls to the ground with a clatter.
In response, the nurse opens the door, looking sternly at the mare, “What did I say? See you can’t even stand.”
“That’s because I haven’t had my walking practice, it takes every pony a good ten minutes to remember or learn how to walk again.” Sanders says with a huff, “And these floors are slippery.”
“Nope, no walking, no running, and especially no flying.” Looking over her shoulder, the nurse calls out, “Orderly, help Lt. Sanders back into bed.”
“Darn legs, you will work for me. Next time.”
***
I do my best to look stern. Standing proud and true, I trot around the unicorn, looking her over. I take note of her horn, her mane and tail. I look at her colors and her cutie mark. “And this is what they are sending me to train these days?” I say loudly, getting a ears to flatten and tail to tuck underneath rears.
Looking over my shoulder at Blaze I shake my head, “Foals! I’m being sent foals.”
“Hey, I’m not a foal.” Sea Swirl says defiantly, “And I do remember you from the attack on the Corvalis.”
Looking over at Blaze I smile, “Wow at least she didn’t say…”
“And from the educational videos.” Swirl adds.
“ARGH!” I just droop. “I swear I regret ever getting talked into doing those.”
Laughing, Blaze puts a wing over me, “It’s okay, I think you looked cute in them.”
“Actually they do help a lot, especially with those of us who haven’t seen the My Little Pony series.” Sea Swirl says, “It’s not like I’m an important character in them.”
Cookie giggles, “Oh don’t say that, you’re Sea Swirl, you were in tons of episodes.”
“More than me.” I say and giggle, “Come on look at me, I’m mostly just known as the mom of Sparkle and Armor.”
Blaze nods, “But really, the show only covered a small portion of our lives. We are so much more than just the characters shown.”
“We know that Sea Swirl was born in Canterlot, chose to move to Ponyville to be with her friends, but still when ever she could, she took the train out to the sea.” I say. “Even from that we know she’s a good friend, loving, trusting, well educated, and of course, loves the ocean but is willing to semi-ignore her calling just to be with those she cares about.”
Fleur looks down at Sea Swirl and hugs her with her neck. “Now you get a chance to make some pony friends, learn about your magic, and find out who you are.”
“Is magic really that hard?” Sea Swirl asks me.
“I think the best way of describing things is this. Picture a person after a car accident. They are in traction for months, casts on their legs. Then after all of that, they have to learn to walk again. Just like learning to walk as a pony took time, learning magic again will take time. It will be exhausting, it might hurt a little, but your magic, your horn, your brain has been in a twenty-five year cast.” I say and cross my horn with hers, “Slowly but surely you will remember and learn how to do things again.”
“And at the same time you’ll find friendships.” Cookie says, “Find you like to associate with ponies.”
Sea Swirl looks up at Fleur, then back to me, smiling wide, “So where do we start?”
“Right now, with food and drink. Magic requires energy, so I want to make sure you’re well filled, and have lots of fluids.” Smiling, I nod at Cookie, “Come on, let’s bring her for her first unicorn meal.”
*** McLean, Va ***
“Well? What have we got?” The CIA Supervisor asks.
Putting the pictures from the drone up on the big screen, The Analyst leans back in his chair and huffs. “The planes touched down about an hour ago, unloaded goods into six safari trucks, took on fuel and took off again.”
“What kind of goods?”
“Don’t know, it was wrapped shipping pallets. Four per truck, that’s twenty-six total. The trucks headed across into Somalia about half an hour ago. “
“The drone?”
“It’s following the convoy, holding at thirty thousand feet, nothing will see it, but its low enough to keep track of the vehicles through the dust, as well as get facial recognition on anyone around it.”
The supervisor shakes his head, “Ground sources were sketchy at best. The trucks are contracted from a local agency. The drivers are all locals, certified to drive across border. They were told to drive to a set of GPS coordinates, stop, and then place marks on the ground.”
“There are two rebel groups in the area, but rebel activity has dropped further east due to…” The Analyst blinks.
“The dragon.” The supervisor says, “Could this be about that monster and the ponies?”
“Maybe, right now I’ll keep watching and call if anything changes or happens.” The Analyst says, shaking his head. “What is the Russian Government up to?”
***
“Hi sis!” White Lighting says as she lands beside Jet Stream, “Hey Drizzle, you got the invites too?”
Both girls nod, then look up and laugh as they watch more pegasi landing.
“I think we all did.” Drizzle says and puts a wing over Streams protectively.
“So what’s this about?” Streams asks.
White Lighting shakes her head, “Not sure, but they said they wanted our opinion on something.”
Looking up at the pizzeria the girls smiled brightly, Brother Pizza here had done so much to make the pegasi feel at home. They know that sending out invites to the 520th would have lots of pegasi showing up. The squadron came here after long workdays.
Opening the door, the owner, who is an older man of English American descent smiles, “Welcome mares and gentle colts, we’ve decided to do something to honor the Service Ponies.”
Turning, he holds the door open for the ponies as they walk inside. Everything looks the same between the ovens, the bar, and the tables, except for the far end, where a ramp had been put in, replacing an older stairwell. The owner’s daughter smiles, motioning for the ponies to head down the ramp.
Looking at Drizzle, Streams walks over and looks down, the ramp is set at a slightly steeper angle than normal for wheelchairs, but seemed to be friendly for ponies to walk up and down safely. There is even “slide guards” every few steps to prevent a pony from slipping.
At the bottom, it opens up into a new fully finished basement of the restaurant. The staff has a few normal benches and tables down here, as well as a few low tables. A large chunk of the floor has been left open, however, with soft carpeting and pillows for ponies to lounge and rest. A karaoke machine has been added, as well as some video games, but the dominating feature is a truly massive 95-inch TV.
Smiling, the owner’s daughter steps up on the stage, “We wanted a place set aside that you could come and relax. To sing and laugh, to watch movies, and enjoy each others company. You don’t need to feel pressured to come down here, or feel like your hiding from our less pony customers. At the same time though, we felt you deserved a place you could get the food you love, with the friends you’ve come to have.”
Walking down the ramp, the owner smiles as the room continues to be filled up with ponies, “And to kick things off. We contacted Warner Brothers, and have a very special event for all of you here. J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them, part one, and part two. We then cut a deal with them, thanks to friends in various law enforcement departments, and they have given us a copy of… Part three which is showing in theaters now. A six-hour movie marathon. For those that want to stay and watch.”
Streams looks at Drizzle, then bounds over, laying on the plush carpeting in front of the TV. Nodding, Drizzle follows. Soon several mares, including White Lighting are cuddled up in a line, some using pillows, others using each other in front of the TV, eyes wide. Ears twitching.
“Well if you approve, would any of you like to order?” The owner’s daughter asks holding her tablet in her hand.
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I love this chapter and I can see ware there is going to be lots of fun heading the readers way and they are all going to enjoy it.
and poor sanders who did he become?
hum the eyes have me wondering.
I love the earth pony boot camp scene! :)
Another awesome new chapter!
Sanders need to train his sneak skill. Also, his walk skill.
Probably his "digest hospital food" skill, too.
Oh, and do they have a rock-eating class in earth pony boot camp?
7144870 Well they asked for, if anything it reaffirms the saying about being careful what you ask for you might get it
They gave Twilight Sparkle's parents speaking likes in the Crystalling, part 2. Mr. Sparkle (Night Light) was voiced by Shining Armor's VA, and Tara Strong spoke Twilight Velvet's lines asking Cadence what her filly's name was.
7151878
Yeah, but that's season 6 which doesn't exist in the Five Score universe.
Secret care package delivery!