• Published 15th Oct 2018
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Friendship Abroad - Starscribe



Ocellus and her friends only planned to sail to Manehattan for their final project. They never imagined a storm could take them... a little further than that.

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Chapter 25

“I know this… might not be a great time…” Marie’s voice sounded stupid and fearful, even to her. But once she’d started the question, she couldn’t stop herself.

Whatever vehicle MI5 had found to lock them away in, it was far more comfortable than she’d been expecting. It rode smoothly over the roads, with an interior that was comfortably air-conditioned. The lack of any sort of seats or safety equipment inside might’ve filled her with a rebellious excitement in simpler times. But now she could feel only the fear that this trip meant.

There would be no escape from the consequences of today. Maybe they’ll lock us away underground for the rest of our lives. We’re a danger to Britain… to the whole world. For all she knew, she might never see any of her friends again. Maybe Marie would be living in a black and white world for the rest of her life, in an empty cell with flavorless food.

But if Marie was going to spend the rest of her life locked up in a little concrete room, she was at least going to do it knowing how to look like herself while she was in it. She stood up a little straighter, then put one hand on Ocellus’s shoulder. Looking right into the eyes of a gigantic insect was terrifying, or it would’ve been if she didn’t know the bug felt no hostility towards her. “You might not get another chance. Maybe you and your friends get sent back to Equestria, and you never get to teach me. I need to learn how to be human again.”

Ocellus looked her up and down, insect eyes contemplative. She couldn’t hide the pity she felt, so thick that Marie could taste it. But if that’s what it took to bring a little color back to the windowless van they were riding in, she could live with that.

“Okay, Marie. But… this isn’t the kind of thing you learn in a day. I’ve known bugs who don’t master it in their whole lives. Some forms will probably be out of reach for a long time. The smaller you’re trying to be, or the less alive, the harder it will be. And on the other side, the more in common the transformation is, the easier it will be.” She closed her eyes, and Marie watched. There was a little flash of magic, enough that everyone else in the van stared.

There was Agent Smith with his sidearm prominently on display, the gigantic yak, and the dragon. Everyone else was on the other van, including her human friends. At least the scientist didn’t tell Ocellus to stop—she only held up a camera and started filming.

“I don’t need to master it in a day,” Marie said. “Changing into…” She trailed off. She had been about to say that there was only one thing she ever wanted to be again, but she couldn’t quite get the words out. Being able to swim without needing air had been exciting! What if there was another way for her to fly, or… she couldn’t say she never wanted to do any of those things again, not while staying honest with herself.

“Okay, there’s one thing that’s important for me. Doing… what you just did.” She held out one hand, feeling Ocellus’s cheeks, her forehead. There was no misshapen horn protruding through her head, just skin and hair that hadn’t seen a proper shampoo in far too long. “How do I copy you?”

“Well… it’s not like unicorn magic,” Ocellus began. “It’s not something you learn from a book. You don’t memorize and test and recite. It’s a state of mind. You have to feel what it’s like to…”

And so the lesson went on. Marie lost track of how long she sat in the corner of the van, lost track of how long the drive was taking them. Maybe if she’d been smarter she would’ve tried to remember the route, so she could guess at where they’d end up and be able to escape. But Marie had never been that clever. She only wanted to go home.

It only took a few minutes for Marie to realize that what she’d done while alone with the doctor was exactly what Ocellus was trying to teach her. What the changeling described in vague magical terms she could visualize as movements and stretches of her limbs. It was like becoming more flexible—but instead of trying to do a split, she was trying to remember the way she’d looked before.

Ocellus stopped her after a few minutes, settling one hoof on her shoulder. “That’s it! Marie, you’re there! Or… I think you’re there. I’m not as good with humans as other things, so I probably wouldn’t notice subtle mistakes, but… you don’t look as much like a changeling anymore.”

She gestured over. “Hey, Sandbar! Come over here a minute.”

The most normal of all the creatures—basically just a horse with a slightly different shape, squeezed past the yak to look over at her. “Hey, you did it Marie! No more wings!”

She reclined, resting her back against the metal wall of the truck. Nothing but skin and cloth and metal—she’d actually done it.

She reached up with one hand, touching her forehead cautiously. As though too much pressure too fast might make her success disappear.

But no, there was just skin there too. “What about my eyes?” she asked, unable to keep the excitement from her voice now. “Are those fixed too?”

“Fixed…” Sandbar repeated. “They look like… I think your friends’ did? Honestly I didn’t get a good look.”

“They’re fixed.” Ocellus confirmed. “Now, you just need to practice that same change like fifty different times. Back in the old days, when Queen Chrysalis was still in charge, that’s what she had her infiltrators do. They had to practice a transformation so much that they could do it without even thinking. That’s how they know they’re ready to deploy.”

Changing back felt like letting out her breath after holding it for a minute or so—her wings returned, her horn came back, and her eyes briefly burned. Then it was back to the routine, until the van had slowed to a crawl and Smith rapped his fingers on the side to get their attention. “We’ve arrived. It’s going to take a few minutes to get all the biohazard equipment into place, so I’d ask each of you to remain calm and in place until that time. Preparing… accommodations for creatures like yourselves is a challenge for all involved, but there’s no reason anyone need get violent. I’m told you’ll all be treated well.”

“Where are we?” Smolder asked, from just beside the agent. “No windows on the trip over.”

Agent Smith looked a little uncomfortable, but he didn’t avoid the dragon’s eyes. “It’s called the Armitage Facility. I can’t tell you much beyond that, except that it’s the place we’ve always used to study… unconventional things. It’s remote enough that the people of this country will not be endangered by the things we discover.”

“Right.” Smolder lifted into the air, flying over Yona and Sandbar and landing beside the currently-human Ocellus. “You still think coming with them was a good idea?”

Ocellus glanced briefly up at Marie, then shrugged. “I think… it’s better than the alternative.”

Smolder shook her head, rolling her eyes. “I sure hope this pony way of doing everything pays off. All smiles and talk and cooperation. My way is better.”

“Your way got you hurt,” Marie said. She might be smaller than the dragon, but after living with her for a little bit, she knew she wasn’t going to just get attacked. Even if the dragon’s claws were every bit as sharp as she’d imagined. “Nobody’s hurt now. Except maybe a little carsick from riding in a truck through the night. Talking is good… talking to you shows them they can talk to Equestria too. That’s where the real danger is. Who cares about what happens to us if the whole world goes to war. Because of us.”

“At least war makes sense,” Smolder muttered, smacking one of her claws into the side of the truck. But she didn’t cut through, and after a few seconds they’d gone back to silence. Marie took nearly the entire time to change back into herself, banishing her wings and horn and eyes again. Ocellus’s advice was good—the more she practiced this exact change, the easier it was.

While she worked, the truck rocked gently back and forth, and there were various mechanical sounds from outside. Occasional voices, muffled by suits. Shouted orders. “Do you think I’ll really be able to do… other things?” Marie asked, once she’d finally got the wings to stick. “What can you do?”

“Most creatures,” Ocellus admitted. “Ponies, dragons, griffons, minotaurs, hippogriffs, uh… simpler stuff like birds and foxes and… basically anything alive. There are some changelings who get deep into the advanced side of magic. I saw my uncle turn into a rock once. But… that’s really hard, and I don’t recommend it. The less like you something is, the more magic it takes. Given you’re a… delicate little creature with two legs and soft skin, that’s probably the easiest thing for you to copy. Be careful with your reserves. The best way to practice is with friends, so you always have someone to lend you a little love if something goes wrong.”

The door behind them creaked, then swung open. There were more people in biohazard suits outside, all armed. But at least none were actively pointing weapons at them.

“Welcome to Armitage,” said a man in a thick suit, his voice muffled by the inflated plastic over his face. “My name is Commander Blackburn. I’ll be serving as the official liaison with the facility and government representative during your stay here.”

“Well great,” Smolder said, moving past Marie and the others to stand right in front of him. She was smaller than Commander Blackburn, though in every other way she looked fiercer. Those scales were certainly stronger than an inflated plastic suit. And while he carried no weapons, her claws were certainly dangerous. “What we need is to go home. How do we do that?”

To his credit, the man didn’t look intimidated. “Ah, well. I can’t promise you anything at this stage, I’m afraid. But what I can tell you is that contact has been made with your, uh… government. If you’re as peaceful as we’ve been led to believe, then this should be squared away within the week. In the meantime, we’ll be using this time productively. Our chief concern is for any diseases you may be carrying. There will be medical tests in store for all of you, not too uncomfortable I’m sure. By the time those are done, we should have quarters ready for you. If you don’t mind.”

Smolder growled for a second, baring her teeth. But the commander was unimpressed—he didn’t reach for a gun, didn’t even blink. After a few seconds, the dragon moved off. “Whatever. You deal with this, Ocellus.”

Marie reached over, squeezing her hand. “It’s the right thing. Fighting is a bad idea. We can get through this.”

The changeling didn’t seem like she was in a hurry to return to her old shape. She moved past Yona, and Marie followed her. Within reach, though not actually holding onto her hand anymore. It had to look strange, the set of identical twins riding around in a car full of mythical creatures. But the commander didn’t react. “We’re ready to cooperate with your demands,” she said, loud enough for her friends to hear. “I’m sure our friends in the other truck will too. Will we be… will these medical tests be together?”

“No,” he answered. “You’re all too big for any of our hospital rooms. Or… most of you are. We’ve had to convert some of our facilities to accommodate you. But I’m told the examinations should be complete within the hour. If you’ll all follow me…”