Chapter 51: To Home
Summer Ray wasn’t sure she could survive the shock if the Horizon wasn’t waiting for them. But this time at least, she wouldn’t have to find out. They didn’t have to reach the clearing for her to see the low hump of the balloon, with a thin layer of ice and snow condensed along its upper surface. The balloon sagged a little, as though it had lost some of its gas during their time away. But it was still here.
That said, it did look as though the last ones to use it were the raiding party sent to capture them. They hadn’t so much as shut the ramp when they left. A layer of snow and dirt ran up through the engine room, past the nearly empty coal bunker and an entirely cold engine.
At least Feather hadn’t gone in and melted it again, that they could see.
“Nice place you got here,” Corey remarked from the back—not so much because he was protecting them as he was the slowest, and they all wanted to get out of the cold. “You actually weren’t shitting me about the ‘around the world in eighty days’ stuff.”
“Of course I wasn’t,” she answered, glaring back at him. And I’m naked and he’s behind me and oh God this isn’t fair. But she couldn’t quite make it past “I shouldn’t have been changed” to “I want other people to go through it too.” “Think about it for a minute, Corey. If I wanted to lie, wouldn’t it be better to come up with something… plausible? Not a word of it wasn’t true.”
They made it up into the kitchen, and her heart sank another few feet. The cupboard hung open, a few of them torn right off their hinges. Nothing was left, not even the cans of apples she was getting sick of eating.
“E-Emerald…” Sharp called, loud enough that they all stopped to stare in his direction. “Light… furnace. Warm…”
I miss that necklace already. She could still tell what Sharp meant, but the extra step made her feel so… detached. And she’d keep feeling that way until she finally bit the bullet and did the work to master Ponish at last.
“Bring the table over here, Corey,” she called absently, flicking her tail in his direction. “Help me get Sharp over here. We need to really clean out those cuts.”
He nodded, dragging the kitchen table into the center of the room. He moved with an awkward stuttering gait, but he was already learning. Give him another few months, he’ll get there. He might’ve been pretty cute, if Sharp wasn’t here. She had enough distractions right now.
“I’ve got a current EMT if you don’t,” Corey said, stopping beside her. “What am I saying, I know who has which certifications. You…”
“Don’t,” she finished, helping Sharp up onto the table. “I know the idea, but… I don’t know how to help him.”
“Your friend sounds… worried,” Sharp said through gritted teeth. “Are you… anything I can do?”
“Hold still,” she commanded. “He is doctor.”
“Oh.” Sharp grinned stupidly up at them. “Good. Might need…”
Emerald appeared, offering the tightly wrapped first-aid kit. Equestrians had different symbols for it, but at least they’d thought to have one. Equestria might have magic spells that could make sick creatures better, but they didn’t have anyone here who could cast those spells.
Corey took the bundle instead of Summer, spreading it on the kitchen counter and frowning at what was inside. “This shit isn’t even sterile,” he muttered, frustrated. “But there’s alcohol in here. Summer, can you… go back to pride rock and open a few crates? I don’t know anything about the base they were going to build. But I bet you money they were going to have a field hospital. Get me a real medkit, please.”
Summer frowned, looking over Sharp’s torn shoulder. With the ice crusted onto his coat, she couldn’t even see how bad it was. Was that flesh gray? That couldn’t be good. “You think he needs it?”
“Yes,” he said. “Fucking yes he does. Unless you want his arm to go septic. I can start cleaning things out if you tell him not to kill me while I work. Do you know enough horse talk for that?”
Summer nodded, walking around to the front of the table and wrapping one leg around Sharp’s good side. “I’m going to… find… medicine. Corey will start. I will come back.”
Sharp tilted his head to one side, expression a little glazed. “Sounds great.”
She didn’t want to leave him—but what little first aid she knew wasn’t going to make a difference with wounds like those anyway. Summer dodged into the bedroom, shoving the mattress aside. They hadn’t found where she hid the human stuff. She left the tablet and laptop behind, focused entirely on the headlamp. Hopefully there was still a little juice inside. She didn’t bother grabbing a knife—if the crates needed one, she had claws.
By the time she was hurrying back down the ramp, Emerald reached her, tugging on her leg.
The filly held out her scarf, looking urgent. “Southern… getting cold.”
“Right.” She took it gratefully, wrapping it around her neck. “Thanks.”
“Do you need me?” Emerald asked. “I can… with you.”
She shook her head. “Keep an eye on Sharp. Put up the ramp. I’ll climb in.”
Summer spent the next hour or so in a daze, wandering through the wreckage of Feather’s camp. It didn’t look like an orderly retreat—more like the packing already underway when they opened the doorway had stopped dead only minutes after.
Did they all break ranks the instant their leader was gone? But Summer didn’t even know how they’d gotten here. Maybe they had their own airship to live on, and they were still frighteningly close. Leaving the Horizon was really just a trap, so their targets wouldn’t get too far. They didn’t have enough fuel to get away, just enough to take shelter.
They had a gun now, so that was something.
It seemed the plastic crates had been organized on the human side, because they were mostly in one place. Directly over the stupid camp. Several buildings had been entirely crushed under a mountain twenty feet high, with a thin layer of snow collecting overhead.
Did all this come across when we opened the door? Or did it start raining after we got sucked up? They still knew so little about how the Doorway worked. It transformed people, but not their objects. Would it change animals as well? What if they sent a human corpse through, would that change into a dead bird?
Of course she kept her focus on the crates themselves, since right now Sharp needed her help so desperately. If it was just earth pony magic keeping him healthy, what would happen when he ran out? She certainly wouldn’t be walking around with a huge gash in her shoulder like that.
Her first box was a struggle, given the way it had landed. But once she knew where to look for the release-mechanism, it was simple. She opened half a dozen before she realized they had human readable labels on the opposite side. She found one labeled “infirmary” only a few minutes later, when the shadows were stretched long, and she needed her headset for light. She tossed it into a heavy garbage bag filled with a sack of MREs she’d found in another box, and hiked back to the Horizon.
There was no sign of battle, but she’d already expected that. Surely if they were attacked again, Corey would’ve fired the gun, and she’d hear it.
She should’ve thought a little harder about the ramp thing—the field surgery kit wasn’t light, and neither were ten meals wrapped in brown plastic. Her beak might be able to hold that much, but she’d probably just tear through it.
Then she realized how stupid she was being. “Emerald!” she yelled, as loud as she could.
Warm orange light reflected from inside, and a second later the pegasus appeared on the upper balcony. “What?”
“Let me in!” she called back. “I can’t fly with… it’s heavy!”
“Coming!” Emerald vanished back into the ship, but she wasn’t kept waiting for long. A second later and the ramp began to descend, settling onto the snow in front of her. Emerald emerged; expression pained. “You found medicine?”
“Yeah,” she answered, scrambling up as fast as she could. She stopped, releasing the bag and removing the trauma kit from inside. “Bring the rest. I’ll… medicine.” She wasn’t as fast as she could’ve been while human, since she had to hold the heavy red bag with one of her legs and hobble around like a cripple.
But she made it, settling it down in front of him. “There were more,” she said. “But it’s so big. It should have what you need.”
Corey hadn’t been sitting around this whole time. He’d shaved away at Sharp’s fur around the wounds, leaving flesh that was an angry red and seeping blood. A few of the wounds were shallow enough that they probably wouldn’t go anywhere. But his shoulder still looked bad.
“Good.” He stopped in front of her, bending down and hefting the trauma bag up directly on top of the pony stuff. “You’re officially my nurse. The kid was helpful, but she doesn’t speak English.”
“Sure.” She stumbled past him to the sink, washing her claws. There were more than a few drops of dirty water this time. Apparently Emerald had been hard at work too. “Just let me wash my hands.”
“They’ll be back on the floor anyway,” Corey muttered weakly. “Unless you can stay up somehow.”
She couldn’t, but she wouldn’t be the one working on Sharp anyway. Summer’s own skills went as far as CPR, and that probably didn’t even work with a beak. Maybe a pony could do it?
She expected little Emerald to have run out of energy by then, but the pegasus didn’t stop. While she and Corey worked on a now-sedated Sharp, she cleaned out the Horizon, undoing as much of the damage as she could.
Should she be looking older to me by now? She still seems like the same brave little filly who left with us after her mother died.
“Your boyfriend is lucky as hell I’ve got these instead of stumps,” Corey said, after over an hour under the light of her headlamp and the crackling warmth of the coal fire. She no longer felt cold—but the stench of sweat and grease and blood was powerful once the Horizon warmed to room temperature. “That’s thirteen stitches on his shoulder he wouldn’t have. We’d have to seal him with glue instead, and that stuff leaves some wicked scars.”
She shuddered at the thought, so distracted with everything else that she barely even noticed the “boyfriend.” But it wasn’t untrue, in any case. “Thanks, Corey. And for… saving his life. You could’ve left us in that cage.”
He laughed bitterly. “Except they left me behind when the military pulled out. I’m pretty sure I was fucked the same way as any of you.” He glanced over his shoulder, and one of his oversized wings extended abruptly. It smacked into the counter, and he winced. “And without the… perks? Does this have any perks?”
She helped him get Sharp’s unconscious body onto the master bed. How his shoulders and neck were bandaged, and the shaved coat made his stitches easy to see even from a distance. But so long as he didn’t die of some infection, that was a trade she’d happily make.
“Plenty,” she said, as soon as she shut the door on the other side. “Flying is awesome. There’s an underwater city, that’s cool. And once you learn the language, Equestria’s a really great place. A few of their cities felt like they could’ve been on Earth a hundred years ago. But without the recession or the world wars. The people are friendly.”
“Real friendly,” he said, glancing pointedly at her, then the closed door. “Were you gay before all this, Theo? I don’t understand why… why you’re…” He trailed off awkwardly, before patting her on the head with a claw. Easy for him now that he was so much bigger. “Pint sized. It’s clearly not a thing for all humans. I’ve got the right junk, I checked. It’s just weird as hell.”
She blushed deeply, ears flattening to her head. Not that she hadn’t noticed too—it was impossible not to. But living with ponies as long as she had, or the hippogriffs, she’d been able to forget about it and adapt. Having another human around was a boat-anchor towing her violently back towards her old taboos.
I’m not going to backslide. There’s no magic bullet waiting to make me human again and give me back my body. This is who I am forever. She stared down at her claws, digging into the wood as she hadn’t done for months. I like who I am.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. But I didn’t date a whole lot either way. Never met the right person. Maybe that meant I was… there’s a word for it in German, but I’m, uh…”
“Ace?” he suggested. “I’m sorry, I’m not… trying to be a dick about it.” He winced, turning away. “You know what I mean. Been kind of a rough day for everybody here. New world, I’m a bird now, kinda murdered someone…”
“She was a bitch,” Summer said, resting a claw on his shoulder. “Don’t lose any sleep about Kate. Without her, there won’t be anyone to turn Equestria into their personal Banana Republic.”
She stopped, finally noticing Emerald. She’d collapsed beside the sofa. She’d only been leaning there a moment, but she’d fallen asleep.
Summer lifted her gently onto the couch, then took Sharp’s blanket from the back and draped it across her too. She deserved her rest as much as any of them.
But for Summer, she felt practically on the edge of starvation. Those MREs had real food, maybe the last time she’d be able to have beef in her whole life. “Come on.” She grabbed two packs from the kitchen, wandering back down to the engine room. It wasn’t running, but at least the ramp was down. Warmth from upstairs was more than enough to make it comfortable to sit down and eat.
“I am close to Sharp,” she said. And if I tell you straight, I won’t have to be ashamed about it later. I won’t try to hide it like an idiot. “I’ve never been close to anyone quite like him. I don’t know what that says about the person I was. But why should I care about boxes and labels? We’re fucking birds now, Corey. Going home doesn’t change you back, I already learned that. And I like him. If that makes me weird, then call me weird.”
Corey tore into the brown plastic. They’d eaten these before, so Summer remembered what to do. A little envelope to add water, then it would start to steam and heat the meal. She snacked on crackers while she waited, devouring every one in the pack in seconds.
“You’re pretty weird,” Corey said. “But not because you like Sharp. He’s a badass. The way he fought those soldiers twice his size and kept going even after getting ganked…” He laughed, adding a bright orange drink mix to their pitcher of water. “You’re a computer engineer who ended up a girl bird horse because you were working on the wrong night. How much weirder can we get?”
Summer giggled in response. She was probably near hysterical from stress by now. But she couldn’t help herself. There was a reason she’d been friends with Corey, and it wasn’t just that they were so far from civilization she didn’t have many other choices. “Not much.”
This time was his turn to blush, turning away a little. “And it’s a little weird I think you’re cute. When does that go away?”
She giggled again. “Never. But I’m taken, so forget about it. Come with us down to Mt. Aris and maybe you’ll meet someone fun. You could always cause an international incident by going after their princess, she’s about our age.”
Their conversation went on like that a little longer, while Summer absolutely devoured the stew, hardly looking at what she was eating.
They’d made it. She could barely even believe it now—with their luck, a pack of flying death-wolves should be tearing the walls apart to get in by now. But nothing happened. Maybe she’d even get to sleep tonight.
Summer woke the next morning, without any sign of apocalypse during the night. She was a little stiff from being piled on the ground, but that was all. She crawled free of her single blanket, checked the water tank, and finally indulged in a shower. The water wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t frozen, so it would do.
The Feather raiders hadn’t stolen all their soap.
When she was done she finally felt human again, humanity notwithstanding. And even better, Sharp was on his hooves, going through several open pouches and cataloging their contents. He looked great, not even a slouch, though he’d left the bandages in place.
“That’s not really how you’re supposed to do that,” she muttered, resting one claw on his hoof. “Each one of them is a meal by itself, they’re supposed to…” She winced. There was no necklace—he hadn’t understood any of that.
He looked up, grinning at her. “We’ll have to teach you,” he said. “Need… lessons, maybe.”
She giggled, then tried again. “I can speak… a little. Just forgot.” She pointed at the still-closed pouches. “Some of these… not for ponies. Birds only. Let me sort.” Then she stuck her tongue out for good measure. Let him think I need lessons when I can say all that.
But maybe she should’ve thought that through a little better, because then he kissed her.
It wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened. If anything, it didn’t go on for quite long enough.
“You better fast,” she said, as soon as she could breathe again. Where were the others? Emerald and Corey were both nowhere to be seen, though their empty beds were plainly visible. Sharp was working on breakfast. Or maybe just saving a little for her. It didn’t smell much like breakfast food, but she’d take the vegetarian burrito if that was what they had. “Healed already?”
He shook his head, moving his mane out of the way to expose the damage to his neck. The bandages looked fresh compared to last time, but at least they didn’t smell. Maybe they’d actually stopped him from getting infected? “Thanks to you. And Core-e. He did… good job.”
As soon as we get settled, I’m going to practice my Ponish for as long as they’ll let me every day until I’m speaking with them again. At least she’d thought about this early enough in advance to learn how to get by in conversations. If Kate had taken away her ability to talk with them completely and they’d had to start from scratch, it could take years.
“Where are the others?” Summer asked. “Emerald is with… Corey?”
Sharp nodded. “After they ate, Core-e wanted to go out looking for…” He shrugged. “No word for it. Machine. Emerald went to… what she could find.”
“Is this my plate?”
Sharp pushed it towards her. “Go on. You kept… longer than me.”
She didn’t need another invitation.
By the time she finished her plate, Corey and Emerald made their way in from the lower deck. Both were carrying as much as they could, huge military-style satchels that showed plenty of damage for their bumpy trip across the snow.
“Oh good, you’re awake. I wasn’t sure how long you’d sleep.”
Summer blushed, glaring across the room at him. “You didn’t have to let me sleep. I would’ve helped… what were you doing?”
“Getting communication gear,” he answered. “Little aurora is gone, by the way. I’m no expert on impossible alien technology, but I’m guessing that means they shut things down on the human side.”
Sharp eyed her, and she did her best to translate for him.
“How long until they open it again?” he asked.
Summer translated back the other way, and she continued to translate as the conversation went on. It was another reminder of how much work her language skills still had left, but at least she seemed to get the basic meaning across. So long as they didn’t stray too far from introduction-level conversations, she’d be fine.
Corey shrugged. “I’d tell you if I knew. Best thing we can hope for is all the video of your time there got leaked to the public. God only knows what the world will think of it all—but if we get an international response instead of some shady military organization who hands it off to an even shadier… paramilitary cult? It can’t get worse.”
It might. People died in our escape. Were enough cameras still on to prove we were defending ourselves?
“I don’t know what to do,” she said, as soon as she’d finished translating. “I don’t want to just wait here for them. What if Kate’s people keep control? They might send a… bird army through. Or a bomb.”
Either one was possible, or also completely outside of their control. How would they even verify they were talking to a legitimate authority? A video call with the president? Did any of them even know the name of anyone at the UN they could use to verify things had become an international effort?
“I might be presuming,” Corey began. “Stop me if this sounds crazy. But I bet with all the hardware meant for that base, there’s enough for us to set up some kind of… relay. That way we can stay in touch if they try to radio over from the other side. Can they even open it without… did you close it?”
Summer shrugged, then translated. “Not sure. There was no pearl in the Doorway when I crossed the first time, or when Kate did. I think it has… a charge? I also might’ve locked it completely with the way I set the controls.”
“Let it stay locked.” Sharp rose, pacing back and forth. “Until… remote… device. Once you build it, and we find fuel for the Horizon, then we can put it back. Listen, talk from far away… wait for good to triumph over evil.”
If it does. Their escape had been a narrow thing. If Barton, or Corey hadn’t acted, if Sharp hadn’t known how to fight, if she hadn’t known how to work the aurora experiment… they’d be trapped at the mercy of Kate’s organization.
“Good idea,” she agreed. “Can we get more fuel? We were supposed to bring it with us from Earth, but obviously that didn’t work out.”
Sharp nodded. “We might find it… in your camp. Or maybe… march right into Sleighsburg and buy it. But after… just Emerald and me. Should be safe if we don’t stay long.”
And now I know you can handle yourself if you have to. I’ll feel safe if you go armed.
Pressing as they were, those were all questions for tomorrow. They were back in Equestria, they had enough food and warmth to survive. Summer still didn’t know if she would ever talk to her family again, let alone what they might think of her… unconventional transition.
But she could put all those worries off until tomorrow.
At least for now, Summer was sure of one thing: her future was in Equestria, with the ponies she loved.
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Great!
Corey adjusted to being a hippogriff surprisingly quickly.
10088088
Suspiciously quickly.
10088146
Maybe the existential mental breakdown hasn't set in yet?
Then again, some people aren't made of glass, shattering like a cheap vase when something "interesting" happens to them (and then raging against the universe/unfairness for the next five chapters).
Note that he's still male and he was warned, multiple times, that he would change-- Summer was never warned or kept her original male gender.
10088168
It's not just the mental. Everything about this he seems too... comfortable with. Almost like he's stepping back into a world as opposed to stepping into one.
He's been tripping my suspicious behaviour alarm for quite some time now.
10088191
Shooting Kate seems to confirm where his loyalty lies though... unless the gun is a fake... or he's an agent from Seaquestria.
Wonder if him keeping his original gender is a clue to something. Maybe it's just a random effect of the teleportation. Maybe it's something more.
10088168
Yeah, some people can tolerate these sort of situations much better than others. Corey seems like a chill guy from day one. And yeah, he was told what he should expect so he could brace himself that much more. He is simply a laid-back sort of guy. Plus, he's with a friend who has actual experience with this situation. It's nothing short of a real confidence-booster.
Oh that's not good.
That's a convenient addition to the party's skill set.
Oh yeah, the supplies that got pulled through, they should have food in addition to medical supplies.
Stiches and scars is far better than a dead Sharp.
Flying would be a great perk.
Right straight into the big questions.
It's like the difference between being effectively anonymous with a bunch of online friends and then meeting those friends in real life.
A bird eating crackers, now that's just stereotypical, Summer.
Someone new to ship.
They need to get up in the sky and away from the gate area. I don't think they're safe yet.
It's so helpful that the necklace let them cheat so much.
That's a good idea.
Could almost end the story right there.
10088191
You think he's a double-agent? Eh, I suppose anything is possible.
pretty fucked up how some low effort 'displaced' fics can get as many if not more likes than this. Bullshit man
10088361
I'm not sure who he's working for and I get the feeling it isn't Kate... Maybe the Equestrian version of the group Kate's working for?
Maybe Kate, maybe Celestia or Novo... He's just set off too many red flags to be trustworthy for me.
I am wondering when summer will her pearl back
It always bothers me when defending yourself and/or others is falsely deemed as murder. Part of the reason I quit Dr. Who a while back.
10088825
I can't think of an instance off the top of my head of Doctor Who using "murder" inappropriately. Like, "The Unicorn and the Wasp" uses the word murder a number of times... because the episode is literally a murder mystery with Agatha Christie. "Face the Raven" has aliens accusing Rigsy of being a murderer, because one of their neighbors was apparently murdered and Rigsy was discovered standing over her apparently dead body (except Rigsy didn't do it and she wasn't actually dead, but the characters accusing him of murder were acting on incomplete information). In "Fugitive of the Judoon", the Doctor accuses the Judoon of murder after seeing Gat kill Lee in cold blood (after he surrendered, while he was unarmed)...
The Doctor is certainly fervently pacifistic, trying to prevent his/her companions from using weapons against their enemies, but when does the show use "murder" incorrectly? And you seem to imply that she show does it a lot if you've gotten fed up with it.
10088795
Check the chapter prior to this, she picked it up when she shut the doorway
We need someone for Corey so it will head off any ships my brain may try to start surfacing.
10088947
Been a few years, so I can’t remember the specifics. It’s possible I’m misremembering and it was just heavy implications. An exception being Danny Pink whom I recall the doctor calling a murderer on several occasions.
10089181
Are you thinking of the Tenth Doctor’s rant towards Harriet Jones at the end of “The Christmas Invasion”?
10088825
Even in self defense, killing someone is a weight on the conscience for the average, well adjusted person. And that is assuming killing them wasn't your intent. Corey had obviously made a conscious decision to pull the trigger. No legitimate court would rule it as such, but him calling it murder himself is understandable.
10088168
10088191
Maybe ...it won't be answered .. Q_Q
By Starscribe's blog, next week maybe is final chapter?
Sharp, at least, needs to go over the engines with a fine-tooth comb to make sure Kate or her mercs left no surprises.
Fortunately, it was the luftwulves' mating season, and the packs were occupied with dominance fights.
In any case, I have to wonder why the raiders only did as much as they did. If they were working for Kate, why take all those supplies yet leave the airship intact? Assuming there wasn't more subtle sabotage, but still, why leave even them with shelter when exposure could kill just as surely as another thermite bomb? (Or more surely, since the last one didn't work.)
Still, things seem to be looking and wrapping up. Let's see how much is left. Especially if there are a few twists left in the path.
10089293
True, but I smell sequel bait.
So this would ordinarily be the day where I posted the epilogue. Unfortunately, I'm not quite ready to do that. There's something big coming for this story soon, and it will be here next week. But to hold everypone over, here's a little hint.
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/295473636746330113/681238970906050604/unknown.png
Sorry for the delay in the meantime. X.x
Having the portal shut off from the other side may mean that barrow is destroyed. A group like the Templar’s probably could make barrow observatory’s destruction look like an accident and pay off or otherwise deter anyone from looking Into what caused the place to go up in flames. It’s either that or they shut off the power breaker.
10099475
My guess...
...a physical copy?
10099475
10100090
I think she learned how to fly.
And I think there would be sequel , too.
Delay for sequel.
10100810
I can dream. Lol