1 - Happily Ever After

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"You've come a long way." Paul Goldstein, who was also a changeling, shook hands with the person in front of them, who had once been a woman, and had become a man. Human shapeshifting wasn't nearly as graceful as changeling methods, Paul had learned, but they still wanted it, and would stoop to crude barbarism to get it. He had to applaud their want for such bodily autonomy.

How the other races lived in one frozen form all their lives, he never quite understood. Still, though humans had their desires, their identities were often fractured and uncertain. He had made a living for himself helping coach them, in group and alone, to help them find and get comfortable with their inner self, who they really were, under all the masks, under all the lies.

Of course, he was living a lie. Not a single soul that he spoke to in the last month, longer even, had any idea what he actually was. He was Paul Goldstein, just a guy. He never charged much for his help, he didn't have to. He made a president's salary. Well, he had been a president. He had served faithfully, even without faith, even still living that lie. He had admitted it, in the end... America didn't deserve a false president, and he had made room for President Smith to step in.

But he was still a changeling. Living a lie was not tearing him apart. That was part of their nature... "See you next week?"

"I have no doubt," replied his patient, but he... her? had the wrong voice. No human stood before him, green flames dying away as his former queen rose to her full height. "We have so much to discuss."

"Offering autonomy to those with physical disabilities--" As the news person was going, a headband appeared with pale yellow jewels lined with subtle wires in a combination of magic and technology. "--allow for unicorn-like telekinesis to be had by other species. For safety, and due to battery and power requirements, home models are limited to about ten pounds of force in total. Still, more than enough to grab a box from the top shelf, or for a wheel-chair bound person to interact with their environment far more ably than ever before."

"The first generation is already released as of just last week and is proving to be a hot seller, though its price point can be a cooling point for many. Take heart, many medical insurances can be applied to this if it would normally cover a wheel chair and you have an applicable condition."

Various disclaimers scrolled quickly, urging the viewer to check with their own insurance before trying to buy one.

"In other news, America is visiting the world! Just as the many races of our new world have come to share in the American Dream, American citizens have been going abroad in an increasing rate. Some professionally, to hasten the technological progress of other nations, and others for vacation or even migrating permanently. The world is becoming more metropolitan." A window opened, showing a small eatery in what looked to be a small town, but there were several humans in sight, half a dozen ponies, a yak, and a griffon all in attendance.

"While America retains its usual immigration policies and standards, other nations have displayed quite variable rules. Many simply have none, allowing anyone to move in without a single paper to sign, an offer too good for some. As a reminder, if you do not formally rescind your American Citizenship, you're still an American. Which means you still have to pay taxes." A cash register's bell rang clearly.

President Smith ran his fingers in a soft drumming of the massive desk of the Oval Office. "The world is not ready for us."

"Pardon?" asked one of his advisors. "I was just going over the trade--"

"--I heard you. The problem is the same. We're a first world nation in a world that is second and third. They don't have the financial activity to support us."

"They are growing." The advisor directed to a chart, showing an upwards trend. "But you're not wrong, sir. We are a big fish in a very small pond."

"This was much easier to ignore when we were fighting for survival." Smith turned the tapping to his temple instead. "Have any of the countries considered swapping to the dollar standard?"

"Dimondia reacted favorably. The idea of paper money appeals to them so they 'don't have to trade their gems'. Queen Novo has a proposition I was meaning to go over with you, sir."

Queen Novo, ruler of the hippogriffs, one of the earliest allies America had made. "Let's hear it."

"While she sees merit in the idea of abandoning physical money entirely, she admitted most countries are not equipped to do so. She suggested, rather than attach it directly to the American Dollar, we establish a new currency for all members of the alliance. America could be the primary mint, until other countries were able to keep up, and would be paid for the service."

"I'm not seeing a reason to deny the funds." He set both hands on the desk, leaning forward. "But, tell me, how does that even the trade flow?"

"If even just the alliance takes up a single, unified, currency, trade will increase, potentially by quite a bit."

"What's congress think of it?" Smith arched a brow. "Executive power only extends so far."

"Of course, sir. The only sticking point, with those we've asked, is that America doesn't want to give up its dollar."

Was it the British Pound and the Euro all over again? Smith tapped a foot, considering it. Such were the things a president had to worry about. Let that be the worst of it, he decided.

"Sunburst." A human was leaning in from outside the room, looking towards the scientist-pony. "Great job! The execs were all over your battery suggestion. If it works half as good as your theoretical numbers, we could be basically printing money."

Sunburst inclined his head faintly. The lab, with the war over, had returned to being civilian owned. And, civilian owned, they put their thoughts, as humans often did, towards profit margins. But, he had heard the man, which was only thanks to human technology, a large pad resting on his head, just beside his mane. A round bit of plastic curled about the base of his big fuzzy ear.

"I thought money was printed somewhere else?"

"Sunburst, never change." The human came closer, his direct report, the manager of that lab, and patted him on the head. Humans did not often pat each other on the head, and took offense to it. Sunburst did not, and they learned that, and they seemed to enjoy giving pats. "I mean we'll be doing great. Battery technology has been one of the great stopping points in a lot of fields."

To Sunburst, this made sense. All naked as they were, they longed for the feel of fur. Poor humans. They had other things to make up for their deficiencies. "I prefer to think of how much it could help people."

"You are our little furry saint. And it will help people, don't get me even a little wrong." He gestured at Sunburst's computer. "Keep an eye out for internal mail. They should get back to you within a day or three."

"Hawkeye--" he called curtly as he ducked under cover, rifle held firmly in his furry hands. Hoku still had his squad, and they still had to train. That day was no exception. They were making their way slowly across a field, assuming they could be shot at any time.

Of course, it was training. Their odds of actually being shot were lower there than most other places, but they were to assume they could be, and they did. Their superiors watched hawkishly, waiting for them to reveal themselves for anything longer than the briefest time, to berate them if they had forgotten their lessons. Just because they had served well in the war was no excuse for slacking off.

A soldier had to keep their edge, for not what was immediately in front of them, but what could come up later. Hoku would not lose any more squadmates if he had any say in the matter.

"I didn't even get to start," huffed the small pegasus, fluttering in the air like an angry insect. "Are you sure I should even be here?"

"You make an increasingly valid case." Grogar scowled at Cozy Glow. "But you're already here, so you'll help us, or I get rid of you." He smirked cruelly. "We could try out my... answer for ponies. You would be quite helpful then."

Cozy darted away behind Tirek. "No thanks! I'll be good!"

Tirek huffed softly at being used as cover. "Be that as it may, you've made noises about a 'pony solution', but I have yet to see a hint of it."

Grogar circled Tirek at a slow stalk, forcing Cozy to keep retreating to keep her cover. "When Chrysalis returns, I will gladly demonstrate. The ponies are not an issue for us, oh no. They will be our greatest asset. You will never defeat them, so I will simply use them." He arched a brow at Tirek. "Imagine that fool, Twilight Sparkle, bowing her head to your whims."

Tirek chuckled darkly, pleased with that mental image. "But what of the humans? They thirst for the blood of their enemies. They have weapons to extract it, and they train for it, I was told. Any significant threat and you face them. Even their 'civilians' are incredibly lethal. Have you a counter for that, oh powerful Grogar?" His tone turned to somewhat mocking, doubt clear in it.

"I do, in fact, but it is something you can help with." He clopped his hooves together. "A pony, always in the way, sealed my bell away. Retrieve it. With that in hoof, I can easily counter the humans. Come, let's not waste any further time. Chrysalis is busy doing that already." He turned towards the exit of their cave. "It is fortunate for us, the humans do not yet monitor this place. They spread their eyes as most shed fur. We will act quickly, to secure it while we remain out of sight."

Tirek took up his wing, Cozy fluttering beyond him, keeping the centaur between them. "Somehow, I feel like this is a great time for you to 'test our faith' or something."

Grogar huffed at that as he willed the boulder in the way to move. "I have literally zero confidence in your 'faith'. Should Chrysalis attempt to turn on me, I will teach her exactly how far and quickly my power reaches. Do not think she is beyond my vision just because she isn't beside me."

In this, agreement was found, Tirek and Cozy sharing a wince at the theoretical power of their new boss. Tirek slid in a bit closer. "Say, Boss, since you have magic to spare, could you--"

"--No. Maybe after we retrieve the bell. In fact... That is a great idea. I will display the power of the bell, and you can get a little pick-me-up. Now doesn't that motivate?" With a malicious grin, his pace picked up.

Tirek hated that it was as effective as it was. He wanted it, and if getting a stupid bell would get it, well... He matched Grogar's pace without further complaint. "Come on, Cozy. We don't want to be left behind."

"That makes one of us," she sighed out, crossing her little arms as she flew along. "Ever miss the days when we were just pen pals?"

"In some ways, yes." Cozy began to smile. "Now I have to hear your voice constantly." Her expression fell into a scowl. "Still, being free is better than not, so let's make the best of it, hmm?"

"Sure, free..." She glared at the back of their new master. "Totally..."

2 - A New Generation

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"You think you're better than us?"

Swift Swim rolled her eyes. "Again, Bucky?"

"We didn't get to finish." He reached for her shoulder, but the little satyr danced away, spinning to face him.

"Oh, no, we're thoroughly done. Drop it, or I'll drop you."

A chorus of little kids oooed at the obvious threat, eyes locked on the two.

He cracked his knuckles as he balled his fists. "You think you can take me on?"

"You and your friend." Her long feathery ears twitching. "Who isn't nearly as sneaky as he thinks he is."

The tension grew around her, the only inhuman student in that gathering of the children there. She was still in grade school, which was a fine time to be introduced to the physical violence humans could visit upon things they decided were different. Her hooves slid faintly, adjusting her stance in readiness for the release of that tension. She hadn't started the fight, but she was determined to end it.

Her mother would have scolded her for days if she could see. Swift smirked softly, imagining Mobile Coral's disapproving glare. A mother didn't know the steps a child had to take sometimes. She loved her mom to pieces, but she had no idea what happened in the real world.

His friend wasn't coming closer. Too scared to start? Just as well, she kept most of her attention on the primary target. "Put up or walk away." What you said mattered in those things. The kids would talk about what you said. Sometimes you could be declared the winner of a fight just for what came out of your mouth at the right time.

He didn't walk away. With a great roar he hoped, perhaps without thinking, would intimidate her, he charged at her, fist already swinging towards her. She didn't back away, instead charging under the swing, letting his arm fly over her head as she spun in place, crashing her foot into his side.

One thing about satyrs, they always wore metal-tipped shoes. They were called hooves. Sure, hers were covered in a more rubbery arrangement of clip-on horseshoes, but they were thick and solid. The pained grunt that wheezed out of the boy told her she had struck well as they danced away from each other.

"Break it up!" boomed the voice of the referee neither had asked for. A scowling teacher stormed onto the scene, officially ending the conflict before it could proceed. "Who started this?"

"She kicked me!" wailed the big brute, rubbing where she had left a mark that became visible as the teacher lifted his shirt to have a look. The student body hissed and oooed at the sight.

"Everyone get back to class." The teacher banished them, but looked towards Swift. "Not you."

"Oooo." They dispersed as to not catch the fury that was approaching.

Swift folded her arms across her chest. "He punched me, but I was better at not being hit."

Her suspicious look wavered between the two. "I don't want either of you two fighting. Swift, you can really hurt someone."

"And a fist can't?" She huffed at the lines being drawn. "I'm fine not fighting if he is."

"You're both getting a note to take home. I expect them signed and brought back with you tomorrow."

Swift Swim sighed miserably. She'd have to admit to her parents what happened.

"Th-thanks." The little boy walked alongside Swift. "You really didn't have to... but thanks."

"Hey, if that creep bothers you again." She balled a fist a moment. "Just lemme know."

"You're really brave." He rubbed behind his head. "I was scared."

Most kids were, but she was not most kids. The way she saw it, she was kinda set apart by a lot of things. "I'm not letting any meat head pick on my friends." She threw an arm around the boy and squeezed him briefly. "That's why we stick together."

The boy smiled, appreciative for the backup and the solidarity. "If I can, uh, you know, help..."

"Fractions make my head hurt," admitted Swift with a suffering sigh. "Do you get it?"

"Fractions are easy!" he chimed, his whole face brightening. "I'll show you." She smiled at him, understanding he was happy to have some way to repay his debts, not to make fun of her.

Not a single creature said third grade was easy.

He wouldn't even run. There was a vote going on, with his name on it. President Smith would soon be Former President Smith, and he was largely alright with that. "It's time the people got to decide who will head this new era."

Sure, they had selected those who came before him, but he was never voted into the office. Another man had stepped down, thrusting him into the position. It was not what he had signed up for, but he had done his job with faith and rigor owed to the position. "What's on the docket today?" Sure, not technically the correct word, but it worked.

"Princess Celestia has a proposal." An assistant slid the folder forward. "There's a significant foreword by Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Which likely meant it involved magic or technology. Smith reached for it, flipping it open and beginning to read. Twilight was requesting use of the satellites in orbit around the world, to assist with weather, science, and other monitoring needs they had in Equestria. "We will gladly contribute towards this project, but it covers the entire world, and its benefits should also reach the world entire, and all its people and creatures. Our own space program is still, regretfully, behind on this matter. We hope to send the first payload of any kind into space within the next few years. Living ponies? At least a decade away."

"We have proven our friendship. I hope we can walk together in this, hoof in hand. Please get back to us."

The ponies were, as foreign nations went, fairly harmless. Though far more advanced in the ways of 'magic', a word he didn't much favor, they were fascinated with human technology, and quite eager to trade one for the other. They didn't seem to mind America being the most powerful nation, militarily. 'We're friends, why should we be worried?' being their motto on the matter.

There was really only one thing that bothered people, magic accessibility. While some technological research was delving into how to emulate specific feats of magic, the telekinesis bands came to mind, none of them let a human actually cast a spell as a unicorn did as a birthright with a little training. It was... just a biological fact. Humans had no eyes, and thus were blind.

But, unlike actually blind people, they could behold exactly what they were missing. It was right there for them to perceive fully, to marvel at, and desire. But just as denied. Worst of both worlds, that. Ultimately, that had nothing to do with the proposal they had just sent. They wanted a piece of the technological bounty and infrastructure America had at its disposal. They, magic-deprived humans, had figured out how to get their rockets up, to deliver payloads of satellites into orbit. It didn't work out exactly the same as it did back in their... home? reality. That place, that didn't have air in space. That place where the idea of needing to coax the sun to rise or set would be beyond ludicrous...

But an idea came to him. He began drafting a treaty, something to send to the senate for consideration and input, as was their job with such things. They would accept the mantle of watcher of the space above the world. America knew how to navigate it, and already was. They'd help others interact with it, for a proper fee. America would be the gatekeeper of outer-space. Such an idea would be ludicrous back on Earth, with other global powers already pushing off the planet who would have taken quite the dim view of such an idea.

But there... The ponies would likely bow their heads. The other members of their alliance would cheer, seeing it for its promise to help all people reach the stars. Those beyond would fall in line, most of them just not even considering it. To them, space travel was as fanciful as Smith would have thought magic was just a decade prior. They would only really realize what had happened long after it had occurred, and America would reap the benefits.

America wouldn't be the premiere space power. It would be the only one. All other nations would scramble to line America's pockets with support to gain the benefits of their innovations.

He may have been on the way out, but that didn't mean he couldn't squeeze his way into the history books.

"You thought you could just... betray me."

"You were killed once," reminded Paul, glaring at the changeling queen that had infiltrated his home. "Touch me and we'll see if the second time sticks."

"They won't even know what happened," laughed Chrysalis. "You're in your--"

"There are no less than five cameras recording you," noted Paul flatly. "They are recording, live, to the cloud. You could level this entire house and their recordings are available. Kill me, they will know."

Chrysalis scowled at her minion, who was not cowering. He wasn't begging for mercy. He wasn't even trying to run away in a panic. As dramatic reveals went, this was going... poorly. "Even if they see, how does that help you, who would be dead?" A renewed glare formed, confident she had him.

"It wouldn't." He folded his arms over his chest, still wearing that human disguise. "Go ahead. I won't give you the pleasure. You didn't break America, and you won't break me."

Chrysalis slammed a hoof down so hard the floor crumpled mildly at the impact. "You remain useless!" she hissed in outrage. "But there is, perhaps one use for you." She sat, bringing her forehooves together. "Those launch codes you were so hesitant to give before. You will give them to me, now."

"Any code I knew is already out of date. I'm about as useful to you on that front as a random hotdog vendor." Paul smirked, perhaps enjoying how poorly Chrysalis' little plan was going. "There is not one piece of information I have that will get you closer to any nuclear weapon."

This was not, entirely, truthful. Paul was a treasure trove of information. He knew the procedures. He knew the locations. He knew the plans and the capability of America. Held captive by competent enemies, he could be fleeced for all sorts of vital knowledge. At the hands of a psychotic changeling queen, he was worthless.

She was on him suddenly, her hoof crashing into his cheek with a viciously placed punch that sent him sprawling. With a flare of green magic, Paul was revealed to be the changeling he was. "That's better. I came to..." She noticed the bright shades, the altered lines. "You... The treachery only goes deeper."

She charged across the room even as he was just standing up. She crashed into him, sending him bouncing off the nearest wall to collapse back to his belly. "Infernal thing! Thorax's spawn! I will take such extreme pleasure in ripping you apart, limb from limb. We'll start with those grossly colored wings of yours."

Paul knew many things, but, ultimately, he was... an American. He had fallen so far into his role, he was a terrible changeling.

But he was an American.

Chrysalis staggered back a step, her charge aborted. "What?" she hissed, surprise clear on her face. She staggered back, crashing to her haunches. "What did you just do?"

Paul raised his gun, tucked into his exoskeleton as it had been, towards her head. "There's not a jury in the land that wouldn't call this self defense. Get out or die, make your choice, quickly."

"You will regret this," she hissed with impotent rage, darting away, breaking a window as she buzzed off, trailing a thin line of blood behind her.

Paul wasn't as safe in retirement as he thought he'd been.

3 - For the History Books

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"We have a problem." Paul tapped at his cellphone, back to being human, as he'd largely gotten used to. "I'm very sorry, but this is a national security concern." He didn't want to call them, ever. He had lied into presidency. He was perfectly happy to be forgotten about. "Yes, I understand the consequences for lying about this, on this line. I can't say a further word." That phone of his was far from secure. "I can only say I'm speaking the truth."

The mountain was formidable, trying to turn them back at every turn. "I have a better idea, and a chance to show you what I have in mind." Grogar turned to the small house of a pony who live nearby. "That one is enjoying our struggles. Perhaps he can, instead, help us."

"I tried!" wailed Cozy Glow, throwing her hooves up. "He wasn't listening."

"He should have." He smirked as he stepped down, crunching snow beneath him. "It would have won him a few more days."

Cozy and Tirek both looked nervous at the sinister hint of his voice. "What do you have in mind?" asked Tirek, walking alongside his new employer.

"Ponies are little wonderful pools of magic." Grogar glanced aside at Tirek. "You know this, little vampire. You made copious use of it."

"Sure, sure." Tirek shrugged softly. "How does that help? You want me to suck them dry?"

"You would like that, wouldn't you? No, I have better uses for them..." Grogar charged up to the door of the little abode and brought up a hoof, slamming it on the wood hard enough to make it bend and bounce in response. "Open up!"

"What now?" The door opened to reveal the elderly pony. "What is it? Ah ain't got a thing."

"I disagree," stated Grogar simply. He wheeled about and thrust his horn into Tirek's chest, forcing a loud grunt of pain from the centaur as the horn glowed with power before he ripped it free. "There we are. You'll get better. This will work better with the bell, promise."

"I, uh." The pony was backing away from the violence. "This won't get you up the mountain."

"But this will." A strange swirling mass of darkness with little motes of light emerged from Grogar's horn, encompassing the pony. "Now become more useful, I insist." The elder pony wailed in horror, form lost in the darkness and Grogar's laughing.

Tirek rubbed where he had been jabbed. "That rather hurt... What did you do?"

"Tapping into a hidden bit of your power." Grogar gestured at the dark energy as it began to fade, the building around the pony exploding outwards as what was once an old pony was revealed to be a sizable dragon. "There is a reason I recruited you."

Cozy rubbed her cheek with the flat of a hoof. "I don't want to be stabbed like that, but do I have a secret power like that? What is it?!"

"That was the rainbow of darkness." Grogar pointed up the mountain that had stifled them. "Dragon. You will do as I say. Get us to the top."

What was once an old pony had little choice in the matter, showing them the proper way up. Grogar follower after with a wry smirk. "Did you think I recruited you randomly? Each of you, even that lunatic bug, has a purpose. Hm, she's almost late..."

Chrysalis landed beside them as if called, rubbing the spot she had been shot in. "I'm here. What'd I miss, and when did dragons join this... team...?" She noticed Tirek rubbing almost the same place. "What, did you get shot too?"

"Shot? Grogar ran a horn through me," huffed the centaur. "And he says I have a magic I never saw before." He gestured at the back of the dragon they were following. "Behold the result."

"Swift Swim!" hollered her mother, waving the paper wildly held in her talons. "How could you?!"

"I was protecting a friend," defiantly defended the little satyr, her arms crossed. "I will not say sorry."

"Swift..." She turned to her husband. "She got this from you, um, your people. You talk some sense into her."

He knelt down next to her. "What was that jerk doing?"

"He was picking on my friend, who's a lot smaller. He loves picking on small kids." Swift grinned a little. "He sure got less tough with a good kick. He started the fight though, promise."

"And you ended it," completed the father, glancing at his worried wife and back to Swift. "Just don't forget."

"Don't forget what?"

"It's easy to say you were the good guy here, but being stronger means always keeping an eye out that you don't become the bully."

"I would never!" she gasped out in alarm. "I'm a good guy."

"Thatta girl." He mussed the top of her head.

"That is not talking sense into her!" She waved the paper at him. "We have to sign this."

"And I will." He reached for the paper. "I will not scold my daughter for standing up to a bully. More people should do that."

Her father got it! "Thanks, Dad!"

Said mother danced back with a scowl. "You're not taking this seriously at all." She set the paper down. "If this happened in Seaquestria, this would be a big deal, a huge deal!"

"But this isn't there," he countered. "She didn't start it, and she didn't hurt anyone. She did nothing I'm going to yell at her for."

Her father really got it! Swift started to grin, understanding she had an adult at her side. "I'd never pick a fight, promise."

"I don't understand either of you." She threw up her talons high. "You were in a fight. You were fighting."

"He started fighting. I won it," countered Swift with a firm nod. "Mom, I get it."

"Do you?" She leaned in, peering at her strange child who was very little like her father or mother. "I don't get it."

"That's a parent thing." Swift suddenly darted forward, hugging her befuddled mother. "Love you anyway."

With a slow rolling sigh, she gently held her child, as confused as she was. "I love you too..."

Sunburst sipped from a floating cup of coffee as he watched a screen several of his associates were also watching. Technically, it didn't involve them, not directly. Ships were launched all the time. This one was just a little special. "Think it'll work?"

One of his associates nodded. "Not much reason for it not to." He gestured at the screen. "They got a flock of pegasi to make sure the sky's always clear over a nice dry patch of land."

"And they'll beam power down?" asked Sunburst with some befuddlement in his voice. He had not learned all of the tricks of human science. Even humans didn't learn all of it. They had specialists. Well, so did ponies, really. "How does that work?"

"The specifics are out of my pay grade." He took his own sip of the life-giving brew from his own cup. "Seems 'space air', which is a concept I find hilarious, blocks light differently than 'ground air'. They can get more light through up there, gather it, send it down to us down here." He raised his cup. "I'm more surprised they got the clear from environmental."

"True..." If the pegasi were doing their job, the area would be kept bone dry to keep things moving smoothly. "How big is the clear zone?"

"Small. Probably the only reason it got approved." He shrugged softly. "So, hey, pardon me if this is a rude question, but how are the implants working?"

"It... was very strange at first." Sunburst raised a hoof to nudge at one of the round discs on his head. "Everything sounded strange, but... It's hard to explain. I could hear... Losing that, and getting it back... I didn't care if it sounded odd."

"I bet... You're supposed to be wearing these huge muffs when you shoot that thing." The scientist patted Sunburst's shoulders. "And you went all Rambo on it."

"You... get used to it." He swiveled an ear at his friend. "I couldn't tell you it's much different now. The brain is a wonderfully complex and amazing thing, just... kind of adjusted for it?"

"Here's to brains." The scientist offered his cup and soon they collided, a toast made with coffee. "Let's use ours after this show's done."

"In other news, historians are taking note of a second baby boom." A panel opened up, showing a batch of infants of varying species, right next to a graph going upwards. "It's not just affecting humans, but all races that took part in the first World War of this strange new world. Here's to hoping it will also be the last."

"The race for president is going strong," announced the male anchorperson. "With Democratic Julia Stein aiming to be the first female president."

A window popped open, showing the would-be president shaking hands with a pony, fingers around the pony's hoof, the two sharing a hoof. "As America experiences a new wave of immigrants, we are reminded that such people make us stronger. We are all immigrants to this land. Some of us, immigrants to this entire world. The concentrated efforts of people across the seas, in the air, and on the land are making tomorrow brighter than what our parents left to us. It's up to us to safeguard this." She released the pony, the two sharing a nod. "The strength of America builds from within and without. We will lead the way forward with friends at either side." A great rumble of clopping hooves and clapping hands filling the sound before that window snapped shut.

"Speaking of newly made friends. Elon Musk has signed up several tatzlwurms to work for the Boring Company to dig quickly to allow their boring machines to finish the task in less than half the time!"

A new window appeared, showing a worm digging along. The camera was behind it, watching it retreat away as personnel followed, seeming to take measurements and plant things along the wall.

"In related news, Visas for skilled workers has been officially modified to account for 'natural abilities' or non-human workers who may have difficulty proving work experience. It would be quite a sight to see those worms offering a resume before now. It opens the way to less-privileged workers who still have valuable skills wanted in the United States."

They had arrived at the cave they wanted, the entrance sealed with magic. Grogar tapped against it impatiently. "I see..." He turned to his assembled lackies. "Tirek, want to show off those muscles of yours?"

"I would, but I haven't had a drop of magic in too long." Trirek scowled at the goat. "And someone took a bit of what I had left. Thanks."

Grogar fixed eyes with Chrysalis. "Feed him, now."

"No."

"Feed him or everyone else here tears you apart. Which is it?" His eyes darted. "Yes, even you would get a turn." He looked back to Chrysalis as Cozy pumped a hoof.

"Ugh, will he give it back when we're done?" she demanded, pawing the ground with a hoof.

"He better, or we take a turn with him." He glared at his minions, having clearly no love to spare for any of them. "Go on."

Chrysalis surrendered her magic, not in any moment of solidarity, but in shared fear of her 'employer'. Tirek swelled with her power, vanishing down his gullet. "Yes! This is more like it..." He grabbed the magic and began tearing it open, not that it was easy to do. He could barely work open a little hole.

Grogar fixed Cozy with a look. "Your turn. Go on, get it, get out. Do this and we can advance to the next stage."

"You're kidding me. My super power is being small? That's not a power!" Despite her angry words, she wriggled through the hole provided and scurried into the cave, complaining the entire time.

Soon, Grogar would be able to start things properly.

4 - Target Selection

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"Must you go?" The fuzzy two-legged queen almost pouted, almost. "The people will miss you."

Crane offered a hand and it was swiftly met with two, her grasping him firmly between her two as if she could keep him there if she just gave a firm enough shake. "Your people are recovering, Ruddertail."

"They are," she allowed, releasing him only hesitantly. "Why not make library here?" She gestured to a patch of clear land not far from them. "Put there. Place of learning, yes?"

Her face erupted into a new smile. "You and partner, both welcome!"

Of that he had little doubt. The lutrai had rolled out the carpet for him and made it quite clear he was a celebrity there. "Focus on your own, as I will do. I love your country, I do, but I am an American in the end."

"If say so..." She didn't sound entirely convinced. "Watch. I stay, must, queen. Others may follow. Treat nice."

"Do your best to dissuade them." Still... "I will not leave them cold on the street." The lutrai were like children in some ways. If he left them out there, they'd wait patiently, and suffer, for the day he changed his mind. "Your people have much growing to do."

"Every day, chance to grow." She nodded firmly in agreement. "Go, if must. Take love of lutrai with you."

It was a room of stark contrasts. The bulbs above were bright and glaring. Where allowed, the shadows were deep and foreboding. It was an interrogation room, and he, their target. Paul sat calmly, watching the door through which someone would come through. He had called a number most people didn't know about. He had used the phrases most didn't know about. That already made him a Person of Interest, no matter what else he said.

The door clicked, a magnet lock? It swung open, an arm following it. "Former President," began the voice of the man who emerged with it. "Don't look surprised. Of course I checked your file."

Of course, but he wasn't sure how he was in those files, under what... "It's about Chrysalis."

"Your former queen?" The door closed of its own power behind him, he on the way to sit at the small table across from Paul. "She was put to death."

"It didn't stick." The man peered at him with doubt. "You're in a world of magic. You have scientists literally studying it. Starting by doubting it won't help America right now."

The man nodded. He had a clipboard, but he hadn't taken any notes. The discussion was being recorded, it had to be. "So you're saying she's alive. Is she organizing more of... her kind, your kind?"

"They aren't my kind." Paul slapped the top of that table. "I'm an American! She was alone, even when injured. She would have brought friends if she had any. She is a rogue agent, but one highly motivated and potentially capable of harm."

"You hurt her?" He tipped his glasses down faintly.

"She broke into my house and threatened me. I shot her and I'd do it again."

"Castle doctrine, I know the deal." The glasses were pushed back up. "But she, a shot person, still managed to get away?"

"She isn't a human." Neither was Paul, despite his imitation. "It hurt her, surprised her. I think the surprise is what sent her running. You fought changelings before, you know." Likely not that man specifically, but they had reports. "She also had wings, and they worked just fine."

"I see. Thank you, for coming in today." He set his hands flat on the table. "Was any classified information compromised?"

"Not a syllable," Paul swore proudly. "Not that she had any idea what to ask for. Regardless, she is dangerous. Something caused her to not be dead, and that should be very frightening."

"You're getting a detail."

After all that, he'd be getting security. Not technically being a former president, on the books, they had avoided that... The situation had changed. "I'm not requesting it, but I understand." It was the age old trade. Security, for privacy. Of course, it wasn't his security, exactly. It was for all of America, and the secrets he knew. "I understand."

The man patted him on the shoulder, standing. "Thank you. When this emerges, you'll be in the history books, I imagine." He chuckled a bit as he turned for the door. "Go home. We'll check in when we arrive."

"Luna." She was sleeping, but she knew she was sleeping. "Luna, please? Can you hear me?" She called out, navigating the barren forest she had once run blindly through. "I know this isn't a nightmare."

"And yet, you call." Luna was beside her, no sound of her approach, simply there. "You look familiar..."

The girl turned to Luna with a broad smile. "You came, a long time ago." She dusted herself off softly, trying to comport herself. "When my parents were arguing... They broke up, but my dad won... So I went with him... It helped that I wanted to see you again." She rocked her hands back and forth. "I'm glad you came."

"It is not often dreamers call out to me so directly." Luna lifted an ear. "This is not a nightmare, as you mentioned. For what reason do you interrupt my vigil?"

"I learned how to sleep awake." She wobbled a hand. "Lucid dreaming, knowing when I'm dreaming. I was... really hoping you'd answer, eventually."

"Eventually." Luna smiled faintly. "I heard your calls, and first I ignored them. There are nightmares and terrors plaguing people that I must help with."

"You're a good princess, doing that... I really wanted to meet you." She extended her hands towards Luna, as if she wanted to cup Luna's cheeks. "May I meet you, when you're not patrolling?"

Luna considered a moment before a little nod came to her. "It is just as rare that I am specifically called for. Come to Canterlot and tell them that I called for you, at the castle." She inclined her head. "That excuse will get you a ride on the train and beyond, but they will verify your story afterwards. Fortunately, it is true." She lifted suddenly with a powerful flap of her wings. "I must return to my duty. Are you otherwise alright?"

"I'm better than alright." She was grinning ear to ear. "I just hope I remember this when I wake up."

"I will leave a note." And she was gone.

The girl would find a simple missive beside her bed in the morning.

Grogar stroked his hoof across his reclaimed bell. "With this... we can truly begin..."

Tirek, diminished once more, huffed. "You've been saying that repeatedly. When do we get to actually starting?"

"First, this." Grogar slammed down a hoof with the clear note of the bell ringing around his neck. He grew in power and laughed as he erupted into a dark red flame that died away almost as quickly. "Yes... They thought they could seal my power away... Only for a time."

Chrysalis squinted at their leader. "You didn't have your power? You did quite a bit already, last I saw."

"Great, then imagine me with all of it." Grogar snorted softly. "If you are capable. Now... The bell has several powers, one of which at least you--" he turned to Tirek with a great grin. "--know too well. It can draw out the magic of a living creature. But, unlike you, it can also put it back, and in different places than where it came. Our enemies will become our fuel." He thrust a hoof at Tirek. "When they're not busy being our soldiers. How does that sound?"

"One thing." Cozy landed on Tirek's back. "What's with the dragon?" She inclined her head at the dragon that had once been an old pony that had become a sleek and dangerous black beast.

"Have you not heard?" laughed out Grogar. "I am the father of monsters. Dragons were one of them. They've gone soft over the years, I've already seen... No matter, they can do as they wish. I will create new ones, ready for battle." He drove his hooves together with a strike that sounded of thunder. "And other creatures besides. The world has become filled with so many interesting templates to work with... I wonder what creations I can make..."

"And ponies are dragons... Wow..." Cozy shook her head slowly. "I would rather not be a dragon, if you don't mind."

"I have other uses for you."

Cozy still had no idea what that use was, but... "Thanks. I'm ready."

"See that you are. Our first, largest, most obvious problem... remains the humans, the Americans as they call themselves. The moment we make ourselves obvious, they will array against us, and they are a violent people, ready to fight." A slow grin spread over his face. "Which is why I imagine they will make such delightful warriors, turned to our ends. Listen! You." He turned to Chrysalis.

"Hm?" She hadn't really been paying attention, perking up when addressed. "What?"

"We will need your... expertise." He tossed his head. "We need someone who can slip into places, different places, and quietly lead people to our agent in the field." He looked toward Cozy.

Cozy blinked. Was this her chance?! "And what do I do?!" she asked excitedly, perking up.

"You will get to hold this." He detached his bell from his collar and offered it towards her. "And use it. Nocreature will expect a thing from you. Chrysalis will lead them to you, you will drain them dry, and return with bell-fulls of power for me to put to work." He licked over his lips. "One trip at a time, we will amass power, always from a different place, never enough to get them suspicious. Do this faithfully, and I will reward you all... You will get a taste of it. You will know power."

Tirek slapped his hands together, not as powerful a gesture as he'd have liked, being emaciated. "Now we're talking! What do I do while they're running around?"

"At first, nothing." Grogar's eyes wandered Tirek's form. "You're too weak... but we'll fix that, and I have need for your magic. The dark rainbow will be pivotal for my work. I may be the father of monsters, but consider yourself an uncle in good standing." He chuckled softly. "Together, we will create such delightful beasts... Besides, once you have strength, perhaps... you can help them bring home a drained victim or two, to work on, experiment with." He seemed to revel in the dreams of the future dancing before his mind's eye. "Oh, how wonderful it will be..."

"I admit some amount of surprise." A pen floated over, wreathed in her golden magic. "But I am also proud, and humbled, to stand here. Let it be clear from this day forward that Americans hold the key to the great beyond, and are willing to share it with their fellow creatures of this great world." She brought down the pen with proper pomp, signing her name upon the treaty in solidarity.

"Seriously," she continued in more hushed tones towards that human president. "How did you get your people to agree to this? I had thought this was quite the guarded treasure. I had almost prevented Twilight from sending that letter, though now I am happy I did not."

"It was a meeting of needs," assured what would soon be an ex president. "And it's better that we tackle this in an organized way from the start." The old countries, on the old world, would not have tolerated such things. "Everyone will benefit." And America's coffers would be lined by any country that wanted a piece of that pie. Not to mention America having first say in any legal disputes that came up with outer space. It was... tremendous, and he brought it. He would go down in history. Not bad for a guy given presidency by another man resigning. "Thank you for coming."

5 - Soft Start

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She sat in the large chair that had been the exclusive domain of men since the great country began. "Thanks for keeping it warm." She was taking over from a successful term. Eyes would be on her to see if she broke the streak or not. She brought her fingers together with a slow inhale. "I'm ready for the day's briefing."

President Stein got to work, as she had been elected to do.

"President Crane returns to American soil!" A window popped open, showing the former president stepping out of an airport terminal with his wife closeby. "After a long period of helping the lutrai, perhaps he will turn his attention to domestic concerns."

The window closed, just for another to pop open. "His library grew without him, filled with creatures eager to learn our lost language and others. Becoming a storehouse for all threatened tongues and a shining beacon to any linguists."

"Protests are scattered about the country, unified in opposition to the law making it blanketly acceptable to date and marry anything that qualifies for the 'creature' description of sapience. This has a ripple effect of impacting all laws related to marriage, including immigration, hospital visitations, and inheritance defaults."

A window popped open, showing a man speaking, "They thought society would collapse when we allowed gay marriage, and it did not. I welcome the free expression of love between two consenting adults."

That window closed, allowing an angry person in front of a crowd to speak. "And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion." He gestured wildly as he spoke, the croad roaring around him. "This is sick, just sick!"

"One of the oldest results," continued the anchorman. "--of this development is already in grade school. Her parents have asked she not be displayed."

Swift Swim walked with grand motions, her hands swinging forward and back a bit more than they had to as she whistled with a smile, a skip in her step.

"Someone's happy today," noted her little friend, the boy watching her advance in a musical skip. "Did you get a good grade?"

"Thanks to you!" She stopped to grab him up in a big hug. "I followed your advice and it worked great! Fractions aren't so bad, I was just looking at it wrong."

The boy laughed nervously, clutched in the arms of a girl he liked. "I, uh, think that's how it usually works."

"Huh?" She set him down on his feet, her hooves shifting position. "Whattaya mean?"

"Some people... learn fast, right? Some people... have a hard time with things..." He rubbed behind his head, lacking the exact words. "I think... the people... having a rough time just... you know, don't look at it the right way."

"Well, if they all had a friend like you to point them in the right direction." Swift Swim pointed off to the mythical realm where math made sense. "They'd be set. That's it, we'll sell Little Mikes! I bet people would grab it up."

Mike laughed, reddening in the cheeks. "There's only one of me... And you got here first."

Down came her hand right on his head. "And I call dibs. You're the absolute best, Mike."

"Glad I can help." He was too young to even know what he felt, just that he liked Swift Swim, and that was more than enough. "Wanna play?"

"Now you're talking!" She pumped a fist. "Test over, let me tell my folks about it, then we can go!" She grabbed his hand and started to run off with him. Perhaps it was the equine portion of her hippogriff heritage, but she did love to burst into sudden sprints without much provocation.

"This is my first time at a convention." She batted her lashes and looked a little lost. "Thanks for showing me around." She clung to the arm of the kind, foolish, gentleperson that was willing to lend a hand in the matter.

"The convention can be confusing to get around at first," assured the guy. "Your first time at any con, or just anime cons?"

"Any convention," she assured, hiding a wicked smirk. "Good thing there are nice people around..."

Chrysalis would do her part, eventually leading the sap to her room, likely to what he had thought was a lucky evening.

"Who's this?" He was surprised, seeing the little pony sneering at him.

"She's a friend," assured the false human. "With a gift. Go on, show him."

Cozy raised the bell at him, bright magic flaring as she drained him of all he had, Chrysalis' hand already sliding close the door behind their victim.

"Do you have to cackle every time?" asked Cozy, hanging the bell around her neck as the man crumpled to the floor. "It's going to give us away."

"As if you never do it," taunted Chrysalis. "That one is... large. Let's go for a smaller one to bring home."

Cozy raised a brow. "Are you going to carry them? I'm not built for that if you didn't notice."

Chrysalis tossed her head, making her mane whip in the motion. "This is why he said to wait for Tirek." She suddenly smirked viciously. "And why we won't. As if I can't manage it. We'll make it one of our last ones of the weekend."

The two shared a sinister laugh, back in their element of getting things done by their own rules.

Celestia inclined her head on the video call. "Does it not cause confusion, to have so many leaders in such a short period of time?"

Julia smiled evenly at the closest political ally of America on the strange new world. "Princess Celestia. I'm sure it must seem strange, to you, but for us, we've endured many would-be kings, queens, and other despots who had their own interests in heart before their subjects. We decided that America would never be ruled by such a person, so our ruling bodies are all temporary, with the exception of the judicial branch, who does not make the rules and simply abritrates the rules made by others."

Celestia lifted an ear. "I mean no offense, but would it not be ideal to find a good-natured ruler to take charge fully, to avoid the delays and conflicts that must surely arise if so many must be consulted before any decision can be made?"

Julia's smile could but grow. Celestia was an impossibility. The odds of another of her was basically nil. "We decided to not take the risk of the wrong person being selected, or of power slipping from someone who was fair to someone who was not. Now, let us put that aside." She made a motion as if setting a sheaf of papers aside. "Your proposal was forwarded to the House of Representatives, where it met with mixed responses."

"Oh dear." Celestia rested a hoof against her chin. "Exactly what I was afraid of. Still, this is something we need to set clear boundaries on."

"I agree. However, President does not equal King, so they will have to argue further, and forward ideas to the Senate before any law can come of it." She folded her hands upwards. "It's out of my hands right now. By the way, your connection is quite solid."

"Connection?" Celestia's eyes darted, but she was free of any tethers she could see. "You have me at a loss."

"Your Internet connection," tried Stein. "It appears to be up and running quite smoothly. How have the people of Equestria taken to it?" She had her reports, but... straight from the horse's mouth could be better, pun intended.

"After connecting the castle." Her hoof waved to encompass the space around her. "We sent them to the larger cities more ready to accept such a novel idea. Most of the ponies in my kingdom wouldn't know what to do with this, truth told, so I was in no hurry for them."

"Urban development first?" Stein considered that. "Sensible. They have the infrastructure to get the work in faster. More related to the two of us, I have records that we sent a copy of our Internet laws for review, but haven't gotten confirmation that you'll abide by the international treaties we had before."

"I do apologize for that." Celestia smiled gently. "I have my best assistants deciphering it, but your laws are, do forgive, byzantine and dizzying in complexity. I would know what I put my hoof down on before I give that word." She steepled her hooves as if they were fingers, leaning forward. "However, I can agree to the terms of your intellectual property agreements. The idea of, well, ideas, coming loose because a bad actor flees across country lines? Not acceptable... However, our copyrights have different terms than yours."

"If you could," suggested Stein. "--we would be satisfied if works registered in America were honored in Equestria, should a conflict arise. We have a robust system that can be checked, more easily now that you have Internet access."

"That would be fine..." Celestia turned a hoof to her chin. "But my little ponies have their own thoughts and innovations. Would your people accept our own decrees?"

Stein paused there. Accepting to blankedly accept Equestria's copyrights was a loss of sovereignty, however small. But she also saw an out. "Equestria does not have a remotely accessible database. If someone were involved in a legal debate here, it would be quite burdensome to check the validity of any such claims."

But rather than back down, Celestia nodded with renewed resolution. "Then we will have to 'get with the times' as they say. I will be back with you when we have that ready. For now, good day. I look forward to working with you, President Stein."

"And I you, Princess Celestia." The call ended and Stein let out a little breath. She had survived an international diplomatic meeting. That had gone... mostly well. "Get the details over to the senate," she ordered. "And ask them about how they feel about a mutual agreement with Equestria to abide each others' copyrights." She had a feeling that would be coming up again.

The fact that America didn't have the barrier and bridge of a proper diplomat was not lost on her, but Equestria had been adamant that they could speak directly and forthrightly, which they seemed to be doing. The trick being that this meant America was expected to return the favor, with the president taking calls from their princess, rather than most of the details being hashed out between their diplomats.

A too-friendly ally? Such things were possible...

Former Queen Chrysalis
Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution - First Degree Murder, Possession of a Nuclear Weapon, Terrorism, Breaking and Entering, Assault
[An image of Chrysalis in her cage, scowling at the camera]
Aliases:
Chryssie, Changeling,
Date(s) of Birth Unknown
Place of Birth Presumed Equestria
Hair Blue
Eyes Green
Height 5'6"
Weight 200 to 220 pounds
Build Variable
Complexion Holed
Sex Female(usually)
Race Changeling(usually)
Occupation Deposed queen of the changelings
Nationality None
Reward:
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $400,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of Chrysalis.
Remarks:
A known operative, she is capable of changing her appearance at will. Do not attempt to approach, nor should action be taken if someone you know is suspected of being her. Please call.
Caution:
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, Mike." Swift inclined her head at the wanted posted hanging there that caught her eye. "She looks mean."

"Because she is," he reasoned quickly. "Or they wouldn't want her so bad."

"Couldn't they want somebody for good things?"

Mike snickered at that, pointing ahead. "If you want to get some ice cream, we'd better run."

That easily won out over any other thoughts, and they hurried to score their treat before it was too late.

6 - How the Time Flies

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"Our enemies grow ever more alert," warned Grogar as he paced before them. "But also so delightfully complacent... They think they have crushed this world, its ability to resist them. They think peace under their reign is the only option." He smirked softly. "But I propose something better."

Tirek flexed a powerful arm, renewed with restored magic. "Right right, we get the idea, get on to the new stuff."

Cozy glanced to the left. "And did you need to bring out your freak squad for this 'little chat'?"

There, an assortment of strange new creatures hulked, some with scowls, others with impassive expressions. One was smiling, defying the general flow of the room. All were new. Grogar inclined his head. "This is much of the result of our efforts. Tirek, excellent work. You are as talented as I'd hoped you'd be."

Tirek closed his arm, making his biceps bulge in the process. "I'm going to guess you aren't referring to my prodigious personal power." A little chuckle escaped, but he was already turning to face an emaciated humanoid with rough patches of fur and leathery wings that fanned out from its arms. A gaunt bat-like person that scowled and looked ready to shy back at Tirek approached. "Don't be shy, my precious child."

Cozy waved at it. "It's creepy, got that going, but it... lacks creativity. You both do."

Grogar smiled at Cozy, not looking upset at her needling at all. "You think you can do better? You don't have magic, and you don't have fingers. That puts you behind us."

"I have both," gloated Tirek, taking time to kiss his rippling muscles. "Grogar does alright with his magic."

"You said you'd share!" Cozy pointed accusingly at Grogar's dangling bell around his neck. "Chrysalis, Tirek, and you have all got lots of magic, but me, just sitting here, being small."

"Because small is what we needed," he calmly replied. "But that is coming to an end... What do you think we've been working towards, all these moons?"

Cozy rolled her eyes at that. "Everycreature else is using theirs, you may as well get in the habit. Days, weeks, months, years. Get with the times."

"I think not." He set a hoof right on her snout, to her great frown. "That is a human invention, and not one I feel any need to emulate. After we wipe them off their little throne, not a soul remaining will care what a 'month' is, little pony."

"Great, so... Back to the point?" She rolled a hoof in the air slowly.

"Yes yes, my diminutive ally. You have served me well, and I do reward that." A smile spread on his face. "Are you certain you don't want--"

"--No dragon!" She crossed her arms to make that clear. "What else have ya got?"

"Let's discuss... the possibilities." He rubbed along his beard in slow strokes, a dark chuckle bubbling up from deep within him.

Paul was not teaching class that day. How could he? He could, in theory, be attacked at any time. Sure, he had secret service right there to protect him. That didn't mean others close by couldn't be caught in the crossfire. His foolishness could get people killed, and the idea of that irritated him, which is why he'd cancelled his classes and functions. He only allowed telephone and internet meetings, generally one on one.

He was just finishing one of those. "You seem to be really getting comfortable with the new you, but don't forget--"

"--I am my old me too, and that's alright," completed the smiling woman on the computer. "You're the first therapist I talked to that really dug into being what you were and are at the same time like that, especially in this kind of situation. Thank you."

They ended the call and he sighed. The human insistence on being one whole thing was a worrying one at times that caused them so much agony. It was a lie, all of it. Even young humans, arguably especially young humans, were many things, trying to discover which one they'd rather spend their time with. Even stable humans had different fragments, each equally valid, each a part of them. Trying to find a forced whole? Not the sort of thing Paul taught.

"I don't have any more calls expected," he called out. There wasn't a reply, there didn't need to be. The service had heard him. He didn't like having them around, costing tax dollars to protect him. If only there was some way to take the fight to Chrysalis... But he was a civilian. Humans did not rush off to fight terrorists like that. That wasn't what Paul would do...

He was Paul, once president, in another life. Paul would be a good citizen for the nation he had learned to love.

With a barely stifled giggle, she snuck up on her human husband. "You won't guess what I heard," she whispered, leaning over the back of the couch, her tail swaying rapidly.

"Hm?" He looked up from his tablet to her. "You don't look that happy unless it involves work. They find another interesting creature?"

"I wish," she admitted, her grin only becoming more goofy. "But no! Our little Swift just set up a date."

His tablet fell to the couch. "What?"

"With her childhood friend, honey. It's adorably innocent." She waved the worry away. "He's loved her to pieces for years. Did you..." She could see him going through various levels of shock. "Wow, you really didn't notice?"

"Mike?!" he blurted at last. "The same Mike?"

"The only Mike she's close enough to even consider dating." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "When she's fighting, you'll protect her, but she finds someone she really likes and you're stunned? I don't understand humans!" She huffed loudly. "And he's one... Which means I get one more human to keep track of. You're a mess of a creature, you know that right?"

"Thanks for putting up with us." He leaned up, smooching her beak gently. "Does it... bother you that she went with a human instead of a hippogriff?"

"Maybe a little?" She wobbled a hand. "But let's be real. There aren't a lot of hippos for her to pick from around here. I'd rather her be happy, and this is her first date! She's not getting married!" She gave him a gentle shove as she laughed, looking so very pleased.

He began to smile, perhaps more awkwardly. "Our little girl is growing up."

"If we were in my home, she'd be getting close to when she could move out," she noted, crossing her arms over the back of the couch. "We don't have the same mandatory school forever like you humans do. Now, me, bad example. I got out just to go right back in and study up on how living things work." She snort-giggled in a bit of a dorkish way. "No regrets."

"It's neat that you had a choice..." They lived in different worlds, even married. "So, do I treat him any different?"

"Mike? No! He was that boy you smiled at, keep that up. Ugh, don't be one of those... They will have their feelings, but we should be good people to him, as a friend. Hopefully things will go well, but even if they don't, so long as he doesn't do anything..." She stopped herself, shaking her head. "This is Little Mike we're talking about. That little boy wouldn't hurt her to save his own life."

"Not on purpose..." He lifted his shoulders. "Which is why they may need us adults."

"Now that's more like it." She gently rubbed the tip of her beak into his cheek. "We'll be here, to help them, not to get in the way."

They were proud parents of a teenager coming into her own. With hugs and kisses, they renewed their conviction to do their best by their child. "By the way, I go into season in three weeks." She waggled her brows. "You still don't notice it, dummy."

He went such a deep red. "Don't notice?! Is this something I should notice?!"

She buried her face in a hand. "We've been married how long? Time for some basic biology lessons. Now, I hear human females keep it a secret even from themselves when they're receptive, but I'm not a human female, now am I? Now, come here. I'll teach you what to look for."

He awkwardly followed her, ready to learn more about the alien woman he had given his heart to.

He scanned the area, his thick tail still, barely brushing the ground behind him as he looked through his binoculars. He didn't see anything suspicious... yet...

"You still peering through those?" There was one of his squaddies, smirking. "There ain't a war."

"Not need war." Hoku lowered his binoculars despite that. "Plenty people ready break laws. We stop."

Being law enforcement was far from their first duty, but they were on that boat, working with others in a joint excercise. "Yeah, but the good part about water, you usually see what's coming before it gets to ya, ya know?" He shrugged softly. "Or you aren't gonna see it with those anyway."

Hoku let the binocs half-fall from his hands to a resting place where others could find them. "Not look, not see." He rolled his shoulders free of stiffness. "Will swim. Come with?" He was not inviting his friend to have fun. That would have been against reg, but the lutrai were permitted to scout that way. Taking a human friend along was stretching the rules in one way, but having a partner in case things went wrong was not against the rules.

"I'll keep an eye out." He grabbed the abandoned binoculars. "Compared to you, I'm practically drowning, and you know it."

Hoku smiled. In that, he was superior, it wasn't even an argument. Lutrai were swimmers by species. "Watch me." He patted his friend on the shoulder, then shucked a few not-water-proofed things off. With barely a splash, he vanished into the water, rapidly lost to immediate sight.

Despite that lack of obvious vision, his friend scanned the water for him, and was rewarded with a furry face poking free. A wave verified that Hoku had noticed being spotted, then he vanished, the contact made. It had been intentional, to be sure his spotter knew he where he was and that he was alright. Eluding his spotter would make having the spotter quite useless.

"Sorry we don't have any action for you." It was their captain. "I heard your group saw quite a bit, during the last hubaloo."

Lucky saluted. "We're happy to be on the job, Sir."

"Is that why Sergeant Hoku's taking a swim?"

"He insisted on scouting, Sir," Lucky replied smartly, not fooled into lackadaisical attitude by the captain's easy approach.

"We have sonar." Though he hadn't ordered it stop either. "He's keeping up with the boat?" They could both see Hoku peeking up out of the water, clearly doing just that. "It's another thing, seeing it in action. Hoku!" Hoku perked up and focused on the captain. "Don't wear yourself out there." Hoku saluted sharply.

His attention slid back to Lucky. "Well, keep on then. Make sure he makes it back on this boat."

"Sir, yes, sir." He relaxed as the captain went off to bother, er, lend proper leadership to other ship mates.

There wasn't a war, but that didn't mean they were off-duty.

"The way I see it--" Cozy rocked left and right as she talked. "I like being a pony, but I also want to win. Humans love their guns, so I have to not fear those. If I can't win them over with a smile, I'll laugh off their angry little rocks." She clopped her hooves together with a big grin, imagining some ideal version of herself. "Strong, fast, but, you know, still a looker." She primped up her curls, batting her lashes at the evil goat.

She would be the monster of her own design.

7 - Imperatives

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"We need to talk." There was Queen Novo. Unlike Celestia, the hippogriff had no issue visiting directly despite access to the Internet, and she had. "We've tried to 'be good neighbors', we have, but as neighbors go, you are insufferable!"

President Stein considered the regal creature before her. "Queen Novo, nice to meet you."

"You haven't personally done anything," started Novo. "But my people have been under attack. Your ships, they seem peaceful enough, from above." She angled her fingers downwards with a little wriggle. "But from below, they are floating platforms of death and pain."

Stein did not immediately piece together what was happening. "What are they doing that's bothering you?"

"My people... They, the boats." Novo let out a slow gust of air. "They scream louder than anything has the right to do so. Why do they even do that? It's loud enough that some have been outright killed." Her beak clenched a moment. "I know humans consider that a high crime, murder."

That was enough to put it together. "Sonar hurts your people? Can't you just stay away from the ships?"

Novo looked at Stein with renewed incredulity. "You're joking. They scream loudly enough to shake our bones from miles away. And you have quite a number of those screeching metal rafts." She brought her hands together. "I am not here to make unreasonable demands. Were the positions swapped, I feel certain... You would say the same. Nothing that killed and harmed humans would be suffered to continue. We are friends, are we not? Friends do not hurt friends."

Stein could guess the gravity of the topic was more the reason Novo had paid a personal visit instead of making a polite call. Novo even knew the idea of ambassadors and took to it better than Celestia. But her people were being harmed, so one got the queen directly. It was understandable, really... A pity Sonar was so useful...

Still, if word got out that America was killing creatures, especially after being told what was causing it, it would be a major blow to America's global image, and that image was very important. "Allow me to explain why they are screaming as they are. Then... let's take action."

Novo raised a finger. "To be clear, I actually don't much care why, just that it stops."

"The why is important," argued the president. "That sound you describe allows the boats to see into the depths. They tell us how far from the bottom we are. They tell us what fish are under us. They tell us if any other boat is nearby, even the kind that swim beneath the surface." She left off that submarine technology had allowed them a stunning array of counter-sonar techniques. "You are asking them to close an eye."

"If that eye petrifies all it lands on, then yes." Novo nodded firmly. "I am asking the cockatrice to close its eyes. The question remaining then is if you and your people are better behaved than a wild cockatrice."

Stein brought her fingers together. "I can silence most of them. The others will require greater action. Queen Novo, we are friends and allies. Hurting your people is not our intention." She could already imagine the political blowback from this, but she couldn't immediately think of an alternative that would avoid international scandal. "I will begin that process."

"Since we're taking suggestions." Chrysalis stepped closer with a wry smirk. "I know someone deserving of feeling our first blow."

Grogar snorted softly. "It wouldn't happen to be the one that sent you back to us with a new hole to add to your collection?"

Chrysalis scowled at that. "That isn't funny."

"For you, perhaps." He turned to regard a sizable pod, more of a great cocoon really. "Where are they?"

"America." Chrysalis sat and brought her hooves together in a steeple. "I can show you precisely the way."

"No." Grogar glared at her with renewed fury. "You would have us prod the beast to start things? Why." It wasn't a question. "We will draw their attention soon enough, but, by that time, we will already be in motion." He waved a hoof at her with a loud scoff. "No wonder your schemes never amounted to anything."

Chrysalis glared at him as he strode away, but her eyes slid to the cocoon. "You're still going to be a runt," she snorted derisively, lashing out at the person who couldn't attack her back, pupating as they were.

"In other news." A window sprang open, displaying a long line of sea ponies spread from one side of a beach to the other, in the water, holding up signs that read 'Thank you' and other similar missives. "The president has issued an executive order banning all use or sales of sonar equipment."

The window collapsed, allowing another that showed Stein at a podium. "This is not the replacement for a lasting law, but our allies are dying, and that can't wait. This is a stopgap until the senate can finalize a lasting solution."

A new window replaced that, showing a frowning man at a new podium. "The president is attacking our very right to exist." Being a spokesperson for a company deeply involved in Sonar, Raytheon. "Sonar is completely safe so long as the protocols are followed."

"That could have been me." Mobile Coral flicked the television off in favor of leaning against her hubby. "If I hadn't come on land, I'd be out there, swimming the water, looking for things, being screamed at by boats."

Tim squeezed her gently with one arm. "Instead you came on land and almost got eaten by worms."

Mobile burst into little giggles. "You're not wrong, I suppose. I was destined to have an interesting life either way, but I can imagine that, just... swimming, then screaming... Pain..." She shook her head slowly. "Ugh, forget that for now. I'm glad they're stopping it."

"Been meaning to ask."

"Mmm?" She nuzzled her beak against the bottom of his ear. "What's up?"

"What happened to your friend, Stream?"

"She's also your coworker." Mobile looked amused at that, smirking faintly. "She's making a splash in her own department."

Hippogriffs making splashes was fairly normal. Tim did smile at that. "Great. She should come over. I haven't seen her or her family in a while."

"That is a great idea," gushed Mobile, clapping her hands together tightly. "Why didn't I think of that?" She dug out a phone quickly and got right to dialing. "Stream? Stream! It's me, Mobile. Yes, I suppose that's true... Oh Stream, my husband had a good idea. You take that back! He has a lot of great ideas." She frowned, speaking animatedly to her friend. "Anyway, he wants to see you and your family. I'll bring mine. It'll be fun!"

"She hasn't changed." He relaxed in his seat just in time to hear a door in the back opening. "Swift?"

"Nope." It was Mike, though Swift came following after. "We're headed out."

"You two have fun." Mike had become a bit of a common occurrence. Clearly they had not had any huge fights. They were... doing what young people in love did, which was a thought he shoved to the side as not something he wanted to think about in relation to his adorable, innocent, daughter. "When will you be back?"

"Around six," promised Swift as quickly as her name. "We're gonna see a movie. Is it alright if Mike joins us for dinner?"

Mobile leaned away from her phone. "Of course it is. Mikey, you know you're the son I never had. You go have fun." She dismissed them both with shooing motions. "Sorry about that. Oh! You have to meet Mike. Human, yes. Swift's boyfriend!" She burst into giggles, gossiping with her fellow scientist.

The children were gone, Mobile hung up, and she was left grinning at Tim.

"What'd she say?"

"She said of course." She rolled her eyes. "What else would she say, but she said more than that!" She wriggled her clenched hands. "We both have vacation time built up, and she got a great idea to go on one of those, together, somewhere bright and sunny and with a great beach."

Tim perked up. "Huh..." He had never gone on vacation to such a place, but... "That sounds fun. Does the budget have room for that?"

She wrinkled her beak, an act that still confused Tim at times that hippogriffs, and griffons, could do. "I'll make room. Besides, vacation. We'll get paid while we're on it."

And thus it was settled. Their two families would go have a great time far away. Somewhere warm and near the water, so all members of both families could have a good time.

"Kwazenah Tah Lu Parenah Kah Du." The zebra nodded firmly, a satisfied look on her face. "An ancient greeting," she explained in Ponish. "Note the rhyming flow, what we try so vigorously to hold onto." Even if she was speaking without them at the time for the sake of teaching the shreds of her language to others. "It is that lyrical flow, the only certainty we know--" Well, she tried to keep the rhymes out. "--that ties us to our past."

The group in the classroom applauded, with hands and hooves and paws and talons. Crane rose to take his part at the front of things. "Honored guests, it is a delight and honor to see so much has happened while I was away." He transitioned smoothly to English, "That our roots be honored." And back to Ponish. "While we look to the future." The applause resumed, but he held up a hand to stop it. "I will be resuming a more active role. I also bring company."

The prompt given, about six grinning youths came rushing in, their thick tails wagging. All six otters looked up at Crane with wonder and clasped hands, awaiting his next word. "I present the youngest members of our organization."

A pony raised a hoof. When Crane nodded, he smiled. "Um, no disrespect, sir... But they look a little young to be learning linguistics."

"On the contrary." Crane set his hands down on the far shoulders of the lutrai most to the left and right. "Young minds are primed to learn and understand languages. For now, consider them assistants. They will help clean and organize, and they will learn. I expect, given time and education, they may become our best scholars, eventually."

Unsure but curious noises rippled across he room, considering the idea. Little helpful hands weren't a terrible thing to gain, ultimately. The zebra tilted her head at the young ones. "It brings joy to my heart, to see youth chasing the art." She extended a hoof and soon there was a lutrai standing before it, her nose quivering curiously. "Such a bright young face, Is it knowledge you chase?"

The little otter sow shook her head quickly and extended a pointing figure at Crane. "I'm chasin' him!"

The zebra chuckled softly. "Do you chase him as a hero? You've come from so far away, starting from zero."

She leaned in, whiskers uplifting. "Then I can only get better," she argued, looking so very certain of her logic.

"In this you may be correct. It is your sincerity that will be checked." The zebra spread both hooves to indicate all the lutrai. "I welcome these pups, strangers and lost. They come seeking greatness, despite the cost." A soft applause began anew, agreeing with the zebra and welcoming their youngest members.

With a wet splitting sound, she was born anew, ripping her way free of her cocoon with a low feral snarl. She kicked away the ichor and slime and shook herself out. "Finally!" Her voice was largely unchanged. "Oh, wow." But she had grown larger, much larger. She stepped towards a mirror laying forgotten in the corner.

It was there for Chrysalis, or maybe Tirek to admire himself in. Either way, it was just what Cozy needed to take in her new self.

8 - Down Where It's Wetter

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His work was... unfulfilling. The threat of Chrysalis, looming, being a threat to anyone he tried to help... It was too much. He had savings, and he was being paid a retired president's pay, which meant he had money, and would not suffer stepping away from it all. "Paul... Goldstein." He was speaking to a phone, making final touches. "I've said that before."

"You'll probably have to say it again later," apologized the person on the phone. "Security. Alright, got you pulled up. And..." There was a sound of rapid typing. "Here we are. Looks like you're taking a nice trip. I'm jealous, so sunny and relaxed."

He did not feel relaxed, but that was the goal of going away. "How long?"

"Two weeks? Yes, two weeks exactly. Looks like you got the full package; flight, food, hotel, and the amenities." It was long, for a quick vacation, but Paul was sure he wanted to just... forget it all for a moment...

"And my guests?" He would have secret service coming along, with or without his consent.

"Guests? Oh, here we are." More typing. "Here we are." A last triumphant key press. "Looks like four guests, flight and room booked, same hotel of course."

"They get the amenities too, right?" He could hear the pause. "They should." Not like they were forbidden from doing so, off duty, and they wouldn't be watching him 24/7 each.

"Fixed that for you," promised the female on the phone. "Put the charge on the same card?"

"Please." He was putting all the expenses for that trip on a specific card, so that worked. "Thank you. How do I get my ticket?"

"I have your email here. I'll send it to you, your boarding pass. You just need to bring that with you to the airport and you can get started on your lovely trip! It will include instructions on where to be and what to do. Is there anything else I can help with today?"

"Thank you very much." And he hung up. Hopefully... He let the phone and the hand that held it slump against his side. Hopefully, a little time away would let him get his mind back where it needed to be.

Cozy flicked out a tongue longer than it likely had to be. "Well aren't you a tall glass of... amazing." She was speaking to herself, regarding her reflection. "Why two legs though?"

"Because hands help." There was Grogar, having entered silently. "I need you to be able to use human devices, which means hands are required, and the only way to have hands at a hundred percent is to not be using them for locomotion at the same time." He inclined to her hooves. "You still have those."

She looked down at her feet, which were still hooves. She lifted each in turn, then moved her hands to a new thing, right there on her chest. "I've seen humans with these." Ponies never did. "All the ones they like have them."

"And so do you." Grogar sat next to her. "Is it not as you requested? You cut a figure of allure and power."

Cozy Glow puffed her hair, just as curly, its style largely unchanged. Without saying a word, her smirk spoke quite enough that she approved of that. "Now tell me about the power. I didn't do this for a makeover, not that I'm complaining about the height boost." She got to look down at Grogar for a change, though a biped that couldn't do that was a small creature.

"Monster making is not an exact science at times." He fixed her with one of his eyes, head turned. "You will discover with use and growth. Revel in your monstrosity and let the power grow. Have no fear, I don't plan to send you to battle before you've had a chance to settle in."

Battle hadn't really been her thing, but she hadn't been a big monster before, so maybe... "So what's next?" She slapped her hands together and started. She tapped them, no sound, a little harder, still basically no sound. Only when she did it vigorously did that odd sound happen. "I clap now."

Grogar applied his hoof to his face. "Yes, you do. Fur on your hands decreases your ability to manipulate tools. Speaking of tools, your use as an innocent has diminished. However..." He snarled at her. "You can still attract their attention, just in a different way. Are you prepared to learn to use a new kind of charm?"

Cozy folded her arms just under her new chest. "Ugh, you want me to do what Chrysalis did then? Fine, whatever. I already know that routine."

Grogar blinked with clear surprise. "Do you? How fortunate. At least one of you was paying attention." He nodded with building satisfaction. "Your next assignment..."

And he began to explain what his newest monster would be doing.

Swift Swim's legs kicked beneath her as her hands clutched the rests of the seat she was in. "I never flew before!" she admitted to the person next to her, who wasn't her boyfriend despite all her attempts to make it so. "Have you flown before? My mom says hippogriffs can fly on their own, but I'm not exactly a hippogriff." Her biped form was far from shaped ideally for flight.

The man next to her chuckled softly at her energy. "Even if you could, this is a long way. I bet your mother would swim there before she ever thought about flying there."

Swift's eyes grew wide. "Oh, wow, you know about hippos?!" She clapped with easily gained joy. "Most people don't know jack about them, other than they're fun at parties." Her eyes narrowed a bit, going from one extreme to the other. "We're more than that. Stupid jerks. Um, anyway, I'm Swift Swim." She thrust a hand towards him.

Which he accepted, shaking the teen's hand. "I'm Paul Goldstein." It wasn't as strange a fortune that they ended up on the same plane. Only one plane once a week left for that particular place they were going. "Nice to meet you."

"Paul, Paul, Paul..." Her legs kicked a little harder as she wobbled left and right. "I heard of that somewhere..." She knocked on the seat ahead of her. "Mom! Paul Goldstein, you hear of that?"

And up came a hippogriff's beaked face, turning to look at them. "Are you bothering him?" She smiled placatingly at Paul. "I'm sorry, she's very high energy."

Paul held up a hand. "Think nothing of it. She's a precious thing." A dear youth who had done nothing wrong so far.

"Isn't that the guy?" Another voice, male, next to the hippogriff. "Think I saw a commercial?" A human head popped up. "Hey, it is! You do the identity workshops, right?"

Busted! Paul raised his other hand to join the first. "You found me. There goes my identity as an anonymous vacationer."

"I never saw your show." Not that Paul actually had any show for Tim to see. "But nice to meet you."

"You too." He met Tim's hand in a firm shake, man to man. "What was your name?"

"Tim." He sat back down, facing forward again. "I hear the place we're going is a sunny paradise. The ladies can't wait to hit the beach."

"You didn't say you were famous," accused Swift as if that were a requirement. All famous people had to announce they were famous! "What do you do?"

"I try to help people." He began to pantomime as he talked, hands gesticulating busily. "Help people find themselves, whatever that may be."

"Well I already found me." She pointed at herself. "Bam, that was easy." She looked past Paul. "Mike!"

"Yeah?" came his less certain reply, a few aisles away.

"Look who's here!"

"We shouldn't shout on the plane," he advised gently. "People will get upset." It was true, the antics were drawing some grumbles and looks.

"Whatever." She crossed her arms with a great pout that lasted all of a few seconds. "Anyway, you're the first famous person I met besides my mom."

"Your mother is famous?" He glanced, but the she-hippo had already settled back into her seat, blocking the view.

"Mobile Coral, tamer of the worms? Never heard of her?" Swift inclined her head with obvious disbelief. "She's super famous."

"More famous than me then." He would not bring up that he had served as president of the country. That was a secret thing. "I should be the one that feels privileged."

"Yeah." She stuck out her tongue a little, her feathery ears twitching atop her head. "We're both lucky today, huh?"

Paul decided the girl was alright, as teens went. "We certainly are. Are you looking forward to the beach as much as your..." He didn't actually know Swift's relationship to Tim, hm.

"Dad thinks he knows me." She rolled her eyes, then leaned in. "But I am totally gonna swim in that water," she whispered as if revealing a huge secret for him to hold onto. "I hear it's just the right kind of warm, so you feel all nice on the sand, but you can cool off in the water, and dry off nice and fast when you want to." She made gestures of in and out of the waves action with her hands, a giddy smile on her face. "Is that why you're going?"

"I did hear it's really nice." Paul leaned back in his chair. "But, I admit, I mostly just want to relax, away from it all."

"I hear that," came Tim's input from just ahead. "We can relax and let everyone else go wild."

A soft 'ow' came before Mobile's voice, "You think I'm not taking you for fun? If I have to drag your lazy butt, I will!"

"Alright, alright!"

Paul smiled at the exchange. Their closeness seemed secure, their sparks of conflict had a kind tone, the two caring for one another. Perhaps that was what he had missed? He hadn't gotten a special someone, or really looked for one... After taking another man's wife in service of a lie, he had... kind of put that aside, forgot about it.

Maybe it was time to reconsider?

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Swift had noticed his pensive expression.

"I was wondering what kind of shaved ice flavors they had," he lied entirely. "They always have good ones near beaches." That got an enthusiastic agreement, and the conversation slid past his moment of reflection. He had a vacation to enjoy.

Fluttershy inclined her head left and right at the map that showed her cutie mark orbiting, but the map had drawn away, far away from Equestria. It had begun displaying the entire world, and there was her cutie mark, orbiting around a spot. "Oh... my."

Twilight clopped her hooves together. "How exciting. You're being sent halfway across the world!"

"Don't think she sees that as a positive," dryly noted Spike. "Did that thing send anypony else with you?"

Fluttershy leaned in to get a better look, wings flapping nervously. "Not that... wait." She reached a hoof out, batting at the image of her cutie mark, but it just passed through, denying her attempt to interact with it. "Is there something else there?"

Twilight got a suddenly smug look. "If this works like human devices." She thrust two hooves in the air and slowly spread them apart in a spread motion one might use on a touch screen. The map rapidly zoomed in on the place it was sending Fluttershy. Her cutie mark was more easily visible, as was another icon that had been hidden, mashed against it. "There we... Discord?!"

"Did somepony call?" Discord peeked out from what appeared to be a shower curtain, a cap on his head, a loofah in his hand. "Right in the middle, isn't that how it always works? Oh, Fluttershy! Always a pleasure." His eyes fell to the map. "Oooo! She dares! My rival has guts, calling me to action like that." He sounded far more amused than angry, stepping free of the dimensional rift. "We will solve this little problem, Fluttershy, have no fear."

9 - Obligatory Beach Episode

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They had left America behind, soaring through the air with a faint line of rainbows created at their relatively high speeds. They weren't going fast enough to make it bright or explode outwards, but if you squinted, the contrails of airplanes in that world had a rainbow hue.

The intercom casually informed the entire cabin that they were coming in for a landing. "If this is your first time here from America, the locals are very friendly, if a bit more furry and feathery than you're used to," warned that kind-toned speaker. "Don't let that dissuade you. They want you to have a good time too! Expect to see seals and walruses and some otters. The bird segment is also represented with seagulls of all variety. They have names beside that, each one of them. Learning them can be part of the fun." Not that she provided a single species name. "We're coming in now. Welcome to Sunny Sands!"

Their small plane was descending towards an equally small strip. The little island they were approaching wasn't large enough to easily imagine an airport that was too much larger, but there were other things clearly visible. There was a community, a small city not far away from that airport, built right alongside the bright white sands. "Wow!" gushed Swift, her face pressed to the window to get a good look at what was visible below. "Say, mister, ya gonna be in the same place?"

"Not to be a buzzkill--" Which was exactly what he was doing. "--but you should sit back while we're landing."

"Listen to the man," came her mother's voice. "He's not wrong."

"Ugh, fine!" She flopped back, arms crossed in a bit of a pout. That didn't stop her from peeking out the window from there, though the view wasn't as good. "I hope you're ready!"

"I feel you're being specific, without saying what I should be ready for?" Paul smiled at the energetic youth, unsure of her meaning.

"You're going to be the minority now. There are way less humans here than other creatures." She hiked a thumb at her own chest. "Like me! Don't worry, I am a kind ruler." She puffed herself up, looking ready to giggle.

"You are too kind." Not that he was, technically, a human. Not that he planned to share that fact with her. "Do people give you trouble about that?"

"Only stupid people." Swift rolled her eyes with the dramatic flair only a tween'sh could manage. Not that he was sure of her age. 12? 14? 11? Somewhere around there. "It's so dumb. This world has how many creatures? Why get hung up on any one of them?"

"That seems reasonable enough." Paul decided he wasn't going to try to hash out the intricacies of racial politics with the child. The room around them jostled as the plane touched the earth. "There we are. Just wait for that light to go out."

She could see the buckle light as well as he could. "I know. You're not my mom." She stuck out her tongue at him.

"He's a nice man," came her actual mom's voice, clearly listening in. "Thank you for putting up with her."

"There's nothing to 'put up' with. You have a delightful daughter," he assured. The light went out, and people began to stand up.

It was time to arrive at Sunny Sands, with its copious amount of sun, and one would hope some sand too.

"I could just hop us over," offered Discord, his fingers raised, poised to snap. "Save us a long, boring trip so we can get right to fun and exotic locales."

Fluttershy didn't seem as certain. "But what if we're supposed to arrive at the normal time?"

Discord folded his arms. "Then harmony did a silly job by asking me to be involved if she wanted us to do everything the slow and boring way."

"Well... That's true," she admitted, rubbing into her mane a moment before she perked up. "You have a point. If we get there early, we'll just have to wait until we find the problem."

"Oh dear." Discord raised his hands fretfully to his lips. "I'll have to spend time with you?! However will we survive?"

Fluttershy burst into little giggles. "Stop that!" She swatted at him, but she was smiling. "We'll make do."

"What we won't do is wait to get there." He casually plucked up his pegasus pal, arm wrapped around her barrel. "And away we go!" With a sharp snap of his free hand, a glittering and ornate door sprang into being, swinging open without being touched. Beyond it, a bright and sandy beach. "At least she's sending us somewhere nice." And he stepped through to far away from Equestria, which would have to make do without him for a while, somehow.

Fluttershy fell to the warm sands. "Oh, my... yes." She circled in place, feeling the warmth penetrating her hooves. "This is nice, but I am curious, Discord. Aren't you and Harmony... rivals you said?"

"We sure are," he said more like it was something to be excitedly happy about than anything he was mad about. "The gall of her, sending me on her mission. I have to admire her guts." He drew a hat from nowhere, a straw one he popped on his head to match the Hawaiian shirt he had never put on, yet was wearing. "Let's mingle!"

Fluttershy looked uncertain a moment before she nodded. "Y-yes! That is likely the best way to find the problem we're here to fix. Trying to force it rarely works out. We should stick together. We don't know which of our... perspectives... will see the problem."

"Woah." An upright seal was peering at Discord with jaw agape. "What even are you?" he asked, clearly confused.

Fluttershy turned in place to address the new presence. "This is my friend. It's not... polite to stare."

"Oh, right." The seal had the manners to look sheepish on being called out. "Sorry. Just never saw a creature like that. It's kinda cool."

"I do cut quite the figure." Discord struck a pose, perhaps enjoying being admired. "Now, since you're here, kindly direct us to where most of the creatures around here like to gather."

"Oh, yeah!" He turned and pointed with both hands at a beach not too far off. "The best waves and the best sands on the island! Everyone who visits goes there."

Fluttershy gasped in wonder. The beach was filled with all manner of creature, even some humans mixed in there, but mostly not-them. "Wow... They seem to be having a good time."

"And soon so shall we!" Discord started towards the beach without delay. "Where there are people, the chances of running into the right one goes up! To adventure!"

"Have fun." The seal waved a little before resuming what he had been in the middle of.

Fluttershy trotted beside him. "Do you think I could have a moment?"

"What for?" He pulled down the dark sunglasses he hadn't even put on. "Need sunscreen?"

"No! Not that." She blushed a little. "I just wanted to talk to the local animals. I don't get too many chances, and I hear dolphins are amazing animals." She clopped her hooves together firmly. "Not to mention sharks, and jellyfish and..."

"I get the idea." He set a hand down on her mane. "Who knows, maybe we'll have to settle a dispute between two tuna fish or something like that." He shrugged as if that wasn't an unlikely scenario. "She never does anything without a reason, one of her weaknesses." He winked at Fluttershy. "So if she sent you, maybe it is an animal thing."

Fluttershy scampered across the sands, eager to introduce herself to the local fauna. Her stampede was only stopped to say hello to a seagull that was plucking an abandoned half of a bagel. "What? Oh no, that's all yours," she assured the agitated bird. "I wouldn't dream of depriving you. I'm Fluttershy."

Discord chuckled softly at his lovely pegasus friend. "And while you make nice with them..." he twirled in place and headed instead for a volleyball game in progress. "I'm going to have some fun."

"Our rooms are right there." The Secret Service-man pointed to where they'd been placed, not far away. "Please tell us if you leave your room."

"Sure thing, Hank." Paul knew his name. He tried to know all their names. "I won't do anything without at least texting you where I'm going, so think of this as a working vacation." He'd heard stories of some clients the Secret Service had that were... trying at times. "Don't even worry about it. Oh, the drinks are available, off the clock, of course."

"Of course." Hank nodded once, and stepped away back towards their room with the stiff formality Paul had expected. They were doing their job. He wouldn't begrudge them.

Paul closed the door with a light click. His room was spacious, with a big soft bed, a big bright television, and a big window that let one look at the big beach that was considered one of the primary attractors of the area. "Hm." But would he go there first?

It was tempting...

And he was there to have fun...

He grabbed one of his suitcases and popped it open, taking out his clothes and hanging them up. As he did that, he tossed aside a few articles of clothes. He did not... technically... need clothes. He was a changeling. He could be wearing whatever he wanted at any moment. But he was also a human. A perfectly normal human.

And perfectly normal humans put on clothes. He swapped his suit out, taking off the one he had arrived in, and swapping to the one he had separated as he put things away. Shorts, brightly colored top, sunglasses. He looked ready for a beach! He even eschewed his usual shoes for sandals to flip-flop in. "Time to relax." He didn't feel relaxed, not yet. Hopefully that would change.

He grabbed his phone and quickly tapped out a text to his caretakers, alerting them where he was going, and what he was wearing for easier spotting. "Not trying to elude you." He tucked the phone away in a pocket, his wallet opposite it. He had everything he could think of.

All that was left was to go have a good time.

She wore a one piece and a shining pendant, her own little fragment of the stone that let her people flee into the water so long ago. "C'mon!" She tugged at her boyfriend's hand. "You are not going to come all the way here just to not swim."

"Swift." Mike was resisting her tugs, though he was losing ground with each pull. "Swift! I don't know how to swim!"

"Oh." The tugging stopped. "Why didn't you just tell me?" Swift rolled her eyes. "I'll show you, it'll be fun!" She grabbed him up in a great fierce hug. "Trust me!"

Reduced to blushing awkwardness, Mike was doomed as he was drawn away by his fiery girlfriend away from the nice dry beach and into those lapping waves. Her form changed on contact with the sea water, causing her to flop over as her bottom became that of a fish. She was a mermaid, her top unchanged. This did not bother her, clearly, from the way she was laughing wildly. "That always feels so funny."

"Can you breathe water like that?" She was still pulling him along, and the water was rising rapidly up to his chest. "'Cause I can't, just to remind."

"I know that, dummy." She pulled him close and her powerful tail propelled them both away from the safety of the beach. He couldn't feel the bottom anymore, floating there in her grip. "I won't let you get hurt, promise. Mikey, trust me."

"I-I... do." He smiled awkwardly, but, scary as it was, he could think of a lot of places worse off to be than the warm waters in the arms of his girlfriend. "So how do I start?"

10 - From the Depths

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Her mission was simple. Very simple. They were going to make their first move, but if word got back to America too quickly, they'd do what humans did best, tear things up. So... "Hello," greeted Cozy Glow in her new and improved form, sitting down right beside a sunning human. They were overweight. She was bipedal too, making it easy to tell that the human was far more pear shaped than her hourglass.

Grogar had mentioned that this was a common feature, not that she needed his input on that. Her time with Chrysalis had let her get a good look at humanity. "Nice day, huh?" The man glanced over her way, just to doubletake. He liked what he saw.

But he was also scared of it. Cozy wasn't human. Nocreature would make that mistake. But he was also just scared. He wasn't expecting the attention. "This is a relaxed place," she assured with a little smile. "We're all here to enjoy the sun, aren't we?" She was sure if she held his attention long enough, he'd get right over that. "Say, how did you get here?"

"Get here?" A moment of confusion. "Oh! I flew, on a plane? How did you get here?" His eyes drifted down her side towards her legs and back up again. "Are you, uh... Did you swim?"

She actually had. Her body was quite athletically sound, a feature she was fine with. "Oh, you know us creatures. We love being... active. But there's something only a fellow finger haver can help with."

"Yeah?" His attention was captured, but he looked a bit lost. "You need help with sunscreen?"

"See, you're a smart one!" Cozy clapped her new hands as she rolled slowly to her belly, exposing her back to view. "If you could?" She was not the light pink of the more sun vulnerable humans. Heck, she had kept her original color, meaning her skin and fur were a delightful pink shade, at least if you asked her. Her curly hair was a bright arctic blue. She was a creature, that meant a much wider palette option than humans had to pick from.

All that meant that, technically, she had defense enough from casual sun exposure, not that the Equestrian sun was especially savage unless weather ponies were doing their job especially poorly. None of that ultimately mattered. She was ensnaring that man. Not by seduction. She wasn't Chrysalis. But the more time he thought of her and looked at her, the more his mind began to circle on that track, creating a rut in his mind that he rolled along without a thought. She was becoming the center of his little universe.

Not that she didn't deserve it.

"Learning to swim is easy." Easy for Swift to say, being naturally a water creature. But she had reason for confidence as she led Mike along.

He was propelling himself along, not as quickly as she could with her dolphin-like tail, but he was doing it. "Most people don't have a floatie they personally like."

She burst into giggles at that idea. "I'm reduced to a floatie? Not sure I can take that." She nestled in close for a hug without getting in the way of his treading legs. "But I am so proud of you. You're doing it!"

"I'm not an expert," Mike got out quickly, as if scared Swift would dart away, assuming he had learned all he needed to learn. "And we are still very far away from the beach."

"Mike," she sighed out. "We're not that far." She looked off at the shore. It wasn't far... for her. She could get back to land in barely a moment with some effort. Mike, on the other hand, would be hard pressed. It was a scary place to be, but he did trust her. "I won't let you get hurt, you know that." With no parental figures in sight, she snuck a quick peck on his cheek, giggling. "C'mon!"

But he didn't go for more swimming, instead grabbing hold of her, not in any amorous way, but more as a portable raft that happened to talk. "T-thanks for showing me how, but--"

"--ugh, fine." She rolled her eyes as she began swaying her tail, propelling them both back towards the beach. "Still proud of you. Told you you could swim."

And so ended Mike's first adventure into sea water.

"Really?" Fluttershy inclined her head a little. "That is quite rude of them."

"A flounder muscling in on that squid's turf?" Discord leaned over from the other side of the conversation. "Haven't found a thing over here. All the creatures here seem to be having a good time." He threw out his hands, confetti going with it in a display Pinkie would have approved of. "Not a sour face to be seen."

Fluttershy inclined an ear at her quirky friend. "Oh, no. A squid would probably eat a flounder they didn't like." Said as if that was just a normal part of life. She pointed to the bobbing squid. "He was just saying that a lot of his friends are being bothered, out there." Her hoof went past the squid, indicating the depths beyond it. "Something's kicking up the sand and making noise out there."

Discord shrugged at the idea. "One of those human things? Making noise and kicking up dirt are two of their specialties. I swear, they are specially crafted to do those things."

Fluttershy set a hoof under her chin. "Do you think maybe that's what we're here to fix? They aren't the best at understanding animal needs."

Discord suddenly tickled at Fluttershy along both sides of her ribs. "As if ponies are that much better."

She wriggled with a squeal, slipping away with a snort. "Stop that!" she laughed out, not looking that offended in the end. "Some ponies are better than others." She turned the same hoof on herself. "I'm a pony, are you saying I'm not good with animals?"

"Perish the thought." He put a hand to his heart, looking pained at the very idea of it. "Still, if we're talking about all ponies, how much better are they?"

"Hm." Just like that, Fluttershy set that particular thought aside to instead look at her new squid friend. "Oh? Of course. Thank you very much." The squid darted back into the depths, lost to sight instantly. "He got nervous being this close to land. That was very brave of him."

Discord shrugged a bit dramatically. "You would have rescued him if anything happened."

"I certainly would have tried." Fluttershy nodded in easy agreement. "But he only just met me. Besides, he shared what he knew and I am thankful. No reason for him to be uncomfortable."

"You are too pure." He pinched her closest cheek. "But, alright, you've scored more of a lead than I have. Do we need a submarine?"

Fluttershy blinked slowly. "I don't know where to get one of those..."

Discord's expression went flat. "Fluttershy, dear friend. Are you forgetting who you're talking to?"

He couldn't just turn off his brain. How did people do it? He'd read about it, the idea, the concept of the vacation. Still, there he was in flip flops, a colorful drink in hand, and worries still on his mind. What had Chrysalis come for, where was she, why was she? Not the question one normally asked of people, but she had been sentenced to death, so her even being a thing was alarming all on its own.

And it was making his vacation difficult. He kept looking for her, expecting any creature he saw could also be a changeling. Much like him, really. But he was perfectly nice as changelings went. From what he'd heard, a lot of changelings had gone nice. Pity that didn't include Chrysalis. "You look lost."

Paul was stirred from his thoughts at the voice. A woman stood before him. Not a human. Very far from a human. She was... What was she? Not any species of creature he knew. "Lost in thought. Was I in the way?" He didn't think he was.

"No no." She walked past him, close, touching close. "You're just fine. Enjoying the beach?" She put a finger on his glass, running it along the rim slowly. Though she had fur in places, like stripes or bands, her fingers were entirely smooth, causing the glass to ring out as she rubbed it. "You look super tense."

Paul sagged a little at that. "That obvious?"

"Golly, yes." Cozy leaned in all the closer. "Why don't you come over here and sit down. I'll work that out of you."

For perhaps the average male vacationer, an appealing offer. For Paul, a dozen alarms began ringing at once. "You run a massage service?"

Cozy smiled easily at the former president that never was. "I'm an old hand." Not that her hands were very old. She had just gotten them! Relatively speaking. There was something about that human. He was hiding something? She had no idea what, but the fact that something was being hidden from her nagged at her. She had to know! "We're both just trying to relax. All these happy people, you don't want to stand out."

Was he that ragged looking? Maybe he was being overly cautious, driven to paranoia. He was on vacation! Relaxing was literally the point. "Tell... you what. If that offer's still on the table, sure." Was she looking for an easy hit, perhaps to pick his pocket when he was distracted?

It hadn't even occurred to him that maybe she was interested in him, as a person. He was a middle aged man of no special appearance. It wasn't like he was some famous ex president or anything... That lack of knowing why only had him more on edge.

"Ma'am." Oh, one of the Secret Service had arrived. They were interrogating Cozy Glow without prompting, and without 'no' being much of an option. Well... that answered that. It was, perhaps, for the best. Paul went to get a snack instead. He didn't have any achey joints in that desperate a need of massage anyway.

He did not know the serviceman's arrival had saved him, nor that it had doomed the same man.

"Hey!" A man raised a hand, waving Paul over. "I didn't think I'd see you again." It clicked, Paul remembered the man, and the hippogriff seated beside him. The parents of Swift. "Just recognized us?" laughed Tim, offering a hand in greetings. "Join us, Paul. Vacation's better with some company."

Tim's invitation seemed so much less alarming than what Cozy had been offering. They were a family, not a random lone predator. He had nothing to fear there. "Nice to see you off the plane." But it wasn't just the two of them. Another hippogriff was there. "You already made a friend?"

"I'm Mobile Coral," introduced Tim's wife. "And this--" She wrapped an arm around the other hippogriff. "--is Head Stream."

Head nodded at Paul. "Hey." She flickered a few fingers at the beach. "Running around out there are our kids, enjoying things. I have a husband, hippo like me, but he's lost right now." A little smirk grew. "He's enjoying the beach just as much as they are."

Paul liked this group more by the moment. They were harmless. "I didn't expect to run into familiar faces." Not that he sounded remotely upset about it. Still... "Hey, since I have you, I'm kinda new at the vacation 'thing'."

Mobile gasped with horror. "Are you stuck in work mode? Head!" She began shaking head at the shoulders. "You're not alone!"

Head rolled her eyes dramatically. "Welcome to the club. But I'm trying. Sit with us and just... exist. If you think about more than existing, you messed up, so take a step back and come at it again."

Just exist? That was not a state Paul was used to. But with the warm encouragement of his friends, perhaps he could try.

11 - One Hand Does Not Know the Other

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Discord gestured forward with imperial airs. "What's in front of us, Seaman?!"

Fluttershy swiveled the periscope to get a better look. "I don't think that title really works for me, Discord." She was no sea creature, or a man. "But I see some light, far ahead. I think it's coming from around a corner." She pointed in the direction she was looking. "Maybe from below?"

"Let's have a better look." Discord grabbed the control stick, directing the submarine they were in towards the mysterious light. "I have a feeling this is going to be interesting."

Paul jumped, even he felt silly just after. It was his phone. A phone should not be reason to panic! Not that he had too many people that would want to call... The guards? He grabbed it out. "One moment." He turned in place, still sitting, away from the happy family to answer the call. "Paul here."

"Is Agent Miller in view?" asked the man on the phone.

Paul looked around, craning his head in search of the guard he hadn't seen in a bit. "Not that I immediately... see? They missing?"

"Come back to the hotel immediately," ordered the secret serviceman with no room for 'no' in their voice. "You are exposed."

Paul's expression soured, but evened out almost as quickly. "Copy that." He clicked the hang up button. "Looks like I have to go."

"Aw." Mobile pouted at the news. "Whyfor? I figured we'd have a nice cook-out with all of us here." She spread her talons wide. "So many friends, enjoying a nice dinner on the beach. Can't beat that, can you? Whatever that was it can wait."

Tim nudged his wife, hand against her shoulder. "That looked serious. Everything alright? If we can help...?"

"We're back!" There were their children, with Swift at the fore, leading Mike, both smiling. "Mike can swim now!"

Mike colored at that. "Y-yeah, but you don't have to say it like that."

"Like what?" Swift stuck out her tongue. "You had a problem, and now you don't. It's great!"

Tim wasn't paying much attention to the young ones, instead focused on Paul. "What are friends for?"

Paul put up a deflecting hand, but wasn't sure how to explain... actually why he'd have... Oh. "I have a few guards, just to be safe."

Head Stream's feathery ears twitched. "I heard you were on television once, for an ad. That's enough to rate needing a bodyguard?"

"Can't be too sure," he lamely assured, getting up to his feet. "And one of them got lost in the crowd. The other wants me to come home. Hey, they're earning their paycheck."

Tim was standing at about the same time, sand deforming under his sandaled feet. "We'll get you back nice and safe."

Swift burst into a merry laughter. "Now we're the guards? Awesome. Anyone bothers my friend and they're getting kicked." She struck a dynamic pose, as if she were ready to play a part in a low budget action movie.

Paul had planned to escape the family, but instead they were mobilizing to accompany him. Well, two families actually, that had decided he was their friend, and worth keeping safe. He smiled at the thought. Maybe he had picked the right place to be. "Alright, alright," he allowed, motioning downwards with his hands before pointing at one of several hotels in the area. "That's the one I'm staying at."

Tim whistled with his eyes on it. "I was looking at the prices. That's not a cheap one."

Mobile thumped into him from the side. "He has bodyguards. I think he can afford a nice hotel. Don't mind him, he's a dear, but a little daft once in a while."

It was impressive, to Paul, how quickly their entire group was up and ready to escort him. He began to lead the way, though lead was somewhat of the wrong word, with Mike and Swift up ahead, forming the vanguard against all perceived threats. "Don't think I got your name." Paul looked to the one hippo that had joined them while they were relaxing. "Husband of Head Stream, right?"

"Sure am," proudly confirmed the hippogriff stallion with a grin. "I wasn't expecting a new friend, but that was me not thinking this through."

"Happens to the best of us." Paul was quiet just a few steps. "It's a funny thing, no offense, but I so rarely see a..." What was the word? "A creature couple? In America that is." It was perfectly normal, and expected, in their own countries.

"How do you even do it." The hippogriff laughed at whatever he was imagining. "I mean, I should take that back. We hippos are the same way. Back where we're from, mostly more of us. Same with you, right? America, land of humans, wall to wall humans."

"Sometimes literally." Paul quietly decided that griffon was alright. "Paul Goldstein, by the way." He offered a hand.

Which was met with a set of talons, the hippogriff bouncing up to his hooves to grab Paul's hand in a warm shake. "Nice to meet you. Snowmelt," he introduced in kind, hiking his other hand's thumb at himself. "And it seems you've been adopted."

Paul burst into merry laughter at that. "Oh no. This isn't what I had in mind." Not that he was fighting it overly much. There were worse fates.

"There's a submarine approaching," croaked what had once been a human, but more resembled a bloated frog of a thing with spines running two lines down their back. "Orders?"

"Submarine?" asked Tirek with a sneer. "Humans don't have a sea presence in the area. Are you sure?"

"I'm looking at it." The frog-thing stepped to the side and gestured at the periscope he had been using. "Go ahead."

Tirek grumbled dubiously, but did approach to have a look. And there was a submarine, coming right at them. It was... small... Comically small. Too small to be a proper sub at all. "What in Tartarus...?" Still, it was coming, and they had to do something about it. "Have they seen us?"

The frog grunted, all the answer they had. "Right." Tirek punched one open hand with the fist of the other. "He said not to give ourselves away. Get us out of here, quietly."

"We don't do quiet." The floor lurched beneath them as another deformed minion began making the vessel they were in move, running in place in a great wheel like a hamster ready to get in their daily sweat. The great clangs of metal on metal heralded the movement of large rotors, causing the water to move around them.

The group was suddenly scattered. A great, and yet still somewhat muffled, explosion sent water flying up from the beach they had just left. The shockwave of it was enough to cause them to lose their footing a moment. Paul sagged, thrown to the side against a pole with a grunt.

The four legged members of their party, which was half of them, staggered, but remained upright. Head Stream was lending a talon to the fallen Tim. "What was that?!" She called as she did so. "Everycreature alright?"

Paul's phone began to ring. It was not a fancy ring, the one that came with the phone actually. He dug it out quickly and recognized the number. "I'm alright," he answered with.

"Good to hear. Can you give me an exact position? Are you within a block of the hotel?" The Secret Serviceman was all business, which made sense to Paul. "If you are, get close but do not enter. I'm on the way."

Paul waved the children closer. "We're already pretty close."

"We?"

"I'm moving with some new friends." He gestured over the group, not that the person on the phone had any chance of seeing that. "Everyone's intact."

A faint hiss of breath. "Get in cover and stay there. Do not go out in the open. Assume everyone that isn't already vetted is not to be trusted."

A chill ran down Paul's spine. Those were not casual words, not that people in that line of duty were known for their casual words. "Right." He hung up, tucking the phone away. "Let's find a quiet place while they get this sorted out."

He had gone from being the one being guarded to instantly being the one in charge, of wanting to keep them safe. "This way." Paul waved them on. "No running, no panicking, just walk." He was power walking, sure, but running wouldn't help the situation.

"I didn't say to fire!" roared Tirek, his booming voice bouncing off the walls. "What part of 'be subtle' did you miss? Tell me we at least got rid of them."

The frog-thing was slowly looking left and right through their periscope, trying to get a visual through the mess of dust and bubbles. "It's hard to see," they reported simply enough.

"Then let's take advantage of that." He swatted the flank of the creature in the wheel. "Take us forward. Let's get out of here. Little miss honeypot can handle herself for now."

They fled the scene of their crime, one submerged boat that none would discover, with any luck.

Discord flopped bonelessly onto the sands, stars orbiting his head, quite literally. "Did somepony get the number of the carriage?" But none answered him. "The joke wasn't that awful," he huffed, sitting up.

Fluttershy wasn't there. He picked up a nearby rock, and there was no Fluttershy there either, not that she would have fit under such a small rock. "Flutters? Where are you hiding?" Discord floated free of the sands, shaking himself off on the way. "Fluttershy! This joke has gone on precisely as long as it needs to."

Discord zipped out over the water, looking down into it as far as one could with sea water, which was surprisingly far. Clear tropical waters as they were. Which didn't make him any calmer, as there was no sign of Fluttershy. "Get out here this instant!" He dove into the waves and began zipping around, water rushing past him, but still no sign of the pegasus. "Where are you?!" he demanded despite being underwater, bubbles streaming from him.

But she was not emerging.

The crowd was a mess. Part of them were pressing towards where the big boom had come from, trying to gape and look. The more sensible portion was busy pushing and shoving to get far away from there. Local police officers, guards really, were doing their best to calm the crowd with mixed success at best.

But a lazy trail of smoke coming up from the sea waters had everyone on edge. Something had happened, and there was little denying that fact.

Mobile rubbed behind her head. "Wow, this is not what I had in mind. I'm so sorry."

Paul got out an aborted chuckle. "This isn't your fault. You've all been such great..." Hosts? "Friends. My guard should get here soon."

"Are they one of those super guards?" That was Swift, a grin on her face. "Knows kung fu, has a gun, only talks in really short sentences?"

"That's hurtful." Oh, there was the other agent, descending the stairs into the little dugout they had found that let them peek out onto the street. "Sir." He nodded at Paul. "Good place." He glanced back at the stairs he had just left. "No sign of my partner?"

"Not a one." Paul pointed out into the water, where the smoke lazily curled upwards. "Something happened out there, spooked a lot of people, but we're all fine."

"It was an explosion," burst Mike, throwing his hands out wide. "Boom, just out of nowhere. Water went this high!" He was holding his hand as high as it could go, which was not high enough. He tried jumping to make the difference, but it was a doomed effort.

The agent nodded at the teen as if they were giving super valuable intelligence. "Did you see anyone coming or going from the explosion?"

Paul raised a finger at that. "At that instant, no, but a lot of people are trying to get closer or further from it now." A sigh escaped him. "Is my vacation officially over then?"

12 - The Sky Dims

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It was far beyond time for him to get serious. Discord touched down on the warm sands, cracking his knuckles. "There's no rule saying I can't do this." He thrust his hand out into the void and pulled Fluttershy free.

A few bits of feathers and fluff drifted to the ground.

There... There was no Fluttershy to pull free, at least not an intact one.

Discord's word contracted sharply, his pulse roaring in his ears in a literal display of two lions going at it from the sides of his head. He could snap and undo it...

But...

"Fluttershy..."

"Thank you for your efforts." The serviceman was nodding at the rest of the group. "Sir, we should go."

"Where to?" Paul gestured at the hotel, not that it was in direct view in their dugout. "A tall hotel when explosives are being used doesn't feel safer."

That the man paused was proof enough that a safer place was hard to think of.

Swift Swim turned in place. "This spot seems safe. Nothing's happening anyway."

No further explosions. Even the smoke trail was starting to thin out. As scary as it had been, there appeared to be no follow-ups.

"You!" That was a new voice, Discord emerging from nowhere in particular. "El Presidente!"

That was certainly not what Paul was going by! His guard had his gun out in almost alarming speed, directing it at the incensed creature. "Back away slowly," they barked, looking ready to make use of the weapon.

Discord rolled his eyes. "I have no time for you." With a casual wave, the man was sent flying back, the gun skidding away from him across the floor. "You're a president. I have questions, and you will answer them."

Swift Swim interposed herself between Paul and Discord. "Back off, jerk! This is Paul, and he's not a president, dummy."

Discord was not as quick to send the small hybrid child flying, though the temptation was clearly still there. "Whatever he is, I need to talk to him, now."

Paul placed a gentle hand on Swift's shoulder, drawing her back. He would not hide behind a child shield. "You seem upset. If you just want to talk, I have nothing against that." He turned the same hand towards a table there, meant for dining out on that half-underground patio they were on. "Have a seat, let's chat?"

"That's better." A smile, a forced smile, tension still high. Discord vanished to appear already seated at the table, a colorful drink held in a hand, and another across from him, waiting for Paul. "I have had the absolute worst day. Worst part being that it's all my own fault! All of it! Well, most of it. The important parts!"

Paul took his seat, watching his guard get back on his feet. He didn't look injured, good. "Sounds rough." He glanced towards the thinning smoke. "Going to take a guess. Does this involve the explosion?"

"You were there?!" Discord threw his hand aside, sending an arc of his drink flying. "Yes, that was it entirely. Now, look, let's get to brass tacks. I was with a very very dear friend on a little ship." He held his hands close together, glass angling awkwardly. "And, well, that." His turn to incline his head at the site of the explosion. "And... now... Now..."

Mike looked out at the trailing smoke. "Are they hurt?"

"No." His girlfriend elbowed him, Swift frowning. "What are you, two?" Not that either of them were that old just yet. "He's lucky he's still here."

Discord sank miserably, chin slapping against the table as he went entirely limp. "She's right! Fluttershy is gone, and even I, Discord, master of chaos, can't just bring her back."

Snowmelt perked. "Discord? The Discord?!"

Discord perked a little. "Finally, some respect. You've heard of me?" He sat up with a little cocky smile, though it didn't last long. "But, yes, even Discord can't fix this..."

Snowmelt took an unsure step forward. "But you can... do anything. Why can't you... fix it, if you want, um, sir?"

"Because she made me make a promise." He set the glass down and instead turned his hands to cradling his head. "After I made a show of fixing Ponyville, nasty incident that. I'll spare the children the grisly details, but I fixed that up. The ponies involved were... a bit affected by it. Fluttershy demanded that if... it ever came to that... to leave her alone. That she would... go naturally." He slammed a fist on the table suddenly. "Exploding in a submarine is not naturally!"

That brought things into more of a focus. "You were in a submarine?" prodded Paul gently. "Then..." Well, it was clear what exploded then. "What did that?"

"Fluttershy was the one looking," Discord grunted with obvious annoyance. "She saw something, but before she could say what it was, it was all over." He glared at Paul. "You were in charge of more creatures than I care to count. How did you cope with them getting in trouble you couldn't fix?"

Head Stream squinted at Discord. "You seem really convinced Paul's a president."

"That may be my fault." The Secret Serviceman returned to the chat, gun tucked away. He had given up trying to threaten Discord with it, for the moment. "Most people don't have Secret Service."

Mike gasped sharply. "No. Way."

Mobile frowned a little. "What are those again? Besides secret."

Tim was close to his wife. "They're bodyguards of extremely important people, like the president."

Paul raised his hands. "Let's keep calm."

"I am perfectly calm," assured the not calm Discord. "I've met another of you." He pointed at Paul. "Also, since when did they allow Changelings to be that?" Everyone jerked at that bit of information. "Was it a secret?"

Paul buried his face in his hands. "Not anymore," he miserably let out. "You are never going to be given confidential clearance, ever."

The agent nodded lightly. "He's right." There were plenty of reasons to deny Discord that. That he was bad with secrets was actually below a fair bit of other valid reasons. "Sir, just so you are aware, anyone who's given this detail is given the full briefing. I was aware."

"Of the changeling thing, or the 'This guy used to be president' thing?"

"I am not permitted to speak further on that topic."

Discord glanced between the two humans being all secretive. "Lovely as this is, can we get back on topic? Something out there blew up my sub, and me, and my friend. I am beyond livid... But the sort of punishment I want to give, I can't."

Paul perked at that. "Another promise."

"Another promise," grumbled Discord. "Teaches me to give those out. Never again... Harmony's tools, those. Nasty and foul. Not my thing! Not at all..." And yet, he seemed ready to abide by it. "Fluttershy..." He paused, sniffling a little. "Rest... her... She asked that I never use my powers that way." He spread his hands, a minigun appearing in the left, a rocket launcher in the right. "I can do whatever I want, but killing, that's the line she drew." He threw them aside, forgotten and already fading away.

Paul knew of Discord. He was, at the start, a changeling. Changelings knew Discord. He had caused them to change, working with a few other ponies, bringing a new age that Paul had been late to, but had arrived at in his own time. "Allow me to propose an idea."

"Hm?" Discord looked up at Paul. "I know I give the impression that I'm just 'living in the moment', but I have been. I have been exploring countless possibilities. What ifs. She is that important to me. There has to be a way out, but there are a few problems. I can't bring her back directly, promises... If I go to another world where there is another Fluttershy, well, there's also another me there."

He shrugged softly. "And if there isn't already an interested me there, then the Fluttershy there doesn't know me and/or doesn't want to get to know me. I obviously didn't go back in time."

"Obviously?"

"Or I'd have run into me already, duh." Discord smirked as if teaching something obvious. "I didn't, so I don't do that. I did pass a warning to a few other mes, but none of them warned me, jerks." He rolled his eyes, fixing on Swift. "Maybe you were right after all."

The agent was watching the weapons fade away into nothing, then out across the waters. "Whatever attacked you, is it still out there?"

"No." Discord steepled his fingers. "I was out there, looking... I didn't see anything but some surprised fish."

The agent nodded at Paul. "I'd better call this in. Stay here." And he moved off to the far corner of the room.

Mike shook his head softly. "This all went from vacation to action-movie thriller."

Swift snorted at him. "That's your read? Poor guy's hurting." She patted Discord's side. "Sorry about your lady friend."

Paul nudged his untouched glass away. "Let's put aside that idea then." Which Discord had already tried, apparently. "What do you want to do?"

"Go home, mostly... But I still want revenge. A revenge I can't get personally." He leaned in, head curling over his overly long neck. "But you, dear human. Humans are quite good at getting exactly the kind of revenge I dearly want right now..."

Paul kept his gaze level and neutral. Just like facing a foreign contact, really. "I can make no promises on behalf of America. I really am not a president. They only last four to eight years each."

"That short?" He reared back with obvious surprise. "How do you get anything done at all?!"

"With difficulty," chuckled out Paul. "But it's how things are. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking there's something out there perfectly willing to explode things. I'm thinking humans don't like that much unless they're the ones doing it." He steepled his fingers. "I'm thinking you may want to do something violent about it."

"Possibly." Paul was keeping an eye on his guard. Where had the first one gone off to? They still hadn't shown up... "We'll be informing them, certainly."

"Ugh, is that the best I get? At least this little thing gave me a patting." He returned the patting, drumming his hand on Swift's startled head. "Ugh, I need to sulk for a few dozen years. Good luck with that. Harmony has..." He suddenly sat up. "Nevermind that. We need to exchange words." And he vanished with a somehow angry bamf of magic. He had a spirit of order to yell at.

"You knew that would happen." He leveled his finger at the tree that housed the spirit of harmony. "Don't even try to deny it. Everything has a 'purpose' in your book. Everything happens because it has to."

"That's not true." There was the spectral Twilight, her eyes unblinking, staring off into the distance. "If it was, I would need to do nothing but watch the events unfold."

"Isn't that exactly what you do?!" he roared in accusation, storming towards the not-Twilight. "You sent me there! This was your fault."

"I am sorry." The twilight dipped her head, but her eyes did not close, nor did her expression change. "I knew there were risks, great risks, but I thought, next to you, she would be safe. I overestimated the strength of my rival."

"You're turning this around on me!" He placed his hands on his chest, affronted. "I thought we were doing everything the way you wanted it. We were there on your stupid 'friendship' quest. We were talking with animals, getting clues. It was all fun and games... Until it wasn't..."

"I'm sorry," gently repeated the spirit with the face of a pony. "We were both taken by surprise. Dark forces are gathering. Chaos will result. Pain will result. Fluttershy... would have wanted it stopped."

"Don't you speak her name!" he roared, slamming a foot down with enough strength to sunder the stone he stood on. There was no humor in his eyes.

13 - Retiring from the Field

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Paul swept the crowd with his eyes. People seemed to be recovering from the explosion. Sure, there was still some chatting and gawking, but there wasn't much to see and nothing was happening. A game of volleyball had re-assembled as if nothing had happened. So far as most of them knew, exactly that was true.

"Some vacation."

Swift Swim swatted him on the back. "It's not like you're the president. The super agent is right there." She was hiking a thumb at the Secret Service on his cellphone. "He'll tell the people in charge."

Mike snickered at his girlfriend. "Now you're the one being silly."

"Am not!"

"Easy there." Paul gently waved the children with little downpats at the air. "Something serious is going on. I can't just ignored it."

Mobile tapped at the table Paul was seated at. "You can say that again! Now, look, you seem nice." She nodded at Paul. "This isn't your fault. This isn't any of our faults. I see folks starting to relax out there. Maybe we should take a hint? Let's just..."

"Mom." Swift was scowling at Mobile. "Someone died. I'm not pretending that didn't happen."

Paul clenched a hand. Someone had died. Not a person he knew, sure, but... "Let's see what he finds out."

As if noticing he was being spoken of, the Secret Service agent slipped his phone away, done with it for the moment. "They've been told." Who qualified as 'they' he did not bother to expound on. "He should have reported in by now. The entire situation is compromised. I recommend scuttling it."

Swift hopped in place, her hooves clopping against the floor on the way back down. "It's settled then." The adults looked to her. "What? We're going home." She pointed at Paul. "Don't worry! We'll protect you. What's a changeling?"

Mobile grabbed her daughter with a strained laugh. "That's right. You never did meet one of those, did you? Sorry about that." She was trying in vain to keep Swift from speaking further. "Changelings are nice creatures that can change shape into basically whatever they want."

Swift squinted at Paul with new eyes. "Then why does he look like that? If I could be anything, I'd be something way cooler!"

Mike snickered at her reaction. "Like what?"

"Well, I'm not a bad start." For all the trouble she'd gotten, Swift's self image appeared to be vibrantly healthy. "Why not something young instead of old?"

Paul nodded at her. "That's actually a very clever question. I'll tell you the truth. I've tried. I can look younger, but I won't actually be younger. What's the point of looking like I should be spritely if I'm still not? So I stick with this." He turned his hand towards himself. "And this is me. Is this a bad thing?"

"Nah," Swift offered a big thumbs up. "You're dignified. But you could be like a huge dragon or a robot or something."

Mike was less sure of that. "Can he do that?"

The debate over what a changeling could or could not become was sparked.

President Stein took a slow breath as she looked across the desk there in the Oval Office. "This isn't something we can ignore, but what intel do we have right now?"

The other was a military contact, a go-between. "We don't have satellites in that area, yet. At least none looking down with the resolution that'd get us the information we'd want. Weather, Internet... About it. It isn't technically our airspace."

Not that the other countries did much to even notice what was going on in low orbit. "Right." But, sending up satellites still cost money. The network was growing, but that wasn't instant. "We need to know what's happening, and who's doing it. This is not something to be flailing around the dark about."

"Understood." They rose to their feet smoothly. "We'll report as further Intel arrives."

"Queen Novo on the line," called out an Aide.

Stein took the phone there on her desk. "Novo, always a pleasure." Not technically true, that. "What's going on?"

"Stein," replied Novo with the watery noise that revealed she was speaking from beneath the waves. "I heard about the attack. How awful! Was anyone hurt?"

Stein made a note with a pen. "You already heard?"

"We do get television down here," reminded Queen Novo in an amused tone. "It's all anycreature's talking about. A resort town, attacked! It wasn't yours, exactly, but I hear many humans like to play there, so I imagined you were worried."

"That's very kind of you." A foreign dignitary calling because one of their vacation spots was attacked? That was perhaps a step further than most she was more accustomed to reading about. "Do hippogriffs go there?"

"I called up each and every one of them in the area." Her voice was firm with solid conviction. "I do keep track of them. I am happy to report that they are all safe. Speaking of that, thank you again, for silencing those screams. The ocean is much nicer again."

"I am glad to hear that." Another note was hurried scribbled. "It's still rattling around the polisphere, but in the direction we want it to make that a lasting change. We need peace. If the drums of war resume, the screams may be called for."

A miserable grunt echoed on the line. "Not what I wanted to hear," admitted Novo plainly. "You don't need screaming eyes. Have you tried saying that out loud? It's a strange thought. In either event, we will scout the waves and find them, without screaming."

Stein smiled at that offer. "Appreciated. I'll let the boys know that. Keep me appraised of any discoveries, no matter how small."

"Don't take this the wrong way." Stein tensed a bit. Novo was many things, but when she said that, it meant she was about to be rude in some human-ignorant way. "But it is nice to have a female in charge. We'll get this straightened out. You tell your boys, keep them in line. We'll sort this out."

Stein's tension faded. "It's taken us too long to get to this point. We humans both love and are terrified of change. A funny habit of ours. Thank you again for calling, Queen Novo. I'll keep you appraised in kind."

"We'll handle this, together." The line went dead.

Stein set the phone back down. "It's good to have friends." The attack had caused no actual damage, just scared people, but that was enough at times...

"Imbeciles!" Grogar sent the monstrous hulk of a once-man flying to bounce off the wall with a dull thud. "I said to be subtle! I said to be discreet!" He stormed towards Tirek, eyes flashing with the fury boiling within him. "What happened?!"

"Discord," spat Tirek, refusing to be entirely cowed by the ancient goat. "He was snooping around, almost found us. I told the fools to get us way, they decided that also meant, 'Take a shot if you can,' and you can see the results of that."

Grogar roared to the heavens, which did not have the courtesy to reply. "And where is she?" He looked left and right, scowling at each creature in sight. "Where is Cozy Glow?"

"Well, you see..." Tirek worked his fingers together in an idle fidget.

"Was she killed?"

"No! Just... She was on the beach when we fled."

"Inconceivable!" He stomped his forehooves with enough force to split the ground just before him, bits of rocks littering the area. "We need her back."

Speaking of her, she frowned at the fading smoke. Her ride had left. She was abandoned. "Figures." She shrugged and sauntered out into the crowd. "Didn't need them anyway. And if they ditched me, well, then it's not really my fault, or my problem."

She spotted her original target. He was talking with a bunch of other people. Chums at a glance. Hm. "Some habits don't go away easy." She strolled towards Paul and the family he had adopted. Her eyes were not on any of them. She had learned who the real threat was, and made for the Secret Service first. "Hey."

The Serviceman looked up at the new voice. "The patio is currently closed," he announced with cold precision. "Sorry."

"Is it now?" She inclined a hand towards the gathering. "I see a whole family, maybe two. It can't be that closed."

"Private function," pivoted the man without missing a beat. His eyes were on her, wary and suspicious. But also falling into her trap. She was made to entrap human males, which he was, his thoughts gravitating around her as he spoke to her. The more they exchanged words, the more doomed he was. The more he remained near her, the worse it became.

"Your friend's looking for you." She crooked a finger. "Right over there. Want me to show you?"

"What?" He looked off where she had directed, but it was beyond the confines of their little safe nook. "I shouldn't. Thank you for telling me."

"Oh, not a problem." She giggled softly with her innocent smile. "A hard working man like you deserves a helping hand." She offered one of those, a new thing for her to have, but she was learning to enjoy the attachment. "You look so serious."

"I... have to be." He was becoming lost, forgetting what he was there to do, instead thinking of her, about her, all about her. "What's your name?"

"Get a new friend?" Paul had noticed the interaction, calling out to them from across the way.

"Yeah." He didn't even glance at Paul. "Your name?"

Cozy's grin only grew. "I'm taking your friend to his friend. This way." She started away, leading the way that the one caught in her snare followed without further objection. "Be right back."

Swift squinted at the two heading off. "Your bodyguard's distracted by a pretty lady."

"He's a professional." Paul looked to the others. "Thank you all. You didn't owe me anything."

"Don't be like that." Tim took up the glass Paul had never enjoyed. "We're friends. Friends don't just ditch each other."

Mobile squinted at that glass and its colorful contents. "You do know Discord made that, right? It could have anything."

And yet, he was still holding it.

"Hm?" Discord tapped at a keyboard for a computer he didn't have a week before, but when did that ever stop him. "Right? Right?! Where does this guy think he's going." He browsed forward. "Seriously, what shoddy writing." Sure, it was his life, but that didn't mean it was always well-written, consarnit!

"Oh?" He leaned in so close he could see nothing but large pixels. "Now you have my attention. Why didn't I think of that?!" He swiveled in his chair to face another Discord, scowling at them.

"Don't look at me," the second Discord deflected. "It was his job."

A third Discord jumped. "Me?! I do conjurations!"

The first Discord crossed his arm. "Well I do need that. Enough talking to me. Let's talk to--"

With a sharp snap, Fluttershy fell onto his couch, caught mid yelp of terror. She looked around wildly. "This isn't... Where are we? What happened?!"

"I saved your precious little life." He fluttered his lashes at her. "And I didn't even break any promises doing it."

Fluttershy felt over her cheeks. "I... feel like I wasn't here, which is a very strange feeling. What did you do?"

"You weren't not there, I just sort of pulled you forward in time. That'll pass." He waved it off. "And you didn't make me promise not to do that. The sub exploded." He burst his fingers apart, his hands exploding like small bombs. "I got you out at just the last moment. Aren't I clever?" His tail casually brushed the computer that had told him the answer out of sight.

"Discord... You know that's not what I meant." She stepped down from the couch. "But... I'm here... I don't want to... not be here." Her words felt hollow in the face of making that choice herself. She liked existing! "This is--"

"Have no fear." He was suddenly at her side, gently petting her. "Therapist Discord is on the case. We are going nowhere until you feel all better. They can handle their own business for a while."

14 - Velvet Trap

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"They're everywhere." Grogar scowled more than usual as he paced. "Why are the hippogriffs on such high alert? For all these setbacks, they weren't even affected." The idea that another nation would leap to action at the behest of another was foreign to him. Why?

"This changes the plans... Any report from Cozy Glow?" He sank to his haunches, his bell jangling in the motion. "I need some good news, for a change of pace."

"Nothing," reported one of the hulking figured. "Should I call her?"

"Yes!" It wasn't his fault he didn't remember that was even an option. Humans had brought countless toys and trinkets with them and were not shy about sharing them with any other creature that could pay them.

"Yellow." Cozy closed the door, confident the contents of the room weren't going anywhere.

"Cozy Glow," came a gravely voice. "Grogar wants to know where you are."

"I'm busy doing my job." Cozy tossed the phone from one hand to the other and brought it up to her other fuzzy ear. "All the dangerous humans are out of commission. I'm moving in on the ones they were guarding. I know how to get things done, unlike whatever happened to the others."

She couldn't hear what was being said, just muffled, and yet loud, conversation. Were they shouting away from the phone? Something was shouting back. "Is that Grogar?"

"Yes. He--"

The voice shifted. "Can you hear me?"

"Grogar, sir. What's up?" She flashed a bright smile despite the goat not being able to see her. "I'm doing what you sent me here to do."

"Thank you for not being a complete failure, unlike others. I don't know how news is spreading--"

"Television," cut off Cozy. "That little stunt at the beach is already being talked about across the world." It was a harsh lesson in how connected the world was becoming. "Basically the instant it happened. If you were trying to be sub--"

"I know that," roared the goat over the line. "This was not the plan!" He took a slow breath, calming himself. "Can you get back here?"

"Nope," almost cheerfully replied Cozy with a shake of her hips. "I don't even know where you are, remember? So, if you don't have some other plan, gonna keep doing what I'm doing. It's working just fine."

She heard a noise, a ring. But it wasn't her phone, she was holding that. She produced a second phone from her pocket. "Ugh, these guys were popular." She stuffed it away, having managed to quiet it. "Anyway, that it?"

"That is very far from 'it'. Stay wary. The enemy is on alert."

"Gotcha." She casually hung up on her boss and stuffed her own phone away. "Now back to..."

But her quarry had new company.

Three seals in military suits were standing in front of the gathered families. "We were just asked to guard you," explained the one in charge, indicating Paul. "Not sure why. You look safe." The other seals nodded in agreement. That was a safe and unharmed human if ever they had seen one.

Paul was examining that seal in charge, but also trying to look past him. "I... had a guard. Oh." He saw Cozy Glow. "Hey, where'd the guy you were with go?"

Cozy laughed, strained in tone. That wasn't the plan. "He's with his friend." Truth there! "They found a safe spot and sent me back to get you there." She trailed a finger through her curls as she came closer. The seals didn't seem to be stopping her.

The head seal put an arm between Cozy and Paul, ruining what had been an open path. "Sorry. They asked us to get him home."

"Home?" Paul slid to his feet.

"Home." The seal pointed out over the waters. "America?" He chuckled suddenly. "What a strange name."

One of the other seals leaned in and whispered to the one in charge, who pricked up. "Oh, sorry. Right. They said to keep you safe and if you want to go home, get you home now. If not, uh..." He scratched his cheek with thought. "Oh, Oh right. They're sending others, so we're just here for a little while I think?"

The other seals bobbed their head in agreement.

Cozy eyed the seal guards. She was tailor made to knock a human male right out of commission. They were male, but not human. They weren't falling for her charms passively, so far. "Aw, don't be scared." She fluttered her lashes at Paul. "Looks like all that scary stuff's all done."

And then she was poked, a small finger against her left hip. She scowled at the small kid that had done it. Half human, half... pony? "Need somethin'?" she barked before gathering herself back up. "You surprised me."

Swift had her arms crossed, glaring at the strange lady creature. "Are you a halfie?"

Tim waved at his daughter. "That's not a polite question."

"Sure it is." Swift thrust a hand out, thumb poking free, then directing it at herself. "I'm half." She pointed to her dad, then her mom. "Two halves, makes me. You look like a halfie." She gestured up at the bipedal nature of Cozy, then down at her hooves. Clearly not a pony, but also clearly not a human.

"Gosh, you're perceptive," half-giggled out Cozy as she sank in a crouch closer to Swift's eyes. "Guess that makes us related in a way, huh? Isn't that nice?"

Paul was in his own world, eyes shifting slowly, but coming back to Cozy. Falling for her? She hoped! "Can you tell them to come back here? Or give me a call?"

Swift put her hands on her hips. "Let me at them and I'll get them off their lazy butts!"

Cozy laughed at Swift's spirit. "You know, maybe you have a point there. Mind if I try that?" She stood back up fully. "I doubt anycreature could lay around with her there."

The creatures of that world all nodded, seeing nothing potentially wrong with the idea. Tim did not join them. "I'll come along." He started towards them. "Let's go fetch a Secret Services or two. Man, never thought I'd say that..."

And off they went, Tim, his daughter, and Cozy Glow leaving the area.

Paul was looking towards the lead seal. "Thanks, for responding as quickly as you did. I'm sure you'd normally have other things to do."

The seal waved that thought away. "We're happy to help. It was boring today anyway. Since you're here, maybe you could answer a few questions." And so the interrogation of human culture began.

Cozy had not planned on things going that way exactly, but, on the other hoof... She saw possibilities. Daddy dearest coming along? That was a bonus! He was nervous about her, good! He was exactly the wrong person to be watching her. She didn't go directly to where she had stashed the human guards, that'd be silly. She took them on a winding hike, watching as Tim faded slowly but surely.

"Are we almost there?" The kid, however, was neither male, nor exactly human? Her eyes were just as sharp. "I thought you said it was close?"

But having weaknesses? She didn't like that. Grogar said her powers would form as she used and tested them. "Almost there," Cozy half-sang, her tail giving a swish. "What was your name again?"

"Swift Swim." She hurried ahead a little on her rubbery horshoe-like, well, shoes. "So was it your dad or your mom?"

"Huh?"

"I'm guessing it was your mom." She looped around in front of Cozy, barring the way. "'Cause my dad was the human, and look at me." She gestured over herself. "You're different. Fuzzy all over." Her finger extended towards one of Cozy's hands. "You have hands though." She flexed her own. "Lucky there."

Cozy laughed at that. "You know what? You're right. Hands can be pretty... handy." She waggled her brows at her joke, even if it got an eyeroll from the kid. The ice was broken in a way. "So... half hippo, huh?"

Swift stuck out her tongue. "Only dorks call them hippos."

"Dorks like ponies, huh?"

Swift suddenly looked guilty, realizing she was speaking to that, well, half that? "Uh, sorry."

"S'alright." She patted Swift on the shoulder, rising to her full height, which wasn't that taller than Swift. Still, she was larger than she had been, and she was bigger than a kid. Score! "Kinda funny, us halfies. We're different halves, but we both got hooves." Cozy presented one.

"Bet you wish you had them." Swift thumped against her dad, but he just grunted as if distracted. "Are you tired or something? All this walking taking it out of you?"

Cozy slid between the two suddenly. "I bet he could use a drink." She pointed to a little cafe in sight. "Go on." With her command given, Tim began to wander off in search of a drink. Cozy set her eyes back on Swift, considering what to do with her. "Hey, nice pendant." She had spotted that shard that let the hippogriffs transform. "Does it work for you?"

"'Course it does." Protectively, Swift put her hand over it. "You know about it?"

"Who doesn't?" Cozy shrugged expansively. "At least anycreature that's heard of hippogriffs. Do you go full sea pony or something else?"

Cozy had Swift's attention, but the move after that she was still working on.

"You don't say." Chrysalis flashed a toothy reptillian smile at the one that had a fitting snout. "How cruel."

"Don't they understand?!" The reptile coiled around Chrysalis. "This was our space, all of it!" They directed not with a hand, which they didn't have, but their snout in a wide wave. "Suddenly these... These things..." They released Chrysalis. "If my grandfather could see this..."

"He would be appalled," agreed Chrysalis. "Muscling into space dragon territory like that. Why, these brutes have crossed claws with the land dragons too."

"They haven't?!" The long feathered snake of a creature fluffed up in affront. "You're lying."

"I would never dream of it," lied Chrysalis without shame. "Go on, ask them how well these humans fight."

"This is serious... Ugh. You'll be at the next meeting, right?" He gestured at... something? "They have to hear this, all of this. We have to act. We're going to lose space!"

"Unthinkable. But... I know a friend." She turned her snout to the bright marble that was their world. "Down there. They're fighting them, but they're outclassed. We have to team up to have a chance."

"They're that fierce?" The lizard came in close, one eye wide before Chrysalis. "This is even worse than I imagined. Poor little world, being conquered like that. Not the first time... But it is the first time they dragged us into the mess."

"For as warlike as they are." Chrysalis pointed with her snoot at a satellite flying past. "Those have no defenses, and they want them, badly. Throw them back down on the planet, don't let them have any, and they'll be so upset."

The other began to laugh at the idea. "Oh oh, that sounds delicious. I'll tell them. You going to be there? You look like you forgot where it is." He coiled about her and pointed. "Right there, that one. Fifth planet."

Chrysalis had no idea what he was referring to. "I'll see if I can... This has taken a lot out of me. If you don't see me, I'm counting on you to tell them. This is an everycreature situation."

"I will, promise." He released her, bobbing his head. She could feel something tasty. The poor little fool was emitting delicious love at her. He must have really like what he saw, or thought he saw. Perfect. "I'll tell them, and come back here. Why don't you rest there?" He directed his snout at the next planet along, some distance away, but far more visible than the stars many lightyears away. "Looks comfy and quiet."

"Oh, that does look nice." She had no intention of relaxing there. "Great idea. Alright, see you after the meeting."

"After the meeting!" And he flew off, not like a plane or rocket. Space itself folded around him. He was stretched to the limits of her sight, then he was gone, bypassing such tawdry limits as the speed of light by not actually passing through the intermediary space.

Oh, what good news she'd have to bring to Grogar. He'd realize her immense value and power.

15 - In Other News

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"Sudden explosion leaves vacationers baffled."

A screen popped open, showing the plume of smoke rising from the sea, the beach crowded with creatures of many varieties trying to get a peek, even some humans.

"No injuries were reported, but investigations are still underway. We brought in a local expert."

A new window sprang into being, revealing a smiling seal. "Heya. That was a big one, wasn't it." He spread his hands out in a wide sudden motion to imitate the explosion. "If there had been somecreature near that thing, they'd been blown right up." His smile faded into a frown. "Coulda been, maybe they're all blown up. That's why we're checking to be sure."

A voice came from off panel, "Should the vacationers be worried?"

"Wha? No!" The again-joyful seal waved it away. "We're on the case. Our home is your home, so relax and let us take care of this little mess." He laughed, perhaps a bit forced. "The sand is warm and the drinks are cool. Enjoy the day!"

The window with the seal closed away. "Some say their nation's reliance on tourism casts doubts on their words."

Another window sprang up with a dour human. "We've seen this too many times on Earth, to say nothing of our new home. It's a classic distraction by the local authorities. You can bet they're scrambling in a panic, hoping that this is a one time situation. But do they know? How can they? They have no idea what this is to begin with."

Swift double look. Where Cozy had gone off to 'powder her nose', Mike had emerged. Her boyfriend had no reason to be there, and emerging from a girl's restroom? "Mike?!"

"Huh?" Mike looked at her funny. "What?"

She stormed over to him, grabbing him roughly at the arm. "What are you doing in there?" She hiked her free thumb at the restroom even as she dragged him away, lest any others see their shame. "Have you lost your mind?"

Mike swatted at her hand. "Let go of..." But he trailed off. "Oh, sorry."

"You better be." She glared at him. "Now tell me what you were doing in there, quietly."

"I was looking for you." He smiled awkwardly.

That got him a flick across the forehead. "So you went to the bathroom? Call me!"

"Oh, right, duh... I got... It's been a day."

"Yeah..." Her anger abated a little. "It has. I'm following this crazy lady, trying to find those Secret Service people. I'm not sure she's even taking us the right way."

Cozy grinned internally. She had not changed shapes. In her eyes, she was still Cozy Glow, which she was. But Swift Swim was treating her like she was her boyfriend. Had she pushed her powers in a new direction? She liked it. She could compete with Chrysalis, and not be as dumb about it. She wanted to laugh wildly, but cackling around your target was maybe not the best idea.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

Oops! She had smiled a bit too widely. "Just glad I found you. If that lady's not going the right way, why are we following her?"

Swift frowned, tapping with a rubber-clad hoof. "You bring up a good point. Let's head back." She pointed, only for her arm to fall, to rise again in a new direction, only to fall again. "Which way is the beach? And if you say any direction I will slug you. I want our beach with our family."

"I was hoping you'd remember," Cozy lied with a less manic smile. "It's alright, I have some money."

Swift blinked, shaking Cozy with the hand that still held firmly. "You don't usually have much money, if any. What happened?"

"They gave it to me." 'He' shrugged. "Said if you were hungry when I found you, to get you something to eat."

"Thanks, mom!" She released Cozy to clap her hands together with a big ole smile of her own. "She knows me too well. All this walking built up a real appetite. Let's get something to eat." The thought of getting back, forgotten in favor of dinner. "Crazy lady can be crazy by herself." She waved off Cozy, who she didn't know was standing next to her.

Cozy led Swift towards a little cozy place she could see. She kept half an eye on Swift, looking for the usual signs. Swift didn't seem to be glossing over. She was entirely convinced that Cozy was her boyfriend, but she wasn't becoming mind-whammied at all. Something Cozy would have to keep working at? Or was that a real limit? Grogar did not provide a user manual for being a monster, alas. Cozy let out a little chuckle at the thought. If being a monster was that, maybe monsters weren't given their proper due.

"Fish!" Perhaps it was the hippogriff in her, though even humans could enjoy fish quite a bit. Either way, Swift was eager to partake of the local sea food. She had her order done in a flash, turning to look at Cozy expectantly. "Your turn, Mike."

Cozy noticed the otter behind the serving bar went wide-eyed a moment before his brows fell back into a neutral one of welcome he had started with. She had an idea of what it might be and came up on the bar. "What do you suggest for me?"

A subtle thing, that. If the otter saw a pony, even a bipedal one, some of those dishes were more likely to be suggested. If they went for a fish, they'd probably explain why that fish specifically. Ponies were not as avid at sea food, and they had salads. But if he saw a human... "Why not get what your lady friend got? Very good good." The otter bobbed his head quickly. "Favorite."

Cozy restrained her grin. A new facet of her abilities, coming into focus. "Sure, and a drink for both of us."

Swift slapped herself on the forehead. "Drink! Right. Thanks, Mike. I'd lose my head if you weren't around to pick it up for me."

"I got your back." Cozy put an arm around Swift, which she didn't object to. Mindwashed, no, but almost as good?

Mobile drew a hiss of a breath. "Why did I let her go off like that?"

Her conflict brought Paul's attention. "Something wrong?"

Mobile waved a talon at the street. "I let my daughter and my husband wander off with a stranger and where are they? I don't know, and neither does anycreature else! My little girl's missing and it's all my fault." She grasped her head with the hand away from Tim. "They went off with that upright pony that saw your guards."

Paul sat up. "Right, her." He frowned with obvious consideration. "That's not good."

"You think!" shrilly cried Mobile, only to darken in her cheeks. "I'm sorry, you did not deserve that. This is my faut, all mine..."

"I'll find them!" Mike looked ready to charge off in search of his girlfriend, only to be grabbed before he got one step away.

Head Stream caught him by the shoulder. "Hold it up, little man. 10 points for wanting to protect your little lady friend, but if you go missing too, what state will Mobile be in?"

Mike shrank sheepishly. "We'll go find her."

"That's more like it." Head Stream released him as she turned towards the other. "We have a missing kid and a missing husband. You did try calling him, right?"

Mobile dug out her phone. "Over and over!" She waved the screen that showed her many attempted calls that had not been picked up. "Did the phone run out of battery? Did he lose it? Is it broken?!"

Paul stood up. "When you called, did it ring over and over, or just go straight to voice mail?"

"What does that matter?" The distraught mother fidgeted in place. "It rang and rang. Does that help?"

"It does." Paul turned to his new guards. "It means the phone is not turned off, or broken. It's on. Which means it's either lost, or he's just not answering it. Sirs, the situation is getting more complicated. I refuse to accept that the vanishing of my guards and them--" He extended a few fingers at the upset Mobile. "--are entirely unrelated. We have one thing that connect them."

Mike clapped his hands with an angry frown. "The creepy lady!"

The head seal nodded at Paul. "We will call the local guard. You, however, cannot leave our sight. We promised we'd keep an eye on you."

The other seals nodded in firm agreement. "We'd get in big trouble if anything happened to you, sir."

"Big big trouble!" added the third. "We don't want that. We'll keep you safe, so stay here, please."

Paul was under house arrest, he realized. He would be going nowhere until he went home, or until a new security detail arrived to take him off the seals' hands. But it was his fault, he figured. Whatever force was in motion, it seemed to be trying to get at him, and the families he had befriended just got in the way at the wrong time.

"This isn't you." Head patted Paul on the shoulder. "This is an 'us' problem." she waggled a finger at the two families. "And we can handle our own affairs. You stay with the nice seals. We don't need another creature going missing."

Paul was not president anymore. Hiding behind a desk was not what he wanted to do. Even if that given desk had a fur pelt. "We should all stay together. Is that alright?" He looked to his new guards. "If we all go?"

The seals shared a look, a shrug from t he left, a nod from the right. The one in charge nodded. "Alright. If we all go, then we can keep an eye on you. So long as you're safe, we're doing our job."

Mobile quirked a little smile. "You really don't have to." She sniffed, trying to regather herself. "We barely met."

"What are friends for?" Paul straightened his clothes. "Besides, for being barely friends, you know more about me than most ever will."

Mike perked at that. "Oh yeah, because you're--" And he got Paul's palm slapped over his mouth, silencing him.

"That," agreed Paul, drawing the hand back. "Which we will not be talking about."

The seal leader looked ready to move, but also curious by half. "What are we not talking about?"

Head threw up her hands in a great shrug. "I guess we'll never know. Let's find a missing husband and daughter, hm?"

Paul moved to depart the little dugout they had been using. Closer to the adults who were not seals, he spoke quietly, "I can't say this is, or is not, but this could be--"

Mobile grasped his arm firmly. "You are being shadowed by the Secret Service. I don't know much about them, but what I do know tells me them being here is a big deal. Them going missing is an even bigger deal. Don't give me more reason to panic."

Head Stream brushed Mobile away from the former-president. "Easy, girl. We're on the case. We'll find them."

"Queen Novo watch over them," let out Mobile in a miserable tone.

Mike hopped up the last step. "It isn't up to her. No queens or kings. Just us, right here. Let's get them."

Head ruffled the hair of the energetic human youth. "I like that attitude, kid." She dug out her phone. "Hubby said the kids were having a blast. Glad someone is. They're staying here at the beach, probably safest really. I'll let him know where I'm headed." She began rapidly clicking at her phone to hammer out her own reply text. "I'm not going to vanish on anyone, especially not today."

Noises of agreement rose. "Speaking of that." The seal leader dug out his own phone, cruder than the others. "Gonna call in." And he informed his bosses where he was going. "I'm with him! I swear! It was his idea. Yeah... not out of my sight... alright."

16 - Head Mobile

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A new noise made Swift jump in surprise. Her boyfriend did too, but not in the same way. He was reaching for his phone, but that wasn't his usual ringtone.

"Who's that?" she asked, watching the phone emerge. It was not his usual phone. When did he get another phone?!

"Hello," he said into the phone like it was nothing. "Uh huh? Uh... huh? You know, I'm..." He glanced at her, attention clearly on whoever he was talking to. "Fine, alright." He hung up and stuffed the phone away.

Swift pushed away the little tray that had once held her food, devoured as it had been. "Who was that? When did you get that phone?"

Mike frowned, still actually a pony in disguise. Her phone was not Mike's. That hadn't been disguised. She'd have to learn how to do that, or accept that was a weakness in her armor. "You wait here. I'll be right back!" He hopped up to his feet. "Mom gave me this phone just in case."

"Oh!" That sorta made sense. "They know where we are?"

"Yeah," he promised without actually having a clue. "One sec." And off he darted out of view.

Which left Swift sitting there, confused. "You have explaining to do." What in the world could he have to do?! She suddenly laughed. "Oh.... wait..." He could have had to actually use the bathroom, but he also could have just said that...

"Swift!" came Mike's call. There he was, with the rest of the family... and another family, and also a famous person she just met and three seals for extra points. "There you are." He hurried towards her, the adults speeding up with him as they came rushing up on her.

Swift got up so quickly her chair went flying backwards to crash to the ground. "You jerk!" she cried, meeting him partway. "You knew they were coming and you didn't just tell me?!"

This left a very confused Mike, being prodded at by an irate Swift. "Huh? We were looking for you."

Paul stepped to the side to let the mother zoom in and grab her daughter. "We're glad to see you're alright. Where were you?"

Swift patted her shivering mother. "I'm alright! I was just following that creepy lady." She turned a thumb at Mike. "Then I ran into you. You didn't tell them?" But Mike looked just as confused. "Mike! We went out to eat since you gave him money."

"I did no such thing," huffed out Mobile. "Mike was with us the entire time." She leaned in, pecking Swift on the head with a sharp break. "Now you stop lying! I'm glad you're back." The violence turned back into hugs, a softer form of violence. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," whined Swift. "But I don't get it." She glared at Mike, who had done nothing wrong, from his point of view.

"Where's your father?" asked Paul, changing the topic abruptly. "He was with you, wasn't he?"

"Have nice nice day." The otter that ran the small place waved at the sudden crowd that didn't seem to be coming inside to eat.

Swift wriggled a few fingers at him, just to pause. "Hey!"

"Me?" The otter pointed at himself? "Something wrong?"

"Him." Swift thrust a finger at Mike. "He was there, with me, right?"

"Um." The otter was soon bobbing his head. "Hey pay, he eat. Good? Yes. Ate fast, good good." He nodded with the confidence restored in his cooking.

Swift set her hands on her hips, glaring at Mike with renewed irritation.

"But I wasn't here!" he proclaimed in feeble cry of innocence.

It was to his benefit that the adults were there, looking confused. They had certainly had Mike by them the entire time.

"Seriously, I had her wrapped around my finger." A new thing to have. Cozy walked down the road with a casual saunter. "Why am I dropping everything?"

"It's all out of control," growled Grogar. "I'm sending a pickup. You're returning to base. This chaos will only end with our failure. That isn't what you want, is it?"

"Hay no," half-shouted Cozy. "Look, I wasn't 100% before, but this thing? I like it." She shook her rump as she walked, tail swaying. "Creatures see me how I want them to see me, not just the little filly I was forced to work with. That's not even getting into what happens with the humans."

"Then we'll take that as a silver lining, however slender it is." A sigh over the phone. "Come home. We will make our next action with purpose instead of flailing wildly. Oh, did you leave any loose ends?"

Cozy considered that. "I have a group of human stallions in my hotel room, knocked out."

The groan, it shook the phone. "Get them out, subtly. We don't need anycreature learning of your identity, do we?"

"Right right." Cozy waved it off like it was a mild annoyance at best. "I'm on the case, golly."

"We'll be there soon."

The trip was over. The missing humans showed up at different places around the city, as if they had just... gone for a walk and got lost, which was what each of them reported when asked. The seal nation was not nearly as filled with cameras as America. The chances of backtracing any of them was small enough to be effectively zero. There was no common point among them, at least that any investigating it could find. Cozy's name didn't come up.

Paul went home, but he left as he came, with a cheerful family. Two, in fact. They didn't have to come with him, but neither family was opposed to it, even as he assured them he'd be alright.

Head Stream was sipping from a small cup of soda given on the airplane. "Look, it might have been cut short, but this is not a vacation I'll forget for a long time. Isn't that the mark of a great vacation? Nocreature got hurt, maybe a little worried, but we're all going home, nice and safe."

Mike had his arms crossed, seated next to an equally pouty Swift. "I wasn't there."

"I heard you."

"Then why do you look so angry?" He looked to her. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Someone did something wrong." She gripped her armrests firmly, also laying claim to them. "And I don't like it."

Mobile peeked over the back of her seat. "Me neither! You didn't lose your family." She stuck out her tongue at the cheerful Head Stream. "Easy for you to laugh it off."

Paul waved downwards. "Easy, easy. I'm just glad this had a happy ending." But that didn't mean he was satisfied. That something had happened, impossible to argue. Secret Service agents did not typically wander off. Two of them? Now you're in the lotto winning level, and Paul preferred to not rely on luck. Something had happened. But what? "Thank you all. You really didn't have to--"

"Belay that," squawked Mobile. "I can't relax on the same beach that happened on. Our vacation was over one way or the other. You just got us a nice comfy ticket back home, so thank you, Paul. That was very kind of you."

"After what you all did?" Paul laughed gently. "I owed you at least that much." On the plus side, he wouldn't be paying for the hotel stay of the rest of the planned vacation. On the other hand, he had to pay full price for those air tickets. A loss, but not a critical one.

"I don't..." Tim had a hand on his head. "I wanted to find something, for you."

Mobile prodded him firmly. "You were supposed to find those guards! You scared me to death! Do you see me? I am dead. You killed me. I hope you're happy."

Tim rubbed over her arm gently. "We can't have that. What will Swift think?"

"She'll think her father is a murderer." Mobile stuck out her tongue in defiance, but she wasn't resisting being gently pet on the arm.

"I prefer to slay you in more fun ways." He leaned in, and a smooch was soon happening. Forgiveness, it seemed, had arrived.

"Seriously!" she sighed out, placing a talon on his closer hand. "You are not usually so--"

"--Neither are they," cut in Paul. "I refuse to accept this was all a wild chance. Something happened to him." He pointed to Paul. "And the agents."

"Speaking of those." Swift climbed up to look over the back of her seat at Paul. "Where are they? I didn't see them on the plane."

"They were replaced." He pointed to the two new guards sitting next to him, looking severe and ready. "I imagine they were just as confused as Tim was." There were so many questions, but... "I'm sure they're looking into it. For now, I'm glad you're all here, and alright."

"What?"

"Missus President." The man nodded, still standing at attention. "The director of the Secret Service has submitted a report. They had agents on the field when the attack happened."

"The explosion?" It was a hot button topic, both in and outside the oval office. "Well, good. What's the news?" She steepled her fingers. "Tell me they know something."

"Nothing definitive." He set a folder before her for review. "For your eyes." With a firm nod, he turned and marched off.

Jill reached for the folder, flipping it over and scanning quickly. "Huh, hm... Eh?" Her brows came down together. "Really?" Two trained agents, just going AWOL with no memory of the event. The only reason they weren't chewed out already was the matching evidence of civilians that had suffered the same fate. About ten in total showed up, dazed and confused at different parts of the city. There was no pattern to where they ended up.

The explosion, suddenly less pressing. Something had happened... but what?

"We've been attacked." A new person at the door. "We are losing contact with satellites."

Jill stood up forcefully, her hands on the desk flatly. "In a specific area?"

"Everything at the 30th latitude and rising, rapidly." He slapped down a new paper on her desk, showing a map of their strange new world, littered with dots of the missing satellites. "GPS will be down in minutes. Internet is already suffering and that's getting worse. Observation is degrading at a rate I don't have a word for. It's a complete collapse."

Each satellite was millions of dollars, tens to hundreds. The destruction being laid before her was a complete disaster. "God above," she got out tensely. "What is the air force doing?" The air force was in charge of space. The space force division had never been announced on that shard of America. "Do we have eyes up there? What's doing this? I need intel!" President Stein brushed the damage report aside angrily. "All you've told me is that we're in trouble. I can't act with that!" she angrily shouted at the man. "Don't stand there, go!"

The activity level in the office grew as people rushed to get on top of the situation. Jill sank, sitting on her desk instead of in her chair. "This can't be a coincidence." Well, it certainly could be, but the odds seemed against it. But what force would be attacking their satellites, exploding off the coast of a beach resort, and leaving several people, top trained service men included, confused and lost. It all seemed so random.

But it was all happening. It was all going on during her watch, and she'd take all the blame for it, good or bad, and it sure seemed it was going to be bad. She grabbed the office phone off the desk and got to dialing. Bemoaning her fate wouldn't get her anyway. "This is what I'm being paid for," she grunted out. There was nobody anywhere that promised her title would be an easy job.

It had been too good to be true, that America could declare itself master of space with no opposition of any kind.

17 - Short-lived Light

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For the average citizen of our fair country, the consequences of this attack were a mixed bag. For those without a strong local infrastructure, the Internet they had applauded the return of went right back where it came from. Their connections died. Their televisions went dark. Rural America was out of luck.

A window popped open, allowing a sufficiently rural looking person to complain bitterly about the sudden change, "What am I even payin' fer? They said it was even more 'reliable' than those little wires."

Urban centers saw much less effect. Most of their connectivity was based on the ground or in the air, not space. But even they were rocked by GPS suddenly stopping. Be it on a smart phone, smart car, or anything else supposedly intelligent, a wave of ignorance washed over them. A surprising few of those left still knew how to read a map properly.

An image of especially lost looking people sprang up, even if that was likely an exaggeration.

Less close at hand, people are lamenting a lack of connection with intercontinental friends and associates. The band that would connect the continents of America with the mainland of Equestria was well underway, but not complete. With the satellites vanishing, so too did that connection.

"We can't even reliably communicate with the ships doing the tunnel right now. They've probably stopped. With no GPS, how can they be absolutely sure they're placing things down where they need to be?" explained a smartly dressed man to the viewing audience. "This is a mess."

To the confusion of some, each side of the digital divide remains. Ponies can reach ponies. Humans can reach humans. But neither can finish their communication with the other, to speak nothing of the many services that ceased being available without warning.

A pony appeared on the screen, a harried mare. "I know it's a new thing, but I need my Netflix. I need to know how the series ends! I was just at the last episode!" She grabbed the camera with her hooves, shaking it lightly. "Does he die or not?! Why is human media so infuriatingly dramatic? I can't look away, but oops, guess I have. Guess everypony has." She sank back to her haunches, leaving the camera alone. "Are they going to fix it?"

That was a recording, flown in from across the waters. With the satellites out, we can't perform live recordings there at this time. The pilots that are willing to work at this time are getting hazard pay for doing it without much of the electronic assistance they're accustomed to.

Crowds of angry protesters have gathered outside the White House to demand action.

A new window revealed the named gathering, shouting and chanting to make their voices heard. Many held signs, but it was not hard to figure from it that they had no idea why they were having problems, just that they were there, and they were upset about it.

The president has gone on record saying that the ability to gather and protest was to be protected.

The president snapped into being, sharing space with the protest in progress on the display. "I will not follow the mistakes of others. So long as they are peaceful, to speak their mind is not only allowed, but protected. Police are there to protect them. If a bad faith actor engages in violence or vandalism, they will be addressed, not the entire crowd." She brought her hands down on her speaking podium. "We are investigating the cause of the outage. Since our arrival on this... place, certain basic assumptions have proven false. We are proceeding as quickly as is safe to address the situation."

Questions rose up in a furious moment of media trying to get their turn. "You." She pointed out one reporter.

The male stood up, "Thank you, Missus President. Is this a matter of natural interference, equipment failure, or active attack?"

"Right for the easy questions," joked the president, getting a little laugh in reply, which may have been her goal. "Our satellites are the first this world has ever seen. Our international allies have no advice on what could have caused this situation, so we have to look and see ourselves. An attack seems unlikely, with no country outside of our own capable of firing a rocket into orbit if they wanted to. I can report that no such missiles were launched by any of ours. As soon as we have more concrete information, we'll gladly share it. Next question?"

Grogar had a rare expression on his face. Not a scowl. Not a frown. Not even a smirk. He was smiling, a grin really, a low rolling chuckle emerging along with it. "You have set them back years... This is not an attack they will spring back from any time shortly." He turned that grin on Chrysalis. "You went outside my command, but, for once, I don't feel the need to ring your neck for doing so."

Chrysalis snorted softly. "I am capable of great ideas, you know. Cunning even." She directed a hoof at Grogar. "Speaking of that, you have your bell." There it was, dangling from Grogar's collar. "Why not use it to steal some magic, say, all of it, except mine."

"They need for subtlety." Grogar sat back, his smile not ebbing. "A need you just eroded. Our enemies were birds of prey, seeing all beneath them, now they are blinded to anything outside their nest. Just as well, their nest has the least amount of magic to seize anyway."

Tirek slammed his hands together. "Do we start with those ponies? Several of us got a gripe with them. It's long overdue."

Grogar waved that idea off. "There goes that streak. Our enemy may be dimmed, but they are close friends with the ponies. Attacking them will reach the humans too quickly. Never mind that a speedy pegasus could reach them within the day. No, we don't want to deal with ponies, or any other winged race, right now. They may be blinded, but they are also on guard. If we manage to get noticed, they will strike without hesitation."

Cozy leaned forward and in on Grogar. "Go for the island places, like the one I was just at?" She twirled a few fingers. "Ideally ones without many humans on it." She sighed dramatically at that. "You're not giving me a lot of chance to shine."

"Oh, but I will." He crossed his arms, hooves bobbing in the air. "I'm sending you right into the hornet's nest. Are you up for it?"

Cozy clasped her hands together. "I'm ready to do something instead of nothing. What have you got in mind?"

"Right to the heart." Grogar's horns glowed as a map flew over and spread out before him. "The District of Columbia. I need you to secure a position there. The more important the person you serve, the better. Ideally a male." Grogar snorted, his trademark frown returning. "A pity their current ruler isn't that. Nevertheless, that is your mission. Move carefully. The humans are paranoid, and in that place, even more so."

Cozy lifted her shoulders slowly. "Why do that when I could just be an important person?"

"Pardon?" Grogar's teeth set a moment, but they relaxed. "You know what? I'm feeling good. Go ahead. Tell me this idea of yours. If it's bad, at least I can get a laugh out of it."

"You gave me these powers." Cozy rolled her eyes. "Golly, you'd think you'd know it. If I just run for office, they'd elect me like that." She snapped her furry fingers with a cocky smile. "Then, pow, I am the important person."

"Bzzzt," buzzed Chrysalis like an angry alarm. "I see you don't know how humans work. To try for any position that matters, you have to be in their records, which you aren't. You are no citizen of the United States, brat. Do you have any idea how much work it was for me to get a changeling in there? And that didn't even work out well." She crossed her arms with a great pout. Such a great idea...

"So I bat my lashes at the right human to get a record first," countered Cozy. "Just some extra steps. Tell me what I need, since you know so gosh darn much."

Chrysalis extended a finger, which she had, matching Cozy's general shape, but in a more mature example. "First, you have to not be a brat. I'm not even joking, even if it is fun to call you that." A wicked smirk was worn on her face. "Only humans that are at least 30 winters old need apply. They are very focused on using winters as an age thing. Every winter they even have a party about it." She waggled her fingers in a tepid expression of joy and mirth.

"Alright." Cozy shrugged softly. "So get the person to add me to the records 30 winters ago, got it."

Chrysalis raised a brow. "Are you listening? You don't look that old" She waved over herself. "This is a thirty winter old human." She posed, presenting front and sides, hands down her center. "Bask in it. You look like, you should be carded when you ask for a drink and checked twice."

Cozy's brows fell together. "Sorry? What? Carded?"

Grogar had a hoof to his face. "This argument is wearing on my good mood. 'Carded' is when a human's documents are verified. They do it often, paranoid things. I can only assume age is related to getting a drink?" He raised a brow at that odd idea. "Are children not allowed to get water? How do they even survive?"

Tirek threw up his hands. "How are they standing in our way if they're so... broken?"

Chrysalis returned to her usual self in a rush of green flames. "Incompetents. When a human refers to 'drinks', they usually mean the kind that get you drunk. Those are the ones that get you carded. Ask for water and they don't care. Their children are not dehydrating, as funny at that would be."

All three of the others let out an 'oh' together. One mystery made plain. Tirek shrugged lightly. "That makes more sense at least."

Cozy smirked viciously. "So long as the one offering it was a male human, it wouldn't even be a challenge for me to get all the drinks I want. If they were a female, it'd take a bit more doing, but I can do it." She circled in front of Grogar. "Did I mention that? Gosh, slipped my mind. I can affect their mares! It's not exactly the same, but I can do it." She rubbed her hands together, cruel grin on her face. "I can convince them to elect me..."

Chrysalis let out a slow sigh. "Are you forgetting that, thirty winters ago, there were no humans here? You are not a human. You do not look human. The earliest you could have joined them was... ten? I forget the exact date." She shrugged softly. "Humans are very particular about their dates!"

"Right... Right..." Cozy danced her fingers against one another. "So I joined them not long after they showed up, but my birthday is thirty winters ago. That works, right?"

It was time for Chrysalis to look a little unsure. "I... think so? Humans are complicated. You would be the first not-human, I think, to get that position."

"Which means all eyes will be upon you," joined Grogar. "Are you certain this is a wise course, when simply becoming an assistant to an important human involves so much less attention?"

Cozy clenched a hand. "That just means more eyes on me, which... has other uses. Think of the long game, G-man."

"Never call me that again." Grogar snorted at the idea. "You showed you can act alone. Show me you can even be voted for, let alone win it."

"You won't be sorry." Cozy wandered off, an evil cackle allowed to escape. She'd have to hold those in when she got to the human lands.

18 - Above Our Heads

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"Blast it all." A heavy folder was tossed aside as the lab head turned away from it. "We get a taste of magic and they think it can solve anything."

Sunburst peered at the folder curiously, but his eyes soon flicked to his boss. "What are they asking for?"

The man waved at the discarded folder. "Apparently the Great Satellite Crash? There's like a 60% chance something caused it. Some living thing. 'Some creature', as ponies like to call it." He folded his arms over one another. "They're hoping we in magic dev can make up something for defense the next thing they send up there."

Sunburst frowned at the idea. "Hm. Up above the sky, right?" He'd seen some writing about it. "That is tricky. We could..." His boss was eyeing him with intense interest. "Um, I mean, we could put a shield around them, something that doesn't stop radio." He rubbed the side of his head, avoiding the patch that connected his artificial ear to the world. "But if we don't know what or who is the problem, it might not be strong enough."

"Exactly what I'm afraid of. What's even the point of putting a shell on it if we don't know what it's protecting against? It's like putting on a helmet and hoping that's enough safety." He threw his hands up briefly. "But they want it. Can you even blame them? Satellites are a big deal. Not having any was a situation we thought we left behind."

Another engineer close by raised a pen. "What about some lasers? We got those right?"

Sunburst squeaked at the idea. "Technically yes, but what would a laser that's not being aimed be good for?" Not that the idea of zapping anything with a laser sat poorly with the pony. "Do we want to go right to violence?"

The debate went on.

He was home, nice and safe. But it wasn't as quiet as normally it had been. A Secret Service agent sat in the corner, watching.

Two teens were playing videogames on his television. The boy was winning, from the grumpy expression the hybrid of a human female was giving.

Their parents were with him, seated on the couch or in front of it facing them. Paul's vacation had turned out to be less relaxing than he had hoped for originally. "You don't have to stay in the middle of this," Paul noted to the gathering in his home, human and not. "I really do appreciate you lending a hand in the middle of the madness, but we're home. You have lives to live."

Mobile rolled her eyes at his attempt to shoo her. "That isn't how that works." She poked at Paul lightly. "Something is going on. Something big. The satellites were taken out, hear about that?"

"Hard to miss." They had all watched it, together, on that TV. The news had played, reporting on that event diligently. "I don't know how... They must be going nuts." But it wasn't his job anymore. And he couldn't ask. Well, he could ask, but he couldn't expect an answer anymore. "But how does that end up with... This?"

"Ah ha!" Swift Swim had apparently turned things around, standing triumphantly, at least in the game, over her downed opponent. "Hey, Mister Goldstein, want to play next?"

Paul smiled a little. His life had become far more noisy, but... it was also less lonely. "You're alright, hanging around some man with a mysterious past, who is also a changeling?"

Tim shrugged softly. "I was attacked, by something. I'll take a friendly shapeshifter over whatever that was. Besides, I hear changelings are pretty nice."

Mobile bobbed her head in agreement. "Brightly colored and bright of heart. Lovable things, I hear." She considered Paul critically. "You aren't nearly so colorful."

Paul was a human. At least he looked like one. He was one of those far more often than anything else. "Look, if you're all comfortable..." Not a complaint came up. "I'm alright sharing. But don't you have work?"

"Work I can get to with a lot less stress." Mobile rose up to all four. "Knowing they're in a safe place, with caring people. Paul, thank you, so much." She reared up to give him a sudden hug. "Leaving them alone is just not a thing I want to do right now."

A new, larger, family unit had formed.

"It takes three years." The president was facing a storm of cameras, watching her every move. "We have the technology, but building them is not an overnight process. We didn't have a warehouse full of spares. This isn't normally a thing you need that many spares of."

Her fingers tightened out of sight on the lectern. "We have no proven source of the destruction, but are investigating thoroughly. This is not a mistake that can be repeated." It wasn't her fault. There was nothing she could have done in her time as president that would have changed what happened, but she would take that blame.

Thus was a president's fate. "We will update you as details arrive." Cameras flashed and questions rose in an anxious roar. The public demanded answers. A pity she had few to offer.

Twilight inclined her head, her magic moving her telescope along for the ride. "Interesting..." A floating quill made notes diligently. A loud snap brought her attention away. The quill had broken. "Drat..." Well... It was time to try something new. She opened a box and reached inside, plucking out a ballpoint pen. "Let's see how this works."

She was soon making marks with the new instrument. "Huh." And back to stargazing she went. "Hm."

"What are you looking at?" Spike was there, ascending the stairs from below. "You don't get this excited every time."

"Something attacked." Twilight leaned back, raising a hoof to the sky past her telescope. "The humans are very upset. They put things up in the sky, and something took them out, destroyed them. What would do that?" She looked over her shoulder at Spike. "Dragons don't fly that high, do they?"

"Not that I know of." Spike shrugged a bit helplessly. "Never saw it myself."

Twilight tapped a hoof on the ground. "Well, we don't have the human Internet, so it's time to return to the basics."

"Read a book?"

"Precisely!" She went over to grab Spike with an arm, hugging him gently. "You know me too well. I'm going to head to the Canterlot library. Celestia's store of knowledge may have the clue we need. Wanna come with?"

Twilight and Spike flew off to read some other books, and maybe find an answer.

Tirek grabbed Grogar by the bell. "While she's off getting into trouble with the humans, why aren't we using this more? What's the point of getting it to not use it."

Grogar shoved Tirek back with ease despite the difference in size. "All in good time, and this is a fine time... With the humans blinded and distracted, we can strike. We just have to do it where they aren't paying attention. So that's your assignment." He sneered at Tirek. "Get me a list of kingdoms with the least human contact."

Tirek groaned at the job assigned him. "Fine, if it gets us moving." And he stormed off with an angry swish of his tail.

Chrysalis sat next to Grogar with a smug grin. "You're welcome to congratulate me again."

"I will do no such thing." Grogar twisted his head towards her. "Those things, what you got to attack the humans. Can you contact them again?"

"What for?" Chrysalis raised a brow, and did not answer the question.

"That you even have to ask." Grogar grunted, walking away from her. "They lashed out at the humans and were not dashed to a thousand pieces. They are an ally I would like to count on my side. Can you or can't you?"

Chrysalis sighed softly. "Probably. Is there something you want me to tell them?"

"Hm." Grogar was just as capable of not answering the question asked. "Nothing, for now. I just want to be sure you can reach them. That may become important, later."

"Creatures are finding new job opportunities." A window sprang open, two of them, one showing a pegasus at the front of a ship, wings flapping as they pointed the way forward. Another showed a hippogriff in a command room, pointing at a map with a big smile. "With better innate sense of direction, they're filling in for our missing GPS and enjoying the cash that comes with it." The sound of a cash register jingle played.

"The Great Cable has resumed work." Another boat appeared, replacing the other windows. "They estimate Equestria will be back online in a matter of weeks."

A new window, showing an engineer. "They're going to love it. A big fat fiber optic line will give them more bandwidth than they even know what to do with. Equestria and America will be a second away, through the Internet."

"Excitement is high in Equestria. They had grown to enjoy the connection even at slower satellite connections. The idea of it returning, but better, has their ears pricked."

A new window sprang open with a grinning mare. "I'll finally be able to see that last episode!" It was the same mare from the other broadcast. "And even faster? You humans are wizards!" She placed her hooves somewhere on the camera, past the lens? "Why do you keep denying that you're full of magic?!"

"Though people continue to wonder about the missing satellites, others have their eyes forward to the future!" An image of the globe appeared, showing that line under the sea touching Equestria, spidering out onto a brilliant web of connectivity. "In related news, the pentagon promises more eyes on the sky."

A new window, showing a stern faced general. "This is completely unacceptable. We will not allow such attacks on American property, and without consequences?" The man grunted in obvious annoyance. "We will make sure that never happens again. Anyone. Anything that thinks it can attack America without consequences... Just to make it clear, we are capable of defending against menaces to us in the sky. They may have caught us by surprise, but that'll only work once."

"In other news, a first! Running for a senatorship, a complete newcomer." An image showed Cozy waving with a bright smile at a cheering crowd. "Running on the democratic ticket, Cozy Glow's motto is 'An Outside View For Modern Problems.'" The image showed Cozy Glow actually saying her statement to eagerly watching supporters. "Leaning into her lack of political experience, she's leveraged her fresh face to win backers to her side and could win the purple district she's running in blue at the rate she's going."

The image was replaced with a question mark. "Which brings up a question as popular as she is. What is she?" An image of a pony appeared under the question mark. "She isn't a pony." A random lady appeared beside the pony. "Or a human." A line appeared between the two. "A hybrid? To talk about the possibilities, we brought..."

Chrysalis set a holed hoof over her face. "That damned brat did it." She applied her other hoof. "After all that effort!"

"What are you moaning about?" Grogar approached with a stern step. "Your favorite 'show' get cancelled?"

"Worse." Chrysalis waved at the news segment that had gone on past that part. "Cozy Glow's running for the human senate." She smirked suddenly. "Fool."

"Fool? That sounds like a success." Grogar scowled at Chrysalis. "What are you not sharing?"

"A senator, I looked them up, when making my moves." Chrysalis crossed her arms. "They can't make any decisions on their own, only vote and shout and argue. Powerful, but compared to the president? So much less power in only person. At least she didn't go for a representative. Ugh, worthless."

Grogar smiled maliciously. "Sounds like she needs a manager. Good thing I know just who to send."

Chrysalis did not like the way she was being looked at.

19 - Senatorial Power

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"You aren't seeing the big picture." Cozy fluttered her lashes at her new aide. "Over half the senate is male." She thrust out a finger. "I can control males." A second finger joined it. "And..." She danced towards the window with a giggle. "I can do it subtly. It's not my fault they agree with me at the right times. Let them argue and squabble most of the time. I'll be the unifying voice." She turned from the window at her aide. "Not even the first 'person' to do so. I'll just become more famous and powerful. They'll reach out to me to get things passed. Maybe I'll even take up a few. Expert on reaching across the aisle! That's me."

She snapped her fingers with one hand, the other fluffing her thick curls. "Your problem was going for the top. Even the president has to answer to other people. The senate, as a whole, can override the president. They can do whatever they want, if the senate is a unified front."

"Fool." Her new aide was giving her a dirty look. A firing offense for most aides, but she was not most. "They have rules, subtle ones, that can impede doing anything at all."

"Then can keep their dumb constitution." Cozy shrugged dramatically. "As if I even care? Nothing I want matters to that, anyway. Now, if you're my assistant, why am I not holding a cup of coffee?" She extended a hand, empty of any sign of caffeine.

The human changeling queen scowled at Cozy with fresh ire. "I'm here to help you get the job done, not get you refreshments. You can handle that yourself!"

"Pfft, fine." She was moving on light feet over to do that herself. "You are getting such a bad review." She giggled as she poured herself a nice big cup. "Humans do that, review everything, all of them. You want to know what a random human thinks of something? They're happy to share!"

"Not fair," Chrysalis grumbled softly.

"What's that?" Cozy turned, coffee being sipped as she leaned back against the counter that held the machine that produced it.

"It's not fair." Chrysalis punched one palm with the opposing fist. "I went through so much effort! And you just... walked in?"

"I did not walk in." She made great big air quotes, coffee sloshing. "I had to get ID. That was a trip! To get ID you have to be on the books, so I had to do that first." She sighed sufferingly despite still smiling like she won a grand prize. "That was a trip. Walking up to that desk when they had a guy working there, getting him to give me the schedule for the next one I had to talk to... Had to work my way up! But I got it." She fished into a pocket and produced her social security card. "Pow!"

"Pow," repeated Chrysalis with none of the excitement. "Well, anyway, I have the connection to Grogar. We have to make sure America--" She waved broadly over the area. "keeps its eyes off Grogar and his activity."

"I have a great idea for that." Cozy half-danced up to Chrysalis. "What if satellites... We outlawed them?"

"Pardon?" She hiked a brow at the new senator. "Why would they agree to that?"

"Trust me on this." Cozy casually tapped her aide on the nose. "I got this. They'll cheer."

The phone rang. This should not be much of a cause for concern. The problem was, Paul didn't normally use his landline. He had a cellphone for most communication needs.

While this confused him, it did nothing to prevent Swift Swim from grabbing the ringing receiver and shoving it against a fuzzy ear. "Goldstein residence!" she chimed. "I'm his answering service. Really important, huh? That's just--"

Paul gently took the phone from her suddenly pouting grip. "Goldstein here."

"Hello, Mister Goldstein." Female, sounded officious. "The president would like to speak to you."

Paul went rigid. Why?! "P-put her through!"

"One moment." The line went quiet, a click.

"Mister Goldstein." A fresh voice, the president. "They briefed me on the situation. Are you alone?"

"Not entirely." Paul moved as far away as the corded phone allowed. "You could call my cell phone?"

"Insecure. Get to a private location kindly."

Paul waved the children back to their game. The adults, thankfully, were off working. "The only monitoring ear has Top Secret." He glanced at the Secret Serviceman monitoring Paul in return. "How can I assist? I have a secure cell."

"You do?!" Papers shuffling. "Call me." The line went dead.

Paul dug out a phone he only used rarely. "I'll be right back," he called to the kids. "Keep them here," he aimed at the Serviceman. With everything in order, he hurried to his room and closed the door. Soon he was on the phone, again, with the president. "So you know?"

"The broad strokes," explained the president. "I need to know if you have any intelligence on the current mess. What destroyed the satellites? What sent your secret service rogue? Any information you can give is appreciated."

Paul licked over his lips. He hadn't expected the call, or the nature of it. "I wish I knew either of those. My loyalty remains to these states." He frowned with fresh thoughts. "There was one creature that stood out. Female, curly hair?"

"Curly hair?" More papers shuffled, a keyboard clattering. "What kind of creature?"

"Hard to miss." Paul shrugged at the call, not that they could see. "Half pony, half human. A hybrid, though different than the hybrid I know of in the next room."

"That's two more hybrids than the average person deals with," jested President Julia Stein. "Off-topic, but what made you choose that name?"

Paul swallowed, realizing his last name was rather similar to Julia's. "It seemed safe."

"You aren't Jewish." It wasn't a question.

"No..." Paul was not... "I'm an atheist, if we're being honest about it. We're not here to discuss that, though."

"We're getting off topic. You are a resident of this world." Something shuffled in the background. "Tell me what it could be. We need information, and you're a source."

He had left the job. Paul wasn't the president anymore, but his nation still had need of him. It wasn't an impossible situation... Other presidents had helped in their own way. "Do we have any footage to compare against?"

"We were expecting a peaceful sky." A sigh came across the line. "That didn't work out. Something smashed them, all of them, as if they were targeting them specifically. They burned up before they could get to the wrong. It's... a miracle they work at all, with the universe being filled with air as it is."

By human physics, the air should have been a constant drag, causing them to plummet to the ground far earlier than the violent end they had run into. "Right. I assume eyes are on the sky now?"

"Of course, now. We were hoping for some information, any information on what to look for. We have people scrambling to get things moving. Do you have any idea what the automated car industry is doing?"

Paul recoiled a bit. "What are they doing?"

"They need GPS yesterday. Off-topic." She sounded like she was counseling herself as much as anything else. The stresses of being a president were many. "Humanoid, pony hybrid, curly hair. Colors?"

"Pink fur, blue... Yes, blue hair, I'm sure of it." Paul frowned softly. "That was the most disturbing part, that the Serviceman didn't remember that, or seeing her, just me."

"And that is why we're having this conversation." He could hear further typing in the background. "You've been a great help, thank you. You may be called again, but you're welcome to report in before than if anything else comes up."

Paul stuffed the phone away and let out a new breath. "And they pull me back in." He was officially 'part' of things, whether or not he liked it. "I can only hope that helped." He emerged from his room with a smile returned. "Who's winning?"

The teens were happy to inform him exactly who was winning and how. Life went on, no matter what thoughts were bouncing around in his head.

Cozy raised a cup of harder stuff, looking across the table at the men that were watching her with full attention. "It's a waste of money. You don't enjoy wasting money, of course."

"No! Not at all." It was one Republican that started it, but the others agreed with raised voices and thumps of their fists.

"Space is just another way Big Tech--" She made big quotes at that. "--is lording it over us. Forget them! We have more than enough to do right here on the ground." She tapped at the desk with the last few words, eyeing them with a smile. She could see them watching her intently. They were under her sway. "So let's get rid of them. Why resume that hurtful spending package when we could put the money somewhere else?"

They began talking animatedly among themselves, which suited her just fine. "I have to check in with some others." She got a few dismissive noises, and little else. She had released her grip on their attention, letting them work themselves up from where she had gotten them started.

"Gentlemen!" She sat down in front of a bunch of Democrats with a big smile. "We have so many problems in need of solving. Our constituents are dying to see progress; actual progress! We could really deliver." She giggled, fluffing her curls, a habit she never got rid of entirely. "Take the cash being wasted in space and bring it down to earth. Think of the programs we could be running. Universal pre-K? We can do it!"

The crowd whispered excitedly. They would have been less universally approving if it wasn't Cozy giving the suggestion. But she was, and the tide was flowing powerfully in the direction she wanted. "Why are we wasting money on this? We have a chance to do things right!"

"There are no enemies left. Why are we still devoting so much to defense?" Another senator slapped the desk with both hands. "They're both wasted pots of money for no reason!" The debate was getting louder. Lowering the military spending would be a bonus, surely, but wasn't what Cozy was there for.

"The Republicans won't pass that." Cozy shook her head. "If you want to pass that, I'll vote for it, but you know they won't." Grumbles raised quickly in discontent with the other side of the senate and their disagreements. "Let's hand the president a victory. Get this bill signed into law, get the money, and use it for something good."

The senator to her left clapped her on the shoulder. "Great idea. Let's get what we can and show some momentum."

"Then we can push for more." Excited shouts rose in unison. She had motivated them. Cozy grinned with soft pleasure at her work.

"They shot it down." Chrysalis threw a folder at Cozy's desk. "You got a super majority of them and still failed." Her smirk was perhaps malicious. "To come so close just to fail, anyway. You must be so very disappointed."

"Just means I have to spread my net." She spread her hands. "It was a close vote. A few sweet words in the right ears and we'll get this through, no problem." She clapped her hands, dusting them off as if she had just finished a dusty job. "We'll get this done, and keep them blind."

Chrysalis threw up a hand in a casual dimissal. "You want me to set that up?"

Cozy knocked her chair over as she stood up so quickly. "You can do that?!"

"Of course I can." She rolled her eyes. "I am your assistant, don't forget. I'll get you the right ears in the right room." Chrysalis twirled a pen in her right hand. "Leave that to me."

20 - Questions

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Cozy smiled at the woman across the table from her. Women were not her specialty. Tricky humans, she couldn't just tell them what to do. Still, there she was, with the House of Representatives leader, who was a democrat, just like Cozy! She just had to get in a good word.

That senators and representatives could chat was news to her. Chrysalis was all too happy to burst that bubble. It was her 'assistant' that had arranged the meeting. "I'm so glad you could make time for me today. We both want what's best for the American people."

"Which is why I'm confused." The stern faced house leader tapped at the table between them. "Those satellites make America a lot of money every year, and you want to abandon the idea?"

"Not abandon, exactly." Cozy made a shooing motion. "Just kicking it down the field, as you put it. It's not like we're forgetting how to do it, golly. We can always take it up again when we have the money. Right now, they're not making us any."

"It's not enough money to get the big-ticket items in." She did not look convinced. "What do you even plan to get done?"

"Well, gee." Cozy had some research on that. "We had a big break with the foreign powers going away." She wriggled her fingers. "But this could go a nice way to balancing the books. Let's get back in the black."

Cozy leaned in, pressed against her arms. "Besides, I hear Mitch is against the idea, but we can get this through, girl to girl. I'm whispering—"

"Whatever you told him worked," cut off the speaker. "He's steaming mad that we held up 'his grand plan.'"

"Then get a favor out of him." Cozy smiled gently. "Give it to him, for a price. America has a lot of needs right now, and you could work towards that. Or we can just split the country apart farther, arguing about this little thing."

"A lot of needs..." That much was true. It was, alas, always true. "Hm."

"We can't allow this." The president was arguing into her phone. "She's a match. That's reason enough to inspect her."

"The first agent we sent came back negative." It was unfortunate that most of the CIA was male. "Is she doing something wrong?"

A thousand possibilities were in front of the president, but saying them would just make her look bad. "For sake of argument, look at a distance. Something comes up, right? We all have dirty laundry. Even ponies have some habit if you look hard enough."

"Except her. She's done nothing but exist, and barely even that." She could hear papers shuffling. "We can find where she's been to school, and what country she's from. Equestria, of course."

Wait. "Equestria? I thought she was a human hybrid?" Not a lot of other places had humans for that long. "What is she?!"

"You have mail." He wasn't joking, there was new mail. "That's the Intel we could gather."

She flipped it open. It was her papers for joining the States. It declared her not as a human-pony, but a minotaur-pony. She had every reason to be as old as she claimed. That explained the hands and the general biped shape... "Don't like this."

"We don't have other information to go from. Her time in the country was dead silent. Her time before that was spent in... not America. They don't track much. We aren't getting information out there." A finger drummed against a desktop. "Can I help you with anything else, Miss President?"

"That's really all you can get?"

"We can only dig so much." Arms folded over the line. "Unless it involves the national security, which so far it doesn't."

"Thank you." She hung up the phone with a weary sigh. They were a bust...

"We can, um, shoot down most things." Sunburst was facing the camera with an unsure smile. "Assuming we see them. This is... why the craft with this will have cameras that can see in all directions for quick friend or... foe detection." He adjusted the shirt he wasn't wearing. "So no more take two of this problem."

He smiled at the camera as best he could, clearly nervous. "Um, does that answer everything?"

"So what powers it?" They pushed a microphone into Sunburst's personal space. "It needs a lot of power, I imagine, right?"

"Oh, yes, certainly." He willed the model satellite closer to himself as he turned it around with his hooves. "Most of this is, um, as you'd call it, and so would we really, magic in origin." He set his hoof on a large crystal. "That's where this comes in. It holds the magic and the basic programming for the magic. It interfaces with the onboard computers, mind. Technology and magic, working together." He clapped his hooves. "Both are set to deactivate if they stop hearing from the other, so no rogue scenarios."

"Fascinating." The one asking the questions mostly stayed off the camera's view. "We heard that congress is on the edge of passing a law that may cancel your hard work. How does that make you feel, Mister Burst?"

"Well, in that ca... wait what?" Sunburst perked up, having heard not a bit of political news. "What are they doing?!"

"You haven't heard?" The screen behind Sunburst flickered to a feed of the House of Representatives. "A bill is going through again. If it passes the house, which seems more likely this time, its passing in the senate will be all but assured. This--"

Sunburst reeled at the high-speed human politics being thrown at him. "Uh, sorry, but can you break that down a little for me?"

"If this passes, America will outlaw satellite work for an undefined amount of time. How does this make you feel?"

"Oh..." All his work outlawed? Sunburst listed to the right in a boneless tilt without full muscle tone. "Oh... That's... bad... Did I do something wrong? Are they angry at me? I didn't know we'd face such a threat! I couldn't hope to plan for that..."

His worried looks worked quite well for the news program, but they had no news for him that'd settle his frazzled nerves.

"Mister Goldstein." Paul was wearing a BlueTooth headset, having learned from earlier mistakes. "We need to speak." And he knew who was talking. Her voice was hard to misplace.

"Misses President, you know we're talking on an unsecure line?" He made his way towards the bathroom, one of the more secure places in the immediate area. "How can I help?"

"This is between you and me." Something shuffled. Cloth, perhaps? "This is a random phone. This call didn't happen. If you don't like that, I will hang up. You can keep a secret, I know you can."

Paul tensed at the words. "This sounds serious. Is the country in danger?" His grip on his phone tightened with worry. "What's wrong?"

"Good answer. I had a feeling you were on our side. You remember the girl, that woman that might have brainwashed your agents?"

"Yes, curly hair?"

"Curly hair. You are not watching CSPAN, I assume. Democrat from California. Look into her. Minotaur-human hybrid, senator. Find something." The phone went dead.

"Hello? Misses President?" Paul pulled the phone away to see it was at its home screen, the call quite ended. "Damn it..." He had just received a mission from the president. There was no duty for him to see it done. He was a private citizen, and that call was about as unofficial as it got. He could just... pretend he never heard it and nothing could be done.

Nothing but his own conscious, of course, already nagging at him. "Damn it..." He had guests in the house he couldn't just shoo off, and a Secret Serviceman that suddenly fit in the same category. Even if he wanted to check in on the mystery lady, incognito, how... How...

Paul emerged from the bathroom with his phone securely tucked away in a pocket. He returned to the living room where he was stared at pointedly. "What's wrong?" He looked back at Swift Swim.

"You're upset." Why did she have to be so darned perceptive? "Can I help, Paul?"

"Calling adults by their first name is rude."

She was not impressed. "You are not 'Mister Goldstein.' You are Paul, I'm Swift. If we use the last name, that means things are serious. Welcome to being friends." She crossed her arms. "So, what's wrong? If I can help, I will."

"And if I say things are serious?" Paul did his best to keep his tone flat. His folded fingers were calmly pressed towards one another. "What then?"

"Then you have my undivided attention." She brushed her hair and cracked a smile. "You haven't lied to me yet. You've been pretty straight forward, and I appreciate that. You're letting us borrow your house and I'm pretty sure you could be using it for your stuff. If you want to share, I'm still up for helping... If not, I'll stop prying."

That she was a good kid in his book seemed certain, but that only made having her at all involved all the more... tricky. "I need to vanish for a while. I don't want to cause a panic, with him, or anyone. I just need to go away. Got any ideas on that?" If nothing else, he could use that sharp little teenaged mind to his advantage.

"Hum... That is complicated... You can be whatever you want, but only one thing at a time..." She tapped a finger against the opposing arm as she hissed in thought. "You could get away any time you want, but they would notice with you not being here. Are you allowed to just tell him you're leaving?"

He hadn't even considered the idea. A big part of him wanted to just deny the idea out of hand. Tell them to go away?! Surely that wouldn't work. He pulled out his phone and quickly Googled up the answer to that. "Huh..." Turned out only the acting president was actually stuck with the Secret Service. Anyone else could, in theory, send them away.

"Was that a good huh or a bad huh?" Swift was watching him intently. "Please be a good huh."

"A good huh." Paul tucked his phone away. "But, I wasn't lying. I will go away. Will you be alright by yourself until your mom gets here?"

"Leave one of your cards and I'll manage." She had quite the sly look on her face. "Somehow. Seriously, I won't wander away, but I'd rather help you."

"Thank you for offering." He stood to his full height. "But this is a Paul job. A teen girl isn't going to help a lot here. Tell them I headed out. I'll be back as soon as I can be, alright?"

Swift gave the best salute one should expect of a random teen that hadn't ever been around the armed forces. "You got it." She glanced away and back at him. "Is this a changeling thing? Are you gonna spy?!"

Why did girls have to be so clever... "Maybe. It'll be for America though, I promise that."

She burst into little giggles. "You just made my day! Good luck, and get back quick, alright?" She accepted the card that was dangled in her view. "I promise not to be super irresponsible with this."

"Your parents taught you well." He ruffled the top of her head. "But don't starve either." He started to go, but a question came up. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"He doesn't live with me," she noted flatly. "He had to go home eventually." She threw up one hand. "Surprised his folks let him stay as long as they did. Now I'm down two cool guys. Be safe, alright?"

"The safest thing would be staying right here." Which is what he didn't do. He dismissed his Secret Agent, a surprisingly frank exchange, and was free to start his mission.

21 - Moving Unseen

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He stepped off the plane to arrive in Washington DC. While things were in session, it wasn't hard to find where a random representative might be. Paul worked his way through the airport, retrieving his luggage on the way. He had traveled light, just a single suitcase, and that was more for appearances than anything else.

Changelings didn't need a lot of the things humans did when traveling, but he'd look odd if he didn't have one for as long as he scheduled things. No need to draw attention, he figured. Not that he didn't prefer to wear actual clothes. He'd long ago grown used to the feel of them, and it was something he put on that was part of his appearance that he didn't fashion himself. It was...

It was the opposite of the human condition, in some ways, but also just like it in others. It was a choice he made, but he had a lot more choices about some parts. "Focus." The whole mission was getting to him! He wasn't a spy! Well, alright, he did kind of take over an entire country before... So calling him a spy wouldn't be entirely unfair, but still, he was retired! "You can do this." He emerged from a bathroom stall as an entirely new person, with new clothes that he had dreamed up. He considered leaving the suitcase behind, but that'd be a marker for someone to find.

He'd get rid of it somewhere less conspicuous. He pulled out a phone and drew up a ride sharing app... Huh...

It had changed. It no longer showed his location. Right, the GPS satts were down, so it had no idea where he was. He had to tell it. He punched in that information and got the call going. "Life has changed." He moved to the spot designated for taxis to come pick people up. "But in some ways, I suppose it doesn't..." He had gone back to his roots, serving as an infiltrating unit for a powerful female.

At least the president seemed more together than Chrysalis had, so... progress?

"This is... How can they?! You need them! We just..." With each statement, Sunburst stormed around the room, heaving for breath. "The system is just finished! We found a problem, we fixed it. I thought that was the human way?" He wheeled on one of his fellow scientists/engineers. "So why are they backing off now, before we even try it?"

The man he was looking at raised his hands in defense. "Hey, none of our choices. Not like we get to set the laws."

"Well..." He stormed to a window to peer outside at the few people wandering past on the sidewalk beyond. "How do we tell them how much they're messing up?"

"You could write your represenatives? Senator and such like that?"

"You sound like that's an odd thing." He twisted his head from the window back on his peer. "Do they punish people who say they did something entirely foalish?!"

"That your pun translated still cracks me up..." The engineer dragged himself off that tangent. "I never bothered, personally, but they can make a difference, if a lot of people are writing in about the same thing, especially by hand, er, hoof? On paper that is."

"What do humans do then? They just trust their leaders and forget about it?"

"Wow, hardly." He set his clipboard down with a plastic clatter. "We 'trust' them to get it wrong most of the time, when you get down to it."

"How does that work?!" Sunburst clopped his hooves to either temple, massaging a forming headache. "When ponies don't pay attention to Celestia, it's because she usually has it well in hoof. She doesn't leave much for us to worry about. Good on her! But she's not here. This isn't her kingdom."

"Nope." He set a hand on Sunburst's head, horn between two fingers. "But you did sign up for it."

"Yeah..." Sunburst deflated with miserable agreement on that argument. "Alright. I'm going to write that letter. But I want you, and you, and you!" He pointed at a different engineer each time. "We'll all write in! You said it works better when different ones arrive close together, on paper!" A pen floated free of his pocket and he grabbed a sheet of paper from a printer. "Together. This affects all of us!"

The noises that came were not the rowdy cheer of unified purpose he had hoped for. "C'mon! We have to do something about this. This is all the work we've been doing for months!" He threw a hoof wide. "What do you want to do, forget it ever happened?"

A female engineer tapped at the desktop next to her. "Unfortunately, basically. They'll give us a new assignment and we'll start working on that. It's our job to design and create, not make the laws." She tossed her pen onto the desk in a casual flip. "I can't say I like it much either, but they never asked me."

Sunburst wrote furiously on his letter. "Well, we have to try! This is not a problem we can't fix. Don't let me be the only one to write."

"Does it have to be by hand?" A male engineer tapped at a keyboard. "It's easier to type."

The female huffed at it. "And easier to ignore. If you're going to bother, write it and get the maximum return on your time." She grabbed a paper and got to it. "And we have time until the next assignment comes down."

"Thanks for joining me." Sunburst didn't look up, but he did smile. At least he wasn't entirely alone. He heard scratches coming from other directions. At least a few of them had joined the cause. It may do nothing, but he'd try!

"It's time we start moving." Grogar moved through his base with a feral grin. "Their eyes are closed. She can get something right after all. Good... While they're distracted, it's time to make our move. You!" He glared at one of his many humanoid minions, that one showing that he had the right to bear arms. Three of them. "I want a list of the countries with the least contact with America. I want it now, yesterday would be even better. Make it happen!" The bear-person grunted and hurried away on the task.

"I know how to start this..."

"You're talking to yourself." Tirek strode towards him with crossed arms. "What did you send that thing off to?"

"Oh, just in time." He flashed his teeth at Tirek. "We're going to start our operations. Cozy Glow has blinded the giant, so we will move where it won't notice us. The time for subtelty is almost behind us, and the need for speed comes on us instead. How does that sound?"

"It sounds way less boring." He leaned in, brows going up together. "So what do you plan on me doing?"

"Grabbing creatures." Tirek reared up to clop his hooves together in one firm strike. "By the handful. We will grow our army, considerably. Where they thought there were strangers, enemies. Friends will come after that, but only we have a standing army ready to face their rage when they begin to catch on that we've begun moving." He fell to all fours. "And by that point, it'll be too late. They may be gods of the sky, but even they take time to do it. Delayed, they will be far too slow to be ready by the time things really begin."

"Grab everything in sight and bring them to you so you can do your... stuff on them, got it." He flexed his powerful muscles. "Alright if I drain a few of them?"

Grogar rolled his eyes. "Don't do that, moron. Take them all, and if you do a good job, I'll feed you myself." She shook to make his bell jangle around his neck. "I have enough to keep you sated for a time, and your success will give more for that purpose. The monsters I fashion need to be full of magic, however. No draining them before then!"

"As you command." Tirek clopped off without waiting to be told where he'd be going. As soon as he was out of sight, he grunted. "Damn fool... He won't miss if I take just a few... Not like anycreature's counting them." He chuckled at his duplicitous plan as he moved back to looking like he was busy. He'd be ready when the word came of where he'd be going and how.

"Told you." Chrysalis in her human guise smirked viciously at her 'employer'. "Hook, line--"

"--and sinker." Cozy put out a hand and they met in a loud clap. "Hey, thanks for the assist. Plans are so much easier with a quality helper around."

"I am not a helper," stormed Chrysalis with a scowl.

"You're officially my administrative assistant." Cozy rolled a hand slowly. "That's human talk for 'helper'. Now, how about we lower that defense budget?"

"I can't recommend that." Chrysalis rolled her shoulders slowly. "That's one of the human's sacred things. They met suggestions on lowering it with derision and universal condemnation from all but a few. That this kingdom remains full of weapons is part of its identity and even you would be hard pressed to change that."

"Sounds like a challenge." Cozy clasped her hands quietly and leaned forward on her desk. "I like a good challenge..."

"Cool it." Chrysalis shoved Cozy back by the head into their chair. "Don't we have lower hanging fruit to take care of? Like... if you could make the relations between here--" She tapped one part of the desk. "--and Equestria." She tapped another part far away with another finger. "Weaker, that would be lovely, hm? They're good friends, but there's no tradition there yet. If you can fracture that, Grogar will be so impressed."

"Hm..." Cozy looked between the two fingers. "Golly... He would be... That's a real challenge too! No fair giving me two of those at the same time." She crossed her new human arms with a loud huff. "I can't do both of those at once... can I?" Her gears turned, trying to think of an angle that would drive disarming the humans and driving them away from the ponies.

"I doubt it... Driving them towards the ponies would up the odds of that, which is the opposite of what you want, and making them feel isolated would make them want their weapons even more." She shrugged softly. "This is why you're in charge, isn't it, Miss Better Spy."

"I'm better because I can keep my mind on the goal." Cozy tapped at her head. "Instead of enjoying the trip too much. Watch me and you might learn somethin', Chryssie! "

"I doubt that." Chrysalis leaned against a filing cabinet, watching Cozy through half-closed eyes. "You're just enjoying your mind whammy powers. Those aren't even spy powers!"

"Maybe with that attitude, gosh. If it lets you go where you shouldn't be and see things you shouldn't see... then it sounds like a spy power to me." She clapped her hands and hopped to her feet. "If it gets the job done, it's already too late to say it doesn't count, Chryssie."

"Stop calling me that!" She grabbed the pot of coffee. "Refill?"

Cozy sank back into her chair, looking surprised. "Oh, yeah. That'd be great!" She put her mostly empty cup forward on the desk. "That's really sweet of you."

"What are assistants for?" That Chrysalis spilled a little on those clutching fingers was entirely an accident, she would swear, laughing maniacally to herself and claiming, silently, to have won that day entirely.

"Watch where you're aiming that." Cozy was still rubbing her burned hand. "That thing makes it really hot! It'll burn!" Not that Chrysalis didn't know that. "Golly, alright, enough of that." She took a sip of her refilled coffee. "It's time to get back into motion."

22 - Reaching Arms Out

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They did not prepare the snakes for them. The Snakes were never friends with the ponies, and had taken the wrong side in the last war. The two facts put them on the estranged side of relationships with America and its humans. They had left the organization of species before the war was lost, and avoided having to pay too much in reparations as a result. The snakes were considered easy to ignore. They had no great military power, nor huge political power.

But they did have bodies. Those bodies were valuable enough, at least according to Tirek as he grabbed them up. Subtlety had been abandoned. With cackling glee, he was stomping across their countryside, grabbing any that happened to be in the way, especially if they were something that could report to the humans what was going on. Tourists would not be their downfall, he assured.

He was far from alone, with many dozens of human-monsters of all kinds that took hold of each captive and secured them in cages for him so he could focus on the next catch, laughing wildly as he went. For as boring as waiting for it had been, actually doing it was nothing but fun. "Sometimes... snakes like hiding under rocks." He plucked up a small rock, sending three snakes slithering for new cover. It was a pity that he easily caught them. "Not that it helps them."

"Let us go," sibilantly hissed one of the snakes. "You have no right to hold us."

Tirek knocked on the top of their cage. "See these guns?" He flexed a great arm in front of their bars. "These give me the right. Got a problem? Here." He opened the door with a flick. "Go on... Lodge your complaint."

The snake glanced left and right at their peers, who were not rushing to help. "Um... alright..." He emerged from the cage with a smooth sliding. "Let us go." There, nice and succcint.

"Hm." Tirek put on a show of due consideration. "I could do that... I could... It would be the 'right' thing to do." He made big quotes with that. "And you'd be so happy."

"Yes we would." The snake reared up, standing tall despite not really standing, having no legs. "So you'll let us go then?"

"Mmmm... No." He put one large curled hand in front of the snake, flicking him back into his cage. Even as the snake crashed into their peers, Tirek slapped the door shut. "Any other complaints? Now, assuming you can keep your big mouths shut, we won't even hurt you! In fact, we have new exciting job opportunities for you."

He laughed wildly as he stomped off, looking for new snakes to add to the collection. Oh yes, that part of the grand scheme was so much more fun.

"Do you have what it takes." Chrysalis studied the young man critically. "Ever have experience with this?"

"I've done administrative assisting before. I can take notes, crosscheck files, and keep a schedule." He had a new look, slightly darker than the usual. Perhaps hispanic? "And I admire the work she's doing. If I can help her do that..."

Chrysalis set an empty mug before the man. "Cup."

"Coffee? Sure." He took the cup and stood up, moving to the cofee maker. "Do you prefer black, or some extras?"

Chrysalis sneered as if she had caught a helpless creature in her trap. "Extra sugar, but no cream."

"Coming right up." He worked the machine like he had many times before, soon holding a black cup of coffee. He set it in front of her and dropped a sugar of spoon. "Tell me when to stop." And in went another spoon, and another, and... "Another?" She just nodded, and he put in two more. "Any more and you'll be eating sugar with some coffee flavor."

"Just the way she likes it." Chrysalis closed her fingers around the new coffee. "You're hired."

"For more than making coffee, I hope?" Not that making coffee was a bad position, but accepting that could be just as bad, just rolling over so easily.

"Humans, I mean... no, of course not just that. You said you're good at sorting files? You'll be on that too. She usually throws the papers at me, expecting I know where they go, and where to find them later."

"On it." He nodded firmly. "Let's get digital, so we can store and retrieve documents in a hurry. Show me where your computer is."

"This way?" Chrysalis led the way slowly. "So... you know how to use it then?"

"A computer? Certaintly." He'd been president, and a small business owner. Running a computer basically was part of his job description. "Running a country has a lot of paperwork." That much he knew personally.

"Well, Matty, we're going to get along just fine..." Chrysalis was rubbing her hands together as she strode more confidently. "You'll make things so much easier."

"If you don't mind my asking..." Mateo leaned in from behind. "What is your job again?"

"Same as yours." Chrysalis huffed. "But I handle other things. Stop worrying about it. Coffee and keeping papers in order, that's your job."

"Yes, ma'am!" He looked around the small room he was led. There was one computer half buried in papers. It was clear nobody was using it for its intended purpose. How Represenative Cozy Glow kept anything straight as anyone's guess. "Wow... I better get to it."

"You better..." Chryalis turned towards the door, but paused. "Wait... There are laws." She sighed miserably. "You have your documents?"

"I could put them in myself?" He hiked a thumb at the computer waiting to be unearthed. "You look like you're already really busy."

"I am!" She paused with thought. "Good. I'll be back in half an hour to see how you're getting along."

Paul didn't sit, there was hardly any room to consider it. Mateo, as he had accepted the name of, got to work instead cleaning up. He made several piles, for things to be shredded, things to be stored, ideally digitally, and whatever he wasn't sure of. "This is working..." He was in their headquarters, with permission to browse their data.

Maybe he was a spy after all that? He'd rather be helping people find themselves, but that wasn't the identity he could wear at that moment. His nation needed him, in some ways more than ever before. There was no backup. He was on his own. He finally started the computer and sank onto the cheap computer seat, barely more than a soft wheeled stool. "Let's get to work." Still, he was hired. He would do quality work.

Spying was hardly an excuse for not doing that! "Let's start with..." Cozy had not logged the computer into her email, or any email, or much of anything. "Damn it." Mateo left the computer humming softly as he marched from the room. "Time to ask questions." At least he had a perfectly reasonable set to bring up.

He knocked on the thin wooden door and cracked it open, proving she hadn't locked it. "Miss Glow?" There she was, seated at her desk. A curious creature. A pony minotaur, they claimed. He could see bits of either, though she lacked horns, but not all minotaurs had those, especially females, which she was. "I'm working on getting your computer system up to speed."

Cozy ran a hand through her thick curls. "Hey, come in." She watched him intently as he slipped inside. "Close that." She waited for the door to be closed. "Good. You're Mateo, right? You'll be helping Chrysalis do all the things she can't be bothered with?"

"That seems to be the case." He clapped his hands together in front of himself. "And, to do that, I need to be logged in to your accounts. Could I get the login details for your office computer?" He pointed the way. "And I'll get out of your hair."

"My hair is one of the first things people notice... Besides the tail or the ears. It's a three way tie, gosh..." She raised a brow. "Which is your favorite?"

"Ma'am... I shouldn't be looking at any of those." Professional, cool, collected. A responsible young man. That was him! "You're looking ready to fight in the house."

"Damn right I am." She brought down a fist with a thump on her desk. "But, really, just between us... Pick one. You know you want to." But a rapid answer wasn't coming, nor were his eyes glassing over, which was odd. "Wait. Wait wait." She held up a hand, barely holding back laughter. "Oh, golly, wow... You're gay, aren't you?" He stood there, shocked, but she was just laughing. "It's alright. We're an equal opportunity office right here." She tapped a finger on her desk. "Actually, you just made something clear, and that's helpful. You're already worth the cost! Now... logins, gosh..." She began shuffling through her drawers, searching for something.

"If you have the credentials for your email, I can use that to recover the passwords for everything else, ma'am." Professional! Courteous! He put on his best smile. "I don't want to be in the way, ma'am."

"Yeah yeah." She dug out a fresh paper and scribbled on it. "If my email's enough, here." She pushed the paper forward. "Don't sign me up for any spam. I got enough of that, sheesh."

Mateo advanced on the paper, the key to so much. "Thank you. In fact, if you want, I'll work on getting rid of that spam for you."

"Golly!" She clapped her round cheeks in her fuzzy hands. "You can do that? You have so many talents, Mateo! Glad to have you on the team." She was wriggling her fingers at him as he left. "Nice boy... Hm... so I can't whammy gay men, good to know... That could have been awkward to find out somewhere else..." It was lucky Cozy Glow hadn't run into any other males not interested in females before. Humans came in so many varieties! "For having basically one color, they make up for it."

"In other news, people are upset." A window opened, showing people at a protest. "They want their GPS back. Sources say they want it now."

A new window sprang open, showing a harried man. "I don't even know how to read a map properly. They don't teach that in school. Did they ever? Whatever. I can't get where I need to go."

A woman yanked him back, moving to replace him. "I'm trying to deliver food and looking up where the places are, to get the food and where they have to go? That's an enormous pain! The maps still work, but you're not on it anymore. I can't live like this!"

The announcer resumed speaking, "The new law forbidding satellites doesn't appear to be going anywhere. With all flights above commercial airspace grounded, there's little alternative. Except one. Our friends across the ocean are hard at work on constructing their own space facilities."

A new window, showing Celestia watching over a magnificent set of columns of ponies hard at work. She called out, but what she was saying was hard to pick up. "Princess Celestia has promised to bring ponies to space."

A new window, a new pony. Luna smiled at the camera. "As the princess of the night and the starry sky, I approve of this. We will reach for the stars. The humans showed us the way, but that does not mean we have to wait for them before taking the next step on our own. Since they have taken no action of recent regarding the sky above our sky, we will move into that void. Know, my ponies, that I will watch over you so long as you reside in my starry world." She dipped her head gently as she faded from view.

"Pressure is mounting for action, but groundswells of support do not always turn into action on the hill. We'll report as things change."

23 - Changing Headquarters

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"Your highness." The term was a bit unusual for an American, but he wasn't in America, and the cooperation of the large horse in front of him was required. "I've completed my tour of your productions."

"What do you think?" asked Celestia with a gentle smile. "I have spared no expense."

"It doesn't look like you're cutting corners." The human flipped his tablet around to show the charts and maps he head ready. "But you've never been in the space business, that seems clear. That's half of why I'm here."

"And why I called you," agreed Celestia with a little nod. "Can you take us the rest of the way? Know that what you build will be Equestrian owned, though we will gladly pay those who help us handsomely."

Free commerce was not quite the same thing in Equestria as it was in America. Nationalizing things was quite standard, and Celestia was ready to do just that. There would be no private space industry under her watch.

The man offered a hand. "We have to hash out the specific numbers, but if you are paying for our services and what we launch, this can become an agreeable arrangement."

She met his hand with a hoof, allowing him to hold her as she shook his hand gently up and down. "Cooperation is the key to moving forward. I'm glad to hear Boeing is ready to assist us in this."

Boeing was ready to make money. "Of course, Your Highness." He flipped the notepad back around. "About those numbers..."

"We need more magic... and I know where to get it." Grogar rubbed his hooves together. "From a creature close to the ponies, but estranged. They only rarely communicate with them, despite being 'friends'. They have plenty of magic, waiting for us to take."

Tirek flexed a mighty arm. "Tell me we're going to grab them, no games."

Grogar snorted at Tirek's display. "In this case, you are correct. Speed is the requirement, not being subtle." He threw his head and conjured an image of a smiling kirin. "Look at them! So brimming with magic, but only a few of them know how to defend themselves. They sequestered themselves away from the world and forgot what it means to fight."

Tirek ground his hands together. "They look nice and soft. You're sure they have the magic we want?" He licked his lips, hoping they would be tasty to drain... Even if he could only do a few of them while catching them all.

"There is one you need to be careful of." The image flicked to the largest kirin. "She has no official title or position, but they look up to her as a sort of a community elder of sorts. 'The largest one is in charge', I think. Either way, she has the most power, for good and bad. Neutralize her, and the rest will be easy." Grogar sliced across his throat. "But keep her alive. I think she would make a fine member of our army... Our first to have such a bounty of magic already, it should make her an especially terrifying beast. Maybe I can make a new coming of dragons."

"But we have dragons?" Tirek shrugged softly. "Who you don't want to attack?"

"Ugh." Tirek rolled his eyes. "I have nothing but disappointment in how they've turned, but they remain combat ready. Attacking them will not come free. Still, the dragons were once my mightiest creation. It would be nice to make something as terrible, hopefully without the unsatisfying conclusion."

Tirek raised a brow with a sudden new thought. "Did you make all the monsters?"

"I'd love to claim that title..." Grogar chuckled darkly in appreciation of the idea. "While I was away, others came into being, and others ceased to be. Discord made no few. Speaking of him, it is somewhat surprising he hasn't made a mess yet... Probably because we haven't interfered with 'his' ponies."

Tirek rolled his shoulders. "He can be a pain, but is manipulatable. I've done it before. His head is too big for the rest of him."

"Which is part of the problem." Grogar shook his hoof at Tirek. "He'll be on his guard around you, expecting you to try again. No, that won't work. Regardless, them!" He pointed at the floating image of the kirin leader. "Take her and her friends. Bring them all in for... career reassignment."

"With pleasure." Tirek headed for the exit, laughing darkly as he gathered up a force to accompany him on the way. He had creatures to subjugate and enjoy doing so.

"You don't have everything."

The Boeing represenative frowned at the phonecall. "We have enough, and we have a place to launch from."

"But you could have more, faster," urged the man on the phone. "Now is not the time to try to grab it all. It took a bunch of us to do it right."

"That's why we're talking." If they had no point, he would have hung up a while ago. "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting SpaceX has more experience with getting rapid, re-usable craft into the air, dropping sattelites off. I'm thinking a lot of grateful Americans, to say nothing of what Celestia will pay, will be very happy the sooner we get the sattelite network back up." A soft tapping could be heard. Typing, or drumming on a desk? Hard to tell.

"SpaceX? You want to bring them in?" The represenative brought the phone away a moment to peer at it skeptically. "I thought you hated them."

"Times change. While we're landlocked, we have nothing. Better to share and get up there than that. The ULA's contracts with the US Government has become as arid as a desert. They can keep arguing, but we want to get moving. You got your foot in the door first; bravo on you. You're holding a pie too big for you to eat. Share it and we'll all be happy."

"A pie can be handled carefully..." And alone, he said without saying it directly. "What do we get for even considering sharing it?"

"You get in the air faster." One could almost hear him thrusting fingers with the count. "You get a larger technical crew that understands how to run a launch. We'll owe you, and we'll put that in writing."

In writing? "You have my attention..." America would open its skies, eventually. Having favors from them wasn't nothing... "This is going to remain a Boeing operation, under authority of Equestria, whoever we decide to hire out from there, we're at the top."

A suffering sigh. "Right. Right... I'll have to touch bases with my people, but that was mostly a given. Will you share?"

"You'll be paid fairly for the services you render." He hung up without further word. More calls would come. Emails with it. There were countless details to work out, but it was moving forward.

The world would reach the stars, just under a different flag.

"Sir." The otter army member saluted sharply. "Something feels off, Sir."

His commanding officer raised a brow at his furriest soldier. "You're going to have to be a little more specific than that." Still, he didn't shoot Hoku down. He'd shown himself true several times. "Is this serious?"

"Serious Serious," assured Hoku in solemn tones. "Water not right. Hear wrong ships. Something swimming, not supposed to swim." He made swimming motions with paddles in the air. "Can't see."

"Damn right..." The forced agreements to disable sonar in most cases had rendered the navy half-blind. But that didn't apply to their army otter. "You see something?"

"Hear something." Hoku tapped at his head. "Navy can listen too?"

"They can. Look, I can suggest, but I can't order them."

Hoku saluted sharply. "All ask. Serious Serious."

The officer patted Hoku on the shoulder. "I'll put out feelers, but no promises." As if there could be many in that sort of case.

"Holy hell..." He had full access to everything. Cozy Glow had no idea how to manage her electronics, which meant there were a number of emails that were... bothersome. For one, she had a string of people sending her lovesmitten emails that she had been ignoring.

He marked them as unread after peeking, but he did peek. People that worked in the DHS, the Department of Homeland Security. They were doing a naughty thing, sending their loving letters from work computers. He could get them fired for it without much effort. But that wasn't his job.

More important was the contents of the emails, which he printed out.

Miss Cozy Glow,
It was an absolute pleasure working on your case. Immigrating can be quite a challenge. We should put some time aside to help you properly settle in. You must be so lonely, coming to a whole new country, by yourself.

Half of it was skill-less attempts to woo Cozy Glow, but the other half hinted they had done her favors, and were hoping for some favors in return. There were few good reasons for anyone to get a 'favor' from Homeland Security. He casually scanned the emails right back in and sent them, from another email, flying towards the President, or at least those who checked her email, which was probably not her. He knew that from experience.

But something bothered him. The Secret Service that had been with him and been knocked for a loop, they hadn't remembered a thing, and certainly didn't send love letters afterwards, at least as far as he knew. Why were these?

He could toss this all to the president and let her mull it over. He'd done his part.

As if he'd be satisfied with that. Something was going on. Something big. If only...

If they sent email from government computers, maybe they weren't that smart to begin with. It could work...

He pulled out his new phone and dialed up a new email. Cozy.Glowing@freemail.com He filled the public-facing portions with data to imply that Cozy was in charge of it, then got to drafting a new mail to one of the smitten people.

Gosh!
Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. You have no idea how incredibly busy being a represenative can make you. But I wanted to reach out. Sorry this is coming from a new email, but I want to keep this quiet, just between us. What you send here won't end up in the news.
Do you remember our time together? It was just like yesterday, golly. I still think about it.

Enough to get them to spill the details? He hoped so. His phone vibrated with an alert. New email! Usually nothing of great importance, but it was coming from his new account. A few quick taps and he could see his mark had eagerly replied, talking enthusiastically about their quality time.

Paul, er, Mateo smiled wickedly. Things were looking up. But he had a job to do too. He walked into her office with a collection of paper. "As requested." He slid it onto her desk. "The writeup of that proposed law."

"Yeah, great." Cozy snagged the collection and spun away from the door as she read it. "This job involves a lot more writing than..." She didn't finish, thumbing through it intently. "You can go."

"Of course." Mateo made for the door, confident that he'd done his part for that --

"Hey." She looked up over the top of her papers. "Thanks for getting the papers under control."

"It's my job." Not his only job, sure, but one he had agreed to take. "The filing room is a lot neater now."

"I noticed, Gosh. You practically live there. I thought that was just a rumor."

"Rumor?"

Cozy rolled a hand. "It's a rumor that gay men are especially prone to being neat and orderly with their space. I thought it was one of those silly myths, but you're proving it true."

Why was she convinced he was gay? Mateo had shown no preferences either way, distracted as he was. Still, there was no reason to actively combat it. "When keeping papers in order, a clean workspace is an effective one, ma'am."

24 - Red sky in Morning, Sailor's Warning.

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"Got her." President Stein smiled with a predatory glint. "If only I could bring the hammer down myself." But there were limits to presidential power. Still... She moved portions of the email onwards to a new one and fired it off towards the Department of Justice. "Let's see what our boys can do with this..."

Not that she didn't have other things to do. "Already rushing ahead..." Word of Equestria's rush for the stars had become news, and with it, pressure on her, as if she had made the laws that locked space from America to begin with. It was a law passed in congress. It would take another law passed by congress to undo it.

But being president meant the buck stopped with her, whether or not she could do a thing about it, directly at least. On the other hand... "Get the press secretary on the line." It was time to make a move on her part. "Eroding your armor will help everyone..."

"Why have you come here?" The largest of the kirin glared at Tirek. He was large with power, forcing even her to look up at him.

Tirek crackled his hands against one another, popping the joints with a malicious smile. "Just passing by. We have a stunning vacation offer you simply can't turn down."

"We can, and we will." She frowned delicately. "We have heard tales of you, and the ones you travel with speak little good for you."

Tirek waved back at his detachment of monsters and freaks. "Are you judging them? How cruel. I thought the ponies taught you better than that."

Rain Shine snorted almost silently. "Your welcome has reached its end. Darken our doorstep no further." She directed her ornate horn back the way Tirek and his forces had come.

"Mmm, no." Tirek lunged for her, grabbing her horn in one hand and drawing her magic with a voracious slurp. Other kirin gasped in shock, but soon had problems of their own as Tirek's assistants rushed at them.

Heat and fire exploded outwards, forcing Tirek to back away, his feeding interrupted. "What?" The creature that had been Rain Shine was gone, replaced with a figure of darkness and blue-red flames. It gazed at him with a scowl and perfectly white eyes.

"It is no longer time to talk," spoke the Nirik Rain Shine had become. "It is time to be angry." As if her words had taken a cap off things, other Kirin began to combust, erupting into their dark war forms with fiery manes and lashing tails of fury. The village was mobilizing before their eyes.

The nirik had little in the way of practical battle training. Their lives had become peaceful and nice, but their bodies were made for war and anger. Unleashed, there were things to be done. They clashed against their would-be attackers with roars of outrage, burning all they touched even as they battered with flailing hooves.

Their ornate horns were far less pretty when jabbed, still burning, into the flesh of their attackers. The surprise of the counterattack did fade. Roars from the enemy announced the return of their will to fight. It became pandemonium.

But it was one that was tilting, and Tirek didn't like which way it was going. He had only so many soldiers, and the entire town of kirin had become a force worth facing. Still, they had to win. If the kirin proved victorious, they would warn the ponies. The ponies would warn the humans. The game would be over before they had taken any serious moves.

"Enough!" Tirek grabbed a burning Nirik charging past him. Sure, it hurt, but he could take it. He hefted up the armored creature and brought it around in a wide circle that ended with it slamming against the ground with the crunch of things breaking and dislocating. "I was trying to be nice. That's over."

Rain Shine howled with the fury of a mother seeing one of her children be harmed. Her flame redoubled, flame dripping from her. The pattern nirik normally had, emulating their fur, was lost. Her anger had become too vast. Words had escaped her. There was only the need to hurt the thing that had injured one of her precious kirin.

Tirek had thought he could end the battle, striking fear. This proved to be incorrect.

The announcer spoke in crisp clean terms, "People are demanding the locks on the sky be removed." Several windows popped open, showing different demonstrations with signs waving. "Both from the bottom and the top." A new window sprang open over the others, taking the center of attention. Stein stood at a podium, looking determined.

Stein gestured up at the sky with several slow and purposeful points. "Our forefathers saw the sky and claimed it for their own, and their children looked up and took a breath. There was more, even past that blue curtain, and they reached further, into the yawning void. They brought to us wonders, from seeing the precious blue marble we live on, to gazing into the depths of creation itself."

She placed her hands flat on the podium. "We may have taken a misstep, but when has that ever scared us away before?" This ignoring that one bad accident had scared Americans away from things in the past. It was not a time to remind them of the Nuclear state of things. "Already, our competitors on the world stage are racing ahead of us. We started far in front, but we're not moving, and they are. It's only a matter of time before they catch up and pass. Is that something we're satisfied with?"

Stein smiled at the cameras recording her. "But some would have us cower. Is that what we've become, cowards, shaking in our safe holes? I call on congress to turn away from this dangerous path. It's time to reclaim our supremacy over the skies, all of them. Get that law to my desk and I will sign it the same day. Now isn't the time for theatrics. We're already losing time. Let's get on it."

The window closed with the others. "Standing high on the Bully Pulpit, the president has made a firm call to congress to act. Will it work? With me is..."

Half a world away from the battle of the Kirin, Cozy roared with an equal fury, slamming her pen against the desk where it bounced off to be lost on the floor. "If there's one thing America is good for, it's flavorful expletives. I think I'll take a few for a spin. Fuck, shit, damn!" She sank into her chair, glowering. "Mateo!"

Mateo/Paul rushed into the room. "Ma'am?"

Cozy smiled at him sweetly. "You're reliable at least... Have you heard?"

"Of what, ma'am?"

Cozy smashed aside papers in a flutter that Mateo would likely have to sort later. "Do you even watch the news, Mateo?"

"Regularly, ma'am." Mateo snapped his fingers. "Is this about the president?"

"This is exactly about the president, Matty boy." Cozy smiled calculatingly. "She's a real thorn in my side... You're really good at that computer stuff, right? See what you can't dig up on her."

"Right away, ma'am." Mateo made a quick mental note to not do any of that. It seemed he was becoming a double agent without asking for it. "Anything specific you want me to look for?"

"I don't know... Something embarrassing. Dig!" She pointed out of her office with a scowl.

"Yes, ma'am!" Mateo hurried away.

Chrysalis rolled her shoulders. "You know, that isn't his job."

"And?" Cozy grabbed a fresh pen just to wag it at Chrysalis. "He works for me, he does what I tell him to. That's the deal."

"Not exactly... Even if he does, he's good at sorting papers, not spying." Chrysalis smirked. "And you have a spy right here, and you didn't even think of her. That's hurtful, really."

Cozy sat up. "You... might actually have a point." She brought her hands together as a cruel smile formed. "Since you're volunteering..."

"I am doing no such thing." Chrysalis tapped her fingers slowly. "Still... that sounds more interesting than what you have me doing around here."

"Fantastic! Time to get chummy with the others." Cozy waved a hand around a bit wildly. "See what they're thinking, get in close. I need to know how much that bitch Stein is throwing things off. Do they care what she said?"

"Easy enough." Chrysalis rose smoothly, hands falling to her sides. "But, you owe me."

"Yeah yeah." Cozy waved Chrysalis along. "Go go go!" Left alone in her office, Cozy sank with a scowl.

A knocking startled her. "Who is it?!"

It was Pelosi, her sort of boss. Crap. Telling her to buzz off was not really practical, and she wasn't a guy to be brainwashed. Crap. "Come in."

Pelosi slipped inside, closing the door behind her. "We need to talk. I've been sent documents that could get you in legal trouble and throw black ink all over the party in the process. There are only a few ways this can end, and few of them are positive for you."

Cozy's smile became more of a manic grin, right eye twitching with barely restrained fury. "Is that so? Well, then we'd better chat..."

Grogar frowned at the images floating in front of him. "You haven't taken the kirin then?"

"No... sir." Tirek had bandages wrapped around too many places. "Their defense is much... stronger than expected. It's like the--"

"--I am uninterested in your excuses." Grogar turned his face towards the floating Cozy Glow. "Do you have good news, or bad?"

"Ugh." Cozy buried her face in her hands. "Basically all bad! The humans are figuring out I don't belong, and I'm going to be kicked out of here if I don't leave myself. I have a week to decide which of those two it's going to be. I've been relieved of all my comittee seats, not that I miss them that much, but still!" She slammed the desk she was behind. "It's all falling apart!"

Grogar brushed Cozy's image to the side. "Chrysalis, tell me you have some good news."

"You know I do." Her calculating smile was a hint of that. "I'm ready whenever you are, Grogy-kins."

"Never call me that again." He banished her entirely from sight. "You two! If you can't get anything more done, return to base. It's time to come at this from another angle, quickly... The time is drawing short or we don't even get to try." He smashed a boulder into a pile of pebbles. "And I won't give up that easily. Tirek! Are the kirin still occupied with your failure?"

Tirek cringed as a sound of someone wailing in pain echoed. "The battle rages on. Why?"

"Why? Because failure has become not an option... Hold the line. I will be there personally to see this done. We cannot be delayed any further." With an angry swipe, he cleared all the images from the air. "If you want something done right..."

25 - Taking Things in Hoof

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The battle raged on. As powerfully as Tirek battled, the kirin, no, nirik, refused to go down quietly. His attempts to rejuvenate himself were short lived, with barely any time to sup on one before several others lunged at him to beat him back. Still, morsels were morsels, and it was enough to keep him in the battle. A pity his forces didn't have that benefit.

Jets of poison and slashing claws dissuaded the charging nirik, but each one that went down, stayed down. Except one. As wide as they were tall, the biped that looked like they made the creature of wax far too close to a heat source fought on as if the nirik had never hurt them. Not one of Grogar's most elegant creations, but effective all the same as it ignored whatever they threw at it and kept right on battering at the defenders with no signs of fatigue.

"Enough!" Rising in an angry swirl of magic, a clap of force threw nirik and monstrous humanoids out of the way as Grogar emerged from his own power. "This brawl ends now."

"With your passing," hissed the large form of Rain Shine, her fury having last long enough for her words to return to her, if haltingly. "Lay down so we can finish this quickly."

Grogar smiled perhaps too smugly as he raised a hoof to his bell and gave it a gentle ring. It lurched with power as it began to siphon hungrily from any creature that dared to pass in front of him, leaving several nirik passed out on the ground, turned back to kirin and powerless. "Mmm. If you thought Tirek was a pain, I invented that magic."

"Wait, you did?" Tirek shoved back a flaming Nirik a step. "You never mentioned that before."

"You never asked, and it still doesn't matter." Grogar rolled his eyes widely. "Now how about we turn that request around. You lay down and I'll be the one showing mercy."

Rain Shine angled her horn at Grogar, flames erupting in a great cone of fury, only to be caught and siphoned into his waiting bell. "Ah, thank you." Grogar took a step towards her, enjoying the snack she was providing. "I said this fight was over. That was not negotiable."

He littered the battlefield with bodies, not dead, but tired and drained. "Hmmph, pretender. You had my trick and you couldn't tame them?"

"I wore them down," grunted Tirek, rubbing at his sore shoulder with quite a frown. "I would have won eventually."

"Perhaps, but we're out of time to wait for that. You!" He thrust a hoof at a passing monster. "Gather them all, get them back to base. You!" He turned to the melted-wax figure. "You performed well today."

The hulking figure grunted. With pleasure? Displeasure? It was hard to say.

"You've earned the rest of the day off. Dismissed." Grogar turned to watch the kirin being dragged away. "Wait a moment." He stopped Rain Shine from being dragged away. "I have something special planned for you. What a wonderfully large and complex aetheric network you have, with a proven throughput and endurance, hm... Such high quality clay, I think I can put this to good work."

Rain Shine grit her teeth with defiance despite her bone weary fatigue. "I will give you nothing."

"You will give me everything. What made you think this was remotely up for debate?" He put a hoof under her chin, smiling at her frown. "Rejoice. I'm giving you back your precious kirins' power." Her eyes lit with a sullen hope. "Oh, not that way, I'm afraid..."

Her scream could be heard for miles around. A pity the kirin were so distant from the ponies they knew as neighbors.

"Welcome back." Celestia dipped her head at the unicorn. "Equestria has missed you."

Sunburst flipped his ears back, making his hearing apparatus jiggle in the motion. "I missed Equestria. Um... It's nice to not be the only thing in the room with hooves, or a horn." He worked his hooves together nervously. "But I'm not here to move back."

"I wouldn't dream of forcing you to," assured Celestia. "But you would be well rewarded for such work. We've bee--"

"--I know, that's why I'm here." Sunburst glanced away a moment. "We have things that need to get up to space, and you're the guardian of that gate, right now... Rumor has it..." He swallowed thickly, aborting his statement.

"Sunburst... We are friends, America and Equestria, not enemies. Rivals, perhaps, but only on friendly terms. They helped us turn our eyes to the stars, and we would gladly return the favor. Now... I can see you are uncomfortable, which is why I brought a friend."

"A frie?--" He didn't get to finish the question, a unicorn popping into existance mid-tackle to pounce him to the ground. "Oof!"

Starlight hugged him tightly from above. "It's so good to see you again! What did they do to you?!" She poked lightly at the strange device on the side of his head. "Or is this a fashion thing?"

Sunburst rolled back to his haunches. "N-no... There was a little accident. I... am deaf, Starlight."

Starlight scowled at that. "When a pony reacts to my question to tell me they're deaf, I'm inclined to think they're lying."

Sunburst pawed gently at the device on the side of his head. "The humans love their technology... This is attached to my insides. It's... like an artificial ear. It hears for me, and passes it along for my brain to figure out, like a real ear. I can hear, but it's not the hearing I used to have. Um... good enough though... Way better than silence..."

Starlight raised a shaking hoof to her cheek, tears welling in her eyes. "My poor Sunburst... Did you tell your mother?" She squinted suddenly. "You do know she will lose every last marble she has, right?"

Sunburst laughed at that, drawing Starlight in for a hug of his own. "Probably... Why I haven't rushed to tell her about that. So, what brings you here?"

Starlight detached and rose back to her hooves. "Is seeing you not enough? It's been way too long! And video calls are not the same thing." She squinted anew. "No matter what you say."

"Hey hey... Just doing the best I can." Sunburst rubbed behind his head lamely. "You're not... involved with the whole space thing, are you?"

"Nah." She waved that away. "I'm in charge of a school these days. It's fun, but work. Fun work?"

"I know that feeling." He nodded with a happy smile. "I'm here for some fun work, in fact."

"Speaking of that," Celestia casually reminded the room she was still there. Turning away, she began towards a new door. "This way. Let me show you what we've managed."

Starlight fell in with Sunburst. "You know, they're not ready to send anything up into space yet."

"I would have been really surprised if they were!" Sunburst shook his head in doubt. "But learning what we're working with is a part of things, so when they had to pick somecreature to head to Equestria and get a first peek, they..."

"They decided, 'Hey, let's send the pony!'," finished Starlight, not needing to hear the rest.

"Basically," laughed out Sunburst, sitting on the floor of the elevator they had mounted. "It's kind of amazing Equestria's in this game."

"I had my own doubts," added Celestia suddenly. "But when America stepped back from the skies, I saw an opportunity, and moved into the space they had provided for us. I hear they are regretting their decisions, but the time it takes for their systems back in order will serve Equestria well. I mean no ill will to America, but having some freedom to stand eye to eye with them is welcomed. If we let them, they will gladly take charge and pay us a premium along the way."

Sunburst sighed slow and deep. "I knew it was a mistake. I urged them not to..."

"That you are a clever pony was never in doubt." Celestia stepped free as the elevator doors slid open. "Let me show you what we have. The offer is open, should you change your mind."

Starlight moved between the ruler and Sunburst. "Way to be no pressure! Don't mind her. She just misses you as much as I do."

So Sunburst got a tour of the facility, still being built, but impressive all the same.

"I have good news, and bad." Chrysalis flashed her feral human grin at Cozy. "Which would you like first?"

Cozy groaned, flopping forward on her desk, hands stretched out towards Chrysalis. "Tell it to me straight, doc."

"You are such a pony." Chrysalis made a noise of disgust, but patted Cozy gently all the same. "Your little adventure could drag on a little longer. Human systems are merciless... but slow. If they have to force you out, there are rules about that. They love their rules. It would take two thirds of them." She held up two fingers with that, along with a fine smirk. "You could avoid that, easily."

Cozy sat up, doing math in her head. "Yeah..." Since the lady-humans didn't take up more than 2/3rds of the house, they could never just outright finish that vote. "So I'm fine!"

"Not quite. It even coming up to a vote is a huge ding on your credibility." Chrysalis snapped her fingers. "You'll be damaged goods. Some of the ones you could influence will stop talking to you at all, and if they don't talk to you..."

"I can't control them," groaned out Cozy, flopping to the desk anew. "This really is mixed news you're giving."

"I did promise that. Now, we tried it your way. We had a good run, even... Stopped them and befuddled them. Good job." She clapped slowly, too slowly. "But I say it's time to beat tracks and not look back. Grogar wants us back anyway. There's not a lot more to be gained here."

Cozy slammed her hands down, propelling herself to her feet in the motion. "Matty!"

Footsteps came closer before the door cracked open. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Ever wanted to see exotic sights?" Cozy circled her desk, passing Chrysalis. "I'm taking a trip to a nice little place. Wanna, gosh, be my buddy? Got one of those extra tickets."

Mateo/Paul hummed. That sounded dangerous, at best. On the other hand... He could get more intel on whatever was going on. "I would need to pack up and get ready before I did anything that extreme."

Cozy casually half-wrapped around him, batting her lashes at him. "Think about it fast, Matty boy. The ticket's in just a few days and I have to go, with you or not."

Chrysalis laughed for seemingly no reason. "Come on, Mateo."

"You'd come along too, ma'am?" The relationship between the two hadn't really become clear. Who even was she?

"I need to be there too, 'Matty', so yeah, I'm going." She rolled her eyes with folded arms. "You coming along or not?"

"I'll consider it." Mateo gave a nod and fled the room. He hurried to the bathroom and slippped inside. A quick check showed he was alone. He dug out his phone, a burner with all of a $20 in minutes. More than enough. He dialed the White House.

He did not get to talk to the president. That wasn't how that worked. He got to make his case to the operator. "Tell her Paul is calling and tell her shalom." The operator placed Paul on hold.

It would be up to the president if she answered the call with that scant information, or he'd have to leave a message at best. "We should have gotten a pass phrase," Paul muttered to himself. What kind of spy operation were they? Well, not a very good one. A former president and a current one, working outside the intelligence community. It was amazing they had gotten as far as they had.

He'd have to have a little more faith.

26 - Watchful Giant

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Chrysalis was back in her four-hoofed form. "So, what have you been up to while we were away?"

Grogar smirked viciously in reply. "Gathering supplies and bolstering the forces. It's time to do or die. But there are still things in the way." He pulled down a tab with his magic, revealing a map of the United States, at least the mainland, on the wall. "They are extremely watchful of their borders, to the point of paranoia."

"They let visitors come at all times, any day of the year. But each is examined." He produced a card that belonged to some man from Idaho. "Each has proof that they belong there, or they are sternly rebuffed. A large military force? They'd spot that coming and violently reply. Even with their eyes in the sky disabled, they are watching, always watching." He raised a brow. "They're not Equestria, to put it mildly."

Chrysalis shrugged softly. "So why not take Equestria first? Bunch of soft ponies... I have some revenge to see to in that direction. Win win!"

Grogar waved that off. "The ponies are connected. They get attacked, they will let out a plaintive noise, and the giant will come. They hate when things that belong to them are touched, and they have claimed the ponies as their own. And the ponies seem to like it..." He wrinkled his nose with disgust. "They didn't like it when I reached for them..."

Tirek shrugged at that. "Then let's start taking the rest of it, all of it. Enough tip-toeing around. We have the power to start, right?"

Cozy folded her arms under her chest. "Do I get another part?"

"You've done quite enough." Grogar snorted softly. "And I mean that for a change. You did just fine, but you're also done. The time for subtetly has drawn short. Tirek." Tirek clapped his hands together, arms bulging. "Let's take over the world, hm? One country at a time. I want them overwhelmed, no word getting out. If they have the 'Internet', save them for last. We don't want America hearing about it."

Chrysalis raised a hoof. "I have a map you'll want to see, T-Chan."

"T-chan?!" Tirek scowled at Chrysalis with new fury. "What kind of name is that?!"

"Yours, now." Chrysalis snickered as she led the way. "I had little to do while giving a helping hoof to Cozy Glow, so I got to enjoy some of their media. Fascinating wastes of time."

She brought him to a printer. It wasn't a large printer. It was barely a functional one, but it connected to the phone she pulled out with the magic of wireless. "Now..." She willed taps and swipes at her phone. "I put it... Here..." She triumphantly mashed a button. The printer hummed to fitful life, producing several sheets of paper. "A list of the countries that have a connection. Avoid those."

Tirek snatched the papers and squinted at the writings on them. "That's a lot of them..."

Chrysalis shrugged. "They love their Internet, and sharing it was something they wanted to do. Considering its power, this shouldn't be that surprising."

"I want it." Cozy sauntered into the room. "I have an idea. Chryssie, you up to helping?"

"No." Nice, flat, no room for arguments, or at least she hoped. "One time was too many times."

Cozy patted her insectoid equine friend on the back. "Don't be like that. You'll get to play a part this time, promise. And not just as my assistant. Golly, we'll both be stars!"

Chrysalis raised one brow, but it fell with the other. "You're just saying what I want to hear..." She took a slow breath. "And I hate that it's working. Tirek, do you have what you need?"

"Yeah... Yeah! I'm ready." He stormed off with a meaningful stomping of his hooves. He had battles to participate in, and he looked happy to do it.

Cozy flashed a bright smile. "Now let's make us some stars..."

"She's fleeing the country? Do you know what airport by chance?"

Paul, back to being Paul, shook his head into the burner phone. "Don't have that detail. She didn't order any tickets, at least nothing showed up in her email. She's been chased off, at least."

"At least," agreed the president. "What a mess... Still, you did your part. More than your part." She sighed with tension into the line. "There's not a lot of ways to keep you off the records. It was already a ticking time bomb before you got out."

"Did you have something in mind?" Paul glanced around the single person bathroom. Solitude was still his to enjoy so far. "I'm not up for another election."

"I'm still hoping for another," laughed the female president. "So, thanks, but not what I'm aiming for. You need to get out of the shadows."

"The dark is comfortable enough." That was where changelings hid... "This is all... Looking forward to getting home."

"Sorry to drag you into this, but imagine the harm she could have kept making." She was tapping something on the line. "I'm saying you pick between the FBI or the CIA, depending on if you want to be local or not. I'll put in a good word for you, the best I can."

He was being invited to be an American spy. They didn't use that word, not officially, but that is what he was being offered, sternly. "And if I say no, then I'll be tossed under the bus."

"I hate to put it that way," spoke the president with steel in her voice. "But any given secret is only a secret for so long. I don't want this hanging over either of our heads, so either you step out into the public, or you get pushed out."

What a choice. "Right now, I'm heading home. You know where to find me."

"You deserve a break." She hung up, leaving him there in the bathroom. He wiped the phone back to a factory default and casually tossed it away, like a good spy. It was time to resume his identity. He took out his old phone, but didn't turn it on, not yet. No reason to leave a GPS trail of him in DC. Paul had little reason to be in DC. Go home. Then turn it on...

He had a life to return to.

Hoku swam vigorously through the water. He had been holding his breath a while, but otters were good at that. Tapping at his transponder, he sent a message up above with the beeps and silences of morse code, just the thing for when one's mouth had to stay closed. The communicator buzzed in reply, echoing a message back with its vibrations.

He was not alone. He reached the bottom. Thankfully, they were in the sea, not the ocean. It went far deeper out there, but it was deep enough to be death for most humans to try. Fortunately for Hoku, he was not a human. He was an otter. A proud otter of the army, doing more of a naval exercise. Still, he detected trouble, and he was down there looking for it.

The water was dark and murky, but he had natural goggles, and some artificial ones on top of that to create more space of air between his eyes and the pressing waves. He could still barely see, it was so dark down there. Fortunately, he had not come without tools. He pulled out what was basically a high-powered flashlight and clicked it on. Made for deep sea use, it took real effort to press that switch, and he could feel it thunk into the on position, sending out a thin beam of light that scattered against the water, causing the area around and in front of him to become lighter.

But he could hear it, a strange something. A hippogriff swam across his direction, only mildly taking note of him. They didn't try to share words, which was just as well. Hoku had no words to give back. They didn't seem to care though. Whatever Hoku was feeling, they didn't care. Was it not within their senses? Even he struggled to put a finger on what it was exactly. It was a miracle he had been allowed to make the dive at all.

He hoped he'd find something. Being allowed over and over felt unlikely at best. He almost tripped over it, as much as trip was a word to use in the water. The ground gave way, still there, but softer than the sand around it. He brushed it aside and it became a cloud that he could push further. He couldn't really see, but he pressed down, through the cloudy sand and into the depths.

Until he wasn't in the cloud anymore, the resistance fading. He was underground, in some cave beneath the sands. he tapped busily on his communicator, reporting what he'd seen, then grabbed for a camera dangling from his hip, attached with a strong hook for the water. With bright flashes, he captured images of what he was looking at, though he struggled to put words to it.

It was some kind... of facility? Some kind of structure. Something there in the depths. It needed to be looked at.

Running at about 30% of his internal air supply, lungs burning gently with the reminder to surface, Hoku fled his finding. He had to report in.

"Sir, look." The scaled lamia that once had been a human pointed at a floating image in front of their station.

Grogar had created that image, a way to monitor the outside. "What is it?" Despite his question, he went to see what it was. Something furry swimming rapidly upwards, about to hit the barrier of sand that kept things quiet and secluded. "How...? Catch that! Bring it to me," he roared. "No excuses!"

The lamia didn't move. Others were, more aquatic, or at least uncaring of the watery pressures that awaited them. They emerged with watery battlecries, swimming up after Hoku.

"Too slow," grunted Grogar with a swipe of a hoof, his magic grabbing his minions and hurrying them forward through the water in a greater urgency. "Catch them!"

Hoku's whiskers twitched. He didn't need to turn around to know he was being followed. The trembles of the water were more than enough to tell him that, their magical approach only making them louder to his senses. But he didn't have any way to ascend faster than to just swim as hard as he could, the urgency growing with the need to reach the surface. He kicked and pulled at the water, desperate to get away.

Clawed fingers closed around his left foot. Hoku smashed down his right. A dull thud, and a watery yowl of pain. He wasn't wearing his boots, not as useful in the water, but a sharp kick still had some impact to it. Hoku did his best to put some distance, but more of them were closing in.

A screeching fish lady closed in, biting into his leg with sharp teeth that stained the water with sudden dark blood. Hoku grit his teeth, but he couldn't shout, not underwater. He wrenched out a combat dagger and sliced at her, catching a finger to join his blood. There were too many of them, closing in. They were fresh, and just as aquatic as he was, arguably more so.

It had all grown far too serious serious. Seeing no way to win the battle, he settled for tapping out a quick message instead, "LOSING FIGHT MAY DIE SEND OTHERS. HOSTILE HOSTILE" He barely got the last letter out when a blubbery seal of a thing crashed against him, sending him swirling. His communicator floated off into the water.

He could but hope others would react to his reports.

27 - Please Like and Subscribe

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Chrysalis batted her lashes at the camera as emojis drifted up a monitor with swarms of texts, most of them short and to the point. "Happy to see me?" It wasn't actually her lashes, or her smile, or her voice. She was, as the humans put it, 'deep faking'. But instead of glitchy technology, she could actually become their wildest desires.

Cozy Glow, proving she had some use, had come with a list of the most coveted humans, historical or fantastical. It didn't even matter. "I'm going to have to go offline soon." She winked. "Gotta make time for the one on ones. Are you one of those? Looking forward to it." She blew a kiss at the camera even as the light faded, the stream ended. "Ugh. Humans are so libidinous."

Cozy extended a finger. "One, I didn't think you knew the word libidinous."

"Bite me."

Cozy leaned in, extending another finger. "Two, that costs extra. Won't trick me that easily, gosh!"

Chrysalis smirked at that. "Can't blame me for trying. Regardless, why this? The bits they're tossing is nice and all, but it's chump change in the end." She made a throwing motion just before falling back to hooves. "Besides, I'm sexy just the way I am."

Cozy waved that off. "I don't swing that way. Golly, American talk is rubbing off on me." She frowned with that thought. "There is a point, promise! You're not just taking their money. You're taking their loyalty."

Chrysalis cocked a brow at that. "Loyalty to dead and imagined things?"

"They already have that." Cozy snapped her fingers. "This is why your channel has a name, with a specific face." Sure, it wasn't Chrysalis' face, but she was a wanted criminal... "Brand loyalty. It's a thing with Americans. You're winning their hearts."

"You've gained my attention." Chrysalis curled a hoof to her chin. "So how do I take advantage of this and make them do whatever I want?"

"You don't." Cozy hopped over to a computer to peer at something. "Not the way you're imagining it, I bet, Gosh. You're like their good friend. What you say matters. They have a word just for that. Ready? Influencer! That's you!" She pointed at Chrysalis firmly. "Congratulations!"

"Yay," replied Chrysalis with no enthusiasm. "Now, remind me. You can bewitch male humans with barely a glance. Why did you get me involved? You could be taking all this for yourself... but you aren't."

Cozy gestured at herself with both hands. "You aren't wrong. I have all kinda neat powers! Golly, but I have to be in person." She pointed to the webcam, dark and disabled. "Through that? No power. On the plus side... I can still rile things up... But it's not subtle, and may get us caught, so..."

"So you came to me." Chrysalis willed a stack of papers to the next in line. "That, at least, makes some kind of sense." It was high praise, at least from Chrysalis. "A pity lust makes for such a poor love."

Cozy perked at that. "Can you eat through that?"

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Yes, and no. I can smell it. I can taste it, but I can barely feel it." She smacked her lips and tongue in annoyance. "Just a tease... But I can still feel what kind of love it is. And most of them don't have it. Most of them are fascinated, or, to be blunt, hornier than I am." She held her horn high, looking quite triumphant in her pun.

"Ha ha." Cozy tapped at the screen. "Matty boy showed me something!"

Chrysalis came in from the side for a peek. "That... is a lot of numbers."

"And a graph," added Cozy with a a grin. "Golly, in the right direction." She traced the line sharply inclined upwards. "You are knocking them dead!"

Chrysalis buffed her chest, easily pleased with the praise. "As if they had a chance... So... how does this make us win? As fun as it is to be the center of attention and all... It's soured by not being myself that's being paid attention to." She tapped at the channel icon on the screen. "The love bug? A little on the nose, hm?"

Cozy burst into little giggles. "Hiding in plain sight is how you do it!" She clapped her hands in a light applause. "It was working for me, twice now, gosh. When we start getting involved with them, and even before then, you'll be there to whisper your words to them. What, those guys? They're not so bad..." She batted her lashes with feigned innocence. "You just have to give them a chance."

"Gross." Chrysalis smiled viciously. "What a terrible lie. I love it."

They shared a bit of evil laughter. It was good for team building.

He slammed his fist on the console, thankfully not on any of the buttons or levers. "Track him!"

"Already on it, sir." A sailor was mashing busily at the keys. "We'll contact you with news."

He was a soldier. They were sailors, on a boat. His command over them was... spotty. "Thank you." He threw open the door to the outside with a heavy grunt. "Damn it, fuzzbutt." Hoku was one of the first furballs in the forces, but not the last. He had become something of a poster child, even if was hard to get him to sit down for picture sessions.

Other 'creatures', as they called themselves, looked to his example and wanted to join the effort. Protect America. Protect the world. The World's Police; to them, that sounded like a great idea. To some voters, a terrible idea. "Damn it..." He slammed the railing, which had the politeness to not complain about it. "Don't die on me now..." Why did he even allow the mission? Any human soldier would have been laughed back to their post.

But Hoku wasn't that. He was an otter. An army otter. He could swim, really well. The numbers they had from any time he did an aquatic test proved that. Fast, far, breathing optional. Just take a quick peek and come back up. It seemed so harmless...

"I'm home." Paul didn't expect any answers. Not like anyone lived with him. But he was home. He flicked the TV on just for some noise and wandered into the kitchen. "Right." He got his phone turned on.

It buzzed shortly after it booted up. He quickly swiped to get to the messages. Some from his newfound family, wishing him well. That was nice. He quickly tapped out an assurance that he was fine and back in town. "But I may be called away again," he typed out. "Business, you know how it is." They probably didn't deal with shadowy government agencies very often, but it'd do as a message. No need for them to worry.

Which brought up the question. He had to make a choice. "This is your fault." Sure, he was talking to himself. Still, he had accepted the job. He didn't owe the president anything. She had no power over him. He could have turned her away and gone back to his life without any changes. But that's a lie.

He would have known, and that would have changed it. He still loved the nation, and letting Cozy Glow just... He changed the channel to the news where they were talking about her. Represenative gone, new one to be named by California governor. That didn't immediately undo the damage she had done.

Set the nation back decades in space progress, left them vulnerable... Enemies... Cozy Glow. She was one of them, right? Was she working alone? Her friend didn't seem quite right, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it, and didn't have the resources to dig into her past. Enemies. America had them. They were being attacked.

Paul chuckled softly. That sort of thinking was part of his line to get into office. "It isn't paranoia if it's true." He sank onto his comfy easy chair, leaning back, feet up. "Someone has to do something..."

And that someone was him? Who else would it be?

"I was just getting used to it." Being a therapist was rewarding. But he had to help a nation before he could help his clients. He drew out his phone and got to dialing. He had a country to serve.

"Business?" The teen girl squinted at her phone suspiciously. "You're a brain doctor thing! What business do you keep having?" she shouted angrily at the phone, but it did not reply. "Did you hear that?"

"You shouted in my ear, hard to miss that," noted her boyfriend. "Hey, he's an adult. He gets to be busy."

She tapped a hoof on the ground, clad in the firm sole of her equine shoe. "I don't like it. He attracts strange stuff. I bet more odd things are coming for him."

"I could say that about you," laughed her boyfriend. "We're a bunch of odd people."

"Shut up! You're not wrong, but shut up." She flopped back against her bed. "I want to help..."

"Hey, he deserves some help, but we can't give it." His voice echoed over the speaker phone "School, remember? Besides, pretty sure he doesn't want a bunch of kids hanging around."

"I am not a kid!" she huffed, cheeks puffing in a very dignified way.

"Teenagers are still kids," admitted the self-aware teen. "18s the magic cut off, and neither of us are there."

"Right." She rolled to her belly. "Like I'll wake up on my 18th and suddenly everything will make sense."

"Probably not." His voice lowered. "I'm not trying to be a downer, seriously... You know I care about you, right?"

"Of course you do." She flopped to her side, cradling the phone. "Dummy... I love you right back. This just frustrates me, a lot. A lot lot! Lot... Lot." She slapped the bed she was on. "A whole lot!"

"Not a little?"

"I know where you live!" Both began to laugh at the absurd humor shared between them. "We may be... young, but that doesn't mean we can't do anything, right?"

"We can do a lot of things... But not force ourselves onto someone's life, no... Pretty sure we'd get into trouble for that, and we'd be wrong." He sighed into the phone. "Why are you making me be the voice of reason?"

"Alright, alright... My turn." She flopped onto her belly, phone held close. "We shouldn't do that because we have no money to speak of. What are we going to do, travel on good wishes?"

"Point... Look, he's answering his phone at least. Let's keep in touch. Maybe he really just has a little business, doing adult stuff."

"On my 18th," swore the satyr. "I will know what 'adult stuff' is. Pow, like a flash."

He snickered at that. "Are you going to share with me?"

"Nope!" She sat up with a grin. "You're a few weeks younger than me, so that'd be breaking the Adult Code. You'll just have to wait for your 18. Then we can chat about it like two gross adults."

"Ew," he laughed with her,the mood lightening. "Before or after we get a real job?"

"Actually, about that." She picked up a binder with one hand. "I was thinking to try to get one this summer."

"Seriously?" A pause. "What job?"

"I get to live the dream." She slapped the binder down. "There's a horse ranch not too far. I already talked to them, and I think they think I'll be good advertising. On the other hand, they'll show me how to care for and ride the horses. I get to play with the horses all summer and bring home some dollars. Brilliant?"

"Brilliant," he agreed firmly. "But don't let them parade you around like some kinda show. You're a person first, who happens to be extra awesome."

"You're so sweet." She blew a kiss into her phone. "Now you have to get one."

"Wha--" She hung up the phone with a grin.

28 - Space Force

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President Stein brought down a pen towards a fancy folder. It couldn't contain the full text of the law, but it was a ceremonious gesture in the end. "It's time for America to reach for the stars." Republicans and Democrats, unified and fast, at least on this one thing.

It helped that one side enjoyed being able to grill the other for having a turncoat. They enjoyed that. With a quick scribble, a new law was passed, largely dissolving the old one. America could reach for the stars once more. Or, to be more specific, American governmental dollars could reach for the stars. None of the laws had prevented private initiatives, but those were... expensive, and hard to do without the proper launch places and facilities.

She set the folder aside to be properly filed away, marking the law. "Thank you all for helping make this happen."

She hadn't signed it alone. Her office was filled with high ranking members of either party. There was clapping and congratulating to go around. "How long before we start getting GPS operational?"

A Republican swatted her on the shoulder. "Fortunately, we have a line of satellites waiting to go up. We just have to get them there."

Not that launching them was an instant thing. Still, progress. "Let's get to work."

Grogar sneered at his captive with a malicious smirk. "Just one?" He huffed softly. "Underestimating me, clearly..."

Hoku glared right back at him, but was silent.

"What, no 'You'll never get away with this?' I expected at least that..." He ran a hoof along one of the bars. "No fight left in you?"

"Only get name, rank, and serial," grunted Hoku, fight clearly in his eyes, but he wasn't moving, or chatting. His capture hadn't been gentle, smudges and cuts shown clearly through his dense fur, likely still aching in sharp stings that he put aside for the moment.

"Useless." Grogar rolled his eyes. "One of the Lutrai, hm... Good swimmer, clearly... An agent of the Americans... don't like that..." It was hard to misidentify the american flag Hoku wore as much anything else. "What is an 'American' and how many of them do they have?!"

"Many many," sarcastically laughed out Hoku. Even he knew that! "Enough to crush you."

"They can't crush what they can't see." He whirled for the exit. "You'll have a front row seat. Enjoy watching your precious little country losing."

He stomped off with a deep laugh of future triumph.

"There you are!" The space wyrm smiled brightly, curling around Chrysalis. "You sure do like this world."

"Yeah, something of an attachment," admitted Chrysalis, wearing a similar form of a space noodle. "It was just getting peaceful, thanks to that help before."

"You're welcome," sang the other with a grin on his face, but it didn't last. "What's wrong?" He swirled about her, looking at her dissatisfaction from varying angles. "I thought you'd be happy!"

"I was. It's not you." She waved her short arms at him. "Really, you've been great! I was so impressed." Oh, how he smiled so proudly. "It's them." She pointed at the world. "They're going to start making a mess all over again."

"Again?!" He clasped his hands together fretfully. "So rude. What are they even doing it for? It's not like they live out here." He swirled in place, emphasizing his space-bound nature.

"I don't really know," sighed out Chrysalis. "But some of them are getting their friends in on it, so they can clutter up the sky faster."

"They're doing it on purpose." He crossed his arms with a mighty pout. "Bunch of mean-headed jerks if you ask me. Well, two can play that game!"

Chrysalis smiled at her excited space friend. "Ooo, you sound like you have a plan."

"You bet I do!" He waved to the stars. "They're not the only one with friends! I'll take care of those things and keep the sky clear." He zoomed off, stretching to infinity a moment before vanishing.

Chrysalis smiled at the spot the other space dragon had occupied. They had an ally worth having.

"You present an interesting case." The man folded his arms, considering Paul. Mr. Goldstein and former president under another name... "By many accounts, you were a foreign agent. You were exactly the sort of thing we are supposed to mitigate and prevent." He unfolded his arms with a sigh. "You were something we missed, and almost lost everything because of it."

Paul could feel his jaw, clenched and tight, but he had chosen to come there. "America has more immediate concerns."

"Which is why we're talking." He raised a hand as he turned away. "You weren't pardoned. Of course, you were never properly indicted in the first place. That would have been quite the troubling mess... But you're right. Enemy of the past, perhaps, but we have current ones." He snatched up a folder and swung it and himself around towards Paul. "You will have to apply for confidentiality. I don't envy the ones who have to process that... This is a specific request for trust and confidence. To officially be deemed as worthy of that trust, that we may whisper a few secrets and know they won't be shared."

"I know what confidentiality is." Paul lifted his hands in a mild shrug. "Rightfully or not, I was president. Rightfully or not, I did my best to discharge those duties faithfully."

He leveled a finger at Paul. "The right thing would have been to resign immediately, if not before you ever entered the Oval Office." Things became quiet and tense a moment, the ticking of a clock the only sound. "But what you did is not-so-distant next." He unfolded what he held, showing it was a dossier on Paul's activities. "When you 'resigned', you kept your nose clean. A therapist, unlicensed, in a very specific field." He raised a finger. "We are aware you obtained a permit. But you remain unlicensed. Fortunately, you have a high success rate for someone who hasn't been properly educated."

Paul cleared his throat. "I have a lot of... personal experience with the idea of identity."

The man leaned forward, looming over Paul's seated form. "I should imagine. I'm talking to at least your third such. Tell me! What happened to your first? You had a first, did you not?"

"I did." A short and curt answer.

"Answer enough." He made a quick note, scratching at the paper. "Your old employer, if I understand correctly, was sentenced to death. Do you have feelings about that?"

"Irritation she didn't finish getting it." Paul clenched a fist, thinking about it. "There's no love lost there. Now, I don't mean to be rude, but when do we begin?"

"Already doing that." He produced a card and held it towards Paul. "Go to this address. They already know you're coming. If you're expecting excitement, quash that. It's time for bureaucracy. We expect two to four months, but you're an interesting case, as I began. Don't expect that."

Paul rose to his feet with a frown. "The people I'm here to fight are still moving, right now. Can we wait half a year or more?"

"We are a nation of laws." He straightened his jacket. "Good luck with the clearance."

Paul left with a new destination in mind, but a thought tickled. He drew out his phone for some quick typing.

Hey,
It's me, Paul. Some people may call you in the future asking about me. It's alright, just answer truthfully. Nothing fancier than that. Sorry for any headache that might be.
Appreciate it,
Paul

He hit send, firing the email off at his adopted little friend family. "Rude to not give them some kind of warning..." How were they doing? He hoped well. They knew his email. Surely they'd just drop a line if anything came up?

He had to protect their country first.

He had to get clearance before that.

"You get the email?" Mike sounded nervous on the line.

Swift snorted into the phone. "You saw my email in the email. We all got the email!" She threw her free hand up, the other holding the phone. "That sounds super sketchy!"

"Um." Mike got quieter a moment, away from the phone. "I got a job."

"You did?!" Swift forgot the other topic. "That's great! Where at? You know I'll stop by."

"Not sure if you want to do that..."

Swift raised a brow. "What kind of strange job did you get?"

"It's not that strange..."

"Then tell me already," she grunted out. "C'mon! I told you what mine'll be!"

"Just working at a golf place," he admitted in a defeated tone. "Someone has to get the lost balls and stuff..."

"Huh." She grabbed her headphones and popped them on, freeing her hands entirely. "I thought you'd get something brainier than that!"

"I wanted to! I did... But I found that, and got it..."

"Hey, it's alright." She smiled even if he couldn't see it. "We all need a first job. I just got lucky. I'll still drop by, so text me where this place is."

"You sure?"

"Duh." She rolled her eyes. "We'll lose a few balls ourself."

"Swift." A flat tone that. "You don't even know how to play golf."

"But... now I have a reason to learn, hm?" She wagged a finger at the air, confident in her logic.

"Alright, alright... But about Mister Goldstein?"

"Paul?" First names clearly worked for Swift Swim. "Sketchy! Way sketchier than ball fetching. We have to help..."

"Pretty sure we can help by waiting for any phonecalls and being honest, like Mister Goldstein asked."

"Ugh! I love you, Mike, but you're so straight laced, I wonder how you tie your shoes." Not that she had shoes. Hooves were not especially designed for them. Still, she knew what they were. "Seriously, that's it? We answer some stupid questions?"

"He asked us to answer them, so they can't be all stupid," reasoned Mike. "He didn't seem like a guy that wanted to waste time on stupid things."

"Yeah..." Swift rocked in place front and back. "I hope he's alright... But first! Work! We're going to do great, both of us!"

"Here's to that." Not that he had a drink to toast with, but one could imagine him making the gesture anyway. "To new starts."

"To new starts," eagerly joined Swift. "We'll make tons of money this summer." They might have been teens, but they were teens with a plan! The most dangerous sort of teen, if one thought about it. "Oh, you ready for finals?"

He laughed over the phone. "Swift, I should be asking you that."

"But you didn't." She rolled her eyes, turning towards a nearby window. "So I had to ask you."

"I'm not scared of any of the finals." A moment of quiet. "What about you? Want to go over anything?"

"Oh thank god," she allowed with a powerful exhale. "Yes! Please yes..."

"Come by tomorrow," he assured in a gentle assurance. "We'll go over the hard parts."

"You are the best!" she sang out. "See you tomorrow!" And she ended the call.

"Funny thing." Chrysalis tapped at his screen with a hoof. "Humans are terrible at keeping track of themselves, despite all that paperwork."

Cozy raised a brow. "Really? That doesn't really, gosh, fit..."

"And yet... hundreds of thousands of them, every year, just gone." She tapped at the screen more urgently. "Just something they take for granted... We should take advantage of that."

Cozy flashed a malicious smile. "The way you say that, you already have an idea. Golly, don't keep me in suspense!"

29 - A Shoe Falls

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"You struck them a terrible blow." Grogar paced in front of the canine in finery. "All the other attacks, all of them, paled in comparison. They still have a holiday of remembrance of that day." Grogar scowled in thought of it. "Why they have holidays for the times they lost... Beyond me, and off-topic."

The diamond dog queen shook her head slowly. "We paid a price for that. The humans won that war. We lost." The surrounding dogs hung their heads in memory of it. "What is idea, anyway? I want to hear."

Grogar smiled viciously. "When you hear of it, your mind will change." With glowing horns, he drew down a map of America, with fine lines criss-crossing it. "They still set firmly ahead their eyes to view across land and sea, a few upwards, but very few downwards."

The queen held up a hand for silence. "No."

"No?" Grogar flinched, not expecting that sharp a refusal. "No... what?"

"No." She pointed to the map. "Fool them once, not twice. They watch, and have friends. The worms will not let us make tunnels in America. Even just passing through, they will demolish our tunnels. They have learned from the ponies, the humans. They made friends. Their friends watch their bottoms."

Grogar clenched his teeth, glaring daggers at the diamond dog queen. "You didn't have magic to help you. You didn't have me."

She leaned forward, rising to her feet. "Nothing you say changes what is true. The worms will crush our tunnels, then us. We will die. For you? Not worth it." She turned, frills of her skirt raising in the twirl. "Goodbye."

"Wait! There is one lingering matter." She paused, as he had hoped. "This is... a delicate matter. Can you be trusted to, at the least, keep your mouth shut?"

She peeked over her shoulder. "We have no love for humans. Do what you want. Not helping. Not talking to them either."

One dog raised a finger. "I like their videos."

The queen slapped him across the head. "Falling for traps. We go!" And they marched off, refusing to work for Grogar.

Grogar didn't stop them from leaving. "Fools..." They wouldn't help them, but their untimely vanishing could set up an alarm.

He waved for his minions to escort them away. They wouldn't swim. "Useless digging dogs..." They would use their own tunnels.

As useful as that would have been, things were in motion. "You two!" He stormed in on their little den, a computer glowing in the darkness. "What are you doing and how is it helping me to achieve me goals?"

Chrysalis looked up from her beanbag chair, tossing out her holed mane. "We're getting things done."

"A whole lotta things, gosh. What are you doing?" Cozy crossed her arms under her chest. "Have you even started?"

"Of course I started," stormed Grogar, stomping towards Chrysalis. "In fact, I discerned another ally with an equal dislike of the ponies to stand at our side, but there is a catch."

Chrysalis rolled a hoof in the air. "There always is. Did the humans capture them already?"

Cozy ventured, "They were alive a long time ago?"

Grogar huffed, no longer coming closer, but looming over Chrysalis' prone form. "Not entirely incorrect, but not captured, destroyed. Or, I should say, dispersed. That isn't the problem. Thanks to some... assistance..." He polished his dreadful bell. "I have the power to bring them back easily, but their ego is as large as either of yours! Larger by many measures."

"Gosh."

"I doubt it." Chrysalis rolled her eyes with heavy disbelief. "How bad can they be?"

Grogar huffed, nostrils flaring as he half-turned. "Have you never heard of Sombra? Lord of the Crystal Empire? One of the few military challengers the ponies had faced before the humans arrived?" He chuckled darkly at that thought. "Starting a trend of their lackluster ability to wage wars."

Chrysalis buffed her chest. "Were they saved by a last minute explosion of love, or friendship, or whatever sappy thing they were feeling at the moment?"

Grogar's face twisted in revulsion. "Ugh, thankfully not. They were actually preparing to wage a proper battle. Sombra withdrew, to come back another day. Pity he was weakened by the trip, and defeated before he could recover. He has several abilities I want. And what I want--" He chuckled darkly, power running along his horns. "--I get." He directed a hoof at Cozy Glow. "Time for you to take a trip."

"Mmmm, nah." Cozy shrugged. "Grogie! We're busy." She pointed at the laptop there. "We're expanding your army, gosh, show some respect."

"What?" Grogar stormed up to the laptop and its squinting text chatter. "How is any of this helping me?!"

Chrysalis snickered softly. "For every depraved taste, there's a human group that adores it. Whatever it is, some of them want it. The chance to become a hulking beast of power? We're getting bites, without having to foalnap them. They think it's all very secretive, which it is, and they come to us instead of the other way around. The grand fortress of America, defeated by its own people." She cackled in delight at their subtle victory. "Who do you think has been turning over humans for your touch?"

"That wasn't Tirek?" Grogar twisted to look at Tirek, but the centaur wasn't there. "What has he been doing?!" He stomped a hoof. "My apologies... ladies... It seems my ire was directed at the wrong lazy good for nothing..."

Cozy watched him storm off. "I didn't even get to tell him my special part."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Making sure any human stallions that show up remain nice and docile is hardly that 'special.'" She snorted with a lash of her tail. "It's what you do. It'd be stranger if you weren't doing that."

Cozy crossed her arms. "That's only, like, half the job." She leaned forward, a smirk on her face, fire in her eyes. "Their mindset matters, gosh. I've seen it. Grogar takes what's in them and cranks it up all the way. I get to help decide what's in there when it happens."

Chrysalis casually flopped to her side and onto her back. "Alright, I'll humor you. What do you 'put in there?'"

"Passion," spoke Cozy in a blunt tone, pawing the air like a cat with her human-like fingers. "When I'm done with them, they're worked up. Not in the, gosh, gotta break out of this kind way, but, yeah, gonna be big, strong, and show the whole world." She threw her arms apart and flopped backwards. "The whole thing. Show them who's the biggest and strongest."

Chryalis pointed at Cozy from her upside down position. "And they're alright with that? Some of them seem pretty miserable."

"The ones Grogar makes." Cozy huffed at the thought. "Not the ones I send him. They're happy to be here. They want to show off, gosh." She brought her fingers to her chin. "Better, way better."

"Huh..." Chrysalis rolled upright, shaking out her mane. "Fine. I'm used to my minions starting blindly loyal to my every word."

"Until they weren't," taunted Cozy, getting a glare from Chrysalis. "Relax! We're on the same side. Working together lets us both show off." She clapped her hands together. "It's kinda fun, really."

"Yeah, whatever." Chrysalis hopped up to her hooves, which became two legs, standing up. "What's next on our little schedule?"

"I had an idea." Cozy lazily stroked a few keys. "I think it's time to come out of the closet, gosh. I have fans." She waved at herself. "So maybe... we have me come out as a special guest. I can't whammy them through the camera." She glared at the camera that refused to broadcast her powers. "But they remember it. Might get some more nibbles."

"Or make the humans get all... curious." Chrysalis prodded Cozy in one of her soft chest ornaments. "Don't get ahead of yourself."

"Hey!" Cozy crossed her arms defensively. "Rude, gosh... Ugh, it was a good idea!"

"They all are... until they're not." Chrysalis looked quite proud of her returned barb. "You just keep doing what you're doing." She pressed a hoof against Cozy's face, pushing her back. "You got a thing going."

Cozy angrily shoved the hoof away. "Cut that out! You're not my boss."

"And what, exactly, do you think 'our boss'--" She paused to shudder at the concept. "--would say if we went and asked him?"

Cozy glowered at the thought. "He's probably tell me to get back to it," she grumbled out sullenly. "But maybe after he said I was super smart, golly, for thinking it up in the first place."

Chrysalis waved Cozy off. "Good luck with that. I have a show to put on. She sank onto a stool, checking a list and becoming the planned celebrity of the dead. "Let's knock them dead, darlings," she said, affecting their accent. "Literally, eventually."

"We found something." The sailor tapped at a screen that showed the readings. "With permission and zoning worked out, all the sea creatures were removed from the area, allowing us to do a full sonar sweep of the local ground." There was, clearly, a pit. The sand made it fuzzy, but it some of that sonar made it through it. Some of it came back. "This is where our lost soldier likely ended up."

The general scowled. "That doesn't look easily reached. We don't have a brigade of otters to try that again."

The sailor directing it pointed with a stick at a set of SCUBA hanging on the wall. "We sailors can operate in the water, sir. Maybe we're not otters, but we have a few seals."

The general considered it heavily. "This attack can't go unanswered. Check with the sea nations. Be blunt, firm. If any of them know about this, they need to answer for it, yesterday. If not... We have a terrorist pocket in need of a little fixing."

"In other news." A new window sprang open, showing a sea. A large form surfaced, blowing water in the air. "It seems we had some hitchhikers during our trip to this new world. Several families of whales have emerged. Scientists report they are doing quite well. Perhaps due to the sonar and other noise-pollution restrictions of the seas and oceans, they are thriving in their new oceans."

A new window popped open, showing a hippogriff reaching out, talons gently on the nose of a whale that dwarfed her easily. "She established contact with the tatzlwurms, and she's eager to try her hand with the whales."

"Look into their eyes." Her audio was fed through. "How can you say this isn't a creature. Just because they aren't talking back to us doesn't mean they aren't endowed with that same spark. Besides, just like the humans, perhaps language will find them, if we expose them to it, and treat them with care and love, as we would want to be treated in return."

The announcer returned, "Under current regulations, an animal is not a 'creature' owed specific personhood rights and responsibilities unless communication can be reliably achieved. Whales, though already known to be quite intelligent, do not qualify as creatures. Will this change in the future? Only time, and our reporters, can tell."

The window closed, just to pop open on a beach, showing things jumping free of the water. Dolphins. "These whales are not the only, or first animals to have been verified to make the trip with us. How animals, terrestial or aquatic, are adapting to this world is a topic of hot interest. Already, some are migrating to other countries, where they are becoming invasive species. Our own border agents have ramped up food and animal imports to try and dissuade any 'guests' in return. It's far too early to say how nature will react in the end to this new status quo."

The window closed, replaced with an image of the world, the new world, captured before all the satellites had been knocked out of the sky. "Many are calling for us to be better stewards of the world this time around, but how much that will be put into practice remains unknown."

30 - Don't Be Evil

View Online

The pony emerged from the building. It was about four or so stories tall, made of black glistening glass. It was slick and smooth, like the humans that had spun such wonderful lies for him. He sniffled, a box of his effects balanced on his back. His work, destroyed. His dreams, scattered.

He turned to look at the unfeeling building, its comically upbeat logo another stab. He had expected so much, come prepared to make new things...

But Google had cancelled his game, and cancelled him. They were moving in a new direction, and that direction had no need for a pony programmer that was still learning how to program.

With heavy hooves, he plodded away from their campus. He didn't work there anymore. He would be trespassing if he stayed... A fresh sniffle overwhelmed him. The people in there had been friends, coworkers, and even family just the day before. To become an unwanted intruder, just like that? He wiped the tears from his big eyes, unable to hold back to sad little whimper.

Worst day ever.

"Excuse me." Another local tech human. They had a certain look. He wasn't wearing Google themed anything though. "Sir?"

The stallion pointed at himself.

"You, yes. Do you have a moment?" The human waved the horse over. "I hear you're back on the job market."

The stallion blinked. "How? That just happened today."

"We people keep in touch." He leaned in. "And a friend of yours knew you'd need someplace to land. He didn't want you just thrown out on the street."

The stallion began to smile at that. One of his friends? They hadn't just all abandoned him?! "Can I work on my game?"

"Ooo, no..." He waved a hand negatively at that. "That game is Google's property, and they're going to bury it, along with all their other dropped projects. You'll have to start something new, but I'm ready to offer you a position to do just that."

"Oh." His heart felt heavy, knowing all that work was going up in smoke. "I was really proud of it..."

"Take it as experience." The human snapped. "And make the next one even better. You learned, didn't you?"

"I learned so much," gusted the stallion, angry a moment. "What works, and what does not... I want to make a human quality game, for ponies."

"And I want to see that too." He adjusted his glasses. "So, come with me? We'll pay your bills and you can get right to work. We got a team trying to break into that market already, but having a pony actually on the team? They will be so happy to have you."

So he followed a new human, hoping it'd turn out better than the first time. "Oh, what company is this? I, uh, should probably know that."

"Right you are." The human patted his new pony hire lightly. "Microsoft Games. We finish our projects, usually." He shrugged. "I won't lie, there is no such thing as 100% certain, but we have a better track record than those guys." He hiked a thumb back at the company they were leaving. "So it's a risk, but life usually is. You'll get paid. Google was paying you, right?"

The stallion blinked. "Oh, yes! I'm still... really sad the game's just... gone... I wanted to make it."

"That's the sort of attitude we love to see. You're passionate, love it." He patted the stallion on the back, a thing most ponies were alright with from people they were alright with. "To keep up the honesty thing, it isn't, ultimately, up to me. I'm not your direct manager. I'm just a recruiter. I get people in the building. I know how it works, but I won't be the one you work with or report to."

"Hm." The stallion was perking up a bit as they went, slipping into a car. "Thank you for being honest. I could use some of that right now... Um, so... if this new game is cancelled, will I get warning?"

"We try to do a better job about that." He fired a thumbs up. "Also, if you're in a permanent position, you're likely to be offered another position, instead of being kicked out the door." He shrugged. "Unless it's a big layoff thing... Let's hope against that. I doubt they'd go after our one pony employee."

"Um."

Human work culture was a strange thing, and so he moved to Los Angeles instead of Silicon Valley to resume work on a pony game, by a pony, for ponies.

"Your name, it was fabricated, right?" The female president watched the former president, still changeling.

"Correct." He set his folded hands down in his lap. "Nice to meet you."

"In person," she finished. "I'd rather it be in better circumstances, but here we are. They told me, once you become president, you're president forever, title or not. You're proving that right."

Paul smiled awkardly at that. "Not the way I would have wanted it, but I do love this country."

"This country you weren't born in, or should have led." She tapped a pen gently against the desk, there in the Oval Office. "But that's a complicated story you already know, and we aren't here for that. Agents that don't share your love are moving against us. We can hear them, like whispers, and it's coming from more than one direction."

Paul sat up firmly at that. "What directions?"

"This is why you needed clearance." Which he had, after a long stint of waiting and interviewing. "As you should know, that doesn't mean I can tell you everything. Need to know basis, top to bottom. There are things even a president may not know. By the way, mildly off topic... But if you had any written correspondence with your old employer while you were a sitting president, that is legally required to be turned in for archiving."

Paul blinked at that. "But... That would be letting a lot of angry cats out of otherwise secure bags. Do you want that?"

"Well, were there any?"

She asked that in such a blunt tone. "No."

"Good." Dropped just like that. "I had to ask. We're handling things as best we can. I think your particular talents are best used on dry land, with creatures you can fit in with."

"Other changelings?!"

"No." She raised a hand at that. "They haven't come up, probably for the best. Start with the Abyssians, cats?"

"I know them." Paul pushed up to his feet. "What should I be looking for?"

"The gentleman outside will fill you in." Just like that, she made it not her immediate concern. Delegation was a big part of presidenting. "Good luck."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." He left her to her work and found an, almost alarmingly, chipper looking person waiting for him. They didn't fit the general feel at all. "Are you the one I'm reporting to?"

"Roger." He waved for Paul to walk with him. "Changeling, huh? Always wanted a few dozen of those on the force."

"Which force would that be?" Not that Paul couldn't guess a few that could work out in.

"CIA. The way I hear it, most changelings are unfit for duty."

Paul frowned at that. "Haven't met many of them. but they're also not American."

"Half the problem, but not a fatal one." He flicked a finger at Paul. "We have you. You're way..." He trailed off. "Wait, gauging your age by looks is stupid. Mind if I ask?"

"Old enough to drink." Paul stepped out of the White House, bouncing down the stairs with his new handler. "So what's the itinerary?"

"Too old to be born American," concluded the CIA agent. "No matter, you come highly recommended, and I'm looking forward to it." He pulled out a map, not of Earth, they weren't there. It was a map of their new world. He pointed at a part, a moderate continent. "This is where the cats live, and we lost contact with them. The sattelite drop didn't help. We need to know what's going on. They aren't super friendly, but they weren't hostile either. We want the lay of the land. Simple?"

"Hm." Paul examined the map only a moment. "How do you want me to get there?"

"Great question. Commercial flights have stopped, another reason to be concerned. Ships are still moving, tourism, still booming. A curious contradiction, don't you think?"

Paul considered the meanings. "Whatever scared the planes out of the air didn't want to stop the tourism."

"And we'd like to know why." The handler folded the map closed. "We'll get you a ticket on a boat and you can get over there and report what you find. Got it?"

Paul raised a finger. "One question, why not send anything official that could get there faster than a cruise boat?"

"Because then we'd have to chat with the cats. Those lines are down, and were never properly up to start." He shrugged at the idea. "They own their waters like we own ours. We can't just pull up on a navy boat and expect them to not be upset about that, good intentions or not."

"But the commercial boats..."

"Already have permission." He slapped a tiny folder with a few tickets in it against Paul. "Got it?"

"Got it." Paul got the folder into a pocket quickly. "When am I going?"

"Tomorrow."

Paul started. "Short warning."

"This is an active situation." He nodded faintly at the pocket Paul had put away. "There's a burner in there, my phone's already on it. Call with any updates, assuming cell service is cooperating."

"Right... Right." Well, he had signed up for it. "I'm on the case."

"I knew I'd like this." He gave Paul one last pat on the shoulder and went off in another direction.

Paul returned to his hotel and got to checking out for the next day. He wouldn't need it... "Thank you." He shook hands with the nice person at the desk and retired to his room. Bored and, perhaps, a little agitated, he couldn't just lay there. Digging out his phone, he got to checking various news blocks and social media threads, but that didn't hold his attention for long.

He got to writing a text instead.

I'll be out of communication for a while. I thought I should give a bye before that and let you know that I'm entirely alright. Just got a new job, is all. No reason to panic, I'm just making more money.
I'll let you know when things clear up.

"I read it."

"Of course you read it," huffed out the satyr teen. "I don't like it even a tiny bit."

"And there's nothing we can do about it." He flopped on his bed, phone held up to keep talking. "He's a big boy now. We have to let him go."

"I'm not ready to let him go! My empty nest!" They both laughed at the shared joke. "Seriously... He's a friend and I'm worried. Is that wrong?"

"It's right until you consider storming in on him," argued her boyfriend. "So keep that thought out and enjoy being right."

"I already have a dad, dad."

"Yeah yeah." He flipped the hand he was holding the phone with. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" She sat up sharply. "Something happen?!"

"Something good. I did a lap."

She blinked with growing confusion. "A lap?"

"Around the pool, on my own, with a decent time." He extended a finger with each part of that. "And without swallowing any water."

"You jock," she laughed out into the phone. "I'm so proud of you! Next time we go to the beach, no more freaking out. We'll have such a fun time! You already having fun?"

"It was fun, once I got past the start..." He put the phone down, switching it to speaker. "Like most things, right?"

"Like most things," she agreed. "Glad you got past the sucky part. Time for the fun part!"

They got to planning the next water-based date.

One Race, Many Species

by David Silver

1 - Happily Ever After

2 - A New Generation

3 - For the History Books

4 - Target Selection

5 - Soft Start

Former Queen Chrysalis

Aliases:

Reward:

Remarks:

Caution:

SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

6 - How the Time Flies

7 - Imperatives

8 - Down Where It's Wetter

9 - Obligatory Beach Episode

10 - From the Depths

11 - One Hand Does Not Know the Other

12 - The Sky Dims

13 - Retiring from the Field

14 - Velvet Trap

15 - In Other News

16 - Head Mobile

17 - Short-lived Light

18 - Above Our Heads

19 - Senatorial Power

20 - Questions

21 - Moving Unseen

22 - Reaching Arms Out

23 - Changing Headquarters

24 - Red sky in Morning, Sailor's Warning.

25 - Taking Things in Hoof

26 - Watchful Giant

27 - Please Like and Subscribe

28 - Space Force

29 - A Shoe Falls

30 - Don't Be Evil