*** Velvet ***

“Look its just not fair!” I say, thrashing my tail as I load up my saddlebags with things I need.

The LT blinks, looking at me and chuckles, “Okay let me get this straight, you are upset that they are sending us to Somalia?”

Spinning on the spot I stomp my foot, “Yes, sir! Damn right, sir!” Shaking my mane with a huff, I turn around again to get back to work, “I’m removed from active duty for the most part, put in as a trainer an observer, told its because females can’t do this job. Then they send me into an all but active warzone? While I’m pregnant?”

“So…” The LT starts then pauses, seeing Blaze shaking his head no and waving both front legs. Shaking his head, the LT continues, “You don’t want to go? If that’s the case I can…”

“That’s my daughter in law, I don’t care what happened with her and my son… She will always be family.” I say firmly, “There is no way I’m NOT going.”

“So, what the problem?”

“The problem is they can’t make up their minds. MEN.” I say firmly.

“Ok so I should just let it go…” The LT says then chuckle, “Oops, that could end up as a song cue, gotta watch those.”

Blaze chuckles and shakes his head, "Could be worse, what's the first song that comes to mind?"

"ARGH!!!"

"What?" Both Blaze and the LT look over at me

Lighting my horn, I twirl once on the spot singing, "Get it out, Get it out! Get this song out of my head..."

Looking over, the LT sees Blaze cover his face with his wing.

Using my magic, I grab the blankets to form a dress around me, standing up on my hind hooves, forelegs spread wide, "Get it out, get it out, I'll sing anything else instead."

Covering his mouth to hide the laughter, the LT looks on in mock horror.

Using my forelegs and magic I lift the front of the dress to reveal my one leg up to the cutiemark, stomping the ground with that hoof and leg I carry on singing loudly, "I don't care what the lyrics are, let the songs play on..." Turning, I open the bathroom door and start to walk in before sticking my nose up somewhat and looking over my shoulder at the guys, "The music never bothered me anyway."

*** Dust's Farm ***

The Ford Focus is one of the preferred cars for the US Government. While agencies like the FBI have stocks of their own cars and SUVs for daily use, other agencies, government officials, and such might draw from pools, instead. It’s not unheard of for example, for NSA to borrow department of the interior cars.

The humble town of Baker, Montana was a quiet, tight nit community. A small town with old brick buildings and a single main street. Among pickup trucks, suvs, and old dusty cars, the the dark gray Ford Focus seems somewhat out of place. It’s government plates belonging to the Department of Energy. Exiting the car, the gentleman, in his mid-thirties reaches into his breast pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes. He cups one hand over the lighter as he lights one. Looking down the driveway he shakes his head slowly as he walks to the house.

Walking up to the door he taps a few times. As the door opens he looks down at the young girl, “I’m looking for Lightning Dust.”

Blinking the girl looks back, “Daddy, someone wants you.”

Trotting up to the door the small pegasus looks up, “Yes?”

He gestures with his head, “We need to talk.” He offers the curious pegasus a cigarette as she follows him between the vehicles parked in the driveway and stops, standing before the Focus.

“And, just who are you?” Dust asks as she accepts a light from the man. She drags deeply and blows out a cloud of smoke.

“Names are not important, I’m just a civil servant, you on the other hand, are needed.”

Blinking, Dust looks up, “And why is that?”

“Because one of the princesses have been found,” the man says before taking a long pull from his cigarette, “if that still matters to you.”

Blinking, Dust spreads her wings in shock then takes to the air, zipping around in front of the man and landing. She ends up with her hooves on his chest, her face inches from his. “Who, where!”

“Princess Cadence of the Crystal empire,” The man says firmly, “And we need you to bring her back to the United States.”

“Where is she!” Dust demands, stomping a hoof.

Looking into the distance the man takes a drag from his cigarette, tapping the ashes onto the concrete. “She was abused, drugged, her mind played with by Discord. Her husband left her, and with nothing left she was taken to Russia.”

“She’s in Russia?”

“No, she’s under Russian protection, she’s been taken to Somalia, put in danger by the Russians when terrorists tried to kill her. They are using her to try and build relations with the ponies there, as well as a dragon.” Shaking his head, he looks down at Dust, “There is a marine platoon currently there, but after her being abused, she is unreceptive to reasoning.”

“How did she even leave the country?” Dust says in shock.

“After she had visited with Shining Armor at the farm in Iowa. She was taken to an airport, where a Sukhoi SJ-100 airliner took her out of the country,” the man says simply, “She may not realize but she is in danger. And you’re the only chance to save her, to bring her back.”

Holding out a piece of paper, he offers a printout of a map showing the valley location in Somalia, “According to the show, the guards failed to protect Luna or Celestia. I’d rather not see Cadence suffer more than she has or be failed again.”

Grabbing the paper, Dust runs inside quickly.

Walking back to the car, the man simply pinches out the end of the cigarette, rolling it a bit between his fingers before putting the butt into his jacket pocket. His job is done, now to sit and see what happens next.

*** Hospital ***

“So, Cipher wants you to make how many?” Ballad asks sitting beside Cloudy and stroking her mane.

Nodding Sugarberry shrugged, “Enough for us, and some of the pegasi to try. I haven’t used my magic like that much, but she’s sent me some raw materials.” Holding up her cell phone she taps the screen with a hoof, “She wants me to start growing some crystal panels, transparent aluminum type, for smart phones and screens for her and the pegasi.”

“Well, if you were a crystal shaper in Equestria, that makes sense,” Ballad says, shaking her head.

“The problem is, the sizes. Because its exact sizes, I mean down to the thousandth of an inch. That’s well beyond my skill. I could do huge plates easily then have them cut down but that’s going to require a cutter, a CAD system, and lots of money,” Sugarberry says sighing.

Tilting her head Ballad hums, “How about a mold?”

“Mold?” Sugarberry blinks thinking about it for a moment.

“Yep. Get molds to the exact sizes you need, then grow the crystals into the mold, filling them. Once done, pop the crystal out and grow the next,” Ballad says.

Sugarberry squees and hugs Ballad tightly, “Anypony ever tell you you’re a genius?”

“Umm, it’s called injection molding, its actually a normal factory process, been around for decades.”

“Hey, I’m a ditzy pinkmane, we don’t know factories.” Sugarberry says with a giggle.

“Do you girls need anything?” A nurse asks, walking in quietly before checking the foals’ vitals.

“Nope, we have to step out for a bit, I need to get some parts.” Sugarberry says, “But thanks.”

“We can get the stuff at any arts shop, there’s more then a few of those around here.” Ballad said and turned bounding out the door.

“Wait for me!"

Watching Ballad and Sugarberry as they leave the hospital, the nurse lets out a soft sigh and turns, walking down the hall way. In a strange way she was glad they were gone, it wasn’t that she didn’t like ponies. It was something else, something deeper. That she couldn’t explain.

Singing softly to herself she puts her hand on the window, watching a pegasus trying to teach another how to fly, “All around me are familiar faces.” Turning she drags her hand against the wall as she walks down the hall towards the side entrance, “Worn out places, worn out faces.”

Passing the paramedics staging area she sees several crews checking their equipment and supplies, “Bright and early for their daily races,” the ambulances are part of the local EMS service, with a training exercise going on today, they would be treating simulated casualties, “Going nowhere, going nowhere.”

Stepping outside, she looks at the patients in the park, in wheelchairs or on crutches, out for some fresh air, “Their tears are filling up their glasses. No expression, no expression.”

Pulling up the hood of her sweet shirt, she sighed softly, her voice cracking as she went on singing to herself, “Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow.” Walking down the path beside the building she looks at her feet, “No tomorrow, no tomorrow.”

Passing a window, she stops, putting her hand against it, it is slightly distorted making her reflection look strange, alien. “And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad.” Closing her eyes, she remembers the nightmares, the creature, some kind of demon, its dark green magic seeking to imprison, to turn everyone into his slaves, the lightning bolt, the pain… And the mismatched eyes laughing at her.

“The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had,” Looking back up at her reflection she gulps, “I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take.”

With a soft gulp, she starts to walk again, “When people run in circles it's a very very, mad world.”

Looking up at the room where Cloudy is, all she can think of is the foal suffering, “Children waiting for the day, they feel good,” how many pony foals were out there in need? How many still would change on their birthday, “Happy birthday, happy birthday.”

Lowering her head, she went back to walking down the path beside the hospital. At least Cloudy had help, Candy, Feather, “Made to feel the way that every child should…”

Kneeling down, she wipes her cheek with the back of her hand, “Sit and listen, sit and listen.”

Taking out the manual on `Equestria’ that she had been provided, she looks over the notes she was given, “Went to school and I was very nervous,” ‘ponies often recognize other ponies, even before they change.’ “No one knew me, no one knew me…”

“Hello, teacher, tell me what's my lesson,” closing the book she just sits down, hugging her legs and sighs. “They looked right through me, look right through me.”

Feather wiped tears from her eyes before slowly backing away from the nurse. Turning, she flaps back landing and running the last bit up to Candy.

“Feather? You know they are going to start making rules like, no flying inside the hospital because of you.” Lighting his horn, Candy picks up the next batch of snacks and turns, starting to trot for Cloudy’s room.

“I think we have a CMC emergency,” Feather says, looking over her shoulder as she follows Candy.

“Yours?” Candy asks setting the tray down beside Cloudy as he feeds her one, before taking one for himself.

“No, I know, I suck,” She says, sighing softly and looking at her hip, “Everypony else gets their marks and I’m still a blank flank…”

“Not what I meant Feather, and you know it. So, if its not your emergency.”

“One of the nurses, I think she wants to be a pony, or was hoping to be one, but didn’t get her mark,” Feather says sitting down and sighing.

“Ugh, I swear, there are someponys that don’t deserve to be ponies, and others that do, what’s with that?” Candy huffs.

“Fate,” Cloudy says weakly from the bed, “Turning into a pony isn’t a right, its just who we are.”

“I know, I just think people like Henry deserve it,” Feather says with a heavy sigh.

Cloudy turns her head, “Even if he doesn’t want it?”

“But I think this nurse does,” Feather says, “Maybe we could talk to her?”

“Marks or not, we are still the Earth Chapter of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Its our duty to help find her mark if she has one,” Candy says and holds up a hoof.

Weakly Cloudy stretches out a hoof to touch Candy’s, “For the honor of the marks.”

Sitting up, Feather reaches up and touches her hoof too, “For the truth of the marks.”

“CMC’s are a go!”

***

Great Slave Lake is one of the ten largest lakes in the world. At over 10,500 square miles in area, you could fit the state of Vermont within the lake, and still have room to spare for Rhode Island. To many, this landscape in the summer is a beautiful wilderness, with the largest city on the lake being Yellowknife with a population that doesn’t even break 20,000, and a few small hamlets scattered around the lake that are under 500 people each.

Life here can be hard, some of the villages only being serviced by ice roads. Many people live off grid, in a subsistence life. Some live out on the lake on floating houses, driving across the ice to work, or boating across the lake during breakup.

Unless you’re in the city, phone lines are scarce and cell towers are a thing of legend. Some people have satellite dishes, but to really make use of them you need power. A common problem with off grid living. With heat provided by a mix of wood and propane tanks, not everyone has or can afford generators, and those that do, often use them only for essential services.

Most of the people who live on the lake itself stick close to the cities, they live in houses on barges or on houseboats in tight-knit communities. Though like everywhere there are outliers. People who want or need to live alone. Who live further out on the lake, sometimes up to an hour away from anyone else. Some live like this to feel free, some, are running from things. Some do it for work.

As beautiful as the region is during the summer, during the winter, it looks down right alien. You could stand and look to the horizon and see nothing, no one, just flat endless ice. If you are close to the shore, often you would just she barren wastes of rock, snow and ice. While there are forests, they tend to be sparse and snow coverings have them blend in with everything else.

In a land of brown, white, and grey, a yellow and pink house built on an old coal barge does stand out somewhat. The houseboat served as the home for a local biologist and wildlife expert, on contract with the Canadian government to study wildlife in the area. Small, cozy, the house had a few small solar panels and a windmill to power things like pumps, an emergency radio, some basic lab equipment, and charge the laptop and camera.

Locked in the ice, the house sits on its own forty miles or about sixty-five kilometers south of Yellowknife, its only link being a snowmobile for winter, and small aluminium boat for summer. It sits alone in an alien landscape, hostile to human life, where temperatures regularly drop to -40 in winter. At that temperature, Celsius an Fahrenheit are the same.

She had lived there for nearly two years now. Being alone didn’t bother her much, she never felt right about being around people. Something was just strange about them to her. So, when the job came up for a four-year study on Great Slave Lake, she had jumped at it.

Turning the camera and adjusting it slightly, the little off-white unicorn with blue and purple mane comes into focus. Taking a deep breath, she steps back, sitting down such that she’s totally in frame, "Hi, my name is Cold Front, and as far as I know, I'm the only pony on Earth." Looking around her cabin, she huffs.

"I changed about four days ago on my twenty-fifth birthday, and since then I've been having dreams reminding me of my life in Ponyville. I was cursed and sent here by Discord, the spirit of chaos for standing up to him and protecting some Earth ponies. I had been traveling with a pair of pegasii looking for help from the Crystal Empire. Somehow, I need to either find a way to get rescued, or make my way back to Equestria on my own. Ponies need to be warned of Discord." Standing up, she walks over to the window looking out at the frozen reaches. "Either way, I'll have to do my best to avoid humans and make my way south. Which leaves me only one option."

Turning back to face the camera she smiles and tilts her head, her horn glowing a soft blue, "I'll have to magic the SHIT out of this situation."

*** Somewhere Over Kenya ***

“Well they gave us a ton of MRE-P’s this time,” I say looking the cases.

Masquerade leans back, swinging in the hammock she had rigged between the exposed frame members of the cargo plane, “Oh we don’t normally carry this much food, but I told them, we had a pregnant mare and she eats a lot.”

The slice of apple hit the side of Masquerade’s muzzle with a soft splat, causing her to flinch while I pick up another apple slice and eat it calmly.

“Pony Air does not support or sponsor flying food around the inside of the aircraft. All food products must be firmly secured, preferably inside my stomach before flight,” Using her hoof she gently pushes the piece of apple to her mouth before eating it. “Remember a safe flight is a happy flight.”

Blaze groans softly, putting his hoof over his muzzle, “Mares sometimes.”

“Chauvinist,” I say playfully.

“Stallions,” Masquerade says with a faux huff.

“What would you do without us,” Blaze says and sticks his tongue out.

Holding a hoof up above herself and waving it slowly, Masquerade lets out a soft hum, “Invest in good vibrators?”

“Masquerade!” I squawk in surprise, “That’s not a polite topic.”

Clearing his throat, Blaze looks around, “New topic, so umm, how are you adapting to being a pony?”

“It’s normal, natural. And at the same time, its weird. In a way I know I’m Masquerade, much like you know you’re Blaze. I know I wasn’t cursed like you, but…I’m in both the comics and older versions of the show. Its an enigma, and the fact that there were older versions of the show…” Rolling onto her side Masquerade looks over, “If the show was based on memories of people after they were cursed… then how did the older shows come about?”

I sit up opening my mouth then blink, “I know, Starswirl visited earth several times through history, but that doesn’t even come close to explaining older generations or iterations of the show. They still had cutie marks, they still had things like Tirek.”

“And then there’s my dreams. I remember actually being a pony, I remember being attacked by changelings, I remember… Discord,” Puffing her feathers Masquerade shivers and sticks her tongue out.

“Why would Discord curse others though, before us?” Blaze asks and shakes his head, “Dry runs? Testing? And then you didn’t change or get your mark right away, but it came back as you… you remembered yourself.”

“Which is totally reversed from you guys,” Masquerade lets out a soft sigh, “I know. More is going on here than we know. Even though Discord is gone, we are still pawns in his game somehow.”

The lights shift from white to red in the cargo bay as the LT comes out of the front section, “We are approaching the border, there’s cloud cover from eight thousand straight to fourteen thousand. The captain says he’s going to climb over the clouds and release us there. Are you sure about this Masquerade?”

Nodding, Masquerade stands up and trots over to the air cart, “Sure thing. Just make sure to strap yourselves into the chariot, I don’t want to have to do mid air catches again.”

“Again!” Henry squeaks, “Should we be wearing parachutes for this?”

“We are minimizing the weight as is. You won’t fit with a parachute.” Masquerade says as she moves over and starts strapping herself into the wagon.

It was a two wheeled cargo wagon, able to be pulled by a single pony. Wooden wheels, wooden frame, but with an aluminum bar around the top with holes on it. Stepping up, the LT attaches a pair of carabiners to the bar. Stepping up beside I hook myself up and look back at Henry, “You’re up.”

Hooking himself up Henry grumbles and looks back at the cases of rations on the cart, “Are you sure you can fly with all this weight?”

“Well, yes and no,” Looking back, Masquerade smiles cutely, “I’ll be able to hold altitude generally, lose altitude easily, but climbing is out of the question until we shed weight.”

“LT, I’m liking this less and less,” Henry says looking at me then the LT.

“Once airborne, Pony Air will begin to descend down below cloud cover, until then each individual will be provided an oxygen mask, oxygen bottles are sold separately, however and there is a deposit. These bottles will provide you with about fifteen minutes of air if you don’t panic, if you do panic, well, you might get less then that, so try and breath slow, at least until we get down below 10,000 feet. If you feel like you have to throw up, please remove the mask first as they are hard to clean and do need to be returned. Once the mask is removed, empty your stomach either over the side or rear of the wagon. Puking into the air stream isn’t advised.”

Watching as the door opens Masquerade raises her voice, “As we don’t have seats available this will be a standing flight only. In the case of emergency landings, the exits are anywhere that doesn’t have wood. In case of a water landing, please remember to cut the pegasus at the front of the cart free, unless of course you’re knocked unconscious.”

Blaze trots up beside her and nods as we break through the clouds, the light shifts from red to green.

“Thank you for flying Pony Air and hold on tight!” With that, the cart is pulled out into the airstream and begins to drop and turn, as Masquerade re-orientates into the air stream. “And away we go!”

***

Dust had crossed into Somali air space cruising along at about fourteen thousand feet. She had been flying above the clouds for almost an hour now, only stopping to rest and get something to eat. Her saddle bags are tied tight to her, the only problem with really fast flight with saddle bags isn’t the drag, it’s actually ripping the bags off or having the contents pulled out of the bag in flight.

Checking the GPS strapped to her foreleg, she sees she is getting close to the valley. This is not the safest parts of the world to begin with as Irony had told her during her flight. Few airlines fly in and out of the country, slave trade, illegal weapons trade, piracy is still common and big business here. So, it is one very few pony’s choices of destinations to travel.

Looking around, all Dust can see is a sea of clouds that stretches on to the edges of the horizon. She doesn’t want to drop through blind, but she might have to. She begins to zig zag a bit, she sees an opening. It’s not a big one, but its there. With a smile she turns towards it, she’ll get her bearings and be able to be at the village shortly, she thinks.

Looking down below her she see’s the faint outline of her shadow moving up and down over the clouds, a dark spot zipping along. Behind it, a second shadow is slowly growing in size. About the size of a large cargo plane the shadow quickly dwarfs her own. Tilting her head, she blinks, looking at the form then she gulps.

The large white dragon with in breathing distance of her, its powerful wings creating vortices in the clouds below it. Its teeth are the size of ponies. Its eyes are fixed on Dust.

Gulping again Dust slowly looks up and forward. Closing her eyes for a moment she takes a deep breath. “Oh Sweet Celestia Christ.”

Making a sharp turn into a dive Dust pumps her wings hard, using a mix of gravity and power to gain speed, she shoots into the cloud gap. She is a speedster, “The fire breath couldn’t catch me if she was going fast enough, right?” She murmurs to herself. “Its not like the flames come out at supersonic speed.”

Glancing back the hole in the clouds is filled with the body of a dragon in a dive. “I can outrun it, but to where?”

Looking around she sees the valley with the mountain beside it. Maybe she could swing around the outside of the mountain. Then come in low into the valley. “Keep my speed up, get out of sight, then change course. Should work, dragons are supposed to be pretty dumb after all. I’ll lose this thing and be safe in the valley in one maneuver.”

*** Off the Coast of Russia ***

“He’s been struggling in his sleep, fighting his restraints somewhat,” The doctor says softly, “moaning mumbling, we’ve kept him gagged and monitored his airways, but it seems he’s having dreams or nightmares.”

“Is he safe to wake up?” The captain asks, watching Ensign Peterson twitching.

“He should be,” the doctor says and walks over, giving the ensign a shake.

Shaking his head a few times, Edward starts, looking around frantically, struggling a bit at the restraints.

“Ensign, you’re safe, you’re on Earth, remember?” The doctor speaks quietly but reassuringly, before removing the gag.

“Ugh, every time I go to sleep I’m back in Equestria. I was trying to get back to a unicorn. Cold Front, I think her name was, when Discord caught me.” Shaking his head, he looks at the Captain, then the doctor, “What?”

“Have you remembered your name yet?” The doctor asks, glancing back to the Captain.

Sighing, Ed shakes his head a bit, “Yes and no, I remember other ponies, faces, smells, voices. I remember being super close to someone, a wing… pony? Sky Stinger. That’s got to be it, that’s the name I kept hearing. I’ve got to be Sky Stinger, and the wing pony must have been the other name, Vapor Trail, she was his best friend. That’s the two names I kept hearing. I had gone off looking for Sky Stinger and left Cold Front… I mean…I went looking for Vapor Trail? Dreams are so hard to remember.”

Slowly the Captain covers his eyes, shaking his head.

Inhaling through his teeth the doctor let out a soft sigh, “Yeah.”

“Your voice, doesn’t sound, different to you?” The captain asks, lowering his hand a bit.

Thinking for a moment, Ed tilts his head and starts singing softly, “Oh, I’m the very model of a modern major general, I’ve information vegetable, animal and mineral.” Taking a deep breath, “Test, test, test, one two three.”

The Doctor did his best not to smirk, this is somewhat a serious matter after all, “Throat sore?”

“A little, but I’ll chock it up to the dryness, the gag and the change,” Ed says with a smile.

“Yeh, don’t try singing tenor,” The captain says with a soft chuckle, “We are doing everything we can to try and figure out what to do.”

“Captain, don’t endanger the boat for me. If you need to take drastic measures, I understand,” Ed says and sighs looking down, “There’s over 260 people on this boat, and the boat itself is worth a few dollars I guess. Don’t take risks or chances to help me.”

Narrowing his eyes, the Captain looked down, “Sailor, you are no different then any other crew member on this ship. You will receive the same treatment, no more, no less. You will make it through this. Hooves and all.”

Blinking Ed nods, “Yes sir.”

“Now, I’m going to have the quartermaster in here, we are going to need to fit you with some boots,” The Captain says firmly, “We’ll jerry ring something together probably using cloth and rubber from your old gear.”

“Huh?” Ed blinks, looking lost.

“Hooves, I do not want those hooves touching the deck. Too much risk of noise, so we need them, sheathed,”

Looking down, Ed blinks and nods, “Sure thing Cap. I’ll just lay here and try and keep as quiet as possible.”

“I’m serious, we are going to do everything we can to keep you safe and get you home,”