The attitude on the ship changed. There was obvious friction and disagreement, but many seemed cautiously hopeful. Pedro was far from the last pony we saw to, with others coming forward. One, a female earth pony, tearfully confessed, "My family has been hiding. Now I can see them. I was hoping they would... come over to us, but maybe this is better. Is it true? Do they live together in the Americas?"

We left her cleaned of taint and prime of form. Not being farmers, most of the ponies didn't care much for enlarged hooves and plant magic, instead preferring to be stronger, tougher, and generally good at soldiering, but they were happier afterwards. Despite the strength given to them, I felt they were less likely to apply that strength to innocent people.

Not all accepted the offer. Dust Kicker didn't, but not out of any stated malice. "The time isn't right. I won't turn in my chips until after your meeting. I still have some hope, however small, that it doesn't come down to what I fear it will... Go ahead and give it to anyone who wants it, but I don't want to hear about it being forced, or I will smash your horns like I did that unicorn."

I held up my hands quickly. "Woah there, we're not trying to force anyone, don't worry."

"I didn't think you were, or we'd already be wrestling." Dust Kicker turned away. "These men and women are my responsibility. They trust me to guide them right, and I'm going to do just that, even if the path gets filled with fog."

When we arrived, many of the sailors and soldiers departed immediately with discontent grumbling. Those that remained looked hopeful and eager. They kept alternating between Dust Kicker and me, waiting to hear what was coming next.

Dust raised a hoof. "Go out into the town, tell them what you've learned and gather up any volunteers. If she is reasonable, nothing will be lost, if not, I prefer to have all the backup we can get."

One of the other ponies helpfully translated, "Vá e pegue os seus amigos e dizer-lhes que vamos fazer uma nova era de paz!"

That didn't sound quite like Spanish. What did they speak down here? Whatever it was, they scattered out through the town with eager expressions, and new faces turned up through the day. They were timid, but excited. On seeing Dust Kicker they recoiled, but she called them forward and assured them they weren't being caught in some kind of sting.

After explaining what we were doing, about two-thirds of those recruited went full in, having the gift cleansed from them. Many of these people were not military, so their adjustments varied quite a bit, from a unicorn who wanted finer control to perform more accurate surgery, to a pegasus who just wanted warmer feathers for reasons she kept to herself. We tried to oblige each in kind, with Dusk acting as a backup when I needed a breather, bless his soul.

As the sun grew heavy, we had a little army, or at least a, what, batallion? About a hundred ponies milled around, talking excitedly in a confusing blur of languages. Sandra tilted her head a little. "I think it's Portuguese?"

As good a theory as any, not that any of us knew the language more than Spanish. Dust Kicker could communicate well enough with her friends, and they got the people ready for the journey. She looked over to me once she had the mob turned into an orderly form. "Are you ready? It's time to get to that meeting. For your sake, and for theirs, I hope this turns out well."

We marched out of the town, only to find a group of displeased military people, brandishing hoof-claws. "Vuelve a tu casa y quedarse allí. Eres todo bajo arresto por el motín."

Dust Kicker held up a hoof and stepped forward, shouting authoritatively, "Muévete del camino. Estamos en nuestro camino a la reina y que no vamos a detenernos."

The mob behind Dust Kicker began shouting in support as her remaining soldiers advanced, their own hoof-claws brandished and ready.

They were looking ready to come to blows, when I suddenly remembered a very important thing. They were still tainted with the gift, and still ponies. Both put them under my sway. I reached out for them and saw their presences, angry and red, filled with the will to fight. I pulled that anger away, turning them soft and peaceful blues. When I opened my eyes, they stood more placidly, the battle-fury drained from them, and Dust Kicker. The effect wasn't entirely missed on the cleaned people, but lessened, and they had enough energy to shove past the confused soldiers, unchallenged. We broke through and left the city, leaving for the showdown that may be the start of a something new, or the end. I wasn't sure which.

Cindy smiled as we went, "That was good thinking. But we should make sure Dust Kicker's alright."

Dusk shook his head. "I checked on her. She's fine, if a little woozy. She, er, kind of didn't like that, but she--"

Dust Kicker marched up behind Dusk, nudging him out of the way easily. "Don't do that again! We are not machines, to be controlled, even if it is 'for our own good'" She snorted softly, then thrust a hoof at us. "We should have taken care of them, even if it would have been bloody. They're going to send a report to the Queen and it won't be very pleasant."

She glanced around at the other people, most of which looked worried at her anger. She let out a slow breath. "Still, I suppose it's for the best, with all these untrained civilians with us. I still don't want to be 'turned off' like a VCR you're tired of dealing with." She spun away and marched off angrily.

We were on our way to the Queen.

Author's Notes:

That could have gone far worse, or better. Just think of all the translational typos! The horror.