Three months after the Emissarial Staff departed from New Humansville:

Artex crossed the word, 'Ethiopia' off his list as the Sky Carriage rocked to the right in the stiff headwind, "Who would have guessed that Amharic and Chinvelan had similar roots?" he asked the open air.

Razor Wit, Rose Thorn, and Oriana were on the big bed in the rear of the Carriage with the contents of a silk bag laid out, glittering on the blanket. The three mares were too busy to answer him, they were admiring the gifts that the Zebra mare's family had given her. Vaiawa smiled warmly at the trio and cast a subtle longing look at the golden, ruby studded leg band Artex had given Oriana not five days prior as an engagement present. He had waited until the people from Ethiopia had been settled in, before he had proposed to the young Zebra mare in front of her entire family. Her answer had been a resounding 'YES'.

"I doubt anybody could have guessed it. I am more glad that they knew how to swim." Vaiawa said smoothly.

Artex nodded as he sat down on one of the benches and scratched the ears of his ever growing Great Pig, Suey. Suey had grown substantially since their departure from New Humansville. The top of her shoulders were even with the bottom of Artex' ribs and she weighed more than all the official members of the Emissarial Staff combined. Nevertheless Artex loved Suey more like a daughter than a pet, "I guess not everybody has the same luck when they get dropped off in this world." He rolled up the parchment and stowed it in his shoulder bag, "If that village of Zebras hadn't been swimming when it happened... well twenty eight drowned people are better than the entire group. I just wish they hadn't been so distant from the capital. Heck, I'm not sure we were even needed here. They seemed to be doing well on their own."

Vaiawa snorted and turned her head to the side in embarrassment, "Speak for yourself my love, I still have an obligation to my own people. I had hoped for a warmer reception than I ended up receiving, but I suppose it is to be expected. I can only hope I helped make some inroads toward the Zebras accepting Changelings."

Artex stood up from his bench and walked over to the bed. He leaned over and kissed Vaiawa just above her twisted horn, "You did great, Vaiawa. I couldn't have done better myself."

Vaiawa giggled and looked up at the disfigured Human, "That's not saying much."

Artex smiled down at her, "I'm sure you'll get a warmer reception sooner or later."

* * *

Five months later, while investigating Humans in the Dragon Lands:

A gout of dragon fire blasted the ground behind the Emissarial Staff as they sprinted around pools of lava, "This," Vaiawa said breathlessly, "Is NOT the kind of warm reception I was hoping for!"

* * *

Two months later, in the deserts to the West of Aapoloosa:

Artex shook hands with Navajo Chief Hokee, "I hope we get to see some of you visiting New Humansville sometime in the future." The Emissary said with a smile, "The buffalo seem to like you well enough."

Chief Hokee lowered his hand, "They are most forgiving considering we killed and ate one of their elders."

Thunder Hooves, who was standing nearby, snorted, "There was little to forgive. We all must return to the dust and nourish the soil eventually... though being excreted through the bowels of an ape is probably not the way he wanted to do so. You honored him by using his remains to keep your people alive," his eyes roved over the skin of the former Buffalo that Hokee was wearing, "His death had meaning and he had gone off to return to the Great Herd. He accomplished his goal and you say he did not suffer. That is enough." Thunder Hooves turned and plodded away, "Wear him as a symbol. Let his remains be passed down through the generations so that future generations will be able to look upon him and see that even when there is tragedy, peace CAN triumph."

* * *

Two hours later:

Artex entered the Sky Carriage, threw his shoulder bag into the wooden bins by the door, walked to the back, and flopped down on the big bed he and his herd had become so familiar with. Oriana was the next to enter the Sky Carriage, she was followed by Razor Wit, Vaiawa, Suey though she could barely fit through the door due to her height and girth, and finally Rose Thorn brought up the rear and closed the door behind them.

The mares quickly laid down on the benches and held into the front and back edges with their hooves. The Pegasi team lifted the Sky Carriage into the air and banked right quickly. Artex, having flopped onto the bed instead of preparing for takeoff, rolled off the bed in a confused whirlwind of flailing arms and legs, "WAAH!" He hit the floor with a heavy thud, rolled into the hard wooden wall, and lay there groaning until the Pegasi leveled off into a straight line.

The mares let go of the edges of their benches and stood up. Rose looked over her shoulder as they all began removing their saddlebags, "Artex? Are you alright?"

"Groan."

Rose rolled her eyes, "You actually said the word, 'groan'?" She giggled, "Come on, your khopesh can't be comfortable to wear when you're laying down, and I want some snuggle time. It's getting on toward winter again, you know."

Razor Wit dropped her saddlebags into the wooden bins and sauntered over to her fiance as he picked himself up off the floor "Mmhmm, cold winter days where there's nothing to do except stay in bed... snuggling." She turned and flicked her tail at him, "I want to do more than snuggle, but I respect you enough to wait. Just think of what's waiting for you once we get married... eep!"

The tan Unicorn mare squeaked as her fiance picked her up in his arms and met her lips with his in an impassioned kiss. She whimpered and all but melted in his arms as their tongues danced. Her forehooves wrapped around the back of his head and pulled him further into the kiss. Without meaning to, Artex sat down on the edge of the bed and started lowering Razor toward the sheets.

"They're at it again!" Rose yelled from the front of the Carriage.

A green aura gently pulled the two lovers apart as Vaiawa hopped up onto the bed, "Really now, you two. I know that you said you want to wait till you're married Artex but your actions say otherwise. Just go get married already. I'm not going to keep separating you two every time this happens."

Artex sat up and laid his head back against the wooden wall at the head of the bed, "We can't." He said through gritted teeth, "Not until we're done making sure all the Humans are safe."

Oriana shook her head trotting over and hopping up onto the bed as well, "There's no way we CAN ensure that. Once we help them integrate, that's it, our job is done. At least until a major catastrophe occurs and we are called upon to intervene."

"You mean like what happened in the Diamondback Mountains, where you though the Dragons were eating those people from Narway..."

"Norway," Artex corrected her, "And don't pin that solely on me. We all thought that. How were we supposed to know they were just exercising?" He sat up gesturing with his hands, "I mean, who exercises with a Dragon in by jumping around on it, dodging its claws and teeth?"

Razor raised her head from where she lay on the bed, "I'm siding with Artex on this one, Rose. If I saw a Human wielding a huge axe and screaming while jumping around on a grown Dragon I'd think they were fighting too. And don't even try to say that you knew better. YOU'RE the one who shot at the Dragon and made it mad."

In response, Rose blew playful raspberries at her Unicorn sister/wife. Artex, Oriana, and Vaiawa all snickered at the antics of the Earth Pony and Unicorn. Artex laced his fingers behind his head, feeling much more at ease, "So, where are we going now? Did the Princess ever confirm that any Humans ended up in Yak-Yakistan?"

Because she had to take off her armor and safely remove her gun, Rose was the only member of the herd still at the front of the Sky Carriage where the Princess always left new messages about where reports of Humans were. Rose dropped the final piece of her armor into the wooden bins and reached into the slot where the messages were always left. Since their departure from New Humansville more than a year prior, the entire herd had fantasized about the day when they could reach into the message slot and find nothing. Finding nothing meant that they could go home and they were more than eager to do so.

Which was what led to a collective groan of disappointment when Rose held up another rolled up scroll, "So," she said holding the scroll aloft, "Who wants to do the honors?"

Artex held out his right hand, "I'll do it."

Rose tossed him the scroll then turned back to the bins so she could retrieve the food that was always stored there. Princess Celestia had begun leaving a single bottle of fine wine in the Carriage for the Emissarial Staff to enjoy after finishing each assignment. Rose was surprised to discover that instead of a single bottle, there were three, all of different types of wine and two bottles of hard liquor. Perplexed, Rose listened as Artex read the contents of the scroll out loud, "To the dedicated Emissarial Staff, there have been no reports of any new groups of Humans. In light of that fact, I have left you each something to enjoy to celebrate your success. Your Pegasi team is taking you back to New Humansville. Well done and thank you." Artex slowly lowered the scroll and let it fall onto the bed, "We're going home girls."

* * *

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_zceUd6ZrY

General Mitsoku Hiriboshi gripped the guard rail of the Observation Deck watching intently as The Event raged beyond the glass. The intercom set into the ceiling above his head crackled to life, "Commencing stabilization of The Event." The General watched as the fifty miles of highly modified magnetic hadron collider coils surrounding and holding The Event in place altered their frequencies slowly. The process would take months to complete, but the General felt that it would all be worth it in the end. The possibilities for uses of the device were nearly infinite. He licked his lips in anticipation. His request for troops had gone through and he was eagerly awaiting the ten thousand additional 'security personnel'. He wondered what the world would be like after he changed it. The facility would be his shaping tool and the world would never be the same. He knew that other nations would resist the changes, but he also knew that it would be for the best in the end.

The ends would always justify the means when the world was at stake, in his mind. He had seen conflict his whole life in one form or another. Conflict made people stronger. It killed off the weak while the strong survived. He ground his teeth thinking about the weakness that Humanity had allowed to take root. Mental illnesses, the retarded, the deformed, they were all weak to him. They needed to be put down. Humanity needed to be strong again. The weak held the world back from what it could accomplish. So many resources were wasted keeping the ill and infirm alive when those same resources could be used to further the sciences and knowledge. His opinion was firm as stone, 'Even I, when I am old and sick. I should be put down when I am no longer useful. I am no different than any other, except I can see what is wrong with the world today. I will make the world strong again.' a grim expression crossed his face, 'I will be the one to fix the world. They may hate me for a short while, but eventually they will see that I am right. We were meant to subdue our world and worlds beyond our solar system. We have planets filled to bursting with resources and we let it all go to waste. We could be so much more...' he stood up straight and adjusted his uniform, 'I will make us strong.'

Author's Notes:

And here it is, the final part of the Unity Pact saga.

I feel an explanation is in order. I completely lost the drive to complete the short stories I said I would write. For that I apologize to the readers who posted ideas for the short stories. The ideas are very good and I would like to see them done, but I feel that I am and will continue to be unable to write them. That may change in the future but I know myself and that insight grants me no opinions of success. I decided to instead get going on the third and final installment of the series. I hope all of my wonderful readers will be able to find it in their hearts to forgive me for my error in judgement. If anybody wants to tackle one of the story ideas listed in the blog, feel free to do so. Also, I wrote this world with the hopes that people will see all the possibilities and write their own stories within the world of T.U.P. I do not ask that those story ideas be passed by me, all I want is a certain level of continuity in regard to the main story-line.

The following is a quote from my fantastic editor in regard to Vaiawa separating Razor Wit and Artex:
(new profession: pre-marital intimacy propriety specialist. To ensure you and your herd maintain acceptable levels of intimacy until your big day! *not responsible for blue balls)