Stellar was the first to rise, as was her penchant. She teleported herself out from behind Thunderlane and appeared in the bathroom, where the flash didn't startle anyone. After using the facilities, she carefully made her way outside and looked about in the pre-dawn stillness. The town was still asleep all around her. The coolness of the night was yet to evaporate in the heat of the coming day, and Stellar could feel the land beneath her churn with mana. The mines had disrupted the flow a lot, but it still was there. She took to the air and flew over the area, seeking a point. Once she found it, Stellar landed amongst a park filled with machinery of a bygone area. The lines of power gathered in this place, Man's efforts having disrupted them but not beyond recovery; for fortunately they'd dug their mines and shafts between the lines instead of on top of them.

Finding the center under a slab of concrete that surrounded a monument to those fallen in war was a little bit of a surprise for Stellar, though. "Appropriate." She said to herself. "This is hallowed ground."

But she called her tome to her and a box of street chalk and, after consulting the Tome, she began to draw a big magic circle around the monument. It took her almost an hour to get the circle properly configured, then she stood to one side and pressed one hoof to the activation key. "Immanu astari ishal thu messari kenmal ist hodel shivan!" She shouted out as the sun breached the eastern horizon and the circle glowed brilliantly, Stellar bathing in its mana as the lines started charging up more powerfully than they had done in over a hundred years.

All through the city, the lines followed their ancient paths, the mana buried deep in the earth beneath them coming up and joining the ancient flows of magic through the land. Out past the mines and other trappings of the mortal world they flowed, out into the vast Outback.

Eventually, the circle faded and disappeared and the lines settled down again, but the results of Stellar's work were much in evidence. Trees had grown bigger, the withering grass was flourishing again and flowers in beds bloomed all over the city.

Smiling at her success, Stellar slid her tome away and took to the air again. The city flourished with green once again, proof for Stellar that, with the proper conditions and empowerment, the desert could bloom again. She returned to the hotel and began making breakfast. It had been too long since she had pancakes and this morning, she was not about to deny herself.

Miles away, Azure was resting after having some breakfast. He was still feeling a lot better after the roadside stop yesterday, and as he relaxed, he tried feeling for the pony he called 'The Big One'. He lit up the tip of his horn, feeling for her... and then he gasped as a wash of pure mana raced through him and the motorhome. His eyes glowed a brilliant white and his horn a brilliant blue as he floated up in the air.

"What the hell?" Came Moller's voice as he spotted what was happening to Azure.

"Pull over!" Durrach told Derrick, who did so. Cathy had woken up at the shouting, and gasped as she saw Azure floating inside the motorhome as they pulled over. She climbed down from the bed and moved to Azure.

"What the hell is happening?" Durrach asked.

"I don't know!" Cathy yelled back. "I've never seen this before." She gently reached out for him and, as she touched him, the power flowed into her and she gasped. Jerking her hand back, she looked at the men. "He's... he's super-charged with his magic." She explained.

"How did that happen?" Derrick asked.

"How should I know?" Cathy replied. Then Azure's eyes slowly faded and he was lowered to the couch. As he collapsed, Cathy went straight over and checked him again.

Azure blinked as she stroked him. "What happened?" He asked.

Cathy chuckled a little bit. "We were hoping you would know." She said. "Your eyes and horn were glowing brightly, you were floating in the air and your magic was... well, you were super-charged with it." She told Azure.

"I was?" Azure asked, then he closed his eyes, his horn lighting up as well. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Cathy. "My... my magic's fully-charged. It's never been fully-charged before." He told her. He closed his eyes again and this time, he scanned around the motorhome, to outside... and gasped. "Someone's just... there's a river of magic energy flowing outside."

"Can you tell where it's coming from?" Durrach asked.

"Maybe." Azure answered and concentrated harder. "I think... It's coming from behind us."

"Behind us?" Moller asked. "That's... that's Mount Isa!" He said.

Durrach frowned. "It has to be her. The one Allan calls the Big One." He stated. "She has to be in Mount Isa."

"Okay... so what do we do?" Moller asked.

Durrach thought for a minute. "We can't do anything in the city. Too many witnesses." He stated. "So we find somewhere to pull over and wait for a while. If they don't show up before Sunset, we'll head back into the town and look for them. "

"There's a roadhouse not too far up the road." Derrick informed them.

"That will do nicely." Durrach agreed. "Let's get moving."

Derrick started the motorhome up again and they carefully drove back out onto the highway. Five minutes later, they drove into the roadhouse and parked where they could watch the highway, yet stay hidden.

"I'm going to take a shower while I'm here." Cathy said, diving into her bags.

"Great idea." Moller agreed.

Durrach watched them, then nodded, sighing. "Yeah, good idea." He agreed. "We'll do a purge of our systems while we're here as well." He looked at Derrick. "Have they got the facilities for it?" He asked.

Derrick checked. "Yeah, they do." He answered.

Durrach nodded. "Okay. Moller, we'll get the purge underway, then you can go have a shower." He told Moller.

"Yeah, okay." Moller agreed, as Derrick started up again and drove around to where they could access the facilities.

Cathy went and checked the women's facilities and found the showers were empty. "Come on, Allan, while no-one's in there, we'll give you a wash, too." She said.

"Thank you." Azure replied, and as Cathy watched out, Azure raced across the tarmac and into the doorway. Cathy joined him and they went inside.

Moller chuckled. "Lucky little sod..." Then he sighed. "Then again, there's not much he could do, even if she wanted him to." He said to himself. Moller just shook his head and started hooking up the water tank in the motorhome, so they could flush it out.

Inside the women's showers, Cathy had chosen a stall that was as close to having the inside hidden from the other stalls as possible. She had a bag of towels with her, as well as some equine wash she'd picked up from a vet's office in Canberra. She let Azure get soaked first as she undressed, then moved into the shower with him. After several days without a wash, the shower was heaven. Azure, soaked to the skin, sat to one side and let Cathy get wet and wash herself off first. "Cathy, don't you have a birthday in a few days?" Azure asked her.

Cathy smiled at Azure. "Tomorrow, actually." She told Azure.

Azure nodded. "And how old will you be?" He asked.

"Twenty-five." Cathy answered.

Azure smiled. "The same as me." He told her.

"Really? I thought you were older." Cathy said as she shampooed her hair.

"Nope." Azure said. He looked at his cutie-mark, a crossed pen and magnifying glass. "Well, I'm ten days older than you, but that's all." He corrected himself.

Cathy nodded as she slid her head under the shower flow and washed her hair out. After she'd put conditioner through her hair and washed herself off, she got Azure to stand beside her as she crouched beside him and dribbled the equine shampoo over him, then rubbed it through his coat with her hands, making Azure croon with delight. She made sure she washed him all over, as the information she'd found on the Internet told her to do. After all, he was a pony, and the grooming information on miniature horses had been specific about what had to be cared for. Azure moaned as Cathy caressed his ears, making sure she cleaned them out properly. Azure did blush when she pulled his shaft out of his sheath and cleaned both of them, but once she'd rinsed them out, it did feel a lot better. "Thanks." He told Cathy.

She smiled. "No problem." Cathy replied. "The vet information said it was very important that your junk had to be kept clean, or infections could set in easily, especially for a pony that lives indoors."

"Right." Azure said. "So much to keep track of." He told Cathy.

"You've never had a pet before?" Cathy asked.

"Nope... well, we had fish when I was a kid, but nothing bigger." Azure admitted. "I was a city kid, born and bred."

Cathy chuckled. "We had a few dogs and one horse." She told Azure. "So I know a bit about grooming a pony, I suppose."

"Except I can talk back." Azure pointed out with a grin.

"Yeah, you can." Cathy agreed. "That just makes things a little easier." She finished cleaning him up and rinsing him off, then rinsed out her hair and squeezed her hair out. Once she was rinsed out completely, Cathy moved back into the stall area as Azure shook himself out, spraying water all over the shower stall.

Azure then frowned. "I wonder..." He said softly, then his horn lit up as he concentrated. While Cathy dried herself, all the water through his coat, mane and tail drifted out around him, then fell down onto the shower floor and down the drain. Now dry, Azure grinned as he quietly walked out, keeping his hoof-falls as silent as he could.

"Nice trick." Cathy told him as she finished drying herself off.

"This horn's got to be useful for more than just a pony-detector." Azure commented as Cathy started getting dressed again. Once she was dressed, she got out a pair of hand-brushes and started brushing him down.

"I wonder how hard it is for a pegasus to have to keep their wings clean?" Cathy asked. "It must be a long process."

"Yeah." Azure agreed. "Maybe I should invest in some of those rubber hoof-boots you showed me from that website." Azure commented.

"Might not be a bad idea." Cathy agreed as she rolled her dirty clothes up and put them in a cloth shopping bag she pulled out of one of her other bags, topped it off with a wet towel wrapped in a plastic shopping bag, then packed up. "Okay, I'll go and see if the coast is clear." She said softly.

Azure nodded and Cathy walked to the door to the showers, then looked out. She gestured to Azure, who trotted to the door and they slipped out together, with Azure racing across the tarmac to the motorhome and jumping in, while Cathy leisurely walked across and climbed in. Durrach and Derrick were missing, but Moller was waiting there. "How's it going?" She asked.

"Just filling the water tank now." Moller replied. "Once that's done, I'm going to fill us up, then park us. And then it's my turn for a shower." He grinned. "How's Allan?"

"Feeling a lot better." Cathy replied. "He was really starting to smell, so it's better for all of us that he's had a good, long shower."

"I bet we were starting to reek as well, especially for that nose he's got." Moller replied.

Cathy nodded. "I'll see what the shop they have here has in terms of fresh veges." She told Moller. "He should be in a lot better mood, now."

"Good." Moller replied. "We should all be in a better mood, now, especially after a shower." He grinned. "After six days of rolling around, chasing a false lead, then stumbling onto this lot, It is so good to get clean again."

"Yeah, sometimes our luck really amazes me, especially with the way Durrach was driving us." Cathy said. "But without Azure, we would still be chasing our tails, in his case quite literally."

Moller nodded as he watched the water gauge. "Durrach seems to have mellowed a little bit." He told Cathy. "The broomstick doesn't seem to be as deeply implanted as before."

"We can but hope it continues." Cathy said. "Okay, see you in a bit." She told Moller and walked off around the front of the station buildings.

Moller stayed there until the motorhome's water tank was filled, then he went inside. "How're doing, Allan?" He asked Azure, as the pony sat on the couch, munching on a carrot.

"A lot better, thanks." Azure replied. "It feels so good to be clean again! I am never going to take a shower for granted ever again, not with this coat." He told Moller as the ASIO agent sat down opposite him.

Moller chuckled. "I hear that." He said back. "I imagine it must have been nice, having someone else to scrub your back." He made the comment seem neutral and normal.

"I imagine ponies would bathe together naturally... or use very long-handled brushes." Azure agreed. "I could have done it myself with my magic, but having Cathy scrub me down made it a lot easier."

"Yeah. Unlike me, you really need the help." He said, sitting with Azure and gently stroking him, getting a nicker of pleasure from the unicorn. "Okay, I'm going to shift us, then go for my shower." He told Azure, moving up front and taking the driver's position. After moving the motorhome into a shady spot in the parking area, Moller grabbed his bag and left Azure alone there.

Azure sighed. He couldn't even call his family. Durrach had forbidden it, apart from ringing them to tell them he was going on a field mission that he couldn't really talk about. They knew what he did in the smallest sense, so they had accepted his story and wished him luck. He moved to the upper bed, lifted himself up to it and scrambled onto it, then he sat, his horn lit as he tried to figure out what else he could do with his magic.

Thunderlane rose that morning to find Stellar in the shower again, washing herself out. He joined her, sleepily walking in under the spray as Stellar nuzzled him in a morning caress. They kissed and snuggled as much as they could as Stellar lathered Thunderlane up, then they rinsed off together. Once dry, Stellar moved to the kitchenette and started making breakfast, while Thunderlane made sure everything was packed up, ready to shift out.

Rumble pounced his big brother as he worked. "G'Morning, Squirt." Thunderlane said, giving Rumble a big hug.

"G'Morning, Big Bro! Howizya?" Rumble asked.

"Doing okay, Little Dude." Thunderlane nuzzled Rumble lovingly. "Sleep well?" He asked.

Rumble thought about that. "I guess." He said. "Kinda hard to tell, since I was asleep for the whole sleeping thing."

Stellar giggled at that while Thunderlane chuckled. "Sounds like you slept well, Bro." He replied.

There was a knock at the door and Rumble answered it, to find the Twins there. "Good morning!" They chorused as they walked in.

"Good morning." Stellar replied, as the Twins gave Rumble a hug to him nickering with delight. Stellar was flipping pancakes out onto plates for everyone, four pans cooking at once with her magic handling them.

Everypony settled around the dining table after setting it and waited until Stellar was finished cooking. Five plates piled high with pancakes sailed through the air and landed before the ponies there, Stellar joining them after making sure everything was cleaned up, ready for them to pack up. After adding their favorite toppings, the five started in on their breakfasts. "Mmm! You're almost as good a cook as Flitter is, Stellar!" CloudChaser commented.

"Thanks, Chaser." Stellar said back. "Being on my own meant I learned to cook or starve. Either that, or grow fat on take-away food, which was NOT an option."

"Yeah, That would totally suck." Flitter and CloudChaser agreed.

After breakfast, packing took a lot less time than when they left Noosa, even after Stellar drove the Crewman up onto the trailer again and secured it. A clean-up within the two rooms made sure there weren't any traces of pony-fluff or anything that might show that it hadn't been humans who'd stayed there that night. "Everypony got everything?" Stellar asked all of the others as they double-checked.

"Everything's gone from here." Flitter said about the room she'd shared with CloudChaser.

"Same here." Said Rumble, as he was carried out on Thunderlane's back, grinning widely.

"Okay. everypony mount up, and I'll go settle our account." Stellar told them. As the others made themselves comfortable, Stellar walked around to the office upright, and handed the keys in after settling the bill. As Thunderlane drove up to the exit, Stellar waited and climbed in once he'd stopped, and then they were off again.

"Okay, remember that we need to stop at the yellow postbox." Stellar reminded Thunderlane.

Thunderlane nodded as they made their way through Mount Isa, being careful in the Sunday morning traffic. Thunderlane pulled up outside the little shopping center where the post office was and Stellar slid out, carrying her bag full of postpaks. She was sliding the last one into the postbox, when she felt a hand grab her tail. Looking down, Stellar saw a five-year-old girl with a hand wrapped around her long tail. Smiling at her, she said "Hello, Little One. Where did you come from?"

Then there came a voice from one of the open shops, as Stellar picked up the child. "I'm sorry. She's normally so shy of strangers." the woman, obviously the mother, said to Stellar.

Stellar chuckled. "I don't mind. If only everyone in our world was as friendly as your daughter is, the world would have a lot less troubles."

The woman nodded as Stellar gave the little girl a kiss on the cheek, then touched her with her horn with the tip lit up. "Thank you for being so understanding." The mother told Stellar.

"It's not hard, believe me." Stellar said. "Good-bye." Stellar said, giving the girl a big grin as she walked away. Reaching the Landcruiser, Stellar climbed into the driver's seat this time and they took off again.

"Shit! I almost had a heart attack when that girl grabbed your tail, instead of your leg, Stellar!" CloudChaser said as they got back into the traffic.

Stellar laughed. "Sometimes young children are a lot more perceptive of hidden things than adults are." She explained. "No harm done. And a nice way to end our stop in Mount Isa, too."

Flitter and CloudChaser nodded, as Thunderlane just smiled. "All right! the open road beckons." Stellar said as they turned onto the Barkly Highway, heading West. "And today, we will get to your home, girls."

The twins cheered at that, as they headed out of Mount Isa properly.

Azure was munching away on breakfast, as was everyone in the motorhome save for Moller who'd finished his already and was seated in the driver's seat, ready to move out. Then as Stellar's group left Mount Isa, Azure looked up, his horn-tip glowing. "She's on the move!" He told them all.

"Right." Durrach said, looking at Moller, who nodded and spun around, starting up the motorhome and moving through the service station to where he could sit, hidden from the road but ready to move out when the Landcruiser went past them. Everyone else finished their breakfast as quickly as they could, then rearranged themselves, Derrick in the shotgun seat, and Cathy and Durrach on the couch after folding up the table. Azure was above Moller and Derrick on the bed as he kept a magic eye out for Stellar's crew.

Twenty minutes later, Azure said "They're coming." And they saw the Landcruiser and trailer go sailing by. Seizing their chance, they pulled out almost right behind them and got up to speed as quickly as they could. "Okay, we're in position." Moller said.

"Good." Durrach said as he relaxed. "Now we just wait for an opportunity."

It was two hours later that Stellar started feeling uneasy as they sat at a set of roadworks, waiting for a truck to unload its load. They were stuck there for about ten minutes, then went on their way again. There was something she was feeling, a feeling of wrongness coming from behind them. As they moved along on the slightly-wobbly highway, Stellar noticed the big motorhome coming up behind them. She frowned as she scanned it. "Thunderlane... we've got company." She told him.

"Seriously?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yeah. we have four humans in the motorhome behind us... and one pony." Stellar said.

"A pony?" Thunderlane asked.

"Yeah, a unicorn, I think." Stellar informed him. "I think they might be the ones who've been following us."

"What are we going to do, then?" He asked.

"We could out-run them." Stellar pointed out. "But if they're using that unicorn to track us, then they'll just find us again."

"That's a real problem." Thunderlane agreed. "Any ideas?"

"I could go out there and confront them." Stellar suggested.

"They're probably armed." Thunderlane cautioned Stellar.

"So am I." Stellar replied, grinning. "And armored as well, remember?"

Thunderlane chuckled. "Yeah, I forgot." He acknowledged. "So, how do we do this?" He asked.

"We're going to swap over up ahead. I need you to take over driving. Then I'm going to teleport to the Crewman and get it off the trailer. I'll leave all the food and other stuff behind so it doesn't weigh down the ute and then you take the road to Katherine. I'm going to head down the other way, and I'm betting it's me they'll follow. I'll deal with them by myself." Stellar detailed for Thunderlane.

"Why not here and now?" He asked.

Stellar shook her head. "I don't want to block the road here, after those roadworks. Plus there's a bit too much traffic at the moment. Most of them will go north, with you, but very few will head south from the turn-off. I can take them on in isolation."

Thunderlane nodded. "You will catch up, won't you?" He asked.

Stellar grinned. "Of course." She confidently told him.

Thunderlane nodded. "Okay." He said. "When do you want to do this?"

"We can swap over up ahead at that service station, just outside of Tablelands." Stellar said. "I won't get the ute off until we're close to the turnoff, that way they can't prepare for the shift in the game." Stellar grinned.

"Good idea." Thunderlane agreed. "And the rest?"

"In about an hour's time, just before we hit Route 87. You go north, I'll go south, and they'll follow me if I'm right about how they're tracking us." Stellar told Thunderlane.

Thunderlane looked at her. "Do you really want to do this?" He asked.

"We can't let them follow us to the Twins' home." Stellar said. "So we'll disable them and I'll send them elsewhere, and the pony we'll bring with us."

"Okay." Thunderlane relented. He could see the sense in Stellar's plan.

"Now... all we have to do is be patient and keep moving." Stellar said confidently.

Moller was driving as the motorhome followed the Landcruiser along. Then, before they reached the small town of Tablelands, they pulled off into a service station. Moller passed the station and pulled over a little ways up the road, making sure they could see the station from the back window.

"What's happened?" Durrach asked.

"They pulled over." Moller said, as he got up and motioned Derrick to take the driver's seat. "Looks like they're swapping drivers, so we're doing the same."

"Okay." Durrach said. "Allan, can you feel anything from them?" He asked Azure.

Azure popped his head down, looking into the cab upside down. "Not really. They're not casting any magic or anything." He answered.

Durrach thought about this. "Maybe it's just a driver change. But watch them. If they divert from their route, then we'll close on them."

"Rojer that." Derrick said, as he took over driving as they waited.

Ten minutes later, Derrick slowly pulled out behind the Landcruiser as it drove past them. "Here we go." He said to Moller.

"And they're right behind us again." Stellar said to Thunderlane. "As expected."

Thunderlane chuckled. "You really called them." He said. "I bet they don't even realise they're facing down ex-cops.”

“I’d not even put a wager on that.” Stellar replied. “They’ve got no idea who they’re facing at all... which could kill the theory your mother called them in.” She suggested.

“You might be right there.” Thunderlane agreed. “Maybe they came across us while chasing down another lead?”

“That’s more likely at this stage.” Stellar was looking back over her shoulder through the cargo barrier, as Rumble looked up at her from the tablet comp he was using. “Heya Little Bro.” Stellar said to Rumble with a smile.

“Heya Big Sis. What’s happening?” He asked.

“Just got to take care of some business.” Stellar told him. “We might be getting another pony out of it.”

“Really?” Rumble looked really interested now. “Someone like me?”

Stellar chuckled as the Twins, who’d started taking notice as well, looked up from their laptops and started tickling him, making Rumble squeal and wriggle. “Enough.” Stellar said to them. “No, I don’t think they’re a foal, Rumble. Sorry.” She said.

“Ah, poot.” Rumble said back as the Twins giggled.

Stellar giggled a little as well. “I’ll have to step out for a while, after we drive on for a while. So stay tight and don’t give your brother any arguments or distract him, okay?”

“Okay.” Rumble confirmed.

Stellar nodded, then turned back around, making a headset appear with her in the front seat. “I’ll stay in contact with you though this.” She told Thunderlane. “It’s VHF radio, so they shouldn’t have a set that can listen into them.”

“Good idea.” Thunderlane agreed. He let Stellar slide the headset in place over his right ear, leaving his left free to listen to the others. She put the rest on his back, tucked into a wing.

“My set’s built into my armor and I’ll be wearing that, so you should be able to hear what’s going on.” She told Thunderlane.

Thunderlane nodded. “Now, we wait.”

The two groups continued on for nearly an hour, until they were twenty minutes away from the major turnoff onto route 87. Derrick had been driving since Tablelands but was still quite sharp. There wasn’t that much traffic on this Sunday morning, which suited him just fine. Then Azure snapped his head up and turned around. “What is it?” Durrach asked, as he’d been the first to notice.

“The Big One. She just cast a major spell!” Azure told them.

Up ahead, Stellar had looked at Thunderlane and nodded, then turned to the others. “See you in a bit, ponies!” Stellar said, then she teleported out of the Landcruiser after scrunching herself up into as tight a ball as she could.

Back in the Crewman, Stellar appeared in a flash of light in the back seat. Orientating herself, she slid across into the front carefully and took up a position behind the steering wheel. She checked everything out around her as she buckled up and started the engine. This was going to be a complicated teleport. She’d have to take the ute out from under everything in it’s tray and drop it carefully onto the trailer’s bed, then secure it properly, while landing the Crewman on the road behind the trailer. Once that was done, then she’d have to take off around the ‘Cruiser and draw the motorhome away from the others.

Stellar closed her eyes, her horn glowing brightly as she positioned everything in readiness for the transfer. “Okay, Thunderlane, countdown in Ten...”

“Nine.” Thunderlane said back.

“Eight!” Rumble butted in.

“Seven!” yelled CloudChaser.

“Six!” Flitter said.

“Five!” Stellar told them all.

“Four!” Rumble said in order.

“Three!” Cloudchaser got in.

“Two!” Flitter followed her sister.

“One!” Thunderlane counted down.

“Go!” And the Crewman disappeared from the world.

Azure’s eyes widened as he felt Stellar teleport the entire Crewman off the trailer. “She’s doing it again!” He yelled out.

“Doing what?” Durrach asked.

“Shit! Another car’s just appeared on the road!” Moller said from the shotgun seat.

“Appeared?” Durrach asked.

“Yeah! Just appeared from nowhere!” Moller confirmed.

“No! It was on the trailer!” Azure stated. “And She’s in it!”

Ahead of the Crewman, the car cover it had been under tightened down onto the trailer and ratchet straps grabbed the load under it, tying it down tight, as Stellar orientated herself to drive. Once the load was safe, Stellar grinned and planted her hoof, shooting forward and racing around the Landcruiser, heading down the road really quickly. “Okay, Boys, let’s race!” Stellar said with a cheeky grin.

Durrach’s eyes blinked in surprise. It was the last thing he expected. “She’s in that?” He asked Azure.

“Yes!” Azure stated. “And she’s getting away!”

“Not if I can help it!” Derrick yelled, and he planted his foot as the Landcruiser slowed and pulled into a small passing lane. The heavy motorhome was no racer, but it managed to pull past the Landcruiser and head after the Crewman without hesitating.

“Why the hell did she make a break for it?” Durrach asked.

“She must know we’re after her.” Azure told Durrach what he felt.

Durrach nodded. “Follow her.” He said to Derrick. “Forget the others. They’re superfluous to this.”

“Rojer that.” Derrick said as he chased after Stellar.

Thunderlane breathed a sigh of relief as the motorhome raced past without so much as twitching towards them. “Stellar was right, again.” He said.

Rumble hopped over into the front seat and buckled in. “So what now, Bro?”

“Simple, Little Dude.” Thunderlane replied. “We go visit Uncle Mark and Aunty Cecelia, as planned.”

There were cheers from the back seat as Thunderlane drove on.

Stellar watched as the motorhome kept up with her Crewman as they raced along. She knew the interchange between the Barkly Highway and Route 87 was a wide bit of road, but she’d have to slow down a fair bit. Something the size of the Motorhome would have to slow down a lot more, of course. And she had an unfair advantage...

Derrick was tracking Stellar’s moves as she roared down the highway. “Damn! She’s good.” He told Durrach. “She’s no ordinary driver, Durrach! She’s had training, specialist training.”

“Damn. Nothing’s ever easy.” Durrach said as he held on.

“She’s about to run out of highway.” Moller said. “There’s only left or right up ahead. What do you want to do?” He asked.

Durrach frowned and looked at the options. “She’ll break left.” He said.

Moller looked at him. “You sure?” He asked.

Durrach nodded. “Left.” He reiterated.

Derrick nodded, and turned his attention fully back to his driving.

Stellar was watching them as they chased her. They were professional, she could tell, but they were handicapped by a vehicle that wasn’t the best thing for a pursuit. They were doing well, however, she had to admit, but there was one thing she’d gleaned from how they were doing: They’d never actually taken part in a proper, unscheduled, uncoordinated road pursuit before. Stellar, as Jessie, had had over a dozen of them under her belt, and a lot of experience deciphering how the other driver was thinking.

She feinted, moving towards the center of the road, as if she was going to turn right, but saw the driver wasn’t falling for it. He was sure she was going to go left, she could see it in how he was setting himself up to take the turn. Stellar nodded. “Okay... you’re certain I’m going to go left. Let’s see what happens when I don’t.” She said to herself.

“Hold on, everybody! Strap yourselves in!” Moller said, as Durrach dropped into the couch beside Cathy and did his belt up. Azure was held tight by the straps on the bed, watching from his position through the little front window.

“Come on! Break left...” Derrick was saying under his breath.

Azure then yelled “She’s casting again!”

Then they reached the intersection. Stellar’s magic was under her Crewman, holding it to the road as she feinted left, she then swung the wheel to the right as she braked hard.

The motorhome, ready to head left, couldn’t turn anywhere near as sharply as it slowed to avoid hitting Stellar’s ute, and made the left turn perfectly as intended... but with Stellar now behind them.

Stellar swung the back of the Crewman around, her hoof flat to the floor as she spun the ute and then straightened up again, her magic maintaining precise control of her Crewman as it started heading right for the back of the accelerating motorhome. She stayed right with it as they headed south, Stellar grinning as her magic faded again. “Damn! I love being an alicorn!” She said to herself as she waited for them to spot her...

“Where did she go?” Durrach asked as they looked about.

“She’s not up here!” Moller replied.

Then Azure looked up and out the back window through the door to the back bedroom. “She’s behind us!” He yelled, pointing.

“Behind us?” Durrach asked.

Then Derrick laughed. “I told you she had special training!” He reminded them. “She must have turned right around and came up behind us! That’s a police move if I ever saw one!”

“She’s had police driving training?” Cathy asked.

“We’re dealing with a cop?” Durrach asked.

“Sure looks like it.” Moller said as the motorhome shifted one way, and Stellar floored it again, racing past on their inside.

"Okay, Guys! Catch me if you can!" Stellar said before she kept them pursuing her for almost fifteen minutes, then she slowed, letting them catch up with her as she turned the ute around in a one-eighty, to face them. The motorhome nearly cooked its brakes, but it managed to stop within a few metres of the ute.

Stellar teleported out again, behind the ute, as her white-and-gold armor wrapped around her.

Durrach grabbed his trank-pistol and reloads, as Moller and Derrick grabbed their taser pistols. They barrelled out of the motorhome onto the road as Stellar came out from behind her ute and faced them. “Put your guns on the ground where I can see them, and get on your knees, hands behind your heads!" Stellar yelled at them, her horn lit up brilliantly as her police training showed through.

The sight of Stellar’s armor confused the two ASIO agents for a moment, but Durrach didn’t hesitate. He fired a dart straight at Stellar, which bounced off her armor. Stellar and the agents looked at the bent dart as it bounced once and lay on the ground. “Really?” Stellar then asked.

“Fire!” Durrach said, and the ASIO agents raised their tasers as Durrach made to reload his trank-pistol. Stellar then grinned as they aimed at her and fired. She quickly opened her wings and caught the taser darts in her wing-covers. Calling forth her control of lightning as the pair pulled the triggers, the tasers’ electrical current flowed through into her wings and was held there, sparks lighting them up as she drained their batteries.

Stellar grinned, far more powerful lightning flowing into her wings as she powered them up. “Here’s it right back atcha!” She said, as the wires conducted far more kilowatts of electrical power right down them and into the hand units. Moller and Derrick just managed to let go before the tasers burst into flames and were cooked.

Durrach didn’t hesitate for long. As Stellar flicked the taser darts off her wing-covers, he dropped the dart gun, pulled his automatic out and fired on Stellar. Azure screamed from inside the motorhome as the bullets hit Stellar’s armored peytral-plate... and were crushed, dropping to the ground after that. Cathy managed to restrain Azure as Durrach ran out of bullets, and Stellar whipped his pistol out of his hand before he could get a new magazine into it.

“Now...” Stellar then said, her voice amplified by the helmet, “Having gotten the formalities out of the way, identify yourselves.” She ordered them.

Durrach snorted. “Surrender yourself. You’re out-numbered and we're taking you in.” He said back in a commanding voice.

Stellar’s faceplate opened and her visor raised. She had a huge grin on her face. “Are you joking?” She asked him. “Your weapons are useless against me, and I could cut you up into little pieces for the goannas to eat, and no-one would ever find your bodies... if I was so inclined.” She told them. “Or I could simply disable your vehicle and let you try and walk out. You know how long you’d last. Now, be civil and identify yourselves.” Stellar said again, remaining patient with them.

“I’m Agent Moller, this is Agent Derrick. We’re both ASIO.” Moller said.

“And this big moron?” Stellar asked, indicating Durrach, who remained quiet.

“He’s a Yank, either CIA or NSA, we think.” Derrick answered.

Stellar nodded. “And the other two?”

Cathy came out at that point, leading Azure. “I’m Cathy Owens, ASIO. This used to be my partner, Allan Kellerman.”

“I go by Azure Tracks, now.” Azure said, a little stunned by Stellar's imposing figure.

Stellar nodded. “Come here, little one.” She said to him in a soft voice. Azure looked up at Cathy, then moved forward, trotting past the others to Stellar, and she looked down at him. “I am Princess Stellar Light Sparkle, my little pony. I give you a proper welcome.” Stellar told Azure, whose eyes went wide as Stellar dropped her head and nuzzled him gently.

“Prin...cess?” Azure asked. Then, at her touch, he remembered...

He’d found himself with his wife, Vanilla Delight, trying to get out of Canterlot after Discord had landed there and an enormous battle had been fought. They’d managed to get past the castle site and were heading for the million stairs, the only other way down from Canterlot besides the railroad, when he’d heard something moving behind him. As they reached the old tunnel, Azure opened the gate for Vanilla and once she was inside, he told her “Go! I’ll catch up in a minute!”

“Love you!” Vanilla had said as she kissed him once, then she was gone, racing down the old tunnel, as Azure headed away from the gate. He’d barely gotten fifty pony-lengths away when a hand snaked down and grabbed him. Yelling at the top of his lungs, Azure found himself facing Discord’s frowning countenance.

“Well, well... what do we have here?” Discord asked. “A lone survivor, trying to get out? Or a troublemaking unicorn, trying to get in?”

“Please!” Azure begged. “I was looking for my wife! I think she was in here when you... did all this.”

Discord frowned. “A pity. She’s probably elsewhere right now, so I’ll send you to join her.” He told Azure. “For five score, divided by four...”

Azure snapped back to the roadside scene again, where Stellar was in front of him. He looked up into her big eyes and nearly broke down in tears.

“You remembered, didn’t you?” Stellar asked him.

Azure just nodded and moved to Stellar, as she gently hugged him with a wing while tears ran through his cheek-fur. “I remembered... Discord... and my wife, Vanilla...” He said, as she gently nuzzled him.

Durrach was about to try and jump them both, when Stellar’s horn lit up a brillant white and Durrach vanished in a white blaze. Moller and Derrick backed away, as she looked up at them both. “Don’t worry.” She told them. “I just sent him somewhere safe, away from here.” Stellar explained. “Is there anywhere you’d rather be than be here?” She asked them.

As Cathy moved to Azure, Moller and Derrick looked at each other, then back at the motorhome. “Do you think...?” Derrick asked.

“I... wouldn’t risk it.” Moller answered.

“Yeah, good idea.” Derrick agreed.

“Where can you send us?” Moller asked.

“How about Noosa?” Stellar suggested.

That brightened them up. “Sounds good to us.” They agreed.

“Okay then. Get your bags and get out here.” Stellar said. "Drop the moron's bags outside, too, and I'll send them to him." She added.

Cathy watched the boys get back into the motorhome, then looked at Azure, who was standing in front of Stellar. "And what about me, your Highness?" Cathy asked.

Stellar walked up to Cathy and gently touched Cathy's forehead with her horn. Cathy felt a wash of soft magic flow though her, and it made her feel... far better than she'd ever felt before. Stellar frowned. "You've been touched by magic before." She stated to Cathy, who just nodded in surprise. Stellar did a little more scanning, then told her. "You're coming with Azure and myself. Get your things." She told Cathy.

"Um, okay." Cathy replied as Azure smiled and nodded to her. She waited until Moller and Derrick were out with their bags and then she climbed in. The two male agents dropped Durrach's bags beside the motorhome, and Stellar made them vanish as well.

"Okay, boys! I'm going to drop you into a park close to the city center. Enjoy your holiday." Stellar told them as her horn lit up again, and they vanished.

Azure shook his head in amazement, as he looked up at Stellar. "You do that so easily! I can hardly do anything with my horn."

Stellar smiled down at him. "That's because Discord made you forget your magic." She explained. "I'll give you a booster lesson when we get to our destination."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Azure replied.

Stellar nuzzled him again, making Azure nicker. "Easy with the Highness title, Azure. To my friends, I am Stellar. Now, do you have any bags in there?" She asked.

"Uh, Cathy was taking care of my things." Azure explained, as Cathy dumped some bags out the motorhome door. Stellar levitated them over, as Azure watched. He tried himself, grinning as he lifted several of the smaller bags over to them. "Hey! I can do it!" He told Stellar.

"Of course you can." Stellar said. "You're a unicorn." She pointed out, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe.

Azure looked up at Stellar, who smiled down at him. Then he looked back at the bags around him. "I CAN do it!" He said with renewed confidence as he looked up. Then his horn lit up and the blue light of his magic wrapped around the broken motorhome. Stellar's eyes widened as the motorhome creaked, groaned, but lifted off the road... about five inches. Smiling, she lent her aid and pushed it off the road to one side. As Azure strained, Stellar gently nudged him, and he put it down very gently. Then Azure, panting hard, grinned as he looked up at what he'd done.

"Very good, Azure." Stellar said. "But aren't you forgetting someone?"

Azure blinked, then gasped. "Cathy!" He called out. But before he could go racing across, a pair of arms grabbed and hugged him. "Cathy?" Azure asked, as he looked up into her smiling face.

Cathy kissed Azure's cute nose. "That was amazing!" She told Azure. "I knew you had real power, but that was incredible!"

Azure blushed then, a bright purple. "It wasn't that good..." He said modestly.

Stellar laughed. "Actually, that was a huge lift for an ordinary unicorn." She admitted. "But then, I perceive you're so charged up, you could do that huge lift... with a bit of effort."

"That was thanks to you, Pri... Stellar." Azure said "Whatever you did this morning charged me up to capacity."

"Really? You felt that?" Stellar asked, as she picked up some of the bags again and headed for the Crewman.

Azure nodded as he also picked up some of the bags, Cathy following with the last two. "It washed over me and charged me more than any time since I changed." He told her. "I've never felt so much magic energy in my life."

"The energy is called mana." Stellar explained to Azure. "All ponies can channel it and use it in different ways. As an alicorn, I can use it in all the different ways ponies can do so, and a few none of them can."

"So they call your type of pony an alicorn?" Cathy asked.

Stellar smiled and nodded at Cathy. "That's right. We have the form and the powers of all of the other three pony tribes." She explained further as she put their bags in the back of the Crewman. Azure did the same and Stellar stowed Cathy's bags, as Stellar said "Azure, you're in the back. Cathy, if you'd like to take the passenger seat."

"Okay." Cathy said, as she opened the back door for Azure, then climbed in the front herself, while Stellar retracted her armor and climbed in, still wearing her peytral and helmet, though.

As she started up the Crewman again, Stellar tapped the radio-activation switch on the underside of her helmet's cheekguard. "Princess to Wonderbolt. Come in, Wonderbolt; Over." She said.

"Wonderbolt to Princess, reading you five-by-five; Over." Thunderlane's voice sounded in Stellar's ears.

Stellar started up the highway, chasing her friends. "Wonderbolt, Sitrep is stable. Threat neutralised, aquaintances sent home, friends with me now. We should reach you by the time we pass Daly Waters; Over."

"Rojer that, Princess. Can't wait to see you in my rear-view mirror again. Will you be boarding us again? Over." Thunderlane asked.

"Negative, Wonderbolt. Won't be enough room in the 'Cruiser with my two passengers. We'll follow you home; Over." Stellar answered.

"Two passengers? Over." Thunderlane asked.

"Pony and friend; Over." Stellar replied.

"Rojer that." Thunderlane said back. "Will see you when we see you. Wonderbolt, out."

Stellar grinned as they headed up the Route 87, Stellar giving the Crewman a real dose of speed since the highway had no speed limit on this section. Azure's eyes widened as they passed two hundred KPH and kept climbing.

"Well?" Three voices sounded off at Thunderlane as he relaxed.

Thunderlane chucked. "Everything went as planned." He told them.

There were cheers as the others celebrated their success. "So, when is Stellar returning?" Rumble asked.

"She's heading our way now, Squirt." Thunderlane answered Rumble. "But she's going to be driving all the way Home behind us. She's got company."

"Oh?" Rumble asked.

Thunderlane nodded. "Yeah. The pony that was with the ones following us, and a friend."

Rumble nodded in reply. "Okay." He said, then sat up straight.

Thunderlane smiled widely. He couldn't go as fast as Stellar could, not towing the trailer. It wasn't stable enough for really quick travelling, so he held it at One-fifty KPH.

It took fifty minutes for Stellar to catch up to Thunderlane, but she slowed and stayed behind the Landcruiser as they headed up Route 87. "Heya Thunderlane. I'm atcha back door here." Stellar said to him over the radio.

"Glad to see you again, Stellar. I was wondering what kept you." Thunderlane replied.

"Had to do a run around a road train." Stellar replied. "He's about fifty klicks back and pretty much running at your pace, so he won't be catching us anytime soon."

"Good. we've got about another fifty minutes to go before we turn off." Thunderlane informed Stellar.

"Be glad to get there, to be honest." Stellar said with relief. "We've got a lot of things to plan and discuss."

"Yeah, it'll be nice not to have to keep running for a while." Thunderlane agreed. "Talk to you again when we get there." He added.

"Rojer that, partner." Stellar replied, chuckling as she signed off.

Cathy looked at Stellar. "So... you really were a cop before you changed?" She asked.

Stellar glanced at Cathy with a smile, then nodded. "Yep. Both Thunderlane and myself were Brisbane-based Q.P.S." She answered. "Did it show?" She asked.

Cathy laughed. "Moller and Derrick were so surprised when you ran rings around them." She told Stellar. "That manoeuver you pulled off at the intersection... Durrach was completely bamboozled."

"Good." Stellar said, grinning. "That was the whole idea." Then she asked "Were you after us the whole time? Or did you find us by accident?"

"Honestly?" Cathy asked back. "We found you completely by accident in Longreach. We had been there chasing up a lead about a cadre of ponies stashed somewhere around there, but we couldn't find it. Then Azure picked you guys up with his magic and we followed you instead."

Stellar nodded, her face more serious this time. "What did the American want with us?" She asked.

"Well..." Cathy began, "We were originally rounding up Ponies to put them in quarantine; standard isolation measures. Then Durrach and his subordinates arrived with credentials and orders saying that all ponies had to be shipped back to America. Our bosses were sceptical, since they felt he was out of his jurisdiction." She explained. "So while they waited on confirmation from the U.S. as well as orders from the government, they fobbed him off on us to find that supposed cache. Then you showed up. He was absolutely determined to get his hands on you, Stellar. You were, like, the Holy Grail of his search."

"It's because you're an alicorn." Azure said. "Durrach said they'd seen others there, but they'd escaped. But he saw you as a potential easy target for capture."

"Yeah, more fool be him." Cathy added. "Where did you get that armor from?" She asked.

Stellar chuckled. "It came with me from back home." She told Cathy.

"What?" Azure asked. "You've got things from... wherever we came from?"

"Our homeland is known as Equestria, Azure." Stellar informed him. "Have you ever seen 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'?" She asked.

Azure looked a little confused, but Cathy looked startled. "Wait! Wait! Wait... you mean to say, that cartoon series is real?" She asked in a shocked voice.

"About eighty-five percent of it is very accurate." Stellar revealed to them. "I think the show's idea actually came from one of us who was still human at the time; probably still a kid and thought it was her dreams." Stellar explained.

"So... what happened? How did you all end up here?" Cathy asked.

"Well, it went like this..." Stellar started to lay it out for them...

Thunderlane turned off down a private road once they'd passed Daly Waters, Rumble opening the various gates they went through as they came to them. After driving nearly another two hours, Thunderlane looked around at the Twins in the back seat. "Okay Flitter, we're nearly at your parents' place. Maybe now's a good time to call them." He suggested.

Flitter nodded. "Yeah, good idea." She said. Her cellphone was waiting in her lap, so she brought up their number and called...

Cecelia had been a little anxious for the last two days, waiting to find out what was going on. So when their phone rang and it was Sarah's number, she almost yanked the handset off it's stand. "Sarah?" She asked.

"Heya, Mum. Sorry to have kept you waiting." Flitter said.

Mark looked into the room as Cecelia breathed a sigh of relief. "It's okay, Honey. I've just been a bit worried."

The Twins tittered a little. "A bit, mum? I hope you haven't dug a new hole in the carpet pacing again."

"Hush. I never did anything of the sort." Cecelia scolded Flitter, but the smile on her face was a sign of tension relief. "So, how far are you from us now?"

"About ten minutes." Thunderlane replied.

"Is that Curtis?" Cecelia asked. "How are you, Friday?" Cecelia used her nickname for him.

"Doing okay, Aunty. We'll explain what's going on when we get there." Thunderlane replied.

"Good enough." Cecelia replied to him, as Flitter turned the hands-free off and put the phone near her ear. "So, any clues for us yet, Honey?" She asked Flitter.

"Well... have you seen the papers that talked about people turning into ponies?" Flitter asked.

"Yes, we saw a couple of them..." Then it clicked for certain in Cecelia's mind. "That's what's happened to you, hasn't it?" She asked, looking worriedly at Mark.

"Well, yes. But the papers have a few things wrong, Mum." Flitter started to inform her parents.

"Wrong? Like what?" Cecelia asked, as Mark got close enough to hear what was being said.

"Okay. For starters, this is NOT contagious in any way." Flitter explained. "You can't catch it, it can't be transmitted, because it isn't a disease or a plague. It's something else entirely."

Cecelia looked at Mark and both breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, so what is it, then?" Mark asked.

"It'll be easier to show you, believe me." Flitter replied. "But everyone that's with us, with one exception, are ponies now. Oh, we're bringing a lot of our own supplies, so don't worry about running out of stuff just yet." Flitter added.

Cecelia chuckled. "That's very good of you, Sarah. I'm glad to see one of you has their head screwed on straight."

"That's Stellar for you." Flitter commented. "You knew her better as Jessie, Mum. But we've all got new names now, too. We'll explain why when we've all settled down again and can talk properly."

"Very well, then. we'll be waiting for you when you get here, Sarah Honey. Don't keep us waiting too long." Cecelia told her.

"Don't worry, mum. we're almost there." Flitter said. "We're just... Owch! Going over the last cattle-grid now."

Cecelia and Mark laughed. "See you in five, then." Mark told Sarah as he headed for the front door.

"Yes. See you then, Honey." Cecelia replied.

"Bye Mum, Dad." Flitter said before she disconnected.

Cecelia joined Mark on the wide verandah out the front as they watched the drive. They could see a plume of dust coming down the road quickly, one thrown up by two cars, they could tell from past experience. As the convoy slowed, they saw Curtis' Landcruiser coming into the yard, followed by a Crewman trayback, like one they owned. Both cars pulled up before the house and stopped rolling. "Here we go." Mark said to Cecelia, as the doors opened.

But both were surprised by a little pony with wings that literally flew out of the front seat of the Landcruiser and headed straight at them, shouting "Aunty! Uncle!", then hugged Cecelia while hovering in mid-air. He dropped his hind hoofs to the railing and hugged Mark as well.

Then they saw all of them. Out of the driver's side of the 'Cruiser came a big black stallion, and two light-purple mares climbed out of the back, all three with wings. Out of the Crewman climbed a bigger darker-purple mare with a long horn and wings, as well as a blue stallion with a horn and a human female. Almost all of them waved and proceeded to head for the house.

Mark still had his arms full of pony, who was nuzzling him gently. "Okay... so you are?" He asked.

"I'm Rumble." Rumble answered. "But you used to know me as Rusty."

That got a massive look of disbelief from them both. "Ru... Rusty?" Cecelia asked, now really shocked hard.

"Uh-huh." Rumble nodded.

"But... how old are you, now?" Mark asked.

"I'm ten." Rumble said truthfully. "But I still have all of Rusty's memories about being twenty-five." He informed Mark and Cecelia.

Mark lifted Rumble off the railing and put him down on the verandah deck. "Okay, this can't be a normal disease, like you said. Because diseases don't make you grow young again."

"That's right." Stellar said as she walked with the others up the front stairs. "What this is, is the culmination of a magic curse. And the reason you just can't be turned into a pony is that you have to have been a pony before, in order to change back into one." She informed them.

Cecelia and Mark looked at each other. "Okay, okay... so, who amongst you are our daughters?" Cecelia asked. "I take it it's you two?" She pointed to the twin mares.

Flitter and CloudChaser nodded. "I'm Sarah." Flitter responded to their enquiry. "And this is Sharrah." She gestured to her sis.

"And you go by different names now?" Mark asked.

The Twins nodded. "Yeah, Mum, Dad. We have pony names as well, the same ones we had before we got sent here."

"Before we get stuck talking explanations," Cecelia then butted in, "I think we should welcome our true guests." She moved to Cathy, holding out her hands. "Welcome to Deep Waters, my dear." She said to the younger woman.

"Thank you." Cathy said. "I'm Cathy Owens, and this is Allan, or Azure Tracks."

"Hello" Azure said, sitting down and holding up a fore-hoof.

Mark took the hoof and shook it gently. "You're welcome too, Son. Sit down in the shade and take a weight off your... hoofs."

"Thanks, don't mind if I do." Azure said, and walked over to a deck lounge and jumped up onto it, settling himself, as Cathy moved to sit beside him.

Author's Notes:

Chapter Six, and Stellar gets to show off her driving skills, as well as deal with those following them.
Azure remembers who he is, finally, and starts to come to terms with himself as a pony.
And we get to meet Flitter and CloudChaser's human parents and their well-out-of-the-way home...