The sun was behind the house at that time of day, so they all sat out on the verandah and talked. After a long and involved conversation, in which Stellar introduced Mark and Cecelia to magic by teleporting the esky with the cold drinks to the group, Mark and Cecelia were convinced of the veracity of their children, nephews and guests. "So... what's your plans now?" Mark asked Stellar.

"My mission here on Earth is clear: I'm supposed to find ponies in the worst places on earth and get them to safety." Stellar explained to Mark. "We know there are others who need help. There's sure to be a way back to Equestria somewhere on Earth; possibly if all five alicorns were found and could regain control of our magic like I have, we might be able to open a portal Home. But for now, we need places we can bring ponies to where they'll be safe from oppression, either official or non-official oppression. Could we rely on you to help?" She asked.

Mark looked surprised. He looked at Cecelia, who had been talking with their transformed daughters. "I suppose we could... considering we have... Flitter and CloudChaser here now, as our daughters." Mark said.

Cecelia looked thoughtful. "Let us discuss things first, to see if it's practical." She suggested.

Stellar nodded. "Please, there's no real hurry, but I plan to be on my way within a day or two and Thunderlane and Rumble are coming with me." Stellar detailed for them. "I was hoping Flitter and CloudChaser might as well, but that is up to them."

"We're staying on Earth." Flitter said to their parents. "As long as there are ponies here, we're going to be needed."

Mark and Cecelia looked sympathetic. "That's wonderful to know, Dearest." Cecelia said, hugging Flitter to her, then giving CloudChaser a hug as Mark hugged Flitter. "We'll support you anyway we can."

"Right, does anyone want anything to eat?" Mark asked.

"YEAH!!" Came seven hungry voices.

Mark laughed. "Okay! Let's unload what you brought with you, and see what we can put together." He told them.

Stellar and Azure made their way down to the vehicles and packed the bags of alfalfa and oats up to where Mark told them to park the food. The others emptied the two vehicles of belongings and gear, Cecelia showing them where they could put things.

As Mark got some things ready for the hungry ponies in the kitchen, Cecelia sat with Stellar for a while. "So... you and Curtis... um, Thunderlane?"

Stellar chuckled. "Who whispered that to you? Rumble?" She asked.

"Not really, Dear. When Thunderlane put your bags and his into the same double-bed-equipped room, I had to conclude that you two might be an item." Cecelia explained.

"Ouch." Stellar winced comically, then sighed. "Yeah... we're involved." Stellar admitted as she sat facing Cecelia. "Being partnered with him for five years, plus my sensing of him being a pony-in-disguise, like I was... it kind-of gravitated us together even before we changed, to be honest." Stellar flicked her wings out, then gave a little shake to them and furled them again. "And now..." Stellar sighed happily, "It just feel so right."

"You feel complete when you're with him, right?" Cecelia asked, a knowing look on her face.

Stellar nodded. "Yeah." She shook herself out a little. "I don't know what it is, to be honest. Before we got cursed and sent here, I didn't feel the need for a partner, a 'love interest', as I've heard it called." Stellar explained to Cecelia. "But after being Human... it has changed me. I'm... just a bit more reckless, a little less disciplined, and part of me likes being that way. Quite a lot of me doesn't... it grates against my training, against everything I've strived to keep close to my heart. But then... I snuggle with Thunderlane of a night... and everything I feel tells me it's the right thing to do."

Cecelia looked upon Stellar with a smile. "That, my little pony..." Cecelia realised what she said and face-palmed, as Stellar dropped her head, trying hard not to laugh. "Oh, I can't believe I just said that." Cecelia and Stellar shared a giggle instead. "Let's try that again. That, my dear, is what people for thousands of years have called 'Being in Love'. It is a state of mind that is perplexing and fulfilling all at the same time. You've found a personality that meshes with your own more closely than any you could have guessed at, and now that you've experienced this, your heart does not want to let go of it for anything. Am I right?" Cecelia asked.

Stellar thought on what had been said for a moment, then nodded. "You are." She agreed. "If it wasn't for my duty as a princess of my people, to find and free as well as protect my ponies wherever they may be, I'd take Thunderlane and Rumble home with me and we'd be together for as long as he lived." She admitted to Cecelia. "But... I will make whatever life Thunderlane and I can together, until all the ponies on Earth are safe; until those who want to stay are secure, and those who want to go home can go home."

Cecelia nodded. "You have a great burden and responsibility placed on you. I can see how serious it is by your expression when you talk about it." Cecelia said. "But I am glad you can see that it isn't everything any longer. You're willing to make things work for you and Thunderlane, and that's good. Compromising as much as you can, after being mindful of your responsibilities in life is the first step to making a lasting relationship." She counselled Stellar. "I know. Mark and I have been through a great deal, living out here. We've made it work, and beyond that, we've raised two beautiful children... who are now two beautiful mares... something I never even contemplated that I would ever say in a million years."

Stellar snickered at that as Cecelia giggled. Then Rumble bounced up, a plate resting on his head with lots of food on it. "Food's ready!" He told Stellar and Cecelia.

They both laughed at that. "So we see!" Stellar said to Rumble as she rose to her hoofs. "Thanks for the warning." She added as Rumble sat down at the table and slid his plate off his head onto it, then started munching. Soon, everyone there had joined Rumble and were eating lunch heartily.

"I didn't realise ponies could eat fish." Cathy commented.

"Not all do." Stellar answered. "Pegasi need more protein in their diet than most other ponies, so they have a tendency to eat fish or chicken. While there are some other ponies who have managed to never develop an aversion to eating other meats, the general rule is that we don't eat beef or lamb, since they're sentient animals in Equestria. Venison is in the same group, but we can eat lean bacon and like it." She told Cecelia and Cathy.

"Right... have to write that down..." Mark said, more to himself than anyone else.

Cathy was sitting next to Azure, when she gave a gasp. At the same time, Azure's horn lit up. "What the...?" He asked, looking at Cathy.

"I'm... not sure." Cathy said, as she looked around at herself.

Azure put his horn next to Cathy, and gasped himself. "Cathy, you've got mana flowing through you!" He said, startled.

Stellar got up. "Look at your hips." She suggested.

Cathy rose and pulled down the side of her shorts. As they watched, a series of lines appeared on her hip, forming a slice of pie with a dollop of cream on top of it. Color filled it out eventually. Cecelia said "Okay... that's not exactly what I expected..."

Cathy stared at her sides, then she checked the other hip. "There's one here, too!"

"I knew it! I knew it!" Azure said, jumping up and down in place. "The magic wouldn't have reacted the way it did towards you if you weren't a pony!" He reminded Cathy. "When you touched me while I was floating on all that mana, you said it flowed into you, but didn't hurt you. I was sure that meant you were a pony that hadn't changed yet."

Cathy looked despondent. "So...I'm going to end up like you?" She asked Azure.

"Actually, you'll probably end up more like them." Azure gestured to Flitter and CloudChaser. "Though maybe not with wings."

Cathy poked her tongue out of her mouth at Azure, while Rumble giggled. Stellar moved to Cathy and put a hoof on her thigh. "Don't worry, Cathy. we'll be here to help you." She said.

Cathy sighed. "I know... I just never thought it would happen to me."

"Never thought it would happen to me, either." Thunderlane said. "But it did. Only Stellar here seemed to know what was happening to her, and that was because she was an alicorn." He told Cathy.

"Yeah, I did have a head-start. But it still was freaky to watch it happen." Stellar admitted. "I did know what the end result was going to be... but how it happened was still freaking me out. I just have a lot of control over myself. Comes from Military and Police training." Stellar explained. "Flitter and CloudChaser can help you as well. Being females, we all know how the Change is going to roughly happen. So don't be afraid to ask." Stellar smiled at Cathy. "I bet you're going to be an incredibly beautiful mare, whether you're an Earth Pony, Pegasus or Unicorn."

"Thanks." Cathy replied, blushing a little.

Mark was looking Thunderlane over. "Hey, you guys can fly now, right? I mean, we saw... Rumble do it."

"Yep. We're fully pegasus ponies." Thunderlane agreed. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, I was wondering... could you, y'know, show us some of your moves?" Mark asked.

"Daddy!" Flitter said, sounding mortified that her father would just come out and ask such a question.

Thunderlane just chuckled. "Show you some moves, eh?" He said, thinking. "How about this?" He got up on his hind legs and started dancing, to laughter from the other ponies, as Mark looked on, not really knowing what to say, while Cecelia and Cathy giggled.

"My turn!" Cloudchaser got up and started dancing as well.

"Look at me!" Rumble said, doing his best Jackson impression.

"Dude, really?" Thunderlane asked his younger brother. "Em-Jay impressions? You're like, ten years old, dude."

"So was he!" Rumble retorted, to laughter.

"Hey! Male Night Elf dance!" Flitter pointed at Rumble.

"Female Night Elf dance!" CloudChaser added, making the classic moves of the 'stripper dance' from the game 'World of Warcraft'.

Thunderlane laughed and said "Okay! Male Tauren dance!" He said, starting the shuffling moves of that race's dance, to more laughs.

"My turn." Stellar said, getting to her hind hoofs. She started a gyrating, random dance move.

"I know!" Rumble said. "Female Worgen!"

"Got it in one, Cuddle-Colt." Stellar congratulated Rumble as she copied the moves, which were taken from Lady Gaga's 'Poker-face' video.

But then Stellar nodded to all of the pegasi, who were watching her. She straightened out as Rumble jumped at her. She grabbed him and literally threw him up into the air with a surge of magic, sending him shooting up into the clear sky. Thunderlane ran at her and Stellar launched him up, then Flitter, then CloudChaser. As Azure and the humans realised what was happening, Stellar crouched, her huge wings opening, and she fired off the ground as if rocket-propelled. The three humans and one pony moved to the front of the verandah as the pegasi and alicorn reached a formation... then they started really showing their stuff.

With two Wonderbolt-trained flyers, one with an amount of casual training by the same organisation, and two who'd been exposed to it for quite a while thanks to their siblings, the five of them fell easily into the normal formation for a Wonderbolt recruit squad and started doing some of the easier moves they'd been trained in.

"Arrow!" Thunderlane yelled, and they formed up with Thunderlane at the point of the arrow, Stellar and Rumble opposite each other to each side of him, and the Twins outboard of them.

"Ex!" He yelled again, and they shifted, Stellar and Rumble racing ahead of Thunderlane and the Twins moving in, to form an 'X'-shaped formation.

"Plus!" Thunderlane gave the command, and Stellar shifted to the left in front of Thunderlane, while Rumble flipped over and behind his brother, while the twins moved up beside Thunderlane.

They flipped and formated for the others on the ground, rolling over, diving, surging up into the sky, shooting along at nearly zero feet, with Rumble between Thunderlane and Stellar most of the time, the Twins keeping pace behind the alicorn. And, eventually, they raced back towards the homestead in Arrow formation, to come to a quick halt right before the verandah and gently dropping to their hoofs in a line. Cheers and applause came from their audience of four as the five flyers bowed to them.

"Now THAT's what I mean when I said 'Moves'!" Mark yelled out, as the others laughed. Mark actually went down and picked up Flitter and CloudChaser and hugged them. "Damn... you're so light now." He told his daughters.

"That's because we're pegasi, Daddy." CloudChaser told him.

"You're actually starting to make me envious that I'm not a pegasus." Azure said to Stellar.

"Then our work here is done." Stellar replied, a big grin on her face.

Azure frowned as the others laughed, then Stellar gave Azure a hug. "It's all right, young stallion. Unicorns have nothing to want for over Pegasi, and unicorns can fly using a special spell, remember? Rarity did it for a while in 'Sonic Rainboom', the episode."

Azure's eyes went wide. "She did?" He asked. "I've never seen the cartoon, to be honest."

"Then you're in for a treat." Stellar said. "I have all five seasons right here in our luggage. Essential viewing, believe me."

"How accurate is it?" Cathy asked.

"About... eighty-five percent." Stellar answered. "As long as you realise it's mostly from my sister's POV. And things get left out occasionally, too. Like Shining Armor doesn't make an appearance until the wedding episode, and you don't see me at all." She explained. "Then again it does take place mostly in Ponyville, and I rarely went there, with Twilight being there most of the time."

"Okay..." Cathy mused this over.

"It's still a pretty good reference to how things went on in Equestria." Stellar added. "Especially if you look at the details in the background and look past the episode plots. Although they did take short-cuts... Canterlot is a LOT bigger than they animate, as is Cloudsdale and Crystal City." Stellar revealed.

"So how does Canterlot stay up on the side of that mountain?" Cecelia asked, as everyone looked at her, surprised. "What?" She asked. "I used to watch it on re-runs with our daughters as they grew up." She revealed with a smile.

The Twins giggled. "We remember that." They said together.

"The answer to your question, Cecelia, is that Mount Canterhorn has an enormous rock spur sticking out the side of it that is super-dense. It seems to take up a good deal of Mount Canterhorn's interior... besides the old mines that were there that we now call the Canterlot Caverns. That's where Chrysalis stuck Cadance and Twilight during 'A Canterlot Wedding'. Twilight and I once tried doing a survey of just how big the spur was; we traced it down to about nine hundred miles into Equis' interior, and it was still going. We couldn't hold the scan together after that."

"That's incredible." Mark said. "That is an enormous rock formation."

Stellar nodded. "Yes. But unicorn magic made it possible to anchor platforms of rock into the spur to be built on, and tunnels made for the railroads to travel through it as they wound their way around Mount Canterhorn. They used to be wagon trails before we developed steam technology."

"Makes sense." Mark agreed.

"Maybe we should go inside and let Azure start watching the episodes." Thunderlane suggested.

"A good idea." Cecelia agreed, as she and Mark got up. Cathy rose as Azure got to his hoofs, and everyone went inside. Cecelia smiled as all the ponies rubbed their hoofs on the thick mat that lay before the door, and even used the boot-cleaner to rub the sides of their hoofs down. Once inside, everyone made themselves comfortable as Mark powered up the entertainment system and started the DVD-player going.

Flitter and CloudChaser left their friends to watch the videos and headed down to their bedrooms. Both of them sighed as they entered the rooms and looked about. "It's hard to believe that less than two weeks ago, we walked out of here on feet as humans." Flitter said softly to her sister.

"I know." CloudChaser said as they walked around Flitter's room. They had adjoining bedrooms with a bathroom between them. Flitter floated up and landed on her bed, looking about her with an uncertain look on her face as she stretched out on the bed, head over the edge near CloudChaser. CloudChaser looked sniffly and moved to nuzzle her sister. "Does it feel right to you, Sis?" CloudChaser asked.

"I'm not sure anymore." Flitter replied. She dropped her head and the sisters nuzzle-snuggled as they lay/stood there. "I remember it... but it seems almost like it was someone else, that I'm seeing it through their memories."

"Yeah, I know. It's like that for me, too." CloudChaser agreed.

As the Twins shared a moment, they didn't see Stellar at the doorway, watching them with a sad look on her face. She could feel what they were going through, the confusion in their minds as they reflected on who and what they had been and now were. She stepped into the room and gave a little flap of her wings.

Both Twins' eyes popped open, their wings shot out as Stellar surprised them both. They scrambled to stand side by side in front of Stellar, but she moved to them and hushed them. "Easy, Girls. It's okay." She tried to reassure them.

Both Twins looked downcast. "Sorry, Your..." Flitter started to say, but Stellar put a hoof to her muzzle.

"What did I say about that?" She asked with a soft smile.

"To call you by your name when we're just as a group." CloudChaser answered.

"Exactly." Stellar confirmed. "We are friends. We have shared something special, you two and I. I will never insist on formalities between us, save for when it is necessary." She wrapped up the smaller mares in her wings and held them to her as they started sniffling. "I know it's been so tough, adapting to this." She gently nuzzled them both. "We've lost so much... we've also gained a great deal... but it doesn't make the loss any easier to bear." She stepped back slightly and looked at their faces. "But the years we spent as humans are a part of us now. We can't roll back Time; not even all the Alicorns together are strong enough to do that." She told them. "You were human, you are pony. They are both parts of you as a whole, now. Even I have had to accept that and reconcile both of them together. You have to do the same, or you'll forever feel conflicted... even if you were to return to Equestria." Stellar counselled them.

"Is it easy?" CloudChaser asked.

Stellar smiled. "It's as easy as you make it, Chaser." Stellar told her. "Just accept both sides of your nature together, as one." She explained. "While you'll never be quite the same as you were before, as either of your selves, you will be greater than either of them alone." She promised.

Flitter thought about this. As she stood there, she could feel the conflict between her selves, wanting to accept being a pony while part of her wanted her old life back again. As she thought on, she realised that she couldn't have either of her old lives back in full: She had to start anew again, with all that she had gained from both. As she made that determined choice, her cutie-mark glowed and she felt a wash of soft energy through her.

CloudChaser and Stellar had stepped back and watched as Flitter's eyes and cutie-mark glowed with her magic. CloudChaser looked at Stellar in wonder, but Stellar smiled widely and nodded at CloudChaser. CloudChaser looked down, then closed her eyes.

She found herself in a softly-lit place, walking along to nowhere in particular. Then she saw her human self before her, walking towards her. CloudChaser stopped and looked at Sharrah, she sat down and waited for Sharrah to reach her. The human woman reached the pony, then sat down cross-legged and they looked at each other. "Do you get this?" CloudChaser asked Sharrah.

"Sort-of." Sharrah replied. "I understand what Stellar's saying, kind-of."

"That we're a part of each other?" CloudChaser asked. "It's kinda confusing, but I think I get it." Sharrah nodded at CloudChaser. "I don't want to lose you." CloudChaser told Sharrah.

"And I don't want to let you go." Sharrah said back. "I like what we are now. It's so much fun, and I feel so good when we fly!"

Cloudchaser giggled and nodded happily. "So... can we become... 'I'?" She asked.

"I guess we have to... no, I want to." Sharrah said firmly. "I can't think of us ever being apart. You're me, and I'm you, no matter what we are."

CloudChaser nodded. "I want to, too." She stated. She got up and sat in Sharrah's lap. Sharrah hugged CloudChaser, and they both started glowing...

Flitter had just regained her senses, when she saw CloudChaser's eyes and cutie-mark light up and she flipped her wings open, as Stellar nodded approvingly. Flitter looked at Stellar, who turned her head and nuzzled Flitter tenderly, eliciting a nicker from the smaller mare. "It feels better, doesn't it?" She asked.

Flitter nodded. "I feel better." She confirmed. "I don't feel conflicted anymore."

Stellar smiled. "That's good." She agreed. "Sometimes it takes a lot for us to accept this, but I think that, for you, it was simply a choice that you hadn't consciously made yet, the same for your sister." She told Flitter, as CloudChaser's mana surge faded. "Now you'll be able to move on."

Flitter nodded as CloudChaser shook herself all over. "Wow! That was... freaky, but nice." She told Flitter.

Flitter giggled as Stellar grinned. "Did Thunderlane have the same struggle?" Flitter asked.

"Yes, but I think his love for me is what helped him to find himself." Stellar answered. "And as for Rumble... there was never a conflict there."

Flitter and CloudChaser giggled. "I bet there wasn't." They said together.

All three mares laughed as they came together for another hug. "Thanks, Stellar." The twins said together.

"Anytime, Girls." She told them.

Mark was sitting with Thunderlane while Azure sat with Rumble, watching the MLP videos, as Rumble explained things to Azure. Mark then looked at Thunderlane. "So...you getting serious with the big lady, then?" He asked.

Thunderlane gave Mark a sly smile. "Sure hope it's serious." He answered.

Mark chuckled. "Is she really a princess?" He asked.

"Well, considering she's the twin sister of another princess, and an alicorn, which usually indicates Royalty, I'd say that yeah, she's a princess." Thunderlane told Mark.

"Wow, Mate, she's a good catch if you can get her hooked." Mark admitted.

"Too right, mate." Thunderlane agreed, to them both laughing.

"So, how does that work, anyway?" Mark asked. "Do you ponies get married in a church?"

Thunderlane looked surprised, then his brow furrowed in thought. "Well... Royal marriages, as far as I have ever seen, are conducted before Stellar's superiors, one of the Diarchy, usually Princess Celestia." He answered.

"So... there are levels to being a Princess?" Mark asked.

Thunderlane nodded. "There are the two princesses of the Diarchy, the rulers of Equestria: Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna." Thunderlane explained. "Then there's the princess that rules over the Crystal Empire, which is a separate nation within the borders of Equestria. Her name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, which she usually shortens to Cadance. She's not part of the ruling body of Equestria, but since she's Celestia's niece by adoption, she is very close to the Diarchy. Her husband is Prince Shining Armor, Twilight and Stellar's older brother."

"Is he an alicorn, too?" Mark asked.

"Not that I can recall." Thunderlane replied, as he thought about it. "But he married a ruling Princess, so he's a prince."

"Okay." Mark nodded.

"Now, Twilight and Stellar ascended to become alicorns, so they are junior princesses... also because they don't rule over any part of Equestria or our planet, Equis." Thunderlane said.

"Ascended?" Mark asked.

Thunderlane shrugged. "I'm not up on how it worked, but apparently it happened overnight." He told Mark. "Something to do with them creating a new type of magic. A lot of the details were hazy to begin with, and I'm not sure I remember everything I was told, let alone everything that actually happened."

Mark nodded. "Okay, I can understand that." He said. "So, how do ordinary marriages work, then?" He asked.

"Usually they take place before the town Mayor." Thunderlane explained. "It's a fairly short but beautiful ceremony."

Mark nodded, smiling. "Sounds pretty good." He said. "So... you ponies aren't really into religion or any of that stuff?" He asked.

Thunderlane shook his head. "I can't answer that." He said. "I wasn't really interested in philosophy or theology when I was growing up. Plus my memories haven't come back to that degree of trivia, yet. You'd have to ask Stellar, I think. If anyone knows anything about Equestrian religions, she does... or Twilight would, if she has her memories back." He told Mark.

Right." Mark replied. "Sounds about right to me. I wasn't one for going to Sunday School or Church, either."

"Same here, as a human." Thunderlane admitted. "And in Equestria, I think most of my weekend was taken up with either chasing fillies or training to be a Wonderbolt... like so many other pegasi." He chuckled.

Mark chuckled. "Doesn't seem like there's too many differences there, by the sounds of it." He commented. "Young guys get up to what young guys do best."

"Yeah, true. But the difference in Equestria is it's kind-of matriarchal, because of the ratio of mares to stallions, and that's a 70/30 split." Thunderlane revealed.

"Ouch." Mark said. "So... how does that equal out?"

"Well... say I wasn't 'dating' Stellar." Thunderlane hypothesized. "I could easily date both Flitter and CloudChaser, since they're twins, and if we really hit it off, it wouldn't be unseemly for me to take both of them as my mares. Being twins, it just makes it easier because they already know each other." Thunderlane explained to Mark. "There are few families where there is only one mare mated to a stallion: usually amongst the Nobility, multiple matings are unseemly because of the laws of succession and such. The Royalty is the same way, save that Princesses don't age, they just mature as they get older and grow bigger, until they reach a certain power level, then they stop growing or aging completely. Celestia's pretty much the biggest alicorn there is, and she's about a foot taller than Stellar is right now. Luna's a little bit taller than Stellar, while Twilight... I think she's smaller than Stellar... I think." Thunderlane grimaced, then tapped himself on the side of his head. "Come on, Brain... work, damn it!"

Mark grinned at that. He knew what it was like when your memory failed to deliver information you knew you should know. "Cognitive reboot needed?" He asked.

"Eh... maybe some more down-time." Thunderlane suggested. "We only had one good night of sleep on the way here, and that was at the Isa."

"So you didn't drive here straight?" Mark asked. "That monster of yours really sounded throaty as you pulled up. What have you got under that bonnet?"

Thunderlane grinned wickedly. "Show you in the morning." He said. "Maybe I'll even let you take her for a spin... if you want to buy it from me." He suggested.

"You want to sell it?" Mark asked, incredulous.

"I'm going where Stellar goes." Thunderlane answered. "I don't think we can take a car with us where we're going, so if I sell her to you, then I know she's got a good home, at least." Thunderlane explained.

Mark thought on that. "Tell you what." He said back. "I'll keep them both here, safe and sound out in the machinery shed, and I'll turn them over once a week and keep my eyes on the rest of them, maybe drive them once a week for a bit. When you come back... well, if you do come back, you and Stellar can claim them. How's that?" Mark asked.

"You'd do that?" Thunderlane asked. Mark grinned and nodded affirmative. "Oh that'd be fantastic, Mate, really it would!" Thunderlane grinned at Mark, his tail actually wagging unconsciously. "I thought I'd have to sell her off and never see her again. I've put a good amount of myself into that old 'Cruiser, and I really didn't want to let her go."

"Know what you mean, Mate, I know what you mean." Mark replied.

Then Cathy came out of the bathroom. Her long, straight hair was curling faster than paper in a fire, and it had turned a shade of pink with lighter highlights. "Is this normal?" She asked.

The males chuckled. "For you, it is." Thunderlane told her. "Our hair is the first thing to change. It becomes the color of your mane and tail, when that comes out."

"Oh, peachy." Cathy snorted like a pony.

Then Rumble giggled and started chanting "Tail! Tail! Tail!"

The others took up the chant as Cathy felt something awkward happening behind her. She went cross-eyed and cross-legged as something pushed its way out of her shorts-leg and down between her legs. "Eeep!" Cathy went as it stopped growing and she stabilised.

"YAY!!!" All the ponies shouted, as Cathy looked behind her and saw her new tail.

"That's just fucking freaky as shit!" She said, as she pulled her shorts out at the back and helped her tail out of her shorts. "How did you know it was coming out?" She asked Rumble.

"Saw the bulge," Rumble replied, "And a flash of color up past your waistband."

That got another round of chuckles. "It looks like an extension of my hair. It's even got curls in it." Cathy said.

"Ponies do that." Stellar said. "Our manes and tail match. Look at Rarity and Rainbow Dash for prime examples."

"Or even you." Flitter pointed to Stellar.

"Yeah, true." Stellar agreed. "Twilight and I both have the same highlights in our manes and tails."

"So... what else is going to happen?" Cathy asked.

"Well, by the time you wake up in the morning, your rear hoofs should be fully-formed." Stellar told Cathy. "Believe me, having it happen while you're asleep is a lot better. Your feet and legs will be properly configured for walking digitigrade, then."

Cathy nodded. "So, how long does the change take, usually?" She asked

"From three to four days." Flitter said. "It's kinda hard to pin it down exactly. Stellar changed faster than any of us, yet Sis and I changed pretty much around the same time."

"Yeah! It was like we were totally synched as we changed." CloudChaser agreed.

"And where did you get your names from?" Cathy asked. "They're not human names and they don't seem made up, either."

"You'll find your name will come to you as you remember more of what happened to you, before you became human." Thunderlane told Cathy, as he flopped onto the carpet. Rumble lightly dropped down before Stellar, and she pulled him close to her, hugging and snuggling him in her big wings as he nickered at her. "Stellar might also know you. She knew who we were from our cutie-marks."

"Your whatnow?" Cathy asked.

"The little image on your hips is known as a cutie-mark." Stellar answered. "It's a symbol of one's destiny, what our vocation is in life. While there is a lot of variance in what you might think it means, in some cases it leads to secondary talents as well. There's one famous pony who was a premium party planner, but she became a baker as well, in order to make the treats for her parties... and she found she was very good at it." Stellar explained.

"Pinkie Pie!" All the ponies said, and laughed.

Stellar giggled. "Exactly. Or one pony whose mark showed she had a talent for finding gemstones... but she'd always loved making dresses and other clothing, so her talents fit together."

"Rarity!" Everypony said loudly.

Stellar laughed along with them. "And yes, I do know what your pony name is." Stellar told Cathy. "But I don't think it's time to tell you yet. Once you finish changing, then I can let you know what it is. It will be easier on you, I think."

Cathy nodded. "Thanks for being so considerate, Stellar." She said.

"Anytime." Stellar said with a big grin.

The evening cooled off very quickly, once the sun had actually fallen. Everyone was outside, enjoying Dinner as the stars twinkled above them in ways that few city-dwellers ever got to see without coming out of the City night-glare. Billions of faint stars were making themselves known as the dim lights on the verandah did little to hide them. "By the goddess..." Cathy said as she sat there, her feet turning into hoofs as she watched.

Azure nodded in agreement as they sat out from the house, on a log-bench to one side of the main house. "I have never seen so many stars before." He agreed.

"Neither have I." Cathy agreed. "Do you think Equis might be out there somewhere?" She asked.

"Um, from what they told me, we're actually from an alternate reality... but that doesn't mean there might not be an Equis in this reality... if it's not an Alternate Earth, that is."

"Yeah." Cathy said as she sat there with an arm around Azure, gently scritching his ears, which made it a little difficult for him to focus on anything else. He unconsciously leaned into her, nickering, as Cathy grinned. "You really do like that, don't you?" She asked.

"Oh Celestia, yeah..." Azure replied. "I could sit here all night and most of tomorrow as long as you're doing that."

Cathy giggled softly, not wanting to spoil the moment.

Then there was a short boom, a flash of light, and Mark came sailing off the verandah out into the yard as if shot out of a cannon. As he stopped rolling, four ponies raced off after him and helped him to his feet. "I told you not to shove your hand into that!" Stellar's voice sounded out clearly from the verandah.

Azure looked up at Cathy, and they both got up and headed back to the house, to find Mark looking like he'd shoved his hand into a high-voltage socket. Stellar was sitting beside one of her arrays, which was pulsing as if it was very angry, glowing alternately white and red. She stuck her horn into it and shoved a load of energy into it, and it stopped pulsing red, glowing white steadily again. "I said you could gently touch it, Mark, not push your hand right into the middle of it." She said as Cecelia tried to stop laughing.

Mark ran his hands though his hair, as it crackled like it was on fire. "Sorry, my Bad." He agreed.

"Would it have hurt him?" Cecelia then asked.

"Not really." Stellar answered. "But you saw how much concentrated energy the array was holding. Most of you humans aren't that compatible with magic any longer, so you get that reaction."

Cecelia nodded, then gently touched a finger to the center of the array. But instead of rejecting her, the mana seemed to run up her finger to her hand and pull her hand into the array. "Holy...!" She said, but then her eyes started to glow, and something was scribed onto the back of her hand, as the array sank into her and vanished.

Stellar immediately touched her horn to Cecelia's head, but the mana was reluctant to come out of Cecelia again. Everyone else gasped as they saw two images on the back of Cecelia's hand, a tree and a rock in front of it. Then Cecelia's eyes stopped glowing and she shook herself all over. "What the hell?" She asked looking at Stellar. "You never said that would happen!"

"That's because I've never seen that happen before!" Stellar said, scanning Cecelia.

"So... is my wife going to become a pony now?" Mark asked, as the others sat there, stunned.

Stellar frowned. "No." She replied. "Cecelia is not turning into a pony..."

"Ah damn!" Cecelia, Flitter and CloudChaser said together, making them all laugh out-loud.

Stellar sighed and gave Mark a sympathetic look. "No, she's not going to turn into a pony, not without some truly powerful magic. But something is developing inside her. If I didn't know better..." Stellar frowned. Stellar drew out her tome and started reading through a particular book, once she'd found it. Everyone waited patiently, Cathy sitting with Azure in her lap, her legs and arms wrapped around him as she rested her head on top of his. Stellar was muttering to herself as she read the ancient book, then occasionally looked at Cecelia. Opening her wings, the two long Primary feathers glowing, she started tracing a new array in front of Cecelia.

"What are you doing?" Cecelia asked.

"This is a special array that's normally used to scan unicorns for their power levels, and get an idea of what their speciality might be." Stellar answered. "Normally it's inscribed into certain schools and doctor's offices, and is used on foals. But this will do for here, since I expect you don't want me to carve a full-sized circle into your floorboards."

"Ye-e-e-ah, definitely not." Mark agreed.

Cecelia watched, curious, as the runes appeared between the two rings and solidified. Then the circle started slowly spinning. Stellar nodded. "Good, it's stabilised as it should." She looked at Cecelia. "Put your fingers on the circle, palm spread out. Your right hand, sorry, the one with your new mark."

Cecelia nodded and did so. The runes started glowing different colors as the light gently stroked her fingers, her mark glowing softly as well.

Stellar grinned. "Good, It's reacting just as I remember it doing with foals." She told Cecelia. "Normally, of course, they'd be standing in the circle, all four hoofs and their cutie-marks glowing. But other than the obvious differences, it's working exactly as it should."

"Good to hear." Mark replied, sounding a little less worried.

"So... why is it flashing like that?" Cecelia asked.

"The different colors are different schools of magic." Stellar said, as an image started to form in the air on the other side of the array, extending out from it. "And this is an image of your Itineris system."

"But..." Flitter exclaimed, looking shocked. "Humans can't HAVE Itineris systems!" She looked at her mother.

"In some realities, yes, that's very true. Mana saturation can, in some realities, cause human bodies to simply dissolve into component matter." Stellar agreed, to lots of shocked looks. "But in this reality, the planet's mana field is here and evident. Humans have a long and convoluted folklore and mythology about 'Magic', even if it's been twisted and made to seem like it's nothing more than hearsay. Some humans even show abilities that are extremely low-level magic, such as divination, dowsing and such things." Stellar looked at the others. "But what if someone who's human comes into contact with powerful ponies who know magic in ways they can't?" She asked them. The image was mirroring Cecelia's posture perfectly, showing a glowing network slowly developing throughout her body, even as her eyes started to glow again and Cecelia closed her eyes, breathing heavily. "Easy, Cecelia. Now that it's started, just accept it and open yourself to it. It'll happen no matter what you do, so just let it happen. It'll feel a lot better that way." Stellar counselled her.

Cecelia just nodded and relaxed. The energy flow sped up as she moaned softly. "Goddess, it feels incredible." She said as Stellar smiled at her.

Mark looked over Stellar's shoulder. "Will she be okay?" He asked.

"She should." Stellar said. "Every foal goes through this sooner or later once they're born, as the energy they've absorbed from their mother's mana field is replaced by the one from the world around them instead. She's just got a lot more of a system to awaken."

Then the system seemed to stop growing, and the array stopped spinning, showing a number of green, brown, black and white runes, the blue, red, yellow and other colors fading. Stellar grinned. "Well, I'll be a monkey-child's uncle..." She said softly.

"WHAT?" Almost everyone there asked, save for Cecelia, who giggled.

Stellar laughed. "These colors... they're indications of Earth Pony-type magic." She explained. "The green and brown ones represent manipulations of the land and plants, in the same manner as Earth Ponies can wield them."

"So, what are the black and white ones?" Cloudchaser asked, just before her father could ask the same.

Stellar grinned. "Those..." She then frowned. "I'm not sure." She said. "I can't remember seeing those before. Not even my scan as an alicorn has those colors." She turned back to her tome again.

"Can I take my hand off this... array?" Cecelia asked. "My hand is itching."

"Just a sec..." Stellar replied, then she turned and touched three of the runes that weren't lit, and the whole image flashed. "Okay, it's locked now. You can take your hand off the array."

Cecelia did so, sighing as she held her hand and looked at it. "This is freaky." She said, the Twins giggling as she said it.

"Hmmm... those particular colors, with the Earth Pony colors as a modifier..." Stellar looked up at Cecelia. "They say you can affect Earth and Stone."

"Stone?" Cecelia and Mark asked together.

Stellar nodded. "Yeah." She said. "What was that term...?"

"What term?" Thunderlane asked.

"I read it in a book once... Ah!" Stellar smiled. "Geomancer." Stellar stated. "A magic user who can affect Wood, Earth and Stone." That got a mass of blank looks from most of them. "Well, look at your cutie-mark, Cecelia. It's got a tree and a geode on it. That's a sign of your connection with the earth below you."

"What's a gee-ode?" Rumble asked.

"It's a rock that is a ball of crystal." Mark told Rumble. "Sometimes they are hollow. I have a few of them in my collection of things." He said.

Stellar nodded. "You'll probably find your body will charge up overnight as you sleep, Cecelia. In the morning, I'll give you a few lessons on how to use your new abilities." Then she giggled. "I still can't believe it! A human who's developed powers like an Earth Pony! That is incredible! I'm gonna have to write this down, or nopony's going to believe me." She said, as she captured the array and image and put it onto a blank page of her tome, where it sank in and made a permanent image.

As Stellar made notes, Mark sidled up beside Cecelia. "You okay, Hun?" He asked. Cecelia turned and kissed Mark deeply, pulling him to her. After their embrace, which got a lot of cheers from the ponies, especially their daughters, Mark grinned and asked "Okay, what brought that on?" He asked.

"I am as horny as hell right now!" Cecelia whispered softly into Mark's ear.

"Bed?" Mark asked.

"Bed." Cecelia agreed, and pulled him inside...

There were a lot of laughs from the others, as Cathy leaned over Azure and kissed him on the nose, making him blush. "Want to find out if we're compatible?" She whispered softly in his ear, making his ears and tail stand up and his eyes widened out to an almost impossible width.

He looked up at her smiling face in wonder. "You sure?" He asked softly. "Some people might think..."

She kissed him again. "I'm going to be as much a pony as you are in two day's time, so I don't think it matters that much." She told him. Azure's eyes widened again and Cathy giggled. "Goddess, you ponies have such huge eyes. I bet the world looks so different through your eyes. I can hardly wait to get my own."

"You're taking this very well..." Azure said, as Cathy literally picked him up and carried him off like a huge stuffed plushie.

"I guess it's all in how you look at it." Cathy answered. "I know what's coming. I know WHY it's happening. I'm not changing into an animal; I'm returning to whom I used to be. And I have you waiting for me at the end of this... and everypony else." She said as she walked up the stairs.

"So... are you implying you want to pursue a relationship after your transformation back into ponyhood?" Azure asked.

Cathy smiled as she made it through the door without bashing Azure's head on the doorjamb. "I most certainly intend to, My little pony..."

Thunderlane watched this, a big smile on his face. Stellar was finishing authoring her report on Cecelia's new abilities and tidying up her notes, when she looked over at him with a smile. He grinned back, as Rumble was pulling a cloud together for the night. He parked it under the verandah around the bunkhouse and snuggled into the soft clouds, folding it over himself for a snug night, as the Twins headed into the main house to their bedrooms. Stellar slid her Tome away again and walked over to Thunderlane, nuzzling him lovingly. "Heya Beloved." He said softly to her.

"Heya Thunder Love." Stellar replied. "Time for bed?" She asked.

"Sure." He agreed. "Are we actually going to get any sleep?"

"Maybe... eventually..." Stellar answered with a big grin, as they headed for their room in the bunkhouse.

Rumble looked at them and snorted. "Horny ponies." He grinned, and turned over...

The morning of the Eleventh, Stellar walked out of the house yard and took off into the early morning sky. The sun was just starting to rise behind her as she flew over the scrubland until she reached a point far enough away from the compound that no-one would hear what was about to happen. Landing quickly, she made sure there was no-one about, then with a flash of light, Durrach appeared before her again. The human male was heavily-restrained, bonds of light holding him down on his knees as he gasped in shock. Most of his clothes were gone, his modesty barely intact as he looked about, seeing Stellar standing before him. "You..." He said in a low, angry voice. "Where am I? What the fuck did you do to me?" He asked.

"Why, Agent Durrach," Stellar said to him, "I believe the term your intelligence organisations have for this is a 'rendition'." Stellar answered him. "I have questions. You will provide answers."

Durrach growled and tried to stretch, finding the bonds that held him were far stronger than he thought, even if they didn't chafe or hurt him in any way. "You can't do this to me!"

"Why not? You were going to do the same thing to me, and without any consideration for my well-being at all. You even pulled your pistol out and shot at me, when I wasn't giving any really aggressive responses to your attempted abduction." Stellar pointed out. "You spooks hate it when the shoe is on the other hoof, don't you?" She asked.

Durrach still looked furious. "You're not getting anything out of me." He insisted.

Stellar chuckled as she sat down before him. "Agent Durrach, you will tell me everything I need to know, and you will do so quite willingly." She told him.

"You 'ponies'" He spat the word out. "You claim to be such altruistic, goody-goody creatures." Durrach said. "What are you going to do to me? Torture me?" He asked, sneering.

"Please, Agent Durrach. Such things are distasteful to the extreme." Stellar replied, looking... disgusted. "And while my human side would probably think nothing of giving you a 'work-over', as I remember the term, I have no need of such methods. As always, magic will provide a way that is far easier on you, and far easier for me." She smiled at him.

Durrach's eyes opened wide as Stellar started casting a spell. Her horn lit up and then she gently touched his forehead with it and the magic flowed over Durrach with what seemed like little effect, but Durrach seemingly relaxed and stopped fighting. He blinked, shaking his head. "What... what have you done?" He asked.

"I've given you a gift." Stellar answered. "The gift of Peace. It reduces one's negativity and allows one clarity of thought without the turmoil of emotions to muddle one's thinking." Stellar explained. She then cast a second spell on him, which settled over Durrach's head and slowly faded. "Now... you will answer my questions clearly, concisely and truthfully, with no lies, deceptions or omissions. Is that clear?" Stellar asked.

"Perfectly." Durrach replied, looking calm as he sat there. Stellar allowed some of the bonds holding him to fade, allowing Durrach to sit in a more comfortable pose.

"Now, who do you work for?" Stellar asked.

"I am an agent of the National Security Agency, working under the banner of the Department of Homeland Security." Durrach answered.

"And what is your mission here in Australia?" Stellar asked.

'I was sent here to retrieve all the ponies in Australia and bring them to the United States for examination, interrogation and classification." Durrach replied.

"To what purpose?"

"To learn about their abilities, their possible threats, their weaknesses, and their purpose on Earth, as well as the possibility of returning them to being human again." Durrach detailed for Stellar. "They cannot be allowed to exist outside of government control when their abilities could be used against the government and peoples of the United States."

"And what about those who refuse to be taken to a country they were never born in, and refuse your servitude?" Stellar asked.

"They are to be summarily dealt with." Durrach answered. "They cannot be allowed to serve against the interests of the United States government."

Stellar snorted. "Typical American arrogance and paranoia." She said to herself. "Where are ponies being held in America and its territories, and who is contracted to do the investigation work?" She asked.

"The investigation work is being handled by an independent organisation called the Spectrum Group. They are doing the scientific work. The CIA and Army Intelligence are doing evaluations of Pony abilities and their possible applications for Military and Intelligence use." Durrach replied. "Spectrum has several large facilities and some smaller ones in urban areas. I don't know everything about them. That's not my purview." Durrach said.

"Understandable." Stellar replied. "Who is running the disinformation and media-shutdown program against Ponies?" Stellar asked.

"It is not widely known." Durrach replied. "But the director of the NSA has hinted in my presence that it is possibly Senator Corddis who is behind the shutdown of all reporting of Pony activities around the world and through the Internet."

"Interesting." Stellar said as she thought about what she had learned. After asking for some more relevant facts, for some of which Durrach had answers and some he didn't, Stellar released him from his bonds and returned his clothing. After he got dressed, Stellar said "Now, you will forget everything that happened after I made you vanish back by the Motorhome." She said, touching his forehead with her horn. "You will fly back to the United States, where you will make a report stating that the idea of moving ponies against their will to the United States is not in the best interests of National Security. I leave it up to you to word it in a way that will convince your superiors of the veracity of your arguments."

"I understand." Durrach replied, and Stellar nodded. Without a word more, she powered up her horn completely and teleported him back to Brisbane, near the airport, with his bags. She watched him until he caught a flight to the United States, flying business class. "Good. That deals with him, and without unnecessary violence or complications." Stellar said to herself, as she headed back to the house.

Thunderlane came out a little while later, to see Stellar flying about overhead, a shimmer of a strange haze around her as she flew along. Just as she came overhead, he heard a 'Whoomph' sound, as if something big had ignited, and he watched as she shot forward at a much greater speed, a huge heat haze behind her as she soared upwards very quickly... without flapping her wings. He watched her race off out of sight for a little while, then came back again, even faster than before. There was a sound almost like a jet engine as she raced past the station yard and headed upwards again... then a 'Boom' like thunder rolled over the plains. Thunderlane saw a condensation ring race outwards from her, colored in her dark colors of purple and dark-blue, that dissipated quickly in the morning sun.

"Celestia, what is she up to now?" Thunderlane asked as a trail of color followed along behind Stellar, making her easy to follow as she raced through the sky. Then there was a smaller 'Boom', and the color trail disappeared. Eventually, his very sharp eyesight caught her coming back slowly, drifting down without the haze that had surrounded her before, to a gentle landing before the main house. He trotted down the stairs of the bunkhouse they'd been staying in and moved to intercept her as she headed for the main house's stairs.

Stellar smiled as she caught Thunderlane moving towards her out of the corner of one huge eye. "Damn, my sight's so much better than a human's is now." She said softly to herself as she turned to welcome Thunderlane. "Good morning, Thunder Love." Stellar said to him as he reached her.

"Good morning, Beloved." Thunderlane replied as they nuzzled one another in greeting. "What were you doing just then? Did you make a rainboom? I swear you did."

Stellar chuckled. "In a way, yes." She replied. "But not a 'rainboom'. Only Rainbow Dash can do those. What I made, I call a 'Chromaboom', because it was in my own colors."

"A 'Chromaboom'?" Thunderlane asked. "But..."

Stellar put a hoof to his muzzle. "Thunder... I know what you're thinking, but you and everypony else who thinks you can make a Rainboom by breaking the sound barrier are wrong, in one fundamental way. There is a reason why the Rainboom is so rare, and it has to do with who Rainbow Dash is and how her magic works."

Thunderlane nodded. "Okay, I'm all ears."

Stellar smiled. "It has to do with a pony's magic, especially each pegasus' magic as they fly." She explained. "Do you remember what they taught you in flight school, about your personal 'field' and how you use it?"

"Yeah..." Thunderlane answered. "We use it to stay warm at high altitudes, to help us breathe in thin air, and to keep us safe when we crash."

Stellar nodded. "Yes, but again, those are the basics." She said. "Your field does a lot more than that, and can do much more than that, if you study it and learn to harness it in ways most pegasi never even dare to contemplate." She told him. "I was involved closely with Rainbow Dash soon after she joined the Wonderbolts and was made a Squad Leader. I was trying to codify exactly how pegasi magic made the feats we see with certain pegasi possible, like the Sonic Rainboom and how some ponies can fly at literally impossible speeds. And it all comes down to the Field pegasi generate around themselves when they fly."

"So, what did your studies find out?" Thunderlane asked.

"Rainbow Dash has one of the most powerful personal fields of any pegasus I have ever scanned in flight." Stellar told Thunderlane. "She can pump more energy into her personal field than even Celestia could, I think, even though Celestia is an alicorn, because Celestia hasn't had the training that Rainbow Dash has had, even at a young age. That's why she was able to make a rainboom when she was four. No other pony in existence has been able to do that." Stellar said.

Thunderlane nodded. "So... she's got a lot of power."

"Yes, and she knows how to focus it properly now, ever since the fly-off where she did her second rainboom. That's how she's learned to do it more easily." Stellar explained further. "And at Shiny and Cadance's wedding, she was able to go supersonic at less than five hundred metres above the ground and make another rainboom. The biggest problem she has is that every time she does it, the energy release almost depletes her field to the point where she loses it. I think her training with the Wonderbolts was starting to teach her how to go supersonic without triggering the Rainboom, which meant her field was at its full capacity once she was past the sound barrier. That's how she's gotten a lot faster of late in her flying, passing hypersonic speeds now."

"Yeah... I remember what she was like before Discord took us all." Thunderlane sighed. "Damn, she was fast! Soarin had moves that could make him launch at supersonic speeds, but Dash had almost learned to copy them." Then Thunderlane asked. "Okay, so why can't everypony make a rainboom, then?"

"Because the rainboom pattern is most likely specific to Dash's energy signature." Stellar said. "Since every pegasus' signature is different, if they learn to do a 'rainboom'-style energy release when crossing the sound barrier, then it'll take the color-spread of their own personal field, the way mine does. That's why I call it a 'Chromaboom', or 'color-boom'." Stellar explained. "To make a Rainbow-Dash-style 'Rainboom', you'd have to match Dash's energy signature almost exactly, and that is VERY hard to do." Stellar said. "You'd have to be as fast as she is, or close enough, then copy her signature as you crossed the sound barrier. When Twilight did it the first time, her 'color-boom' was like a huge six-pointed Sparkle Star, but I think that was a deliberate shaping on her part." Stellar told Thunderlane. "So it's not impossible, just very difficult."

"Okay. So what were you doing?" He asked. "You sounded like you'd strapped a jet engine to your back, and moved like it."

Stelar grinned. "As I said, travelling fast uses up a lot of energy. You know that yourself." She reminded Thunderlane. "I'd been working on a way to use magic a lot more efficiently for travelling fast than just using my wings and field to shove me along. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust are insanely fast pegasi... but what about the rest of us? I can go supersonic with a little help. Even Celestia can do so with a good deal of help. But without special support, it wears us out in a very short time. I have found a way to work around that, but it needs a lot of work and magic to use that particular solution, even if it uses less magic than flying straight. It was coming here to Earth, that gave me my solution; funnily enough, from another cartoon show."

"And the solution was?" He asked.

"To mould my field like a nuclear ramjet." Stellar grinned. "I have a central body where I was, wrapped around me. The second field outside that formed the housing of the ramjet and directed the air through it in the same manner as a ramjet engine. The biggest problem was heating the air that came in. I had to make a very special array-grid that would take in mana and super-heat the array, so the air could pass through it." Stellar explained. "That was the glowing ring you saw behind me."

"So... you developed that just to go fast?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar chuckled. "Actually, it's more for long-distance flight than sheer speed, although I don't know how fast it could go, to be honest. What you saw this morning, when you came out, was the last of a number of attempts to hold the fields together, and it finally worked." Stellar reported with a huge grin. "Now, when we're flying to America in a few day's time, instead of us arriving exhausted, we'll arrive fairly fresh and ready to find others."

"So... you can hold it together around all of us?" Thunderlane asked.

Stellar looked a little uncertain. "I'm guessing so. Of course, we'll do a little trial and testing before we leave. That way the others can also get used to holding position inside the fields and know what it's going to be like." She explained. "I think it's also going to be the best way to carry Rumble with us, without us having to carry him along." Stellar added. "He's a good flyer for his age, but he just doesn't have the endurance yet for a flight like this would be normally."

"Yeah, I have to agree with you there." Thunderlane admitted. "As much as I don't want to hurt him, I also don't want to leave the little dude behind. If we find other foals, he could be the clincher in getting them to come with us."

"Indeed. He will be invaluable in that capacity." Stellar agreed. "And I don't want to leave him here, either. Leave my cuddle-colt behind? Never." Stellar grinned.

"I thought I was your cuddle-colt." Thunderlane said with a sniffle.

Stellar giggled mirthfully. "No... you're my snuggle-stallion." She corrected Thunderlane, kissing him lustfully.

"Mmm... that does sound better." He heartily agreed.

Author's Notes:

Well, another chapter that discusses a lot of things, including starting two new characters on their way.
There's a lot of my personal theories behind how things work in Equestria, as well as a good deal of thoery behind the Sonic Rainboom. And while this is my own personal interpretation of the phenomenon, everything I've put forward makes sense by how things are shown in the show. Others will disagree, and that's okay, too. My interpretation is also open to interpretation.

So go ahead, discuss it if you wish. I'd love to hear how others interpret what has been seen on the show...