Twilight finally took a break from going over the last of Stellar's prototype spells and asked Spike for some lunch... then found out it was Dinner-time. "Oh." She said, as Starlight looked around.

"Yeah. And you two are gonna march straight to the dining room and join Trixie and myself for Dinner, no refusals, excuses or wheedling allowed!" Spike stated to them, looking sternly at the two ponies.

"Okay! Okay, Spike." Twilight said, smiling. Spike was really starting to grow up and was becoming a little more assertive, in making sure she and Starlight at least tried to adhere to proper mealtimes and sleep routines.

As they sat down, Twilight was pleased to see Trixie actually helping Spike to bring out their meal. "Thank you, Trixie." Twilight said to her appreciatively.

"You are welcome, Twilight." Trixie said, her voice being soft and pleasant now, without the haughty edge she normally embraced while speaking.

"Did you find the Human Equestria interesting?" Twilight asked Trixie as she swung up into the seat beside Starlight.

"It was... enlightening, I have to admit." Trixie answered. "Tr... I must admit... the lack of magic there has made me realise how lucky I am to have it here. And the little tricks they have that they call 'Magic'..." She smiled, then giggled. "I will admit, I have some very good new ideas to use in my show... once I decide to go back on the road again." Trixie then stuffed some of Spike's excellent cooking into her muzzle for a few minutes.

Twilight smiled happily. "I'm glad you were able to enjoy it. It is a fascinating place."

"I have to agree." Starlight slipped in. "We both learned so much from Sunset and the others. I'm just glad we recognised the problem between Canterlot High and Crystal Prep, and the magic show we put on really wowed them."

"Yes! Once I found my magic, The Most Excellent Trixie thrilled the audience again! All of Trixie's best spells and stunts were new to them. And since their 'magic' is all illusion and trickery, Trixie's excellent use of her innate power was much better than most of their best 'magicians'. Trixie even made a car seem to disappear!" Trixie grinned. "Never has Trixie ever received such acclaim!" Then she sighed. "But Tr... but 'I' am glad to be Home again." She gave Starlight a tender smile, one that was returned.

Twilight was smiling softly at Trixie as well. Her one-time 'enemy' was almost an entirely different pony now, and Twilight actually liked the 'new' Trixie, especially with Starlight helping her as much as she needed. Friendship had made them both much better ponies now, and Twilight was glad she'd given both of them a second chance.

They'd barely finished Dinner, when there was a knock at the door. Spike led Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack into the living room as Twilight, Trixie and Starlight retired there. "Hey you three! What brings you here at this hour?" Twilight asked.

"Well, we got our letters back to our sisters finished." Applejack started to say. "Thank fer helpin' us get this writ', Twi'." Applejack told Twilight gratefully.

"And we know you will be sending more supplies to Twilight in the morning." Rarity added.

"So we wanted to make sure our letters were here, ready to go to them." Rainbow Dash concluded.

Twilight grinned. "Of course! I'll add them to my letter back to Stellar before I send it." She reassured them, taking the letters and heading for her study.

After another eight hours of sleep, Stellar was down in Main Engineering, with Applebloom assisting her. Stellar had retrieved the last six of her mana generators, even removing the ones from her Exo-armor's flight systems to allow her to fit them to one of the reactor housings after she'd modified it to take them. At the six cardinal points of the sphere, facing inwards and opposite each other, Stellar fitted them and added transparent plates fitted with minor arrays. These would convert their normal output of mana into heating spells of great power.

"So... this will let ya melt down tha Magicite Twilight's gonna be sendin' us into metal, then?" Applebloom asked, as Stellar set one of the generators into the new housing she'd attached to the outside of the reactor chamber.

"That's right, Applebloom." Stellar confirmed. "This reactor is going to be our new furnace out here... for the moment. If this works like the one I made for the Small Rings foundry, then I should be able to create a hot enough zone inside the reactor to smelt the Magicite into the metal the ones the Humans called 'The Robotech Masters' use in the Fold Drive components I found." Stellar explained to Applebloom.

"An' tha Arcanite?" Applebloom asked.

Stellar used a small, weak beam of energy from the mana generator to align it in perfect opposition to the other generator on the far side of the reactor chamber. "I'm fairly sure I can make this system produce enough of a concentrated heat bloom to allow me to first melt the carbon into the Magicite. Then once they're mixed evenly, the fusion spell Twilight hopefully perfected should cause the carbon and Magicite to fuse together at the sub-atomic level, turning them into stable Arcanite."

Applebloom looked excited, then her face frowned. "But... if'n Unicorns got rid of Arcanite so that it couldn't be used against Pegasi an' Earth Ponies... won't that upset a lot of Ponies if y'all can just make it now?" She asked.

Stellar chuckled. "You're becoming quite wise at times, Applebloom." Stellar said to her, gaining a smile and blush from the fifteen-year-old filly. "Indeed, I have considered what re-introducing Arcanite into our society could do to it." Stellar told Applebloom. "But what I am going to use it for is very different to what it was used for over a thousand years ago. It isn't going to remain something only unicorns can use. With all this new technology, Arcanite is going to give Equestria the new energy source it has been begging for for centuries now, to power our country into a new industrial age, as Celestia has wanted for a long time. Only our very strict environmental laws have kept us back, since Celestia refuses to allow the use of any power source that pollutes... and rightly so." Stellar confirmed. "Even the metal-smithing industry used to create far more pollution than Celestia liked, but until we discovered electric-arc furnaces, it couldn't be helped. But if I can make a source of electrical power from this equipment and our magical resources, then there will be very few who will ever complain against it. It will totally revolutionise our country's way of life."

"Wow..." Applebloom said, eyes agape at what Stellar was proposing. "Arcanite can do all that?"

"I think so." Stellar answered. "It might be only theory at the moment, but I do have some proof in my little mana generators. They do prove that we can make mana in concentrated quantities, rather than drag it out of the Field on Equestria. And because we can make it in usable quantities and concentrations, it means that it can be useful as a proper power source for Industrial and Domestic use by converting it into electrical power, instead of relying on other methods of power generation... at least for now. We can work on other, more advanced methods of electrical power generation once the network is set up for distribution of the mana-generated power." Stellar explained to Applebloom as she locked down the last of the mana generators into the housing.

Applebloom nodded. "So, all we gotta do is wait fer tha ore, then?" She asked.

Stellar nodded as she returned to the catwalk. "That's all we can do for now, Applebloom. We'll see if we can get the fusion reactors up and running, even if there's just one of them going. That should give us power enough to keep most of the section of the ship we have habitable running properly for now."

Applebloom nodded as she and Stellar headed for the section where the fusion reactors were installed. With Applebloom's help, they managed to get one of the five reactors fired up and working at minimal capacity for the moment, until they got more fuel for them. "That should do for now, Applebloom. Let's go back up and have something to eat."

Twilight came awake, eyes a little bleary but rested after a long night of good sleep. She stretched and yawned, wondering what had awakened her, when she felt it again: Somepony was knocking on the front door to the castle. Throwing back her bedsheets with a wing, Twilight slid out of bed onto her hoofs and gave a little stretch to each of her legs, then extended her wings as she headed for the door to her room. As she passed by her vanity, she grabbed a manebrush and started on her clump of bed-mane as she furled her wings and headed out the door to her bedroom. "Who could be *yawn* knocking at this time of morning?" She asked herself as she headed down the stairs to the lower floor.

As she came around the open curve, she saw Spike had answered the door, revealing a pegasus in the armor and livery of the Flying Squad Couriers, the fastest members of the REG's Flying Squad. He was chatting with Spike, although he was still holding onto the scroll he had in his hoof, making no sign that he was going to give it to him. He then saw her approaching. "Ah, Princess Sparkle! Good morning." He said and bowed to Twilight.

"Good morning... Sergeant." Twilight replied, noting his rank from his peytral plate. "You may rise." She added hastily.

He straightened up again and smiled at Twilight. "I have a message for you, from Her Highness, Princess Celestia." He informed Twilight, holding it out to her.

Twilight took the scroll and slipped it under a wing. "I could have just given it to her, y'know." Spike said to the courier.

"Sorry, Spike; special orders for personal, on-sight delivery this time." He gave Spike a commiserating smile. He then held out a clipboard for Twilight to sign, which she did this time. She might occasionally forget to sign civilian message-deliverers (save for Ditzy when she came around), but she'd always remembered to sign off on the Guard-couriers' deliveries. Celestia preferred to know when an official message was properly delivered.

Spike sighed. "Yeah, I know." He replied. Then he held out a paper bag. "Here you go."

The sergeant took the bag, the look of delight on his face only growing. "Thanks, Spike. This is the best type of 'tip' for this time of day. I'll enjoy your cookies with my coffee this morning."

"You're welcome." Spike gave the Sergeant a grin, as the pegasus courier backed out and turned to take off, paper bag in his side-bags.

Twilight walked up the stairs again, heading for her office as her manebrush worked through her tail, her wings only needed a slight flutter to have them in some semblance of order, until she could give them a good preening. Sitting up into her chair, she opened the seal and spread out the pages. She could see several official-looking sheets with the stamps of various guilds on them, the Mages' Guild and Engineers' Guild most prominent. Twilight put them aside for the moment as her gaze turned to the one page that out-classed all the others: the one with Celestia's unmistakeable horn-writing on it. Twilight lifted the sheet, with its golden ink, to her nose and took a slow, deep breath. She sighed with pleasure at not just the well-recognised perfume of the custom-made ink, but Celestia's scent itself was on the page, indicating she must have rubbed the page on her neck to ensure that Twilight knew this was directly from her. Twilight smiled at Spike as he came in with pastries and a huge mug of Twilight's special 'wake-up: slow-but-steady' blend of coffee; not her 'I-MUST-BE-AWAKE-IMMEDIATELY!' brew. Twilight put the tray beside her on the desk, then leaned down and nuzzled Spike lovingly. "Thank you, Spike. You always know what I need." She told him in an affectionate tone.

Spike chuckled. "Comes from long practise." He replied.

Twilight giggled as well, as Spike left her office, and she settled down to sip at her coffee, munch on her breakfast and read Celestia's letter:

To: Princess Twilight Eve Sparkle
From: Princess Celestia Sol Invictus

Dear Twilight,

I am so happy to hear that the problem your sister Stellar now faces might be moving to a conclusion fairly soon. To have somepony as dear as she is to you, as well as to Luna and myself, so far away, can be heartbreaking. I am glad she has not lost heart, but is working steadily to find a way home, as are you.

Your idea of making telecommunications easier with Spike's scale-candles once again proves how good your ideas are, Twilight. Without them, your sister and those with her would have been truly lost. We look forward to seeing more of them in use, eventually.

The discovery Stellar has made concerning Arcanite and the circumstances of its disappearance from Equestria is truly astounding. The Mages' Guild and Engineers' Guild, as you can imagine, are clamouring for information on this find. Perhaps you might take the time to send Stellar their letters, so she can reply to them (Rather than yourself, who does not have all the facts yet). I am sure the courtesy would be much appreciated by the members of both guilds.

To this end, Luna has managed to persuade the Miners' Guild to expedite the supply of the powdered coal and Magicite to you as quickly as it can be obtained. Already nearly a tonne of powdered Magicite has been gathered and purified, and more is passing through the process as I write to you. The coal is being passed through the sorting spell you have sent us as well. Although this 'Carbon-14' does not look or smell any different from it's 'normal' counterpart, I understand that alchemical ingredients need to be extremely pure and precise. So it was not outside the realms of normality to ask for the sorting process to be applied to the product (Listen to me. I sound like the Alchemistry professor from my school *small giggle*). We shall stockpile as much of both products as Stellar thinks is prudent as well.

I have also sent the drawings and specifications for the mana crystals Stellar needs to the Crystal Empire. As an official order, the Royal Research and Development Establishment will absorb the small expense without straining your own allowances on this, Twilight. If Stellar's predictions prove true, this will benefit Equestria in ways we have sought for centuries. Therefore, think nothing of the costs involved. The R.R.& D.E. will support this venture to its ultimate conclusion.

I hope that things will proceed as quickly as possible, and we shall have your sister back amongst us again, and the three fillies who started this adventure can be safely returned to those who miss them the most. Please pass both my sister's and my best wishes to Stellar, and that we both hope she and her friends will return to us as soon as feasibly possible.

Yours faithfully,

Princess Celestia Sol Invictus

Twilight smiled as she read Celestia's letter. There was so much formal language, yet she could see the little heartfelt messages contained within. Then she found another page almost hidden within the sheets. Opening it, Twilight found a different kind-of missive...

Heartfelt greetings, my beloved Twilight.

I am so sorry that my reply had to be so formal, but there were others with me as I wrote it. Luna and I are so happy that things are going so well with Stellar and getting her and the Cutie Mark Crusaders home once again.

However, I must confess I am having grave misgivings about Stellar's discovery of how to create Arcanite. Although her points about the uses it could have in the advancement of our nation are well-put and very relevant to our nation's current position, I cannot forget the horrific problems that metal caused between our subjects, so very long ago.

I know you have studied in some detail the social crisis that Arcanite caused between the unicorns and the other two tribes of Ponies, but I am sending you a book to read that shows the crisis in far greater depth, as well as references to spells that have been banned since Arcanite was removed from Equestrian usage. I want you to send a second copy of it to Stellar as well, so that she might understand the turmoil that Arcanite threw our barely-joined alliance into before the removal of Arcanite resolved it. Take your time to read this very carefully and check the sources and any other resources you may need to understand what is written in this account. I trust you will find out what you and Stellar need to make the proper decisions regarding re-introducing this resource back into Equestrian Society.

With all my love,

Celestia

Twilight frowned, but pulled the little books out of the pocket linked to the back of Celestia's private letter. They were obviously re-scribed accounts from scrolls over a thousand years old, but the clear script and regular text comforted her. She entered the second book and copies of Celestia's letters, as well as those from the Guild Masters, in the H-S pocket in her own letters. And while she waited for the train-load of ores to arrive, she read Celestia's book...

It was a much-troubled and thoughtful Twilight Sparkle, princess of Equestria, who landed down at Ponyville's little station after a cargo train pulled into the yards. What she'd read in Celestia's little book had shocked her to the core. What had been publically-known about that turbulent period of Equestrian pre-history was not quite a lie, not quite a cover-up; it told the basic facts while concealing details that, if revealed, could either lead to renewed condemnation and suppression of unicorns in general... or the reverse: Unicorns once again trying to dominate Equestria due to amplification of their magical abilities, and the suppression or even enslavement of Pegasi and Earth Ponies. The thought of such happening again made Twilight's entire physiology quiver with barely-suppressed terror...

But she steeled herself, following Celestia's example. Stellar and the C.M.C. needed this to get home again. There was nothing else that could serve as a powerful-enough source of energy to fuel the Fold-drive of the Xerxes. The social ramifications... they would deal with those as best as they could.

As she walked up to the train, Royal Guards were standing by the entrances to the boxcars, and saluted her as she came up to them. "At ease, Gentlecolts." Twilight said in reply, and the Guards followed her command.

One of the staff from the Royal Steam Locomotion Society, the body that ran the railways in Equestria, stepped up to her with a smile. "Good morning, Your Highness." He greeted Twilight, doffing his pillbox hat and giving a short bow.

"Good morning." Twilight said in her 'happy-to-meet-you' voice. "I trust there were no delays on the line?" She asked.

"No, no. Nothing but smooth travel." He grinned at Twilight. "Now, as I am sure has been relayed to you, we have quite a sizeable delivery here for you, Miss... Twilight?" He looked at Twilight, a little unsure of conventions. He knew that the Princess eschewed use of her royal title when in Ponyville, but he wanted to be sure she was perfectly all right with himself doing so at this point.

"Twilight will do...?" Twilight fished for the Earth Pony stallion's name.

"Bronze Fittings, Miss Twilight." Bronze answered, doffing his cap to her again. "Now... we have two metric tonnes of finely-powdered coal dust in this forward boxcar." He informed Twilight as they walked the line of cars. "Behind the first car are two other cars filled with five metric tonnes of finely-powdered Magicite ore. They are all contained within especially-sealed linen bags, weighing ten kilograms each, for convenience of handling and weighing." Bronze smiled at Twilight. "I hope this is suitable."

Twilight grinned. "Eminently so, Bronze." She replied. "I can take some of it now; the rest can be delivered to Castle Friendship as is convenient." Twilight instructed Bronze. "Just see Spike, and he'll tell the delivery ponies where to put it." Then she commented "That's a lot more ore than I expected."

Bronze Fittings nodded. "To be confidential," He said in a whisper to Twilight's ears alone, "we were ordered to bring the entirety of the stockpiled ingredients to you, not to keep them in Canterlot." He explained. "The Princesses are of the opinion that keeping them in Castle Friendship, with its... unusual structures and interesting habits, might prevent pilfering of said ingredients." And he fully removed his hat in a sweeping bow to her.

Twilight then nodded, her manner a little less cheerful. The she saw inside Bronze's cap was a badge; the badge of Luna's Intelligence Network. She nodded to Bronze as he put his cap back on. "I understand." She replied. "I know just where to put it."

"Very good, then." Bronze smiled. "Shall we get started?" He asked, as the Guards opened one of the boxcars' doors, two of them bringing up a portable staircase for them to ascend into the boxcar's interior. Inside, the stacked sacks of materials were easily visible. Twilight fished out one of the H-S pocket pages from inside her sidebags, and began loading it up with the bags of Magicite powder. After counting out a hundred and five bags, she closed that pocket and laid out a second one, into which she deposited the same number of bags.

"There. That will do for this lot." Twilight said. "Now, the carbon?" She asked Bronze.

"Of course." Bronze replied, and he led her down to the forward boxcar, where Twilight repeated the routine for a third time, filling one H-S pocket with over a tonne of powdered carbon. Once that was done, she put the scrolls away and waited outside as the rest of the shipment was loaded into carts.

A quick trip through town to Castle Friendship and some deft handling by Twilight's horn had the bags inside the castle in one of the forward rooms. "Thank you, Bronze. And thank you, Gentlecolts." She thanked the drivers and the guards. "If you want to have some refreshments before you return to Canterlot, just avail yourselves of any of the local eateries. Tell them I'll pay the tab." Twilight grinned at them.

Bronze and the drivers returned Twilight's grin, as the Guards saluted. "Indeed, Twilight, we shall avail ourselves of your hospitality. And thank you very much." They all thanked Twilight, who wished them a good meal and saw them on their way, before she headed inside.

"Yes, I know just where to put all this." Twilight said to herself as she approached the sacks again. She pulled out more H-S pocket-scrolls and started stuffing the Magicite and carbon powder into them, until it was all concealed. Putting her bags in her office, Twilight made her way to the library and hid the extra scroll-sheets in a large presentation folder called 'Maps Of The Mineral Wealth Of Equestria And Other Nations'. "Entirely appropriate." Twilight said as she returned the folder to the shelf where it was housed.

After lunch, Twilight assembled the next letter to Stellar, after writing her own contribution to it, then rolled it up and sealed it as Spike watched, ready. "Here you go, Spike." Twilight hoofed it over to the young dragon, and Spike sent the scroll on its way. Twilight relaxed back in her seat, then smiled at Spike.

"Some real progress made, then?" He asked.

Twilight nodded back. "Yes, Spike. Some real progress has been made." She agreed. "Now, all we have to do is wait for the mana crystals from the Empire, as well as Stellar's experiments to go ahead and hopefully be a resounding success." She picked him up and put him on her lap, hugging him close. "Every day we work, they're a little closer to Home." She whispered softly to him.

As the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat and accessed the teaching Database, Stellar herself was also reading up on the historical Database and the 'Robotech Wars', as Captain Masters had called them. Stellar shook her head as she read the history of the human planet they called 'Earth'. Humans were such a war-like race, first fighting amongst themselves, then having a vast interstellar war dropped onto them by the arrival of a starship no larger than the Xerxes was. But the wars had given them such enormous leaps in technology that Stellar couldn't help but be at least partially impressed. However, she hoped almost beyond Hope that this war wouldn't be following along behind the Xerxes; that she was truly as lost as she appeared to be to the race that had built her. Stellar hated to contemplate that their only way home might also bring a war to their planet that would dwarf any other conflict that Equestria had ever been forced to engage in. But then it had been over a hundred-and-fifty years since the Xerxes had vanished. Surely if she'd been looked for, they would have located her long before the crew ran out of supplies.

As Stellar sat there, a curl of smoke appeared in the air above her, and as Stellar looked up, it materialised into another scroll that dropped towards the console. Stellar caught it in her magic, drawing it down to her, and she smiled when she saw Twilight's cutie mark on the seal. She looked up to see the three young mares looking at her

"Are there letters for us?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I can't see any individual scrolls for any of you, but they might be inside." Stellar told them, as they saved their places and gathered around Stellar. "Let me get this open, and we'll see."

Stellar unrolled the sheaf of papers in the scroll and read through Twilight's letter...

Dear Stellar,

Okay... Celestia and Luna are hugely excited about your discoveries regarding Magicite and Arcanite. They can see your point about using Arcanite to produce clean, safe power for the ship there, as well as for Industry back here on Equis. I think I have the conversion spells you asked me to go over and perfect as close to that level of perfection as it is possible for them to achieve. Of course, I have no way to actually test them, so that will be up to you. Here's hoping we both got this right.

It took the Miner's Guild's workers all night to produce enough powdered Magicite for you, although crushing it down that fine took longer than rounding enough of it up. As you said, with the Arcanite degrading to Magicite and Carbon, it explains why there's so much of it. I'm going to be stockpiling it for you as well, with the verbal consent and written permission of the Princesses. We've also found a rich vein of almost pure coal that has a great percentage of Carbon-14 in it, in one of the older coal mines. The sorting spell has proved to work very efficiently and, after powdering the coal, running it through the array made it separate out very easily. We're going to be stockpiling Carbon-14 for you as well, so you should have plenty of it waiting for you when you get back. We're also condensing and compressing more air down and making up some liquid oxygen and hydrogen, as you asked, and filling some bigger containers with water for you to connect to the Xerxes, to bring her back up to where her life-support systems should be.

Your encounter with the Haydonite sounded really creepy, if you ask me. I hope you can trust what she told you as much as you think you can, but I do agree we don't need this 'Protoculture' stuff if your ideas pan out. Using mana for energy generation is far more familiar and safer for us Ponies than something that could be even one-percent as dangerous as the Haydonite made out it was, and the Princesses and I agree we should never touch the stuff, or even look at it. They're writing in a blanket ban on it, as well as writing new by-laws for the towns and villages, making out it is something to be avoided at all cost... which it pretty much is, by the sounds of it. Even I, for one, really aren't curious about something like that; as you told me once: 'Better the devil you know', as you said Humans say about choices like this.

As it is, I'm going to be sending you what you asked for, plus we have another two tonnes of powdered Magicite ready for you, if you need it. If you can send some of this Magicite metal back to us, as well as some Arcanite for us to study, it would be appreciated more than you can imagine. Both the Mages Guild and the Engineers Guild here are going crazy over the information you've sent already. Some of them want to begin experiments here almost immediately, but as I told them and Celestia agreed, having you do the first experiments at such a distance to Equis is only sensible. We don't want to risk blowing up the planet (Or even a small chunk of it) if these experiments can be done safely at a considerable distance. Anyway, I have every confidence in your alchemical skills and knowledge, since they're almost the same as mine and you know metals far better than I do, which should stand you in good stead doing this.

Oh, and there are letters for the Crusaders from their sisters and family inside the H-S pocket that has the food supplies in it. I hope they're well-received by the three of them. While a lot of the anxiety and despair has been lifted from their minds, the older siblings are still are feeling a little... upset at what they did. So keep an eye on the girls and make sure they know that their siblings and others are really only letting their frustrations out, and that they will always be welcome home, no matter what.

Hoping things work out,

Your loving sister,

Twilight

Stellar grinned with delight as she checked through the five pocket-arrays Twilight had included with her reply letter. As well as the one filled with supplies of food, water and drinks and several filled with the compressed air, water, liquid oxygen and hydrogen tanks, inside each of the other three were the raw materials she'd asked for, nicely ground to finer than talcum powder, as requested. They were also in sealed bags that made for easy handling. The perfected detection and sifting-spell showed that Twilight had managed to find her the purest Magicite ore and Carbon-14 powder that it was possible to obtain, again as requested.

Stellar pulled out the three letters to the Trio and handed them out. The young mares received them with not a little intrepidation, but steeled themselves and stretched out on the apron floor to read them...

Scootaloo got hers opened first and settled down to read:

To: Scootaloo
From: Rainbow Dash

Heya Scoots!

I got your letter, obviously, right? Duh! Listen, kiddo, we're cool, okay? Things happen; I know that better than anypony else. At least you're not hurt or lying in Hospital... or covered in tree sap again! And while how you got out there wasn't the brightest of moves, you're in such an awesome place because of it!

I understand you're on board a starship now. That's so incredible! Is it anything like Star Charter's novels? Didja find any bug-eyed monsters or things like that? (Changelings don't count.)

And yeah, I know I should be mad at you for screwing up and getting you and the other Crusaders into deep trouble... but that's just you, Buddy. Half the best stuff in your life happened because of your accidents with the Crusaders (The rest comes from me ;) ). Look, everypony screws up; I have so many times that I really need a scoreboard to keep track some months... but even I know the most important thing is to not to screw up the same way twice. Learn from your mistakes and all that (I swear sometimes that egghead stuff Twilight comes out with actually makes sense).

So, no pressure, Scoots. I'll be waiting here with the biggest hugs for you when you and the others get back. Learn everything you can while you're out there, and come back again safe. And... if you can get any of those 'aircraft' working... save one for me. They sound impossibly awesome. ;)

To the best little sister in the world,

With love,

Rainbow Dash

Scootaloo sighed happily, and just rested her head on the letter, breathing in the smell of the ink, mixed with the scent of the best adopted sister in the world...

Applebloom opened her letter with a great deal of trepidation:

{This is mostly written in Twilight's very neat horn-script.}

To: Applebloom

From: Applejack, Big Mac and Granny Smith.

{This part is obviously from Applejack}

Howdy, Lil' Sis,

To begin: We're all a little disappointed in y'all fer gettin' yerself in such a bad predicament again. We'd all thought ya might have lerned yer lesson on this one, but ah guess ya still have got a lil' bit'a 'foalishness' in ya still.

But, havin' said that, we are all so glad that yer still in one piece an' breathin' still. If'n yer gonna do sumthin' real stupid like interrupt Twilight as ya did, at least ya did so when Stellar was there ta catch all of ya. We'll talk more about that when ya get home.

{Big Mac's hoof-writing}

Ah'll be givin ya hugs when ya gets home, Applebloom. Then we'll talk.

{Back to Twilight's horn-writing, but obviously Granny Smith}

An' Ah'll be there as well, young missy! Y'all is gonna be lucky to not get yer rump tanned fer ya... then lotsa hugs.

{Back to Applejack}

Now, you listen to Stellar an' do what she tells ya to do, you understand me? Plus if yer learnin' well there, then hopefully it's gonna teach y'all a lil' bit'a control an' manners properly.

Right, ah've said mah bit now, so y'all jus' listen to Stellar, an' keep safe, Sis. We all expect ya to come back as safe as possible to us again, no matter whut. An' never ferget, we're thinkin' of ya, always.

Yer lovin' Family,

Applejack, Big Mac an' Granny Smith

Applebloom breathed a sigh of relief. She could tell they were mad at her, but not so mad that they wouldn't welcome her home again once they got home. She looked up at Scootaloo, who gave her a warm smile, and she smiled back at one of her truest friends.

Sweetie Belle slowly unrolled the scroll, made of the fine paper that Rarity used in all her important letters. She put her nose almost to the page and slowly breathed in: the beautiful perfumed ink that Rarity kept for her important notes and design drawings filled her nose with smells of Home. Part of Sweetie Belle knew that, while she was forgiven... maybe... that Rarity was still very disappointed in her, something she had known would be the case ever since they'd appeared out here, with Stellar.

She laid the scroll out and started to read:

To: Sweetie Belle

From: Rarity Belle

To my dearly beloved sister,

Before everything else I might say to you, Sweetie, I want to tell you that I will always love you, no matter what. You have been a frustrating bundle of trouble ever since you could walk... but I have always known that your love for me, and your admiration of me, have always been the truest expression of sibling love that any younger sister could project to their older sister.

The thought that you could have truly been taken from me and that I could never see you again, not even to lay your cold, dead body in the ground, nearly sent me over the edge. If Twilight had not come looking for me with your letter in her hoof, I am not sure I could have ever pulled myself back from staring into the abyss. The love I could feel exuding from your words turned the tide for me, dear Sweetie.

And yes, while I have never been so disappointed in you for what you did, after so many times before this that you and your friends have done exactly the same thing... I will set aside my disappointment in you until we have been together for a long time, my beloved sister. Nothing is worth alienating you while we are so far apart. You will need your head screwed on properly to cope with the dangerous environment you have found yourselves in, so I will stay my wrath for another time. Only my Love for you will be waiting for you when you finally arrive Home again.

Just... come home safely, Sweetie. Nothing is more important than having you home again, regardless of how I feel, no matter how much you might deserve my wrath. I send to you only my Love and my wishes to have you safe in my forelegs again, dearest Sweetie Belle.

Only then will I feel completely whole again.

Your loving sister,

Rarity Belle

Sweetie had to tilt the page out of the way as big tears flowed through her cheek-fur and onto the floor. The promise of punishments to come did nothing to dampen the true love and affection she could feel bound to the page by the lovely writing of Rarity. She closed her eyes and wondered how she had ever deserved such a wonderful sister...

Then a big wing covered her back, as a strong body pressed into her side. Sweetie looked up to see Stellar looking down at her. She sniffled as Stellar leaned down and licked her tears away gently, as if her own mother was hugging a much-younger her. She slid her head under Stellar's chin and muzzle, and just hugged into her. As she started to cry again, Sweetie felt four more forelegs hug into her, as the love of her friends surrounded her and let her know she wasn't ever alone.

Author's Notes:

Trying to think the way other minds not my own would think and say things is both difficult, and yet so rewarding when it sounds like it could have come from those very same characters. I hope I got the letters from the older sisters to their younger sisters sounding appropriate... especially Rarity. Of all the older sisters, I think she has the deepest love and feelings for her younger sister of any of the three, Applejack not withstanding. She might not always show it, but Rarity cares for Sweetie Belle so much that I think the thought of losing her would send Rarity into such a deep depression, nothing might remove her from it if it proves true. She is incredibly strong, but also quite fragile in certain spots...