“Radiant, you’re officially an idiot.” Angelo shook his head.

They had quickly moved out of the engine room, bringing the stowaway Pegasus to the Captain’s office. Radiant was now sitting in a seat in front Dilip’s desk, muzzle and wings held low in shame.

“How long were you in there?” Dilip asked, half-growling.

“Not sure…” Radiant rubbed the back of his head. “I went there just as the others were preparing to leave then I fell asleep. Made sure there would be some time before they noticed I wasn’t on board.”

This was bad. This was very bad. Amandine was already way past Gothenburg and, at her speed, Sirocco could have already flown hundreds of miles into the hinterland by that point. If Elaena had kept even half as close to her voyage planning, then the parrot might already be in Austria. Contacting them by radio was a moot point too: Sirocco’s limited batteries couldn’t keep the radio on 24/7, let alone the fact nobody (or –pony) on the airship was trained to use radio tech.

And naturally, the Pegasus had no clue what had been said about travel between Equus and Earth, as evidenced by his reaction when Angelo repeated what the Abyssinian King had told them.

“So let me get this straight, you stowed away on our ship, yet you didn’t account for the fact you may never see your compatriots again?” Dilip asked.

Right then, he was really starting to consider slapping the shit out of the Pegasus.

“I thought Equestria would keep sending ships!” Radiant cried out. “That eventually we’d cross paths with one of them once more!”

“Turns out we won’t. You stranded yourself on an alien planet…” The Diamond Dog spoke. “What I’d want to know is what in the name of everything that’s ever been considered holy on this planet were you thinking that made it, even remotely, seem like a good idea?!” The Captain raised his voice, standing up in his chair as he shouted the last words.

Radiant shrank in his seat at the display. Yeah, that was a pretty dumb idea.

“I uh…” He stuttered. “I just didn’t want to leave yet you know? Amandine… she’s just so fascinating, I… I didn’t want to return to bland Equestrian ships okay?”

Dilip craddled his head in his paws, releasing a long, drawn out sigh before pointing towards the door.

“Out. Both of you. I need to think about this. Angelo, you go get Schmitt and Alejandro, we’ll decide the stowaway’s fate.”

He watched the two of them leave without a word of protest, Radiant’s hooves dragging against the floor with his wingtips nearly touching the ground as the bigger Minotaur ushered him out.

As soon as the door closed, he sagged in his chair.

The Equestrians were supposed to leave! What the Hell was he supposed to do if the same alien that wasn’t supposed to know about the HPI stuck around while they carried on with their delivery? Should he tell the Pegasus? Did it even matter anymore, that he was an alien, since either way he wouldn’t be seeing his compatriots ever again?

Dilip let out a long stream of curse words in Marathi slip off his tongue. Right when he was expecting things to become more straightforward, the bloody Pegasus had to barge in and royally fuck up his plans.

Well at least it couldn’t get any worse.

Meanwhile down south, in France (Brittany specifically), events slightly more important than a mere stowaway were unfolding.

The sailors had been correct in guessing that there were several convergence points in Brittany. In fact, the entire region’s Celtic history made it rife with ancient magic. One such area was Broceliande, the same ancient forest they had assumed to be a convergence point.

In the past, this area of Brittany had been far more covered in woods than it now was, having extended over nearly the entire peninsula before human activity brought it down in size. For millennia, the place had been involved in ancient rites and Celtic lore, even before it came to find a place among Arthurian legends. Such legends had been passed down from Druid to Druid, then from Breton to Breton over the course of centuries.

Thing is, what modern humans assumed to be the stuff of myths and legends thanks to their magic-starved world… was actually true. The place was in fact, an actual enchanted forest, one that would have even put the Everfree to shame. And right then, after the Event…

The entire forest was engorged with magic, absorbing the newfound like a gigantic sponge. For too long it had slumbered, a shell of its former power, but now, it would thrive once more.

Amidst all that, a small group of Equestrians popped into existence in the middle of a clearing.

It may have been night, but there was no darkness to bother the ponies that appeared: the forest was alit like a rainbow just from the sheer magic that coursed through the place. The moss glowed in the moonlight, the trees supported thousands of firefly-sized specks of yellowish light, and even the ferns were releasing small clouds of silvery mist that shined at ankle-height.

At canopy height, dozens of wispy veils similar in color to auroras floated in the air, moving from tree to tree like intelligent clouds.

“Now I understand why you felt this was the best place Meadow’.” The lead pony, a unicorn with a long grey beard and wizard hat muttered.

His horn was practically vibrating from the sheer energy. The feeling was exhilarating, as if he could just about pull off any spell he wished right then.

“Yes.” An old Earth Pony mare nodded behind him. Unlike the unicorn whose age only really showed by his grey beard and mane, she was much more worn down by time. Her muzzle was marred by wrinkles, her pale blue coat a few shades duller than when she had been in her prime. “This is the place.”

Saying that, she rolled her shoulders to adjust the package she was supporting on her back. There were others in her group that could have burdened its weight, but that specific package was hers to shoulder.

Two other ponies accompanied them. One was a mate yellow Pegasus wearing what appeared to be the armor of a Roman legionnaire, complete with the red plume on the helmet; while the other…

If Vikings had turned into ponies and mated with a draft horse, he would have been the result. Despite appearing nearly as stricken by age as all other ponies in the group, his frame still sported enough muscle to put a minotaur to shame, and to add to that he was over twice as tall as the ponies around him. He had an icy blue coat of fur, accompanied by a braided ginger mane and tail, the former held back by a tin circlet around his forehead. To go with that, he wore thick leather armor around his barrel and hooves.

“You sure you don’t want help with the package Meadow’?” The large stallion asked, voice rumbling with a thick Scottish accent.

“Shush now, this mare isn’t done for yet Rock.” Meadowbrook shook her head before looking around. “You know… for a place that was supposed to lack magic this forest sure is lively.”

It reminded her of the Everfree, if somepony gave the forest magical steroids. There were mostly oaks around, tall centuries-old oaks that had grown gnarly over the years, looming over them with their branches reaching for the clearing like amorphous arms. They were swaying as if buffeted by a breeze, yet there was no wind, just the sound of wood groaning and leaves rustling.

“The Event must have overcharged the place… let’s be careful, I can sense this place has a lot of history.” Star Swirl said before lighting up his horn. “Meadow’, does the seed…?”

“Yes, it’s telling me where we need to go.” The old mare nodded, immediately taking the lead of their group.

Rockhoof was pretty sure he heard her joints pop from the sudden motion, yet the old mare insisted on carrying the seed. He cast Flash Magnus an exasperated look after yet another offer, the Pegasus only offering a confused shrug with his wings.

Hey, you’re her special someone. The buck do you want ME to do about it? The gesture said.

They hurried after their two companions before they could get too far. In a forest like that, Faust knew these two could get in trouble quickly, Star Swirl in particular…

Ultimately, nothing came out of the tree line to confront them as the four ponies made their way through the enchanted forest. They had a few close calls, once when they accidentally crossed path with a large herd of boards, and another time…

While on their way to where the seed was guiding Meadowbrook, Star Swirl stopped suddenly at a crossroads in the path they were following. His head snapped to the right, eyes trailing down the winding path between the trees where he felt…

Kinship? In a sense? Like his soul had just found its match.

“Star?” Rockhoof waved a hoof in front of his eyes, but the unicorn was already too far gone.

With renewed vigor, Star Swirl found himself galloping down the path, following the call of his very soul. Tree trunks flew past before he came to an abrupt halt in another clearing.

There was a small, moss covered sign next to the path. It read: ‘La Tombe de Merlin’ in Prench. And in the center of the clearing…

A single tall stone stood in the middle of a grass circle, with small rocks carefully laid in a circle all around. Each of them was covered in small runes and sigils that made the whole clearing thrum with energy and lifted the edges of Star Swirl’s cloak. The stallion found himself slowly trotting ever closer to the stone before stopping just a few steps short of it. He lifted his eyes up.

Midair above the stone, a pale-white bipedal silhouette stood... A human, wearing a long translucent cloak and a wizard’s hat exactly like the one Star Swirl had on his head.

The stallion fell down on his haunches, mouth agape as the silhouette leaned on an ethereal staff and gave him a wide smile.

“You... you’re me!” He cried out.

On the edge of the clearing, Flash Magnus halted Rockhoof with a wing and a shake of his head.

“Leave him, it’s personal stuff, he’ll catch up later.” The Pegasus whispered before motioning for him to get back to the main trail.

They still had to escort Meadowbrook and the seed.

“We’re not going through the Channel?” Ivan did a double take when she took a look at the charts.

“Nope on that, we’re going north of the British Isles. Through Scotland.” Geert answered.

“But...” The osprey griffon paused before she jotted down their position on the chart. “... isn’t it shorter the other way around?”

“Correct, but it’s not a matter of length or convenience.” The scarlet macaw explained just as she was checking for contacts on the radar. “We already got in radar range of the Channel when we left Antwerp, scanned the southern platforms in the North Sea and part of the British shores in the process so...”

“...Now we’re taking the north route to scan the Northern Platforms.”

“And the Scottish shores.” Geert added.

A lot of these platforms were already appearing on their radar screen since the tall structures really weren’t any good at absorbing radar waves. While the denser clusters of platforms in the North Sea were generally found between the Netherlands and England (an area they had already passed through), these were the natural gas fields.

On the other side of the spectrum, the more sparse area they were going through, in the Northern section of the sea, that was where the oil platform would generally be found. There were less of them at a glance, though the Dutch Officer knew damn well underneath the surface was a maze of manifolds, subsea templates and pipelines all connecting the platforms to networks and wells sometimes as far away as 30 nautical miles.

And this was how Rhine Forest and Amandine found themselves sailing west between Norway and Scotland, with the barge carrier repeatedly calling out on all frequencies for survivors to contact them.

“Makes me think you know...” Ivan mused once the griffon got back behind the helm (for what it was worth, the autopilot could keep a straight course without her input anyway).

“Wat?” Geert quirked her head, one talon lazily brushing through her crest.

“The Channel... it’s kinda dangerous now you know? Any second you could have a ship pop up in front of you. Probably for the best we go ‘round Scotland... far less reappearing traffic we could run into that side of Britain.”

“Not sure... I mean, we got fewer freighters on that route, but there is still traffic.” Geert shrugged.

“What then?”

“Offshore ships for the platforms, plus lots of navy ships and the ferries going to Kirkwall and the Orkney Islands. That’s not Channel-grade maritime highway, but it’s not risk free either. Nothing is.”

“You sure about that?”

Well, they had nothing to locate where ships were when they disappeared, but there were stations that recorded that. The LRIT system for one was a tracking system made compulsory by most flag-states. Maybe if they were more competent in software, they could find a national database and restart it to hack into the register where the position logs were stored... that way at least they could have known where the cargo vessels were.

Unfortunately Aleksei was the best they had when it came do coding, and she was no pro. Plus, the LRIT database didn’t contain all ships. Small sailboats, fishing vessels, tramp freighters below a certain tonnage, military ships, those wouldn’t be found there.

And good luck with restarting and hacking into a military-grade database to steal the locations of their warships.

Before long, the two of them moved on to more pleasant discussions to enlighten the dullness of their watch (because you know, barring the platforms, they were sailing in a straight line for hours). Ivan had managed to loot a couple dozen DVD collections back in Copenhagen, something she quickly grew fond of, though not nearly as much as flying. That was something the griffon had become addicted to.

Geert wasn’t as fond of taking to the air herself. Gliding was fine, but sustained flight was a taxing thing for parrots. Sure, she could activate her wings and fly up to a rooftop, but her species wasn’t meant to reach the clouds.

She paused as they passed a couple platforms, a frown marring the scarlet macaw’s features. She quickly grabbed her cane and hoisted herself up, briskly hobbling towards the chart table.

“Something the matter?”

“I’d say...” Geert exhaled loudly through her nostrils before jabbing her cane towards the platforms outside. “Look at the platforms, how many of them do you see?”

“Two? Is that...” She halted mid-sentence and rushed over to the chart table.

On the map, there were symbols for five platforms, all in a cluster.

“What the fuck?!” The Ukrainian griffon loudly exclaimed in her native tongue.

Meanwhile, Geert was already going through several drawers’ worth of nautical publications. Notices to mariners? Maybe they had forgotten to update the charts but... Nope, there were five platforms, even two days before the Event.

They eventually got an ‘answer’ of sorts in one of the pilot books they kept on the bridge. The books were a publication usually used to get local data on certain areas, as well as tips of regulations and localized hazards.

Like platforms.

The parrot flipped to the page for their specific area, hoping to find some notes on construction works that may have been underway, which would explain how the platforms could have disappeared.

She found something else instead: a picture of the platforms.

And then it dawned on her.

“Ivan? Remember that thing about vehicles disappearing?”

“Da...And?”

“Look at the type of platforms that disappeared.”

In the industry, there were many types of platforms, but they could essentially be divided into two kinds: the fixed platforms, on stilts; and the floating platforms, those that stayed in place using anchors.

The latter were the ones that had disappeared.

“But... why?” Ivan wondered.

“Maybe the Event counted them as vehicles.” Geert shrugged. “I mean, we were anchored and the wave took us like a vehicle.”

“But they’re platforms!”

The Officer ignored that last comment and crossed her arms. All the platforms they had seen off the Netherlands were built in the shallower parts of the North Sea, where fixed platforms were still possible. Up north, the waters were deeper so it varied on a case by case basis –as she could see out of her windows-.

But the disappearance implied...

Nowadays most fields used turret connections to link platforms to the wells (and FPSO ships in smaller fields), meaning that even without the platform, the fields were technically secure. They wouldn’t leak.

But the turret system wasn’t universal. So what of the fields that didn’t have a turret but still had a floating platform? Did they suffer the same fate as the platforms she could see there? In which case there would be a runaway black tide because of the unconnected well spilling its content and...

Or did the platform need to be both of the floating type and to have a turret system to be considered a vehicle? How the hell could she figure that out? Satellite pictures?

“Well actually yes...” She whispered under her breath before swiftly grabbing the interphone to contact engineering.

If any of the non-turreted platforms had been whisked away by the Event, then there should be some form of slick somewhere to point to that conclusion. She just needed someone to connect to the satellites and look at recorded data of the day directly after the Event.

Find an oil slick? There you go, theory proven. Simple.

Somebody picked up on the line.

“Angelo? No I don’t care- what do you mean new hire?! Whatever, can you look at some old sat pictures for me? It’s about platforms...”

Eko had never been too fond of labs. He was more of a business meetings/backroom dealings type of guy; the crisp white environment of labs with the sharp smell of chemical just irked his nostrils.

Yet he found himself walking down the hallway in the R&D department for one particular reason. That reason being a scientist that apparently thought himself above the chain of command.

The HPI agent slipped past a small crowd of scientists, silently tightening his suit around his frame to ward off the cold blast of the A/C they had on full-force down there. The buzzing of the ventilation was so strong it drowned out the constant droning of the shield generators at times.

Honestly he had nothing against using the A/C; he just wished he was wearing the standard-issue black coveralls the scientists had instead of his business suit, much better against the cold.

His quarry was at the end of the hallway, inside the somewhat inactive ‘biology’ section of the labs. Eko swiped his keycard in front of the door, which slid aside with a hiss to reveal yet another lab.

Vats of nondescript liquids lined one side of the wall, with small cages holding rodents on the opposite side, leaving the center of the room free to be fitted with many workstations and research equipment he didn’t care much for. To his eyes, the crisp white environment and multitude of computer displays was just an attempt by the scientists at mimicking science-fiction.

No, what he was here for was beyond the main room, where he knew there were a couple doors leading to twisting hallways where the actual advanced equipment was.

And to the office of the wannabe mad scientist he had to work with. Its door slid aside, revealing a cramped office filled with servers, computers and filing cabinets, with the numerous screens inside being the only source of dim bluish light.

Amidst all that chaos sat a gangly white man with short blonde hair. His round glasses shone, reflecting the light of the screens as he swiveled around in his chair, hands stuffed in the pockets of his lab coat.

He only greeted his superior with a nod and a cheeky grin.

“Well?” Eko crossed his arms.

“Well what?”

“Don’t fool around Lexington, you know what I’m here for.”

“Enlighten me!” The scientist clicked his tongue, tilting his head up at the exec.

“You’re bypassing the whole damn chain of command!” The Indonesian pointed an accusatory finger at him. “You cannot send direct messages to these sailors without prior approval from me, the R&D board and the Upper Echelon!”

“Man, when you put it like this it’s even more of a bother than it actually is.” Lexington chuckled.

“Shut your damn trap! Your ass is on the line!” Eko yelled.

“Is it though?” He smirked, readjusting his glasses with one finger. “No… yours is. You and I both know they need me; otherwise we’d never have got those vehicular shields working. You though? You’re a lackey, an intermediary…” He paused. “You’re expendable.”

“Nobody is!” The HPI agent slammed a fist against his desk. “Our whole damn survival relies on everybody respecting the hierarchy. If your sorry ass can’t get that through your head then maybe you’d do better without your precious biology department?!”

“Let’s not get violent over such matters now.” Lexington raised a hand to placate him. “The hierarchy doesn’t need to know about trivial experiments I ask of Doctor Delacroix, nor do they need to know of what you did to the contract.”

“Requesting biological samples isn’t trivial- wait, what did you say last?” Eko paused.

“That’s right. I know what you did to the first draft of the contract. I don’t think the guys in the Upper Echelon need to know you lowered the prices on spare parts to get the sailors to sign, right?” He smirked. “That would put a stop to your flamboyant rise through the ranks, wouldn’t it?”

“You dirty f-“

“Shush now, those are bad words, they’re only good for those precious sailors of yours. We’re above that.” Lexington looked him the eye.

Eko faltered.

“Now, Agent Eko, it is not in my interest to hinder your progress. As a matter of fact I think your idea with the sailors is brilliant.” He smiled. “So it would be such a shame if it were brought to a screeching halt because you tattled on my…” He rolled his tongue in his mouth. “Unlicensed experiments. You want to pick up rank, don’t you?”

Eko clenched his fists, but he gave a curt nod.

“Obviously you do.” Lexington rolled his eyes. “So let’s reach this consensus: you be good and don’t look further than my official experiments, and that tiny little dirt I have in my cabinet doesn’t leave my office. Got it?”

The suit-wearing agent glared at the blonde before standing up. He straightened up his pants before turning back towards the door.

“Just make sure I’m in Cc for the official stuff.”

“Duly noted.” Lexington smirked.

With a hiss of pneumatics, the door opened and closed, leaving him once more in the dim light of his computers. On one screen, there was a folder open, leading to a couple projects of his:

Human-thaumic compatibility (gene therapy) (samples needed).

Alien biology (samples needed).

Biological remote-control (see: Eng. Dept. for bio-androids)

Artificial wombs and gene scrambling (completed)

And there were two last hidden files in the folder; two projects Lexington knew were only accessible under very specific criteria so nobody would peek in his affairs.

Escape Pod Protocol.

Uplift Project.

Back in Brittany, Meadowbrook had carried on down the path. Flash Magnus and Rockhoof warily trotted behind her as she went deeper into the enchanted forest. For how long, they didn’t know, but it felt like hours.

Not that the area wasn’t picturesque, but the Earth Pony was pretty sure a glowing magic forest wasn’t the safest of places, even for an old sorceress like Meadow. If anything, the winding path alone was starting to take its toll on the old mare.

“Are we even going the right way?” Flash asked.

The Pegasus was casually flying at walking pace through the oaks, though he didn’t dare go above the canopy. Those wispy veils looked dangerous.

“We are. The seed is guiding me.” Meadow nodded confidently.

Together the three of them kept going, sometimes stopping at crossings in the path to let Meadow figure out which way the seed was guiding them, sometimes to let herds of wild animals run past.

The animals themselves felt… weird. Like the rest of the forest. One time a massive hunchback boar stopped in front of them. Rockhoof almost reached for his signature combat shovel before the cart-sized creature let out a loud snort and trotted away, sow and piglets in tow. It was only when they saw its flank that they noticed the glowing vine patterns in its black fur.

Another time they had stopped in a glade for a brief pause when Flash took note of a white stag standing atop a rock, silently judging them. The noble creature dipped its head at them, as if the ponies had passed its test, before it vanished behind a row of trees, its white fur leaving a contrail as it went.

“This place is creeping me out…” Flash whispered.

All too often Star Swirl had told him and Rockhoof magic wasn’t to be messed with. If it glows, it’s probably dangerous.

And there were a lot of glowing things in the whole darn forest.

Rockhoof just smirked at him through his beard.

“Trust your feelings friend.”

“My ‘feelings’ are going awry like a teen filly on her first season.” Meadow threw him a glare. “What? It’s true! Total overload!” He protested.

“Tact buddy.” Rock rolled his eyes.

“I’m military, we don’t do tact. You’d think the Royal Guard would have wussed out after all the time we were gone. They haven’t. Not in the crass department at least, whole bunch of stallions polishing their spears, once it gets going there is no rock bottom I tell ya’.”

“Didn’t need to know that. Did. Not.” Meadowbrook ground out.

“I think you need a mare buddy.” Rockhoof chuckled.

“Yeah, good luck with that. I ain’t getting any younger and nowadays what mares want really doesn’t fit my character.”

“You know you could make an effort, right?” Meadow piped in.

“Don’t wanna. I mean…”

“You’re still caught up about the time leap?” Rock guessed.

“What pony wouldn’t?” He sighed. “I mean… after what I lost, I just don’t feel like doing it all over again. I’m too old now, and I could just track my ancestors all over Equestria –if not further-. Finding myself a mare… that just feels like betraying her memory.”

“We understand Flash.” Meadow gave him a sympathetic smile before she stopped to look ahead of their path. “We’re near, I can sense it.”

So they carried on down the path. Star Swirl caught up with them minutes later, the unicorn looking thoroughly spooked and with an odd sheen in his eyes. Flash wanted to ask him what it was all about, but a look from Rockhoof quickly prevented that.

As far as he knew their intellectual friend, he was still in the ‘processing data’ phase, and probably would be for a few moments going by the look he sported on his muzzle.

They eventually reached the place the seed was leading Meadow to. It was a clearing, big enough for them to actually see the starlit sky above the canopy. Hardy grass and weeds covered the ground that sloped downwards in the center.

And in that same center, was a golden tree.

The lone tree, short and shaped like a deer’s antlers, was covered from top to bottom in gold, which made a sharp contrast against the half-dozen charred trunks that surrounded it, as if lightning had struck in the middle of the clearing. The whole tree shone in the moonlight with an eerie glow, which was made all the more surreal by enchanted forest around it.

“That’s the place?” Rockhoof asked.

Meadowbrook just nodded softly before calmly making her way closer to the tree. It was actually much taller from up close, its bark smooth gold plating that reflected light. The mare could feel the echoes coming from the seed she carried on her back.

This was it.

With a heave, the package came off her back, its canvas already spilling out as if the seed itself was showing its impatience.

Back on the edge of the clearing, the three other ponies in the group could see activity. Animals were coming to witness the event, all gathered in one collective herd led by the white stag. Shadows too, ethereal silhouettes of humans long dead that could be seen out of the corner of one eye. Some were more distinct, including two ladies that for some reason made Rockhoof think of both breezies and alicorns. They were observing Meadowbrook, out of range with their faces hidden by wispy veils.

“Star? You seeing this?” Flash hesitated.

The two ladies in particular were radiating power.

“Don’t fret Flash. They’re friends… sort of…” The old unicorn replied, not turning his gaze away from the golden tree.

“’Sort of’?” Flash Magnus quirked an eyebrow, but Star didn’t elaborate.

Instead, he kept his eyes riveted to the tree. Meadow was now sitting on her haunches in front of it, the seed cradled in both hooves.

Come to think of it, ‘seed’ might be a bit inaccurate. Well, it was called a Seed of Harmony, but it was more of a foal-sized crystal shard, its blue edges shimmering at each motion of the pony that held it. It was mostly transparent, allowing observers to look at the white six-pointed star at its core.

It was also the most precious artifact Meadowbrook ever touched. The seed was a sibling of that found in the Everfree, the same one which birthed the Tree of Harmony, a priceless thing that had stayed hidden underneath Canterlot for a long time.

And now the Crown had finally decided to put it to use.

They didn’t know the whole implications of planting it. Maybe it would share a connection with its sibling on Equus, maybe not. What they were sure of was that this was the kind of thing Earth would need in its near future, once it grew and selected its heroes to face the demons.

Yes, Earth needed a microcosm of immortals to combat the demons, but it would take time. In the meantime, this would have to do.

Meadowbrook pressed the seed of Harmony against the golden tree, and there was a flash. In the blink of an eye, the two merged into one and the golden tree grew veins of crystal that coursed over its shiny bark.

On top of the tree, a new six-pointed star pulsated like a beating heart.

But the tree was still small, a relatively tiny thing compared to the ancient oaks of the adjacent forest.

“Whelp, we’ve done it. Time to go back.” Flash whistled, swooping in next to Meadow.

The mare turned towards him with an awkward smile, soon joined by Rockhoof who threw a hoof over her shoulder.

“Well, you see Flash…”

The Pegasus backed away, slowly starting to shake his head.

“No! You can’t do that Rock! Think about it!”

“I think both our friends already made up their mind before we even came.” Star Swirl simply said, slowly trotting over to Flash.

“So you figured it Star? Ever the smart colt you.” Meadow smiled.

“Please dear, it was written all over both your faces.” Star snorted.

“Come on now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves…” Flash tried.

“I’m so sorry Flash.” Rockhoof shook his head. “But we thought about this. We don’t belong in Equestria these days…”

“But we’re a team!”

“Not since Mistmane and Somnanbula passed away, no.” The giant stallion answered. “You and Star, you have your place, Equestria needs you. But us two? We’re out of our time anyway. This tree will need care and protection.”

There was a clatter of metal. Flash had shed his helmet, he was now sitting on his haunches, wings limp and hints of tears in his eyes.

“Damn you Rock… Damn you.” He sniffed. “And you’re not going to stop them Star?”

“No. It’s as they said, they’re better off here. Plus…” He trailed off, the silhouette of the human wizard appearing behind him. “… I sort of had a revelation. Rock, Meadow, I know I won’t be here myself, but I’ll still be watching over you. Trust me.” He winked.

“Something we should know?” Rock quirked his head.

Star gained a twinkle in his eyes, much like the ghost behind him.

“Let’s say I discovered there is more to myself than I ever knew. The rest is… soul magic, mirrored dimensions, complicated stuff.”

Subtly, he gave a wink towards one of the fairy ladies that had been observing the clearing in the distance, a gesture matched by the ghost wizard.

“I… uh…” Flash tried but stopped. Resigned, the stallion wiped a stray tear from his eye with his wing before standing up resolutely. “I’ll miss you. Both of you.”

“Come on now, we’re not your soldiers, get over here!” Rockhoof said as he wrapped the much smaller Pegasus in a bear hug. “I’m glad we got to be friends Flash, remember that.”

“I will, bud.” Flash returned the hug. “I’ll make sure they build a statue of you or something. And you Meadow…”

“I don’t need monuments, just remember me, friend?” The old mare joined their hug.

From a distance, Star Swirl observed his old friends, the remains of the old gang, the Pillars, give their farewells.

He may have shed a tear or two.

In the distance, the two fays gave him curt nods before turning away to disappear deeper in the woods. The animals scattered as well, with the wide stag addressing the tree one long look before galloping away at the first hints of pink in the sky.

Dawn was near.

And in that moment, Star knew the tree would be safe. His muzzle creased with a soft smile.

Minutes later, two ponies teleported back to Equestria, leaving behind two old world-weary friends. Meadowbrook looked at the summoning circle before a parchment fell out of her mane. She looked at it quizzically before unfurling it.

In it were two sigils she knew Star used frequently in his spell scrolls, along with a note.

‘I think they speak Prench around here, thought you might have some use for a translation spell to teach you. Enjoy your retirement!

SS

PS: I heard magic could do wonders to fertility, so you never know with Rock’ and your potions…’

Meadow closed the parchment with a blush.

Down in Amandine’s engine control room, a minotaur was seen going down the stairs with a couple files in hand. There was a Pegasus waiting for him, seated by the control consoles, along with a tired-looking Aleksei. The hippogriff was there looking at satellite pictures during her watch.

“So?” Radiant inquired with bated breath.

Angelo didn’t immediately answer, instead coming to take a seat by Radiant and dropping the files on the control console. He let out a deep sigh before turning towards the Pegasus.

“Alright then. First off: you can stay.”

He stopped the Equestrian Pegasus before he could get too cheerful.

“But, they’re pissed. The Captain’s pissed, the Chief Officer is pissed, even Schmitt is pissed. You’re on thin ice buddy.”

Angelo watched Radiant deflate for a couple seconds before waving the files in front of his face.

“I managed to convince them. We got an agreement. This here, that’s your contract. Problem is, you are not like us.”

“How so?”

“You’re lucky we talked a lot because I can vouch for you actually being competent otherwise you’d be washing floors and cleaning rust by now. You may be competent, but you’re familiar with airships and Equestrian tech, not any of the stuff we use.”

“But I can learn.”

“Precisely.” Angelo pointed out. “But you don’t have valid certifications on this planet either, doesn’t help with convincing them up top you know.”

“So what am I?”

Angelo drummed his fingers against the console for a few seconds in thought before turning back to Radiant. Behind him, he could see by the look of her ears that Aleksei was eavesdropping.

“For now, let’s call it an amalgam between an Engine fitter and a Cadet. You’re Rating-level for now, but they’re willing to make you our Fourth Engineer if you prove yourself and, most of all, if you behave.” He picked up Radiant’s files, flipping to a specific page. “I got a list of duties you gotta do, plus you’re on punitive duty with the catering department for the next five weeks. Here’s a list of your watches, a learn list, and your instructor will be…”

“You?”

“No, I’m too busy. Aleksei will teach you.”

The hippogriff nearly spat out her coffee and jerked her head towards them, wings fluffed up in anger.

“What the fuck Angie?! Why me? He’s your friend!” She yelled.

“You’re Third Engineer, I’m Second, enjoy the short end of the stick.”

“Douchebag.”

“I’ll take it.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t change anything: Engine Cadet Radiant Course is now officially your pupil.”

Radiant considered himself lucky when Angelo told him to report to Farkas for punitive duties, because the atmosphere down there was getting pretty tense.

A couple floors above, Sandra was hard at work in her cabin. In the background, she could hear a rerun of a previous broadcast she had just completed –mostly just a lengthy explanation on the four types of ponies, along with some tips on how to secure a fresh water supply-.

She had yet to receive an answer to her broadcasts.

At regular intervals, the rerun shut off to be replaced by Rhine’s calls on the radio. The barge carrier was scanning and calling on nearly all maritime frequencies, to no avail. No answer came that day. Of all the platforms that remained, and of all the radio stations ashore, not a single one was manned.

It didn’t matter overly much to the batpony at the moment. She was in the process of sorting through the radio log Aleksei had recently managed to convert and frankly…

It was an outright mess.

The file had –somehow- blended all frequencies together in a single file, meaning she had a lot of work ahead of herself. She had notes all around her with lists showing frequencies in use. One by one, she had to isolate them, snip them from the main file and paste them on new audio recordings.

So there she was, reading off a list of frequencies and, one by one, isolating radio channels to see what had happened and what it was exactly that Vadim had heard back then. She could see some hints of it, like pieces of a puzzle.

An odd spike on the edge of a radio channel there, a bit of static there. Piece by piece, she slowly managed to isolate a few bursts of static on the radio log. None of them were exactly on known channels so it was a bit like seeing something without looking directly at it, mere snippets.

Sandra let out a frustrated neigh. This really wasn’t going to be easy. Her webbed wings ran over her keyboard, improvised hands she was steadily getting better at using.

Now she had to check the frequency bands channel per channel just to spot those snippets. About as tedious as it could get, and even then she was pretty sure her notes on encryption would have to come into use at some point.

Her work was interrupted by a knock on her door.

“It’s open!” The mare called out, not even turning away from her computer.

A grey stallion’s head poked through the door, and Sandra did a double take.

“Hold on a sec’, aren’t you one of them ponies?”

Radiant’s ears flattened at the remark, and he gave a sheepish look to the mare behind the radio station.

“Was. I uh… stowed away.”

“Shit they weren’t kidding about the stowaway. Why?”

“I thought it was a good idea at the time.” Radiant said in a sad tone. “Anyway, we don’t really wear clothes where I’m from…”

Sandra visibly blushed.

“… And apparently I need proper protection. Nala told me you had some templates for pony-sized coveralls?”

“Nala? You mean Farkas?”

“Yeah, the sphinx.” He nodded.

Sandra blinked. She didn’t know the lioness had actually started using her nickname like that. That was new… She shook her head.

“Right so… yeah, I got some.” She hopped of her chair before digging into a drawer with both hooves and wings. “Nala gave you the materials to work with yet?”

“She has.” Radiant nodded. “Full size coveralls, I just need to adjust them and put zipper holes for my wings. Then apparently I need to contact Diethelm on Rhine for work-horseshoes…”

The batpony finally pulled a few notes from under a folder, which she quickly passed to the noticeably naked pony by the door.

“Here, templates and tips. You need to cut down limb sizes and sew a few threads over the back to shorten it, the leftover material you can use as lining around the withers and flank, but keep some for the tail. It’s not comfortable when it’s bunched up, so just add an extra hole and sleeve for it, got it?”

“Yes, but why the lining?”

“Reduces wear and tear at the base of your limbs, plus it absorbs sweat. Trust me, down in Engineering you’ll need it.” She clicked her tongue. “And try not to waste material, nomex isn’t easy to come by.”

And on that note she led the Pegasus out of her cabin. Not that she wanted to be rude, but she was rather busy at the moment. Judging by a glance at the clock, she only had a few hours to spare on the radio log project before she had to start making her next radio broadcast.

After that, she needed to meet with Roberto. The secretary –that was mostly working on intel as of recently- needed her help in figuring out whether there was anything useful they might find in Savannah.

“I swear it doesn’t look that bad.” Danny said in Tagalog.

The female parrot was sitting on the bed inside Carlos’ cabin, one arm wrapped around the bulkier male’s shoulder. As for Carlos, he was staring deeply at his reflection in a hand mirror, the cockatoo’s sulphur crest almost flat against his skull.

And he had his reasons to feel down. Staring back at him, his reflection clearly showed scar tissue all around his now milky eye. Exposure to noxious gases would do that to you. He had lost his eye. Half of his vision, lost, replaced by inky darkness and poor depth perception. To make matters worse, the skin around his now blind eye was scarred as well, barren of feathers and gravelly to the touch with a sickly red hue.

He rubbed a talon in a circle around the scar. The skin was still tender. Of course there was more to his wounds than that, like the cast that currently encased his left arm… but a face wound was that much easier to notice.

The hen by his side squeezed his shoulder to comfort him.

“Remember what Vadim said, maybe they can fix it once we get our own healthcare-grade potions.” She said.

Carlos’ talon halted in its motion and he turned his gaze towards her, his black eye meeting her copper-brown irises.

Honestly he was rather surprised by their relationship being a thing in the first place. Originally it had just been a thing where she wanted to ‘try things out’ just after the transformation, sex for the sake of curiosity. He wouldn’t complain, the curvaceous nature of her new form and her… ahem, vigor, that made for a pleasant experience, let alone the fact he was pretty sure magic played a role in enhancing the act. Plus, down feathers? Real comfy in the spooning phase.

Then, one day, it somehow grew to be more than that. Turns out they came from the same neighborhood in Manila, though with their age difference Danny was already far out at sea by the time Carlos finished school.

Funny, how a mechanic and a genderbent middle-aged welder could get together like that. Yet here they were, both relying on each other to get through the overall craziness of the post-Event world.

The cockatoo let out a long sigh before leaning deeper in her embrace.

“I know it’s possible I’ll get my eye back, but that’s not it.” He said, dropping the mirror on the mattress. His voice was raucous, throat still aching from the gas even after so long. “It’s just… I just know that it could have been me instead of Yancy you know? If the fall was just a tiny bit worse, that I landed just a little bit more on my side, it could have been me that died… or both of us even…”

“Carlos, it doesn’t matter now. You made, he didn’t. You take what you get.”

“But I tried to save him! What good was it for, dragging him through toxic gas with a broken arm and a leaking tank if he just died after that?!”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“I could have done better!”

“No.”

“Come again?”

Danny grabbed him by the beak and forced him to look her in the eyes, a frown on the golden parakeet’s features.

“His fate was sealed the moment he hit the ground. The best rescue teams couldn’t have saved him, what makes you think you could have? You’re a hero for trying, but there is only so much a single person can do.”

Carlos’s shoulders sagged for a moment before he let out a small smile.

“Guess you’re right… still…”

Two clamped wrapped around his beak before he could continue.

“Shush, no more self-pity, that doesn’t look good on you. But you know what would?” She smiled.

“Shoot.” He snorted.

She didn’t say anything. She just dug her claws inside her coveralls, quickly pulling out a small piece of leather out of her breast pocket.

“An eyepatch? Really?” Carlos smiled.

“Just try it on.” Danny replied as she put it on his head.

The fitting was a bit finicky, what with the feathers and large mobile ears parrots sported, but it did stay on his head, hiding the scar behind a thin piece of black leather. It contrasted rather nicely against his white feathers.

“So?” Carlos inquired.

“It makes you look like a pirate.”

That garnered a grin from the Filipino mechanic. Suddenly, he swept Danny with his good arm, pinning her to the bed and gently pressing himself against her.

“You know…” He breathed out in her ear. “Pirates have a thing for ravishing ladies like you.”

There was a twinkle in her eyes, and he could see her feathers fluff up in arousal. That had managed to break through his mood.

“Bring it on.” She taunted.

She needn’t have asked twice.

Crossing the North Sea never was particularly long. After two days of sailing through choppy waters riddled with abandoned platforms and under near constant drizzle –a change compared to the more favorable weather experienced in Denmark-, the two ships eventually reached Scotland under a grey overcast sky.

For the two ships to pass Scotland and head into the Atlantic, there was one specific passage they had to aim for: the Pentland Firth… which wasn’t really a firth actually, it was a strait.

Blame the Scots, they chose to call it that.

Now, the Firth-which-was-actually-a-strait separated Northern Scotland from the Orkney Islands, a small inhospitable archipelago mostly known for its cattle and the –admittedly good-looking- town of Kirkwall.

As the two ships steamed closer to the strait, somewhere around noon, thick fog banks rolled in from the mainland, forcing both ships to reduce speed out of caution. There would be no seeing the black cliffs and pastures of the surrounding area, nor the white tower of Duncansby Head’s lighthouse that day. Its lamp was inactive either way.

They could see the shore, as well as Stroma Island in the middle of the strait… except only on their radar. If anything, the radar image was crisp clear, thanks to the steep cliffs of the shore reflecting nearly all of their radar waves.

Sightseeing though, was not what both Captains had in mind before the ships headed in. That was what tourists knew the Firth for. What sailors knew about it was much more worrying: currents. They were dangerous, extremely so, as they had already claimed a ship and her entire complement that same year. In places, tide races could reach strengths of up to fifteen knots, fast enough to bring most cargo vessels to a near halt at cruise speed, even behemoths like Amandine and Rhine Forest. If they were not careful, those riptides could very well pull them into one of the many skerries and tear their hulls apart.

Which was why Dilip was so intent on timing their entry into the strait to the minute. They had hour-by-hour vector charts for the currents –thanks to looting Maersk’s HQ-, and he very well intended to use that same current in his favor. If his guesses were right, and they had no reason not to be, then they could cross the entire thing with the tides in their favor.

Which would make it possible for the large Ro/Ro to reach speeds beyond the thirty knots mark.

“Przemo, start radar indexing on the passage. In want cross-track distance every three minutes.” The Indian ordered Micha.

“On it Cap’ain.” The Pole sitting in the navigator’s chair instantly replied.

They were on full detail on the bridge, with all posts manned and lookouts on both bridge wings.

“Rhine Forest to Amandine…” They heard Gerig speak up on the radio. “Head in first, we’ll be holding behind at a safety distance of five miles. Over.”

“Rhine Forest, that’s a roger. Out.” Dilip replied.

The Diamond Dog’s eyes flicked to their electronic chart display. One mile to the entry point.

“Helmsman, set speed to full ahead on both props.”

“Aye, full ahead on both. Set.” Yuri parroted the order.

Normally with Micha as navigator, Boris would have been at the helm; unfortunately the Russian griffon was still recovering. Raimund had lent them Anton to take care of him, but the hen was from engineering, she couldn’t just fill his spot.

Hence the Ukrainian hippogriff behind the helm.

Funny thing with Yuri, you’d expect a Ukrainian to turn into a griffon, not a hippogriff. He attributed it to ‘holiday adultery’ without so much as a hint of sorrow. Must have known his mom was a cheat for a while then…

A rumble ran through the entire hull as the main engine was pushed to its max capacity. The lookouts outside observed a black cloud escape the funnel before dissipating into the fog.

Going in hot.

It was over in a matter of minutes. The ship darted through the strait like an arrow through the air, her white and grey hull blazing through the water, bow cutting through the waves like a knife and sending spray up in the air.

Just before they reached their exit point, on the very last stretch of sea, loud music suddenly ripped through the air, drowning out the sound of their engine.

Scotland the Brave.

And to the tune of the Scottish Anthem, a red blotch appeared out of the fog, quickly shaping up to be a large red hull.

The radar’s proximity alarm blared.

Author's Notes:

FYI, Broceliande is an actual place in Brittany. The Golden Tree and Merlin's Tomb can be visited when trekking the place, along with other stuff like the Vale of No Return (Morgane le Fay's realm) and the church of the Holy Grail. To be honest, it's still not the place I'd visit first if you ever go to Brittany. Carnac's a lot more interesting.

You know, it might be interesting to look into the 'outliers' of the vehicle rule. The platform thing is a possibility (with huge consequences), but other outliers I can think off the top of my head would be caravans and trailers.

Or even those electric toy cars kids use. That would count as one, no?

A little anecdote: I once sailed under a reservist Captain, back when I was a CPO in the Navy. He had a standing order to play 'Ride of the Valkyries' on the loudspeakers everytime we completed a RAS manoeuvre.

First time feels like novelty. The next dozen, not so much. Particularly when we did several RAS per day for training.