As she often did ever since taking up her role as Epona’s cleric, Aleksei projected herself into her divinity’s realm on the evening that followed the party… and her involuntary adventure with Epona’s own demigod son. The novelty of the process had worn off somewhat by then: she would recite her usual prayers before bed, get up into a meditating stance, summon her powers… and there she was on the horse goddess’ plateau, in the usual translucent, ethereal form. Nothing new on that front.

What was was the surprising number of ponies roaming about. There were still regular horses in the herd of course, but it seemed like Epona was of the opinion turning some of her children into representatives of all four pony tribes (and with Aleksei, she had the hippogriffs covered) would be a boon to her influence.

Hence the technicolor bunch currently practicing with their new bodies on one edge of the plateau.

She didn’t see Morv’ among them. Whether that was a good or a bad thing… she didn’t know just yet. Most were lesser demigods. Still of Epona’s lineage, but with less clout and experience than the stallion. How many legendary horses Epona had created or directly sired… nobody would ever truly now.

For a few moments, Aleksei paused to look around and collect herself. The Otherworld was a plane completely different from Earth. Mortal minds needed time to take it in and never could process it completely.

After a few seconds spent looking at the border of the realm wondering whether she might one day explore the depths of the Otherworld, she made her way over to the Equine Goddess who was as always, standing by her scrying pond looking at the world of the living. She still was in her form of a humongous mare, and her latest foal cantered away from between her hind legs when Aleksei approached.

“Greetings milady.” She bowed her head deeply, speaking Latvian. Since language hardly mattered here, she might as well pick one she was most comfortable with. Not like she spoke her native tongue much these days...

“Rise, Lady Klavins.” The divinity replied in her usual method of mentally broadcasting ideas rather than words. Somehow she still managed a motherly tone despite not saying anything. Slowly, the large mare turned away from her pond to face Aleksei. “For a cleric that has only held the position for a limited time, you’re achieving some rather inspiring results. Never would I have expected to garner followers from across the Atlantic, yet two colonies already have begun showing interest in Celtic faith. Savannah, and now Havana. You would be making some divinities jealous if you hadn’t included other Celtic gods in your sermons.”

“I… to be frank I didn’t intend for the party to get this big. It was supposed to be a private affair but things… snowballed I should say. I’ll most likely sanctify the altar I made for the ceremony so the faithful have a place to congregate. If that’s your desire of course, milady.”

“Do follow up on that idea. It’s important that a means of keeping in touch with the Cubans be retained, and while my fellow divinities have yet to find a suitable representative this side of the Atlantic, I don’t doubt the situation is soon to change if followers show up at the altar. Other clerics may follow in your steps.” She paused to look up towards that psychedelic mess that was the ‘sky’ in the Otherworld. “Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if that altar eventually became a magic convergence point of its own. Cuba does seem deprived of such energies.”

“That can happen?” Aleksei quirked her head quizzically.

Epona let out a small laugh, prompting Aleksei’s ears to fold against the sides of her head in embarrassment.

“Why, child, of course it can.” She bent down to nuzzle the comparatively tiny cleric at her hooves. “That’s how convergence points form in the first place. They’re born of human faith. Have enough faithful congregate in one place with the same beliefs, and overtime a point will form. That’s why they’re all near holy sites and mythical places.”

“Oh… I’m sorry milady. I tend to forget about certain details.” She smiled sheepishly.

“Such as some effects your wards and rituals can have on all creatures’ sexuality, hmm?” Epona laughed again. “For a newly-made cleric, you truly created an event worth what my best priestesses might have come up with in their own time. By accident might I had. No?”

Light green though the feathers covering her muzzle may be, Aleksei was pretty sure the embarrassed blush was visible at this point.

“I’m just glad no children got to see the…ahem, effects.” She coughed in her talons.

The few she had spotted from the altar during the ceremony had been swiftly carted off early in the evening when their wards caught on to what was going on.

“Oh, believe me, children are definitely part of the consequences. I’d know.”

Aleksei’s gaze jerked away from the ground and back towards Epona. She was pretty sure her contraception spell…

“Relax Lady Klavins. You are *yet* to be with child. As are your colleagues. I’m guessing sailors have learned safe sex over the years...” She mused with a slight scowl. “Not so much for the locals. But that’s what we want, no?”

Surprises abound for the Cubans then. Not that it should pose a problem… she hoped. It wasn’t like population density would be a problem for the next thousand years anyway.

“Jokes aside.” Epona raised her head and invited her cleric to lay down by the scrying pond. “You are doing an excellent job that’s been earning me praise from fellow divinities and followers alike. That, I believe, deserves a reward.”

“A reward milady? Of what kind?”

“Magic of course. I’ve deemed you deserving of more power to ease the practice of your arsenal of spells and rituals. You should find yourself able to pull them off more frequently and reliably than you used to by the time you wake.”

“Does that come with… body modifications?” Aleksei carefully inquired before she realized who it was she was asking and quickly raised her talons defensively, wincing. “Not that I mind the voluptuous form you gifted upon me, milady, but I believe I’m quite comfortable with the way they are as of now!”

She was already turning heads wherever she went, no need to make it worse on her. The desire to be male again was still there, despite… ‘Inner Aleksei’s’ influence on her. The grass rustled, and Epona laid down on her belly beside Aleksei.

Good. The outburst hadn’t offended her. In fact she looked downright amused. Like a mother amused by a child’s antics.

Yeah, not too much of a surprise at seeing a fertility goddess act motherly.

“Rest assured, the only reason I would have to modify your body is if you actively wished it to be.” And because her son wouldn’t pardon her if she tampered with the object of his desires. One had to be subtle when matchmaking~. “That said, I’m delighted to hear you’re satisfied with your body modifications. My domain is fertility. My representatives cannot afford to be plain.”

“I still carry a geas milady. I have no intention of dropping my quest of getting my masculinity back...”

Aleksei didn’t notice, but Epona’s muzzle soured at the mention of the geas. That, that was the one and only thing she’d let slip when recruiting Aleksei and an issue that might very well throw some of her plans into disarray.

Although… Epona eyed the talking hippogriff. She had begun ranting on her quest and how she would never give up until she had her dick back. Maybe... just maybe... she could twist the geas to her advantage. Make sure Aleksei be torn between her quest’s goal and what she actually desired. Keep her going long enough to back her into a corner thanks to the geas. And then… swoop in and ‘rescue’ her from her own magical oath. At a cost.

Yes. Yes that would be perfect. Morvarc’h would forever hate her if he ever learned of that gambit, but she could work it in his favor as well. Just ensure Aleksei became infatuated with him, and then the stallion would be too lovestruck to ever pry into her affairs.

Excellent.

“...after all, I was born male and it’s the way I should be. I fear I might run the risk of never being myself again if I stray from that path.” She shuddered at the thought of inner Aleksei taking over. “Of having another version of me, a mockery of myself… take over.”

Epona blinked and twisted her head to look at the cleric. Aleksei was now staring into the scrying pond, almost forlornly so, one of her talon drawing circles in the grass.

“I fear that version of me. It’s… a mockery of all the things I stand for and have learned. Of all the skills I have accrued and all the experiences I’ve lived that have led to me being… me. It’s just a base creature driven by raw instincts and lust that has no refinement to speak of, no intelligence or wit to make it an actual person...”

Now… Epona knew she wasn’t completely innocent when influencing her cleric’s mind, but it was far from what she intended to happen when she sneaked those ‘mature’ dreams to Aleksei. What was she even getting at?

“I’ve thought over it. It’s an inner demon, my Inner Aleksei as I call it. I feel it when it tries to influence me… I can’t even stop it. At least not fully.”

A form of split personality then? Epona assumed. Impressive so soon, possibly caused by the increased magic from becoming a cleric… but also incredibly dangerous. If she didn’t do something, Aleksei’s assumption might actually be right… though not for the reason she assumed. For all she knew, that bottled-up representation of what parts of herself Aleksei rejected might turn into an actual inner persona.

Believe something hard enough and it might actually turn true. The wonders of human magic.

Epona bit back a sigh. Aleksei was much too valuable to allow to turn into some skanky lust-driven mare . She wanted her to accept her femininity, but that was several thousand steps too far.

“How long has this concern plagued your mind?”

“I… I’m not sure. I’ve only really noticed it after the party, but it’s been a few weeks I think?” Aleksei’s voice trembled.

In one smooth motion, Epona wrapped a hoof over the hippogriff and drew her in her embrace, softly nuzzling the white crest feathers on top of her head. Ethereal form or not, Aleskei felt herself warm up in the motherly embrace.

“Lady Klavins, I hear your concerns, and valid as they are, I think you won’t like my answer.” Epona murmured. “You do run the risk of having that inner being take over… but not for the reasons you think. I must remind you that your role as a cleric makes you a mage, and from that role and the potency of your magic, some risks are further heightened.”

“I don’t get it.”

“The matter is not that you have an inner being, the matter is you *think* you do. You’re still the same being you always were, but your refusal to accept things are different now to assume it’s all the fault of an inner being trying to take over… might very well lead to its existence. Such is the way human magic can flow, particularly so in sensitive matters as those of the mind often are.”

For a few minutes, Aleksei was silent, processing what she had just been told.

“So… you’re saying there’s no ‘Inner Aleksei’ to speak of. It’s just me… but...”

“She could become a real thing. She *will* if you keep thinking that way.”Epona warned.

“And to avoid that...” Aleksei clicked her beak and gulped. “I would have to… to accept my femininity. Accept that she’s a part of me, if I don’t want to become the part I reject and only that.”

“Exactly.”

“But my geas!” Aleksei exclaimed in realization. “That means I have to accept my situation as a female to not become some kind of vapid bimbo due to a self-created inner self, but I still have to keep up my quest of becoming male at the same time, and when I turn back I’ll have to switch over from feminine, to masculine?” She paused. “To do it all over again?”

“You tread a treacherous path, Lady Klavins.”Epona told her. “Butif you embrace her as part of yourself and not some malevolent inner demon, you’ll find that ‘Inner Aleksei’ as you called her will disappear in short order.”

She could also not embrace Inner Aleksei and run the risk of keeping that part of herself separate… but that would hinge on finishing her quest and becoming male fast enough that it didn’t have time to take over her mind. Aleksei winced. Those weren’t good odds.

“Thank you for your advice milady.” She finally uttered.

Already, she could feel the little twinge in the back of her mind signalling her dreamwalk was coming to an end.

“It’s advice gladly given, child.”Epona released her cleric from her embrace and stood up. “Please consider it. You seem to fear embracing your status as female will remove everything you are. It’s not. Look at your shipmate Sri. It will only make you happier.”

Aleksei opened her beak to give a reply, but the words died in her throat. Sri didn’t have a geas. She wouldn’t have to accept one change only to do a complete 180 later down the line.

As the hippogriff was feeling her spiritual self fade away from the Otherworld, Epona lowered her large head down to her level, an almost mischievous look on her muzzle.

“He likes you a lot you know.”

She didn’t tell her who. She didn’t need to. Aleksei awoke back in her cabin with a blush.

Epona was already back at her scrying pond, observing the reaction.

So what?

She wanted grandchildren.

It took time, but slowly, things moved forward in Havana.

Nothing was really done in a hurry. Lacking any real urgency, it became one of the rare times after the literal apocalypse where -except for critical tasks such as guard duty and keeping generators running- work ran on a nine-to-five.

For the next few weeks that the WSU spent in Havana, work crews composed of both deck and engineering sailors would leave the ship to go out and help the Cubans fix up their colony. Some would venture out on ‘expeditions’ into wider Cuba to retrieve vehicles and machinery, some would round up stray cattle in the countryside, some would even go and build houses at the plantation to house more workers and overall help fix up the infrastructure. Relatively routine work that paired itself with more common tasks like maintenance on all ships across the fleet and even the time Rhine Forest’s officers spent teaching their cadets how to maneuver by having them steer some of the auxiliary crafts around the harbor.

Two weeks after the party however, the real task finally arose after much research and planning was done, and the manpower was sufficient, much to Roberto’s enjoyment. That is, giving Havana an actual industrial output, scaled to how many inhabitants they had, to make sure the colony would have exports in the whole network Dilip was so intent on creating.

Scale was important. With the population shrank down to point-zero-one-percent of what it used to be,any pre-Event factory had to scaled down to a sensible level so that they didn’t waste manpower... which as a resource was far more important than anything else nowadays. It was a question of finding what to produce and in what amounts to best fit the current network of colonies the WSU was aware of.

The end result?An industrial complex, of sorts.A few minutes away from the cruise terminal the ships were berthed at, it used to just be a few clustered warehouses, with rusty steel beams painted sky blue to go with white sheet metal for walls. That was what it looked like from an outer viewpoint.

In terms of development? It was a relatively empty fencedcomplex with a large floor area ripe for being converted to fit their needs. It was a bit unsightly, granted, and in dire need of repairs and modernization…

But fit their needs it did.

The fertilizer shortage the plantation workers were complaining about was soon solved by the construction of a small-scale laboratory from which they should be able to synthesize basic compounds in decent-sized batches. Not a simple setup by any stretch of imagination, and they were limited by the amount of locals who had the proper level of education to man it to begin with (unless they wanted them to burn down the place one week after opening); but provided they kept themselves to simple compounds it shouldn’t pose too much of a danger.

Still, starting the industrial complex by building the laboratory (and adjoining infrastructure for the whole complex) took them a whole week before they were even able to move on and start building a cannery and a distillery for exports.

They weren’t any more of an actual industry-worthy setup than the lab was. Nobody from neither the Cubans, nor the tourists or sailors had the expertise to pull off that kind of thing. In fact even with all the engineers spread out across the personnel pool available, it took a whole two weeks to salvage and relocate the equipment needed to achieve what they wanted with the cannery alone.

And there was a lot of room for improvement in the system, flexible as they made it in how it should be able to easily switch the kind of food being canned. Turns out, the food industry has its standards, and even a process as ancient as canning fruits comes with a surprising amount of intricacies that each require their own input in the production chain.

The most obvious instance that they only realized too late was when they were forced to retrofit a whole new warehouse in order to process salvaged sheet metal and make the cans that they genuinely had forgotten they needed to make.

You need more than just food to make canned food. Who knew?

And the use of salvaged sheet metal itself sprung the issue that they’d have to reactivate a metal recycling plant at some point. Metal rusts, and if sheets of metal could be relatively plentiful at first, Dilip would sleep a lot better if he knew their needs in steel and aluminum were covered.

Just need to find a colony with the infrastructure and enough skilled workers to manage that. Easy.

With problems like that, the oil refinery they suspected to find in Mexico risked to become far more of a technical issue than Dilip had ever dared think off way back when the HPI first sent him the intel about it. If simply canning locally-produced food could branch out in that many more logistical needs along with the myriad of sanitary precautions needed to ensure the canned goods did last as long they were supposed to…

The WSU was in for a treat in the long run.

Nevertheless, laborious or not, the industrial development was seen to its end and Havana was given its ability to produce large amounts of food to supply nearly any colony a ship could reach. It was no less than three weeks after their arrival that Quiros declared there were no more things they strictly needed the sailors’ help for. Three weeks of reasonably calm work that allowed the whole fleet to catch some rest (in shifts of course), train for a spell and even weave some connections with some of the Cubans after the medical teams working the field hospital decided to include some English lessons.

In that span of time, many discoveries were made, some a bit more anecdotal than others.

Groups of griffons on hunting trips would for instance frequently come back with news that escaped zoo animals like zebras and wildebeests had found an appropriate home in the savanna-like countryside that surrounded Havana. They had managed to escape their pens, something not achieved by the more dangerous predators as Aleksei’s recce team quickly discovered the dried-up remains of a whole lion pride in their sun-drenched enclosure.

On the other hand/claw/hoof/whichever appendage fits, rhinos had been introduced to the Cuban ecosystem. For better or for worse, you’d have to ask an ecologist.

They also found out that monsters were indeed roaming the island. Though… not exactly the same kind of monster as a timberwolf or a hydra. The monsters Aleksei’s recon team found were something their bestiary labeled as ‘Fly-der’. As in: flying spider. While not as explicitly harmful as bigger monsters, the tarantula-sized insects still caused a not insignificant impact to any arachnophobic that spotted the hairy green and red bugs whiz past them.

Which apparently included Radiant.

“You should have seen this.” Aleksei took a sip of her rum. “One minute I’m talking to Scarface, just… looking at the map chatting about which town to explore next, and then… bam! Out of the woods comes Radiant with the girliest scream I’ve ever heard a stallion make. Funniest shit of the day I tell ya.” She chuckled lightly.

This was one of the occasions they got to relax and rest for a day. Not quite like the party that had occurred after the ceremony and where she made close acquaintance with Morvarc’h, they were gathered on a beach a little ways east of El Morro, outside of Havana but still close enough to the sea fort for the sake of security.

And so here was Aleksei on her off day, having a drink in a field tent with palm trees bobbing with the breeze just on the edge of her sight, and Angelo by her side as they had found themselves a spot around an ice-filled cooler, the field tent sheltering them from the harsh afternoon sun.

“Uh… never pictured him as afraid of bugs.” Angelo blinked, his ‘glass’ of rum closer in size to a German beer mug. “These bugs, they’re dangerous?”

“Depends how you look at it.” Aleksei shrugged. “Way I read it in the bestiary, so long you got the right antivenom potion in store – which we do, I made damn sure we captured a couple bugs for venom extracts-, Fly-ders aren’t that big of a threat. They don’t cluster, they rarely if ever spin webs, and with their size they’re actually rather loud when they fly. It’s… sort of a low buzzing sound, like a bumblebee the size of a brick, if you catch my drift?”

“Sort of. So how do they get you?”

“They hang off ceilings, branches, above you. And they drop on anything that passes below. Rather predictable if you ask me, but you’re in for a surprise if you’re not paying attention. ‘s not like they’re hard to notice anyway. The red eyes shimmer in the dark.” Aleksei explained. “We found like a dozen of them all told when we explored the outskirts of San Cristobal. I figure the Four Horses spawned a couple in Cuba and figured since it was an island, they’d settle and stuff.”

“That going to be a problem?”

“Not really. It’s milder than having timberwolves infesting a forest. I tell you: Cuba has it pretty nice in terms of monsters. I mean...” She waved her talons over herself. “… I’m pretty sure the wards I could create with a ritual at the ‘temple’ -by which she was referring to the party-venue-turned-holy-site- would be enough to keep those bugs out of Havana. Maybe even the plantation if I get around to building them an altar.”

Angelo frowned slightly at the mention of her magical faculties. The big bulky minotaur tore his eyes away from his rum for a moment to look at the other sailors out on the beach. There was one group of Filipino parrots playing beach-volley a few ways away, some sphinxes sunning themselves like the big cats they were, and even… a few couples, just enjoying their time together. He even spotted Vadim and Micha busy teaching Andy how to fish, the three of them clustered around a fishing pole, perched on a short cliff closer to the spanish fort where the rocky promontory it was perched on began.

“Say Aleksei… I don’t mean to make it sound like it’s bad but...” He hesitated. “Your little party… I’m pretty sure it’s had an effect on everyone.” He paused, looking down into his drink. “Myself included, come to think of it.”

“I… kind of agree? That wasn’t intended you know. I didn’t expect the wards I make to have such an intrinsic effect because of my divine allegiances.”

“Fancy words for saying: ‘sorry I made everyone horny’.” Angelo joked after downing his rum and grabbing a new bottle to refill it. “I’d blame you, but I’m one to believe the rumors about you and that demigod pony that showed up, so you were affected as well. Still… you can’t lie, it's had effects long term.”

“No pregnancies in the fleet. Trust me, I would know.”

“I don’t mean that. It’s about… couples forming, people not minding the change swapped their gender anymore. Before that it was still pretty limited, still too soon… but now?” He waved a hand towards a pair of Abyssinians reading a book on a towel.

Aleksei squinted. The black cat with the white spots and the crooked ear? That was Roberto alright, their Intel Officer wearing nothing but swimming trunks. The surprise was the other cat snuggled up between the Italian’s legs. Lekan actually. The Savannah cat was comfortably clad in the same one-piece swimsuit she had gotten with Sandra back in Copenhagen, holding a book in her paws as both she and Roberto read on, tails intertwined.

“Alright… consider me surprised.” She raised her eyebrows.

“They’re not the only ones. Nala and Thanasis...” He pointed towards a pair of sphinxes that included their Chief Stewardess and one of the engineering sailors, lying together in the shade under a palm tree, one head over the other’s. “… actually a thing now. Not just ‘sex friends’. Hell, I’m also pretty confident in those rumors that say Sri has taken the leap too, most likely in the heat of the party, though with the way the betting pool is running, nobody’s sure whether she went for Bart or Artyom.”

Definitely not Scarface though. Of the three male veterans, the Bulgarian gargoyle was the one known for ‘sampling the local dating pool’.

“Damn… I mean, it’s a good thing I guess, but still… damn.” Aleksei sipped her rum. “Didn’t think the effects ran that deeply. Must have been more powerful than I expected.”

“I wouldn’t say that. You just gave a slight nudge and tipped the balance over.” Angelo quipped, flicking an empty bottle with a digit and sending it over the edge of the table where it fell in the sand with a thud. “I looked around. There are some pretty recent returnees among the locals. Tourists or not. The most recent genderbent folks are still at odds with their situation, as anyone would be. In the fleet… sure, most are now settled down and ready to form couples, but I don’t think you’ll ever see any of them act like prissy ladies or some such. Still sailors.” He shook his head. “I mean, you’ve seen Danny in action? Off-duty I’ve seen her wear sundresses now, colorful ones at that – Ornithians be Ornithians-, but she’s still a fucking welder. And prone to swear at that. I can’t understand a word of Tagalog, but she’s got a foul mouth lemme tell ya.”

He paused, looking off towards the fort where a Unimog had just arrived to deposit a fresh batch of off-duty sailors. Aleksei saw his eyes linger on Artemis for a few moments as the minotaur hopped off the truck before he turned his attention back to her.

“You get my point I hope? I’m sure you do. It’s a complicated matter, but I wouldn’t have anyone get some existential worries about it. Personalities don’t change that much, and even if they did, species would be as big a factor in the equation as gender.”

Like that made the changes any easier to cope with. Still… maybe he was right and she would have had as many issues if she rejected being a hippogriff instead of being a mare.

Didn’t make what Epona had told her she needed to do any easier.

That being said, her mind lingered on a little detail. The way Angelo was sneaking glances out the tent towards where the truck had deposited… her eyes widened. Her beak parted in a grin.

“No way.” She giggled. “You and Artemis?”

Judging by the way the minotaur’s tail went still, she had hit her mark.

“It’s not serious just yet. We’re uh… figuring out whether or not it’s worth it.”

“Which is miles ahead of where the situation’s been stuck for the past months.” Aleksei smiled. “Congrats buddy.”

“Hold it for now. There’s a reason we’re careful.” Angelo explained. “We minos are not unlike griffons when it comes to mating. The pair bonding is for life, though not as ‘strong’, if that’s an apt way to describe it. Under circumstances like that… I know we’ve seen Micha and Vadim be pretty happy, and I’d lie if the smile on Anton’s beak when she looks at her eggs doesn’t warm my heart-.”

“Tanya by the way now. She got a name change.” Aleksei interrupted.

“Good for her.” Angelo nodded. “Doesn’t change my point: I know they’re happy with their mates and all… but when it’s for life, you want it to happen in your terms and with someone you’re ready to spend the rest of your life with, right? Though to be fair… we’re from the same country, we speak the same language, we’re the same species and job-wise, we’re pretty similar.” He listed off.

“Pretty good odds then?”

The big gray minotaur had a smile on his muzzle when he stood up, readjusting the corks he kept on the tip of his horns so as not to skewer the field tent above him.

“Yeah… those are some good odds.” He rolled his shoulders. “Now if you don’t mind, I promised I’d pump some iron with her on the beach. Got someone to match me in strength for once, so I’m not missing the chance.”

This was the first time Miles actually was venturing into Morgane’s sector of the woods… and frankly now she understood why Merlin was so adamant that their patrols avoid the area whenever possible. The cursed grove surrounding the fay’s grotto was a bit too gloomy for her tastes, and the damp chill it caused in any visitor passing through made shivers run up and down her wings as she huddled them against her frame.

It was mid-September for Cernunnos’ sake! Why in the blazes did it feel like a cold rainy November? Brittany had its rain issues *liquid sunshine*, but that was just magic messing with them. Usually she’d consider that the salvaged chainmail and gambeson she wore underneath her camouflaged UCP poncho were too warm… but now the only comfort it provided was the clinking of the mail reminding her she was protected.

“Couldn’t we just have… you know… teleported?” Miles asked Rockhoof as the huge stallion was cleaving his way through the intertwined branches with his signature shovel.

Disadvantage one of traveling with non-flyers: you can’t stick to above the canopy and just cut across.

“We could. Indeed.” Rock grunted. “But you’re my top lieutenant-no offense to Emeric, but he’s more the type to stay at the castle than to patrol the woods- and I need one of you to actually witness why you shouldn’t send guards to this part of the woods. Plus, consider it training. Broceliande is our new home, it’s important we learn how to navigate it.” He paused, biting back a swear word. “But I’ll give you that… last time I passed through with Starswirl, the game trails had the merit of being a bit wider.”

Which really was a pain in the flank when you’re a stallion the size of Rockhoof. He had a budding ache in his neck from bending beneath branches so often.

“We might have to assign guards to maintaining trails. At least until we got the situation figured out for the flying carriages. That should sort out the infrastructure problems then.”

“Point.” Rockhoof grunted. “But that would require us to figure out a way to make spells stick to you ponies… humans… former humans, you get the meaning.”

“Yeah I do.” She nodded, though her concerns about the topic was more about her own marehood issues than making non-pegasi ponies fly. “What’s our dear court mage doing anyway? Is he going to turn up just as we reach Morgane’s porch?”

“Actually no.” Rock ducked under a low lying branch. “He said he was going ahead of us to lay down the groundwork. Make sure she’s inclined to look into the matter.”

Miles came to a sudden halt.

“Hold on a second. Why wouldn’t she want to figure this out? Way I see it, she’s at an advantage if she can ensure her spells stick too.”

“I dunno… but the way I see it, mages like to mess around. She looked powerful last I met her, so maybe she might think she can pull it off on her own?” He guessed, sheathing his shovel now that the trail was once again getting wider. “’cuz if she does, then she can bewitch any returnee she wants without us knowing how to pull it off. And believe me, with Star and Meadow’s skill level, we would eventually figure it out, but the faster we can make our magic worthwhile, the better off we are in the long run. That temple Cernunnos wants come next year is still a deadline, and we’ll never get the materials if we don’t have the infrastructure.”

“And failing to meet promises made to a god is a pretty bad way to start off a colony.” Miles intoned.

“That we agree on.” He nodded.

Past that, making it through the cursed grove proved a bit easier, with the trail getting increasingly wider the closer they got to Morgane’s enchanted grotto. It was almost as if the fay had woven a spell on the vegetation that surrounded the Vale of No Return to make sure it prevented unwary intruders from straying inside.

Determined visitors though? It just took them however long they needed to break through the twisting branches the gnarly trees had grown to impede passage, and then they were free to carry on at a healthy trot that brought them inside of Morgane’s enchanted plane within the hour.

The only change Rock really noticed in the place was how the fay lady had made use of the increased magic by carving various enchanted runes and scripts at seemingly random spots outside and inside the cave, spots that were gathering an inordinate amount of mana crystals and magic particles swirling around them.

Obviously the sight of the inner cave and Morgane’s little tower on its island in the middle of an underground lake was enough to leave Miles gaping. She shook it off remarkably quickly however, albeit only after snapping a couple pictures using one of those smartphones returnees seemed so fond of. Rockhoof never understood the appeal. He already had it hard enough trying to figure out how those wireless radios worked, he had no time for useless gizmos.

“Sorry about that.” Miles apologized, trotting a little to catch up with the larger pony as he made his way to the tower. “It’s just nobody’s going to believe me unless I show the pictures. It’s just so...” She hesitated. “Eerie.”

“The magic is powerful around here indeed.” Rockhoof acknowledged just as they reached her tower. “And it seems she’s optimized the place to produce more mana crystals… I wonder if Star’s research into the matter helped.”

“You’re more astute than your physique lets on then.” The door abruptly opened to Morgane’s comment, speaking Latin that the two ponies understood – a spell probably-, the fay lady standing in the door frame with Merlin in his human form seated inside by the table. “You’re late.”

“Which would prove the defenses you set up around your domain are quite effective don’t you think? Takes time to wade through all those branches. I’ll have to sharpen my shovel when I get back to Trecesson.” Rockhoof cracked his neck, the muscles still sore from swinging the shovel. “Though I’ll admit I’m surprised there were no critters to halt our passage.”

“My doing.” Morgane motioned for them to take a seat at the table with Merlin who greeted them with a sharp nod. “No sense wasting my familiars on fighting visitors I actually expect. I’m already short on them.”

Then she paused, her eyes lingering on Miles’ form as the pegasus mare flew over to Merlin’s side and sat down on her haunches, mail armor clicking softly as she readjusted the strap that kept her lever-action on her back.

“And you would be? A guard?” The fay’s purple eyes flickered in curiosity

“I am Lieutenant Everett. Miles Everett.” She presented herself.

“She’s basically my second in command, Lady Morgane. One of the reasons we’re seeking to… make spells last.”

“Ah… very well then. Merlin and I were talking about you, Lieutenant. You’re in an interesting predicament, aren’t you? Foreign body, foreign tongue, foreign land...” Morgane joined them at the table and summoned a pitcher of wine before serving them all a glass.

Except for Merlin of course. So long that he remained outside of his plane, the mage would be in ghost form.

“I’m a realistic person. I’m aware of how slim my chances are that I ever see America again… under the present circumstances.” Miles slowly uttered, accepting a glass of wine from Morgane which she held between her primaries. “Nevertheless I could use some improvements, if you’re willing to help me.”

“And I am. No need to bring up the subject. I will assist you in this research, Merlin here already hammered the details with me.” She smiled.

“May I ask what that would entail then? No offense, but as Lord of Trecesson, I feel entitled to knowing the deals my court mage takes in my name.” Rockhoof spoke up, throwing Starswirl a look.

The wizard’s only reaction was an amused twinkle in his eyes.

“Nothing much to concern you.” Morgane said. “Merlin here will assist me in my research and promise to help me get ahead on my own projects, and I’ll need some potions and potion materials courtesy of your dear wife. My congratulations on the child by the way.”

“Thanks. I’ll pass the word to her.” Rock said before leaning forward across the table. “And what’s more?”

The fay then turned her head towards Miles, one finger drawing circles on her wine glass.

“Of course I’ll need your Lieutenant to pay me a couple visits. I promise nothing bad will happen, but I need to run a couple experiments and transformations before I figure out which way to go about it. And...” She raised her other hand, the one that was old and wrinkled, waving at their surroundings. “You’ve seen the Vale of No Return. This place isn’t the most fertile in the forest, and I’m no farmer. You want to adapt your magic, I want supplies. Cave mushrooms can keep one’s belly full, but they don’t sate an appetite. I want weekly supply deliveries. Fresh produce of course, and liquor, if such can be found.”

“Liquor?” Rockhoof smirked in amusement.

“Unlike Vivian, I live alone. One needs a way to keep the solitude at bay, don’t you think? My wine cellar can only hold so many bottles before I run out. And mushroom wine? Not the best.” Morgane smirked back.

Rock’s smirk faded.

“Hold on… are you implying Lady Vivian isn’t alone? Last I was aware of, she lives on her own in her castle. Star, did you forget to tell me something?”

“No friend, I learned it as well this morning. Seems like Lady Morgane has a better net of information than I do.” The ghost wizard sighed. “A surprising turn of events I must say, though unfortunately it means she probably won’t help our research.”

“Can you guys please stop being so cryptic?” Miles interrupted. “What happened?”

“It happened that Trecesson is no longer the sole colony in Broceliande, that’s what happened.” Morgane finally broke the news. “I think it’s something you ponies should be aware of. I keep a regular correspondence with Lady Vivianthrough my familiars, and even then she only decided to tell me yesterday. You see, Merlin isn’t the only one to have decided to steer returnees his way.”

Turns out, the Lady of the Lake had caught on to the idea and decided she was better off with a colony of her own. For the past few weeks, she had managed to locate returnees and encourage them to head her way to start repairing the castle next to her lake. Comper castle. The one Miles had spotted as a ruin last time she accompanied Rock and Merlin there.

Now though?

Details were limited – they’d have to take a look for themselves-, but Vivian had apparently provided wards and supports to assemble herself a set of followers that were busily renovating the castle according to her teachings. That didn’t make Broceliande crowded, Comper was actually rather far from Trecesson…

But they weren’t alone anymore.

“Looks like we will have to pay them a visit then.” Rockhoof slowly nodded. “Could be interesting. Maybe we’ll need to draw up some borders.”

Author's Notes:

As far as Aleksei and Epona go... dunno if I managed to portray the goddess the way I wanted. She isn't meant to be evil, but you guys know the fable of the frog and the scorpion? Same deal. Can't expect a god not to be manipulative.

Worldbuilding-wise. Now you got the set of threats around Havana I guess. Urban areas infested with roaming packs of feral dogs. The savanna-esque countryside gets those plus escaped zoo animals so don't piss off the elephants and rhinos...

And then they got flying spoidas in the monster department.

Far from the most dangerous mix you could ask for, but a set of threats worth considering nevertheless.

I kinda like to consider worldbuilding and exploration are one of the main points to this story, no? Among other things.

Also... Gee, the Lady of the Lake gets herself a colony and a set of followers... Now I wonder...
*knights scream in faux-french in the distance*
Probably not that kind of followers though.

On a last note: difficulties have arisen this week that complicated editing the text. It's not my right as to say why, but please pardon any mistake or typo you may find.