When we left the hospital, it must have been early afternoon already, as the sun was already high in the sky. The morning was gone, and in light of the fact that it was winter, we had to hurry a bit. On the short way back from the parking lot to the industrial park, I explained to the group how the days were shorter during winter time. It was obvious that they didn't know anything like that, and Rainbow refused to believe me for a while and absolutely insisted that the sun always stayed in the sky for twelve hours. During our time in the centre, which was well-stocked except for missing axes, saws, and other tools that could be utilized as weapons, we discussed how our solar system worked.

As planned, we packed wood glue, some weatherproof finish, and a brush. For the repair of the wing’s broken mast, I found a rectangular piece of metal that had four holes for screws. I had no idea what to call those things, but to call it a metal edge sufficed for my company and me. I was never one who was a talented craftsman, more like the opposite, preferring to be the coordinator. As a child, it was my greatest dream to become an architect, and I had always been thinking and drawing my dream house. I had abandoned the image over time, but I still managed to retain enough to use. Because of this, I roughly knew how long the metal pieces should be to be able to bear the weight of the wing, even under the burden of flight. Like twigs, three thirty centimetres-long metal edges, neatly stacked like spoons, protruded out of Dash's saddlebag. In the other one, the other souvenirs were stored.

"And you are sure that you know the way?" I asked her one last time as we stood in the big parking lot before the building centre. This one lay opposite of the Media Markt and a certain Toys R Us of which I didn't wish to be reminded. It was the last time that I had seen my brother.

"Of course!" declared the confident pegasus and hit herself in her chest while floating in front of me. "I always find a way." Even if it had to be head-first through the wall, I added to myself. "And even if…" She leaned towards me so AJ and Trixie behind me could not hear her. "We still have the radio." She grinned and slowly vanished over the building complex to my right. What I believed she didn't understand was that the others would hear. So, if I had to give her directions, the other two would surely take notice.

"Well, we should head out as well," I said and started to float slightly over the ground. "We still have to cover some distance."

"And you are sure that you can make it, sugarcube?" AJ alluded to my wounds that hurt now and then under the cold breeze. I hadn't noticed the low temperatures so far, but as a part of my flank was now without fur, I felt it distinctly. Ponies seemed to have a lower resistance against temperatures with their skin. Their coat took over this function, so why was a thick fat layer needed?

"I have to, don't I? I doubt you feel like carrying me." I said that more as a joke, but she seemed to really consider it. I knew that she was more than capable of doing it. After all, I did experience how easy it was for her to push me through the ground. As a pegasus, who could become lighter by their own inner magic, it was surely even easier. "No, really, not a problem," I said once more to be on the safe side.

"If you say so…" I saw that she wasn't convinced, but we nonetheless started to move. Immediately, my mind wandered and I thought about what I learned today. The humans had fought for survival and they did it even if they had to pit themselves against their own fellow men. Furthermore, I found it strange that three humans appeared here nearly simultaneously, so for me, they belonged to a group. If there were several groups, they had to have some kind of base.

The problem would be to find them, as by day there would be little to betray them. Of course, during the night they'd leave the light on to drive off the Nightmares. Even the dumbest human would have noticed that the sunlight was their enemy and that they could secure rooms with UV-Lamps. The problem was the power which restricted their bases to the few places with generators. The hospital I could strike from the list. It seemed that previously no one ventured to the generator room to activate it. We had to try to make contact again to discover if there were still bigger settlements.

The next problem was— "Ouch!" My view turned black, and I fell to the ground, which served to remind me of my wounds. I heard the clangs of metal and saw that I had flown into a street lamp. Both Trixie and AJ looked worriedly at me as I rubbed my snout with a hoof.

"You are sure that nopony should levitate you?" asked Trixie this time. "I can levitate you for a while." I turned down her offer with a wave.

"Thanks, but no. I was just lost in thought." Both mares threw a dubious look at each other before I rose up and we continued our way. Before I returned to my train of thought, I saw that both of them were engrossed in their own small conversation. The next problem was the date. I had been here and had found the newspaper and the letter. Then I assumed a time shift of three months, but how old had the newspaper truly been? It could have been lying there for months according to everything I knew. I had to learn what exactly happened after my departure to Equestria, and the only one I knew with possible answers was Julian. He could surely tell me what had happened in the city, when Changer had died exactly, and when the Nightmares arrived. Only I had to find him first.

I spent the next few minutes thinking of different methods to lure the humans out of their hiding place or to find them. Unfortunately, there were too many buildings that had been outfitted with generators to search, as this would take several weeks which we didn't have. To place food somewhere on an open street was also a stupid idea because it was far too suspicious. Who would, in such times, simply run openly on the street and not think it was a trap. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity to make a more subtle location known to the humans, except of course letting Rainbow fly over the city and let her yell at the place like a market crier. Also, this would not escape suspicion either. There had to be some place where the humans had to go, as they had to get something that didn't fit into their base or was impossible to transport.

"Hey, Light, Armor says the metal is okay. Over." The noise that originated from the headset around my neck startled me from my thoughts, and I sank to the ground. With a hoof, I directed the microphone in my direction without putting the headset itself on.

"All clear. We are…" I looked around and noticed, with some surprise, that we were nearly at the gas station already, "... nearly at the road block. We should be back within the next hour. Over." I once more considered taking the car but I decided against doing so. We wouldn't need it as we were only going to a certain point anyway. I didn't believe that it looked better for the other directions.

I still didn't know what came over Scootaloo to make us go on board the ship. I mean, sure, we had been sad that a part of our family wouldn't be with us for a while, but this was just a dumb idea. Princess Luna more or less locked us in the room and gave us one lecture after another. Now and then, Princess Cadance came around the corner and tried to calm down her mom, but it didn’t work too well. Luckily, it had been quiet for a while now, but my ears were still ringing.

"I imagined this differently," said Sweetie Belle sadly and briefly looked up from the edge of the big lunch table to us. "I thought they would be happy if we'd came with them."

"I thought the same. AJ is always happy when I help her on the farm," Apple Bloom agreed with her.

"I don't like to admit it, but I would have missed my mum very much," I threw in. I was the only one who had tried to prevent this as, one after the other, we had climbed through the open port hole. A sniffle came from Holly, who had sat quietly on her chair while she was hauled over the coals.

"I hope mom is okay. She still hasn't woken up." Princess Cadance had brought me and Holly to our mothers for a little while, who both were lying in the small hospital ward and sleeping. That was soon after the last of Princess Luna's lectures.

"Both of them will recover. I’ve already prepared a party!" called Pinkie Pie who at this moment passed the broad entrance to the common room.

"At least it seems that Pinkie is already on the up and up," I mentioned snappily. She had been present during the lectures and, at a certain point, namely that we could have been hurt or worse, her mane fell flat and she seemed more than sad. Cadance had explained to me and Holly, after we asked about it, that this was normal for the pink pony. "How about you, Scootaloo?"

"Leave me alone, Dawn…" came the reply from my pegasus friend who pressed her face against the table top.

"Come on, Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom put a hoof around her. "It was your idea to travel with them to this other world. We didn't get our cutie mark as world travellers, but there’s surely a lot to experience out there." There was no reaction from her.

"Plus, they will send us back as soon as possible. So it isn't that bad anyway." It was somehow strange. It was the always cheerful and positive Scootaloo who said such things, not Sweetie.

"I don't want to…" She sounded subdued.

"What's up, Scoots? We're your friends? The princess didn’t scold us that badly …"

"I said leave me alone, Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo screamed and galloped as fast as possible out of the room. Our eyes followed her as she vanished in the hallway, whereupon we heard her taking the stairs to the deck.

"What is up with her?" I asked everypony in the room. The girls knew her considerably better and, most importantly, longer than me.

"She is sad over a loss." It was more like a whisper from Holly, but we still understood her without any trouble. She flinched under our gazes.

"Okay, what do you know and from where?" Apple Bloom advanced to her and pressed her face so much over the table that she only propped up herself with her front hooves, her hind hooves hanging in the air. She was a few centimetres nearer to Holly, who was sitting on the other side of the broad table.

"I… Ehm…" she stammered in fright and hid behind her mane, like her mother.

"Spill the beans!" the yellow foal to my right pushed further.

"I… can… feel it." She went into cover as if she expected we would attack her like a manticore.

"You can feel that?" Sweetie Belle leaned over curiously on the table and looked to the eyes that just peeped over the table. She nodded.

"That is cool." I was happy not to be the only one with particular superpowers.

"Really?" She left some of her cover and looked to me.

"Yes, really, Holly. You know, I have a special power too, but my mom forbade me to use it…" Sometimes it would have been really useful during our crusades.

"Do you know what she lost? Maybe we can find it!" Sweetie Belle called happily, but Holly only shook the head. "What a shame." She sank back into her chair again.

"We should still look for it," declared Apple Bloom. "I mean, how difficult can it be to find something here from Equestria? It’s a whole different planet after all." There was no counterargument to her logic, and we all agreed with nods. "Besides, it can't that far from the ship, so we won't be in trouble if we look for it." Again we nodded and our lips shaped into grins.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Detectives!" we called simultaneously and sallied forth out of the room, Holly a bit aside. Who could find better lost things than a detective, and besides, I liked the stories of Sherlock Hooves.

The only thing I took with me out of the car was the map. It was just one of Germany, but this had to suffice for a start. A map of Earth was on the back as well, but this was just a very rough overview. The rough surface of the earth was shown on the magical globe at the very least.

"Very good. Now we can at least navigate here." Armor stood with me in the room and had listened, until now, my report on our little expedition. He wasn't particularly delighted about the encounter with Julian, but at least he understood why I had trusted him so blindly. I was glad that he didn't rub salt into the wound, in the truest sense.

"How long will we need for the repairs?" I wanted to know how much time I'd have to find the humans and, if needed to be, I would do it alone.

"The glue itself has to dry for a day, the finish as well. Even if the wing could already work, we’ll stay for two days. That time we should use and look for supplies and maybe a better map." Our first target was certain, thanks to my list: Düsseldorf. If there was a base, then the probability of it having a military presence was high. Armor absolutely wanted to contact their leaders and ask for their help for our mission. They had to know where most of the settlements were located, and I agreed with him. The military surely had long range radio equipment or similar to sustain the contact.

"Then I'll go tomorrow to Minden." I clicked on the globe with our location, which had blinked since we had fed it the map, and called up the city. "There are a few food stores… here, here, and here." Each time, I pointed to a place in the city where I believed one to be. It was difficult to say what was a store and what was a residential building. After all, it was the image of a street map. "In addition, I will check on the way for a few possible hiding places." I didn't see the point to withhold this from him.

"Then tomorrow, please take Star and Hawk with you. Both have been trained, as you well know, and are experts for being on the lookout for enemies." That was the thing that didn't agree with me. Because one of them had attacked me, he had marked me as potential danger and rated us as enemies. He wasn't wrong, but still I didn't like it. "To prevent a repeat like with Trixie and Applejack." I only nodded and slowly went to the door. "And let Cadance have a look over you. The wound looks bad."

"I will." With those words, I left the meeting room in which we had discussed our mission over the last few hours, the presence of Luna and the Crusaders, and the consequences on our supplies, in particular, the additional water usage as long they were here. Their stay would take as long until Twilight was strong enough to open a small portal with Trixie and Luna, as she was the only one who knew the necessary steps. The princesses had only added their magical power. Then there was the night shift, for which I volunteered today as the first one, as I knew the area the best and I needed some time alone anyway to meditate on things.

Outside, the sun was already slowly descending, and a deep red marked the clouds in the sky. From below, the noise of eager hooves could be heard as it prepared the dinner. I saw that the Crusaders were in our garden and scurried like dogs over the grass, seemingly on the search for something.

"Hey, Dawn, it's going to be dark soon. Please return to the ship, all of you!" I called towards the purple pegasus who was standing closest to the ship. I saw that he nodded absentmindedly, but that was sufficient. I wanted to treat my wound first and ideally throw a blanket or so over my back. I bet that Rarity would have something like that. So I started to make my way down below, only to nearly be stampeded by Rainbow as she vanished through the hallway into the bathroom. I threw a glance towards the kitchen from whence she came and saw the heads of Pinkie Pie, Cadance, and AJ, who extended their heads towards me.

"I believe I overdid it a bit with the chili," said AJ and rubbed her head with a hoof.

"Or me with the rainbow extract." All eyes glanced at Pinkie.

"Maybe I shouldn't have added any pepper," added Cadance, lost in thought, whereas the other two shrugged their shoulders and went back into the kitchen. I asked myself if I should explain to them the wonders of tabasco, but I decided against doing so because of the lack of restrooms for everypony. I followed them into the kitchen and saw that the three had tried to cook a big stew. While AJ had a few red beans in front of herself, Pinkie cut broccoli, and Cadance was in the process of freeing carrots from their husks. Aside from the vegetable of death, I didn't see what could deter me. I walked to the big pot standing on the stove and looked into its depth. There was something cooking that I could only call a witch’s brew, as it was black, viscous, and bubbled ominously. I took a deep breath through the nose that led to my eyes tearing up and making me feel as though my nose hairs had been singed.

"Careful, Light, something got mixed up," said Cadance over her shoulders. "We all tried to cook something and didn't notice that we only had a single pot." She had to giggle to herself then.

"Yeah, and Dashie came and said, 'Oh, this looks tasty, I'll try' and suddenly ran so fast like I haven't seen for a long time." Pinkie took the pot from the stove and started to pour the contents into the sink. I simply wondered how somepony could view this black stock as appetizing.

"Can we help you, sugarcube?" asked AJ, who pushed past me and took corn from one of the cupboards.

"Actually, I wanted to ask Cadance to have a look at my wound." She dropped the peeler out of her magical grip and turned to me, looked at my face, then at my chest, and seemingly looked for my injury. I turned a bit and showed her my right flank. She immediately moved a hoof to her mouth.

"Bless my heart! What happened?" I saw Pinkie Pie also staring at the wound and decided to explain it to her right now.

"A spell fumble," I lied shortly, which sufficed as an explanation for both of them. My gaze went to AJ, who did not look happy as she viciously freed the corn out of the glass.

"Okay, let's have a look at that." With that, she pushed me out of the kitchen, and we went briefly through the hallway and into the hospital ward. As ordered, all unnecessary fixtures have been removed and only two beds, occupied by Twilight and Fluttershy, a couch and a cabinet with medical supplies remained. The purple unicorn had an ice bag on her forehead, directly above her horn, lying peacefully, while Fluttershy had a small bandage around her head where a bit of blood could be seen.

"Well then, turn to me and tell me what really happened." She fetched from the cabinet a clear fluid and a swab where a handle had been affixed so even an earth pony could use it. Being an alicorn herself, it was unnecessary for her.

"Was that so obvious?" She raised an eyebrow and I didn't get around guessing that the facial expression ran in the family somehow.

"Well, every magical injury has magical residues." Which didn't exist with a gunshot wound, it seemed. Only the residue of gunpowder.

"We had an encounter with two humans, one of them an old friend of mine. He likely was so confused that he, even after he knew who I was, attacked me and fled. AHHH!" She had put some fluid on the swab and rubbed it over the wound. There was only one mixture that could create such pain: alcohol.

"I am sorry to hear that. I'm sure he was just afraid." She rubbed the wound further with alcohol, which made it burn again like Trixie's spell. "But the wound is looking good, no infection. May I ask how it was caused?"

"An alarm pistol. It is supposed to merely make noise and look real, but it still creates pressure and heat. If you fire it near enough to people, it causes injuries." She made it clear with humming that she had understood and replaced the swab and alcohol with a tube containing a white salve. She spread some of it on my bald spot and, with a clap, a thick band-aid followed, which was fixated with some bandages around my stomach.

"So, that should do it. Tomorrow morning, we can change the bandages once more, and then we’ll look to see what we can do for your fur." With that, she started to replace everything in the cabinet. "Who is doing the night shift?"

"Me." Aghast, she looked at me.

"No, no, no. You should get some rest." I would prefer to lie into my warm bed next to AJ, but that was not possible.

"I am the only one who knows the area and probably wouldn’t go crazy seeing shadows. Besides, it is my magic that protects the Celestia. Should something happen, you are gonna need me anyway." Especially as Twilight was out like a stone. I had provided some diamonds in advance with a daylight spell, but these would not last forever, and she was the only one who was proficient with it as well. I had also tried to explain Celestia's magic to Trixie as well as I could, but she wasn’t too good at it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the ability like my mother to plant it into her head.

"Then let me at least give you a blanket." After opening the lowest doors of the cabinet, she pulled out a thick white woollen blanket. "It is quite cool outside."

"It is winter," I said with a smile, which coaxed one out of her as well.

"Very mild." Yes, global warming was something beautiful. Unfortunately, it went into both extremes.

A bit later, I sat here on deck and stared into the darkness. Directly after dinner, which I received first to be able to attend to my post, I had placed myself here and watched how the sun vanished behind the horizon. Somehow, it wasn't the same in Equestria. It was like something missing there, the little something you only noted when it was back again.

"They are out there." Shining Armor appeared from below, a cup floating next to him as he sat next to me. I followed his glance into the wood in front of me, past the first row of trees, through some underbrush, and then I saw it. Small red points that moved between the dark wood.

"Yep," I answered shortly and look briefly down to the illuminated ground. With nightfall, the enchanted ornaments of the Celestia began to glow and radiated a calming light. Would it not have been for reasons of safety, I had nearly shed a tear at this sight. It had something magical, literally, but I thought more of the Tales of a Thousand and One Nights.

"And you are sure that you can manage?" I adjusted the blanket over my back.

"In front of you sits the nerd who got by six weeks with only two or three hours sleep." Summer holidays, an empty house, and a MMO were not a good combination for a healthy sleep cycle.

"I don't know what a nerd is, but I’ll take it as a yes." He took a sip from the cup, which seemed to me as though it was filled with hot cocoa. "If you don't feel able anymore, Star is on call, as I am."

"Thanks," I merely said before I noticed hurried steps behind me, and we both turned around. Dawn and Sweetie Belle stood on deck and had panic in their faces.

"Scootaloo is gone!" he called, somewhat out of breath. "We just checked the entire ship, but she isn't here."

Author's Notes:

Another chapter done. Only 30 left.

Also, I started a new story. Maybe you want to risk a look: klick

Thanks to Verequus for translating.
Special thanks to JBL for editing.