“Woooooow,” says Thirteen as the group reach the edge of a forest bordering on a section of rolling flatland surrounding Manehattan and the view opens fully to her.

The entire city is sitting in the distance, dots of light cleanly lining the wall separating it from the farmland spread around.

“Crystal Empire’s way bigger, shinier, and not so cramped,” says Three.

“It wasn’t when we were leaving. Just kinda a few dots scattered all over the horizon.”

“Well, yeah,” admits Three, “But it’s absoluuutely the best in sunlight, which is why we need to help with the tiny stuff as much as we can so that someone important can focus on the big and important things like the sun.”

“Hey!” hisses Gem suddenly, “Magpie, turn the headlamp off.”

The griffon does so immediately and everyone holds their breath. Seconds pass until first Harriet’s tentacles stretch and then start wibbling. Next, the other two changelings start hearing some creaking and thumping. Magpie, with his normal mortal senses, is the last one to spot what looks like a big group of Crystal Guards escorting a caravan of heavy metal wagons covered in lights.

“Crystal ponies hauling heavy-duty shipment all the way east across Equestria,” mutters the griffon, “Disassembled farming units maybe?”

“My guess exactly,” Gem nods.

“That’s great!” exclaims Three.

“Shush!” Magpie scowls at him, pulling out his binoculars.

“What he means is that voices carry far and wide here,” explains Gem, “You shimmering is already a bit of a risk. Let’s not alert the Crystal Guards to our presence.”

“Okay,” whispers Three.

“Alright, Gem, I hope you have a secret tunnel ready otherwise this isn’t going to be fun,” grumbles the griffon.

Gem grabs his binoculars, watches the only heavily fortified gate towards which the procession of crystal ponies is headed for a while, and finally returns the binoculars to Magpie.

“That’s a lot of security,” she breathes out, “It can’t be because of Corrupted. If there’s someone who would figure out that they’re not overly active in this darkness then it’s the Manehattanites.”

“So there’s a good chance the news about us reached this place already then,” Magpie rolls his eyes, “Just what we needed. So, how about that secret tunnel…?”

“Not this time, catbird,” Gem shakes her head, “Manehattan is on soft soil so anything underground would need constant maintenance and be a risk. Normally, I’d say we find a less guarded spot and fly over the city walls but the amount of armed ponies around doesn’t give me too much hope it will be better anywhere else.”

“If they know about us, there’s no way we’re getting in through the front.”

“Definitely,” Gem nods, “Who’s up for a swim?”

“Bad idea for two reasons,” objects the griffon, “First, it’s cold already and if we don’t have a place to dry we’d be even more suspicious than if we walked through the front door. And second, can Corrupted even cross salt water?” he glances towards Harriet.

“I’m not sure,” she replies, “Normal water is okay. Last time I touched sea water it felt like sticking my foreleg into acid, although that might have been because a group of griffon mobsters had previously stripped my dragon scales for sale. Can’t say anything for sure until I try.”

“Hmph,” Gem frowns, “I don’t have proper equipment to brew insensibility potions here so we’ll just have to give it a shot. Alright, no lights past this point, we’ll circle around the south side of Manehattan, see if Harriet can swim, and work with that, okay?” as everyone nods, Gem adds, “Three, hop on my back.”

“I can still walk, miss Gem. I don’t want to bother you-” objects Three.

“It’s not about your self-sufficiency, Three. We’re all almost completely black and we can’t use any lights. That pink shimmer of your legs will be enough for our eagle-cat to see as well as we do.”

“Okay,” Three buzzes up onto Gem’s back without further comments and the group embark on their final leg of their journey through Equestria.

“M-M-My hooves are n-numb...” shudders Harriet after pulling herself up the base of a pier in Manehattan docks, “That was w-way worse than th-the hosing down i-in prison.”

“Yeah,” Gem frowns, her fish tail and leg fins disappearing with a green glimmer, “We have much less time than we thought with this sun thing.”

As Three hops off of Gem’s back, Thirteen follows her sister’s example, shapeshifts her aquatic tail off, and immediately starts sinking like a rock as the holes in her legs prevent her from staying afloat.

Magpie leans down from the pier and grabs her flailing hoof.

“Thank you,” whispers Thirteen, getting on the wet wood with his help. The griffon only nods before turning to Gem.

“We need to dry off right now,” he says, “I can deal with dry frost or snow but swimming for fifteen minutes in that is pneumonia waiting to happen.”

Thirteen and Harriet nod in sync, which makes Gem give the Corrupted a surprised glance.

“Both of you aren’t taking it well, really?”

“All three,” mumbles Three as well, the glow of his runes waning.

Hmmm, Thirteen seems to have extremely low love capacity and Three, without the ability to constantly recharge himself, isn’t well either. Perhaps I should go with them after all…

No, I can’t. They’ll have to get love the usual way. I don’t know about Thirteen, but Three’s been good at it even before he was able to generate his own love. Besides, his loss of that endless love has something to do with his guilt caused by the mass killing inside the prison. Perhaps doing good under more difficult circumstances than while around dad might give him some more resilience.

“Let’s get out of sight first. The docks seem a bit on the dead side, thank holes, but I doubt the traffic between Manehattan and Griffonstone is completely out. Besides, the breeze can’t be helping your situation.”

“You’re not cold?” asks Thirteen.

“Not particularly,” Gem shrugs, “I have a reasonable amount of energy left from our visit to Tartarus and I’m used to travelling on hoof through the northern tundra. Did none of you ever wonder why I wasn’t using the Brauheim tunnel?”

They shake their heads. Only Magpie gives her what could loosely be called a proud smile.

With a quick look around, Gem leads the group behind some shipping crates by the side of a dark warehouse nearby. The things inside their backpacks are mostly dry due to a layer of some isolating fabric sewn into them. Certainly dry enough to stop them from further freezing. With Harriet staring at her completely soggy towel, Three offers his own and so does Thirteen. Changelings are easy to towel off due to the chitin.

“Thanks,” the Corrupted mare smiles in relief and her tentacles grab the offered two.

“Let me,” Three smiles and flies up on Harriet’s back where he starts scrubbing with vigor, half to do as good a job as he can and half to warm himself up.

“Same,” Thirteen rushes over to do Harriet’s side.

“That’s, umm, quite the service,” Harriet hesitates, blushing and giving Gem a questioning glance, “Thank you?”

“I’ve been in places where mares get paid to have that done to them,” Magpie smirks which makes Harriet’s back tentacles cover her eyes out of sheer embarrassment.

“Wooow,” Three pauses for a second, looking at the griffon, “I’d be so shiny if I got paid to stand there and take it! I’d buy all the sponges and shinifiers!”

With glacial slowness, Magpie turns his head to Gem who only smiles from ear to ear which the griffon translates as “You’ll have to figure out if he’s just messing with you on your own”.

“Nevermind,” sighs Magpie, “What now?”

“You stay here, I go see if I can get tickets to a ferry. You can go grope Harriet’s ass a bit- I mean, help with the toweling,” Gem shapeshifts into a sky-blue pegasus stallion and trots off.

“Please no,” mutters Harriet, “It’s embarrassing enough already. I feel like a prize cow being prepared for some exhibition.”

Magpie sighs.

“We’ve been through this, Harriet. You’re not fat, not a cow, and I’m not touching you if you don’t ask. I’ve seen mares, chicks, and even female minotaurs with silicone pumped up to their ears who couldn’t hold a candle to you.”

Harriet only blushes harder.

“Would you like to hear a changeling’s perspective?” Thirteen speaks up.

“I think I’ve already heard everything from Gem and Prominence,” Harriet chuckles, “It’s just difficult to change after thinking my whole life that someone with your body type is the holy grail, Thirteen.”

“M-Me?!” the changeling stops drying out of pure shock.

“Yeah!” Harriet nods with enthusiasm which shows that despite her horrifying experiences during the past year she still is only a mare in her very early twenties, “I’ve seen a lot of movies and the guys always drooled over the slim chicks. Even the magazines I read in the tavern always had a centerfold of a skinny chick or mare with super big artificial... you-know-whats.”

“Yeah, it’s all fun and games until you end up looking like a coat hanger for tits and ass,” Magpie shrugs.

“I ALWAYS THOUGHT MOM’S DISGUISE LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE THAT!” Thirteen’s jaw drops at the analogy.

“That brown-coated, blond-maned one?” Three chimes in, “I think boss told her he didn’t like it at all so she just uses it to make fun of the dwarves. Even miss Comfort said miss One had no instincts for proper subtle seduction,” he shrugs, “Boss likes all of us more as changelings anyway.”

“Griffons won’t,” grumbles Magpie, “That’s why, as much as I know you deserve all the help at getting home, Harriet, I think this plan is stupid.”

“Even though there are guards all over Equestria looking for us?” objects Thirteen.

“Here, you’ll get put in prison. In the Empire, a group of griffons will beat you to death in a dark alley and if you call for help, GIL soldiers will come… to help them.”

To utter horror of both Three and Thirteen, the reply didn’t come from Magpie but from Harriet.

“Is… is that true?” Thirteen’s eyes go saucer-wide as he looks for confirmation to Magpie of all creatures.

“Yeah,” the griffon breathes out, “I haven’t been in the Empire since… since the minotaurs got me but from what I heard, these days, changelings are the second most hated creatures by the griffons. Care to guess who’s got the honors?”

“Who?”

“Corrupted,” Harriet hangs her head low, “That’s why Gem wanted us to go to Windy together in the first place. Ever since corruption appeared in the Empire and started spreading, griffons have been worrying about ending up like Equestria. We don’t know much about the actual history but ponykind disappearing from the face of Equestria for over a hundred years is enough of a deterrent.”

“Yep. If you thought getting here was the hard part then you’re up for a surprise,” Magpie nods, “Thankfully, if there’s someone who can negotiate or manipulate their way out of an environment like that, it’s Gem.”

All four exchange nods as Magpie sits down, resting his back against one of the big wooden containers shielding them from prying eyes. Shifting uncomfortably, he frowns and adds:

“I hope Gem finds us a ship with a shower. I might be dry but I’m still cold and sticky from all the salt. I could use having a smooth carapace like you changelings right now.”

“It’s all in my mane too,” says Thirteen.

“Can’t really compare to being like that all over-”

“A-hem,” Harriet shoots them down both. Salty, sticky, and tainted all over, “I can taste it on some level with these things too,” she wiggles her back tentacles.

“Right,” Magpie closes his eyes, “Don’t know what came over me. I usually don’t complain-”

Thirteen draws breath to object instantly.

“-about my own comfort,” Magpie finishes the sentence, shutting her up.

Eventually, Harriet’s “group maintenance” is finished, although the used towels will need some rigorous cleaning before being used on a non-Corrupted creature again. She sits down just like the griffon and relaxes as much as she can under the circumstances.

Some time later, Gem returns, sensed only by Harriet’s tremor sense and the hive links of Three and Thirteen lighting up.

“Rise and shine, everyone!” she announces, levitating up a small batch of tickets, “Public transports come and go only once a day but there’s a cargo ship being loaded up and heading for Griffonstone. They agreed to accommodate a few passengers if you don’t mind sleeping in the cargo hold, which you don’t.”

“And yelling all that in such a loud and cheery voice isn’t bound to risk luring anyone to us at all, right?” Magpie stands up, stretches, and puts his backpack on again.

“Lighten up, catbird, the docks are basically dead,” she waves the tickets towards him. He grabs one, looks at the rest, and narrows his eyes.

“There are four tickets here. Who are we smuggling aboard?”

“Darn,” Gem smirks, a little nervous, “My entire plan foiled by basic counting.”

“What’s going on?” asks Harriet, “Did they have a problem with me or something?”

As the others fan around Gem, she looks into the eyes of each of them in turn and says after a sigh:

“I’m not coming with you.”

“What?!” growls Magpie, “Look, if it’s about space or gold, you can leave me here. I can’t go back! I’m the only griffon the Imperial Guard will kill on sight with more gusto than a Corrupted if I set a paw on Cassius’ part of the Empire.”

“No, it’s not about you, Magpie,” Gem shakes her head, “We all need to help in the best way we can and me coming with you isn’t it.”

“B-But miss Gem!” Three stares up at her with a kicked expression, “I thought we’d be together and find boss. We did what he wanted us to do.”

“Three...” Gem shakes her head, “While we were in Canterlot I asked around, checked every hive link I could get into, and interrogated some ponies at the castle. No one knew anything about where dad could be. I mean, that’s a good thing but it leaves us in this situation. I ask all of you to go with Harriet and help her get home. If possible, stay in Windy if it’s safe.”

“What about you then?” asks Thirteen, now trembling.

“I’ll go to Canterlot. Twilight and Luna need to know Flow’s story. Promi will help me arrange an audience with them that won’t get me killed or straight up locked up again, I’m sure of it. On top of that, the intel I got shows that Twilight is working on something big that’s taking the energy of tons of unicorns as well as the best pony chemist and smiths. I’m sure I can trump any pony chemist and I can share some of the dwarven knowledge of metallurgy. I hope I’ll also be in a position to contact any changeling dad might send to look for you.”

“And what if they do just ignore you and toss you into the most reinforced cell they can find, huh?” Magpie steps closer, his beak almost touching Gem’s muzzle.

“I can do so much more good here than anywhere else,” Gem doesn’t back off, “You don’t need me, not right now.”

“...I do...” he breathes out silently.

“Then you gotta earn your keep, catbird,” she boops him with a smirk, “Get Harriet home and keep the two dummies safe.”

“Miss Gem-” Three walks over to her leg.

“That’s not negotiable!”

Three hugs her leg.

“Good luck,” is all he says, “If there’s someone smart enough to fix everything then it’s you even though you don’t have all that magic and divine book smarts like Seven.”

Instead of a spoken reply, Three senses Gem’s presence inside his head.

“Listen to Magpie, he knows what he’s doing even though it doesn’t look like he cares about you. Take care of Thirteen and make dad proud, Three. I believe in you and, more importantly, he believes in you. He wouldn’t have sent you here if he didn’t. He knew you possibly wouldn’t be safe and yet he still sent you instead of anyone else. I know full well that age and experience are much less related than they should but you’re older than I am. Trust your instincts.”

“But I can’t fight anyone and they all said everyone will hate us or try to kill us. I just hug creatures and hope they like it.”

“Yeah, and you’ll have Harriet and Magpie with you. They can do the fighting, you do the hugging. The more hugging you do, the less fighting they’ll have to do.”

“But-”

“No buts, Three. The world is in no position for buts and most creatures will be completely lost as to what to do. Whoever can help, MUST help.”

“I don’t know if I CAN help!” Three’s hive link image looks about to cry, “I’m trying to focus on what’s going on and not think about all the dead ponies in the Crystal Empire who are my fault!”

Gem hugs him.

“Three, learn from the past but don’t let it trap you. Anticipate the future but not let the fear of its uncertainty consume you. In the present, do what you believe is right based on the first two. Like every good creed, it’s difficult to stick to in the heat of the moment but it’s worth it in the long run. All of us have to step up today if we want there to be tomorrow and it might not be enough anyway.”

Three sighs.

“I’m just afraid of stepping into something sticky and nasty...”

“Then you just need to keep walking until it dries up and falls off,” she pets him, “We’re changelings, Three. We were created to save ponykind from griffons ages ago. Nothing has changed other than the scope of our mission. Think of it as giving the whole world the biggest hug ever.”

“...yay?”

“My words exactly.”

Real world returns, Gem looks from worried Three into the terrified eyes of Thirteen, then at Harriet, part happy that she’s going home and part anxious about what it would mean, and finally she faces Magpie.

“I know you hate leadership, catbird, but you’ll be in charge once the ship sails,” she says, “Don’t fuck up.”

Promi, I need you.

First, you can stop looking for Harriet and the others, all of them have left Equestria and are helping Harriet get home. I have no clue of dad's whereabouts and after seeing the amount of muscle in Manehattan I don’t have the balls to leave them here.

Second, I need you to keep this secret from Celestia. If there’s a way to protect your mind, Twilight or Luna will know. Sunbutt has never been good at mental magic. Contact them.

As for the business itself, we managed to get to Tartarus and talk to Flow. Yes, he really was Blazing Light all along. His story won’t spare him the consequences but those with presence of mind need to hear it, or at least my recollection of it. Next, tell Twilight I want to help her with her project. She won’t find a better chemist and I’m willing to part with necessary knowledge about dwarf technology.

I’ll be returning to Canterlot in two weeks, I still have some stuff to figure out. I have contacts at the castle who will tell me if you’re still gone hunting that blood mage bastard. If you are, I’ll wait at Packy’s place until you arrive.

SERIOUSLY, DON’T TELL SUNBUTT!

Author's Notes:

Next time: More nothing happening, only this time on a different continent.

Anyway, I'll be taking a break since the first part is finished. As always, anything regarding pacing or potential inconsistencies/misunderstandings is helpful and now's a good time to present it so that I can keep it in mind for the next section.

Also, I need to model Magpie for the cover.