Kaelynn stared at the little incoming group. She didn't get up, but that wasn't out of rudeness. She had her back to the tent, the closest thing to a wall they had. It let her watch both entrances, and she felt safer that way. Even surrounded by her friends, she had to be sure.

No one was going to take her away again.

But this was a time to celebrate, not flee. Their missing companions hadn't been dragged away to some shady government facility to be dissected. They were alive!

"This isn't exactly the way I expected to see you," Blake said, from the front of the tent. "Janet? You're looking, uh... incongruous."

Kaelynn looked, and her mouth fell open. Looking at the bird up close was difficult for her brain, and she had to look twice before she could really see.

The hippogriff wasn't large, maybe half as tall as a human being. Compared to their pony shapes, Janet was quite tall, which meant they'd be even smaller if they had the misfortune of suffering the same fate.

The hippogriff stopped in front of them. When she spoke, she sounded so... defeated. "Yeah. Came as a shock to me too. And Bydska. Everyone loved it."

"They did not!" Galena exclaimed, grinning. She smiled widely at them all, though she wasn't focused on anyone in particular. "They were terrified! We were at a pub when it happened. She is lucky she does not have holes in her body now. Strange weapons they had..."

Kaelynn shuddered, imagining what that might be like. Trapped in a small space with dozens of terrified people, who had no idea what you were. Janet had claws and a sharp beak, she wasn't some placid-looking pony. Just because Kaelynn felt no self-defense instinct around her didn't mean that normal humans wouldn't. They didn't know she was just some middle-manager.

"Even for Equestrians, the spell was supposed to last... a month, didn't you say?" Blake asked.

The soldiers who had brought their friends left the way they'd come, though the civilian remained, watching by the door. His expression remained neutral. At least they weren't pretending to give them privacy this time.

"I should introduce myself, before you continue. My name is Dr. Cooper. I've been assigned to relay the results of our negotiations with the alien civilization on the other side, and decide what to do with you. There is some urgency in resolving this, since exposure to noncausal events has a cumulative effect. But please, pretend I'm not here. You were worried about their safety." He stepped back, falling silent again.

"What went wrong?" Bake continued. The pressure of not asking Dr. Cooper everything was almost overwhelming to Kaelynn too. But friends came first.

Janet lowered her head, defeated. "I have... seen this before. I didn't think I was so far gone... but I was wrong. I am a horse forever now. May the sacred virgin pray for my forgiveness."

"Did you do something wrong?" Vesper asked. That one still took Kaelynn a little thinking too. This wasn't Jordan her old friend, or it was but it also wasn't. This was the human version of the bat pony Vesper, not Jordan returned to human form. It was the same way for Ryan, a human version of a changeling, not the human she knew. "Why would you need forgiveness?"

Janet ignored the question. "Spark Gap, the one you met—same thing happened to him. He went too far, and he transformed in front of a standup meeting. Scared the absolute shit out of my drafting team. Now I know how he felt."

"And I did not change," Galena supplied. "One month, as she said. Has not been a month. We did wonder though, if you had seen the danger, and fled without us. Would not be the first ship to leave me behind."

Kaelynn looked once around the room, eyes settling briefly on their new visitor. "We had some complications," she said, hoping the others would understand. They could talk about this later, when they were back in Equestria. Or at least when there wasn't someone standing right over their shoulder.

The Equestrians hadn't mentioned the kidnapping or the rescue that followed, much to her relief. It wasn't the kind of danger that should be much risk to others. Particularly if they formalized it.

"Have they decided what to do about you?" Kaelynn asked, nervously. "You had family on this side, didn't you? People you didn't want to leave behind."

Janet opened her mouth to answer, but her escort spoke first.

"They're still finalizing details, and probably will be for months. But the preliminary agreement is already signed. I can tell you now though, this isn't like another country. I don't think they want the truth out in the open yet. You might be able to see your family again, Miss Janet. But you couldn't possibly expect them to just let you go. Even if you can return through the Worldgate, and look like us. You're just not human anymore, and the effect would not be permanent."

She slumped limply to the floor at their feet. "I know. But if I can see them, that's something. Maybe... Apex wouldn't take me back anyway. Maybe you need someone to work the place between? I'm sure you'll want to minimize humans going back and forth, or they'll end up like me."

Kaelynn nodded eagerly. "I kinda like that idea too, actually. I'm a pretty good mechanic, handyman, hobbyist engineer. Exactly the kind of person you'd want somewhere remote. So long as I can tell my family I'm still alive, that's enough for me. I can figure visits out later."

The scientist glanced between them again. "Is that an offer you're each willing to make? I could relay it to the DFI for you, if you like. What to do with you is a... bit of an unsolved question. Helping the project in a supervised environment might go over well."

"Yes," Ryan said, resting one hand on her shoulder. "Wherever she goes, I go."

Kaelynn leaned against his arm. It was as affectionate as she would ever get, around strangers.

Blake and Vesper shared a look. But whatever silent communication they exchanged, Kaelynn wasn't on the frequency to hear it. Maybe Ryan could still do that.

Vesper spoke up first. "I was really hoping to spend more time on that side. Did the ponies tell you we have an airship? We do, and it's awesome, and I wanted to see the world. Blake and I have camera experience. Maybe our friends will want to come sometimes, if they want a break from working at a desk."

"Not me," Galena said. "You fly with that ship, you get attacked. I didn't make it all this way to another world to lose my safety now. I can stay. Or go... whatever they are doing, I will do also. I can be useful."

Guess they didn't buy her fake New Yorker origin. Kaelynn hadn't actually heard anyone in the camp mention that part of Galena's apparent past.

"There will be a team," the scientist said. "I cannot reveal the details at this time. But having transport on the other side would be valuable. Your production experience might let us eliminate a few names from the roster as well."

Blake reached down, taking Vesper's fingers in his. "If I go back..." he whispered. "It won't be long until I'm like you, and Ryan."

Vesper smiled weakly at him. "Maybe. You don't use your magic much... isn't it supposed to be a year? Can you tell us how long that first trip will be?"

"A few weeks," he said. "We aren't trying to chart their planet. Most of it will probably be spent in cities, just like the group going from their world to ours. You... aren't allowed to tell anyone any of this. But you don't presently have the means."

Not exactly the homicidal dark sunglasses, unmarked graves type of government agents she'd imagined. Things really were different over here.

"I think we all might need to go back and forth, at least once. Is that expedition going to the ocean?"

The scientist nodded again. "Basic measurements about the biosphere are important. There may be a way to transit human beings, rather than transfiguring the passengers like you."

"Fine," Blake said, exasperated. "I'll go with that team too. It's my ship, I've seen how well she flies it."

Vesper squealed with delight.

It was all much less exciting after that. Things moved at government pace in "Facility P", which was to say agonizingly slow. A few days after arrival, they had their first supervised calls home, using a government channel with a slight delay. Kaelynn wasn't exactly happy to have some random soldier from a country she could barely pronounce listen in to everything she said—but she could tell her sisters she loved them, and she was okay.

No one tried to break the rules, or escape. There was no need, when the burgeoning "Exchange Commission" would soon employ them to do basically what they wanted. Eventually, they would even let her family visit. Or so they said.

Within a week, the tents were replaced with trailers, and a permanent high wall went up around the camp. Utility lines to the little village were built. From what she heard, the little town was having the economic boom of its existence, as every hotel and rental and spare room had been booked by traveling scientists and bureaucrats from parts unknown.

Kaelynn spent most of her time with Ryan. On this side of the Worldgate, she didn't feel sick after a few days of not having water. There was still a price to pay, though; her words had no song. If she was very careful, they never would.

"If you want to stay human, I support you," Ryan said. "But I don't think I can go with you, if they let you leave. I'm..." He patted her hand with one of his. "I made my choice."

"And saved our lives," she finished for him. Even beaten and stunned against the wall, she remembered that fight. Even Vesper's summoned powers from the unconscious world were ultimately made of magic, and powerless to penetrate the skilled unicorn's defenses. Only the strength of Ryan's love was enough. It was almost certainly the reason he'd lost his humanity. "We owe you everything."

He always looked a little strange when she said things like that. Maybe it was related to how little he ate—he could eat now, she'd seen it often enough. But when they were together, he only shared with her. That was all he seemed to need.

Even now, Ryan circled once around their bed, glancing down the hallway. He did it for her, she was certain—and it helped. Knowing someone else was looking out made the camp feel safer.

I'll get better. Morningtide is dead. No one is coming to kidnap me here. In the meantime, she wouldn't have to wait alone.

"I'm happy with the choice I made," he said. There was nothing forced in it. She was always just a little skeptical around him, though. Ryan had the power to lie like no one else. If he was a fish, he could probably even sing one now. "My life sucked, Kaelynn. You guys were the only thing I actually enjoyed. My cut of the channel wasn't enough to live on, and I didn't have a family..."

He clicked the door closed, then crossed to the desk, putting one hand on hers. "You and Blake had things to leave behind, Janet too. Your humanity meant something. Mine didn't." He reached past her with his free hand, drawing the window shades across. "Besides. I didn't give up as much as you think."

He took a deep breath, then his body flashed faintly green. It didn't shock her because it was new, Kaelynn had seen this process a hundred times. But she hadn't expected to see it here, in a world where magic didn't work.

Apparently it did, because when the light faded, Ryan was back. The old one—a little pudgy, a little shorter. The hometown dork she remembered. "See? I don't know why, but... my magic is different than the others. It still works, so long as I have love. Thanks to you, I've got an endless supply."

Kaelynn giggled. "That's... that's amazing, Ryan? Can you do me?"

He lowered his voice to a cheesy whisper. "Any way you like."

Next Chapter: Epilogue 1/2: Kaelynn Estimated time remaining: 22 Minutes