Thiemo pushed the curtain aside and stepped back into the passenger's space in the small transport plane that he had rented. Sometimes it was quite unbelievable what one could agree to as long as the money was good. No stewardess on board and the pilots had to remain in the cockpit? No problem, we would not dare to ask. You wanted to bring two ponies without medical certificate and papers to the United States? Oh, what was I saying? Here, we have both. And what glorious papers they were. They certainly didn’t look as though they had cost thousands of dollars.

“I don’t know why we had to be carried in those trailers,” Lyra still complained to Danielle. “Do you have any idea how bad inside it smelled? As if a poor pony had to do its business in there!” The fact that that was probably true was something Thiemo was going to keep to himself, and Danielle also did not seem too keen on answering.

“Take it easy, Lyra. Look, Amy hasn’t complained,” Thiemo said and nodded to his marefriend. Said changeling was looking out of the window at the clouds. They must have pushed through the clouds as he was in the kitchen. “But I have something here that I bet would make up for it.” He showed the ponies a bottle with black liquid that he had gotten from the fridge.

Auralia, who had been spared a trip in the trailer and had hidden in their hand luggage instead, jumped from one of the rich, bright, imitation-leather seats and hurried over to him. “Show, show!” She hopped excitedly around his legs. The foal was already keyed up anyway, as she had had to be quiet for the entire three hours it took to get to the airport and then through it. Thiemo did not think a bit more stimulation would do much damage.

“We’ve got seventeen hours of flight in front of us, and you want to fill us up on caffeine and sugar?” Danielle asked. She, like the rest of them, also sat in one of the seats that were dispersed in the luxurious space. The walls were decorated with beige wallpaper; velvet curtains hung besides the windows, and crystal chandelier hung under their roof. “After the kind of day I had yesterday, I was hoping for a bit more shut eye.”

Her complaint was more than justified. Yesterday had been hectic. Suitcases for Thiemo’s new clothes had to be packed, not to mention Danielle’s. Somebody had to be found at short notice to take care of his sister’s charges, and then someone had to be found to look after the house while nobody was there. And then Thiemo had still spent hours working on his small project.

“You don’t have to drink if you don’t want any.” Thiemo opened the flap of the small cupboard under one of the two counter tops and pulled out some wine glasses. He would have used another type, but apparently nobody had counted on clientele who wanted to drink Coke. It was probably also for the staff than for the guests. It would explain why it had been in a small fridge. “Who wants to get familiar with a taste of America.”

Amaryllis and Lyra came over to him and looked at the contents of the bottle more closely. “That doesn’t look very healthy,” Amaryllis commented and tapped a hoof against the bottle.

“Oh, it’s a deadly liquid. It eats your teeth, burns your stomach, and brings your blood glucose level to heights pegasi would envy.” Thiemo waited a moment to enjoy the horror in their faces. “Still, it is damn delicious.”

“It’s actually only liquid sugar and some other junk mixed together,” Danielle interjected. “A glass from time to time is harmless, but if you only drink that, you would only be able to roll around in the future. Apparently somebody forgot to write that on the packaging.”

The bottle opened with a hiss, and Thiemo started to fill the wine glasses. “Oh, a soda. We also have something like that.” Lyra got closer with her snout, probably in an attempt to smell the Coke. The first glass was already wrapped in her golden aura. However, Thiemo was quicker and held on to it. "Hey!" she complained as Thiemo passed the glass to his daughter. He held onto the glass before he was sure the foal had fixed her hooves around it.

Auralia sniffed the substance as Lyra had done, then took a small gulp. Her eyes widened as the unknown taste spread in her mouth. She tilted the rest of it into her waiting mouth as quickly as possible.

Lyra, who had tensely observed Auralia’s reaction, reached for hers and downed the contents. Her eyes widened, but she did not swallow. The wineglass fell to ground and rolled around her hooves. “The door’s over there,” Danielle said without looking up from the book that she had brought out.

Like the Flash, Lyra dashed through the room and over to the toilet. Her magic almost tore the door from the hinges, and all they could hear was the liquid being sprayed back out. Thiemo looked over to Amaryllis, who had been trying to pour the contents of her glass back into the bottle as discreetly as possible. “More Coke for me. I missed the stuff.”

A push against his leg almost unbalanced him. Auralia, who probably wanted his attention, had given a light shake to the leg while her front hooves still held the glass. “I still want more!”

Even as he went to bend down to pour a bit more for her, Lyra came back. “I don’t want to complain, but how should we use that small space in the toilet?” That question made the shaman pull up short for a moment. That was something he hadn’t thought of. The toilets in an airplane were too small for the ponies.

“Do you remember the trailer?”

When Thiemo again woke, it was night. The quiet hum of the turbines was to be heard, as was the breathing of his remaining company. Lyra had made herself comfortable on the ground with some blankets behind Danielle’s chair. They had both beaten different subjects to death once again, having several hours to do so. Apparently the mare had found somebody in his sister who was more willing to give her information about humans than he was, something that he only felt gratitude.

It was not that he hated Lyra, not at all. He usually didn’t mind talking and imparting information as he saw fit. However,Thiemo was a storyteller. Tension, adventure, and mysteries of unbelievable natures were his specialties, his passion. And wasn't it that, after all, that had many like him bound to the computers as they explored fairytale worlds? Now he lived one of those adventures, had explored one of those foreign worlds, and had lived and seen the consequences of those adventures. There were also mysteries here, and he was on his way to solve one of them. Maybe he would also finally get the answer to a question he had asked himself over and over again for the last few years. How had he come to Albion?

Carefully, he lifted his daughter from his lap, laying her on the seat that he had been sitting on and wrapping her in one of the blankets. Softly, he stroked her mane from her face and looked at the foal in the weak light of the room. She was wonderful, but then every father would probably say that about their daughter. His eyes became a little teary and his smile widened as he brushed his hair out of his own eyes.

“You know, I think I don’t tell you often enough how much you mean to me. You saved my life, and I don’t even mean that metaphorically. Several times now...” He took a deep breath and prodded her nose softly. “I still remember the first weeks we spent together. You were so thin, so full of fear. And now have a look. You’ve grown and become strong. Whether she’s your mom or not, you resemble Applejack so much. Maybe not physically, but where it counts. You speak what lies on your tongue, and if you want something, you remain headstrong and on the ball until you have it. A little devil on top of that.” Thiemo’s eyes wandered about her bright orange fur and her white mane, then further to her white tail that waved unconsciously in his field of vision. “If one saw you in such a way, one could think—”

A shrill noise interrupted his quiet words, and Thiemo jerked his gaze from his daughter. For a moment, he had no idea what was wrong. Was there a problem with the airplane? Were they falling? They were surely still somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic! However, he then noted the light vibrations that came out of the pockets of his trousers. He had completely forgotten the new mobile phone.

“Who could that be?” Thiemo asked himself as his hand dug into his new blue jeans. All those who knew the number were here. Lyra had gotten a mobile phone from him, as had Amaryllis. They could both probably use it with their magic. Instead of a phone, he had bought Aura a stuffed toy. Now she had her mother whenever she needed her.

Thiemo looked at the display on the device. It asked to accept an unknown number, along with the possibility to decline the phone call. His curiosity made him answer it. That, and the noise from the mobile phone would soon wake everybody if he didn’t.

“~Listen here, you little asshole!” Hardly had he pressed the pressed the display when the voice yelled at him. “~I don’t know how you got my credit card, and I don’t really give a damn. If I find out that anything has happened to my granddaughter, then may God have mercy on your ass!”

“~Hallo, old bag. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure of listening to one of your tirades.” The shaman winced as a loud clattering from the device penetrated his ear. Excited voices followed, but he could not make out what they said. Still, he recognized them. In the background had to have been his grandmother as she asked his grandfather what was wrong. He could well imagine the worry the old woman must have been going through.

At least now he was able to patch together what had happened. His grandfather had logged in online to his accounts and had seen that charges had been made to his credit card. He could have easily gotten the phone number within a few phone calls, as his mobile number would have been on the contract.

“~Timo?” came the voice of Hans Werner King through the phone. “~Timo, is that you? Boy, where are you? Where were you? Are you okay?” His grandfather was a tall and slightly ungainly man, with a very imperious voice, one rather deep yet could be so full of friendliness if he laughed. The nicknames, like stockfish, old bag, and the like were just that: nicknames. He hated his grandfather so much that he loved him. This was the man that had woken his passion for technology. This was the man who had raised him.

“~Naturally, you old fool. I’m pretty good myself like everyone here, though I can’t say the same for you. You certainly know that I’ve used your credit card to book a flight. We’re just on our way to the States. I have to go there to clear up some things, then I’ll be back on the road.” Thiemo gave him no time to answer. “~Danielle is with me. She is fine. No, you cannot speak with her – she’s sleeping. Which is what I had in mind. Right now, it’s the middle of the night. So, see you later.” And with that, he ended the phone call and switched off the volume of the mobile phone.

Thiemo dropped it on the last free seat and stared at the display. “Three, two, one...” With a snap of his fingers, the phone started to vibrate. It was the same number.

“What did you expect?” He looked up to his sister. She pulled the covers again over her shoulders since it had slid down because of Lyra, as she used a corner of it for cuddling. She had to have woken up by the conversation. “We missed you. Everyone did.” The phone rang again.

“Why has he not called you?”

“My battery is out. Didn’t find time to load it in.”

“That is, actually, exactly the reason why I almost wanted to only send the letter. I knew that I was dead to you. I would only tear open old wounds again, and they hurt me just as they do to you. Don’t you think I missed you too? Do you not believe I missed my sister?” Once more his eyes became damp. He had to be tired. “One can be excited only so much by a new world. Sometimes… Sometimes there was homesickness. I tried to concentrate upon others. To me, other duties came first. Other goals took precedent. Still, I wanted to see you all, even if only sometimes!” He did not know when Danielle had gotten up, but now she was bent above him and pressed his head to her shoulder. His gaze fell once more on his daughter. “Some days I reached the point where I wanted to find out how long I had to poke a dragon until it fried me.” He snorted and laughed briefly. “Apparently all it took was stealing one of her gems. Auralia saved me. One day, maybe two days later and… I went to a city on my own free will, a city everybody with a clear mind warned me about. What does that say about me? This was after I had completed my studies. I knew that it would not bring me closer home. It didn’t matter. I heard that humans on the other continent were hunted like monsters and taken away. I had given up.

“However, look at her.” Danielle gave up their embrace and also looked to Auralia. “I still didn’t abandon her. I thought that at least one of us could find a home again.” He wiped the tears from his face. "I did everything, anything to bring her back home. I made sure that nothing happened to her… and I became the monster she needed. And it helped me to hope again. But I wouldn't dream to justify my acts with her existence, because those acts were mine alone, not hers. I have stolen; I have lied and killed to accomplish my goals. To find a way back home." He paused. "And when I realized in Equestria that I probably wouldn't find one, or even didn't want to... Let's just say that it was tough. But I had Auralia, who wanted to have me near her. It's not like she would really need me. She has her mother and a large family. Then I had Amaryllis. Not only do I know how it felt to miss you, I do know how it feels not wanting to let go of someone. I didn't want to open up old wounds.

To Danielle, pain was nothing new. She was a woman and thus suffered from the monthly afflictions that they all got. But these cramps that not only went through her belly, but also her entire back, were new. “~A quick announcement. We will soon reach our destination in a short while. We ask that you ensure that the animals are secured and that you take your seats. Many thanks.”

Breathing deeply, the woman looked in the small mirror of the airplane’s washroom. She had not gotten any more sleep after the conversation with her brother, and she could see this clearly from her eyes.

“You can’t be serious!” she heard Lyra shout. “It was bad enough we had to use it as our bathroom before, but now we have to go and stay there again?”

Laughter escaped her lips, but it disappeared as fast as it came, as another wave of pain passed through her body. She had no idea what was wrong. Ordinarily one could tell from where the pain was centralized, which wasn’t the case. It seemed as though her whole body tried to contract like a single muscle.

“Danielle, we need to buckle up for the landing,” Thiemo’s voice came from the other side of the door.”

She took a deep breath and stood up. “Hold on.” She took another and slowly exhaled. Then, after the third repetition, some of the pain subsided a little. Nevertheless, she certainly did not feel ready and raring to go.

However, there was nothing she could do about it at the moment. She opened the door and stepped back in the passenger's area of the airplane. Thiemo had already sat down in one of the armchairs and had his daughter on his lap. The foal looked excited, and Danielle remembered how thrilled Auralia had been at the start of the flight. She also remembered Lyra’s surprise, for the mare had not thought that the ‘metal bird’ could reach such a level of acceleration.

Her musings were cut short as a red light flashed before she slowly felt as the plane began its descent. Hurrying, she tripped over to her seat next to her brother and strapped the belt around her abdomen. They had reached a small landing strip near Manhattan. Her brother had specially requested to land on a small airfield to attract as little attention as possible to themselves. Not only was the chance of someone spotting the ponies reduced, but also the security was lower. Because their mother was an American national, they always had a good reason to visit, but with someone who had disappeared for so long, it was not an ideal situation.

“~I ordered a rental that should be waiting on site for us. I hope it’s already there.” The nose of the airplane fell. They were almost there. Auralia squeaked in glee while Thiemo grinned. Danielle wasn’t sure whether it was because she would be riding in a car again or because of the excitement of the landing.

It was because of the car. “~A Cadillac Eldorado?” Danielle asked her brother. In the background, the small private airplane was gearing up to take off to a larger airport to refuel. The airfield that they were currently on was probably used for small propeller planes and the like. ~Seriously? ~

“What? It is a great car,” he answered and started to stow away their luggage in the trunk of the petrol-eating red monster.

“I cannot believe that you forced me in there!” Lyra roared once more. She was currently cleaning her hooves on the grass.

“It smelt a little, but I had placed a shield on the ground,” Amaryllis further chimed in. “Still, it was a little disagreeable.”

“Stop complaining!” Thiemo also raised his voice and closed the trunk with a bang. “We are in the United States and have one of the best cars one can get. Though I wanted a Delorean, but nobody had them. So, get in.”

Danielle and Thiemo made for the driver's door at the same time. “Should I remind you who has the driver’s license here?”

“It isn’t valid here.”

“But at least I have driving experience.”

“And surely that will be what the police will be interested in if we are pulled over with two ponies in our backseat.” They stared at each other for a while, then Danielle gave up. Not because she wanted to, but another cramp tore through her body. Driving with that was a bad idea.

Obviously content with himself, Thiemo had the roof raised in the next moment. “In that case, we’re going to the Big Apple.”

Author's Notes:

Short delay, so cry me a river.

10 point to who knows from which movie that car is Thiemo rented.
Also, maybe some didn't notice. I released a story. Maybe you want to take a look: My Little Pony - Inquisition

Special thanks to JBL for translating my mess.