Why? Why did it always have to be flying? At least the last time she had clung onto a human's back as said human rode on the back of a changeling. This time? All that kept Lyra from a horrible death were the two, thin, human hands that held her aloft. At least she did not have to look down since Megan pressed her face against her chest.

"Are we there yet?" Lyra asked cautiously. Since the giant magical discharge, it had become very quiet. There were no further explosions, only the fire that had broke out in the city and the faint wail of sirens in the distance.

“Just one last—" Megan halted abruptly, and the unicorn mare could see that she seemed to have found something. "I think I’ve found the foal that you had mentioned." With all the courage she could muster, Lyra turned her head so that she could see where Megan focused her attention on. They were not very high, just as Megan had promised before they had begun their journey. She also said something about flying machines that shouldn’t see them, but that wasn’t important for her right now. With the low height, Lyra could now also detect movement between two houses. The orange blur pulled something that looked very much like Danielle.

Megan did not wait further as she straightened out again and began to descend. A cry escaped Lyra at the sudden change in the direction of flight, but she was soon happy at the thought of having solid ground beneath her hooves.

"Auralia!" Lyra called to the foal when they were low enough.

"I can’t land in the alley—it's far too narrow," Megan informed her before they veered slightly and, for the second time that day, they were at the hotel's front entrance. As her hooves touched the ground, Lyra entertained the idea of kissing it, but hundreds of trampled chewing gum and strangely burnt stubs swayed her mind. Instead, she turned to the alley and galloped to the foal.

"Auralia, are you okay?" Nothing stood out to Lyra on the surface, but she was not a doctor.

"I'm fine, Miss Lyra!" Auralia explained excitedly. "But Aunt Danielle isn't well at all. She's really warm and breathing pretty quick and weird." Her head suddenly looked past Lyra. "Who's that?"

"This is Megan, a friend." Megan greeted the filly with a wave, but said nothing. "Is Danielle in the alley?" At Aura's nod, Lyra galloped away. What she had described sounded similar to what Lyra had experienced last night with the young woman, only much more intense. Water had helped her the last time, but where could they quickly find that here?

It was not long until Lyra found Danielle. An old and rather dirty-looking blanket that Aura seemed to have grabbed from one of the surrounding garbage cans served as a makeshift pillow. As described, her breathing was shallow and rapid, sweat dripping down her forehead and a large bruise prominent on her temple, as though she had received a blow to the head.

Dehydration, a high pulse, and fever were not to be trifled with. Even the most resistant earth pony could not withstand these symptoms for more than a few hours, and Danielle had likely been in this state for a while. Despite that, Lyra could do absolutely nothing. The pony who was probably Equestria's prominent expert on humanity could not help her friend. She had no idea of human diseases, or of how her internal organs worked. After all, she had focused on social studies, not medical.

"If I did not know better, I would say it's an extreme case of magical exhaustion, but..." she mumbled and turned around.

Megan and Auralia had followed her into the alley. Auralia stepped up to Lyra upon hearing what she had said and snuggled into the unconscious Danielle. Megan, on the other hand, seemed rather distracted. Her eyes appeared to follow something only she could see, similar to how Thiemo sometimes did.

"It's magical exhaustion," she said suddenly, startling Lyra. “She's practically draining anything magical from her surroundings.” Megan stepped closer and dropped to her knees near Danielle in order to gain a better view. Without warning, she then raised a hand that burst into flames, before pressing it directly onto Danielle's chest.

Both Lyra and Auralia stared at Megan in disbelief, but before any of them could even open their mouths, she pulled back her hand. She was still engulfed in flame, but the fire seemed to have done no harm. Danielle's clothing was intact, as was her physical being. To Lyra's astonishment, the unconscious human now seemed to breathe somewhat easier.

"What did you do?" the mare finally managed.

“She needed magic, so I gave her some of mine." Megan continued to stare down at Danielle, barely moving a muscle. “However, this will only help briefly. She needs more, a lot more.” Megan rose slowly, looking over at Auralia. The filly flinched under her gaze. "How long has it been going on?” She finally turned her gaze back to Lyra.

She thought for a moment. "A few days earlier, shortly after we had arrived. She thought that it had something to do with human reproduction..."

"The initial symptoms can be similar." Megan nodded absently.

“Will Aunt Danielle be alright?” Aura asked, obviously wary of Megan.

Megan nodded again, either not noticing the filly's caution or simply not caring. “Like I said, take her to Equestria and her body will absorb as much magic as it needs.”

“Wait, need for what?!” Lyra exclaimed, but Megan did not respond.

The first question that floated across Thiemo's mind as he regained consciousness was whether he had hit something. It was a pertinent question, given that he had hardly released his magical charge when things had spiralled out of control. He felt his arms twitch, but he could not say the same for his hands. His legs and feet were in a similar state, completely numb and devoid of any feeling, twitching perhaps even more than his arms.

He blinked several times in rapid succession to clear his blurry view, upon which the outlines of several figures became more prominent. The purple hair and wings could only belong to Amaryllis. It took a moment before he realized that she had returned to her original form. All four legs twitched uncontrollably in a manner similar to him, and her eyes were squeezed shut. It seemed she hadn't been spared from his attack.

Thiemo looked beyond her, or at least he attempted to. His whole body protested by twitching even more violently as he tried to turn his head. That he was still upright was solely due to him being paralysed in that position. This was definitely the accumulated karma from meting out the same treatment to all those virtual monsters as he had done as a child, especially when he played against his sister.

“That was actually rather impressive,” he heard Mothma say. He did not have to attempt to turn as she walked into his view. “I didn't think you were capable of something like that.” If Thiemo could have grinned, he would. Mothma had not been spared from his attack. Her wings seemed unable to stay still as they spasmed, and she did not have complete control over her right eye. "If you attempt a repeat performance, try to aim it at a specific target instead of spraying it all over the place... but then, you probably did try to aim it, didn't you?" Mothma laughed as though someone had just said the funniest thing she'd heard all day. "Still, you're a few hundred years too young to do that," she finally said when she caught her breath. "Not that you're going to reach that age."

She came closer, so close that he could feel her breath on his face. Her hoof stroked his shoulder and wandered down slowly to his chest. "What have we here?" Her hoof reached inside his shirt and pulled out the sea breeze crystal. "It's been a long time since I've met a shaman, especially one that sealed a contract with two avatars. Still, it would explain where all that magic came from." With a firm tug, she tore it from Thiemo's neck. His legs were unable to withstand the force she used to grab the chain, and he went to his knees, now having to look up to the changeling queen. "I'm not usually cruel. I am even against abortion; I think everyone has the right to live. I mean, I would have let you crawl back to Chrysalis. However, nobody—" she tapped her right hoof against Thiemo's body with enough force that he believed for a moment that his kneecaps would burst. "—nobody hurts my children. You could have just come to me—they wouldn't have gotten involved in all this." She looked down at him, and he could see something resembling pity in her eyes. "I don't know how Chrysalis was able to get you to fight for her, but I honestly don't care.” She was silent for a moment. “Say, do you know what would happen if I destroy this pretty stone?"

Yes, he had an idea. It would not only destroy the bond he had with Undine and Ariel, it would also destroy a part of himself. Moreover, it would completely throw him back at the beginning of his journey, with no magic and a shadow of his current self. Zarni had told him that the shamans who lost their totem often quickly died afterwards, probably as a result of the separation. Perhaps they poisoned themselves because they could not bear it. In this matter, even his master hadn't been sure.

"Cat got your tongue?" Mothma sniped after a few moments had gone by without a response.

He assumed he could speak again, but Thiemo was simply too busy being afraid. He was beaten, his opponent was on her feet, and all she had to do was smash the pretty little stone to seal his fate. That was precisely one of the reasons why he had avoided creating a totem for so long. It made him vulnerable and open to attack. He would die. Maybe not today, but if not today, then in due course and a lot sooner than he had planned. Thiemo did not know whether the tremors still came from his attack or whether it was something else. He wanted to cry, scream, and so much more, but something inside stopped him.

"If..." His mouth felt as though everything was swollen, and he struggled for words. "If you cannot let me go, then at least leave Amaryllis alone." He tried to point to Amaryllis, slowly raising a trembling hand. "She doesn't deserve this."

Mothma followed his hand, her foot still pressing on his chest. She looked down at Amaryllis' paralysed form and snorted. "Why should I? She's of Chrysalis' brood."

"Shining Armor," he answered immediately. "Chrysalis may be her mother, but Shining Armor is the father. He will come if she doesn't return. He loves his eldest daughter."

“I had wondered why Chrysalis had kept her.” Thiemo's eyes widened. "Don't act surprised. What's her name again? Amar-something? Amar over there definitely had over twenty older brothers and sisters, not counting the drones. What do you think Chrysalis did with them? Better yet, don't think too much about it—it'll just spoil your day." He could do naught but stare at Mothma's face. "I think we should end this. If we keep talking, I might end up looking like the villain here.”

She let the sea breeze crystal fall to the ground, then suddenly slumped over altogether as Thiemo heard a bang. Blood, golden blood, spurted from a hole in Mothma's neck, the changeling queen jerking as she struggled futilely to draw breath. Something wet impeded his view, and he realized that his face must have been splattered with blood. What the hell just happened?

"Thiemo!" He suddenly heard a voice. It was faint, and the wind made it difficult to understand. When Mothma had been gloating, it had been non-existent. No, that did not matter now. What was important escaping.

Slowly, very slowly, Thiemo rose on his still shaky legs and straightened. They ached, and the stretching exercises that he forced himself to complete did nothing.

"Amy!" He tottered over to his girlfriend lying on the ground. "Amy, quickly. We need to get out of here..." The noise that had been increasing finally caught his attention, and he reluctantly turned his head. Helicopters could be seen on the horizon, and these were not equipped with cameras. He could see five, but there were surely more.

“Crap, just what we need now...”

"Thiemo!" he heard someone shout again, and this time he found the person to which the voice belonged. Lyra, wrapped in a golden aura, hovered on the roof, followed by Auralia, Danielle, and a woman he did not know. By the way her eyes glowed, it was clear that she was the one who was responsible for the magic.

"We have to go, and go now!" If he didn't know better, Thiemo would have said that it was the unknown woman who had just shouted. Her voice was loud but clear, and it was as though the wind stopped when she spoke. She hovered over to them and enveloped Amaryllis and him in her golden aura. "I hope everyone had a light breakfast."

And then the world faded away.

"Amy, Danielle, and Aura are in their beds,” Thiemo informed the remaining residents of the house. He himself would have been too happy to climb under the covers with Amaryllis and forget this day forever, but he doubted he would have been able to sleep one wink. His right arm was still shaking. "So, I would now like an explanation as to who you are," he continued, pointing to the unknown woman, "and how you knew where I live." They were back in England. Somehow, the woman had teleported all the way, and they had once again landed in the basement's pool.

"My name is Megan, and Lyra here was nice enough to tell me a bit of your history." She pointed to the mare in the chair that had become her favourite spot. "And what happened can only be called a very terrible misunderstanding." She sighed, leaned back sofa, and put her arms on the side.

“I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and guess it has something to do with Chrysalis.”

Megan laughed dryly. "Even here, she manages to still play us. She didn't even have to actually do anything as well.” Poison practically dripped with every word she spoke. "One day I'll get have her neck between my hands, but that will have to wait. You want to know why Mothma created the series, right?"

"Our guess was that she wanted to collect the emotions of her fans and conquer the world," Lyra said.

"If someone knew Chrysalis alone, it's a logical conclusion. However, tell me, have you ever heard of the symbiosis between ants and aphids?" Thiemo shook his head, as did Lyra. Biology had never been his strong point. "The ants milk aphids and protect them in return. Similarly, why would a changeling harm humans or ponies? The more of them there are and the more satisfied they are, the more emotions there will be to harvest. The alicorns were very good at creating life forms that could live in harmony with them." She waited a few seconds. “Strange, I thought you would be more surprised learning where changelings came from.”

“I stole that secret from the archives in the Crystal Empire. Stupid and Curious over there listened in when I spoke to Cadance about it.” Thiemo jammed a thumb at Lyra.

“Hey!”

"Then you also surely know that the alicorns almost destroyed themselves in a war against each other." They both nodded. "Well, I don't have to start from scratch then. Stop me if you must. Echidna survived the war without problem. When the alicorns on one side ordered her to attack the others, she just took her children and left. At least that was what she told me.”

"Okay, time out. You talked to Echidna? I thought she was dead."

Megan rose with a sigh from the bed and looked over at Thiemo. "I think I haven't introduced myself properly. I am Megan." Wings of flame erupted from her shoulder blades out and illuminated the room. "I am flame given form, The Avatar of Fire, of heat and warmth." Her eyes again began to glow. "For hundreds of years, I have watched over civilization and... and..." She stopped, her wings disappearing and her eyes returning to normal. "And I'm too old for this shit." And so she plopped back into the sofa. "I am old, the end."

"Got it," Thiemo and Lyra said at almost the same time.

"Mothma raised me after I came to Equestria. I became a member of the Children of the Night and worked together with Blue Light to bring the humans and ponies closer together. That was how I got to know Mothma. She is the eldest daughter of Echidna. Perhaps you have already heard of her other sister: Eris."

"What?!" Lyra shouted in shock. For Thiemo, the announcement had kernels of truth. Amy had told him some time ago of Echidna's warnings about draconequus. She had to have met one. Together with what the Index had shown them, it had been very possible for Eris to have a half-sister. It also explained some of the powers Mothma possessed.

"After Light's death, the demise of Amissa Heaven, and Nightmare Moon, we thought it best to keep ourselves hidden. It didn't help that Celestia had organized a crusade against the remnants of the Children of the Night. I devoted myself to the study of reincarnation while Echidna travelled the world to search for the truth behind what happened. It was after that she was killed by Chrysalis. I learned of her death from Mothma, who came to see me in the land of the dragons. Echidna had entrusted me with her books on everything she had found out. According to these books, there was no future for changelings on Albion. Moreover, Echidna probably found out that there was a planet on which there were also humans. Mothma did not know that I came from Earth. I don't think even Echidna knew. I'd never told anyone there. Therefore, she made a deal with someone.”

"Eris,” was the first word that escaped Thiemo’s lips. "She told us that she had been here in the past."

"Exactly. Mothma and Eris made a deal. Eris would send us to the Earth, but what she wanted in return was something Mothma never told me.”

"And why did you not just... teleport here,” Lyra interjected from her seat.

"Have you any idea how huge the universe is? Trying to navigate through it is as good as impossible. You have to consider not only the distance but also that the planets, the stars, and the galaxies themselves are all constantly moving. Besides that, teleportation is not an instant thing. It depends on the level of magic used. It will not fail for short distances, but several million light years? It takes strength, a lot of strength, and months of preparation." Thiemo's mind stopped short at that. Eris had never mentioned anything like that. If it was true, it would mean that she had always intended to keep her word. “I'm a few thousand years too young to try that. Getting over here was difficult enough. Luckily, Earth's rotation and speed are known values. Incidentally, that is why normal unicorns have enough trouble teleporting only in their field of vision." Thiemo waited a moment, but Megan seemed to be done with her story.

"Do you have any clue as to who brought me to Albion, then?" This was the million dollar question, the question that still hadn't been answered even after this entire mess had started.

"There are only four beings that I am aware of that would be capable of doing something like that. Eris you already know, but if she had been here, I would have known. The same applies to her father. That leaves just Mothma and myself," she shrugged, "and I had better things to do with time." Thiemo sagged. So he would never get an answer. "You'll have to ask Mothma."

"Fat chance of that. A sniper shot a hole in her neck,” he muttered, though loud enough that Megan and Lyra could hear him.

"Believe me, no matter where it hit her, one bullet isn't enough to kill her." Megan lay down on the sofa. "I will probably have to get her back from the army tomorrow. For now, I just want to sleep. Used too much magic in too short a time.”

Now that was something Thiemo could agree with.

Author's Notes:

Well, it's been a while. Maybe you will feel better knowing that the next 5 chapters are all written and just wait to be translated. I got a lot more free time so I will try to keep up.

Special thanks to JBL for translating and editing.