It happened rarely, but right now Thiemo felt downright depressed. He had remained in his bed half of the night, Amy’s soft snoring and his own raspy breathing the only sounds that penetrated the quietness of the hour. The main thing that had been playing on his mind was what Applejack had told him. Names were not unique, but together with Aura’s appearance, there was a strong possibility that they were well and truly related. They had a lot of similarities in their looks as far as he could tell - obvious things like a similar coat and a bright mane and tail. Then again, even he had a bright tail.

He was relieved when a distraction came, even if it came in the form of Lyra bringing him the new documents, despite the hour, in exchange for the ones he had finished translating. It was a logbook again, but this time a bit more recent. It had belonged to a Captain Boreas, who apparently had sailed a ship named Kalyypso around the islands of the Breach. The Breach was a seemingly endless abyss, at least thousands of years old, if one was to believe the written word of Boreas. Water streamed into it all the time, taking everything that wasn’t smart enough to keep far away with it. Still, apparently small villages had formed on the previously uninhabited cays around the island Ti.

The logbook was still old, a hundred years at least. The problem with trying to establish the exact date was, as Lyra had explained to him, that humans used a different dating format that the ponies had been unable to interpret. The same problem applied to him. It looked like it was designed to count the years after a certain event. However, without knowing how long the humans thought a year was here, one could only estimate the age.

What really caught his curiosity, however, was one of the latest entries. The captain had written something about an island that flew in the sky. Thiemo knew about the cloud cities of the pegasi, but he had never heard anything about flying islands. It was something he wanted to see with his own eyes.

“Morning.” He had completely forgotten the time while reading in the candlelight. Amaryllis lay awake in her bed, looking over to him blearily. “What are you reading?” she asked, still sounding sleepy. Thiemo saw how she was tilting her head slightly to try and read the book cover, but that wouldn’t help her.

“Another logbook Lyra brought me while you were asleep. Somehow, the humans here seem to like using them.” Upon request, Thiemo told her what he just had read. The only other interruption following their morning was the breakfast they were served. Until noon, they spend their time translating various little notes. They were easier to translate, having fewer words on them and leading to quicker results and less frustration. He had no interest drowning in work while they were here, however. If they wanted it to be done quicker, they should search for someone else who managed to speak and write both languages fluently. For a moment, he played with the thought of telling them about Aschlant, but he would be useless and counterproductive to Thiemo’s plans if they managed to catch him.

“Do you think I could learn this English?” Amaryllis asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Thiemo put his quill aside and looked at her for a moment. He then reached for an empty parchment and scribbled a few words on it before sliding it over to her without saying a word. “Hello world?” she read. “And what’s the second one? Looks weird.”

“That’s phonetics. It’s the same two words, only how they would be pronounced in English. Speaking is always easier than writing, especially since we don’t share an alphabet. So it would be the best to start this way. I did the same. The basic knowledge took me around two months, but I had nothing else to do during that time. Whenever I wanted to skip a lesson, Deerling would smack me with the ruler.” He remembered those times well. They had spent the days similar to how he had been in his cell, only with more windows and him staying voluntarily. Deerling had stood behind him, always looking to ensure that he was solving his assignments correctly and trying to ask his questions as well as she could. Additionally, they had oral lessons, where she had to shape his mouth with her hooves from time to time in order to make him produce the right sounds. How well her efforts had paid off could be heard from his accent. “Why the sudden interest?”

“Well, you’re searching for a way home, right? I thought maybe I could come with you. To your planet I mean.” If Thiemo hadn’t been holding the quill into the inkwell right now, it would have surely dropped to the ground. He hadn’t even thought about that particular possibility so far. Maybe this Princess Sparkle could even help him if he would help them. Maybe she even knew a way back. No, they surely would get rid of him and the other humans if they hated them so much. Which was raising another question: Did he still in believe in a way back?

“That… wouldn’t be a good idea.” Immediately, the happy excitement she had been displaying faltered. “There are only humans on Earth, and they are not always friendly. You would, if you don’t give credence to any of the countless conspiracy theories, be the first creature from another planet. If they caught you, you would never be free again,” he explained as gently as he could.

“Oh…” Yep, totally killed the mood. It was at that point that someone conveniently knocked on the door, sparing them from continuing the awkward conversation. Both looked at each other shortly before Thiemo called out that the door was open to whoever it was, as if it would ever be anything else. The door slammed against the wall, causing both occupants of the room to tense.

It wasn’t the attack they expected, though this one was no less effective. Aura sprinted into the room; the filly didn’t even need half a second to catch sight of her target. She took a giant forward and jumped into the arms of the genuinely surprised human. “Dad!” she shouted happily. Thiemo was barely able to hold on to her, but she had built up so much momentum that they knocked over the chair and landed on the ground. Luckily, it stood on a carpet, which managed to dull his pain until countless little hooves began to jab his ribs.

“Oof!” Almost all the air escaped his lungs. “What did they feed you? Soon you’ll be competing as a heavyweight.” It wasn’t as bad as he made it out, but she was quite a bit rounder than he remembered her. It didn’t matter to him as he ruffled her mane and hugged her back tightly, the pent up worry almost audibly seeping out of him as he looked at his little filly.

“She has eaten very well from the meals we gave her. Totally normal for a foal in her age. Her body also has to adjust to the new diet, and her metabolism needs some time to catch up. It will all be fine when she grows up.” In the corner of his eyes, Thiemo could see the princess entering the room, causing his uneasiness to come screaming right back. Behind her, an entourage consisting of a dozen soldiers who immediately took position inside the room, followed by Applejack, Captain Stick-up-his-butt, and a white unicorn mare he couldn’t remember seeing previously. She looked at him with blank expression. “Good day.”

“Good morning, little princess. Nice weather we’re having.” he stated flatly, his tone not as light as his words. His grip tightened unconsciously around Aura as he glared at her. Immediately, the soldiers looked in his direction, glaring grimly at him. “Why all the tin soldiers?”

“Well, we wanted to use a spell here today and had to deactivate the runes in the hallway.” He cursed internally. Maybe he should have paid more attention to the hallway. Surely he should have noticed what was going on or at least catch a few orders. “And of course, if the whole situation… is going to get ugly.”

“Beg your pardon?” Thiemo counted himself as one of the more intelligent beings in this room. Amaryllis as well. Neither of them, he was sure, would take on this number of soldiers. And that wasn’t accounting for the princess whose magic missiles had pierced holes as wide as his fist into statues. He wouldn’t stand a chance without his talismans, and he knew how well Amaryllis could fight.

“What Twilight wants to say… partner, is that that they’re here to… hold you down if you refuse to release Auralia,” Applejack mumbled, looking away to avoid his gaze. She should feel bad, he thought acidly, feeling a sudden rush of spite for the orange pony. He looked down to the filly in his arms who had also begun to look gloomy at Applejack’s words.

“Did they tell you what this is about?” She nodded quietly, not saying anything for a few moments.

“They say Applejack is my aunt, and I should stay with her. But I want to stay with you, dad!” she looked at him with pleading eyes, the look that all daughters seemed to have ingrained in their psyche, knowing how effective it was against the heart of their fathers. Thiemo sat down and smiled at her. It was something he had to force himself to do, he had to be strong and be brave for his little girl. No daughter should ever have to see her dad worry or fret so openly in front of her, to see the earliest pillar of strength in her life crumble. This was for her sake.

“Well, wasn’t that the plan after all, honey? Coming here, looking for your real family?” he asked gently. She nodded again, this time more reluctantly. Perhaps she knew what he was about to say. “I’ve only talked once with Applejack, but from what she said, I can tell she’s a good pony and her family is large.” Well, at least he was kind of the veracity of half of his statement. “You would have many aunts, uncles and cousins. And you would be with your kind, with other ponies. I’m just a stupid, not that old human, jumping from one problem into the other with only a staff, charm, and hat. Women to be lied to, money to be stolen, and no stone to be left standing.” She giggled as he tickled her belly while he belittled himself. Over her head, Thiemo could see the fine princess grimacing at his words, and the white mare had finally ceased her ogling. “And it’s not to say that we would never see each other again. Maybe if her Highness is so kind, she would allow you to visit me in my cave from time to time. Maybe even feed me some peanuts.” Even Applejack snickered at his words this time, earning her an angry look from her purple maned friend. He doubted his words, though. If he was being honest with himself, he couldn’t see the smug little tyrant letting him out any time soon. “So… I guess what I’m saying is… give the whole thing a chance; no one in this rooms wants anything bad happening to you.” It was for her, he had to continually remind himself, repeating it like a mantra. This was for her, not for me. She deserves this, she deserves to be happy. It doesn’t matter what I want, I don’t get to be selfish. It doesn’t matter how much I’ll miss her sleeping next to me or calling my name. This is for her, and I won’t let her see me cry…

Thiemo stopped tickling her, and her laughter immediately ceased, the filly looking up at him with soulful eyes. “But who’s going to watch out and make sure that you’re not doing any stupid things?” Oh, Aura…. way to sucker punch me in the heart…

“Oh, who knows? I still have Amy with me. If she’s not busy feeding from me, she has some good ideas from time to time as well,” he lightly said. They both looked at the changeling on the bed, who immediately turned her head away. Did she really think he wouldn’t notice her draining him? At least she provided a way for Aura to look away from his face, so she wouldn’t see the sadness that kept threatening to reveal itself. “See, I’m going to be fine. This is just about you.” He prodded a finger against her muzzle and lifted her off the ground. “So, do I have to do anything for this spell?” he directed the question to the group who had been silently observing them.

Twilight shook her head. “No, just watch. The spell itself I’ll be casting on Auralia. Pinkie Pie found it in the library. She searched for days and is sleeping at the moment. She just said we should wake her up when it’s time for a party.” Thiemo nodded and acted like he knew what she was talking about. He didn’t want to drag the whole thing any longer than he had to. “The spell will cause a resonance between similar genes, and everyone who responds will glow in the same color. Unfortunately, I can’t tell which color it’s going to be, but we will see. The book was not very specific there; it only said that the brighter the color, the closer the relation. Even if Auralia is just remotely related to Applejack, she should at least glow a little. Maybe if we put out the candles, just to go—”

“Twilight…” Applejack said, looking annoyed. “Just do us all a favor and do it. Okay, Sugarcube?”

The princess laughed nervously. “Sorry, old habits die hard.” When no one else laughed, she turned to Auralia and stopped for a few seconds. “Maybe only the two candles over there…”

Thiemo saw Applejack rolling her eyes and stood up. Immediately, multiple spears were aimed at him. “Easy, you’re going to poke someone’s eye out. I’m just doing what the princess needs to satisfy her compulsion neuroses.”

“That’s not a neuroses,” she snapped at him. “I just want to do it the right way.” And he was the Queen of England. Quickly, he licked his thumb and pointer and pressed both against the two candles at the wall so that the only light from the ones next to the door and from the desk illuminated the room. Only loose silhouettes could be seen from the ponies without armor. The soldiers, however, were reflecting the remaining light all the better, making them clearly stand out. If he had one chance for an escape, it would be now. Amaryllis grew up in the darkness and surely could see better than all of the occupants in the room combined right now. Thiemo was sure he could overpower the white mare in the background. She didn’t look like a fighter, even with her magic.

But… he had promised Auralia he would find her family, and this was about her future. Additionally, he could gather information about the humans on this planet easily if he continued to work with Lyra. And he was doing not badly in this room. He got food, a shower and guards who listened to his requests at the door. As long as they were talking with Lyra or Captain Estoc, they even complied. He shook his head; he was actually trying to justify his imprisonment. A gilded cage was still just that – a cage. It wasn’t as though he had a choice in the matter.

“Don’t even think about it, human.” Thiemo had put his hand on the bedpost and all he would have to do was break it off. But unfortunately, said Captain he had just thought about stood directly next to him and illuminated the room with his horn while glowering at Thiemo.

Thiemo let go of the post and sat back down on the floor. “I thought I’ve seen a spider.” Estoc said nothing and stepped back into the shadows. “A really big one!” With horn and wings!”

“Well, I think we can try it now,” Twilight announced, ignoring the pointed jab he had aimed at her. A relieved sigh went through everyone present. “Don’t be afraid, Auralia, it’s not going to hurt.” Thiemo blinked his eyes for a moment as the magic gathered in the horn of the princess. As the only one present in the room that could see magic, he was also the only one who had to cover his eyes in the darkness. It was like someone pointing a flashlight with purple bulb into his face in a dark room. She gathered more and more magic, surely a lot more than was needed for the spell.

Then the whole magic in her horn concentrated, and in the same moment, the door behind her swung open. It followed the first bang as the door knocked against the wall again. Then the second bang as the spell went off and hit the ceiling instead of Aura. The third one came when the gathered magic exploded and rained down on them in little sparks. “Am I late?!” he dimly heard a brash voice call.

Thiemo closed his eyes. The fine magical dust in the air blinded and hurt. “Rainbow Dash! Thanks to you, the spell failed! No, wait! I can start all over again!”

“Uh… what is the spell supposed to do? You’re all shining like the one time you tried to spot Opal… or something like that.” He could hear confused ponies as he rubbed his eyes and slowly began to open them again. In front of him still stood Twilight Sparkle, only now surrounded by a golden shimmer. Next to her stood Applejack bathed in a greenish sheen. Two guards to his left were lightly illuminated in blue, and two others in a strong and bright red.

“What do you mean we’re all shining?” Thiemo could see only Twilight’s back since she had turned around to Rainbow in the doorway.

“I think what Rainbow is trying to say, darling, is that the spell was cast on all of us.” The blue mare nodded and pointed at Applejack.

“Look, the little one’s also green. Just like… the human?” Surprised, Thiemo held his own hand in front of his eyes. Just like Applejack, it was surrounded by a bright green glow just as the rest of his body was.

“Green was never my color,” was all he had to say. In his opinion, the spell just took his role too seriously. The ponies, however, looked at him with weird faces. “What?”

“Applejack?” Twilight asked from friend from over her shoulder. “Is there something you want to tell us?”

“What? No! Ah met this human in the flesh for the first time!” Rainbow laughed at the mishap of her friend as Applejack whirled around, glaring at her, confusion and dismay written on her face.

The white mare put a hoof on her shoulder, apparently trying to comfort her friend. “Darling, you can tell us everything. Even if you and… this human…” She shivered as a cold shiver went down her spine. Or perhaps it was one of disgust. “She would still be your daughter.”

“Right, Applejack, we can no longer deny it. How we met us all these years ago in Appleloosa. The heat of the night, the promises, the passion… the love.” All the ponies in the room looked at Thiemo with slackened jaws at his words, even Applejack. “Really?” He stared at them, unimpressed. “I talked with her for the first time yesterday. I would say the spell didn’t work, and now we all glow like rainbow fireflies.” They were a species that resided in the steppes of Zebrica. They defended themselves with their rapidly flickering lights. One alone was bearable, but a whole swarm would bring you to lie down whimpering on the ground.

“I have to agree with Thiemo,” Twilight threw in, the first one to regain her composure. “And even if that wasn’t so, I doubt humans and ponies could bear a foal. What about the others?”

The two shining red soldiers stepped forward. “We are brothers, Milady. We signed in together and serve in the same unit ever since.” She nodded and looked at the two faintly blue shimmering guards.

“He is my second cousin, or something like that.” The other also just shrugged and Twilight seemed satisfied.

She thought about it. “So the spell worked correctly for everypony else? Then it is highly unlikely I made a mistake. But how could that be? The two of them don’t even know each other. Basically never met.” She blinked as single speck of her mane literally jumped into the air.

Rainbow looked over to her two friends, worried. “Oh oh…”

“Yar forgetting that ya glow too, Sugarcube? Do ya have a secret brother in the Royal Guard ya didn’t tell us about?” The princess didn’t seem to hear her words, instead trapped in her train of thoughts. Thiemo instead looked around and found the counterpart.

He raised his hand, just like at school, and just started talking anyways, “Just a question. Is the royal family large?”

At first no one replied. “Umm… I don’t think so. For what I know, it only contains six ponies,” a guard next to him eventually replied, looking unsure whether or not he should be answering the human.

“I think we can make it seven now. Amy, come out from behind the bed. I think the choices for who your father is going to be just got awfully limited.” It even made sense. Chrysalis had told him something about a large wedding when she had attacked Castle Canterlot. Which wedding, besides the ones of kings and queens, would be held in a castle?

Amaryllis came out from behind the bed. The eyes of the bystanders wandered from Twilight to her, and a loud gasp for air could immediately be heard in the room. “Oh dear!” he heard the white mare gasp. Just like Twilight, Amy was also engulfed in a golden light.

A twitch of her eye, a short laugh, again an eye twitch, then the princess just fell on the ground with a dull thud. Immediately, some of the guards and Captain Estoc were by her side. “Bring the princess to her quarters. Tell the maids to work overtime today.” The ponies in the entranceway made room as Twilight got carried away. With her, the glowing disappeared as well.

“I will see what I can do for the poor Twilight. I am certain this will all be resolved.” The white mare followed the captain and the soldiers out of the door, leaving Thiemo, Aura, Amy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash behind, together with half of the soldiers.

“So… what now?” the pegasus asked blithely. “Who does she belong to now?”

“I want to stay with my dad. That spell says he’s my father.” Thiemo noticed that Applejack was about to say something, but he was quicker.

“Look. I’m just sitting in this room all day long. I’m sure you would have more fun with the other ponies. I’m not going to run away, okay?” They hugged briefly, and she trotted over to her aunt, or whoever she was now. She whispered something to her, and then made to leave the room.

“I think that’s enough for today. We all have a lot to think about. Are you coming Auralia?” The filly sighed and hugged Thiemo again, who patted her head. Then the others left the room, together with the remaining guards.

Thiemo took a deep breath. “Umm… what’s that going to mean now?” Amy asked.

“That we’re going to get a lot more attention now.”

“Oh, poor Twilight!” Fluttershy carefully put her hoof in front of her mouth. “I hope she wakes up soon.” Eris giggled and wiggled slowly around her marefriend. In front of them was a bowl of water through which they could see everything that happened in the room.

“Are you really surprised that the time Queen Chrysalis spent with Shining Armor bore fruit? She’s a changeling and therefore can get pregnant as desired. And what would be better than knowing something of the enemy is always close? Even if she most likely had imagined the result a little different.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh Fluttershy.” She sailed over her head and placed a quick kiss on the lips of the pegasus. She only giggled shortly. “You have seen Amaryllis. Even if not in her pony form, she still resembles a pony more than a changeling. Both physically and in her spirit.”

“Pony form? Don’t changelings copy other ponies?”

“I see you’re paying attention.” She grinned and dipped her claw in the water. Immediately, the image changed and now only showed Amaryllis. “Normal changeling all look alike and are very proud of it. It shows their unity with the swarm. But our dear princess here is special. She looks differently and stands between two worlds. She even managed to change the natural changeling spell in a way that allows her to look like she would look as a pony.” Soft waves formed around Eris’ claw in the water, and slowly, the image of the princess in the picture changed. Her short dark coat got thicker and white, her horn smoothened and was almost straight, beside one indentation. Her usual straight purple hair curled up and an almost non noticeable brighter streak traversed right through it. Her wings were now made of feathers instead of a membrane.

Fluttershy gasped for air. “She looks just like Twilight…”

“Doesn’t she? If you had seen her like that at first, it would have been really obvious, right? But it’s not just similarities. Both shared their love for books and knowledge. Something that is passed to the mares in this family. Even the young Skyla is showing her interest.” Eris shrunk herself a little bit and rolled herself around her marefriend’s neck, a position she had learned to love. It was always warm underneath her long, pink mane, and she could watch everything from there.

“But what about the human and Applejack? She wouldn’t lie about something like that. If she says she never met him I believe her.” Eris giggled again.

“Of course they’ve never met. And that’s exactly what the real mystery here is.” Waves formed on the water in the bowl again, and after a few seconds, showed the filly. “Auralia Apple. Really! Everyone who can’t see that she’s an Apple needs some glasses, don’t you think?” Fluttershy nodded. “But where did she come from? Twilight did everything correct with the spell. Too correct. She overcharged it so much that it was cast on the entire room, even after it didn’t directly hit anyone. But what do you think, Fluttershy? Why is this spell showing that their connection is so strong like they would be father, mother and child?”

“Maybe… because… umm… Auralia wishes it would be that way?”

“A good thought; let’s leave it as that for today.” The image in the water now showed the human, Thiemo, having a talk with Amaryllis. Eris didn’t even need to listen to know what it was about. Both were clearly confused by what has happened and exchanged their own theories. Eris even thought about visiting Celestia and Luna. It would surely be funny to tease them a bit before Twilight Sparkle is sending them a letter. Or maybe one to Shining Armor to deliver the happy news to the poor stallion that he was now father of two. So many possibilities!

Author's Notes:

How I love a good mystery! And thats it folks. Act 6 is complete. Some questions got answered, new emerged to the surface. How are Thiemo, Auralia and Applejack linked? Why this quite immense hate for humans? What will happen to Amaryllis? Has this story a goal? OK, the last one I will answer now. Yes, there is a big red thread through the entire story. Any guesses so far? No? Good! We are still in the 1/3 of the story. You have time till act 11 to think of something, but then it will literately hit you in the face. No, no evil plants, I promise.

Next up: Intermission 6 - Hearth's Warming Eve. 12/24/2013 - here on fimfiction.net

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing. He also wants to tell you something:

Editor’s note: Fuck this chapter with a double ended dildo made out of rusty barbed wire and laced with hydrochloric acid! Is that even possible?! I don’t care! This chapter is evil, possessed, back I say! The power of Mumm-Rah the Ever-living Christ compels you! The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the shadow! You cannot pass!