New Way Home (15) (Patreon)

Lin was right: after everything she'd been through so far, a hot bath was amazing. The diamond dogs had allowed them icy water and little soap, keeping them clean enough to survive. But that fell far short of the cleanliness she desired. After months captive and at least a week in transit, she finally had a warm bath.

She didn't even care that she was spending it while horse-shaped, or that the warm water brought strange sensations across her pony body, all of which she was unprepared to address. She did not bother, instead choosing to just accept for the present moment that she was allowed to be comfortable.

Being a pony meant there were more steps involved, of course. Her tail and mane demanded attention, which was evidently the purpose of the long-handled brushes hanging in the bathroom. But that too felt wonderful, finally removing the tangles and twigs from her body. Lin wasn't a wild animal, wandering aimlessly through the mountains.

Lin was a person, albeit one who had transformed slightly more than most of the other victims. She could spend other days wondering about why she had changed the same way as Ethan, but not today. Today she relaxed.

The hotel room only had one bed, and not a lot of furniture besides. They had a table, a few cushions, a little couch, and a balcony. While Thomas took his turn in the shower, she opened the balcony door and stepped back out into the cold.

Evening had transformed Salt Lick City, with its central streets lit by vibrant electric lights. Many of its structures were dark, with the factories and warehouses on the far side now silent and still. A smaller cluster of homes opposite the hotel had their own signs of activity, with fainter illumination spilling out their small windows.

Lin's mind drifted, and she was somewhere else. Waiting in one of those little houses, with the smell of baking bread drifting out of the kitchen. Small voices giggled and played somewhere nearby, growing excited as the door opened. There was Thomas, emerging from his hard day's work out at some pony factory. She held him, then told him eagerly about what the little ones had done that day, and how well they'd impressed their teachers at school.

“Lin, you with me?” Thomas asked, his voice cutting harshly through the vision. She blinked, and realized he was standing next to her, uncomfortably close. Rather, she had gone all the way up to him, close enough that the freshly-showered scent now radiated from him. Still distractingly male, despite the absence of trail-stink. “Lin?”

She shook her head sharply, banishing her little daydream. Her wings opened awkwardly to either side, and she turned sharply away from him, looking back over the railing. “Sorry. Think I'm a little worn out.”

“Who wouldn't be?” He shrugged, then joined her on the railing, hanging his hooves over the side next to hers. “We've gone through hell. It's a small miracle any of us are still alive, much less sane. It's the kind of nightmare you hear about on the news, not something that actually happens. But we were strong enough, we all were.”

Even if they made it through Equestria, even if the princesses showed up tomorrow to send them home, some families would never see their loved ones again. And what about Ethan, would he even want to go?

“Guess so. Not sure I'm... doing as well as you.” She forced both wings back against her side with an effort of sharp concentration. It worked, though it still left her feeling uncomfortable. The bath had eliminated most physical discomforts, but also created at least one new one. Her wings itched, and needed that birdlike attention the natives had told her about. She just didn't have the energy for it that night.

“I wouldn't be either, if I got my dick seized by the dog mafia,” Thomas said. He grinned at her when he said it, apparently expecting a different reaction.

She didn't so much as wink back at him. “Yeah.”

“Anyway,” he continued, turning awkwardly back to the bedroom. “I know this isn't survival anymore. I can sleep on the couch, maybe steal some of those blankets. I don't want to make this any harder for you than it already is.”

“No.” She followed him back inside, then eased the balcony closed. “Not unless you want to. It's way better than anywhere else we've slept. I'm sure we can find a way to share.”

They could, as it happened. Lin would never tell him outright, but she was relieved that Thomas didn't decide to sleep on the couch, or even find a room of his own. There were few other ponies she would feel comfortable sharing the space with, and all the others were already with someone else.

Then there was Winston, who would probably be thrilled to have her around. Would that change if he knew what she really was?

But Thomas did, and he was perfectly happy having her around. Maybe Winston would be the same way. That was probably a path best left unexplored.

The next morning left Lin feeling rested as she hadn't since first arriving in Equestria. She was safe, warm, clean. What more could anyone ask?

Maybe for good news.

They didn't have long to wait for a telegram back from Canterlot. It came that morning, while the group of refugees gathered into the hotel's downstairs lounge for breakfast. Lin could cross a universe, transform into another species, and still somehow get cursed with the mediocrity of a “continental breakfast.” Equestria's version didn't even have bacon, slimy or otherwise.

But it did have Sharp Command, the guard who had first escorted them. He waited with a scroll resting under his foreleg, remaining silent until every former human was seated and eating. The hotel's owner was there too, albeit lingering nervously near the door.

“Morning, ponies. I've brought some news you all need to hear. We have your answer from Canterlot.”

He didn't wait to explain what that was. Too bad for anyone who didn't know what the pony capital was called.

“I'm just going to read this exactly as it's written, and we can go from there.” He stretched the scroll out in the air in front of him in his magic.

“To the escaped captives,

Be it known that your plight is recorded in Canterlot's High Court. It cannot yet be assigned a place in the royal agenda, for consideration by the Princesses of Sun and Moon. The affairs of state do not permit an immediate answer.

We understand your precarious position, having been foalnapped from your homes and kept apart from your lives. Equestria will therefore provide for your needs until such time as the Princesses are able to consider your request.

To do this, a regular stipend has been allocated to your upkeep, to cover your continuing accommodations in Salt Lick City along with your daily needs. Please remain in the city, in one body, until such time as this difficult affair can be brought before the Court.

Salt Lick City has accommodations sufficient for your number. If this situation persists in one year's time, we will evaluate potential employment to occupy you until there is an opening in the royal schedule.

Regards,

Penny Pincher, Royal Exchequer”

The guardspony gathered the scroll back into a dense roll, tucked it under his foreleg again. “I'm sorry that isn't better news. But in the meantime, I'm sure Salt Lick will make itself a friendly home away from home.”

The room exploded into arguments. Lin only half-listened, as Shauna had several sharp questions for the guard. She wanted to know how they could send a petition for reconsideration, how much time the court usually took, if there were any other routes to send a message. Others asked about how Equestria's monetary system worked, and whether they'd be stuck essentially helpless in the hotel the entire time.

Thomas got involved with some of that, making loud pronouncements about how tortured some of them had been by their transformation, though not saying anything specific or naming names. They didn't deserve to be left here without help for months or a year, unable to return home or see their loved ones.

But was Lin tortured by her transformation? She played with the eggs on her plate, nudging them back and forth with a spoon she couldn't really use while eating at the same time. Maybe one day she would learn how to hold that with her wings, or even her hooves. The locals didn't seem disabled by being ponies.

Lin didn't feel particularly outraged. Others yelled, but she just couldn't muster the energy. The others here obviously had more to go back to than she did. Did she really need to fight to go back to slaving away at some dead-end job instead of a mineral mine?

Sharp left after a few minutes of awkward questions, having promised only that he would send another message to urge the court to make their case a priority. But he could promise nothing else, and offer no faster means to see their case given attention.

But while several of the loudest refugees all gathered in a corner to discuss their next moves, Lin stood up, turning her back on the little cafe.

She made it halfway through the lobby before someone caught up with her—Night, with Ethan not far behind. The bat hurried up, then touched her head in what she'd learned was the pony equivalent of a hug.

“I've got some great news, Lin! Maybe... just good news, with what we just found out.”

“You're going back home?” she suggested. “Going to catch a train back to...”

“Hollow Shades?” Night repeated. “Nah, though I did think about it. It doesn't feel right to abandon you ponies after everything you did for me. Maybe when I know things are worked out and you're on your way back home, I will feel comfortable going home too. Until then...” She shrugged her wings, then hopped closer.

“Forget the flying book! I asked around Salt Lick last night, and I ended up at the barracks. Anyway, there's an officer assigned here in Salt Lick who used to teach physical therapy to pegasi who broke their wings. She's willing to run a class while you're here! She was a little skeptical there would be enough time to make any progress, but... since we're stuck and all.”

Lin beamed. She hugged the bat all over again, wrapping her foreleg tight around her. “You didn't have to do that for us, Night! That's great news! Might go a long way to... distracting us, while we're stuck here with nothing to do.”

“Can I come?” Ethan asked, taking a few awkward steps closer. “I really want to fly while I'm here! Seeing all the normal ponies doing it only makes it feel more important!”

“Obviously!” Lin let go of the bat, beaming at him. “I wouldn't want to do it alone. But the more of us we have working together, the less stupid I feel when it's just me who can't fly.”

“At first.” Night nudged one of Lin's wings, extending it to full size with a hoof. She somehow knew how to move it so it would open naturally, without pain or pressure. But she had been around pegasi for her whole life, even if bat wings worked differently.

“These are good wings, Lin. You and the others will be able to fly no problem. Faster and higher than me, if you put in the work. And if not—at least you will be able to get away from any diamond dogs you happen to meet in the future. Dogs are strong, but I never saw one who could fly.”

“Yeah,” Lin agreed. “Guess we should tell the others, so no one gets left out.”

Other than the two thirds of the refugees without wings, obviously. Maybe they could find other exciting pony things to do while they waited for the princesses to answer.