"I'm glad," said the horse who called herself “Starlight Glimmer.” "Because I wouldn't know what to do if you hadn't."
Her horn started to glow. Phil backed away, and several of his companions did as well, staring with open shock and confusion at the manifestation before them. Even stranger, something lifted into the air from her fallen clothing—a little folded sheet of paper covered in strange markings.
"He doesn't speak for all of us," Carlos said, his voice as angry as Phil still felt. "Your cause is heartbreaking, I'm sure. Lots of innocent, uh…horses. And nobody can say I don't care about horses. But you're asking us to fight for you, and risk our own lives."
Someone else nodded—Phil wasn't sure who. They had wings, but bat wings instead of feathery ones. "Press-ganged, if we fight your war, then maybe could you think about sending us home? Not winning me over either."
The security guards had the field entirely encircled now. Plenty of them were facing outward, keeping bystanders from getting too close. That was probably for the best, considering the transformation seemed contagious. Or at least it had been—maybe now with the Pearl out of Phil’s hands, that would finally stop.
But just as many guards had their weapons pointed vaguely in the direction of him and the other players. They wouldn't be allowed to walk away from this. "Come on," Danny called. "I'm not defending this, but do you want to go with whoever shows up to drag us away? Men in black, or lizard people, or—whoever it is?"
While security tightened around them, the one named Starlight Glimmer didn't seem to care. She had the whole diagram in front of her now, and her horn glowed so bright that Phil could not even look at it anymore. He didn't need to know how magic worked to guess that she was going to get them across worlds, to the place these aliens came from.
The bird creature tucked the Pearl away in his satchel, looking between his angry new recruits.
"Before you refuse, we didn't get to all the other reasons you might want to help. There will be incredible riches for the ones who saved two kingdoms," said the bird-creature, while his companion focused on the book in front of her. "Or maybe the Pearl of Transformation could do more than return you to the bodies you once had. We could make you younger than you were, stronger, fix any injuries or illnesses, change anything you wished..."
Phil's eyes narrowed as the bird continued. He wasn’t inclined to trust this creature to begin with—not after being transformed in the middle of the game, a game he had been about to win. Under other circumstances, the offer of wealth and strength and who knew what else would be a compelling one. He might have accepted on his own, if given the chance. That was a strong offer.
"We didn't even get your name," Carlos said.
"Sky Beak," came the reply. "Starlight, are we almost—"
In response, the light from her horn exploded outward in a wave. Phil lifted one wing reflexively to shield his eyes, without knowing exactly how he'd done it. Even so, it was barely enough to stop him from being briefly blinded.
The watching security staff and human observers reacted as though they'd been struck. Some ducked for cover, others screamed, dropped their weapons, or generally cowered from the impossible sight.
The sky opened at the fifty-yard line, parting from the grass to some impossibly distant point far above. Through it Phil could see nothing, aside from a swirling blue that somehow stood behind the world he knew.
It was real magic, as terrifying as the artifact that had transformed him.
"Now we...go," Starlight said. She looked visibly exhausted, her ears folded and tail hanging limply. "While we can. They will recover, and might try to stop you." She was the first to step through. As she crossed the threshold, she vanished in a flash of purple light, leaving a trail of sparks that fell to the ground where she had stood.
"It's not like they can't send us back," Phil said reassuringly, mostly to the other players. "And make us human again. Sky Beak, you said? Do you plan on keeping that promise?"
Sky Beak nodded hastily, backing towards the opening. "Every word of it. If you're victorious, two wealthy nations would owe you their gratitude. No creature expects strangers taken against their will to fight without reward."
"Fine," Carlos grunted. His wings opened partway, turning towards the stranger—some subconscious way to show his anger and mistrust, maybe. "Phil, you're really doing this?"
Phil nodded. "The only way to get our humanity back is through there. If that comes with a payday on the trip back, the league can hardly blame us. Every team in the country will be jumping to sign us."
What happened to a contract when you were kidnapped to fight a war in another world? It wasn't as though he could keep his role as a horse anyway.
A service gate banged open on the far end of the field. Men in black armor emerged—riot police, from the look of their shields and batons. Their targets were obvious; they charged straight for the field.
The open portal was already dimming. Its bright light was now weaker than the stadium lights.
"Time to go," Sky Beak said. "I hope you will all join us. The need is desperate. Please." He took another step back, then vanished in a shower of sparks.
Phil took one last look at the stadium, and the shredded remains of his uniform, then charged through the portal.
There was no intermediate step, no middle-world. His hooves were on grass one moment, then on something much harder the next. Stone?
He was still running, into a space he could barely see—a huge room with an impressive, vaulted ceiling overhead and something glass nearby. Was that a table? There was very little light in the room, other than a lantern on the floor.
He managed not to blunder into it, slowing to a stop in front of one of several dusty chairs.
The other two aliens were already here. Starlight Glimmer was settled onto her haunches against the table, catching her breath. Sky Beak lingered near the door, crouched low and looking out into the dark space beyond.
"Just you?" Starlight asked.
He didn't have to answer, because there was another flash from behind him, then two more.
Carlos appeared, then Danny, the bat, and the huge one that was still built like a defensive line—but now a horse. Then the patch of bright purple vanished from the air, plunging them into gloom.
Only the lantern remained, not enough to light such a huge space.
Phil recovered faster than the others. He circled around the dusty room, with its seven big chairs and faintly glowing table. It no longer looked small compared to his new body. Here the furniture was horse-sized, and the windows were at a comfortable height.
There was no trace of the field, or the crowd, or the charging police. They were in another world.
"We can't stay here long," Starlight whispered. She had caught her breath, but still looked tired. "The traitor will sense our magic from wherever she is, and send someone to investigate. We have to go."
"I hope you don't want us to just…charge into battle or something," Phil said, resting one hoof up on the nearest chair. "That isn't really what we do. And I'm not sure how well I know how to be a horse. Do these wings even work?"
"Pegasus," Starlight corrected. "And yes. We transformed you using the forms that fit you best—powerful warriors."
"The plan was not to fight tonight," Sky Beak said. He kept his voice down, constantly looking back at the doorway. "We have carts and forged papers waiting. We will act the part of loyal servants to the king, transporting supplies for his industry."
"Still not sure what you expect us to do," Danny said. He reached up with one hoof, nudging the pointed horn on his forehead. "We fight like hell on the field, but it's not a war. We were playing a game. Sport."
"A battle sport," Starlight said. "I have never seen creatures fight like that. Equestria has survived wars battled with less intensity. The Storm King's soldiers will have no way to react to ponies as brave and powerful as you."
I sure hope so, Phil thought. The offer of transport to another world and the rewards for a successful campaign all sounded incredible, when he was on the field and in no danger.
But now that he was through, Phil realized the weight of what he'd just done. I came with them. They expect five people to make them win a war.
Starlight Glimmer stood up, then the lantern lifted into the air of its own accord. She floated it across the room, inspecting them. "I thought there were six of you. That number was important—in case you had to wield the Elements, it would've been—no matter." She gestured to the open door.
"Sky Beak, is your disguise ready?"
He nodded grimly, then reached into his satchel again. His outline flashed and blurred, and the bird was gone. Sky Beak had become a horse, of the same variety as Phil, with silvery wings. He was no longer the second-largest creature in the room, but was smaller than all but Starlight.
"Guess we don't have a choice," Carlos said. "We'll follow you until we can learn how this war of yours is going. But once we know what's going on, we'll do it our way. Won't we, Phil?"
He nodded reflexively. "I assume that's the point of recruiting outside help. We won't fight it the same way you would."
They left the throne room, then passed through hall after darkened hall. The castle's interior was vast, though largely empty now. There were many prominent blank places on the walls, broken doors, and damaged furniture. It might have once held vast wealth, but that wealth had since been looted.
Then they stepped out a final set of doors and onto a dirt road.
It was night outside. Down a short road ahead of them was a town, though it clearly belonged in no place Phil had ever seen.
Thatch roofs, dirt roads, and no sign of streetlights. Some light glowed from inside homes, though he couldn't tell if they were electric or something else. Others flickered off the buildings, moving slowly. Torches, he guessed, coming in their direction.
Off alongside the castle was a row of carts, with empty harnesses hanging from each. They were packed with barrels, sacks, and boxes of various sizes.
"The three strongest of you get to pull these," Starlight said. "Everyone else, hide; this stuff on top is just there to make it look like we're really moving stuff, see?"
She lifted a tarp, revealing a huge space underneath. It would be downright comfortable under there for someone.
Not Phil. He stepped forward, and Carlos did too. The lineman came forward behind them. Whoever that was, Phil suspected they could probably outmatch the whole team with that much muscle.
The others were all too eager to hide. Meanwhile, Sky Beak and Starlight both donned black cloaks that had been hanging inside, with an official-looking badge on the breast.
Phil ended up in the front cart. Starlight made her way over, lowering the straps down. "You just step into it here. Get it around your shoulders without crushing your wings."
He obeyed, then tried to pull. It didn't surprise him that being a horse made the task fairly easy. The pony named Starlight walked alongside, her face obscured by the cloak.
They didn't continue towards the town, but took the first fork, leading away in the gloom. Without streetlights, he had to rely entirely on Starlight's lantern to see where he was headed. "Where are we going, anyway?"
Starlight flicked her tail ahead of them. Phil couldn't tell where she indicated, not in so much darkness. But even if he had, what difference would it make? This wasn't his world. "The one place that the Storm King's troops don't dare to visit: the Everfree Forest."
"I have no idea what that means."
She had sounded so confident when she said it, as though the pronouncement ought to mean something. It might've been cute, if she wasn't a horse.
"Right. Of course you don't. Well—it's not that far away, and it should be a safe place to hide while you figure out what to do to save Equestria."
tf-sential
