Twilight paced inside the conference room as she listened to Starlight's tale. "I agree, it must be a healing trance. I've read about previous Seers. Their visions were sometimes so intense and profound that they often needed to lapse into one to recover from them."
"And just how long do these trances last?" asked Starlight.
"Anywhere from one to three days on average."
Starlight frowned. "Well, that's convenient."
Twilight turned towards her friend. "No, it's disturbing. I did research on Star Singer after we first met her. Not one of her previous visions ever pushed her into a trance. I don't want to think about what she could have possibly seen to spark one now."
"What little I got doesn't even make sense," said Starlight. "Did she see some sort of monster?"
"A literal interpretation would suggest yes."
"But this civilization has been around for thousands of years. You'd think if this universe had monsters like Equestria does, they'd show up more often."
"This universe is vast," said Twilight. "The fact that they have extensive terminology for measuring distances in the length of time it takes light to traverse them bears this out."
"What about the stuff concerning magic rainbows?" Starlight asked.
"It might be symbolic, maybe of magic that's reminiscent of rainbows, like the Elements of Harmony, or Harmony magic in general."
Starlight's pupils shrunk. "And that wouldn't be enough to stop a threat??"
"If I may make a suggestion?" Kevin said with a wry smile. "Especially since you're losing your audience a bit."
Twilight turned to him. "My apologies. What is it?"
"Perhaps we should instead focus on making sure whatever she saw doesn't come true, if it's at all related to what's happening now."
"I agree, we can discuss the vision later," said Twilight. "What I really want to address now is Kevin's immunity. Starlight, is there any way we can push past Star Singer's resistance and get at the details of what she had discovered?"
"Not without risking disrupting her healing trance and likely delay her coming out of it," said Starlight. "Otherwise, I would've already done it to get at the details of her vision."
Twilight looked thoughtful. "Kevin, would you consent to a low-level thaumic scan?"
"Certainly," said Kevin.
Several National Guard soldiers and FBI agents stood about the periphery of the room. One of the latter spoke up. "Begging your pardon, Doctor Conner, but I have orders that only Doctor Marlowe can approve any application of magic to you."
"And why would you think I wouldn't approve it?" said Sandra in a testy voice.
"I'm just following orders. Doctor Conner's protection is of paramount importance right now."
Sandra turned her head towards Twilight. "Go ahead. You have my explicit permission."
Twilight nodded, and her horn glowed. "So I'm detecting transformation magic inside you, Kevin, but no spell structure. So despite being immune to the virus, you're not immune to being used as a mana battery."
"A dubious 'honor' if there ever was one," said Kevin. "Is there a way to drain it so I at least don't contribute to advancing the condition for others?"
The glow of Twilight's horn faded. "I could, but it would likely be restored over time unless I permanently blocked the uptake somehow. It might be worth doing anyway if for no other reason than to take a reading on you without the interference of the other magic."
Sandra stepped forward. "Where are you going with this, Twilight?"
"I keep coming back to the clue that Starlight got from Star Singer," said Twilight. "She talked about humanity's magical awakening. I can only surmise that she found something in Kevin's blood samples that was magical in nature."
"I do admit to being very curious about it," said Kevin. "Never in my life have I even come close to exhibiting abilities like you or Starlight."
"Did you find anything in your testing?" Twilight asked.
"Just a benign mutation in a gene responsible for mitochondrial development," said Sandra.
Starlight gave her a bewildered look. "Uh, exactly what is that?"
"We're not versed in your biological terms yet," said Twilight.
"Mitochondria are structures inside our cells that help process energy," said Kevin.
Twilight's eyes widened. "That could be it! We have structures in our cells as well that let us tap thaumic energy."
"I thought your horns were the way you did that," said Sandra.
"All pony tribes have magic," said Twilight. "They just use thaumic energy differently. Earth ponies convert it into magic that makes them strong and affects the growth of plants. Pegasi convert it into flight and weather control. For unicorns, the horn is a means to project magic."
"Is that why your horn glows?"
"Sort of. What you're seeing is waste energy. A small amount of magic is lost as light." Twilight turned away from the others. "All right, if we're going to do this, I need to thaumically isolate Kevin, and we'll need space for that."
Twilight's horn glowed, and so did the table and several chairs. Several guardsmen tightened their grip on their weapons, and some of the FBI agents looked uneasy as Twilight levitated the furniture and set them back down with apparent ease.
Kevin smiled. "Moving from one house to another must be a breeze in your world."
Twilight returned the smile before stepping into the center of the space she created. "Kevin, if you would stand in front of me, please? Starlight, I'll need your help."
"Got it," said Starlight as she took up position on the other side of Kevin.
"I'll need you to actually drain the magic from him, as the isolation will take all my concentration." Twilight took a deep breath. "All right, here goes."
Her horn suddenly glowed brightly, and a stretched ovoid of energy formed around Kevin, very similar to the shield that Twilight had conjured during her demonstration to Anthony. Kevin stared at it curiously.
"This is a little harder than I thought," said Twilight in a strained voice. "The thaumic field of this universe is indeed stronger than in Equestria."
"So my idea of thaumically isolating groups of humans is a bust, huh?" Starlight said.
"Most likely, yes," said Twilight. "All right, got it!"
"May I ask exactly what's happening?" Sandra asked.
"I've effectively cut Kevin off from all contact with the thaumic field," said Twilight. "It means no magic can flow either into or out of him by itself."
"I don't feel any different," said Kevin.
"So that rules out active magic use," said Twilight. "Because you would definitely feel cut off from it if that were the ... um ... wait ..."
Starlight's horn glowed. "So you want me to start draining the transformation magic from him, Twilight?"
Twilight closed her eyes in concentration for a few seconds before suddenly uttering a gasp. "No, stop! Leave it in! Leave it in!"
"What going on?" one of the FBI agents demanded.
"Okay, okay!" Starlight said, the glow of her horn fading. "No need to yell."
"I must insist on knowing what you're doing to Doctor Conner," said the agent.
Twilight's horn went dark, and the magical cocoon around Kevin vanished. "I'm done."
"While I'm not nearly as alarmed as this gentleman," said Kevin. "I would like to know what just happened."
Twilight opened her eyes and looked up. "I was monitoring the magic inside you after I isolated you. I detected a very tiny but consistent drop in the available magic."
"Which means?" Sandra prompted.
"It means something in Kevin was using that magic," said Twilight. "Sunset's plan to use humans as living mana batteries hinges on the assumption that humans can't use magic, otherwise your bodies would just convert it into some other form."
"Twilight," Kevin said in a solemn voice. "I've always had a very robust immune system. Could that be caused by this?"
Twilight smiled. "Yes! Your mutation could have enabled you to channel a very small amount of thaumic energy. It could have been enough to boost your immune system."
"So let me make sure I understand this," said Sandra. "Are you saying that this is what made Kevin immune?"
"Not quite," said Twilight. "The magic Sunset imparted into her virus would have been enough to overwhelm even that small boost, but her insistence on using humans as mana batteries means she unwittingly gave Kevin enough magic to fend it off."
Starlight smirked. "Promise me you'll rub Sunset's muzzle in that at first opportunity?"
"Let's not get petty, now, Starlight."
"I'll be as petty as I damn well please. Sunset's been a step ahead of us the whole time. Now we finally have a chance to catch up. Can't this be used as some sort of vaccine against her virus?"
"That would involve modifying genetic code," said Twilight. "I've never done that sort of magic."
"But we've used technology to do just that," Sandra said. "I just don't know if we have the time to develop something for this."
"If I can understand how that works, maybe I can find a way to use magic to assist," said Twilight. "It might be more of a long-term solution to prevent recurrence of the infection. Do we know of anyone else who's immune?"
"We've only just received reports of new apparent immunities this morning," said Sandra. "They were still being processed and weren't available for the morning conference. Two people in Arizona, one in New Mexico. I ordered genetic tests on them."
"All in the southwest," said Kevin. "A pattern, perhaps?"
"That's way too small a sample size to say that."
"We need to make absolutely sure that Sunset doesn't get access to any more information than she already has," said Twilight. "I want to cast teleportation shields around any sensitive areas that she had access to in her human persona."
"Speaking of whom," said Starlight. "What's being done about her?"
"Mr. Heller is interviewing Sadie Sommers now," said Sandra. "He's questioning her about Star Singer."
Sunset was led to a classroom where a human male wearing a suit sat at a table before a laptop. She knew at once that this was going to be no ordinary interview. That the federal government was involved was no surprise; it made sense that they would interpret this as some sort of biological warfare. She wished she could make them understand that it was anything but an attack or a war. Perhaps some day, once a stable planet-wide pony society was realized, she would openly admit what she had done. By then, they would understand her motivations better.
The man looked up at her approach, his eyes flicking over her. He set his laptop aside and folded his hands before him. "Miss Sadie Sommers?"
"Yes, that's me," said Sunset. "What can I do for you?"
Anthony glanced at the empty chair opposite him. "Can you sit, or is it more comfortable to stand?"
"I can sit." Sunset trotted up to the chair and hopped into it, settling down on her haunches.
"My name is Anthony Heller. I'm with the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
So Sunset had guessed right. Her eyes widened. "Wow, I didn't realize you guys had been called in."
Anthony reached for a folder sitting off to the side. He opened it and took out a photograph, which he slid across the table towards Sunset. "Do you recognize this person?"
Sunset uttered a tiny gasp, not at all faked. Her eyes glistened as they fell on Star Singer, curled up on her side in a hospital bed. Sunset had not quite expected this, and her heart genuinely ached for her friend. "Good heavens, what happened to her??"
"Is she familiar to you, Miss Sommers?"
If there was one thing Sunset had learned, it was that the best lies were based on a kernel of truth. "Yes, I think so, but only in passing. She has the same color scheme as a friend who visited me on occasion. She had a horn, too, the last day I saw her."
"What was her name?"
"Frieda," said Sunset as she looked up. "Never told me her last name."
"What did she look like before her transformation?"
"I don't know," said Sunset. "She already had the hair color, eye color, and tail when I met her. She just wanted a sympathetic ear, I think." She looked down at the picture. "Was she hurt? I hope nothing bad happened to her!"
There was truth in Sunset's sentiment; she hadn't wanted any harm to come to her friend.
"She was found in your backyard, Miss Sommers."
Sunset looked taken aback. "My back yard? What was she doing there?"
"That's what I was hoping you would tell me."
"I don't know," said Sunset. "Maybe she was looking for me? She knew I sometimes worked in the garden in the back yard. She might not have known that I was already at the shelter." Sunset looked down at the picture and murmured, "Poor thing."
Sunset had pieced together a rough picture of what had happened. The absence of any obvious injury precluded any sort of physical trauma, and she surmised they wouldn't have waited long to question her, which meant they found her over the past twelve hours. That could mean only one thing: healing trance as the result of a traumatic vision.
Sunset admitted to feeling guilty for subjecting Star Singer to it, but ultimately, it had to be done. Obviously she had seen a very dire threat to Earth just as Sunset had predicted. Now she and hopefully Twilight would understand that everything Sunset had done was for the benefit of two worlds.
Anthony leaned forward and laced his fingers together. "Miss Sommers, we're treating this as a criminal investigation, as she was discovered in an unresponsive state after a scream was heard from her location. While we naturally do not suspect you are responsible as you were clearly at the shelter at the time, we need to consider the possibility that the perpetrator may have occupied your home."
Sunset placed a fore-hoof over her chest. "My God, you think someone broke in?? I thought the National Guard was supposed to prevent that sort of thing."
"They can't be everywhere, ma'am. You can assist by giving us permission to search your house."
Sunset paused. "Come again?"
"Given the mysterious circumstances of this Jane Doe's appearance and the fact that we're treating ETS as a biological attack, we're confident we can get a search warrant, but that will take time. You can assist us by cutting through the red tape, especially since you do seem to care about your friend here."
Sunset knew enough about American law to realize that his case was rather flimsy. Unless they had evidence of an actual intrusion, he wouldn't be asking her this. Yet there was always the outside possibility, however remote, that they truly did suspect her of being involved in this so-called "attack," and this was a fishing expedition to see if Sunset gave away any telltale signs of her guilt.
The problem with that theory was that it required Twilight to have chosen to work with the humans rather than take on Sunset herself. But would Twily be that foolish? She sincerely doubted that.
"Certainly," said Sunset.
"So you agree to allow us to search your home, Miss Sommers?"
"Yes, you have my permission. If somepony did do something to Frieda, I'd prefer that they not be out roaming the streets."
Sunset really had no other recourse. She was well within her rights to insist on a warrant, but that might raise a red flag that she cared more about her privacy than her friend, especially if their experts had already observed the newly-minted ponies expressing more concern for their fellow ponies than before.
"Thank you for your cooperation," said Anthony. "We'll try not to upset your house too much."
Sunset smiled. "Could you have somepony turn off the water heater while you're there? It's rather old, and I had forgotten to do so before coming to the shelter."
"I'll pass that request along."
"Thanks. Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?"
"Just one more thing," said Anthony. "I was asked to follow up on an investigation into some missing blood samples from the hospital. I understand that you worked as a volunteer there?"
So, more fishing. "Yes, until the emergency was declared, and I was asked not to anymore. I had the mane and tail by then, and they had started treating it as an infectious disease."
"Do you recall any suspicious activity?" Anthony asked. "Anything at all out of the ordinary?"
"No, nothing," said Sunset.
Anthony nodded. "Thank you, Miss Sommers. That's all."
Sunset hopped off the chair. "Oh, Mr. Heller? Do you think it would be possible for arrange for me to visit Frieda?"
"That's not in my purview, but it's rather an unlikely prospect at the moment."
Sunset's ears drooped. "I was afraid of that. Maybe if she gets better, she can be transferred to this shelter?"
"Again, I'll pass that along, but I wouldn't get your hopes up."
"I understand. Thank you, anyway."
As Sunset was led from the room, her mind worked. She had no worries that the humans would find anything in her house. She had been careful to keep her diet restricted to vegetables and greens that humans would eat, and the wards she had in place would ensure that they would see only a blank wall where her apparatus was and a blank floor where the runic circle lay. Everything else she had of a magical nature was hidden behind yet more illusion spells.
Sunset was anxious to know what Star Singer had seen. She felt it crucial to proving once and for all that she had the right solution. She wanted something she could present to Twilight to hopefully make her see reason and come over to Sunset's side.
She had seen the most recent news reports. As she had expected, transforming humans were being subjected to persecution by scared masses. It would only force the ponies-to-be into closer groups, hastening both the development of new communities and the manifestation of pony magic. Soon she would be ready to bestow the first vision upon the new ponies of Lazy Pines, and the night ponies would eventually relay her message across the globe.
The seeds of a new pony society were about to be planted, and then she needed only to watch them grow.
Twilight stepped up to the front of the conference room. Despite her love for giving talks and lectures, the many human eyes on her made her think of the very first talk she gave under the watchful gaze of Princess Celestia while still her student. Celestia had thought that the best way to see if Twilight really understood the material was to give a lecture on it.
She fought down the nerves that threatened to twist her stomach into knots. Enough doubt and dissent existed in the ranks concerning magic, so she was told, that she was asked to demystify it as much as possible. She hoped to also use the lecture to give them an idea what to expect concerning their burgeoning pony population.
She turned to face the audience, seeing many unfamiliar faces. Most of them were physicians, biologists, and geneticists, but she had been told that several physicists had been pulled into the operation. Several FBI agents were present as well, likely to report back to Anthony later.
"Good afternoon," said Twilight. "Most of you have already heard of me, but let me introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle. Before we begin, I want to make something very clear. Magic is real."
Her horn flashed, and she vanished to several shocked cries.
"Even if you don't want to call it that," said Twilight from the other side of the room, causing many to flinch before turning around in time to see her horn flash again, whereupon she reappeared at the head of the room. "It's still real." Her horn glowed, as did the lectern near her, which rose into the air. "Call it a 'sufficiently advanced technology' if you must, but we need to get past the disbelief stage now." She set the lectern down, extended her wings, and rose into the air. "Magic is not arbitrary. You don't wave a hand or a hoof and do whatever you want. It has rules, laws, and limits."
She landed and folded her wings, pausing a moment as she surveyed the reactions of the humans watching her. As she had hoped, many had already recovered from their initial shock and were looking on with interest. Some appeared skeptical even after her demonstrations, especially the physicists. It helped to see Kevin in the audience, someone who needed no more convincing. He smiled and gave her an encouraging nod.
"The basics first," said Twilight. "A field of energy permeates your universe. For lack of a better term, call it 'thaumic energy.' It's spread out fairly uniformly, regardless of whether you're here, on your moon, or out in deep space. It's in this very room, you simply can't sense it, much like you can't see individual air molecules, but you know they're there."
One of the physicists spoke up. "It sounds almost like you're describing dark energy."
"I'm not familiar with that term," said Twilight. "What is it?"
"Currently held theory states that, roughly speaking, only five percent of the universe is made up of ordinary matter," said the physicist. "Twenty-five percent is dark matter and seventy percent is dark energy. We call it 'dark' simply because we can't see it, but we have some empirical evidence for it."
Twilight smiled. "Some or all of that may indeed be thaumic energy. It doesn't interact on its own with the normal world until it's converted into magic. You can't imagine how delighted I am to hear that you actually have some evidence for it!"
"Well, yes," said the human in a dubious tone. "But we also believe it's spread incredibly thin. Hardly enough energy to do anything close to what you appear to do."
"It's possible you're not detecting all of it," said Twilight. "Do you have any theories that predict how much of this dark energy there should be, but observations fall short?"
The human's eyebrows rose, and he exchanged a surprised glance with a colleague. "Why, yes, we do. Quantum field theory predicts far, far more vacuum energy than we observe."
Twilight's smile widened. "This is wonderful! You were already on the verge of discovering the existence of the thaumic field. I would love to talk to you about this in more detail later."
"I do admit, I still reserve judgment."
"Understood. But perhaps now you can be more open to the possibilities. In a way, magic is simply a science you don't understand yet. It interacts with the world in a fundamentally different way than ordinary physics does." She turned her gaze towards the audience in general. "Which brings me to what I really need to talk about, which is how ponies use magic."
Twilight gestured to the side, and Starlight trotted up. "This is my good friend and assistant, Starlight Glimmer. She's a unicorn. She takes thaumic energy and translates it directly into physical effects. Her horn is used to project that magic. These effects are controlled by spells. If that terminology bothers you, think of it in terms of computing devices. A computer doesn't do anything unless you give it a program. A spell is simply a program for converting thaumic energy to magic. Starlight, if you would?"
Starlight nodded, and her horn glowed. A three-dimensional image of a smiling orange pony with a blonde mane and a hat on her head appeared.
"This is an image of my friend Applejack," said Twilight. "Note the lack of wings and horn. She's an earth pony. Her body continually converts thaumic energy into great physical strength and the ability to keep the soil fertile and encourage plant growth."
One of the biologists spoke up. "Are you saying that our patients who become, um, earth ponies will have these abilities, too?"
"Yes," said Twilight. "I've been told you've already witnessed their strength. Starlight?"
Starlight's projected image changed to a cyan pony with rainbow-colored hair, her wings flapping as she hovered in place.
"This is another friend of mine named Rainbow Dash," said Twilight. "She's a pegasus. Her body converts thaumic energy into magic that allows her to fly. That's why she can stay airborne despite the small wing-to-mass ratio. In fact, this particular pegasus is quite fast. She can briefly attain hyper-sonic speeds."
"Good Lord, are you serious??" someone cried.
"Ah, I should point out, not all pegasi can do that," said Twilight. "It would take a lot of training to accomplish speeds like that. But what all pegasi can do is control the weather and walk on clouds."
"Did I hear you right?" said one of the physicists. "Control the weather?"
"The atmosphere is, effectively, a heat engine," said Twilight. "It's governed by laws you understand. Pegasus weather magic makes use of those laws to alter how weather works. Generally one pegasus can affect only a very small area, maybe to create a brief rain shower that affects no more than, say, a quarter mile. It takes teams of pegasi working together to effect changes over a large scale."
"And this is how your world works?" the human asked in a perplexed voice.
"Yes, for the most part. Earth ponies manage the land and grow food. Pegasi keep the weather balanced. Unicorns fill a variety of other roles related to direct use of magic. That's not to say all ponies are born into a specific role due to their tribe. For instance, I have a pegasus friend who's devoted her life to helping animals, an earth pony friend dedicated to making others feel happy, and a unicorn friend who's into fashion design. Other ponies are devoted to the arts. I imagine we have as diverse a set of interests as humans do."
"What about yourself? You have wings and a horn."
"I'm a special type of pony called an alicorn," said Twilight with a small smile. "For the most part, that sort of status is earned. I started life as a unicorn and later became an alicorn through a process known as 'Ascension.' It took a great feat of magic after many years of learning before I reached this point, so it's very unlikely you'll see any among your kind."
Thankfully, the next person to speak was someone Twilight recognized. "Twilight, I received a report from the first shelter," said Sandra. "That's where the first set of complete transformations has occurred. The patients there are growing very adamant about using their new abilities."
Twilight had dreaded this coming up. She took a deep breath. "I think you should allow them to use their abilities within reason."
A murmur arose from the assembled scientists. Sandra consulted with one, nodding to him before turning back to Twilight. "May I ask why?"
"Right now, we're not sure when they can be changed back," said Twilight.
Starlight glanced at her and raised an eyebrow.
"We have to focus on containment first," said Twilight. "We've already made some strides in that direction, as I've developed a means to remove the spell from those who are not transforming yet, and we have an explanation for Kevin's immunity, but we still need to solve the problem of scale. In the meantime, that may mean leaving these humans as ponies for a while."
Starlight turned towards her and said in a low voice. "I think you should tell them, Twilight."
"I told you before, I refuse to believe--"
"But if it's even remotely possible, they ought to know!"
"I'm trying to maintain a level of hope," Twilight said.
"And that's fine, but we have to be realistic as well. What about what you told me you said to Sarah? Doesn't that apply here as well?"
Twilight cast her gaze down for a moment. "All right." When she raised her head, she saw every human eye locked on her. "We're not sure yet, but it's possible ... it's just possible that the transformation may be permanent."
"That's preposterous," one of the physicists declared.
"Let me explain--"
"Could this so-called spell have been used to change a human into something other than a pony?"
"Yes, but--"
"Then if your magic system is as self-consistent as you claim it is, why can you not create a similar spell to change them back?"
"We don't know!" Twilight blurted. "All we know is that back on my world, the first creature Sunset transformed into a pony couldn't be changed back, and that was attempted by a pony far more powerful than me. Just like you don't know everything about how your universe works, we don't necessarily know everything there is to know about magic."
The human sighed in exasperation. "I still don't see why--"
"May I make a suggestion?" said Kevin loudly. "May I suggest that you cease browbeating Twilight? Unless, of course, you wish to give us a dissertation on the origins of the big bang, which I'm sure you've figured out by now and there's nothing left to discover."
The physicist frowned. "That's not quite the same--"
"Sniping at each other will get us nowhere," Sandra declared. "Twilight, please, continue."
"Thank you," Twilight said in a slightly quavering voice. "Sunset Shimmer's purpose is to create a new pony society on this planet. She thus likely instilled these new ponies with the ability to use magic to that end. While I don't want to see her plans succeed, the fact of the matter is, you have ponies now and will likely have a lot more before this is over. You can't be expected to feed and shelter them indefinitely."
"Isn't that just giving in to what Sunset wants?" one of the FBI agents asked.
"She wants a pony society for her own purposes. If you do wind up having a pony population here, don't you agree that having them find their own destiny is better than doing Sunset's bidding?"
Kevin smiled softly. "That sounds a lot to me like freedom, which last I saw was a treasured institution of this country."
Sandra sighed. "Kevin, be reasonable, we can't just turn them loose."
"I'm not saying we should throw open the doors all at once, but I think Twilight's suggestion bears consideration. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to reunite families we separated."
Starlight gave him a confused look. "Say what now?"
Twilight's eyes widened. "You separated families? On purpose?"
"Not intentionally," Sarah said quickly. "Sometimes family members came to the shelters at different times as their symptoms progressed at different rates, and shelters filled up."
"We did separate by gender," Kevin said.
Twilight gaped. "Why would you do that?"
"We knew as the transformation progressed, clothing would be more difficult to wear," said Sarah. "And Mr. Turner, the first transformation, showed no qualms with being naked."
"The nudity taboo, Twilight," said Starlight.
Twilight face-hoofed. "I forgot."
"I take it such a thing doesn't exist in your world," said Sandra.
"No, it doesn't," said Twilight. "And I imagine it doesn't exist for them, either. You may want to reconsider your arrangement. Ponies are herd creatures, and I suspect Sunset has amplified this. Forcing families to remain separated in that case is never a good idea."
"I have to admit, this would be a lot easier if we didn't have transformed humans who could fly, grab things with their minds, or break solid concrete without working up a sweat."
"Perhaps this would be an ideal time to ask about the variations we've seen," said Kevin.
"I'm going to take a guess," said Twilight. "You have ponies with membraned wings instead of feathers, correct?"
"Yes," said Sandra.
"They're called night ponies. They tend to be nocturnal, and they have an ability called dreamwalking, which allows them to affect the dreams of other ponies."
Sandra gave her an alarmed look. "You don't mean they do things like instill nightmares?"
"Oh, no, not at all! Quite the opposite, in fact. They help ponies deal with troubling dreams. In my world, they're loyal to one of our rulers, Princess Luna, who herself is a dreamwalker."
"So who are they loyal to on this world?" asked an FBI agent.
Twilight paused. "I'm not sure."
"Oh, like we can't guess," said Starlight sourly. "I can almost guarantee that Sunset has plans for them, or she wouldn't have had some humans transform into them."
"Should we keep them sedated as a precaution?" Sandra asked.
"That wouldn't work," said Twilight. "And it would just alert Sunset that we know of her plans. We may just have to monitor them."
Sandra consulted her notes. "What of the patients who have glass-like coats?"
"Glass-like coats?" said Twilight in bewilderment.
"It's like each individual hair has some sort of crystal-like coating we can't identify, and their eyes have a very odd faceted refractive aspect."
Twilight stared in astonishment. "You have crystal ponies??"
"How did Sunset manage that?" Starlight asked.
"I don't know! They weren't even around when Sunset worked on her spell!"
"Ah, can you enlighten us, please?" Sandra asked.
"Crystal ponies are indeed a type of earth pony," said Twilight. "They have the same abilities, but they have other powers that we don't fully understand yet. What we do know is that they can project and focus positive emotions to create powerful protective magic. Ancient records suggest they may have once been spellcasters like unicorns. The point is, they weren't around when Sunset researched her spell. All she had were records over a thousand years old."
"What does this mean?" Kevin asked.
"I don't know yet," Twilight said. "I can't imagine what Sunset would do with them, or how she could've created them in the first place. It's the one piece that doesn't fit."
"Let's not get bogged down worrying about it now," said Starlight. "We should finish this lecture so we can get back to work."
"I've got only one topic left," said Twilight. "Cutie marks."
"That would the marks on your haunches?" Sandra asked.
"Yes, indeed. Ponies are not born with them. They come later in life when a pony realizes what their best and dearest talent is. It's generally considered a very joyous moment in a pony's life, sort of a rite of passage."
"Are they just symbolic, then?"
Twilight smiled. "Not at all. They actually lend support to the pony's talent."
"They're a magic all of their own," said Starlight. "I did a lot of research into cutie marks for, ah, various reasons and discovered that the magic behind them is very complex. Even after all the work I did, I still don't fully understand it."
"Who or what distributes these marks?" Sandra asked.
"That's one of those things I don't know."
"Will transformed humans get them?"
"We only have one example of a successful transformation before coming here," said Starlight. "But, yeah, she got one, so I don't see why the ponies here wouldn't."
"They're not harmful in any way, if that's what you're worried about," said Twilight.
"I think I see Sandra's concern," said Kevin. "Where the initial reports said that these newly transformed patients already don't appear to have a desire to be changed back, something like this would be seen as a further mark of permanence."
Starlight suddenly blinked, and her eyes widened.
"I know you said that you're not yet sure if there is a physical permanence, but a psychological one can be just as--"
"I'm sorry to interrupt," said one of the FBI agents. "But I just heard from Mr. Heller. He wants to meet with Twilight and Starlight at once."
"Then I'll conclude the lecture," said Twilight. "I'll make myself available after the meeting with Mr. Heller if there are any further questions."
As the others rose from their seats, Starlight stepped close to Twilight. "I think I just figured out something. The thing that makes this transformation permanent? What if it's getting a cutie mark?"
"But you can remove a cutie mark."
"Remember what I told you back in Equestria?" said Starlight. "I never could completely sever that connection. What if it just can't be severed? What if once you get a cutie mark, it's game over, you're a pony forever?"
Twilight's eyes widened. "But that's ... w-we can't just tell ponies not to get cutie marks! We don't have control over that. Nopony does!"
"Yeah, but we don't have to encourage it, which is what might happen if they're allowed to do their own thing like you suggested."
"The last thing I want is for humans to be frightened of ponies," Twilight said. "And that's exactly what might happen if they remain cooped up and try to break out on their own. I want humans to see pony abilities as benevolent."
"The sense I'm getting here, Twilight, is that humans are naturally suspicious. Whether that's evolution, societal, or just this crisis, it doesn't matter. We do anything at all that even hints that we think this transformation is just fine and dandy with us--"
"Which I've stated repeatedly that it's not!"
"Perception is everything," said Starlight. "Maybe you didn't notice, but not once did they ever refer to those who are fully transformed as 'ponies'. They were always 'transformed humans' or 'patients.'"
"Yes, I did notice," said Twilight in a subdued voice. "All right, let's get this meeting with Mr. Heller done. Then we'll ask to examine a pony -- I mean, a fully transformed human -- and see if I can figure out just how pliant the morphic resonance is."
Twilight stared at Anthony in disbelief. "She gave you permission to search her house??"
"I was rather surprised myself," said Anthony. "But like her behavior during the rest of the interview, it could mean either that she really is a being of such power that she has no worries that mere humans can disrupt her plans, or she's what she appears to be: an outstanding member of the community caught up in this mess like the rest of the town."
"Oh, come on, you think we would point to some random unicorn and say she did it?" Starlight said in irritation.
"Starlight, please," said Twilight softly. "Mr. Heller, are you planning to follow up on this and perform a search?"
"Yes, we are," said Anthony. "You initially offered to come along with us. Is that offer still open?"
"Yes, of course it is, but ..."
"But what?"
Twilight frowned. "Perhaps you may think that Sunset is acting overconfident, but often she has a reason to be that self-assured. She's very clever and thorough."
"Are you saying whatever magic she has laid out is a match for your abilities?"
"No," Twilight said. "But she may very well detect anything that I do. It will be a dead giveaway that I'm collaborating with you."
"We can't just do nothing, Twilight," Starlight said. "Her device might be there."
"I know."
"Her portal is there! We could take control of it."
"Starlight, I know you're anxious to ensure that we have a way back home, but we can't be reckless!"
Anthony considered. "You said before that Sunset knows you're on Earth. Was she expecting you to just do nothing to stop her?"
"Of course not," said Twilight. "She's operating under the false belief that I think more like she does. If I were her, I would never think of making contact with the natives of this world. I would instead find a way to slip into town unnoticed and confront her directly."
"There has to be a way to get you in there unnoticed," Starlight grumbled.
"Or I could give her what she wants."
Starlight raised an eyebrow. "Er, what?"
"She's expecting me to confront her alone. Why not have Mr. Heller conduct his search, then sometime later, I go in alone. That has the advantage of Sunset believing she pulled one over on the humans."
Anthony leaned forward. "The only problem with that, Twilight, is that it would be of dubious legality if we find nothing on that initial search. You're not law enforcement, so it would be effectively a break-in. Even if you were, it would constitute a second search, which we would need permission or a warrant for."
Twilight sighed. "Mr. Heller, I understand and admire your desire to avoid accusing the innocent, but the longer we dither, the more chance she has to realize something is up and take countermeasures against it."
"But what do you expect to accomplish when you confront her?" Anthony asked. "Were you intending to try to apprehend her?"
Twilight paused. "I had hoped for one last chance to get her to see reason."
"That's a lost cause if you ask me," said Starlight.
"But I have to try. It's what I'm all about. It's also what Sunset is expecting. She's likely going to use that time to convince me of the merits of her plans."
Anthony looked thoughtful. "Are you saying she would be discussing her plans with you?"
"Yes, as I'm sure she already has with Star Singer."
"Would she be able to detect if you were carrying a hidden camera and microphone?"
Twilight's eyes widened. "Not if it doesn't have any magic attached to it! She could discover them with a scanning spell, but she'd have to know to actually do it."
"Sunset's been here twenty years," said Starlight. "She's familiar with their technology."
"Yes, but to assume that I have any of their technology presumes I got it from the humans, which again implies collaboration. If she does scan me at all, it will be for magical effects. It's a blind spot in her thinking I can take advantage of."
"With the added advantage that we get to see and hear what happens," said Anthony. "Which might furnish more proof of her alleged crimes. This setup, unfortunately, raises issues of entrapment--"
"Why is your legal system so incredibly dense?!" Starlight cried in exasperation.
"Just how are such matters handled on your world?"
"Most criminal investigators are unicorns," said Twilight. "They have spells that help determine the truthfulness of witnesses or suspects, as well as determining the accuracy of evidence."
"Unfortunately, we have no such techniques here," said Anthony. "Even the results of a lie detector can be successfully challenged in court. Thus our legal system has to lean very heavily towards burden of proof. As much as we're desperate to believe everything you're telling us, Twilight, it still amounts to two aliens we've never met before accusing a US citizen of bioterrorism. The only reason we're continuing to pursue this is due to a few irregularities in Miss Sommers' background."
"Irregularities?" said Starlight.
"We're having trouble getting accurate information on her parents. They're listed as deceased, and all the paperwork concerning their death certificates appears in order, but we can't locate her parents' birth certificates. There's just not a whole lot of information on her parents at all. We also had no luck identifying anyone named 'Frieda' who looked like Star Singer."
"Wait a minute," Twilight said. "I just thought of something. Sunset's been treated as any other patient since she reported to the shelter, right?"
"As far as I'm aware," said Anthony.
"Was any genetic testing done on her?"
"You'd have to ask Doctor Marlowe about that."
"What are you getting at?" Starlight asked.
"Back in Equestria, I had a conversation with Spike," said Twilight. "Back when we speculated that the device survived the trip but not Sunset. I had mentioned that the device wouldn't work as-is because it needed to be adjusted to the biology of this world, that Sunset would need to create something optimized for this world's environment. That means there should be subtle differences in the genetics of transformed humans and native Equestrians."
"I'm sure Sunset would've thought of that."
"Yes, it would be easy for her to secretly cast a spell to mask those differences," said Twilight. "But if a new sample was taken, I could strip away the concealing magic. Then they could test it, compare it to the testing that they did on us earlier, and see that there's a closer match to our genetics than their transformed humans."
"Doctor Marlowe had mentioned that a very small difference was found between your DNA and those of others," said Anthony. "It was likely what helped convince her to believe your story."
"That's it, then!" said Twilight. "That's how you can get more evidence that this Sadie Sommers is not what she appears to be."
"All right, I'll talk to Doctor Marlowe at once," said Anthony. "Is there anything you wanted to bring to my attention before we conclude this meeting?"
"Just one," said Twilight. "I'm concerned that the more complete transformations we have, the higher the chance Sunset will do something to provide them with a universal purpose."
"Does this have to do with the night ponies you mentioned?"
"Yes. I'm concerned that she plans to instill some sort of vision on everyone. While I don't want to do anything to the night ponies themselves and raise suspicions, I want a means to counter whatever Sunset tries to tell them."
"How do you propose that?" Anthony asked.
"I have an idea," said Twilight. "But it involves the person you've claimed is your prime suspect."