//------------------------------// // Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde // Story: Love Is A Miracle // by Prophetic Brony //------------------------------// Love Is A Miracle Chapter 7: Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde A middle aged woman sat a plain wooden desk typing away on a keyboard. She was conservatively dressed, wearing a gray blouse and skirt, oversize round glasses, and with dark brown hair tied in a tight bun on her head. Her desk was situated in a large waiting area beside a set of tall wooden double doors. The sound of typing echoed which made the room seem larger and more solitary. She had a bored expression while she worked, absently counting down the minutes until her day’s end. The phone’s ringing interrupted her and she paused before she answered it, quickly resuming her work as she talked. “Dis Corporation, headquarters, president’s office, how may I help you?” she said in rehearsed tone. “Um hm. One moment sir, while I see if he is available.” --- “I see you.” A brief chuckle escaped his lips when he saw the curtain drawn. He felt so much joy at the quick manner in which his view had been obscured; he just wished he could see the expressions on their faces. He then noticed a tingling on the back of his neck and snapped the fingers on his left hand. The double doors to his office immediately opened, revealing an obviously surprised woman. Her hand was brought up as though she were about to knock on the door. She quickly put her hand down and entered, shaking her head in annoyance. The office was fairly large, with several windows, a tiled floor of various uncoordinated colors, and six statues four meters tall of draconequus stood by the walls. The statues lined the path approaching the desk in the middle of the office which was a painfully assembled collection of different wood and metal creating a level, yet fashionably hideous, writing surface. Her boss, a tall, gaunt man in his late sixties, stood behind the desk and was facing out the window. He smiled and lowered the binoculars in his hand while turning to face her. “Mr. O’quus, you have a call on line one. It’s-” “I have it, Miss Sarah. Thank you.” “Yes sir.” The secretary turned around and walked back to her desk, her thoughts the whole time in agitation over her boss’s actions. Her lips silently cursed his new policy of having to enter his office to personally tell him whenever he had a call. She surmised it was just so he could continue to tease her with the door opener and camera he had installed. She never saw when it happened but it was the only way she could explain how he always seemed open the doors right when she was about to knock. Drake pushed a button on his phone and set it to loudspeaker, “So good to hear from you again, your honor. I was hoping you were calling to tell me some good news.” “Er, sorry, Mr. O’quus. We’ve reviewed the records and find it impossible to deliberate in favor of your constituents. The ruling we want to make is not applicable even through all the loop holes written in,” replied the voice on the phone. “I see. Judge Patterson, didn’t I tell you to try and push back the decision for a few more months? At least until after the referendum has been voted on. Once that is accomplished you should have no trouble applying the legal course of actions we discussed,” Drake replied while setting his binoculars down on the desk. “We’re trying but the attorney’s office is filing an injunction to have a decision made immediately. I don’t know how long we can stall them. We need some help here,” Patterson pleaded. Drake sighed and looked at his fingernails in boredom, “I have my media organizations pushing our agenda. You will simply have to find a way to keep the case in litigation for a while longer. Have your secretary lose the file or something, you know how bureaucracy is. Things get lost all the time.” “Sir, how certain can you be that the voters will swing in favor of the referendum being made? This past year has seen a lot of pushback against our efforts,” Patterson cautioned. “Tis just a hiccup, your honor, you’ll see. We’ve been moving towards our goals for decades now. A few small losses won’t undo them; the influence we’ve had on this country’s culture has made people more malleable after several generations of infiltrating the education system. So, there’s still plenty of low information voters lacking the mental faculties to think for themselves. I have the media bombarding them with what we want them to hear. We just need to make one little nudge at a time. Your ruling on this case will be another such nudge,” Drake said with a cackle. “If you say so. We can keep this motion bogged down for three more weeks before we have to find another way. I just hope the boys in DC pull through and bring it to the floor,” the man on the phone sighed. “Why, who do you think ‘suggested’ this referendum, your honor? I have faith my friends in the Senate will follow through. I’ve been overseeing the media campaign myself.” “And if the vote doesn’t work?” “Well, we still have options. Our ‘non-profit’ groups and ‘charity’ organizations work very hard to promote things for ‘the good of the people’ whether they are genuine or not. We can even drown our opponents with more costly litigations which will drain their resources and time. Now, please excuse me, I have things to attend to.” The judge bade farewell and they ended the call. Drake opened the top drawer to his desk and revealed a gray jagged rock. He picked it up and studied it; smiling, he snapped his fingers again. The doors opened and he saw his secretary standing, about to knock. “Good night, Miss Sarah. Do drive carefully,” he said. Sarah blinked in shock for a moment before nodding. “Ah, good night, sir.” Drake could hear a faint giggling while the doors closed, “Did you find that amusing?” he asked. “Hilarious!” replied the faint voice, resuming it’s laughter. “Then I can’t wait to show you what else I have in store.” --- “I can’t wait to show you my home! I think you’re going to really be surprised,” Tiffany whispered. She held her cell phone in her hand as cover for talking. Twilight Sparkle was walking invisibly beside her. “Don’t tell me you live inside a giant tree library too,” she replied quietly. “No but I have a library in my home. You can read all the books you want in there,” Tiffany replied. They walked together through a busy hallway section before nearly being run over by a mail cart. “Oops! My bad!” A blonde woman wearing a white buttoned down shirt and brown slacks was looking at Tiffany apologetically. The woman seemed only able to focus one of her eyes on the scientist while the other one lazily wandered off. She blinked and returned it to normal only to have it look away again. Tiffany shook her head and gave a half-smile, “It’s okay, Darcy. No harm done. Last mail call for today?” she asked. “Yup!” Darcy replied, nodding, “Almost done, then its quitting time. I need to pick up Daisy from school!” she said happily. “Well then, I won’t keep you from getting your job done. I know how excited Daisy gets waiting for you. Have a good night!” Tiffany replied with a wave. Darcy smiled and waved before she resumed pushing her mail cart. She bumped into the invisible Twilight which caused the pony to let out a yelp in surprise. The mail worker looked around in confusion before Tiffany coughed and rubbed her arm. “Eh heh, ah that was just me, Darcy. I uh, bumped into the wall,” Tiffany explained. Darcy smiled and nodded, her eyes going out of focus again, “Oh, that happens to me all the time. I understand! Well, good night!” Twilight walked closer to Tiffany before rubbing the side which had been struck, “Ouch, that was close. Is she okay?” Tiffany smiled and shrugged, “She has a vision problem so a lot of people think she’s a little slow. She actually has a good heart and works really hard to support herself and her daughter. I haven’t talked to her for a while though. She has a friend who would pop in and out at random sometimes looking for her but I haven’t seen him lately. I’ve been meaning to ask.” “What’s over here, Tiffany? I didn’t get to have a good look at the offices you humans use. Is it the same as pony offices?” Twilight asked. “Oh, that area is the PNVL administrative section. We actually have quite a bit of office space dedicated to it since we require so much support. Because of all the hard work they do, I’m able to get the resources needed to do my experiments. Someone needs to file the paperwork for permits, passes and salaries. My staff doesn’t exactly work for free,” Tiffany said. “Oh, Doctor Sparks!” Tiffany and Twilight both turned around to see a woman with gray hair approach them. “Manager Mary, hello. How’ve you been?” Tiffany greeted. “Just fine, Doctor. What brings you to our side of PNVL today?” Mary asked, with a conspiratorial grin, “Maybe a little update on your latest experiment?” “Something like that,” Tiffany replied while putting her hands up defensively, “Just keeping Miss Canterbury appraised of our progress. So, have things been busy here?” “You could say that. Regulations may have gotten better but it feels like we’re fighting almost daily to keep the lab running. I just finished speaking to our legal department about the city’s change to the zoning region of the lab. It turned out they had made a clerical error but it seems like these happen all too often. Then just the other day some group filed a motion with the EPA stating our facility disrupted the natural migratory path of several species of endangered birds,” Mary said with a shake of her head, “Really, how some people can justify making such baseless accusations is beyond me. Some people just have no shame.” “You’ve mentioned this before. This hasn’t been the first time, has it?” Tiffany asked. “No, and it probably won’t be the last. Some of these environmental groups are not even about protecting the environment. When you find out who has been funding them you learn it’s just part of someone’s agenda,” Mary said. The manager then looked out at all the cubicles and desks. “If PNVL were shut down could you imagine what would happen to the economy here? The employees who do not get reassigned somewhere else would lose their jobs. Businesses would lose their customer base and shut down. PoNiville would cease to exist.” the elder lady explained. “Well, I don’t think the lab is going to be shut down anytime soon,” Tiffany reassured. Twilight studied Mary before being distracted by several other people. Tiffany continued talking but what she said went unheard by the purple unicorn. One exchange was between two women; the one standing up was smiling and shifting from one foot to the other, talking excitedly, while the other sat down, looking bored and exasperated with the other. “C’mon, Bonnie! I’m goin’ Squatchin’ this weekend! I heard there’s been sightings in the foothills not too far from here. Where’s your sense of adventure!?” “Really Lyla, I don’t have time to waste chasing silly fantasies. Besides, I have a lot of work to do this weekend.” “You can take a break from your online candy business for one weekend, can’t you? Its been so long since we‘ve had fun together!” “If you spent as much time pursuing your music career as you do chasing sasquatch, you’d already be famous by now.” “Did you bring that demo CD in, Lyla?” interrupted a third woman, “There’s one piece which would go great on my flower business’s website. I figured it would also give you some free advertising.” “Oh, shoot! June, I‘m so sorry! I forgot it! I think I have a copy uploaded online though. Maybe I can send it directly to you,” replied Lyla. “I hear your business has been really picking up. Did you and Rose collaborate?” asked Bonnie. “Oh yes, she has some wonderful ideas. In fact, she was the one who suggested using Lyla’s music. Plus she has a little more experience with specialized flower types so her knowledge is such a benefit,” June said with enthusiasm. “Well, glad to see that worked out. I still can’t believe Miss Canterbury was the one who took you aside and suggested you two work together,” Bonnie said with a hint of awe. “I know; it just goes to show she really pays attention. She takes the notion of helping others become wealthy seriously; she says the more financially educated people there are, the better for everyone,” June replied. “All I did was attend her business seminar and it really opened up my eyes. Getting a financial education has gotten me motivated to become financially independent and wealthy rather then just save up for retirement. With the way money keeps depreciating, all my savings won’t be worth half of what it is today by the time I retire. Besides, the work is kind of fun,” Bonnie stated. Twilight followed the conversations passively but it was the dynamics of the people and their names which interested her. She sensed there was something familiar here but she could not put her hoof on it. “Psst, Twilight.” “Huh?” “Are you still there? Lets go,” Tiffany whispered. She was looking awkward trying not to look out of place after Mary already walked off. “Oh! Okay, right,” Twilight replied, embarrassed. “We really do have a hard time paying attention to anything else when we’re focused, don’t we?” Tiffany stated. Twilight stifled a laugh before following along behind Tiffany. They finally arrived downstairs in the lobby where one of the security guards directed them to a company van. They climbed aboard into the open passenger seating before departing from Canterbury Tower. The drive was less exciting since the van had no windows. To occupy the time they began planning their next step. “My five closest friends whom I want you to meet are a little spread out and busy. I need to call them up to see who would be available first,” Tiffany said. “What do your friends do that keeps them so busy?” “Well, Amanda owns an apple farm out in the country side. She’s active running the distribution of her product brand, especially when she’s not competing in the rodeo circuit. Then there’s Randy; she shouldn’t be too hard to get a hold of at this time. She always takes a break from her sports equipment franchise to train some of the local kids at the school. Felicity will be pretty easy to track down; she’s running the local nature preserve so it’s just a matter of finding when she has some free time to meet you. Polly is hard to keep up with; she’s always running around doing charity events when she’s not busy with her bakery chain and party supply outlet. Finally, there’s Rosalie whose extremely busy traveling around the world promoting her line of clothing and apparel. We may not even get a chance to catch up to her.” Twilight listened with rapt attention. She could tell from the obvious signs these had to be her friends dimensional counterparts. Her curiosity continued to grow until another question popped up; “Tiffany, what about our, or rather, your version of my family? What are my parents and BBBFF like? Or my sister-in-law and Spike? How similar are they?” “You call your big brother BBBFF too!? I thought it was just me!” Tiffany gasped in delight. “Well, of course! Shining Armor is just the best big brother ever! I wish I could show him all of this too,” Twilight replied, “If only I brought a camera to take pictures. Everyone back home might not even believe me when I tell them all these things. Would I even be able to take back any of the pictures?” “I think we can tweak the machine for something like this. It did bring you over along with the two objects closest to you at the time. I theorize you can take back anything with you which you can carry. Initially, without an anchor to focus on, I could only send stuff to random locations in your world. The data we’ve collected will help us to refine the targeting so I could transmit objects directly to you.” “Kind of like when I send letters to Princess Celestia; we can keep in touch that way!” The sun was setting when the van pulled into a quiet suburban neighborhood. It proceeded to wind its way down the streets before stopping at a mid-sized two story house with a front lawn and driveway leading to a garage. The van then deposited it’s occupants and departed. Tiffany began fishing through her purse for her keys when she noticed the car in the driveway. “Oh, he’s already home,” she said aloud while she continued to lead Twilight to the door. Twilight observed everything from her invisible state as she walked up the pathway to the front door. Tiffany knocked on the door. The door quickly opened and revealed a twelve year old boy with green eyes and shaggy blonde hair, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. “Hey there, big sis! Welcome home!” the boy quickly greeted and began looking around, “So, is the pony here? Can I see it? Does it really talk?” “Who told you that? I was supposed to be the one to explain everything,” Tiffany said, mildly annoyed. “Big bro told me. He figured it would be better if I knew ahead of time, so I don’t freak out when a purple pony walked in with you,” the boy explained. “Scott, don’t call her an ‘it’ or ‘pony,’ she has a name,” Tiffany scolded while walking inside. “Why don’t you come inside and undo your invisibility,” she called back. Twilight followed in after Tiffany and closed the door behind her. She then revealed herself to everyone present. Twilight quickly observed what was a modest living room with the typical amenities: a couple sofas arranged around a coffee table, a TV stand with a large flat screen television and some electronics, several picture frames and decorations on the wall, and a bookshelf filled with books. “Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” she greeted, extending a hoof to Scott. The young boy stared at her with wide eyes. “Whoa…. A talking pony,” he gasped in shock. Tiffany coughed to remind someone of their manners. Scott awkwardly recovered and put out his hand. “Uh, hi. I’m Scott. Pleased to, uh, meet you, Twilight,” the boy replied. He shook Twilight’s hoof and squeezed his hand a little to test the consistency, “Wow, are you made of marshmallow? You feel squishy but hard at the same time.” Tiffany got visibly flustered, “Scott! Don’t be so rude!” Scott let go of Twilight’s hoof and stepped back, “I can’t believe I’m looking at a talking pony.” “I can’t believe I’m talking to a human version of Spike. You’re a lot bigger then him and he’s a baby dragon. Are you a baby human?” Twilight asked. “I’m not a baby! I’m twelve years old!” the young boy huffed, “Sheesh, I guess even a pony version of Tiff is gonna treat me like a baby,” he grumbled. Tiffany giggled a little, “Yes, I know you’re a big man now. You’ve only been trying to prove it to Rosalie for several years now.” “He has a crush on one of your friends too? Oh, how cute! He’s just like my little Spike back home then,” Twilight chimed in. Scott’s face became a shade of red in embarrassment. He then crossed his arms and began to fume. “Tiff! You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone I have a crush!” he protested. “Oh Scott, I didn’t have to tell her anything. She already knows because her friend Spike has an obvious crush on someone too,” Tiffany explained. “Well, it’s still embarrassing,” Scott replied. Tiffany and Twilight laughed together until Scott began stomping away. “Poor little guy. So that’s your version of Spike. In my world he’s a short purple and green baby dragon. I’ve known him since I hatched him from an egg during my magic school entrance exam. He’s my closest friend and assistant. I consider him to be family even,” Twilight said. Tiffany smiled and pulled a picture frame from one of the tables which held a picture of a younger version of herself and a toddler version of Scott, “My parents adopted Scott when he was a just a baby. We’ve always been close and he’s been staying with me because our parents wanted him to go to the local school here,” Tiffany explained. She was then interrupted by a familiar voice before she could continue her story. “So what did you two get Scott all worked up about?” Twilight followed the voice to it’s origin, “Sean? What are you doing here? Are you actually staying here to do security?” Sean walked in carrying a bundle wrapped in a blanket over his shoulder. He wore the same suit she saw him in earlier minus the jacket and shoes, “That but mainly because I live here,” he replied. He walked over to Tiffany and quickly kissed her on the lips, “You must’ve been five or ten minutes behind me. I haven’t been here long enough to do much other then to change the baby.” “Oh, she needed a diaper change?” Tiffany cooed at the bundle which Sean handed over to her. Twilight could now see the tiny face of a baby girl peeking through the blanket wrapped around it. “Wait, you two are married?” Twilight gasped. Tiffany blinked and nodded, “Well, yes. I thought it was obvious. You mean, you haven‘t gotten married yet?” The stunned pony shook her head, “No! I don’t even have a special somepony yet,” she stated and looked at the baby in Tiffany’s arms, “You two even have a baby!?” Tiffany looked at Sean who just shrugged over Twilight’s reaction. The purple unicorn began to grow pale and performed Princess Cadence’s relaxation technique before she began hyperventilating. She put a hoof to her chest, breathed in, extended her leg, breathed out. Her breathing settled and she was calm again. “Would you like to see our daughter? This is what a baby human looks like,” Tiffany said, bringing her baby right up to Twilight’s face. The baby giggled and waved her arms, smacking the pony on her nose. Twilight blinked a couple times before fainting onto the floor in a heap. Tiffany urgently crouched down while Sean rushed over to check the pony’s vitals. Scott returned to the room and saw everyone hovering around the floored unicorn. “I had nothing to do with this!” he immediately declared before narrowing his eyes, “Hey, if she’s dead, does that mean we can dissect her?” Both Tiffany and Sean shouted back in chorus; “SCOTT!”