//------------------------------//
// The Dreams of the Dreamers 
// Story: What's a Gary? 
// by Reykan 
//------------------------------//

Recon sat at his desk in the cities' administrative section, staring down at the brightly colored zebraling in front of him.

"Hammer, what are the regulations about new rules and dress codes?"

"Kiss."

"And kiss means...."

"Keep It Simple, Stupid." The mare answered, ears drooping.

Recon pulled out a small band of blue cloth with a metal plate attached. Etched into the metal was a smiley face.
"And what did you think would happen when you tried to change the Lightning Guard's dress code to include this...animu stuff?"

"That...people would like it? It had a smile on it so it's not specifying any element or anything like that and I thought that, um, maybe people would at least find it amusing."

The male changeling rubbed his temple. It wasn't that Hammer was a bad person. In fact she was in his office both because she was a changeling and, having himself come from a family with a few younger sisters, he was a bit more resistant to "puppy dog pouts" than people like Windscythe. The griffon was doing better but he still had a weakness for such things.

'At least he acknowledges the issue.'
"I'm not going to lie, I think it's pretty funny," Recon finally said, causing the zebraling to perk up. "That being said, this is both a useless addition to their dress code and one that grates on anyone who didn't watch this stuff or enjoy it. Those who already have them can keep theirs if they like and we won't charge you for it, but this is being discontinued."

"I, I understand sir. Thank you for not um, getting too upset. I heard afterwards that Verdant was pretty angry."

"Verdant doesn't like frivolous things in the military branches, and this counts. It doesn't help your case that he tends to be enraged at the mention of anything anime. You know as well as I do that some people are like that. I'll see you at the hive-joining later tonight."

"Oh, most definitely. I mean I still don't want to do that but it's always so nice seeing the changelings who find a family like that. I, I don't know if I could but it must be nice." Hammer said before looking aside for a moment. Having gathered her courage she turned back to him.
"Is there any truth to the rumors of a non-ling participating this time?"

Recon grinned.
"Of course you know that this is confidential. I'll dock pay if you tell anyone."

The mare nodded quickly, a fanged smile appearing on her own face.

"R&D just finished testing a Temp-link array. It allows non-lings to be linked for either support like tonight or missions. The idea of a group of people able to communicate at a thought during a military excursion is too good to pass up. They're just hitting human testing but the results are looking good. That being said, Shell and Ares have been close for a very long time. He wants to be a bit closer, and he also wants a way to learn just what it's like to be connected to others like she is."

"Oh my gosh that's wonderful! Those two have been together for longer than I've been here, it doesn't surprise me he'd want something like that. Do you think it will be full-strength or just-"

"I don't have any details on how it works," he cut her off. "All I know is they're ready for a live test on something bigger than a mouse. They're taking the usual steps with such an experimental thing and they'll be testing the connection in a stable environment first, but Ares is officially joining Shell's hive tonight."

The red furred and black striped mare nodded.
"So the ceremony won't be the first time they link. Still, it's a big step. Maybe we could get something like that for just two people. Just two really close friends or-"

"I doubt it," Recon said sadly. "Queens are almost required for connections between anything larger than a five-drone hive. Add the fact that drones and queens are biologically built for these sort of connections, and the idea of two non-changelings being connected that way...I don't think it would be a good idea. There wouldn't be any of the filtering a queen can do with out a second thought. If we can replicate that filter, then maybe we could do it. Until then though, you'd start tripping over limbs you don't have if you started that kind of link."
Taking a paper from his desk, Recon signed the paper and slipped it across to the mare in front of him.
"I'm sure you know how these work."

"Yea, 'it's not asking if you agree, it's asking if the meeting happened.' I know. I still think the bands were cool."

Taking the paper and setting it in his 'to file' pile, he mentally poked her.
"It's not about cool, it's about getting the job done. Take it easy, Hammer."


The Zebraling left without further comment and Recon turned back to his desk. Several new things were on the in-pile, the small teleport grid having dropped them off during his talk with the young lady. One of them was a Scroll with a purple seal.

'Twilight? What did she..."

Recon,
It has come to my attention that there is in Ponyville a mare who has been researching the topic of humans for years. I do not know if it is related to you and the pthers, but this could either be a leak or the possibility of other humans that didn't get in contact with you trying to contact their own. I have spoken to the mare in question in the past and even recently and am all but certain she's a natural unicorn, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in this information or possibly even already aware of it.

Princess of Friendship,
Twilight Sparkle



The changeling hummed thoughtfully. He'd heard of these individuals before but he'd never really gotten a name. Yet attached was both a picture of the mare as well as her name and place of residence.

Looking to the clock, he grinned. He had hours before he needed to be back here and most of the paperwork wasn't due for another few days.
'Nothing wrong with a half day every now and again, right? I think it would be a good round of practice too. Haven't done an infiltration in a long time.'



<-(0)->



He wasn't even wearing a disguise as he looked through the unicorn's room that was dedicated to human research. It didn't seem to be a leak though, or an attempt of humans looking for other humans that had fallen through. There were too many false leads, too many things that were speculation and wild theories at best. The first one that had grabbed his attention had been one speculating the environment and diet of these mystical creatures.
'Sucking blood, ha! Maybe Vampires, but most of us were just like griffons in diet.'

Levitating another book into his hooves, this one a sketchbook with several different styles of 'humans' drawn by both Lyra and even a few other believers. It was kind of flattering to know that there were others who considered your previous race a work of fiction. It was also kind of funny to see the different styles in which humans were drawn. Some of them were kind of close but off in details, like the human female's breasts were on her stomach or the male's having hulk-arms. Another artist went with a more draconic base, the human even having vestigial wings instead of arms, wondering if the humans had various breeds as ponies did. Another seemed fascinated by the hands, drawing several types of hands from a single bulbous digit that could flex around what the human wanted to grab to what seemed to be several hooves coming out of a wrist.

All in all, the entire thing reminded him of people guessing as to what aliens would look like. It was funny in a way. Here he was comparing the guesses of ponies who'd never seen a human to the truth, when there was the very real likelihood that aliens did the same thing to humans.
"How many aliens were laughing at our own guesses?"

He pulled out a recording crystal and took a few pictures. He wasn't going to steal from the unicorn, but he really wanted to show some of this to Verdant and Solar Storm. They'd get a kick out of it.

The door opened behind him and he heard a squeak as a burst of fear hit him. Turning casually towards the mint-green unicorn that was currently gaping at the giant changeling in her room, he lifted the book, showing her what he was looking at.
"I'd heard from a friend of a friend that you had some stuff on humans and had to check it out. Reminds me of how we used to guess at what aliens looked like back home. Some are good guesses, but others...others are just silly. Where are you guys getting this information? Or are you just guessing?"

"B-but you're, you can't- take what you want, but don't eat my thoughts!"

Recon blinked, staring at the mare in confusion before bursting into laughter.
"You think... you think that changelings work like that? I mean I'd heard some ponies were throwing out the most ridiculous stories, but come on!"

The racket apparently attracted attention, a second mare poking her head into the room.

"Lyra? Who are you- what are you doing, I mean, what-"
Shaking her head to clear it, the second mare hardened her expression.
"Who are you and what do you want?"

"Oh, you live here as well S-Bonnie?"

"You know, you've never been a very good changeling..." Bonbon sighed. "What do you want?"

"I've not been a good changeling for about...oh god, what was it? At least a century. I mean, I did hot-drop a few things during the griffon invasion way back when. We know we can't do too much, but that doesn't mean we don't help at all," Recon chuckled. "Operation Steel-talon, I think the griffons were calling it. Cancelled after I hit them. Poisoned the commander, burned up their supplies, thermite in their weapons-caches, and dropped the full battle plans off on the outskirts of Manehattan. Think that was my best work. Still, never really enjoyed sneaking around in real life. I prefer just talking to people. It's why I did what I did. Easier this way."

"How do you know Bonnie?"

Recon smiled widely, causing the unicorn to flinch while the earth pony merely flattened her ears in irritation.
"She used to see us pretty often. Technically, she retired. You say im bad at being a changeling, but from what I've heard, you're bad at being retired."

"Sometimes," Bon Bon started, looking cautiously to Lyra "I dont have the luxury of being retired."

Recon nodded.
"I understand. I thought it would be easier once I passed on the position of Mayor to Wind. Now im stuck with the newbies. Still, it keeps me busy. And as I'm certain Tia would say, keeping busy helps give you something to focus on. I honestly dont know what I'd do if i actually fully commited to retirement. I mean, it's not like we've managed to recreate all of the games we used to play. I think I've played most of the ones we have by now as well."

Reaching into a bag, Recon levitated what appeared to be a textbook over to the unicorn.
"We know what it's like, Miss Heartstrings. To always wonder if there was anything else out there. To wonder if the creatures you saw in your dreams were real or a figment of your imagination. We're waiting for the day we can walk freely among ponies, but that day is not today. A pony panics when a zebra walks into their town. When we arrive in this world of magic, we can't stay in that form. We all change. Each and every one of us. And we're all different. Zebras, changelings, dragons, alicorns, ponies, diamond dogs, even seaponies and slimes. When your country is ready for that diverse of a group, we'll stop by and say hi. Until then, well, keep the dream alive."

"We're watching you from just beyond the next hill, waiting for when you're ready to meet us. And we can't wait until that day."







Bon Bon winced as the changeling ripped a hole in reality as he left, the expenditure of energy not even registering to him these days.
'To think Agent Pond would tell me stories of that changeling carefully measuring out each spell he could use throughout the day. Have they really come so far?'

Turning to her roommate and the book the changeling had left behind, she cautiously approached. Lyra was shaking, the book open to the first page. The words were all in a different language, one she'd only ever seen under two conditions. When the Agency was sent to retrieve a creature that had written in it, or when the people out in the Everfree wanted to send communications to Canterlot without anyone reading it. Of course, they'd since moved on to actual codes and radio signals, technologies that blew Equestria's current advancement clear out of the water, so she supposed they didnt mind if somepony had access to their language.

"They're real," Lyra whispered, a single tear falling to the page. Even as the unicorn moved to wipe it away, she found herself staring as the tear gently flowed off of the material, not even leaving a trail on the page. It was a naked human, a male. Next to it was another human, a female. Both were standing with limbs straight, several sections cut away to reveal inner organs and muscles.

Bon Bon couldn't read it, had never really taken the time to learn the language, but it was fairly obvious to her what the title was. Especially knowing Equestria had adopted the human number system decades ago.


Human Anatomy 101