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// Chapter 2: The Plans of Ponies and Men 
// Story: Healthy as a Horse 
// by Crescent Pulsar 
//------------------------------//

Isopropyl, Twilight Sparkle and her fellow princesses — sans Flurry Heart — gathered within Anon's "home" the next day.

The alicorns' first order of business was to put Anon and Isopropyl into a deep sleep after having them both lay down on the bed. The procedure that would ensure Anon became a healthy pony required a lot of magic and was extremely complex, making it highly susceptible to outside influence and mistakes, so they removed any unaccounted movement and magical factors from the patients' part of the equation. Aside from that, though, they simply hadn't been sure what the whole experience would feel like, so they had also erred on the side of caution on that front as well.

Now they stood beside the bed, about to proceed with the procedure. Twilight Sparkle regarded the other princesses from the foot of the bed and asked, "Everypony ready?"

She noticed them share a look between themselves before nodding their heads, which reignited her suspicion about the motives behind their involvement. While they had certainly been indispensable and made this procedure — her own idea — possible a whole lot sooner than she had imagined achievable, which was partly why she was willing to remain silent and trust them so far, their interest in Anon made her wonder if they had some idea of how or why he had arrived in their universe.

If that was the case, she hoped that they would bring her into the loop without having to confront them about it. It was bad enough that she felt like she was missing something about Anon's arrival, which might give her an idea of what had happened to him. There was something familiar about his situation, as if she'd heard something like it before, but the answer continued to be a carrot dangling from a stick whenever she pursued it.

However, she had thought this procedure a good idea before she had begun to suspect that there was more to Anon's situation than was obvious, so she mentally prepared herself for the task ahead of her. Before she got to work, she looked toward the window by the door and signaled to her friends outside, who had wanted to be present to either watch or be present for what could easily be considered a big deal.

"They're about to start," Starlight Glimmer noted for those who weren't watching, with a hint of excitement.

Pinkie Pie plastered the upper half of her body against the window and enthusiastically prattled, "Oh, my gosh! This is the awesomest thing ever! I can't wait to throw my first ever 'welcome to Ponyville, Equestria, our universe, ponyhood, fillyhood, and birthday' party!"

Rarity gently but insistently nudged Pinkie Pie aside and began to address the condensation on the window with a hoofkerchief. "Well, for your sake, darling, I hope you can wait: because Anon won't be born for quite a while." When her view into the building was clear, she regarded her friend with a cocked brow and added, "Also, I'm pretty sure that he chose to be a colt."

"He did?" Pinkie Pie replied with genuine confusion.

"He also chose to be a pegasus," Rainbow Dash interjected as she hovered above her friends, sounding pleased by his choice.

With a roll of her eyes, Applejack remarked, "Well, if I'd been cooped up for so long, I'd probably want some extra freedom of movement myself."

"Um," Fluttershy finally managed to speak up, because she felt that something important was being overlooked, "I don't think newborn foals can fully enjoy parties — especially the food."

Pinkie Pie shot up onto her hind legs, grasped her head and gasped, "You're right! I might have to plan for two birthdays! Maybe even three!"

While her friends continued with their banter, Starlight Glimmer filtered them out so she wouldn't be distracted away from what the four princesses were doing. She was still a little disappointed that she wasn't involved, but Celestia and Luna had offered their services when Twilight Sparkle had first approached them with her idea, Cadence had been contacted and invited by the two soon after, and by that point there was already enough redundancy.

She watched as Twilight Sparkle and Celestia weaved the majority of the spells, while Luna and Cadence mostly provided additional magic to power them. They worked deliberately and meticulously, not only because of the difficulty of the spells and how many they would need to have ready and apply in a timely manner, but due to the fact that making the wrong mistake could endanger the mind they were trying to transfer and preserve.

Eventually, Twilight Sparkle and Celestia coordinated the casting of a series of spells. At the same time, Luna cast a spell of her own in support while Cadence lent her magic to them so they could focus more on their awareness and control. This resulted in Anon's body being transformed into a glowing, featureless mass that slowly became spherical in shape while it shrank. When it reached its final size, which was about the width of a hair, it was a pinpoint of light that Starlight Glimmer could barely perceive.

Then, to the surprise of the four princesses and those watching them, Discord appeared in the air with a flash of light, nearby to what had become of Anon, and he was holding a lorgnette up to his face with one hand and cradling a large, soggy bag of butter-drenched popcorn in the other. Already peering closely at the speck of light, it was with a mix of disappointment and curiosity that he remarked, "Huh. With all the magic at play, I was expecting a much bigger light show than this."

Before any of the princesses could voice their concerns about his unexpected presence, they either gasped or shouted something in alarm as the ambient magic from his teleportation reached Anon. Upon contact, Anon's form flickered briefly before zooming toward the mares outside instead of Isopropyl. Between its size and speed, the only warning that Starlight Glimmer and Rarity had of its trajectory was the movement of the princesses' heads as they tracked it. The others were alerted that something was up when the two unicorns hopped away from the window, parallel with the building, and began to tell them to move out of the way. Unfortunately, by that point it was too late for anyone else to react in time.

Rainbow Dash yelped in surprise and fell onto her hooves while the warning was still in the process of being voiced, who whipped her head around and immediately began to inspect the area between her barrel and hip. While Twilight Sparkle rushed out of the building and made a beeline toward their group, which went unnoticed by most there, Applejack approached her and concernedly asked, "Something the matter, Rainbow?"

"It felt like something hot shot into me," Rainbow Dash replied, somewhat anxious because she knew that something was going on.

Having been close enough to hear that, Twilight Sparkle skid to a stop beside her and hurriedly asked, "Can you show me where?"

It wasn't until Rainbow Dash had her hoof pointing at the spot in question that it occurred to her what might have happened. "Hold on," she said, her eyes wide and ears lowered as she turned to regard Twilight Sparkle. "You don't mean..."

"I'll check to be sure," Twilight Sparkle stated, before she closed her eyes and lit up her horn.

Dreading the verdict, Rainbow Dash put up a brave front as the rest of her friends gathered around her in a show of concern and support. Not caring much for the silence either, she decided to ask, "So, uh, what happened?"

"Discord happened," Starlight Glimmer replied with a thoughtful frown. "My guess is that his magic interacted with the spell during the transfer phase and changed the target host."

"It made other changes, too," Twilight Sparkle added with evident worry, who opened her eyes and sent an imploring look Rainbow Dash's way. "We need to make sure that Anon's okay."

Rainbow Dash barely managed to hold back her own concern, since she wasn't the one who could be dying or dead. Instead, she silently followed Twilight Sparkle — along with everyone else — into the building, where the princesses calmly waited and Discord was conspicuously absent. After Twilight Sparkle updated the three on the situation, she was told to stand still while they checked on Anon.

It wasn't long after Twilight Sparkle and Celestia lit up their horns, to begin the examination, that Rainbow Dash looked around for something to distract herself with, hoping to make it easier to ignore the faint, weird feeling that arose within her gut and made her want to squirm. Her gaze quickly found the unconscious nurse on the bed, and not for the first time did she wonder what kind of pony would be so willing to bear a foal, whether it was their own or not. Just the thought of being a parent herself was alien, because her dream of being the best Wonderbolt ever, after becoming one, had never allowed any room for such a consideration.

"Anon's mind appears to be fine," Twilight Sparkle eventually determined, with evident relief.

"Everything's good, then?" Rainbow Dash inquired, who wanted her own problem addressed as soon as possible.

Starlight Glimmer regarded Celestia, who was still doing her own examination, as she answered, "Not if Anon's body is no longer viable."

Only the context of the situation allowed Rainbow Dash to understand what that meant, so she did her best to be patient and wait for Celestia's diagnosis. That came about a minute later, when she turned her attention to the room at large and solemnly stated, "Anon's body will be whole and healthy, but no longer a pegasus."

"What will he be, then?" Twilight Sparkle anxiously queried, who was already beginning to feel the weight of responsibility for something going wrong.

Celestia glanced at everyone around her before calmly replying, "An alicorn."

With the exception of Cadence and Luna, everyone displayed some form of surprise or shock at the news. Among the latter group, Pinkie Pie was the first to recover, accept it, then bounce around happily while making celebratory declarations. Applejack was the next to recover, who was understandably puzzled as she looked up at Celestia and said, "I can kinda understand how Flurry Heart turned out to be an alicorn," she glanced at Cadence to acknowledge her, "what with her mother being one and all, but how is this possible?"

"It's hard to say," came Celestia's reserved response.

Luna stepped forward and offered, "It may have something to do with the fact that there was so much alicorn magic involved."

Unable to wait any longer, Rainbow Dash looked between the princesses as she spoke up and asked, "Now that we know he's going to be okay, can you take him out of me?"

When she saw their faces assume expressions that could only be associated with bad news, her body went into high gear and exploded with energy, her fight or flight response on the verge of being triggered.

"About that..." Twilight Sparkle hesitantly began.