"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Theresa asked in a wary voice.
"Yes, for the fourth time, I am," Tom said.
"You just seem a bit restless."
Part of the problem was simply nervous energy. His wife's trotting gait was shorter than his normal walking stride, and keeping himself to the slower pace was difficult. He supposed that came from his job, where everything was needed ten minutes ago, and he was always in a rush to go somewhere. Even before ETS, Theresa had complained about having to practically jog to keep up with him whenever they walked together.
Yet another big factor was the location.
He walked along one of the main streets of Pony Hope late Friday afternoon, where no other human was to be seen among the sea of color. It still seemed surreal, like something plucked out of a children's show. Some of the ponies were headed in the same direction, and he tried not to stare at them too long lest they take it as an invitation to strike up conversation. He knew most of them only in passing, yet to them it seemed as if they had known each other their entire lives.
"I'm fine," Tom finally said in a flat voice.
"You didn't have to do this," Theresa said. "I was perfectly willing to go alone."
"You know I've tried never to miss a parent-teacher conference, and I didn't think this should be an exception."
"I know you're not that comfortable around this many ponies."
Tom managed to suppress a sigh. "Regardless of that, I care about Molly's education. Especially now."
"I'd ask you what you meant by that, but I could likely guess," said Theresa in a low voice.
"After some of the stuff I've heard from Molly around the dinner table, I want to make sure she's being taught subjects that matter. For one thing, I don't remember her ever talking about homework since I got back."
"The school is being run by a pony who was a teacher and the vice principal of one of the schools in Lazy Pines," said Theresa.
"Yes, you told me," Tom intoned. "Said her name was Ethel Darrow."
"Yes, but now--"
"I tried to look her up online, but I had trouble finding anything useful," Tom said. "A lot of personal data about the people from Lazy Pines is still restricted by medical privacy laws."
"I wouldn't have let Molly attend that school if I didn't think the teachers were just fine," said Theresa. "And as I was trying to say, her name is Butterscotch now."
"Of course," Tom muttered.
They turned down the path which led to the schoolhouse, and he chanced a look around him. Several ponies had turned their curious gazes in his direction, their ears alert and swiveled towards him.
Tom had come to realize that having a private conversation among ponies was next to impossible. Not that they intentionally eavesdropped, but those sensitive ears combined with a driving need to be concerned about everyone around them meant he inevitably broadcast his feelings.
He tried not to be upset. While the ponies of the town had come around to respecting his personal boundaries, he didn't want to become an outcast or pariah. He counted himself lucky the Shimmerists didn't have a hold here; he would take the curious gazes over outright contempt.
Ponies often appeared as the picture of equine health, thus it was a shock to see a couple -- a unicorn mare and earth pony stallion -- bearing bandages wrapped around their barrels and hind legs. The mare had a patch over one eye, and her tail was a ragged stump torn almost to the dock.
"The hell happened?" Tom muttered.
"Mountain lion," Theresa said in a subdued voice. "They'll be okay for the most part, though Karen may lose some vision in that eye unless we can get an Equestrian healer to treat it."
Tom turned his gaze back to his wife. "And just how often does that happen?"
"Not often enough to consider Molly endangered, if that's where you're going with it."
"And just how often would 'often enough' be? In a human community, once is considered too much."
Theresa sighed. "Not now, Tom. We can talk about it later. We're almost at the school anyway."
Tom intended to hold her to that, but for now he turned his attention towards their destination.
The schoolhouse was like much of the other architecture in the town: heavily influenced by Harmonists pining to replicate Equestria in design and custom. The quaint wooden structure reminded him of pictures of old schoolhouses back when the west was human homestead land. The illusion was broken by the carvings of pony children around the door and the heart-shaped windows.
As they entered, Tom's head brushed the ceiling, and he loomed over the furnishings like a giant. A smiling earth pony mare with a deep amber coat and only slightly lighter mane greeted them. On her haunches was an image of a desk with a ruler lying upon it. "Welcome everypony!" she called out in a bright voice. She flicked her gaze to Tom. "Um, and every human as well. I'm Butterscotch, headmare of the Pony Hope School and one of the teachers as well. Please, if you'll follow me so we can get started."
A cacophony of pony hooves against wood flooring accompanied the trip down a hall lined with classrooms. Tom had to bend over slightly to clear the top of the door.
"We'll use one of the classrooms we recently added for adult students," Butterscotch said. "It should seat most of you comfortably. Oh, um ... we, uh, don't have any seating for humans, my apologies."
"I'll stand," said Tom in a neutral voice.
"I'll make sure we fix that oversight for next time, rest assured." Butterscotch looked over the crowd of ponies. "You may be in good company anyway, as I don't think we have quite enough seats for everypony."
Tom still thought the seats were too small, yet many ponies slipped into them with ease. When seating ran out, the remainder had no trouble sitting on the floor. Theresa chose the latter, sitting next to her husband as he stood by a wall. Now Tom was truly the giant, and it only emphasized how out-of-place he felt.
Tom glanced at the others. Many of them were smiling. Were they always genuinely this happy, or was it just part of the conditioning that had come along with their changed bodies?
Butterscotch trotted to the front of the classroom. "First, I have an announcement. Some of you may have heard that representatives of the Pony Council have made contact with the American government. I'm pleased to report that they will be holding a press conference this evening!"
Excited murmuring rose.
"A human community has helped us set up a satellite feed so we can watch. It will be in the auditorium of the old Lazy Pines high school tonight at seven."
This made the ponies appear only happier. Tom glanced down at his wife and saw her smiling as well. He idly wondered if he should bother watching it himself.
Butterscotch seemed pleased with the reaction. "With that out of the way, I want to welcome you all to the first parent-teacher conference of the fall semester. I'm excited to be doing this, as I feel we've accomplished a lot in the short time this school has been open."
A few ponies nodded.
"Let me start off by telling you what our mission is, and then I'll open it to questions," Butterscotch continued. "We strive to give your foals as well-rounded an education as possible. We want to balance what would be considered a traditional education by human standards with subjects that are more unique to us, as well as some we have learned are taught to young ponies in Equestria."
Tom already found several faults in that simple statement, but he held his tongue for the moment.
"We also have classes tailored for each particular tribe," Butterscotch said. "We want to prepare young ponies to properly use their budding abilities. We feel that will be of great help to families of mixed tribes."
That had been unexpected. Tom had thought it was left up to the family to decide when and how their children would be trained in their pony abilities. Had Molly's obsession with all things pegasi been influenced by the school? Had they not heard the concept of parental consent?
Though from the way Theresa was smiling, she would have no problem granting consent. Maybe she had, and that was good enough for them. After all, how could a mere human understand pony needs?
Tom clenched his teeth and folded his arms tightly across his chest. He had to stop thinking in terms of conspiracies. He was letting his anxiety over being the human alien in the room get to him.
Butterscotch glanced at him and hastily added, "Oh, and, um, it will be of help to families where the parents are human. Or at least one of them."
A few ponies picked up on the slight quaver in the mare's voice, and they exchanged looks with one another and with Tom. He forced himself to lower his arms and relax his jaw. He forced a small smile and gave Butterscotch a slight nod of his head.
Butterscotch's own smile returned, and her voice sounded more relaxed. "We also use this school to accommodate Equestrian instructors, and I am very pleased to announce that this Sunday afternoon we will be hosting a contingent from Equestria led by Starlight Glimmer!"
A ripple of excited murmurings rose among the ponies. Tom counted himself lucky; they were planning to leave for Grand Junction that morning, so they would avoid all the pomp and circumstance.
"Any of your foals who are capable of at least levitation are invited to attend, as well as any adult unicorns who want to learn more magic," said Butterscotch.
Theresa nudged Tom's thigh and gestured for him to come lower. Tom sank to one knee, and his wife whispered, "Maybe we should delay Grand Junction for a day. Molly would love to meet a pony from Equestria."
Tom wanted to refuse immediately, but he would have to tip his hand too early. He had plans for Grand Junction beyond just Molly's rehumanization. "We'll talk later," Tom said before straightening up.
"In closing, I want to state what a delight it is to be here," Butterscotch gushed. "All your foals are quite keen on learning, and most get along well with one another and with our instructors. They're as excited about their new lives as we are about helping them grow into those new lives."
Tom could not help but stiffen slightly.
"So now I will open it up to questions," said Butterscotch. "Yes, Early Harvest?"
A green earth pony stallion with brown hair spoke. "You mentioned teaching the foals things taught in Equestrian schools. What would those be?"
Tom was surprised; that would have been his own question.
Butterscotch smiled. "Equestrian ponies are taught about the importance of friendship, and we seek to emulate that here. I should note that we also teach that friendship encompasses all beings, not just ponies. We understand that some of your foals may interact with humans, and we try to prepare them for that."
A nodding of heads from the ponies greeted her answer. Tom could be content that they were at least thinking about the rest of the planet.
"We also teach some Equestrian history," Butterscotch continued. "To give your foals a background as to why friendship is considered to be so important."
"What about Earth history?" Tom asked.
Several ponies turned their heads towards him.
"I'm sorry?" Butterscotch asked.
"How much of Earth history are they taught?"
"We teach natural history along with math and science. We also help the foals re-learn how to write properly using--"
"I don't mean natural history," Tom said. "I mean the people of history. Important events. Things like the founding of civilization, or the Renaissance, or the Enlightenment. What about things like that?"
Butterscotch hesitated, magnifying the awkward silence. She cleared her throat. "Naturally, we have to adjust what you likely remember as the standard curriculum in light of the changes our transformation has brought on."
"Granted, but that seems an awfully large thing to drop."
"We haven't dropped it per se, we're just emphasizing other topics that are more immediately relevant."
Tom folded his arms. "What about American history?"
Theresa laid a hoof against his thigh. "Tom--"
"Isn't that important? We live in America. I still consider my whole family to be Americans, and I want my child taught about the history of this country."
Tom didn't think his request was unreasonable. It was not that he was particularly patriotic; it just made sense to be taught about the country of one's birth.
Some of the ponies exchanged confused looks, though a few appeared to be seriously considering the idea. Murmuring broke out as some parents started debating it among themselves, though Tom was getting no indication of any consensus.
Butterscotch glanced over the room. "Realize, please, that we're all trying to establish an identity for ourselves. We have to focus on that. There are only so many hours in the day, and it's impossible to fit everything that they were being taught before and what they need to know now."
"What about your identity as Americans?" Tom asked.
Theresa frowned. "Tom, please don't do this."
"It's not an unreasonable question. Even the President has stated that he considers every one in this room an American."
Butterscotch looked flustered and glanced over the ponies as if in search of support. A few replied with encouraging gestures while giving Tom a slightly cross look. She nodded and managed a small smile. "That's one of our dilemmas in trying to establish our identity as free ponies. We do draw inspiration from America in those times it furthered the cause of freedom, so in effect, we do expose foals to that."
That was not enough. Tom didn't want Molly to be taught a rosy picture of the US, and even then just enough to further the pony cause. He wanted her taught the bad along with the good, America's failures as well as its accomplishments.
Yet as he looked at the increasingly impatient expressions worn by some of the ponies staring at him, he realized it was likely a lost cause. "All right, thank you," he said in a low voice.
Butterscotch appeared relieved and took a question from one of the pony parents.
Tom heard a sigh from his wife but didn't dare look in her direction for what he might see in her face. He had a lot of other questions about the curriculum, but he doubted any of the ponies wanted to hear another word from him.
He had to get Molly away from this. She had to have a chance to grow up with knowledge of the human world. She had to be human again. Anything less would be to give her up to a mass delusion.
Heather cantered off from her last appointment -- a particularly tricky case of a pair of surging pegasus twins -- without even enough time to spare to brush the pegasus foal feathers from her mane. Ponies were, for the most part, not too hung up on time, so she doubted the others would care if she were late. Yet she wanted to take no chances that her best candidates as assistants would turn her down.
She slowed her pace as she approached the cafe, pausing just outside to shake her head to dislodge the feathers. It would have to do; perhaps seeing how harried she was would convince them to take the position, even though it involved moving to Pony Hope. That they had lingered for so long in town after the council meeting boded well.
She spotted them as soon as she stepped inside. It was hard not to, as Heather and her two potential cohorts-to-be were the only crystal ponies in the establishment. The pink and purple crystal mare raised a fore-hoof and gestured, smiling. Her pale green and dark blue stallion companion turned his head and also smiled.
Heather stepped more casually towards them, trying not to look as desperate as she felt. The atmosphere helped. The cafe was a quiet, sedate affair, with ponies gathered at tables conversing softly and enjoying a beverage or a snack. Some were turned towards the window admiring the sunset. A light breeze blew over them, as there was no glass. A pegasus who worked for the owner kept a small micro-climate going to keep it comfortable inside.
Heather smiled as she approached the table. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."
"It was entirely our pleasure," said the mare.
Heather hopped into a seat. "I hope that means you have good news for me, Susie."
"I'll take the position," said Susie without hesitation. "I can move into Pony Hope by Monday."
Heather let out a sigh of relief. "You can't imagine how much this means to me. I've been running ragged just dealing with foals who were in utero when they transformed. We're going to have twice as many born this coming spring."
Heather was appreciative for another reason: Susie had been a teacher of preschoolers as a human, so she was already used to dealing with young ones. However, the stallion was the bigger prize. Heather turned to him and asked in a hopeful voice, "What about you, Whisper?"
Whisper Touch leaned forward and smiled. "I would be honored to work with you, Heather," he said in a voice that reminded her a lot of Kevin. "I've been looking for a good place to apply my skills, and this seems ideal."
Heather beamed -- which for a crystal pony was almost literal, as she briefly glowed. "Thank you so much!"
She had reason to be so giddy: Whisper had been a pediatrician as a human, and she had hoped that his cutie mark -- a silhouette of a foal superimposed on a red cross -- indicated that his talent had carried over through his transformation.
Whisper smiled gently. "I was hoping to expand your practice into general medicine for the little ones."
Heather nodded. "Yes, of course. We have to take over at some point from the Equestrians. They've been very helpful, but we have to stand on our own, and I think this will definitely help."
Whisper and Susie exchanged a look before the latter said, "We're very glad to hear you say that, Heather, as we have our own proposal to make concerning the future."
Before Heather could respond, the waitress approached, levitating her pad and pencil. Heather ordered a glass of hard peach cider. She normally didn't drink alcohol, but she felt like celebrating. "Oh, and what would that be?"
"First of all, we'd like to ask," said Whisper. "What did you think of the Pony Council?"
This was certainly not the first time that the topic had come up. It seemed the town could talk about little else.
"It's a good start," said Heather. "It's not ideal, but ideal is going to be a long time coming. I can see the human side of it, too. They're not sure what we're capable of. Easing their fears seems like a good approach."
Susie leaned closer and lowered her voice. "But do you feel like you were represented?"
"Well, we all were," said Heather, some confusion creeping into her voice. "That was the whole purpose of holding the Council in the first place."
Whisper placed his fore-hooves on the table. "Let's lay it out more plainly. Did you feel you -- as a crystal pony -- was represented properly?"
Heather hesitated. "I suppose as well as any other pony tribe was."
"Yet we heard no crystal ponies speak," said Susie. "We've heard earth ponies mostly, and some unicorns and pegasi. Nopony was there to represent our view."
"We're related to earth ponies," Heather said.
"If we were of Equestrian birth, I would agree," said Whisper. "But where some of that heritage was abandoned in favor of our ability to channel and transform magic external to ourselves, that to me makes us a tribe unto ourselves."
Heather was impressed; this stallion had obviously done his homework regarding his origins.
"Even more to the point, this makes us more reliant on other pony tribes," said Susie. "Since we don't have the normal earth pony abilities."
"Even the magic I use for healing is channeled from others," said Whisper.
"The tribes are already interdependent," Heather pointed out.
"Yes, but each one contributes to the overall effort. Us? Not so much."
"I feel needed here. I have a talent that other ponies need."
"We're not denying that," said Whisper. "But there are also unicorn spells that can deal with foal magic surges."
The waitress returned with Heather's drink. She closed her fore-hooves around the mug as she said, "Yes, but, again, we rely on the Equestrian mages to teach those spells. I have that ability innate. Hardly a lack of contribution."
"Yes, true," said Whisper. "But a bit niche. Not unimportant, by any means, but it's not enough for some."
Heather knew they were not trying to intentionally instill doubt in her. Even the expression on their faces showed that some of these words were painful for them as well. Heather took a long sip of her drink before speaking again. "I have to admit, I'm not really sure what your point is. I understand that we're very much in the minority, but I've felt nothing less than welcome here."
"It's not a matter of feeling welcome," said Whisper. "It's a matter of identity. Each of the other tribes has a distinct identity, such that ponies of the same tribe immediately have something in common."
"But crystal ponies are more scattered," said Susie. "And some ... well ... may be involved in less savory activities."
Heather set down her mug. "You're talking about crystal ponies working for humans."
"Yes."
"Not to put too fine a point on it, but I don't think it does any good to automatically assume that ponies working with humans are doing so to nefarious aims."
"It's true that all we have is rumor and speculation," said Whisper. "Which is all the more reason to find out the truth."
"But we can't do that if we're scattered about," said Susie.
"We need unity," Whisper declared. "Even in Equestria, most crystal ponies live in a single place, the Crystal Empire. Think on that, Heather. An entire empire dedicated to our kind."
Heather knew of what he spoke and likely had more details thanks to letters exchanged with Kevin. Their vaunted "empire" was not much larger than a small Earth city. "Are you looking to replicate that here?"
"Not necessarily," said Susie. "But we do need to start considering our own needs."
"We need a plan for the future," Whisper said. "We need to find other ways to apply our abilities." He lowered his voice. "There's a reason we sometimes believe humans are using our brethren to their own ends. You channel excess magic from surging foals. I channel ambient magic into healing. Surely you can see how easily that talent could be turned towards diverting or even draining the magic of other tribes."
Heather's ears drew back. "I would never think of doing such a thing!"
"Nor would I," Whisper declared.
"We're not advocating that," Susie said. "Please, that's not at all what this is about."
"But if we could somehow harness even some of that magic, we could be more self-sufficient," said Whisper. "Yet how can we accomplish that in any significant form without acting to the detriment of other ponies?"
Heather took another long drink. "I don't have the answer to that."
"Nor do we," said Whisper. "We have only an idea we wish to pursue. I mentioned the Crystal Empire for a reason. It's not called that solely because of its denizens. It's also comprised largely of crystal. From what I've been able to gather, it aids in their magical abilities and may even help provide the magic they lack from the other tribes."
Susie leaned forward, her face eager. "If we could do the same, maybe channel just a small amount of magic at a time from other tribes and store it somehow--"
Heather held up a hoof. "Wait. You two obviously have done some research into this."
"As much as we are able with limited resources," said Whisper.
"Then have you read the official report on Equestrian magic that Twilight Sparkle wrote?" Heather asked. "Because if you did, you'd know that Earth materials are not yet suited for that sort of purpose."
"We are aware," said Whisper in a more somber voice.
"Then you should also be aware that she estimated it could potentially take a century or more before any material on Earth was suitable for that sort of thing."
"We're hoping to jump-start the process," said Susie.
"We want to attract more crystal ponies to Pony Hope," said Whisper. "The more that can gather in one place, the greater chance we have of combining our power and abilities."
Heather had not expected any of this. She didn't know enough about how magic worked to judge how feasible their plans were. All she could see was how some humans might perceive it as a threat when their scientists had yet to crack how magic interacted with normal matter. "Okay, I have to ask: why here? Why out of all the possible settlements do you want to do this in Pony Hope?"
Whisper glanced to the side and leaned forward, lowering his voice. "We know that some advanced spells and magical knowledge have originated from this town. We've learned the identity of the pony primarily responsible. We're hoping he will agree to help."
Heather gripped her mug a little tighter. As she had retained close ties with the Tanner family, she had learned of what Bob was trying to do. He was by no means the only unicorn involved in the effort, but he was apparently the most well-known. "I can't really speak to that," she said in a stiff voice. "Other than to say that even with help, I doubt you'll get very far."
"We have to try," said Susie in a desperate voice. "I want very much to raise a family, Heather, but I want my foals born into a world where they can use their own magic like the other tribes do."
Heather raised the mug to her muzzle, hesitated, then set it down again. She had finished only half the beverage but already felt a slight buzz. She wanted a clear head for the rest of this conversation. "What do you want of me?"
Susie smiled. "You're well-known and well-respected in town. We're hoping to take advantage of that."
One of Heather's ears twitched. "In what way?"
"When the time comes, we're going to need the help of many ponies in this town," said Whisper. "Mostly volunteers to provide magic for us to channel."
"We absolutely want their willing cooperation," Susie said. "Nopony should be forced to do this."
Heather's heart ached; Whisper reminded her so much of Kevin. She had not realized just how terribly she missed him and his wise counsel. She wondered what his take in all this would be.
She could not help but see the merits of their plan. She had struggled to find her own place in this new world until she discovered what she could actually do. Had it not been for discovering her ability, she may very well have rehumanized.
Yet her lingering doubt must have shown on her face, for Whisper placed a fore-hoof lightly upon Heather's shoulder and said, "Heather, I am a physician. Becoming a pony did not exempt me from the Hippocratic Oath. Whatever you may have heard about crystal ponies in the employ of humans--"
Heather quickly waved a hoof. "No need to go into that, please." She had heard the same rumors, and until somepony could prove to her otherwise, that's all they would remain. "It's not that. It's just ... this is big. I want to help. That's all I've ever wanted to do for my community. This just seems like a much bigger responsibility. I wasn't quite ready for this."
In a way, Heather had been a lot like Kevin. She, too, had moved to a small town and a small practice in order to offer more personalized service. Becoming a pony and having a new connection to Kevin's former patients had been the embodiment of that dream. Now she was being forced to see something much bigger, and she feared losing that connection in favor of some greater cause.
"Do you want some time to think on it?" Susie asked,
Heather gazed down into her half-finished cider. She did not want to make a decision like this when alcohol flowed through her veins. "Yes, I do."
"Just so you know, our agreeing to help you with your patients does not hinge on your decision," said Whisper.
Heather smiled her appreciation, but in a way that made it harder. She felt more of an obligation to return the favor, almost a need. Some of that could have been her species change, but a lot of it was just Heather herself; her transformation had just brought it out more strongly.
"Thank you both," said Heather. She jumped out of her chair and was immediately met with a hug from each of her new assistants. "I'll try not to take too long to decide."
"In the meantime, I'll be available to you early in the morning," Susie said brightly.
"So will I," said Whisper. He turned to Susie. "If you'll excuse me, there is sompony I need to talk to before everypony is distracted by the press conference tonight."
Susie smiled. "Of course."
Heather could guess who that pony might be.
When Bob's adoptive parents were not in town, he stayed with Green Fields -- a former friend of Jenny's when he used to go by the name James -- and his parents. Since the founding of Pony Hope, more of Green's family had migrated there from the Midwest plains. This included several of his cousins who were only foals, and cranky ones at that. The family considered Bob a blessing as he could keep them entertained for hours showing off the magic he had learned.
That evening he was showing them a spell which looked as if he were setting off fireworks indoors, though it had none of the incendiary properties of the real thing. Many ponies considered the spell just for show, but the rune which powered it could provide the basis for other pyrotechnic spells, which in turn opened the door to discovering more power-intensive runes. He assumed that was the reason for its emphasis by his unknown Equestrian benefactor.
He had just earned a round of delighted squeals and hoof-clops when Green trotted into the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but there's somepony here to see you."
Bob sighed. "If it's a yet another unicorn seeking instruction, can you tell them I'll see them tomorrow?"
"It's an earth pony, actually," said Green. "I think it was that dude who spoke at the council meeting."
Bob's ears drew back slightly. "Strong Hooves?"
"Yeah, I think that was his name."
"Did he say what he wanted?"
"Nope, just said it was urgent. Said he's been trying to talk to you for a while now and has to head back to Grand Junction tomorrow."
Bob had hoped to avoid this. When Strong had not approached him, he had hoped the Shimmerist had already understood that Bob had no intention of working for his organization. He turned towards the foals. "That's it for now, I'm sorry."
"Awww ..." the foals lamented as one, their ears drooping. The unicorn among them was especially disappointed, as she put on a pout that was more adorable than anything else. Bob had heard that some people considered ponies "cute" but foals were doubly so. He couldn't help but smile as he turned away from them.
"Don't take too long," said Green. "We'll be leaving soon to watch the press conference."
Bob headed out of the house, one of the many that had been built by ponies for ponies. The size felt so right that it took going outside and seeing how the trees towered over the domicile to make him appreciate just how much smaller of stature he was.
Nopony was in the immediate vicinity. Green's house was located at the end of a packed-earth road, and only trees and brush lay beyond. His ears swiveled when he heard a sound from the woods, and he turned in time to see the large earth stallion emerge. "Thank you for seeing me," said Strong Hooves. "Might I ask that we head into the trees for a little more privacy?"
Bob had half a mind to insist that they talk right there, as perhaps it would deter the Shimmerist from revealing things that Bob really didn't want to hear. Despite the words of this stallion at the Council, Bob also feared for his safety. He lighted his horn and cast a beam of light into the trees past Strong. The earth pony gave him a confused look but said nothing.
Bob let the light fade. It was certainly not definitive proof that nopony lay in wait, but curiosity consumed him. He trotted among the trees, the smell of pine prominent as his hooves trod over the light blanket of needles which gathered near the towering evergreens.
"I'm going to get right to the point," said Strong as he slowed their pace once out of sight of the house. "I've heard a lot about what you've managed to accomplish."
"You didn't seem to think much of it at the Council meeting," Bob murmured.
"Ah, yes, my comment about limited success," said Strong. "Admittedly, it was a bit of hyperbole to emphasize a point, but it was more for the consumption of human ears who may have been listening."
"Regardless, what I've done is nothing special," said Bob. "It's what any unicorn can do if they applied themselves."
Strong turned to face Bob. "You're selling yourself short. Let's just say that I was very surprised to see for myself that your haunches are still bare. By all rights, you should have earned a cutie mark by now."
"I'd rather not go into why I don't have one if it's the same to you," said Bob.
Strong nodded. "Fair enough. It doesn't matter. You don't need a cutie mark to do what you do. To put it simply, I could use a pony like you."
"I like where I am just fine. Most of my family is here."
"We have plenty of space in Grand Junction," said Strong. "Your family would be welcome. I'll be blunt. You're needed far more there than you are here."
"And just why is that?" Bob asked. Here he would learn if Strong would be honest with him.
"It should be obvious," said Strong. "Pony Hope is deep inside the pony nation. Not much threatens it. Meanwhile, Junction is embroiled in a major land dispute. Some humans are not waiting for the courts to catch up, they're coming in to reclaim what they think is theirs, and many times they're armed."
Bob sighed in disappointment.
"Some of your family had a front row seat to the tragic death of Sunset Shimmer," said Strong. "You've seen what a good shield spell can do. You--"
"Stop lying!" Bob declared with a stomp of his hoof. "Just stop it."
Strong fell silent for a moment, his gaze hard as he scrutinized Bob. While his ears did draw back, Bob refused to be intimidated and met Strong's eyes with a cool gaze of his own.
"All right," Strong said in a neutral voice. "You don't strike me as one of the Forsaken."
Bob shivered at the term. It was usually applied to the small number of transformed on whom Sunset's pacification had not worked. Most had been at least borderline psychotic before ETS and brought it along with them into their pony form. Shimmerists, however, sometimes applied the term more loosely to those who didn't buy into their pony utopia ideal.
"So there must be a reason you just claimed I am a liar," said Strong. "Please enlighten me."
Bob took a deep breath. "I know what you're really looking for," he said in a lower voice. "You want to recreate the transformation spell."
"It's no secret that we wish the rest of humanity to understand how the transformation is their salvation," Strong said. "Having that spell certainly would help."
"I don't mean that in some figurative way. I mean you're actively working on it."
Strong narrowed his gaze slightly. "That's a rather interesting accusation."
"You're not the first pony to approach me about it."
Strong's eyebrows rose.
"I had no idea that's what they wanted," said Bob in a hushed voice. "All they had told me was that they were seeking to discover greater magic power. They wanted to push the envelope on what they could already do."
Strong frowned.
"They didn't tell me that it was all about the transformation spell until they showed me the bunker where they could practice--"
"Stop."
Bob fell silent.
Strong let out a long sigh through his nose. "The ponies who approached you. Were they Shimmerists?"
"They didn't say, but from the way they started to talk when they let me in on what they wanted to do sure made it sound like they were."
"And you've told nopony about this since then?"
"Of course not. For all I know, I'm taking a chance now."
"Why?"
Bob shuddered. "Because I was actually threatened to maintain my silence, even after I had already agreed to keep everything in confidence. Until then, I didn't know a pony could do that."
"Blast that Sunset Blessing," Strong muttered. "She set the precedent for hiring Forsaken thugs to do her dirty work."
"I've heard of her," said Bob. "Didn't she start some sort of religious revival down south based on the transformation?"
"Yes, and while her goals are laudable, her methods are sometimes questionable," said Strong. "Now I see why you cast that searchlight spell earlier. I apologize for any Shimmerist who acted in such an unpony-like way towards you. But maybe now you see a greater problem."
"Enlighten me," Bob muttered, only partially mollified by the apology.
"As hard as I have tried to unify the Shimmerists, there are still factions among us. Despite my misgivings towards Blessing, she had the right idea, that the transformation should not be forced."
Bob's tail twitched. "Are you saying there are some who want to force the transformation on the rest of humanity?"
"Yes, and it is very important that they don't get there first."
Bob had no reply, as this turn of events had rendered him speechless.
Strong stepped closer to Bob and lowered his voice. "I see this transformation as Blessing does: a gift from God. God's gifts must be freely accepted, they cannot be forced."
"I'm sorry, I'm not the religious type," Bob deadpanned.
"I'm not asking you to be, I'm just asking you to help a good cause."
"A cause is not defined as 'good' merely because it's opposed to a 'bad' one," said Bob.
"Do you want to see ponies gain more access to magic?" asked Strong.
"Of course I do!"
"Then why not simply have that as your goal?"
Bob frowned. "Because it comes with too much baggage attached. I don't want to be embroiled in the debate about future transformations."
"I'm not asking for political support," said Strong.
"Also, I happen to think you're fighting for a lost cause. It took Sunset Shimmer years to achieve what she did, and she was already building on millennia of magical knowledge that we don't have. Never mind not having a chance in hell of the American government just looking the other way while you open up transformation bureaus, or whatever you'd call them."
"You wouldn't be so pessimistic if you've seen the progress we've made," said Strong. "And as for the government, had the Council followed my recommendation, we'd either be our own sovereign state or ruled by the Equestrian Crown."
"Debating might-have-beens will get us nowhere," Bob said. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "And just what have you managed to accomplish?"
"There's a reason I mentioned a shield spell earlier," said Strong. "We have one."
Bob's pupils shrank slightly.
"Not a very good one, nor a powerful one," Strong continued. "Which is part of the problem. It lasts only a moment, and it's based on observation of the magic flow of a unicorn who has shielding as a natural talent. He doesn't have enough understanding of how his own ability works to further our research, and he's not exactly very keen on assisting us in the first place."
"I haven't even touched the power-intensive side of magic," said Bob.
"We have."
"I've focused on a breadth of knowledge instead, so I don't see how I would be of help. Besides, Equestrian mages have already told us that it would be a while before unicorns of Earth can channel that sort of power."
"They can't anticipate everything, Bob," said Strong. "Like the drive of those who want what is being wrongly denied to us. We've had unicorns die in the attempt to push the envelope."
Bob shivered.
"We feel there's only a few missing pieces," Strong continued. "You can help us find those pieces. You have a deeper understanding of how the runes work than any unicorn I've met. You don't even have to work on the transformation spell. Just help give us the proper defense for--"
Strong cut himself short, his ears pricking. Bob's ears flicked and swiveled as well, and they both turned their heads as hooves trod the packed earth. A pale green crystal stallion approached at a full trot at first, but slowing as his gaze fell on Strong Hooves.
"What do you want?" Strong said in a cold voice.
The stallion's eyes flicked between Bob and Strong. "My apologies," he said softly. "I had wished to speak with Bob, but I didn't know he was already engaged in conversation."
"Yes, a private conversation," said Strong. "Please leave."
Bob turned towards the stallion. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
The stallion glanced at Strong before turning his gaze back to Bob. "My name is Whisper Touch. I have heard of some of your magical accomplishments and wished to inquire as to whether you thought you might help us."
"Us?" Strong said in a wary voice. "As in other crystal ponies?"
Whisper turned his head towards Strong. "You make it sound like that's a bad thing."
"Given what I have heard about crystal ponies in the employ of the government--"
"Of which I am not a part," Whisper declared. "I, too, am concerned about what some of my brethren are doing."
"We have no way of knowing that you're not just a plant by the government to determine which ponies should be put on yet another List."
Bob whirled around to face Strong. "How about letting me decide who I associate with? When did you suddenly become my guardian?"
Strong sighed. "I am thinking only of your welfare. You were already threatened once. I can protect you from that."
"Thanks, but I feel pretty well-protected as it is," Bob muttered. "Sorry, but the answer is no."
"Very well," said Strong. "I trust you will keep what we have discussed in confidence?"
"Of course."
Strong nodded and started to turn away. He paused and glanced back to Bob. "And your word is good enough for me. Neither I nor my friends would ever dream of threatening you or using force. Please remember that if you choose to reconsider."
Bob watched him go and managed to repress a sigh. He had half a mind to ask Whisper if he would come back another day, but he was genuinely curious as to what a crystal pony would want of unicorn magic. He stepped up to Whisper. "Not to seem rude or anything, but it is getting late. We stay out here much longer and I'll have to light my horn just so we can see, and I don't want to miss the press conference, either."
Whisper nodded. "We can let the details wait until another day. I am more interested in if you believe my idea is at all feasible."
"Realize that I'm not exactly a font of magical knowledge," said Bob. "If what you want to know has to do with crystal pony magic, you might be better off talking to Equestrian mages."
"I doubt they would give us an answer any different than what we've already been told."
"Which is?"
"That Earth materials will not be suitable for storing magic for at least a century."
Bob blinked. He had not expected that to be what was on the stallion's mind.
Whisper stepped closer, his voice growing softer. "Not to mention that we've already been told that we're unique even by Equestrian standards. Their crystal ponies are not quite like us, which is why I wanted to talk to you."
"I'm not sure I understand what one has to do with the other."
"We already have an ability that the Equestrians have never seen before," said Whisper. "They simply don't know enough to tell us what we can and can't do. What if we could use our ability to make Earth materials more suitable to magic?"
As much as Bob would have loved for ponies to accomplish such a feat, he felt he got as far as he did only by being a realist about his grasp of how magic worked. "That's a huge leap of logic if what Twilight said was true, that it would take a long amount of exposure to an ambient magic field to change Earth materials over time."
"As much as I respect Twilight, she can't know everything," said Whisper. "She even admitted as such many times. If there's even a possibility that the process could be sped up, we're willing to try."
"But what do you need from me?"
"You've handled Equestrian artifacts and have tried to force them to reveal their secrets. You have a greater grasp of how magic attaches itself to objects. We want to draw on that knowledge."
While Whisper seemed less fanatical than Strong had, Bob had already been burned once. "To what end are you working towards?"
"Just the betterment of ponykind."
"All of ponykind?"
Whisper smiled. "I'll be honest, Bob, you deserve at least that much. I do want to improve the lot of crystal ponies in general. Right now, our contributions are limited. Maybe if we could pull our own weight more, we won't be regarded with so much suspicion." His ears drooped. "There's a reason the Shimmerists don't like us. To them, it's our fault that the transformation was stopped before it could encompass the world. If we had refused or delayed only a day or two, humans would be in the minority on this world. If any remained at all."
Bob hated having to feel suspicious; it made finding allies more difficult. The deeper he delved into illicit magic research, the greater the danger he created for himself. Already more ponies knew of him than he liked. Sooner or later his identity would be known to a pony who would let it slip to human ears, either by intention or accident.
"So, yes, there is some enlightened self-interest," said Whisper. "But everypony could benefit. We'd be less reliant on Equestria for our needs."
Bob should have figured the crystal ponies would be the ones least likely to desire continued involvement with Equestria. Having no equivalent creature that they could call their brethren made it harder to want to maintain ties.
"Will you help us?" Whisper asked in a hopeful voice.
Bob considered carefully. Like Sunny, he didn't want to be seen as aligning himself with any one group. Yet unlike an arrangement with Strong, this had the potential to truly create something beneficial. "Realize that my understanding of how magic and materials interact is very basic."
"But it's more than many of us have."
"And I don't fully understand your abilities, either."
Whisper smiled. "Then this would be a chance for both of us to learn."
More than anything, Bob wanted to learn. He had that trait as a human, and it only grew stronger as a pony, perhaps because he had become a unicorn. Even in Equestria, it seemed many of their intellectuals came from the ranks of the unicorns.
"I can't promise anything," said Bob. "And we may have to wait a few days before we can start. Starlight Glimmer is coming through Pony Hope on Sunday, which means there will be at least one BMO agent in tow."
The BMO -- Bureau of Magical Oversight -- always sent its agents to accompany any Equestrian mages outside of rehumanization efforts to ensure all restrictions on disseminating magical knowledge were followed. They tended to be rather strict in the performance of their duty and made note of any examples of advanced magic use around them.
Whisper's smile widened. "I understand perfectly. You can't imagine what this means to me, Bob. I really hope we do make a breakthrough."
Bob managed a small smile in return, though his thoughts were still troubled. With so many groups having their own agendas, the crystal ponies may be no exception. The only way to find out was to join them in their endeavors.
Jason set aside the two styli he had been using to type on the keyboard of his desktop and rubbed his head as soon as the glow from his horn had faded. He had almost managed to get himself back to the typing speed he had enjoyed as a human, but it was taxing. If he kept it up too long, it gave him a headache, and it was a difficult one to relieve. It was best to pay attention to the warning signs and not let it get too bad.
What he had been working on was not strictly related to his job, and not very pleasant, either. His wife had decided to jump past separation and had filed for divorce. While not terribly unexpected, it could have come at a better time. He had been replying to an email from his lawyer when the headache had started to set in.
His gaze jerked up when he heard the door open, and his partner entered. Jason tilted his head and said, "Thought you were intending to catch the press conference on TV."
"I still am, it's not for another half-hour," said Anthony as he closed the door behind him. "I wanted to catch up and see if you found anything."
Despite his encroaching headache, Jason manipulated the mouse and styli to set aside his personal business and bring up the research he had been doing earlier. "Our man Ryan is a slippery one, I'll give him that. And it's Ryan Halter, but I suspect it's an alias."
Anthony pulled the chair out from behind his desk and sat down. "How sure are you of that?"
"Pretty sure." Jason turned the monitor around with a nudge of magic. "For one, it has all the earmarks of a stolen identity. The only Ryan Halter I found resembles our boy in general body shape and looks, but only prior to six months ago. The real Ryan looks a tad different today." Jason pointed a stylus at a picture of a smiling red and brown pegasus. "And he goes by the name Cloudfire now."
"That's not the first case of ETS-related identity theft," said Anthony. "You don't want to know how bad it was those first few months."
"I can imagine, I followed the news about it while I was waiting for the head honchos at the FBI to reinstate me," said Jason. "I thought for sure they would be so drowning in cases that they'd want me back. Oh, well."
Jason tried not to be bitter about it. Once the dust had started to settle after the application of the counterspell, there had been no lack of opportunistic criminals taking advantage of transformed humans who no longer cared about personal wealth. Where one of his specialties before ETS had been identity theft, he certainly had felt left out in the cold.
Dealing with the emergency zone had been easier. Very accurate records had been kept as to matching the pre-ETS human with the post-ETS pony. In other areas, it varied, not at all helped by those who preferred to leave their human identity behind.
"So the only information on this guy that's at all accurate would be anything recorded in the last six months," Jason continued. "And of that, I can find records going back only about three months."
"Only three months?" Anthony asked. "Why the gap?"
"If I had to guess, I'd say our boy Ryan is rehumanized."
Anthony frowned. "I'm not sure I like where this is going."
"Yeah, you and me both."
Rehumanization records were supposed to be accurate. Every effort was made into ensuring that a rehumanized person took on only the identity that they had prior to ETS. The only exception was to accommodate changes in gender which occasionally occurred with the transformation due to the person's gender identity prior to ETS.
"Have you tried cross-referencing the rehumanization and PREQUES databases?" Anthony asked.
"I was doing that a little while before you came in, but wasn't having any luck," said Jason. "I'm honestly not sure how deep I should pry into this."
"I think I know where you're going, but I want to hear your take on it."
"Hiding someone's rehumanized identity takes both a high level of access and a strong motivation," said Jason. "If it were me, I'd make sure there were controls in place to alert me that someone was poking at those records."
Anthony looked thoughtful. "Or it could be an honest mistake that Ryan is exploiting."
Jason's tail swished. "You don't really believe that, do you?"
"No, but I have to consider all possibilities."
"Then consider the possibility that Fuller is behind it."
"That's a serious accusation," Anthony said in a somber voice.
"I know, it sounds like it's out of left field," said Jason. "And I don't want it to be true. I'd much rather believe that your initial theory is correct, that Fuller is playing politics for some future run for office."
"Fuller also doesn't have that level of access to the rehumanization database," said Anthony. "That resides solely with the Department of Rehumanization, and they have an almost insane amount of security around those records to comply with both privacy and HIPAA regulations."
Jason pushed his chair back from the desk, and he hopped out of it to stretch his legs. "I met Fuller briefly once. He didn't strike me as someone to dirty his own hands with stuff like that. If he is behind any of this, he'd find someone else to do the work for him."
Anthony leaned back in his chair. "I'm at odds over how strongly we should pursue this link. My main concern is preventing a terrorist incident, and I don't want to think Fuller's agenda is so important to him that he would actually facilitate such a thing."
"We're sort of in a bind here," said Jason. "We certainly need to investigate Ryan, since we now suspect that he's perpetrated identity theft. That alone might be enough reasonable cause to convince a judge to issue at the very least a search warrant of his premises."
"You've tracked his whereabouts?"
"He lives in an apartment in Boulder. Not really making that much of an effort to hide himself. Either this guy is just plain dumb, or he knows someone is looking out for him."
Anthony paused for a long moment. "Or there's your theory."
"Yeah, there's that," said Jason. "The fact that he's likely rehumanized only gives it more credence. We've potentially got a human running around with an undocumented magical ability."
"Potentially."
"It's the possible nature of it that disturbs me. He can affect minds."
"Again, potentially," Anthony said.
"I know, a lot of this is circumstantial. We'll need more hard proof before a judge will give us the time of day." Jason glanced at his computer. "But if we did have that evidence, we could jump right over search warrant to arrest warrant."
Anthony considered. "Let me see what I can do. I still have a few friends in Washington. They may be able to find out what's in the database about the real person and former pony behind Ryan without tracing it back to us."
"You could also push for that warrant against Humanity First," said Jason. "They might have some records that would implicate Ryan."
"That's a possibility but could also tip our hand." Anthony smiled faintly. "Or hoof."
"Eh, no need to ponify your language for little old me."
Anthony glanced at the time and stood. "I better get going if I want to make it home in time for the press conference. You're welcome to join me."
Jason waved a fore-hoof. "Thanks, but I have some personal business I need to attend to." He paused and added in a softer voice, "Wife's gone and filed."
"Damn, she didn't give you any breathing space, did she?" Anthony said. "Sorry to hear that."
Jason shrugged. "Better sooner rather than later, I guess. But thanks for the sentiment."
Anthony smiled. "Just don't work too late. You've already put in a lot of hours this week."
"Yeah, I'll try. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Got it."
Jason watched his partner head out of the office and heaved a sigh in his wake. Six months had passed since ETS, and it seemed the world got tangled up in more knots. He would have to be content with as few of them as he could unravel himself.
Certainly his marriage was not going to be one of them.