Sunrise… sunset…
Moonset… Moonrise…
With days and nights being the same length year round, time was a blended river since I had arrived here in Equestria, broken only by the shifts I had to perform for Celestia at her Sol Dome as the Chief Specialist of Plasmic Majicka. The calendar on the wall showed it had only been a month since my wedding to my dear Tammilya, but even then, it seemed that it had been a full lifetime. In a world of magic, a world that I now considered my home, I had found everything that was missing from my previous life back on Earth. I had friends, I was now appreciated in my work duties, and the sweet loving mare that protectively held me every night was my soul mate.
I knew that the next step of my life, moving into a new permanent home in Canterlot, was still two months away, but deep down I had a feeling that it would be here before I knew it. In the present, however, I had a lot on my mind as my gaze fixed on the simple sapphire mane clip that I held in my hooves like a delicate crystal rose. Fluttershy had asked me to be her maid of honor for her wedding to Eris, mainly to prevent a massive fight from her fellow element wielders, and the Goddess of Chaos had given me the enchanted item to help fulfill the role. I had been a mare once before, deep in my dreams so long ago when Princess Luna had done it to give me a brief experience on what being a mare felt like. That had been when I was still in danger of merging with my beautiful wife, but being a mare in the waking world came with its own set of responsibilities. Yet, I never was one to let down a friend who came to me asking for help, so with one last deep breath I snapped the hair clip into place.
The wild magic that was in the hair clip sprung to life, washing over my form like a slow shower as it went to work. My mane was the first to show signs of change, growing longer and more vibrant in the light as I watched the changes occur in the mirror. Unlike in the dream when the changes were quick and I had no time to process them until after the fact, I could actually see the strands of my mane grow and change from a silver blue to mahogany brown, and soon other changes started to make themselves known. My normal reddish-orange coat lightened in a cascade starting near my maneline and worked its way down and out, the color bleeding away as if it was never there to begin with as the fur itself softened and completely covered my hooves.
From there, the more drastic changes started to occur. An immense pressure started to build around my body, and I could only grit my teeth as it started to reconfigure into a smaller form. Muscle that I had built up with a daily workout routine smoothed away into a more slender nature, with fat starting to gather around my barrel, hips, and plot to manifest the beginnings of my feminine curves. Every nerve in my body felt overworked as they rewired and changed, with some areas becoming less sensitive and others increasing. The wings on my back convulsed, the larger feathers of my stallion form falling to the floor as the more dainty feathers of a mare took their place. Overall, it was an odd feeling, and I had no control of my responses until after it was over. The lump in my throat suddenly deflated, making me squeak as my vocal chords reconfigured into a higher pitch, but my attention was soon drawn to my face.
Fighting back the urge to scream, I slammed my eyes shut in agony as my skull heated up. My square muzzle rounded and shrunk as my body fat continued to reorganize, but feeling the structure of the skull itself being warped was an experience that made me sweat in fear for when the time came for the process to occur in reverse. My eyes themselves burned as they began their transformation, reshaping into those of a mature mare as my eyelashes grew thick and luscious. For a brief moment, the feeling subsided, but I knew it was just a reprieve as the main change was still to occur.
Sure enough, the process started. Beginning as a churning deep in my stomach, I could feel my organs shifting around as my prostate slid closer to my rear and split into two smaller glands. This empty space, I knew, was only temporary as the organs that defined me as a stallion began to shrink and move. The pleasure of the experience made the previous uncomfortableness be worth it, and soon I could feel my new mare reproductive system bloom to life as my tail grew to cover the delicate organ. With the transformation complete, the clip powered down due to its magic being spent, and gave me a chance to take stock of the finished product.
For the time being, my name was Sundae Melody, pegasus mare.
Even with me being male for most of my life, minus that one dream sequence and the brief time being inside of Tammilya’s form while she was still a suit pon, I was surprised to find myself having no negative thoughts about my body or how it felt. Back on Earth, I had known several acquaintances who were transgender, so I knew to some degree what dysphoria was based on their testimonies and the research I did in my spare time. Yet, I felt no such feelings, instead I felt a certain degree of completeness as Princess Luna’s words from that dream came back into my mind.
I just simply made your appearance that of your inner pony.
“Hey love, is that you?” Tammilya said from behind me, snapping me out of my inner reflection as I turned to face her. Shock was evident on her face, with a careful guard up around the edges as she slowly approached. She knew what Fluttershy had asked of me, and had pledged to give her full support, but I knew that she had never seen me in this form so her reaction was reasonable. “There is still a year until Fluttershy has her wedding day, why are you already a mare?”
“A variety of reasons honestly,” Moving over to her, I nuzzled under her chin, made easier by the fact I was slightly shorter than her at the moment compared to normally being taller. With the roles reversed, I could see why Tammilya enjoyed nuzzling me as she rested her head on top of mine. I felt safe, secure, and protected as I felt her hum. “I want to be as comfortable as possible in this body for when the time comes, and this also allows me to experience what a mare normally does every year.”
“Oh Jim,” I could feel her cheeks heat up at the implication, not that I did a good job hiding it. “Does that mean I got to be the stallion for you? My last heat was my first true one, and we both know how that went.”
“I know,” My own cheeks colored as the memories, wonderful ones that did not leave the confines of our bedroom or my office, replayed in wonderful detail. However, considering that my body and mind were currently the same gender as Tammilya, I had to clamp my tail over my rear as I imagined what it would feel like in her place. “L-lets drop that topic for now and worry about it when the time comes. Please? Also, for the time being, my name is Sundae Melody. Being called Jim while in this body just feels… wrong, no offense.”
“It is ok Sundae,” Tammilya said, moving the two of us to the bed to cuddle, her draping a wing over me as she took up being the big spoon. “This is going to be an adjustment for me too, but if you are happy being a mare, you can remain so as long as you feel like.”
“Thank you dear,” I felt relaxed as Luna’s realm started to carry me away to her Land of Nod, a small smile escaping my lips as I felt Tammilya kiss me on the forehead. “Sweet dreams Tammi, love you, and thank you for supporting me.”
“It is I who needs to thank you,” Her reply made my heart flutter in my chest, and a pleasant warmth spread throughout my body. “But, for now, lets enjoy the moonlight’s embrace and have a pleasant rest. May the moonbeams help give you insight and reassure you of the future.”
I had grown used to her normal goodnight message, a carryover from her time as a suitpon at the end of her shifts during that time, but I could not help but feel like this time was different as I finally let sleep embrace me.
I heard the familiar alarms of my past as I looked around, finding myself in the reactor room of the nuclear plant on Earth, but something felt off. For starters, I did not understand any of the signs or levers. Even though my memories told me what each of them said and were for, they still were beyond the reach of my visual comprehension. Despite that shortcoming, I could tell from the gauges that the reactor was in the initial stages of melting down, and despite being just a dream my fight or flight reaction kicked in. The levers and buttons, designed for human fingers, were tricky to work at first with my hooves, but after spending a few minutes adjusting I was able to breeze through the protocols. Much to my relief, the alarms soon ceased and the gauges returned to normal, but I was startled when I heard the door open behind me.
“What the fuck are you?” A voice, that I recognized as my own, demanded as my former human self entered the room. He was clearly terrified, and grabbed a nearby wrench for self defense purposes just in case I dared make a wrong move. “How did you get in here, and how do you know how to shut down a reactor?!”
“You are probably going to find this unbelievable, but I am you,” The moment the words left my mouth, I realized that I was still Sundae Melody, which I knew was only going to make the remaining human part of my subconscious harder to convince. “So, please, put down the wrench and lets talk this out like adults.”
“You are me? Ha!” Moving like a cheetah closing in on its prey,” The human me slowly approached, making me back away until I had no more room to run. “You mean to say that I am some miniature, female talking horse with wings? Why would I dare betray my humanity to end up as some animal?”
“Because we both love Tammilya,” I knew that stating our wife’s name would have some effect, but the human backing up several steps and glancing to the side was not on my list of expected outcomes. Thankfully, it was one I could work with. “We both know that we were unhappy here, but she gave our life a purpose. Deep down, you know it is true.”
“She has made life more tolerable,” Jim acknowledged, putting down the wrench as I spotted Tammi’s silhouette on the other side of the reactor glass. “I will admit that much, but still, what would mother think if she saw me in that form?”
“She will be happy to know that we found our true calling,” I said with a smile, pulling down the zipper that I felt manifest down the middle of my back. “We found the love of our life and are happy, she would want nothing more. By being happy, she would be happy because that is all she ever wanted.”
“I suppose you are right,” Jim said, stepping out of his clothes and approaching me once more, sliding his feet into my rear hooves. “It is just… slightly terrifying knowing that there is no coming back from this.”
“The future is terrifying,” I giggled, both from my statement and feeling Jim fully insert himself into my form and the zipper closing shut. “But with our wife and friends, it is a future that we do not have to tackle alone.”
“Masterfully done Sundae,” Luna’s voice preceded her physical presence, the Vanquisher of Nightmares causing the entire dreamscene to freeze like a video being put on pause. “I was worried that I was going to have to step in when the former you grabbed the wrench, but it puts me at ease that you were able to resolve it without my interference.”
“That was you I saw as Tammi’s reflection, wasn’t it?” I was slightly upset that Luna had chosen to wear the face of my wife, my suspicion being confirmed when she gave a light nod, but I could not fault her for concealing her presence considering the circumstances. It felt like a test of my own resolve, a test that I felt I passed with flying colors. “While I appreciate you keeping a vigilant watch just in case things got ugly, to what do I owe the pleasure of hosting you on this night?”
“Always the gentlemare,” Luna smiled, and soon I found myself outside of my normal dream bubble. All around us, the dream bubbles of other ponies filled the void around us like the stars in Luna’s night sky. “I actually wanted to talk to you about a matter of grave report, one that I am trying to limit to as few ears as possible.”
“Sounds serious indeed,” I mused, rubbing a hoof under my chin as I considered my options. The fact that someone in such a high position as one of the rulers of the land, and wielder of the moon to boot, would come ask me personally for an open ear was an honor. One that showed how much trust she had put in me. “Alright, I will hear you out, but on the condition that whatever it is, if I agree to it, I am allowed to tell Tammi in full detail.”
“We… suppose that is fair,” Luna’s pause showed her hesitance, but after a moment she eventually let out a sigh. “Very well, considering all you have been through and being recently wedded, you are allowed to tell her but if word gets out from her you have no idea how much trouble you will be in. Are those terms clear?”
I gave a simple nod in replay, words not being needed.
“Glad we are on the same page,” Lighting her horn, Luna summoned a folder, the bold CONFIDENTAL in bright red font reminding me of something out of a crime movie or television drama. It was almost comical, but it was not. “We have reason to believe that there is a weasel in the Sol Dome. Take a look at this, and tell me what your opinion is.”
“What?” A shiver ran up my spine at what she was implying. All employees of the Sol Dome were clamped under numerous NDAs, with the consequences being rather dire for anypony who foolishly broke the rules. Looking through the folder like a gemologist studying a diamond, my milky-white coat somehow managed to pale even lighter as I stared in horror at what I was looking at. “This stallion was not a victim of an unknown disease like the autopsy report shows, he was a victim of acute radiation poisoning. I am sure of it.”
“I thought that you would recognize what happened, considering the coroner died shortly after with the same symptoms,” Summoning a second folder, the coroner’s autopsy report, I scanned through it, and much to my total dismay the result was the same. “Considering the tomes you have written about radiation have not left the Sol Dome, the list of culprits is rather slim to start off with.”
“All it takes is one runaway neutron to potentially cause a really bad day,” I mused, sighing when Luna looked at me with evident confusion. “If someone broke the NDA and told one pony, then the number of ponies knowing doubles to two. Then four, eight, and so forth. The NDAs are like control rods, keeping the reaction in check, but all it takes is one for the chain to continue. Too much fission, the reactor melts down. What those two died from would pale in comparison to what a bomb would do. We are talking about vast areas becoming uninhabitable for centuries, or even millenia.”
“Your knowledge is exactly why I told Celly you were the right pony for this task,” Placing a hoof on my shoulder and whisking away the documents, she continued. “Your task is simple, and you have two routes to choose from. The first option is reporting to Manehattan as a nurse acting as a beneficiary of the throne. For this, you will be temporarily made into a unicorn and your cutie mark altered to prevent identification. Nopony outside of me and Mrs. Tammilya know of Sundae Melody, so it will be your best chance to put your skills to the test and track down the vile perpetrator. With the officers that tended to the original stallion all in a quarantined wing of Manehattan General, it will give ample cover. The second option is to stay at the Sol Dome, acting as a new recruit and sniffing out the original leaker the old fashioned way. Subterfuge from within.”
“Me not showing up for work with Tammi on the same day that Sundae starts would draw a lot of suspicion right off the bat,” Luna opened her mouth to say something, a surefire rebuttal that would have tried to cast my statement into doubt, but nothing came as I pressed on. “That being said, the best option out of the two is the first one that you proposed. It will give me more wiggle room with finding out information since I will be an unknown in a city that I have yet to visit. To me, it is perfect, so could you please put me in Tammi’s dream so I can discuss it with her?”
“You do not have to ask twice, my little pony,” Luna chuckled, guiding a singular dream bubble over and enlarged it so that it could encompass both of us. Much to my surprise, the dream that we entered was of me and her destroying tornados that were near the Sol Dome, an ominous sign that I did not like in the slightest as Luna made ourselves known. “Hello Tammilya, we need to have a little talk.”
The train ride to Manehattan felt like I had an anvil weighing down my saddlebags as I looked out the window to the soaked landscape. The limited visibility and the dark, gloomy clouds above felt like a physical manifestation of my thoughts, the rumbles of thunder being the clashing emotions that racked my brain. Armed with just a medical bag, anatomy and medicine tome, and a book of healing spells I felt more exposed than I did when I and Tammi had been put in the cage back on Earth. New gender, new name, new tribal attributes, it all felt too surreal.
Yet, I could not focus on those trivial matters, not when the fate of the world rested in my hooves.