//------------------------------//
// Fourteenth Chapter 
// Story: New Bodies, New Life 
// by Boopy Doopy 
//------------------------------//

Most of Howard’s family left for the library when the mare settled himself down in front of Twilight Sparkle. Thornton followed out behind Reece after the purple pony explained the directions to her library, and Howard’s wife went with them to keep an eye on them. It was just as well, because he had some uncomfortable questions to ask the winged unicorn, ones he somehow already knew the answer to.
Denver might have still been in the room, waiting to do her interview with Twilight, but that was okay. He didn’t think she would be old enough to understand what he wanted to discuss, and was distracted by the books already with her anyway. He shuffled around in his seat briefly and turned to face Twilight.
“So then how old are you?” the mare asked. “Just to start us off? And what kind of creature did you look like before you turned into a unicorn?”
The unicorn let out a breath. “Well, I’m forty-five,” he started carefully, “and I used to be a human, just like the rest of my family. A human male,” he said. “I’m about five feet, ten inches, and weigh one hundred and fifty pounds, and have light skin and red hair.”
“Mhm,” Twilight nodded as she took notes. She glanced at Howard, and said, “That makes sense, given your appearance. And you’re all biologically related, right?”
“Yeah. Well, Reece technically isn’t Carey’s biological son. His mother died when he was a few months old. But basically yes.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Twilight said politely, although she didn’t look up from her notepad as she scribbled down notes. “It’s good information though. No other creature mentioned that. It does make me curious why your other son might have been turned into a changeling and not him. That situation isn’t the case with Thornton, is it?”
“No. He and Denver are both Carey and I’s biological children… why?”
“Well, from what we understand about worldgates,” Twilight explained, “they normally change you into a simplistic reflection of your personality and what you’re best suited for, similar to the way a pony’s cutie mark functions. It’s just interesting that it chose to make your second son a changeling and not your first.”
“Well, what does that mean?” Howard asked, tilting his head.
“I’m not sure, but maybe we can figure it out. Of course, maybe you’ll be back on Earth before too long and won’t have to think about it for very long.”
Howard nodded, and felt his face going red as he glanced down at the table. That was the explanation for the question he hadn’t even asked yet. It was what he was thinking, too, about himself. The fact that this horse had confirmed his thoughts when he didn’t know anything about this place solidified it.
“Is something the matter?” Twilight asked as the mare lifted his eyes back up to her.
“N-no,” he told her quickly, looking away again. He couldn’t hide how insecure he felt, and got a wing on his shoulder from across the small table as a result.
“You can ask me anything,” Twilight assured him. “I won’t mind. Actually, I’d want you to tell me if you have something on your mind! The more I know about the worldgate, the better chance we have of getting you and your family home!” The excited look on her face told him that she was also just genuinely interested in whatever scientific aspect was involved, but Howard didn’t mind that. What did it matter anyway if she was planning on getting them home soon?
“I was just thinking that… that’s probably the reason why I was turned into a mare,” he said quietly. He flattened his ears and his face became more red as he glanced at Denver. She was still occupied with reading, thankfully. Then he looked back to Twilight Sparkle.
“Oh. Yeah, probably,” she answered with a little chuckle. “That’s how worldgates work, as far as we know, so I wouldn’t be surprised. Unless you’re actually uncomfortable being a mare? I don’t know if we have a transformation spell we can use on you, but–”
“It’s fine,” Howard interrupted quickly. “You don’t have to do that. I was just wondering.” He rubbed a hoof behind his head as he glanced between Twilight and the table.
“Well, anyway,” Twilight moved on, “can you tell me what you remember about showing up in the Everfree Forest? Do you remember anything strange happening the night before or just before arriving?”
He didn’t, and said as much as Twilight took notes. He explained having dinner the previous night with his wife and daughter and watching TV before heading to bed. He described having a nightmare that night about something he couldn't remember, and then waking up with his family in Equestria without explanation and trying to figure out where to go.
Twilight Sparkle took notes on everything he said, and asked more questions, like if he remembered where exactly in the forest he woke up and what direction he and his family traveled in and where exactly he fell asleep in his home the night before. She also asked questions about things like how all of his family members felt about each other and how he felt about them, questions he didn’t remember being asked of the rest of his family so far. Did this have to do with Thornton saying he could taste emotions?
Howard asked questions of his own, too. He asked how long she thought it would take to get them home and if they would all stay in the same room in the castle and what would happen if it took more than a few weeks. She didn’t have very good answers to two of the questions, just explaining that she didn’t know, but to one of them, she said she could find larger accommodations for his family in the meantime. 
“I think that’s everything I have for you right now, Howard,” Twilight told the unicorn, “but I’d love to talk more with you! There’s so much to learn about other cultures, and I have a laundry list of questions! But I’ll let you spend some time with your family first and have lunch before I talk more about that. And then I’ll interview your daughter, Denver, and start working on a way to get your family home.”
She didn’t stay long enough to say more than that. In fact, Howard wasn’t even able to get out a reply before she lit up her horn and teleported away, leaving him alone at the table. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and slumped a bit in his seat. That felt exhausting. 
“Are you okay, Dad?” Denver suddenly asked as she got up from her book and trotted over to him. As a human, she was the spitting image of her mother, so it was a bit strange that she looked basically like a smaller version of him now. She pointed her blue eyes up at him, looking more curious than concerned. 
“She talked to you way longer than she did Mom,” his daughter continued. “Why’s that?”
“I’m not sure, honey,” Howard shrugged. “I guess she just had more questions for me than she did your mother.”
“Huh.”
She continued looking up at him, staring into his eyes with interest as she thought of something. Howard wiggled in his seat uncomfortably, waiting for his daughter to say what was on her mind. She stayed silent though.
“Is something the matter, honey?” he asked carefully.
“No. It was just weird when she said we were all supposed to be these things,” Denver told him. The mare’s heart seemed to beat a little bit faster. Howard had a good idea where she was going with this.
“Like, are we supposed to be animals?” she asked. “And are you supposed to be a girl? And are we all supposed to be here? Cause that seems weird, I think.”
Yes, it was strange, that he could agree. Or she? Now Howard really didn’t know. The unicorn only felt his insecurity deepening, coupled by the fact he wouldn’t terribly mind if it was supposed to be like this, at least for himself. His face seemed to become redder and redder. 
“I won’t tell them about that though, if you don’t want me to, Dad,” Denver told him. “Plus, it’s kind of cool that we’re both unicorns!” she added excitedly. “I learned in that book that unicorns can do magic and float things with their minds!”
“Well, we have to learn how to do that together before this is all over, don’t we?” he said, the mare blinking away anything that might have been felt. “You’re gonna have to show me how, once you figure it out.”
“Yeah! And also, I wanna see the town, too! Do you think we could do that soon? Maybe today?”
It was good to see his daughter much more excited about the situation today than she was yesterday. It was a nice change of pace from the way he and the rest of his family felt. He wouldn’t have expected it from Denver with how distraught she was just the night before. He smiled down at her and rubbed her mane and ears.
“Maybe,” he told her. “If your mother and your brothers are up for it. I bet they’re still exhausted from yesterday. Heck, even Barney’s still asleep.”
The dog raised his head and let out a small bark, as though telling them he wasn’t asleep, and then laid his head back down. Howard and Denver both laughed at the sight. 
“Well, it would be fun to do,” Denver nodded. “It could be like a vacation! And we could explore and learn all about this place and these animals before we have to go back home!”
Yeah, a vacation. That was a way to think about it. Well, it would be, so long as his children felt safe, and he had to say, he was worried about Thornton. He seemed like he was having a tough time dealing with whatever he was dealing with. His hunger. But if he could figure out whatever trick Twilight was talking about earlier, there was no reason why any of this would necessarily be a bad thing. In the short term anyway. Just so long as he and his family could get back home in the end. 
But beyond that, what would necessarily be wrong in taking the situation for what it was? Howard couldn’t think of anything as he rubbed Denver’s mane again and smiled down at her gently.