“I’m excited to get started,” said Twilight as she and her five friends walked through the castle hallways. “The Princesses have already done most of the work, but this will still be the most intensive research project I’ve ever undertaken.”
“Don’t forget about the rest of us,” added Rainbow. “I want to see what another planet looks like!”
The six ponies continued to talk. They entered a room with six beds and a large hourglass. The two Princesses were waiting.
Celestia smiled. “Thank you all for agreeing to do this. We have contacted these other worlds before, but this is the first time efforts have been made to visit. With careful coordination, we have determined how to send each of you to a different place. You will each stay for one month and learn about their societies, so that we may better understand how to continue with diplomatic efforts.”
“Yeah! I’ve never had a party with extraterrestrials before!” cheered Pinkie.
“If you’re visiting them, wouldn’t that make you the extraterrestrial?” asked Rarity.
“So…how are we gettin’ there?” broke in Applejack before Pinkie could reply.
Celestia indicated the beds. “Each of you will lie down. Being asleep will make the process go more smoothly. You will all be transformed into the local species and imparted with basic instincts and communication skills. That way we don’t have to worry about environmental concerns, and it will help with understanding and comprehension. We want you to have as full an experience as possible.”
Fluttershy began to back away. “Transformed? I don’t know if I like this anymore.”
Pinkie collared her. “Don’t worry, there’s lots of chances to choose from! It’s like there’s no chance anything bad will happen.”
Rarity didn’t think that logic was very sound, but it was certainly true that their destination was left to possibility. The Princess showed them a table with six cards on it. “These each contain the name of a planetary system. They all have at least one habitable planet. The one you pick is where you will be going.”
Each mare took a card. Rarity turned hers over. It read Sol. It was a nice name she supposed, although decided to reserve judgment until she actually set hoof there. If she still had hooves. The unicorn grimaced, trying to imagine what sort of alien she might be turned into. It would be terrible to try creating fashionable things to complement tentacles.
“Please lie down,” said the Princess. “Luna and I will begin the spell.”
Each departing pony found a bed. The two Princesses started to build up magic and a sense of calm washed over the room as a basic sleeping charm began to take effect. Rarity could sense the amount of power Celestia and Luna were contributing. Travel to other planets couldn’t be simple, after all. The unicorn yawned. A nap while they worked would be nice. How convenient to wake up at her destination fully rested.
Rarity’s eyes closed. She and her friends vanished from the room with six sparks of light. The spell had been completed successfully. Luna walked over to the hourglass and turned it over.
There was a noise that sounded like wind. It was contained, however, almost like the sound was coming through a pipe. Rarity decided that it was time to open her eyes and find out exactly what awaited her.
She blinked at a bright light mounted on the ceiling. Turning her head slightly, she had a look at the room. It was small and windowless, almost giving the appearance of a cell. The floor was bare concrete. At least there was a soft mattress beneath her.
A vent on the wall was the source of the noise. It seemed to be connected to an industrial ventilation system. Combined with the complete lack of decor, Rarity wondered where she could have ended up.
She moved slightly, wondering at the unusual sensations from her limbs. She still seemed to have four of them. What a relief—she certainly didn’t want to be some kind of bug!
Raising what used to be her front legs, she found arms and fingers. Suddenly dreading that she might be a minotaur, Rarity made a quick check downwards, only slightly relieved to find fleshy feet and mostly bare skin.
She pushed herself up to a sitting position. There didn’t seem to be any kind of tail to get in the way. Rarity inspected her fingers closely. They had nails, which were much shorter than the claws on a dragon’s digits. She looked at both sides of her hands. The wrists and arms seemed to have an amazing range of movement compared to hooves.
There was the sound of muttered voices outside. Princess Celestia had said language wouldn’t be a problem, so Rarity strained her ears to listen. They didn’t respond to her mental commands. Perhaps in this body ears were unable to move.
“There was the spike in energy we were expecting. She’s here. Go ahead and open the door, Rob.”
The door opened. The face that appeared was almost flat, not very equine at all, and appeared to have clearly defined eyes, nose, and mouth. The head was fairly round, although not quite like a bowling ball. The eyes widened with a surprised look and the creature pulled its head back.
“She’s naked!”
“Well, what the hell did you expect?”
“Hey, I’m not the magician here.”
A third voice, possibly female, broke in. “Why didn’t you plan for this?”
“You were the one who volunteered to take care of her.”
“You were supposed to get her here.”
“And I didn’t say anything about bringing her clothes with her.”
“Quiet,” ordered a second female voice. “I went and got some things she can borrow.”
The door opened again and a figure entered. Based on the conversation, Rarity guessed she was the take-charge female. She was much taller than she was wide, a body type completely unlike a pony. Her skin—what wasn’t covered by clothing—was darker tan than Rarity’s own. The black hair around her head was pulled back and braided. Her eyes were dark, but seemed friendly to go along with her smile.
“Sorry about that. Here, you can wear these until we get something for you.” She offered Rarity a shirt and trousers that had a camouflage pattern.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m not cold,” said Rarity.
“Neither am I.” They stared at each other for a moment. The newcomer coughed, as if recognizing an awkward situation. “We have a nudity taboo.”
“Oh!” Embarrassed, Rarity quickly began pulling on the garments. She’d rarely worked with items shaped anything like these, but there were a few commonalities among all clothing it seemed.
The camouflage material was not very comfortable on Rarity’s bare skin, and it seemed to hang loosely everywhere. She would have to ask for some sewing equipment to properly fit it if she was to wear things like this often.
“What are you called?” asked Rarity.
“We usually refer to ourselves as people. Our species is human. I’m female, which makes me a woman. My name is Bear.” She smiled in greeting and offered a hand to help Rarity get up.
Rarity wondered at the name as she slowly got out of bed. It seemed the translation spell might have a few holes in it. She certainly didn’t look like a bear.
Ponies did not generally stand on two legs for any length of time, but despite so little practice Rarity found it easier to do than she expected. Such an upright body was not very stable, but at least it was balanced. Bear kept a hold of her hand and helped Rarity get used to walking. The two of them went out the door.
The walls seemed solid and imposing. Everywhere Rarity looked she found more drab concrete. Near the ceiling was exposed piping and wires. Much more interesting was the small crowd of people who had gathered.
There were four of them. Bear introduced each in turn. Morgan and Rob were male. Both had dark hair and eyes, although lighter than Bear’s. Morgan’s was a little longer and less tidy, and he also appeared to be somewhat older. A woman named Veronica stood at least a head taller than any of the rest. She seemed stooped, as if pulled down by her straight brown hair, or irritated that people kept asking her how the weather was way up there. Lastly was Jenny, a pale, delicate-looking woman with auburn hair and hazel eyes.
“You must be Rarity,” said Morgan. He held a clipboard and read from a list of notes. “Let’s see, from what…uh, Princess Celestia told us, you used to be…a unicorn. From the Magical Land of Equestria.”
“Is that a problem?” asked Rarity. She looked around. Most of the people appeared to be suppressing grins.
Morgan shrugged. “No, I was just a little concerned that the translation spell might have been broken. It’s supposed to convert words into their nearest equivalent.”
“It sounds right to me,” said Rarity.
“It sounds like you came from a damn cartoon.”
“How do you know about that?” asked Rob.
Morgan shot him an unpleasant look. “I had a daughter. What’s your excuse?”
“Nice to meet you,” said Veronica, breaking into the conversation. She took Rarity’s hand for a shake. “So you were a unicorn? I mean, maybe it’s not exactly what we might think of here on Earth, but if the word matched up it has to be a pretty close resemblance.”
Rarity though for a moment. “I had four hooves, a mane and tail, and a horn…” She reached up with a hand, finding only a featureless forehead.
Her eyes going wide in shock, Rarity gasped with sudden horror. Bear put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”
“How am I going to do magic…” Rarity’s body began to tremble and her legs collapsed. Her mind desperately searched for something familiar to latch onto, but this body had no natural point to focus magic. Blue sparks danced in front of her eyes even as blackness began to close in around the corners of her vision. She was hyperventilating and couldn’t seem to get herself under control.
And just like that, all the pent up energy suddenly began to drain away as if high pressure in her mind had been released. Rarity’s breathing slowed, and she looked around.
“Oh fuck!” Morgan yanked his hands away from a thin piece of chain he had dropped around Rarity’s shoulders. His palms were blistered and red.
“What just happened?” demanded Bear.
“Magic panic attack,” explained Morgan, wincing in pain. “Luckily, I stopped the backlash from killing us all. It wasn’t easy, either. She’s got more raw power than anyone I’ve ever seen before.” He showed off his injured hands.
In that case, it was possible that Rarity hadn’t lost anything; she would just have to relearn how to use it. She took a deep breath, calming down. “I’m so sorry about that.”
Morgan pulled the loop of chain from over her head, coiled it, and returned it to his pocket. “Tell you what, if you teach me your tricks I’ll teach you mine. You’ve got a lot of fucking potential.”
His coarse language aside, Rarity was grateful for what he had done. In an unfamiliar situation, she needed all the help she could get, even if that was hard to admit.
Jenny had gone to Morgan and was examining his hands. She looked up. “Use cold water.”
“This isn’t my first burn. Some medic you are,” he grumbled.
Jenny shrugged and turned to Rarity. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I suppose.” She stood up and awkwardly crossed her arms. It felt more purposeful than letting them dangle. “Well, I know I don’t have a horn at least. I am curious to know what my face looks like.”
Jenny pulled a makeup compact from her pocket and handed it to Rarity. She opened it up, staring into the small mirror. It was not her face that she noticed first, but the hair that framed it.
“Blonde!?”