//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Ends and Beginnings, of Sorts // Story: This Night // by 7H //------------------------------// Chapter 4 - Ends and Beginnings, of Sorts 4 Days Later Boston Oh yeah, crap. I had to help give a speech about my scientific breakthrough from a couple days ago. I've never really had any pull over the scientific community, but ever since I found the stone... I don't know. Since Antarctica, I've discovered that my personality has been... altered. I don't know any other word to describe it. It's as if instead of being quiet, and passive, I'm far more outgoing and aggressive. My life seems to have taken a turn for the better, so I suppose it's nothing to worry over. The main auditorium opened up via two large double doors from the center of the lobby. From their, I could see Frank and Felicia standing behind Tom, who was delivering the actual speech. He seemed especially nervous, but he worked at Harvard! Surely he'd given plenty of speeches before. Maybe. I don’t know. I tried to look away from the crowd, and keep a casual stride as I made my way into the room, turned to the right and realized that there wasn't a single seat that wasn't occupied. Oh, now isn't this just a dream come true.. Be careful what you wish for Gin, you know as well as I it could very easily become reality. Yes, I know... I took a deep sigh, and attempted to keep my composure as I tried to keep regular strides toward the stage. "And here is the head of our expedition, Professor Gin!" Tom seemed extremely relieved to not have to speak to a large audience anymore. I climbed the stage steps (trying not to trip, mind you), and stood behind the podium. Everyone suddenly seemed very attentive when I took the mic. Great. Everything I say can and will be used against me. I drew a deep breath and began. "Hello, my fellow colleagues, friends, neighbors, and scholars. I assume you've gathered here today to learn of the events of the Antarctic Expedition." The words I said were just there in my mind; just a moment ago I was afraid to the point of hiding in a corner, and I now appeared confident even, though I really felt like a carrot. I then spent the next hour outlining the events from the trip to the Antarctic Station to the time of the stone being retrieved. The main reason I was so scared right now was because I told my boss that I turned in the stone to his boss, who was directly under the CEO of our company, or so I'm told. The thing is, the stone I gave him was a fake, but apparently it too was from space and contained new, previously undiscovered micro-extremophiles, while the stone in my pocket was the real thing. I stepped away from the podium, and received a round of applause. Great, I thought, now I'm a well-appreciated idiot. * * * A Few Hours Later, Office Front Well, I'm glad that's over. After the speech, there was a lot of hand shaking, some job requests, compliments here and there. It was pretty boring, but if I didn't have the stone with me, I'd probably be psyched, or scared out of my mind. Oh well. I'm going home and I have a perfect pot of coffee with my name on it.. Gin. Yes, oh mirror of the mind? Really, Gin? I'm not sure what the effects of our shared thought connection will have, as this is only experimental technology and might have undesired after effects. I only think that-- ‘Nah, man! Don't worry about it! Everything is going great. Listen. Ever since you came around, I've been the envy of the scientific community, and before that, I was a deadbeat. Surely, you can realize the difference in that, from my perspective? This has been a life changer, and for the better.’ Gin. You being a scientist, I expect you realize what “unintended consequence” would implicate. ‘Yeah, yeah. I should be concerned, and truly, I am. It's just that there haven't been any undesired effects, and everything is going great, so I don't think there's any cause for negative concern.’ Well, I suppose you have a point.. but after being in your mind for a while, I think your society is doomed.. Well, it likely is if the entire world thinks like I do. I (we, whatever) then arrived at my apartment. A few minutes afterward, watched a bit of news, some of which I was in. That was a nice change. I got up to get the coffee I put on, and then enjoyed a nice, hot cup of coffee... Wait. Why do I feel so drowsy..? SHIT! I remember this happening in movies. Not wanting to repeat the mistakes they made, I ran to the door to lock it. When I got to the door, I collapsed and didn't feel myself hit the floor. No. That would've been too nice. Instead, I materialized twenty feet above a snow trough, my drowsiness disappearing instantly. Instead, it was replaced by fear and adrenaline as I fell into the drift. Actually, the landing wasn't that bad. I just landed awkwardly. When I sat up and shook the snow off of me, I took one step forward, and fell face first on the ground. ‘...The fuck?’ Erlking didn't try to stifle a laugh. ‘What's so funny?’ After he finished laughing, he explained, 'Well, I don't think it's very wise to try to walk with two legs, in your current predicament. he then broke out into more laughter, while I attempted to comprehend what he was saying. ‘...Four legs?’ I looked around, making sure no one was around, and discovered I was in the middle of a snowy plain with nothing in sight, aside from a mountain off into the distance, which I judged from the sun to be East. I looked down, and I saw that I had hooves instead of hands. The wind blowing against my coat felt like hundreds of spiders were crawling up my arms. Legs. Whatever they were now. I turned my head to the side and noticed, now that I had increased peripheral vision, I was able to identify my new shape. I'm a fucking pony! That just doesn’t happen. Not even in those movies. You don’t get drugged, fall through your floor and into the sky above a vast snowy plain and change forms into that of an equine. You just don’t. And even if you did, you wouldn’t look like this. My legs were all wrong, with no discernable knees or other joints, and were far thicker than I remembered horse, or pony, legs to be. My head felt off too, but without the aid of a mirror I had no way of knowing how different my head was, from either that of a normal pony, or my own human head. I hoped it was closer to a pony head. A human head on this body would be the stuff of nightmares. My initial shock began to subside and was replaced by fascination and curiosity as I continued to gawk at my completely white body. Mane, coat, and tail. All white. I didn't yet know it, but my eyes were a very, very deep red.