Conrad awoke to pleasant state. Alexia was curled in between his legs sleeping with her head nestled against his neck. Whether it was luck, or unconscious effort on her part, her horn was not stabbing him as it was resting on top of his neck. He knew as soon as he got up or checked the time, harsh reality would impose itself on him.
I’m in no hurry to do the Army any favors. He gently pulled her closer to him, eliciting a content sigh from the sleeping mare. Her proximity kept any resentment of the government becoming anything more than smoldering embers. He had long since stopped questioning why she had such a strong effect on him as he trumped it up to the love they shared.
As he laid there in her embrace he noticed something was off. It took him a moment to realize it was her scent. With her pressed up against him, it wafted in his nose. She smells…sweeter. Almost like she fell in a pile of sugar. It doesn’t smell like shampoo or perfume either.
He found the change odd, but not unwelcome. It’ll be more fitting every time I call her sweetheart from now on. He thought with an inner chuckle.
The outside world meant nothing to him as he enjoyed her silent company. After a while, that silence was harshly shattered by the sound of slamming doors and erratic hoof falls that were muffled by the short carpet that covered the entire house. Conrad wished to ignore it so he could enjoy Alexia’s touch a while longer. He couldn't ignore it for long as a very distraught Loki, who looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack, barraged through the door. All the noise woke Alexia from her dreamless sleep.
“Guys! Where the hell are we!?”
“A military base.” Conrad responded as Alexia sluggishly untangled herself from him.
“A wha?” Her brain misfired. “Okay seriously. What the hell did I miss? I wake in a strange bed which had a couple of bottles of water nearby, thanks for that. A strange house, and I… kinda sorta panicked when I didn’t see you guys around.”
Alexia’s brain was still in sleep mode and she simply rolled over and continued snoozing. So it fell to Conrad to bring Loki up to speed on everything from right after the party, Agent Carter, and everything First Sergeant Vanders explained to them. “So now, we’re stuck here in a resettlement camp until the government figure out what to do with us.”
“So that’s how its going to be then?” Loki huffed disbelievingly, her hungover brain couldn’t fully process it all. “I always knew I’d get picked up by the feds. Never thought it’d be like this.” The duration of the conversation had been enough for Tune to lose most of her morning drowsiness and saw Loki was on the verge of tears. “I just thought I’d be caught for hacking, not for being a victim of some pony curse.”
Alexia didn’t like where that train of thought was heading and pushed the last vestiges of her drowsiness aside to get off the bed and wrap Loki up in her forelegs. “Don’t say that.” She said soothingly as she rubbed the back of Loki’s head. “This isn’t a curse Loki. Its who we are.”
The green mare tried to push herself away from Alexia’s hug, but couldn’t find the strength of will to do so. “You only say that because you like being a pony.” She sniffled tried to hold the tears back. “I can’t be happy this way.”
Tune squeezed tighter. “Yes you can Loki. Its not a curse if you embrace what you’ve become.”
“I don’t think I can.” She was limp in Tune's embrace, choking sobs pouring out. “I’m not strong enough. I just want to go home and be normal.”
Conrad made sure to hide his mocking scowl. You normal? Ha, that's rich!
“Loki.” Tune said pacifyingly. “Being normal is overrated. So long as the three of us are together, home is wherever we are.”
“You’re a real sappy one aren’t you?” Loki remarked with shuddering laughter. Alexia made no reply except to let Loki bleed all of her long standing resentment into her coat. “I wish I could be like you. Letting going of the past so easily. I hate hating what I am. I just want to be happy again.”
Alexia pulled back so she could meet Loki’s puffy eyes. Tune kept a friendly, but stern expression. “You can be happy Loki. I’ve seen you happy. Accept who you are, and you’ll never truly lose that happiness again.”
Loki didn’t know or care why, but something made her believe in Alexia’s words. She looked at her silver friend, trembling as she spoke. “Okay Alex. For you, I can try.” Loki’s self-deprecation faltered for the briefest of instances. Yet that was the only thing keeping her spirit from conforming to its altered shell. Before her self-doubts could resurface, Loki’s eye shot wide open and became unfocused when her mind blanked for several seconds as all of her senses were numbed except for Alexia’s friendly embrace.
Loki’s self-awareness returned in a sudden snap as every color seemed brighter and a slight ringing in her ears for a few seconds before returning to normal. Tune had a worried look in her eyes and held Loki’s face up to hers. The green mare could tell she was saying something but it was badly muffled until the ringing faded away. “Loki. Speak to me. Are you alright?” Even Conrad was off the bed with a concerned look.
The earth mare’s eyes came back into focus and blinked a couple of times before centering on Alexia with a smile inching its way on her face. “I feel…better.” Tune let go of Loki’s face and the mare fell back on her haunches and rubbed her head trying to make sense of what just happened to her. “I ahh. I think I’ll go get some more water and take a shower.”
Conrad and Alexia shared a questioning glance before he spoke. “I’ll be there shortly.”
The mare nodded absently as she turned to leave, but exclaimed gasps from the others halted her steps. “What?”
Alexia pointed at Loki’s flank. The green mare followed Tune’s hoof to an image of grey fedora hat angled to show the side of the article with the brim slanted downward to display the folds on top. The band around the hat was an earthly brown color. Loki was at a loss on how to respond to its presence. She rubbed a hoof through the mark, half expecting it to be some kind of illusion. “Huh. And here I thought it would have been black.”
Loki’s inspection was interrupted with an exuberant Alexia pulling her into a bear hug. “Loki, you did it. You’re a full pony now!”
“So I got a picture on my ass. How does that make me any more of a pony than I already was?” She squeaked out from Tune’s rib crushing hug.
Alexia let go so they could speak more directly. “I know you don’t feel any different now, I didn’t either when I got my cutie mark. But soon, you’ll notice a feeling of more…fitness is the only word I can think of for it. Now that I look back on it, it was like I was wearing a glove that didn’t fit quite right. But now.” She gave Loki an enthusiastic smile. “Now every fiber of my being is that of a unicorn. And soon you’ll feel the same way about being an earth pony.”
“I.” The green mare didn’t know if she should be happy or depressed. “I guess that’s for the best.” She pulled away from Alexia to study her forelegs. “So I’m going to be green and furry for the rest of my life.” Loki said with a heavy sense of finality. As she searched herself, Loki couldn’t feel much rejection over it, but Alexia’s statements still worried her.
Tune put a hoof on one of Loki’s own. “Loki.” She said trying to draw the mare out.
She looked up to meet Alexia’s gaze. “I. I’ll. I’ll be fine.” She took a deep slow breath and let it out again before continuing. “I need a shower to clear my head.” She glanced at Conrad who nodded silently.
Loki left to do just that which prompted Conrad to check the clock. “It’s past noon, would you mind finding some grub so we can eat before the orientation guy shows up?”
“Yeah I can do that.” She nuzzled him affectionately. “I know you two aren’t on the best of terms, but could you please be supportive of her in this? I don’t think we can afford to have you two at each other’s throats anymore.”
“I can try at least. My grudge against her is petty compared to what the feds might have in store for us. I trust you’ll talk with her later about this.”
“I will when I get a chance.” She pecked him on the lips. “In return I'll get some of those green apples you like so much.”
“See you soon.” He called out as Alexia left the building in search of the mess hall.
Conrad located the oversized bathroom by the sound of running water. While Alexia had magic to help clean herself, both the earth mare and pegasus found it impossible to effectively clean everything by themselves. With the additional fact that all three ponies were always nude, bathing quickly lost its status as a private affair. It was also one of the few times the pair got along with each other, if for nothing else than a mutual desire to be clean.
What amazed Conrad was that the construction crew already accounted for communal hygiene as the shower head sprinkled water over a wide stall that was big enough for two ponies to move about with ease.
Both of them had gone through the motions enough times that he didn’t bother saying anything as he took the sudsy bath sponge and started scrubbing the brooding mare’s back.
Loki would shift her position as needed, but otherwise kept her council to herself. Only when Conrad started scrubbing her flank did she turn her head to see the shampoo was not scrubbing the mark away. “So. Its really there.” She commented at length before turning back to face front.
“Seems so.” He remarked blandly.
“I know Alex was a bit of a strange one already.” She turned back to face Conrad who was working on her hind legs. “But did she seem different after getting her mark.”
That’s rich. You calling anyone strange. He kept the thought to himself on the neutral ground that consisted of the shower stall. “She doesn’t flinch at trying to get close to me anymore, but that was slowly going away to begin with. Other than that she just seems happier.”
She turned her head to the other side as he switched to her left hind leg. “Yeah but how much of that was just her already wanting to accept her current form.”
“I couldn’t really tell you.” He responded truthfully as he grabbed a hoof pick to remove a few pieces of encrusted dirt. “By the time I met her she was already set on accepting her future as a mare so I don’t know what she was like as James aside from what snippets Qubert told me.”
Loki was silent for several minutes in introspective thought. It was only when the sponge passed over her nethers was she disturbed from her meditation. It had taken over two weeks before both of them consented to letting their bathing partner clean their respective areas, but again practicality won out. Loki was more disturbed by the physical feeling of it rather than it being awkward as she would have to reciprocate it later.
She trusted herself to speak clearly when he moved on to her barrel. “Do you think I’ll lose myself the way she did?”
“What do you mean?”
Loki waved a foreleg in the air for emphasis. “She’s so… comfortable with what she is. I can’t imagine she’s even remotely similar to James.”
“Is that really so bad?” He challenged.
“Yes.” She replied, but her heart wasn’t in it.
“If it makes you feel any better.” He said after she stopped grumbling to herself. “I have to agree with Alexia’s personal philosophy. “You’re never the same person twice. Its up to you though, if that change is good or bad and whether to accept it or not. None of us can make you do that.”
She tilted her head away as he started scrubbing her neck. “I can’t believe I’m talking philosophy with you of all people.”
“I can’t believe you even know the word.” He retorted.
Her response was halted as he scrubbed the sponge over her face and muzzle. After the suds were gone and he moved on to washing her mane, Loki brought the conversation back. “She’s really happy now. Alex I mean.” He hummed in the affirmative. Loki couldn’t help but grin in guilty pleasure as he rubbed the shampoo brusquely from the top of her head and down the spine of her neck. It reminded her of the care she had received in the massage parlor. She didn’t know if coming to terms with being a pony was due to the tranquilizing effect of his motions mimicking the masseuse’s, Alexia’s influence, or if her spirit actually underwent a final transformation. I guess in the end it doesn’t matter. This is who I am; and nothing can change that now.
The shampoo was cleared from her mane and he offered a washcloth so she could to dry her eyes. As Conrad worked on her tail, she stared at the white cloth. After a while a savage sneer crept its way on her face. So be it then. I’m going to show the feds what mad mare is capable of.
Conrad and Loki emerged from the shower to find Alexia finishing off a bowl of oats and three bananas in the living area with the tome floating in front of her. “You guys have fun in there?” She teased while levitating several fruits along with a couple of green apples towards her companions.
“Not the kind of fun I’d rather share with you.” Conrad joked as he caught the apples with his wings.
“I hate to say it.” Alexia said between bites. “But we’ll have to hold that off until tonight. If Vanders was correct, I have just enough time to take a shower of my own. Her horn lit up and the tome winked back over to her dresser drawers. Her companions busied themselves with devouring the pile of food she brought.
Half an hour later, Alexia came back out to the living area with a comb in her kinesis to find a human staff sergeant was already in the room. The ebony skinned man turned to face her fully. “Good you’re done.”
Heh, I was right on the money with that prediction. Alexia knew this was coming, and was determined to put on a strong front. Conrad and Loki were standing near with a mix of tension and a carefully crafted neutral expression respectively. Loki’s visible disposition unsettled Alexia as she always wore that face when trouble was brewing. Trying to keep her ill at ease at bay, she adopted a stern demeanor. “That I am.”
“I am Staff Sergeant Wilson. I will be taking you to the testing area and while en route I will fill you in on the basic codes of conduct you are to follow during your stay here. You will be given some literature on other rules later.” He ordered with a thread of implied consequences of disobedience.
The sergeant led the way through the large forest of identical houses, and more welcoming, the sea of color that comprised the mass of ponies living there. Even though Alexia already saw the myriad of ponies from her trip to the mess hall, all three of them were overwhelmed by the sight.
Conrad’s wings itched and he followed after the sergeant while staying three feet off the ground. “Never dreamed I’d see so much color in one place.”
Loki watched in silent joy at the presence of so many ponies. They’re really my people now. Sure I looked like them before, but I think I understand where Alex is coming from now. Loki ignored Wilson as he started talking about rules, and decided she would ask Tune about them later. She studied each pony she passed briefly one by one. Most seemed content at best and sullen at worse. Loki surmised the really depressed ones were still indoors.
Look at them all. Loki thought with mounting distaste. We’ve been corralled in a damn ranch. I’m amazed they gave us a cafeteria instead of making us graze the fields. We don’t belong in a place like this, we deserve to be free. She tried to discern the mood of each pony she passed.
Most of them seem to be in a daze. Can’t blame them for that, hell I was running on insanity and schnapps until I found the manor. What we need is something to rally behind. Loki’s eyes drifted over the mass of ponies until they rested upon Alexia. Loki smirked at the thoughts forming in her head. Or someone. Alex has a strange quality about her. Something that makes you want to listen and follow her, and I don’t think she realizes that. Loki’s sight moved away from Tune and over to her grey hat cutie mark. She was able to pull me out of my rut and accept who and what I’ve become. If she can do that to me, she can do that to just about anyone. I just need to convince her to use that silver tongue of hers to pull these ponies out of this funk. I’m no leader, but Alex could be if prodded in the right direction.
Loki faced front to find they were almost at a large hangar that she surmised could easily hold a couple of large airliners. By now, Wilson had stopped talking which gave Loki the opening she needed to pull Tune aside and out of earshot. Alexia noted the mischievous look in Loki’s eyes and became concerned. “Tell me you’re not going to try anything.”
Loki shook her head and leaned into Tune’s ear. “Listen, I don’t think you should tell anyone about that alteration spell.”
“What? Why?” She returned a puzzled look.
“Because. Didn’t you see it on their faces as we passed by? They’d jump you the instant they caught wind of a way back to being human. Plus they’d ask how you came up with a spell like that, and they’d find out about the tome.”
“Well I can understand hiding that from the military, but some of these ponies have families they want to go back to. It wouldn’t be fair to them if they were trapped here.”
“I’m not saying stop working towards it, just don’t tell anyone.” Loki hissed back as they were only a few feet from the doors. "At least not until you're ready."
The unicorn studied her green friend's face for the punchline, but couldn't find one. “Alright Loki. I’ll keep quiet about it." Alexia relented right before Wilson turned about face in front of the cracked open hangar doors.
“Since the three of you comprise the three known pony races, you’ll have to be split up during testing after you receive a physical. Follow all instructions given to you and you should be done by the time the mess hall switches to dinner.”
A woman in a white doctor’s coat escorted by three infantry waited for the ponies to approach her. “I am Veterinarian Wilder, and I’ll be one of the people handling your physicals.”
Conrad remained in the air next to Tune and spoke to the vet. “Since we’re sentient shouldn’t you be referred to as a doctor?”
“Maybe in the future.” Wilder commented. “But for now veterinarian will suffice. Right this way please.”
The hangar had been repurposed for testing the magical properties of unicorns in particular as they were the primary focus of study by the military, but also had a test bed for earth ponies as well. However the structure was predominately used to house the medical facilities for the ponies as well.
The group observed that much of the hangar space appeared to be closed off by hastily constructed wooden walls several meters away from the entrance while the medical area that they were being led to spanned the entire length of the hangar, and more than half the width with the rest of the hangar being the testing area.
The soldiers prodded Loki and Conrad towards different rooms while making Alexia follow Wilder to a patient room. She glanced at them worriedly, but between the guards and the various cameras scattered about, there was little she could do about it.
The patient room was more of a full examination lab. It reeked of cleaning chemicals and was about as ordinary looking as she had seen compared to others, complete with counter, an empty x-ray illuminator, and a patient table complete with paper wrap on it. The principle difference was that there was a treadmill with an attached respiratory hose and heart monitor. There was other equipment present as well, but she was unfamiliar with them. They really want to give me the full run down. The table was a few inches lower to the ground which allowed Tune to jump on top.
Wilder grabbed a smart pad and brought up the relevant application. “Okay Miss Tune, we’re going to start with some background questions. Did you have any chronic conditions before your transformation?”
“None I’m aware of.”
Wilder typed in the response. “Where were you when you started changing and how far did you travel before being picked up?”
“Roughly all in the same area of Salina Kansas.”
“What was the first sign of your changes?”
“I grew a tail.” The vet and jotted the answer down, prompting Alexia to give one of her own. “Mind if I ask why that part matters?”
“In every single case thus far, anyone becoming a mare had their tail appear first where stallions developed the ears and surrounding fur before all else.”
Tune’s eyebrow rose at that. “Oh. Um. Speaking of which, why didn’t I see very many stallions on the way over here?”
Wilder decided she could start some of the preliminary visual and touch exams while giving her answer before moving on to other questions. “As strange as it sounds Miss Tune. There’s a rather strange gender disparity among you. Of all the twenty three hundred ponies living here, less than six hundred are male.”
“You’re kidding right?” She asked as Wilder pulled her head up so she could feel the mare’s neck for any lumps.
“I’m afraid not. As to whether that is an effect of random chance, or how your species naturally works is anyone’s guess. Which brings me to my next question. What was your gender prior to becoming a pony?”
The unicorn was put off by the question. “Why would that matter?”
“It’s very common for those who experienced a switch to be mentally unstable. Mostly due to the traumatic effect of it rather than any noticeable complications of the transformation in of itself.”
“How many out there are there?”
“Roughly half of every pony have had their genders switched, so there’s little point in trying to hide it. You would be just one more passenger of a very large boat.” Wilder kept it professional, but added a note of warm bedside manner.
The unicorn shrugged. “Well okay. It’s true, I was a man before all this. But if you’re going to try and assign me a therapist or something don’t bother. I’m perfectly happy as I am.”
Wilder wrote more notes in her pad. “Its uncommon, but you wouldn’t be the only one happy with the switch. Although I’d still recommend you attend the group therapies so you can help those who are struggling to cope.”
The idea of helping other ponies acclimate to their bodies appealed to her Alexia greatly and she had to stop herself from jumping at the opportunity. “I’d love to help.”
“Good to hear.” The vet guided Alexia through a battery of other health tests over the next hour. By the end of it all, Alexia felt poked and prodded all over the place. “Well you seem to be in sound physical condition and I haven’t picked up on any obvious psychological issues, which will be examined in more depth later. Now unless the test results from the samples come back with anything I’m giving you a clean bill of health.”
“You mind if I ask one last question before I go?” Alexia queried as Wilder finished her notes.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Why are we living so far apart from the humans here?”
Wilder’s brow furrowed. “Didn’t Sergeant Wilson inform you of that precaution on your way over?”
Tune grinned sheepishly. “I’m sure he must have, but he kept rattling off rules that just seemed like common sense stuff and I sort of tuned him out as I watched so many other ponies moving about.”
Wilder hummed in understanding. “It can be overwhelming the first few times you’re in that sea of color. That’s why at the end of the day you’ll be given a pamphlet outlining your codes of conduct, to make sure there’s no miscommunication. As for your question, are you familiar with the physiological effects pets have on humans in general?”
Alexia scratched behind her ear. “I know cats and dogs dominate the safe for work sections of the internet, and I had a cat as a kid.”
“It’s a highly complicated answer, but I’ll try to keep it simple. As you already know. By in large, humans have a natural affinity towards anything perceived as cute; hence why cats and dogs are so popular. Yes both species provide a utilitarian function, but many people keep them around solely for companionship. You ponies on the other hand are not only cute to the point of being uniformly adorable.” She said with a gleeful slip from behind her professional mask. “But it’s been noted that all ponies possess a sort of aura, be that magic or highly refined yet mundane charisma, that amplifies this response in humans to the point where it can be highly distracting for us.”
“So you’re worried that we may try to take advantage of that?” Tune said after mulling over the information.
“Correct. Unlike pets, you’re obviously of equal intelligence to humans if not more so and it is feared that some of you might try to exploit this charisma for criminalistics purposes.”
Tune hadn’t thought about that. Well we’re at least no more capable of criminal behavior than we were before. Loki’s source of income is proof of that. "I guess I can see that, but using one's charisma to commit crimes is nothing new. There’s a reason there are terms like femme fatale, and let’s not forget nearly every elected official to date.”
“I fully agree with you Miss Tune, but I don’t make the rules, I just looks after your well-being.”
An idea came to the bothered unicorn as she spied Wilder finishing up her notes. “I’m kinda nervous about the whole tests I’m going up against next. You…wouldn’t mind. Rubbing my head? Would you?”
“That would be highly unprofessional.” Wilder rebutted.
“But you said you look at my well-being. And I have no idea what I’m up against, and it would help calm my nerves.”
Wilder glanced up from her pad to see a pony with her ears flat and sad eyes which effortlessly crushed the vet's resolve. I don’t think I should have told her the whole truth, but there are no cameras in here and she did just get here last night. Anyone would be distressed about that. The veterinarian glided over to stand next to her patient. “Very well, I can do it for the sake of mental care.”
Wilder complied with Alexia’s request who sat down on her haunches as the soothing touch washed away all tension from her body. I never thought fingers would feel so good. After a minute of Wilder kneading her neck, Tune became a paragon of bliss. She closed her eyes and leaned into Wilder’s hand as the vet started scratching behind her ears.
Wilder noted the unicorn’s breathing slowed and was completely relaxed. As of yet, no one had attempted to pet a pony and Wilder found Alexia’s response to it puzzling. The vet preformed the typical motions of petting the unicorn while keeping her hand restricted to the area around the mare’s mane. What a fascinating response. She’s completely docile. Wilder’s scientific curiosity got the better of her. This doesn’t seem like a personal response, but an instinctual one. Could this be a sign that ponies underwent a highly sociable evolutionary path? Assuming of course that these people were changed into a preexisting template.
The veterinarian kept entering more observations into the pad while continuing to pet Alexia to the point where she was putty in the woman’s hands. Tune didn’t care what awaited her, all she wanted was to never leave that spot.
Alas, that wish was never meant to be, and Wilder’s pad started beeping. The noise snapped Alexia out of her bliss and felt a pang of loss when Wilder’s hands returned to the pad. “That’ll be Doctor Roberts wanting to begin your magic assessment. It’s been a pleasure Miss Tune, I hope you do well on the next round of tests.”
“Thank you Doctor.” Alexia replied pointedly using that term. She left Wilder wondering if perhaps the term was more fitting when dealing with ponies in the future.
Tune was happy to find Conrad and Loki seemed no worse for wear although he kept picking at his feathers in an attempt to smooth them back out. His examinations involved an extremely thorough inspection of his wings and his veterinarian didn’t have the same bedside manner Wilder possessed and after making sure his wings were in order he left Conrad to fix the feathers himself.
Doctor Roberts was a thin man, scraggily white beard and a bald head that caught the light like a mirror. Again, there were several guards nearby to make sure everything stayed civil. “Finally, you all here. I trust there were no health issues then?” The three medical professions who followed the ponies out gave their affirmatives. “Excellent.” He addressed Loki first. “Your dexterity and strength testing will be handled by my associates already waiting for you in laboratory A. Follow these men so you can begin.”
Loki took one look at the indicated guards and smirked. “So you want to see how strong I am? I could use a workout. Lead the way boys.”
“Charming.” Roberts said in annoyance as he pointed at three other soldiers. “Take the pegasus to the fields and have Airman Daniels see what he’s capable of.”
“It better wait until I can fix my feathers.” He jabbed an accusatory hoof at his physician. “That man is a butcher, I wouldn’t trust him with a sponge let alone a scalpel.”
“Your objections will be noted.” Roberts replied uncaringly. “Move along.”
Conrad glowered at the scientist and had to preen as he walked away. He gave Alexia a sympathetic look before Roberts coughed for her attention. “Miss Tune, if you would follow me we can get the tests underway.”
Alexia watched her companions as they were led away then back to Roberts when one of his guards jammed a thumb after the scientist for her to follow him. “What sort of things are we doing?”
“I will be observing you and directing the tests. You will do as you are told. Failure to comply in this will be met with harsh restrictions.”
Way to be an asshole about it. “You must be a blast at parties.” She remarked casually.
“I do not require your pathetic attempts at wit Miss Tune, only your complete cooperation.” He walked up to the automatic doors while Alexia was ushered inside. The first chamber was a plain room with a short table holding weights of various sizes.
“Looks like stuff you’d find at a gym.” She commented at the various dumbbells and circular weights.
Roberts grunted to the affirmative. “Glad someone can see the garbage I have to work with. Those knuckle draggers gave me this trash from the servicemen’s weight room instead of the properly measured spherical weights I keep asking for.”
Alexia smirked at his irascible demeanor. “Just so you know. I lifted a lot before becoming a pony.”
“We are not here to test your musculature Miss Tune, but your magical abilities.” He brought up a document on his pad. “Your record shows you demonstrated strong telekinetic powers upon arrival last night. It for that reason we are skipping the first three tests to see if you’re even capable of it. Here I wish to measure the limits of your telekinetic powers.”
Hell, I was able to lift Loki and myself off a building and she’s like what…a buck twenty? I’m not even eighty pounds and she not any bigger than I am. Its got to be all that dense muscle. She turned to the irritant of a man. “How do you want me to start?”
He sighed. “Its really not that complicated Miss Tune. Try to lift the biggest weight as you can.”
Brushing off his less than friendly manner, she found the heaviest weight was two hundred pounds. The rest of the weights were in ten pound intervals down to one pound. Her horn lit up and the two hundred pound weight flew up in the air and orbited around her head as if it was as light as a beach ball. She took the one hundred, one fifty, and the one hundred ten pound weights in her magic and had them orbit further away from her. Only the strain in her voice and her furrowed brow gave any indication that it took real effort. “Look paw! No hands."
Roberts watched the orbiting mass of iron without any outward sign of being impressed. He tapped a button and a loud fog horn blared a horrendously loud noise from under the table. Alexia jumped back in surprise causing her focus to slip and the slabs of metal thudded to the floor with the two hundred pound one crashing right next to her before leaning against her leg. “Concentration is lacking. You'll need to improve on that.”
Alexia recovered from the near miss of the blocks of iron and was about to yell at him but Roberts cut her off. “Given that display I think a test of finesse is more suitable. To the next chamber.”
Tune rubbed the spot on her right hind leg where the weight leaned against her after it dropped on its side. Jerkass. “Yeah I’m coming.” She growled after him.
The next room was almost identical to the last except instead of large weights it had dozens of small Lego pieces. “Is this really the best the fed’s best and brightest could come up with? Lego pieces?”
“So you do have some modicum of standards. Yes I agree these are paltry implements at best, hardly even worthy of being a child’s plaything. Nevertheless it is all we have to work with, so much of the budget is in information control and relocation that the pencil pushers can’t be bothered to give me the full funding I asked for.”
That was information Alexia filed away for later. You’d think the government would pour as much money into a program like this as they could. “My heart’s breaking for you.” She brought up several red Legos to create a broken heart.
Roberts flustered at the display but resisted the bait. “I want you to form the following shapes…”
Later, at the central conference room of the Air Force base, four scientists including Roberts and Wilder along with the base’s commanding officer and representatives of the FBI, CIA, and Joint Chiefs gathered to discuss the latest additions to The Ranch.
The table was curved and they sat on the outside of the shallow semicircle with a projection screen on the opposite wall. The current expert on magic, Doctor Roberts, tapped his pad to bring up four images of the silver and azure unicorn on different angles. Despite the scientist’s displeasure of Alexia as a person, along with most things in general, he was genuinely excited about her from a scientific stand point. Many call his version of excitement as other men’s depression. “Moving on from Pitman’s theory of why people are becoming ponies, I’d like to shift gears to our two most impressive finds since the project’s inspection. I will let Jackson handle his own subject, but as for my own, I believe we may have found a suitable candidate for Letterman’s side project.”
He flipped through a short clip of Alexia levitating heavy weights later in the testing and creating various designs with the Legos in her magic. “This is subject Uniform two thirty seven. She demonstrates a level of control and power we have not seen from any unicorn to date.” He tapped to the next video clip. “She even has the finesse to tie complex knots and thread a needle via telekinesis alone, something unique to her thus far. Imagine what we could do with her if those talents were leveraged for different purposes.”
“Any idea why she is so much stronger than the others?” The member of the Joint Chiefs inquired.
“I may have an answer.” The FBI responded. “The agent who picked them up discovered the group the unicorn came in with were transformed roughly around the same time of a full month ago. Its possible they are naturally getting stronger over time.”
“A valid theory.” One of the other scientists began. “Except for the fact that we’ve been studying other transformees for over two weeks now. Several of them changed at roughly the same time. Aside from what we can expect from practice and experience, none of the unicorns thus far have shown this level of advancement in power and control.”
“Could it be simple natural talent then?” The CIA asked.
“If it was just her I’d agree.” Doctor Celli announced. He tapped his own pad and the image on screen switched to Loki bucking a hole into a concrete wall a half foot thick. “Subject Echo ten seventeen arrived with Uniform two thirty seven and has displayed physical power and endurance far exceeding the baseline. I have no doubt if Echo wanted to, she could have killed me at any time.”
The commanding officer of The Ranch leaned forward. “I’ll have the engineers fabricate catwalks above the testing areas as to avoid that. In any case, it seems these two are above the norm. What about the pegasus they came in with? Subject…”
“Papa three twenty.’ The last scientist called out. “Unfortunately he has not demonstrated any marked superiority over other pegasi. Aside from what I would expect from a greater amount of time practicing flight, he is not in a league of his own like Echo or Uniform are.”
Wilder tapped her pad to bring up profile images of Alexia and Loki. “What about the cutie marks? Could they signify something?”
Roberts scoffed at her. “I refuse to use that ridiculous term. But as for your question, of the books we’ve collected from the subjects so far, these brands only symbolize a special talent. There’s nothing in the readings to suggest the brands grant any power of their own, but to reflect that pony’s abilities.”
“Assuming the translators are accurate.” The CIA remarked candidly. “You know we can’t read the books ourselves.”
Wilder stood by her theory. “Yes the records on the cutie marks give no indication that they amplify a pony’s abilities, but these are the only two subjects in the entirety of The Ranch that have the marks. Is it at all possible that, at least for the transfomees, that they signify something different entirely?” She tapped to zoom in on Alexia’s and Loki’s marks.
“Uniform’s mark is that of an ankh, a symbol of eternal life or just life in general. But that has no real correlation to reflecting higher magical power. As for Echo, she has a hat of all things. I don’t even know where to start drawing the line between that and greater physical prowess. If time spent as a pony was enough to achieve these levels of power, then Papa would have displayed an equal level of talent. But he hasn't and he doesn't have a cutie mark.”
“Are you sure he wasn’t holding back?” The Joint Chiefs queried. “To try and hide his full capabilities from us?”
Conrad’s tester grunted to the negative. The airman that Conrad worked with was a pegasus as well, but the observers were human. “I made sure he had proper incentive. He wasn’t holding back.”
Wilder knew the man to be a harsh one. “There is something else I would like to point out. We are all aware of the subtle aura they possess that plays on our emotions, correct?” She received a round of affirmatives. “During my examination, Uniform displayed what I believe to be signs that this aura is an adaptation along a highly sociable evolutionary path in the original species.”
“And what signs would that be?” The FBI interrupted.
Wilder’s brow ticked at the intrusion. “I was just getting to that. During the exam, Uniform was showing elevated levels of anxiety and requested a head rub.” She said haltingly as if expecting embarrassment to be piled onto her.
She received a round of amused faces. “Let me guess. You obliged?” Roberts asked derisively.
“I am their primary care physician, it's my job to make sure they remain healthy. So yes I did.”
“Get to the point.” The CIA demanded, being tired of the interruptions.
“Once I began petting her, Uniform quickly became calm and docile. She was fully aware that that act was typically used for pets, and didn’t care. I want to test to see if this effect extents to more ponies than just her. If I am correct, then it’s very likely that these equines are peaceful and friendly by nature; and this aura is an extension of that.”
“I think the number of subjects we’ve had to send to the labs are proof enough that that theory is unsound.” Roberts rebuffed.
“Anybody who’s scared half to death about what’s happening to them and you add in a bunch of goons in black combat uniforms chasing after you and tell me if you wouldn’t be a little resistant to being kidnapped.” Wilder countered.
“I think your empathy is clouding your judgment Wilder.” The base commander observed. “Your job is to remain objective in these matters. However I do believe this observation has proven useful. I want you to conduct these experiments, if for nothing else than to find a better means of controlling them.” He leaned forward to continue. “Since we’re still on topic about the latest arrivals, I want to share something.”
He tapped his pad and the screen to play a security camera recording of the two army privates searching Tune’s car. It was silent due to the camera having to zoom in to get a closer view. It showed one of them pulling out the tome and handing it to his partner. After he studied it for several seconds the book vanished in a flash. Looks of confusion and dismay was written over the private’s faces and was mirrored by those in the conference room. The commander reversed the clip to the instant the book flashed.
“Until now, the only thing we’ve witnessed from the ponies that can be attributed to this “magic” is gravitational manipulation on part of the pegasi and telekinesis from only a comparative handful of unicorns. This.” He pointed at the screen. “Is something else entirely.”
The CIA turned to the commander. “You have an idea as to where it went?”
“Just a hunch.” The commander replied. “But I bet my command that it returned to its owner. Subject Uniform.”