//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: Rebirth // Story: Little Horn's Story // by kwr2k13 //------------------------------// Small Horn Chapter 4: Rebirth May 3: Early Morning - Mercy Hospital Samantha "Sam" Horner was in a heap of trouble at Mercy Hospital. She had been subjected to a battery of tests, betrayed by her primary health care provider, Dr. Vanessa Wells, who appeared to be obsessed with discovering the secrets of the human-equine/pony transformation. The scanning machine travelled to her abdomen and pelvis regions, which were slowly adjusting to accommodate a quadrapedial equine creature. She had the long brown mane and tail, as well as the pony ears, which were continuing to listen to the Hush, Now Quiet Now Song from the Stare Master. Eventually, Dr. Wells came in and turned off the music and removed the blindfold. "Wake up, sleepyhead! You want some oatmeal? I also brought you an apple from the cafeteria." She held the apple towards Sam's mouth, palm up, as if feeding a horse. Sam sniffed the air and opened her blue eyes to see the apple and the face of her captor. "Dr. Wells, why are you doing this to me? I complied with all your requests. Just let me go find my friends and family, and I won't be a bother to you." Sam attempted to grip the apple in his teeth, which by now had shifted to equine. Sam's voice was softer, and barely recognizable as male. Dr. Wells watched as the little human/pony hybrid took a bite of the apple. "I told you I have plans for you. Big plans." She smiled as she allowed Sam to finish off the apple. "My, you are a hungry little pony, aren't you? You have a name, other than Sam?" She pulled out her chart and waited for the younger pony/human to speak. Sam pondered about the name Zecora mentioned in the Dreamscape; Small Horn. Was that her name? What kind of name is "Small Horn?" Then, what kind of names are "Zecora" or Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, or the rest of the cast of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? Sam looked up at her heas with her blue eyes to see a small bud appear in the middle of her forehead. The bud then grew, then stopped to form a spiral shape that ended in a point. The horn was the same color as her skin. "Huh, what's that?" She wished she could feel the new appendage, but the cuffs on her smaller arms and the strange collar around her neck indicated she was still a prisoner. Dr. Wells took note of the new developments. "Ah, so you are one of those, "ponies." She looked at the Cutie Mark on the thighs/flanks of the new pony. "Tell me more about these symbols. What are they?" She pointed to the mark on Small Horn's flank. Small Horn's bright blue eyes shone as she began to remember Cheerilee's classroom discussion on Cutie Marks, "I am called Small Horn, Dr. Wells. I am an unicorn. Some say I should not theoritically exist in the real world, but you have me and my family here. Release me to my family, and we will leave. I have friends who will take me in." Her horn attempted to spark, but the collar negated the effects of a teleportation spell. "Stupid Horn!" The little Unicorn yelled in frustration. Dr. Wells continued, "So, you have a name; Small Horn...and you have a family? And friends who are ponies, like yourself? This is all fascinating! I still need to know about these "Cutie Marks." I will release you and remove that collar, if you can tell me more about yourself and those marks." Small Horn frowned, taking in shallow breaths, "Dr. Wells, I am in no condition to argue with you. These marks are kinda special for everypony..." Just then, the final adjustment to the small unicorn's anatomy became apparent . Small Horn gasped as she was now truly a filly, as Zecora mentioned in their night time encounter. "What just happened, and why is my voice so...high?" The clothes Small Horn was wearing slipped off her hooved legs, exposing her now equine hind quarters and flanks, as well as her new female anatomy. The place where the Cutie Marks were to be had dissapeared under the fine layer of the light tan coat, leaving her a Blank Flank. Dr. Wells patted the little unicorn's head politely, "You're a girl pony now. You are just so cute!" Small Horn's face scrunched up in frustration as Dr. Wells rubbed her hand over her face and mane, "Oh, your fur's coming in nicely. Light tan with a brown mane and tail!" Small Horn's coat began to grow from her little hooved legs, to her waist and up her chest Dr Wells stopped petting the pony, as if she were some sort of pet... "You have one final transformation left. Perhaps by lunch time or mid-afternoon, you'll be on all fours and eating apples and Sugar Cubes out of my hand. " Small Horn glared at the Doctor, and snorfed, as her muzzle grew in. Even though her front hooves did not grow in yet, the young unicorn realized Dr. Well's prediction would be coming true. A little filly Unicorn, alone and abandoned in a world unlike her own. She began to tear up for her family and friends. Small Horn tapped into the Dreamscape realm again, as Zecora had taught her. The scenery changed from that of the hospital where she was being held to what appeared to be Zecora's Hut. "Miss Zecora....I...need your help!" She pawed at the door with her new front hooves, which by now had appeared in place of her hands in the dreamscape realm. In the realm of consciousness, her hands were about to undergo the final stages of equine transformation. Zecora opened the door to her hut, "Small Horn, are you all right? You did not speak to me concerning last night..." The Zebra was very concerned for this filly. "Speak your mind, child, and speak it true; Zecora will find some others to help you!" The Zebra's rhymes and friendly smile made her feel better, "I'm trapped at the hospital called Mercy; it's anything but! I couldn;t talk to you, because the crazy doctor kept asking me questions and she has me in this scanning device. It will confirn that I am now a female unicorn pony. She's got my family here too!" She started to cry, as Zecora placed a forehoof under the sad filly's chin. Zecora smiled, "Thank you for the update on your plight. You should hear from us, hopefully, sometime tonight. Possibly sooner, if all goes well with your bail; that crazy doctor's plans, will certainly fail!" The green smoke from Zecora's zebra magic she used at Nightmare Night surrounded Small Horn's body. The young unicorn was left back at the hospital, still strapped to the machine. Her arms were much smaller and easily slipped out of the cuffs. Considering ponies do not need clothes, the hospital shirt was removed by Small Horn with the small amount of magic she had in her horn, exposing the soft, light tan coat of the filly. As she opened her eyes, somehow she saw out of the corner of her eyes her mother approaching the scanning device. "Momma! Help me out of here! That doctor's really scary!"