I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum.
"Stephanie, Stephanie, look. I have no hands…"
Ana'Ra was expecting hands to be were now there were a pair of hooves. For the last two weeks, he had awoken to see his familiar appendages. This morning, though, they were gone. Whatever the "changing palsy" was, it was potent. He was 100% pony. The idea that he would never pop his knuckles again struck him funny. His insistent giggling woke up Fluttershy from her sleep.
"What's so funny, Ana'Ra?" she said, her eyes still sealed against the morning light.
"I don't have hands anymore! Look, Flutters!"
The golden Pegasus did as asked and gasped when she saw the terminating ends of Ana'Ra's new fore legs.
"Oh, Celestia-!"
Ana'Ra just couldn't stop laughing. If he were to see himself in some second person view, he would think he'd gone insane or stark raving mad. The worst of it was that it felt good to laugh. It wasn't just cathartic, it was elevating; he was now part of the herd, his human guise now thoroughly stripped away. He would miss being the tallest entity in the room, though.
"Ana'Ra, what's wrong? Why are you laughing like that?"
He registered that Fluttershy was unnerved by his sudden elation. She thinks I'm gone. I'm wallowing deep in prattling lunacy! If he kept this up, Fluttershy would leave. Get a grip, boyo! Things are finally starting to get good here! He took a breath, held it, and still he laughed. Another breath, much deeper this time, followed by another… In through the mouth, out through the nose. That's a good <kaffir.> The giggles were starting to fade. Her face was no showing less concern, as she saw he was regaining his composure.
"Sorry, Flutters. Think I mighta had a psychotic break there for a bit. I'll be okay; just gotta figure out how I'm gonna get outta bed…"
His first attempt to navigate as a fully equine creature was a hilarious failure. Instead of landing on his hooves, he tipped over and landed on his back. All the breath in him came out on a loud *Oomph!* He lay there stunned for several seconds, trying to right himself to no avail. Flutters make this look so easy… The golden Pegasus in question had just come around the bed they now shared. She was desperately trying to suppress a giggle.
"Give us a hand, Beloved?"
"Don't you mean a hoof?"
"Hand or hoof, doesn't matter. Help me, Flutters!"
Fluttershy walks over to Ana'Ra, watching ruefully as the nu-stallion flails his legs about. She then takes hold of one his forelegs and pulls him to his side. From here, Ana'Ra catches some footing and after a wobbly ascension, is now on all four. He stands there a while; it appears this new perspective is not quite what he imagined.
"Wow, everything looks so much bigger now…"
"I guess it would if you lost more than half you height."
Ana'Ra nods, still quaking on his new legs. The grumble of his stomach told him he would need to get used to these appendages and soon unless he like starving to death. He tried a tentative few steps before falling flat on his stomach. He thought himself lucky that he didn't break any ribs, though a second instance of lost breath wasn't very pleasant.
"This is gonna take some getting used to."
"I could always bring breakfast up here. Only if want to." Fluttershy remarked.
"Nope, nope, that ain't gonna do. I need to get a handle on these things, post haste. If not, I'll be rendered an invalid, and I'd rather not put you through that," he said, then whispering, he added, "especially not after last night."
Fluttershy's eyes became round, like dinner plates; a deep blush spread over her cheeks and nose. The memory of the night before floods her mind. She can recall how deeply Ana'Ra furrowed into her, the rhythmic pumping that had her squealing like a filly. She can remember his hands groping over her body… And when he found that ONE spot just where her wing connects to her flank… The euphoria that little touch had on her was enough to make her spasm in delight. No, she didn't think she could suffer Ana'Ra as an invalid.
"Alright, mister, you need to stand up, right now!" she commanded.
Ana'Ra, still sprawled out on the floor, jumped to attention. He knew enough of his beloved Flutters to know that when pressed, Fluttershy had a commanding presence that few save Discord could disobey.
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!"
Upright again, Ana'Ra now followed Fluttershy's orders on how to walk with four hooves. It wasn't really all that hard, but there was a substantial learning curve. He was once human; the idea of traversing on all fours was a daunting thought. But he would need to learn somehow. If newborn foals can stand and walk within minutes of being born, then by God, he was going to walk unassisted by the power of his own four hooves!
"Okay, I think I got this," Ana'Ra said, as he stood with his new legs straightened, "how bout we get breakfast now?"
That's the remarkable thing about life: it's never so bad that it can't get worse.
Time has a funny way of making itself felt. Six weeks ago, Ana'Ra was just getting tot he idea of walking on four hooves. He now could run as fast as Applejack and was nearly as agile as Rainbow Dash. He was quickly becoming accustomed to living life as a pony. He was even considering a new name for himself. "Ana'Ra" was coming cumbersome; it was a reminder of his human days. With the assumption that he will never return home, he figures the best that he can do is get himself fully acclimated to Equestrain life. He hadn't yet gotten his cutie mark yet, but he wasn't worried about this. It would come when it came.
On this day, Ana'Ra and his friends were basking in the light of a glorious spring day. The Weather Teams had cleared the sky so the sun shone brilliantly over Ponyville. The wind was sweet with flower blossoms and the air was warming rapidly. He and Fluttershy were laying on a picnic blanket, serving each other strawberries. Princess Twilight and the rest had only recently (like, two days ago) that he and the golden Pegasus were dating. It was quite likely the best kept secret in Ponyville. The degree of which there dating was never revealed; Flutters was certain Twilight or Rarity would be appalled if they found they were sleeping together. Not that this part of their relationship was in danger from discovery. Ana'Ra would make his trips to Fluttershy's cottage seem like legitimate business and very ponies were any wiser of the afternoon trysts they would have.
And of course, Ana'Ra was now in regular correspondence with Princess Celestia. The co-monarch of the realm gave him regular updates on the research she and her sister were doing to reserve his ponification and return him back to his home. Truth be told, though, Ana'Ra was now so disinterested in going back that he wouldn't mind if they failed in their efforts.
"Hey, Ana'Ra, wanna play some catch?"
A shadow that could only be Rainbow Dash flashed past the pair. When the sky-colored Pegasus dropped in front of them, she was holding onto a football. A mischievous glint showed in her eyes. Ana'Ra recognized it as the gleam of competition.
"I would, but Flutters and I are enjoyin' the breeze. Maybe some other time."
"It's okay, Sol," Fluttershy said, making use of Ana'Ra's chosen nomme-de-plume, "I don't mind."
"Are you sure, Flutters? This was supposed to be our day…"
"It's okay. Besides, Dashie is just going to pester you until you play."
"Yeah, Ana'Ra! You two have plenty of time to be all lovey-dovey with each other. I'm only talking about a half hour or so, before Scootaloo arrives."
"Okay, I'll play," he says, then kissing Fluttershy, he tells her, "be back, my goddess. Don't go nowhere."
Fluttershy nods and Ana'Ra trots after RD. The get to the middle of the field and start tossing the football to each other. Dash has a rather impressive arm, all things considered. Ana'Ra is forced to drop back deep to get her passes. On one throw in particular, he dives headlong to grab her pass. His slides into a landing, having successfully caught the ball. He tosses the ball back to Dash. She then tells him to go long. He needs no invitation to do so. She flings the ball far, far away from her. Ana'Ra has to use every ounce of speed he has to just to get under it. As the ball descends, He realizes he needs to make a jump to catch the pass. He presses himself into a ball and leaps for the pigskin. He catches it in mid-leap.
"I GOT IT! I GOT IT!" he shouts, then suddenly he sees that he is not going to be landing on the grass. Just as his back touches the ground, the grass and dirt below him crumble and falls into a darkened cavern. He lands hard a rough surface. His breath comes out in a *whoosh* of air. It takes a moment or two to recover but when he is back on all hooves, he realizes that something is not right. The walls of the cavern are not rough hewn, like a natural cave. No, they are certain artificial look to their construction and were eerily smooth. On one of them is a sign that shocks Ana'Ra to his core. It reads:
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; Research and Development Lab, Lake Ontario Site; Nanomechanical Weapons Ontogeny; Project: White Rabbit Object