The group screamed as they barreled through the at hundreds of miles per hour. Of course, most of them recognized the castle that they were falling towards. Carolina, on one hand, was looking up at the tear in the sky. Washington, Doc, Donut, Junior and Sister, on the other hand, yelled out of fear, while Lopez embraced the thought of dying once again so he didn't have to deal with them all. Sadly, Lopez expected something to save him, and their fall soon slowed to what would be a walking speed, except only vertical, as they were surrounded by a gold shroud. Carolina glanced up as it happened and saw the crack in the sky begin to crumble and disappear, and she looked away from it, eyes shut firmly.
As soon they were within talking distance of the ornate building, one of the windows opened up and the group slowly glided through it. The newcomers gawked at the room they were now in, paying no heed to the being sitting in front of the throne, as well as the one in front of it surrounded by several other beings. When Washington finished with admiring the building, he looked towards the throne, only to fall to the ground with a hard grunt.
"Thanks for dropping in," Discord chuckled humorously. Then sighed as a nearby guard pointed a spear at him. "Oh, drop it. I've admitted defeat."
"Why do I not believe that?" Church asked, fragment form appearing in front of him as the others began to get up.
"Probably because, like you did to me, I'm lying," he said as if it was an old joke, then his smile deepened as the others were now on their feet, looking at the ground.
"Shining Armor, may you escort Discord to Luna's room?" Celestia asked from the throne.
"Yes, your highness," Shining Armor said, bowing to her.
"Aw, can't I stay and watch the others' little revelations of where they are?" Discord inquired playfully as he was pushed along.
"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Shining Armor said with a scowl, knowing how he should treat his enemies. Of course, he also knew how to treat old friends, and offered Church a smile and a nod. "Hey, Church."
"You... you know I'm Church?" he asked.
"Yeah, Twi filled me in while you were gone. Have to say, I'm not too surprised. You guys were way too different to have been from Equestria. Really sorry to cut this short, but, y'know, Discord." Shining Armor said as he tilted his head to the strange, demented creature waiting by the doors. "Maybe we can catch-up while I'm still in town."
"Hopefully," Church grunted.
"Don't forget, you guys still need to help me finish that bachelor party!"
"Bachelor party?" Washington asked as he twisted his helmet back into it's normal position. "What kind of stuff were you... guys... up to... in here..." he finished slowly as he noticed a large horse sitting on a throne. He was so confused at the fact that there was a large horse sitting on the throne, that he felt he had to mention it. "What's with the large horse on the throne?" he questioned, finding his words to be both apt and reasonable, as he was not used to such a sight. The sight being, of course, that there was a large horse sitting on a throne.
"My name is Princess Celestia," she said, bowing her head lightly. "And you might be...?"
"Agent Washington..." he grunted. Looking at the Reds and Blues he tilted his head. "Is that really a—"
"Yes, that's a horse on a throne," Sarge grunted. "I know, weirded me out when I first saw the talking horses in this place too."
"Wait, there's more talking horses?" Donut asked happily. "What else is there?"
"Magic!" Caboose said, even more happily than Donut.
"Really?" Donut asked, looking towards the throne.
Caboose, however, wasn't saying that there was magic. He had just blurted it out at the sign of Celestia's horn beginning to glow, and the group was surrounded by another gold shroud, this time a strange feeling coursing through their bodies. As the strange shimmer settled, Washington looked around the room to see that the Reds and Blues were gone, and now a bunch of ponies took their places.
"Uh, guys? Where'd you all go?" Washington inquired.
"We're right here, Wash!" Caboose said playfully, running around in circles. "Don't I look awesome?"
"Wait... Caboose... Why are you a horse?" Washington asked. Looking around, he noticed that the other horses were colored just like the Reds and Blues' armor. Using intel gathering, he reasoned that they, too, had been turned into ponies. "Why are you all horses?" Looking down at his, or rather, what used to be his feet, he grew very concerned. He grew even more worried when he saw his reflection on the marble floor and saw that he too was a pony. "Why am I a horse?"
"Actually, you're not a horse, you're a pony," Grif said semi-sarcastically.
"To be more accurate, you're a unicorn," Simmons added.
Wash stared at them blankly. He then looked down at the reflection once more and began to take it in. Dull-gray fur. Short and spiky dirty-blonde mane and tail. He then saw a sizable, pointy horn protruding from the top of his head. Slowly, he reached for it and touched it. As soon as he did, he realized that he could feel with it. Looking back up at the Reds and Blues, his eyes were more confused than anything.
"Why am I a horse?" he repeated.
"We're all horses," Doc murmured curiously, looking at his own reflection. Like he had gathered from looking at the others, he was the same color as his armor was when he was a human. He had short, messy black hair, and, like Washington, he too was a unicorn.
"This is so strange..." he added.
"Aw, why didn't I get a horn?" Donut asked, looking at his reflection. He raised his hoof and slowly patted his head parted pink hair and frowned.
"Look at the bright side, at least you have a pair of wings," Doc chipped.
"I do?" he inquired, looking at his side.
"Well would you look at that!" Donut said happily upon noticing his new limbs. Concentrating really hard, he attempted to open his wings. After a few seconds of trying to do so, his left wing unfurled the slightest bit and he let out a gasp. "Doc, look at this!"
"Wow, that is so cool!" Sister said. Looking down at her reflection. She saw that she, like everyone else, had gray fur. Her hair and mane were also gray. Of course, she was color blind. In reality, her fur was a bright yellow, and her hair was strawberry-brown. She then looked at her side and saw the she, like Donut, had a pair of gray wings. "Hey, I have wings too!"
While Doc, Donut and Sister talked positively about their new state, Washington stood up shakily and looked at his side. He couldn't make sense of what just happened. To him, it seemed like it was some crazy dream that he couldn't wake up from. He was hoping he had just gone crazy from all the stress of his life, seeing it as a more believable alternative. He then jumped to the side when a bald, brown stallion with completely steel-gray eyes was staring at him point plank.
"Jesus! Don't do that!" Washington snapped worriedly as he jumped to the side, falling over.
Looking down, the used-to-be mechanoid Lopez saw that he lacked either wings or horn. With a sigh, Lopez sat down and looked up to Celestia and folded his ears back.
"[Why do the idiots get horns and wings?]" Lopez inquired, then paused, a small realization sinking in. "[Actually, if you have the power to change our shape, why didn't you change my voice? Wouldn't changing that be easier than changing everything else about me?]"
"[Do not underestimate earth ponies. Their strength and fortitude is unmatched by unicorns and pegasi,]" Celestia said with a wink, surprising Lopez that she could not only understand him fully, but also talk in Spanish. "[As for your dialect, I considered what I learned about you from what I've been told from stories involving yourself. I felt that you'd want it to stay that way since they'd be less inclined to talk to you.]"
"[I—]" he started, raising a hoof. Stopping to contemplate it, he placed his hoof on his chin thoughtfully and rubbed it. Nodding at Celestia, he stood back up. "[I think you're the first sentient being that I actually respect.]"
"Thank you," Celestia said with a nod and a smile. Looking down to her left, she watched as Carolina stared at her reflection solidly. She was a cyan pegasus, and her burning red hair was tied up at the back, and bangs were dangling in front of each ear.
Unlike the others, however, she wasn't looking at her new body. She was merely staring aimlessly at the reflection. She was too preoccupied with other thoughts than to bother thinking about her new form. Celestia contemplated questioning her, but she felt that there would be more than enough time for that later.
Tucker glanced to Junior and noticed that he wasn't a pony like the others. In fact, he hadn't changed at all. He opened his mouth to ask, but Celestia spoke before he could get a word out.
"Do not worry about your... friend. I believe if you tell the others he is some sort of dragon, nobody will really question him too much. Don't forget, he isn't the only dragon the ponies of Ponyville have met."
"There's dragons here too?" Donut asked in awe.
"There's a lot more than that, you'll find," she said with a wink. She then looked to Church and nodded. "Give me a moment to write a message to Twilight. I will tell her of your return, and I will tell her to bring the the others," Celestia said, walking down the red carpet. "I'm sure they're going to be more than happy to show you around the castle." As she neared the group, they cleared the way for her, and she was soon out of the room.
"So... we're horses now?" Washington asked.
"Ponies," Caboose said. "There's a really big difference."
"Right," Washington said. Since he couldn't make sense of all that was happening quite yet, he decided to focus on the small stuff before barraging Church and the others with questions. "How the hell do you walk?"
"Uh, you just kind of do it," Tucker chuckled, walking towards him. "See?"
Washington stared at Tucker and nodded slowly. As he attempted to place his hoof down, however, it slipped underneath him and he faceplanted onto the hard marble flooring. With an annoyed grunt, he pulled his head back up and shook the bad feeling away.
"Come on, it's really easy. It's like crawling," Grif said, gently flying towards him. "I mean, even I can do it."
"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," Washington growled. "And it isn't like crawling at all. Crawling people are generally on their knees and elbows. This is the equivalent to running on my feet and hands, except without the grip on the fingers and the arms being twisted backwards. Oh, also add the fact that they're a lot stubbier."
"I mean, we learned it pretty fast. You'll probably get the jist of it by the time the girls get here," Simmons added with a pitiful smile.
Washington let out a heavy breath through his nose. He attempted to take a step forward, but this time he had actually managed to place his front left hoof in front of his body. Biting his lip, he lifted his right front hoof and placed it next to his other one. He then let out a sigh of relief and smiled. That is, until he realized that the ground seemed to be getting closer. Glancing back, he saw that, while his front hooves were in place, his back hooves were sliding backwards, and his belly was soon on the ground. He then frowned when his front hooves slipped forward and he was entirely flat.
"I hate this place already."