Ivan sat against a dumpster looking out at the street, waiting for a mass of doctors and ponies to step out of the building for closing time. His eyes would occasionally dart to the side of the building when it dimmed between commercials, expecting the four-sided television of a clinic was being powered down. Instead he would be met with another tease of what he wanted and his sister needed, followed immediately by a message saying he couldn't have it.
He wrung his hands, trying to keep them warm as the chilling evening wind pierced his gloves, the screwdriver balled up in his fist.
The endless, unfeeling, monotonous stream of words kept flashing on the screen. Ivan wondered if it was trying to say he wouldn't have it, couldn't have it or shouldn't have it. How were those words supposed to know any of that? They were just that, words, but still they kept flashing onto the screen, black squiggly teeth in a meaningless smile.
Ivan brought the screwdriver into the dumpster, bludgeoning it and leaving a dent, but in no way coming close to piercing it.
"Hello?"
Ivan stopped his frustrated beating in order to listen. Someone was poking into his business. He didn't need help, he needed to be unimpeded. He held still, not wanting to be dragged away for more empty words. His breath steamed the forest green paint of the dumpster.
"I know you're behind there, I can hear you breathing."
"Pewter Pot?" another voice joined in. "Come on let's go! If they need help they can ask for it."
Ivan's hand tightened around the screwdriver. The sound of snow crunching as the two walked away gave Ivan the resolve to let out his breath. Pewter Pot! The first voice's name was Pewter Pot, a pony name! Which meant that the employees were leaving.
He waited a minute before leaving his spot then darted around the building to the opposite side, finding an empty alley. The screens still flashed brightly but his eyes locked onto an emergency exit and a vent taking air into the building. The vent was about his height, and affixed only with screws. Holding the screwdriver to his eyes he smiled as the ends matched. It was short work to get rid of the grating and clamber inside. The thunderous cacophony of his passing blended with the sound of rushing cars outside.
In the silent building however, every one of his movements sounded like an explosion making his heart race. Ivan looked up, and gave a short chuckle at the sight of vent grating along the side of his path. He squirmed along the steel vent to the center of the building. Gazing out from each grating as he passed them he bared his teeth in a grin as he read the signs on each door: "Waiting room. Reception. Surgery. Storage. Ponification-Catalyzation chamber."
He stared out at the hall, where cool-steel paneling stood in stark contrast against the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. More grating separated him from the room but this time the screws were on the other side. Ivan pressed his face against the grating, impressing a diamond pattern in his cheek as he looked down the hall. Nothing but more paneling, doors and signs.
Scrunching himself into a ball Ivan turned himself about in the cramped space until his feet faced the grating. He kicked out rattling it, but not feeling the faintest give to it. He shook his head then let out another kick, and another. Soon he was wailing, legs flailing against the grate like he was sprinting. Sweat broke out on his brow, ragged breaths tearing at his lungs as he returned to kicking the grate with one leg. The grate fell out of place, clanging on the floor, and Ivan gulped for breath before pushing himself down into the hall.
He walked up to the door. It slid open, clicking as it locked into place and revealed a slough of cabinets, medical supplies and examination tables all cast in the shadows of the off-hour lights.
"Identification please," requested a clipped electronic voice.
Ivan froze. He had expected to just find the door locked, something he could pry open or remove with his screwdriver. But no, it was a computer demanding he identify himself.
"Identification please," chirped the voice again.
Shaking his head he stepped towards a set of cabinets that looked promising.
"Identification failed, emergency responders have been notified. Please get on your knees and place your hands on your head."
Ivan opened up the first cabinet revealing sets of painkillers and antibiotics, all useless in impeding Katna's illness at its current stage. He scrounged through the other cabinets using the screwdriver to take apart the lock assembly that lay over some of them. Throwing a door open he stared for a moment.
A red drum, about the size of Ivan's head and set just as high. It was covered in biohazard signs written in several languages. A spigot jutted out of the bottom, its handle arched over the top.
"Intruder still present, lockdown protocols engaged."
He reached to the spigot and squeezed it. Ivan smiled as a few drops of purple fluid fell onto the shelf. He grabbed the drum, tucked it underneath his arm and dashed to the door...
Only to smack right into a solid panel of steel, the drum escaping his arms and clanging on the metal floor. He banged his fist against the door. "Open!" He brought his fist against the door again. "Open!" he shouted, desperate. Looking around the room his eyes settled on the red drum. He grabbed it by the handle and swung it at the door. The drum clanged against it, leaving a dent, but bounced back towards him dragging him to the ground.
"Vandalization of transition clinic properties will be met with criminal prosecution. Please get on your knees and place your hands on your head."
"No!" Ivan screamed, bashing at the door again until his arms fell like spaghetti at his sides.
He turned, leaning his shoulders against the door when he saw something he had missed the first time: another vent. He grabbed the drum of potion, ran to the vent and set about undoing the grating. His shoulders ached, his vision blurred through hot tears as he fumbled with the screws. The panel came off and he scrambled in, the red drum smacking against his side. His progression through the vents to the exit was a noisy loop of pained yelps, whines and clanging metal.
Ivan slid out to the sounds of sirens approaching. He grabbed the drum and did as he always did when trouble came near. He ran.
Katna braced a hand against the floor, her fingers clasping at the broad moist concrete as her chest heaved. It settled, and Katna was left to stare at a few of her books. She reached to a chemistry book and leafed through the pages. She smiled as she reached the periodic table of elements. The blues and greens and yellows all stacked on top of one another in a neat little order.
Her finger traced over a few of the boxes, playing a little game. Choosing two elements at random she added the numbers in the box together then tried to find that number in another box. Carbon and silicon, six plus fourteen, twenty, and that would give... calcium. That meant that calcium normally had... twenty protons. Iodine and copper, fifty-three plus twenty-nine, eighty-two, which was... lead, eighty-two protons...
Katna lay the book to the side. A year ago it had simply been a pretty picture with letters and numbers in them. Then in idle curiosity from waiting for Ivan she had noticed the pattern and began reading the rest of the book to figure out what the pattern was, and what it meant.
The entrance to their personal creche creaked open and Ivan slid in, panting as a giant carbuncle-red cylinder knocked against his legs causing him to fall and drop the drum. It rolled over to Katna, falling short of striking against her legs. She pulled herself away from it and crawled to Ivan.
"Is that it?" Katna asked turning her head to peer at the red drum that had nearly smashed her brother's legs.
"Whatever... it is," Ivan panted. "It looks... just... like potion," he finished, pushing himself up onto his knees, still breathing heavily. "Grab the biggest pill bottles you can."
Katna's eyes widened and she arched her brows, wondering what use... She smacked the side of her head. Empty pill bottles to drink with, of course! She scuttled to the plastic mound and fished around for what she could find. She pulled out two massive Tylenol bottles and stuck her hand in each, flexing her fingers inside them both to assure herself they were empty. She brought them to Ivan, who had righted the potion container and was balancing it on his knee.
He grabbed one of the bottles and held it underneath the spigot. A thin stream of purple liquid poured out. To Katna it seemed to glow.
"Is it radioactive?" Katna stepped back.
"I read the pamphlet again last night. It didn't say anything like that. We just drink it, fall asleep, and wake up as ponies." Ivan set the first pill bottle down.
Katna scrunched up her face. "What happens to our clothes?"
Ivan looked up from his pouring at Katna, mouth hanging open. "Uh... it says that we shouldn't be wearing anything which might cause... what was the word? Strange...ool...ation?"
"Strangulation?" Katna picked up the pamphlet and flipped through it. She looked up and gasped. "Ivan! The bottle!"
Looking down Ivan rapidly released the spigot as he realized the pill bottle was about to overflow. He set it aside and inhaled shakily. "O-okay... haha..." Ivan stepped away from the bottles and reached to his brow. He inspected his hand, making sure none of the gunk had spilled on him. Seeing nothing he wiped his brow and planted himself on the ground staring at the two bottles, one for him, the other for his sister.
"So... that's all there is to it then?" Katna asked.
"I believe so." Ivan shed his gloves and lay them beside him. "Katna," he said, removing his jacket as he kept staring at the bottle. "I'll go first, to see if it's safe. If something goes wrong, go find someone." His skin goose-bumped at the cold brisk air of their improvised shelter.
Katna scuttled towards Ivan grabbing his arm as he tried to remove his shirt. "No! They'll put us in another home, and then that will just shut down or run out of food in another few months!" She shook his arm, gripping it firmly as Ivan tried to pull his shirt over his head without the use of one arm. "What if they don't believe you're my brother after you’re a pony? I don't want them to separate us!"
Ivan used his free hand to grip Katna's shoulder. "It's just in case, I'm sure this'll work. I don’t want to be away from you either." Katna's grip loosened, and Ivan used the slack to slide free of his shirt and his sister.
"Now, I'll drink the potion; don't drink it until I've woken up and figured out it's safe." Ivan's hands went down to his fly when he looked back at Katna. "Could you... turn around?"
Katna raised an eyebrow.
"Just, please?" Ivan pleaded.
Katna shrugged and turned around. She listened to the sound of more clothes falling to the floor, and then the soft smack of feet against the concrete. The feet went to the pill bottles, and then back to the clothing pile.
"Okay, Katna, I'm taking it now. Remember, don't take it until after I've woken up and we've talked, okay?" With that there was a brief slurping sound followed by a series of gulps, then silence.
Katna sat still for a few seconds, focusing her attention to the corner of her eyes. "Ivan?" The sound of an empty bottle hitting the concrete met her, and she turned around. "Ivan!"
Ivan lay on his side, eyes closed, the bottle just a few inches from his outstretched arm. He was just sleeping, like he said he would be. Katna breathed out, calming herself, when a loud snap came from his direction.
Inhaling too quickly Katna broke into a coughing fit as another snapping sound came from her brother. That sounded like something had broken! "Ivan!?" she asked frantically, breaking into another spasm of coughing. Ivan’s response was a set of burbling noises, like times when she hadn't eaten for days.
Katna got on all fours, dry heaving from all the coughing, specks of blood flying unobstructed from her mouth onto the paved ground. It was bad. Lemon juice might as well have been poured down her throat and it wouldn't have matched the burning and sloshing sensations in her own chest.
"Ivan! Help!" she cried, taking air in what she was sure were mere spoonfuls. Her arms gave way, and she looked at Ivan as her right shoulder hit the concrete.
Ivan felt a dozen somethings poking his palms... and his feet. The poking stopped on his right hand, then on his left foot, then he realized we was bent over and walking on all fours. He looked down and saw two limbs. The light grey stumps swung forward in time with his legs, contrasting against the grass beneath them. They didn't have fingers, they didn't have anything except for fine hairs and a shiny cap on the end. Legs, they were legs of some kind, the connection drawing itself in Ivan's mind. They were legs, and they were his.
He stopped and looked around. It was astonishingly easy as his neck swung about, letting him look behind. Shoulders, back, rump... tail. He had a tail, a scraggly grey thing that twitched a bit as he laughed.
That's when something other than his tail moved. A flap on his back shifted and fluttered at his side.
Ivan stopped his mirth and stared at the differently-textured limb stretching out of him. Wings, he had wings! Ivan tried reaching back towards them with a hoof and wobbled a bit as he remembered that he was using all four of them to stand. He reached back a little further with his neck, tentatively trying to flex the muscles in his back which he had felt shift when he laughed.
His lips made contact with the feathers and he started lipping them, adjusting and putting them into place. His nostrils flared as a feather pushed its way up his nose and he pulled back, sneezing.
He sat down folding his tail underneath himself and stared at his hooves. He flexed his front legs, twisting them and testing their range of motion when something suddenly prodded him in the back.
Ivan turned on his hooves by pure reflex, wings flaring out. His mouth hung open at what he saw.
Katna’s eyes locked at what she could make out through her tears, and didn't let go as her vision cleared.
Ivan's skin was... waxy, as if he had been sweating profusely, but it seemed his body was trying to drink the moisture back in through the skin. His arms and legs had shrunk, and the toes and fingers had fused together. Something that looked like his knees were now nestled up against his hip, or was that the thing bent back the wrong way? The cracks had subsided into a continuous drone of creaking as Ivan's jaw jutted out of his face, and his ears, once obstructed by his hair, now poked out of the top of his head.
Attempting to breath Katna found herself in another bout of coughing. Tears smacked against her fists as her vision swam and she fought against the pull of gravity. She couldn't breathe! Her lungs weren't working! And Ivan wasn't there to help her through, he was unconscious and in no condition to help. More sloshing, liquid flecks of blood. There was a brief respite and Katna tried to breath, only to swallow before another spasm struck.
She couldn't wait. She wanted to, she should have, but terrified of not being able to breath she dragged herself to where the second pill bottle lay, a soft purple emanating from the open top. One hand groping the concrete, another at the buttons on her shirt, Katna fumbled through the three things she needed to do: get the bottle, make sure she could drink it the moment she did, and not get strangulated by her own clothes. Knees scrabbling, Katna undid the last button on her shirt. She threw her arm up, ineffectually trying to get the shirt off as it clung to her.
No time! She was at the bottle, she undid her pants and let her last push towards the purple glow drag the clothing off of her. Her other hand gripped the bottle and she brought it to her lips, gulping it down as quickly as she could, sputtering bits of potion out onto her hand as the rest went down. She fell on her side, a pleasant warmth spreading in her chest. She felt tired, the racking in her body leaving her unable to resist the chance to rest.
Another pony was smiling at Ivan as a dozen others trotted towards them. Some had wings, some had horns, and some had neither, but they all stopped, threw their heads about, reared up, and whinnied before continuing to trot in his direction, approaching and pressing up against him, muzzles and ears and sides pushing and rubbing on flanks. They were together, they cared for him. He stood back up letting out a cry of happiness to them.
The herd dispersed trotting alongside Ivan as he moved along, tossing his own head about as the wind played with his mane. He let out a whoop as he ran towards one of the other herd members, and laughed as he flared out his wings at the last moment, mockingly making himself appear larger. They all ran along the vast plains, under the overcast skies, marking their direction by a mountain in the distance as the time passed.
They reached a coursing river that snaked its way across their path, and the herd settled to munching on grass or drinking from the river.
Ivan looked down at the ground, tilting his head before looking between himself and the others. He lowered his head, gripped a patch of grass in his teeth, pulled his head up tearing the grass off, and chewed before swallowing.
A pegasus mare in the herd whinnied drawing the others towards her as she forded the river, the water reaching up to her belly. The others followed suit and Ivan was soon left gazing at the black depths of the flowing water.
He reached with a hoof, slowly dipping it into the water. It was warmer than he imagined, and he soon found himself up to his neck in its depths. He struggled to cross over, the other ponies looking at him from across the river. His hooves clambered on wet stones, his wings flapping about and sending droplets of water up into the air, but his balance held and Ivan slowly dragged himself up to the shore. He was cold at first, but felt an instinctive impulse to shake himself, after which he felt dry. The other ponies walked a little ways further, and laid in the grass.
Ivan mimicked them, feeling like he finally had a place.
Katna breathed.
For the first time in months breathing felt full and painless. Her sides expanded, the air flowed in without any stinging or burning, and her lungs filled. There was a crackling noise in front of her, but also warmth. The crackling made Katna's ears twitch. They moved in a circle, a great mighty heave that messed with her hair and ended with her ears bent backwards.
Katna opened her eyes and blinked. A small fire was surrounded by a set of stones, the orange flames lapping upwards to a... blue hole set against a vibrant purple velvet ceiling. She followed the contours of the gold thread embroidered fabric down the wall. It looked like some scene from the tale of Aladdin! The wall ended in a rug that covered the ground, which she followed until she was staring at her... arms?
Her arms were gone! Katna started breathing heavily as she twisted around their facsimile replacements. Overtly pink stubs stood in place for her once pale and spindly fingers. She pushed against the ground, trying to put some distance between her face and the rounded ends of her not-hands.
"What are—woah!"
Katna fell over as she realized her tongue and teeth were very different. She rolled on her back and laid staring at the ceiling as she scrunched up her face, feeling around with her tongue. A flash of Ivan's shifted face crossed her vision and she remembered the potion.
"Oh no! What was I thinking!?" Katna whined, rolling over on her side. She stared at her weird new arms. "These are... pony legs," she said, wiggling them a bit. Looking down the length of her body she also noticed her hind legs. She took a deep breath, smiling at the continued absence of pain, and rolled on her stomach, shifting her hind legs and stretching them out before doing the same with her front legs. Katna looked around the tent, still smiling. "I wonder where I am?" She turned around, facing the fire and the entrance to the tent.
"Hello!?" she called out.
Her ears flicked and twitched at each snap and pop from the fire. Katna took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp scent of wood smoke. She walked back to the fire and sat, holding her hooves up to it, feeling a slight warmth build up on their bottoms. Sweeping her vision from her front hooves to her chest, flank and tail, Katna wiggled a bit in the cushions and blankets by the fire.
"Brother was right. I feel a lot better."
Katna's eyes widened as she gasped. "Brother!"
Something poked at Ivan's back, earning a dissatisfied grunt. Had he rolled onto some piece of garbage while sleeping with his herd? Ivan brought his hand to his face with a dull thud. Dream. It was a dream, he was still...
Grimacing Ivan rubbed his face. He could only feel a massive singular digit in each hand and whatever was touching his face was not warm flesh, but something hard. His face for that matter wasn't matching up either. He could feel it, but from how much he bent his elbows Ivan judged that the tip of his nose and teeth stretched farther out than before.
That was when Ivan noticed feelings in his arms, the massive digit of his hand making up a disproportionate amount of what he could call his 'arms'. Ivan flexed them, scrunching his eyes as we waved them in whatever way they wanted to. Bones and muscles slid and glided and pushed and pulled until that darn poking sensation returned, forcing Ivan onto his belly.
As his hands hit the ground with a resounding clop Ivan's eyes snapped open. His mind made the immediate connections when he saw the little keratinous caps at the ends of his arms. Hooves, he had hooves! And he was wide awake, the potion had worked! He could not wait to tell—
He had been moving around but Katna hadn't said anything.
Ivan heard soft breathing to his left. His ears swiveled to point at its source. It was light, effeminate and unlabored, coming steadily and without any quality of raspiness to it.
"Sister?" He ran his tongue along all his teeth and flexed his jaw. Interesting, he could speak even though his mouth was incredibly different. Maybe he was just making animal noises and thought he was talking? "Sister?" he called again. "I think it worked..."
Ivan bent his neck, directing his gaze to the source of the breathing.
There lay a small salmon-colored filly with a teal mane and tail. A pink undershirt and faded jeans clung to her figure. Beside her an empty pill bottle dripped purple fluid on the concrete.
"Katna, no!" Ivan crawled towards his sister, ears flicking about as his face scrunched up. She hadn't listened! In all the years he had trusted her to behave, it had to be in this, the most dangerous thing he had ever done, that she didn't wait for him to be ready to catch her?
Ivan looked at Katna's face. She was smiling. A piece of her mane fell downward, revealing a fluted protrusion of... something. It looked a bit like her hooves, but Ivan drew his head back. Katna had come out as a unicorn. His ears drooped as he swung his head around to look at his wings. They fluttered expectantly.
"Brother!"
Ivan scuttled backwards from the outburst, looking at its source.
Katna stared at Ivan, blinking. She tilted her head, then looked down, gasped and bit her lip, returning to look at Ivan. She tucked her hooves under herself and her eyes watered. "I-I... I couldn't breathe..." she said. “You weren't there, and I was scared, and you'd kept telling me this would cure me..."
A worm bit into Ivan's heart as his jaw clenched. He hadn't been there when she needed him. He lurched forward then looked down at his legs. In the process of scuttling about he found himself standing up.
Ivan shifted his legs a bit, recollecting the dream where he had galloped with a herd. The simple motion of walking on four legs came to him as he shifted his weight and lifted his front right hoof up. He placed it pointing towards Katna and performed the same action with his left hind leg. Soon he was standing over Katna, who had tucked her head underneath a foreleg and was whining.
Ivan leaned over and... pressed his head against Katna's side. Katna poked her head out and looked at Ivan. "I'm sorry," she cried.
Ivan lay down beside Katna. The salmon filly flinched at the sudden motion then sighed as Ivan lay his neck over her own. "No, no, I wasn't there for you when I should have been. I know you were scared." Ivan adjusted himself, blowing on Katna's mane. She giggled as he continued nuzzling her. "I promise I won't leave you again," he breathed.
Katna hummed, stretching out a hoof and wrapping it around Ivan. "I know."
Pulling back from Katna Ivan looked her over, still covered by her human clothes. "How does breathing feel?"
"No pain." Katna looked over Ivan and smiled. "A pegasus. I'm sure you'll have wonderful tricks to show me soon."
"I'm sure you will too, little unicorn sister," Ivan replied, chuckling as Katna reached up to feel her head. "Do you think you can stand?"
Peering at her hooves Katna nodded. "I had a dream where I walked a little. I remember it so clearly. I was in a tent, alone, but there was a fire." Continuing to speak Katna tucked her hooves below her. "I was scared at first, regretting what I had done, but then I kind of enjoyed feeling warm and healthy. What about you, brother?" Katna looked down seeing that she had managed to stand while talking. She glanced back at Ivan, eyes shining.
"I had a dream too, although I was running through a field with other ponies." Ivan glanced around their concrete hovel taking account of their supplies. The empty pill bottles would be good for carrying things they found in their travels, along with a myriad of used and run-down purses and backpacks Ivan had 'borrowed' from loading trucks across the city.
At last his eyes fell upon the pile of clothes in the corner, the last vestiges and proof that the dilapidated maintenance area had once housed two street urchins. Ivan looked over to his sister, her shirt still laying on her shoulders, front legs poking out of the sleeves. Her pants hung awkwardly off of her back legs, the tail poking out and obstructing the pants from being hiked up any higher.
Though they planned to move south, there was still the need to keep warm.