Chloe stared at the ceiling. She felt her belly rumbling like a child demanding its food, but she wasn't in any mood to oblige. She didn't want to have what she just saw rubbed in her face any more than it already was. The plain white ceiling was her only asylum now; the shadows of the curtains cast by the sun reached across the room to the wall beside Chloe.
The door to the room swung open and Leah walked in. She dropped herself on the side of Chloe's bed, and began stroking her rose colored mane. Chloe rolled over onto her side and stared at the wall away from Leah. "Chloe, what's wrong?"
She said nothing. She breathed slowly, but the same feeling in her throat she got when she saw Jay kissing her returned. It hurt, and it brought the tears back. She began to quietly sob into her hooves. Leah sat with Chloe for a good while until she calmed down.
"It's Jay."
"What about that ass?"
"He lied to me. He is with Peach... I saw them kiss before lunch."
Leah cocked her head. "What about it?"
"I just realized... that he was such a nice person to me for so long, and... and I had ignored him, so I wanted to take back what I had said to him last night. But now..." Chloe fell back into another fit of sobs.
"Guys lie, Chloe. All they want is some hot nookie, no matter how terrible it makes them look. Not even going pony could fix that. Plus this just proves that Jay didn't really like you like he seemed to. The moment you said no, he cast his lure back into the sea to catch another fish, and today they're biting."
"Jay... Doesn't actually like me?" The thought was troubling, and contradictory to what she had seen in him in the past. He felt like the most genuine person around her; he never hid much from her and was always there to listen to her whenever she needed someone to vent to. He was easy to chat with and he was always kind to her, even after she started going out with Andrew.
"Well he may have in the past, but the moment someone easier came along, he changed his mind faster than you could've ever imagined."
Chloe buried her muzzle into her pillow. She had just realized her feelings for Jay, and his for her had just evaporated... It wasn't fair. But... She wasn't fair to him for the longest time. But now it didn't matter. He and Peach Cobbler will hit it off, and the day they all leave the bureau, he'll go off with her and she'll never see him again. But if he's so prone to looking for the easiest way to love, then what would stop him later on? Perhaps he's just like that now.
"I guess if he's just going to be like that now... he's not worth my time." Chloe felt sad saying it, but it seemed to be true given the present circumstances.
"That's the spirit!" Leah gave Chloe a kiss on the head. "Come on, let's get you something to eat, and let's not let that asshole stop you." Chloe lazily rolled over and dropped onto her four hooves with a clatter on the hard floor. She followed Leah out the door and through the halls to the cafeteria. They walked in right as Garnet was calling the next human for conversion.
“Chelsea Gardyle? Come with me please.” A red haired girl stood up from her seat and looked around nervously at everyone staring at her. Her peers who were already converted all smiled as they watched, while the ones who had yet to be called watched longingly. She timidly walked over and followed the red unicorn through the doors.
Chloe followed Leah up to the counter to get their lunches; some kind of soup for Leah, and a green salad topped with flower petals for Chloe. She saw Peach Cobbler in the back of the kitchen, who happened to be looking over as well. Chloe couldn’t stop herself from scowling as their eyes met.
“Come on, Chloe. Let’s get us a table,” Leah said, walking away.
Chloe saw Jay and Austin sitting at a table on the far end of the cafeteria along with the other ponies. She felt her heart tighten as she saw Jay laughing.
The lunch was a somber affair; neither Chloe nor Leah spoke much as they ate.
---
Austin knew immediately something was up; Jay couldn’t hide a smile well. “Spill it, you goofball.”
“I’m having dinner tonight with a special somepony,” Jay said, almost too sweetly. Austin patted his hoof onto Jay’s back and chuckled. “Peach even gave me another kiss just now!” Austin’s face suddenly went slack.
“What? Peach? The cook?” Austin looked over to the kitchen to see Peach’s head dart back down to her work, easily failing to hide the fact that she was staring over to their group at the table. “Jay, buddy, what happened to Chloe? I thought you were dead set on her, especially with Andrew out of the way.”
“I was, but after she turned me down last night... I guess I just kind of gave up. And after having dinner with Peach... I guess I figured we had something. So we’re gonna have dinner again tonight and see how it goes.”
Austin dropped his head against the table with a loud thunk. His blond mane was sticking to his head, the sweat from his ‘training’ soaking his entire coat. “Ja-”
“One other thing,” Jay interrupted.
Austin sighed. “What is it?”
“You know that Rob fellow?”
“That jerk? Yeah, I remember. Where has he been? I haven’t seen him around for a while.”
“I saw him earlier, and... Well, I found out who he is.” Austin picked his head up from the table to look at Jay. He was a bit nervous, but proceeded on. “His name is Rob Telios, son of the president of the company our parents worked for. The ones who killed them.” Austin sat frozen as he listened. “Rob was the one who leaked the memo to the press about the intentional explosion, and he’s been trying to hide from his dad since.
“He asked me to help him... extract... this chip from his body. A tracking chip.” Jay’s eyes went wide as the images raced back into his head. “It was in his arm, on the bone. He wanted me to take it out and... for the love of Celestia...”
“And? What happened?”
“I… pulled the thing out with my magic and… and he crushed it. He used some miragel to close that grisly cut, but without conversion, he’s going to get some sort of infection. He’s not worried about it though. What he was saying about his dad, though... he said that they’d kill us all just for harboring him. I really don’t want to think about what could happen if they found us here.”
“Well, Rob busted the bug, right?” Jay nodded. “Then we should be fine.” Austin brought his hoof to his chin and thought for a minute. “Makes a bit of sense, now. How he knew so much, why he looked so high-class...”
“He looked high class?”
“His clothes. They were too nice for a company budget. The hair, the nails, the shoes; his general demeanor alone gave it away.”
“Huh. I didn’t notice.” Jay frowned. The possibilities were still unsettling. “So,” Jay started, in an attempt to change the subject. “How’d the flying go?”
Austin began to smile. “Well, Andrea’s a natural, ironically enough. She can do flips and turns like nopony’s business... and did I just seriously say ‘nopony’?” Austin chuckled as he brought a hoof to his forehead. Jay laughed along as well.
“I’ve been catching myself making those ‘pony-isms’ as well, don’t worry. I mean... It’s natural, right? We ARE ponies now. I guess it’s just odd that it’s happening by itself.”
Austin shrugged. “I suppose. So Murphy’s good with speed, but lacking with control. Fleet liked the pair of them together; they could help each other out where they each needed improvement. Myself,” Austin began. “I was a wreck. I could barely stay aloft, and I had no control. All I could do by the end of the morning was hover, and that’s how I worked up this sweat,” he said, pointing to his soaked mane. “Fleet’s giving me some private lessons after our class today, after lunch. Wonder what it’ll be,” Austin mused.
"No idea."
The pair watched as more of their peers filed into the cafeteria; Andrea, Murphy, Caleb, and Annie all wandered over to their table as they did that morning. Jay felt happy about the new camaraderie between him and the others; it was as if conversion opened them all up to each other, their friendships finally appearing.
A few of the other humans still sat by themselves, not as willing to open up as Jay and his friends were. Everyone came to the bureau as a tightly guarded safe, unwilling to open up except for a scant few people if at all.
Jay was both sad for them and excited; they were going to feel the joy of friendship soon, and he wasn't going to prematurely rush it by being too obtrusive with talking with him. It was a funny thought: him talking to people on his own accord. Jay chuckled. He was already a changed pony, and he was ecstatic about it.
A clatter of hooves signaled the return of Chelsea shortly before she nosed her way past the doors. She seemed to be capable of walking on four legs reasonably well enough. Her coat was a dull grey, but her mane was white with bright red streaks. She trotted over to Jay and Austin’s table with all of the other ponies with Garnet following close behind.
“Everypony, I’d just like to inform you that we’re going to be having a naming workshop shortly after lunch is finished in Meeting Room B. Please make your way over when you finish,” Garnet said. Jay watched as she trotted off to another table on the other end of the cafeteria. Leah and Chloe sat by themselves at the table.
Jay watched as Chloe listened to Garnet and nodded her head slowly. After Garnet was finished, she disappeared behind the doors once more. Jay watched Chloe as everyone at his table congratulated Chelsea and complimented her on her looks and her conversion. She didn’t seem outwardly upset, but Jay knew something was bothering her after knowing her as long as he did. Why did it still bother him seeing her like this?
---
Jay fell onto his rump. The coarse carpet wasn’t nearly as rough on his hindquarters as he expected; he had his beige coat to thank for that. Austin sat to his right, followed by Murphy, Andrea, Caleb, Annie, and the newly ponified Chelsea. She was the second unicorn after Jay, and he felt at least somewhat comfortable that he had someone else to relate to with his magic training.
Her horn poked out from the top of her forehead, which she poked foolishly with her hoof. And with each poke came a shiver that ran through her body, causing a tremor in her posture.
“Chels... You shouldn’t do that,” Jay said from across the group.
She giggled and put her hoof back down. Jay was going to bring her with him to see Firecracker after their naming workshop. She was new to her horn, and needed to learn control before she began experimenting by herself.
Chloe finally walked into the room, and seeing no other open spot, dropped in next to Jay. She turned away from him the moment she sat down.
“Well good afternoon, everypony!” Garnet sang. She trotted toward the circle of ponies and sat down between Austin and Murphy. She smiled and looked around at the circle through her glasses. "Today is your naming workshop, and while I hope you can walk out of here with a new name to better suit your new lives, it is entirely possible that one or some of you may not come up with a name you're happy with."
"Miss Garnet," Chelsea asked. "What are some of the equestrian naming conventions? I've heard all sorts of names ponies use."
"I'm glad you asked that, Chelsea. Now, many ponies have names that either exemplifies what they specialize at, or how they look. Take myself for example. 'Garnet' is a type of gemstone, and a particularly beautiful one at that. When I was born, my mother and father saw my coat and mane colors and it reminded them of the stone. They were gem cutters for a jeweler, so it was appropriate, in a way."
Jay listened in rapt attention as he began to think a good name for himself. "And you don't need to worry; names aren't permanent. You can change your name whenever you'd like, but in my years I've rarely seen somepony do so. Now let's get started. I’m going to pair everypony up with somepony else, so they can help each other come up with names for each other.”
Garnet trotted around the group. Caleb and Murphy were paired together; they trotted off to a side of the room and began smiling and chatting with each other. Annie and Andrea paired off with each other. The filly giggled and bounced off with the cocoa colored mare off to another part of the room. Garnet looked at Jay, then around the last of the group. He hoped that he could pair up with Austin.
“Jay, how about you pair up with... Chloe.” Garnet smiled and turned around. “And Austin and Chelsea, you two are paired up as well. Remember everypony!” Garnet yelled around the room. “Don’t worry if you can’t come up with anything today! It takes a very long time for somepony to recognize their own traits and strengths. You may not find your name today, but just keep thinking and looking. You’ll find it.”
Jay dragged his hooves along the floor to where Chloe sat. She didn’t seem to make eye contact with Jay; she stared at her forehooves that stuck out in front of her. Her rosy mane hung down in front of her eyes, hiding her face with them.
“So,” Jay began. “Um, have you come up with a name yet?” He felt awkward with Chloe, especially after both her turning him down the night before and his breakthrough with Peach just an hour ago.
“Primrose.”
“That was quick.” Jay wasn’t sure what was wrong with Chloe; her voice was distant and quiet and she still hadn’t lifted her head up to look at him. Though it still bothered him to see her sad like this. “I like it. It suits you.”
She picked her head up for a moment and looked into Jay’s eyes. As quickly as her demeanor changed, her mouth hardened into a frown. She stood up from her spot and walked over to Garnet.
“Already done, dear?”
“Yes.”
“And what is your new name?”
“Primrose.”
“Beautiful, and very much befitting of you, based on what I’ve heard from Clementine. I love it.”
“May I leave?”
“Oh, why of course. Take care, Primrose!”
Primrose trotted out from the meeting room with a swish of her tail without looking back. Jay sat in his spot all by himself, vacant from his own mind. Chloe... no... Primrose hated him, that much was clear as day. But why?
“Jay? Why don’t you come over here with Austin and Chelsea,” Garnet said, waving a hoof over to the pair. Austin smiled as Jay trotted over and landed on his rump next to the pair.
“That didn’t look like it went well,” Austin said with a smirk. Jay sighed in response.
“What’s going on? Am I missing something?” Chelsea asked.
“Jay here had a massive crush on Chl- Primrose for years, and after getting rejected last night, he decided to, ahem... ‘cut his losses’ and attempt something with Peach Cobbler, the cook.”
“Oh! I love her desserts! They’re awesome!” Chelsea giggled. “Wait, how’d the thing with Peach go, at least?”
“Well, I’m sure Jay here could describe the sensation of ‘pony tongue’,” Austin said before bursting out laughing. Jay nickered and snorted in response. “Hey, ease up. I’m just teasing. So, you come up with anything for yourself, yet?”
Jay shook his head. “Austin and I already came up with a name for me! Peppermint! See all the red?” Chelsea said, looking up at her white mane streaked with red. “I mean my hair looks like a peppermint itself! Plus I love mints too!”
Jay smiled at Chelsea’s cheerfulness. He never really knew her either until coming to the bureau; it seemed to be a common issue among everyone here. He never really talked with anyone but Austin, and sometimes Chloe.
“Now let’s see... What should I pick out?” Austin muttered.
“How about Sunshine?” Chelsea said out loud. “You always brighten up situations and make everyone smile! Plus look at your colors!” Jay agreed with her; he was always the one to make him smile, and his blond mane paired with his light blue coat looked like a sun and the sky.
“Sunshine. Hm. I like it!” Austin chuckled. “Now how about Jay here? What should we call him?”
Chelsea held her hoof to her muzzle. “I... don’t know? No offense, but I never really knew you before this...”
Jay waved his hoof. “It’s okay. I... was really quiet before. I kept to myself.”
Austin frowned. “I don’t know what to say, Jay. I’m drawing a blank. You’re really... vanilla. You even kinda look like vanilla,” Austin snickered, drawing giggles from Chelsea as well.
“Ha ha ha. Whatever.” Jay huffed and crossed his hooves in frustration. He was also drawing a blank for what his new name should be.
“Ah, don’t sweat it. Garnet even said that some of us won’t come up with names right off the bat. I’ll see if I can think something up in the meantime. Garnet? We’re ready over here!”
The bespectacled unicorn trotted over to the group of three with a smile. “So who’s what now?”
Chelsea bloomed into a bright smile. “Peppermint!”
“Sunshine,” Austin said.
“Okay, and what about you, Jay?”
Jay looked down at the ground out of shame. Everypony else were getting new names, further moving them to their new lives, while he sat back, still unsure about himself.
“Oh, don’t worry, Jay. It takes a long time for most ponies to come up with brand new names to identify themselves by. Heavens, it usually takes days for most ponies at other bureaus to get their names! So there’s nothing to be worried about or ashamed of.”
“I suppose,” Jay murmured.
Garnet’s horn glowed as she wrote down two more names on her notepad. “Well, it’s official! Welcome to the bureau, Peppermint and Sunshine!”
“Hooray!” Peppermint cheered.
“Glad to be here,” Sunshine said with a smile.
“Now, Jay? Can you take Peppermint with you to see Firecracker? She needs some formal lessons so she doesn’t hurt herself.” Garnet trotted off to the other groups to speak with them as well.
“I have my next lesson with Fleet Feather now anyway. I’ll see you afterwards, Jay?” Sunshine asked as they left the meeting room.
“Uh, sure.”
“You and I need to have a bit of a chat later, anyway.” Sunshine’s demeanor darkened for a moment as he spoke. He turned around and trotted off toward the field for his flight lesson. Peppermint and Jay went in the opposite direction towards the library to see Firecracker.
---
Primrose trotted through the hallway back towards the common room. It was almost cruel of Garnet to pair her up with Jay; though it surely wasn't her fault. She couldn't have known. Primrose was just glad she had settled on a name right then and there, without having to spend more time than she needed to with Jay. It was more frustrating than anything, she thought to herself.
The common room seemed almost empty, the last few humans to be converted scattered about. Some of them sat by themselves in the chairs while the others who were missing were probably in their rooms. Leah was sitting on the sofa, watching television. Primrose walked over and smiled as she sat next to her.
"So what do I call you now?" Leah asked, picking up Primrose's tail and beginning to run her fingers through it.
"Primrose," she answered.
"So pretty! I'm so jealous that you already got converted. I hope mine’s soon," Leah said.
"Don't worry, Leah. You'll get your turn, I promise."
The pair sat for a while, Leah continuing to stroke Prim's tail, and eventually moving onto her mane. She began scratching behind Prim's ears, which sent her eyes up into her head. It felt positively delightful and pleasant, instantly making her wish she had fingers again. The thought immediately brought something back up in her head.
Leah noticed Prim's immediate turn in her demeanor. "What's wrong, Chlo- I mean, Primrose?"
She picked her muzzle up and looked over to Leah. "I miss drawing. I miss my fingers. I miss my sketchbook. I knew it was going to be hard to give up these, but... I've been focused other things recently, and... I just miss drawing."
"Oh Prim..." Leah said as she planted a kiss on the earth pony's forehead. "I've seen some of the ponies around using pencils in their mouths. Maybe that'd work?"
"I don't know..." Prim's mind immediately flew back to Jay promising to make her a brace for her hoof, so she could keep drawing without having to worry about using her mouth. She remembered the second night they were there, when she went to tell Andrew that they were going to get converted together in the morning. She ran into Jay in the common room, who was holding her brace, presumably to give to her as a gift.
But after the display with Andrew, Prim feared she knew what happened to Jay and the brace he was working on. She rested her head on her forelegs and sighed. Leah got up from the couch and disappeared from the common room without a word. Primrose sat and looked out the window to the central bureau garden. Honeybell and Clementine were tending to their plants, smiles on both of their faces.
Lean bounded back into the common room with two things in her hands. She placed the pair on the couch in front of Primrose: a pencil and her sketchbook.
“Oh,” she said. “Thank you, Leah, but I don’t really know if it’s any use...”
“Then what’s the harm in trying? You can’t just pass on the opportunity and say ‘Oh, I didn’t even bother with it because I had my reasons.’ No!” Leah said, poking Prim on her forehead. “Give it a shot. Who knows! It may be easier than you think.”
“Okay, if you say so,” Primrose mumbled. She nudged open her book with her dark blue hoof, the pages fluttering past until the book lay open before her. The picture on the page was a sketch she remembered doing a few weeks ago; a girl with a smile on her face falling, carrying a boy by his hand behind her. He looked unsure, while she was excited and smiling. There was plenty of room beneath the picture for her to test her new skills.
She hesitated as she reached her neck down to the pencil. She slowly opened her mouth and gripped the wooden shaft in her teeth, wrapping her alien tongue around the back end of it. She reached her head back down to the paper and began dragging the graphite tip along the surface.
She began with a simple curve, the tip of the pencil scratching at the paper. Primrose pressed down with it a bit harder to get more of a defined line, but the force caused the pencil to skid away from the path she wanted. She huffed and continued on.
Getting used to the new method of drawing was awkward and challenging. Primrose was so used to having a wrist to twist and contort to make the curves she wanted, but now she had to use her jaw to move the pencil to do so instead. But the more she worked at it, the more natural it felt to do so in this manner.
Leah watched as Primrose worked her craft as if she was born drawing in this new way. She smiled as the familiar look of determination fell over her being, blocking out the world as she secluded herself in her own.
---
“Keep going.”
Sunshine beat his wings harder and harder, droplets of sweat hanging on his blond hairs in front of his eyes. The muscles in his back burned with exhaustion, but he pushed it aside. He panted, his chest beginning to ache from his labored breathing.
“Ten more seconds.”
This was it; the home stretch. He counted down each second in his head.
Nine, eight, seven...
An explosion of pain bloomed in his back. His left wing was starting to cramp up, but he gritted his teeth through it. If he failed, Fleet Feather would make him do it all over again.
Six, five, four...
The pain was becoming overwhelming. Tears began streaming down his eyes and cheeks, but the closeness of his goal gave him the last bit of strength to press on.
Three, two, one...
“Time.”
Sunshine collapsed into the grass beneath him. His wings lay sprawled out on both sides of him along with his legs. His breathing was wheezy; the cool air was pure bliss for his body right now. The cramp began to diminish, until his wing felt fine once more.
Fleet Feather chuckled. “Ten minutes. Honestly, I was using it as a way to measure how much you could take before giving up like the foals back in your cities. But, I must admit that I’m impressed. Hovering isn’t as easy as anypony expects. Flapping your wings constantly is a sure way to use up all of your energy, just like how you did right there.”
Sunshine let out a pained wheeze. “No surprise there.”
“Fortunately, the secret to flight is not to flap as much as possible, but to flap only when it’s absolutely necessary. What you need to learn to do to master flight is to glide. Take a short break, and let me know when you can fly again. I’m going to teach you how to glide properly.”
Sunshine nodded and rested his head down on the soft grass. The smell of the earth was pleasing to his nose, and the warm sun on his back felt positively delightful. Before he knew it, his body felt rejuvenated enough to follow Fleet Feather. The pair flapped their wings and ascended to the flat roof of the bureau building.
Sunshine looked down. The ground felt like it was around thirty feet below; a strong breeze blew from behind him. His mane got whipped into the front of his face until he turned around to face Fleet.
“Here are your instructions. Follow them to the dot, and you’ll be done for today. Mess up even once, and you have to do it all over again from the beginning. Are you ready?”
Sunshine took in a deep breath of the air and nodded.
“One flap. That’s all you’re allowed. I want you to glide from here, on the roof, to the edge of the forest on the far end of the field.”
Sunshine looked out across the long field. On his left was the black asphalt of the highway, disappearing into the tree line about halfway down as it curved off into the distance. But the very far edge of the forest looked to be about a football field away.
“I’ll give you a tip each time you come back up here, if and when you mess up.”
Sunshine snorted. He was put off by the smugness Fleet exuded; he was so sure that he was going to mess up. Sunshine wanted to stick it to him, and he was going to do it by gliding perfectly on his first try.
Trotting back to the edge of the building, Sunshine began a slow rhythm of breaths. He focused his concentration on his goal: the far end of the field. He took a deep breath and beat his wings, sending him up several feet into the air. He held out his wings and let the wind catch underneath him... but he slowly fell back down to the edge of the building, where he started.
“Wha-”
“Momentum. You had the upwards acceleration, but no forward motion.”
Sunshine huffed and readied himself once more.
“That was tip number one.”
Dammit! Sunshine cursed to himself. Positioning his hooves on the edge of the building, he leaped up into the air with a beat of his wings and forward. He floated on the wind for a few yards until the wind beneath his wings disappeared. He fell full speed down towards the ground until he fervently beat his wings to slow his descent.
Dejectedly, he flew back up to the white and black pegasus. “Tip number two: wait for the right breeze, especially down here where there are no thermal currents.”
Sunshine snorted and tried once more. He made it halfway before his wings cramped up once more. Another flight back to the building, and another unwanted tip from Fleet Feather.
“Tip number three: don’t force your wings open. They should be able to stay open by themselves.”
Another failed attempt, another condescending remark. “You began with no breeze. You need to wait for the right one.”
Sunshine gritted his teeth in frustration. He slowly trotted to the back ledge of the roof, and started a gallop towards the opposite side. With a mighty flap of his wings and a surge of adrenaline through his system, he unfurled his wings and soared across the field. The wind was howling in his ears and through his mane as he floated closer and closer to his goal, but he wasn’t slowing down or descending.
Panicking, he flapped his wings and ascended above the treetops and floated there. “I... did it?”
“Well, no you didn’t. You flapped a second time before you reached the forest.” Fleet Feather fluttered over from the direction of the bureau with a wide smirk on his muzzle.
“What?!”
“Don’t worry; you learned what I wanted you to learn.”
“I... did?”
“You generated your own breeze to fly on, born out of frustration. That was my goal. Hopefully you’ll be able to do it without pounding your head into the ground first next time.”
Sunshine blankly stared at Fleet Feather.
“We pegasi don’t fly like birds, we control wind and clouds and water. We make our own lift with it. Ever seen a bird this big fly?” he said, gesturing to his own body. Sunshine cracked a smile and shook his head. “It’d be almost impossible. Your friends... I think they settled on Skysong and Autumn Gale for their names? They found this out themselves through noticing small things and trying to fly themselves earlier. You didn’t have the amount of time they did, so you were at a disadvantage.”
Sunshine and Fleet Feather began flying back over towards the bureau, this time Sunshine was aided by his own breeze accompanying him. His wings felt fantastic with the strain lifted from them; he still had to flap them to keep his lift, but nowhere near as hard or as fast as before.
“You’re done for the day. I’ll be teaching you and the other two about clouds and weather tomorrow. Nice job, Sunshine.”
The blue pegasus smiled and trotted back inside the bureau.
---
Jay and Peppermint stood in the library for a short while. Jay worked on his levitation, trying to show Peppermint how to do it herself. It was futile, since she couldn’t even get her horn to light up.
“I had the same problem when I started. Don’t worry, it’ll come to you. Just... try to feel for a bubble of some sort in your head.” Peppermint closed her eyes and scrunched her face, attempting to find the ‘bubble’ Jay spoke of. “When you find it, don’t try to pop it, but... uh, actually...”
The door flew open and a grey unicorn galloped in, his face twisted with rage. “Cut it out before you hurt her or somepony else! Damned fool!” he bellowed at Jay.
Jay’s eyes grew wide and his stomach dropped. He scampered back from his spot in front of Peppermint, his heart beating like mad.
“What were you thinking, you stupid monkey?!”
“I was... I was just trying to help, is all... since you weren’t here yet,” Jay said quietly.
“Do you know what you could have done? Hmm?” Jay shook his head slowly. “Just... don’t try and pretend like you know what you’re doing, okay? You don’t. You have no idea what she could have done if she just...” Firecracker seemed to lose his trail with his words, and instead began quietly talking to Peppermint.
Jay’s heart was still beating fast, and his instincts were telling him to leave. As he walked past, Firecracker shot him another venomous glance. Jay picked up his pace and left the library in a hurry.
“Bravo, little colt. Bravo.”
Jay turned around to see a pink earth pony leaning against the wall outside the door to the library. “Oh, hello, uh... Jasmine?” The mare nodded slowly with a foxy grin.
“I have to thank you... Jay, was it?” Jay nodded. “You single hoofedly secured my hold on Firecracker, and for that...” The mare walked over to Jay and around him, admiring his body. “I’m very...” She brushed her tail over his back and rump, sending shivers down his spine. “Very...” She walked up behind him and moved her mouth close to his ear. He could feel the warmth of her breath in his mane, and smell her scent in his nose. “Very grateful. Is there absolutely anything I can do to thank you... Mmm, properly?”
Jay’s heart was racing once more, but this time it wasn’t from fear; panic still played a common role in it, however. He dashed forward from the proximity of the mare. He felt extremely uncomfortable with her so close to him, and she simply made his skin crawl.
“I, uh, I think I’m good. Thanks. I mean, no thanks.”
Jasmine frowned and pouted. “Oh, that’s no fun. Variety is the spice of life, as they say. Well, let me know if you’d like me to show you what they mean when they say a mare ‘winks’ at you when she’s interested.” The pink pony giggled as she disappeared past the door and into the library.
Jay grimaced as he left the scene of the awkward encounter. What did she mean by all of that? Securing her hold on Firecracker? “Did she mean...” It dawned on him. Why Firecracker was angry with him; far more than simply trying to help Peppermint with her magic.
He was angry that Jay was with Peach Cobbler. Very, very mad.
It was something he never expected to see from a pony. They were always portrayed as this peace-loving race of folk, who never cursed, never hurt anypony, and yet... Jay felt almost betrayed by his supposed friend.
But in reality, it was he who betrayed Firecracker.
He knew Firecracker was trying to earn Peach Cobbler’s feelings, saying he was over his past of poor decisions and weak convictions. And Jay ruined it, simply because she showed up and showed interest in him.
But was he really infatuated with her? Sure, he liked her. She was a kind, cheerful, and beautiful mare. She was the first pony at the bureau to actually talk to him more than just official bureau business.
Jay needed to find Peach as soon as he could. He needed to talk to her.
---
Primrose looked down at the picture in front of her. It was a simple portrait of a pony; who it was, she didn’t know. She didn’t put any face on it, but merely sketched out the body structure of some androgynous pony. Her curves gradually came under her control the more she worked with her mouth, and the end result was not necessarily something she would have been proud of in the past, but with her new body it was an entirely different matter.
“Who’s that, Prim?” Leah asked, looking over Primrose’s shoulder.
“I don’t know. Just somepony. How does it look?”
“Wonderful! It looks even better than anything I could draw with my hands!” Leah and Prim giggled together.
The earth pony closed her sketchbook and looked down at it. “This book is full... I’ll have to ask around if there are any I can use now.”
“I’ll ask around for you, if you’d like.”
“That’d be great!” Prim smiled. She was excited to be able to draw again; it felt like she rescued a part of herself she thought was lost forever. “I’m going to go into the garden for a while. I’ll see you at dinner?” Prim and Leah both stood up from the sofa together and walked over to the glass door to the central garden.
“Okay. I’ll look around for that book for you. Have fun… I guess!” Leah vanished into the hallway as Prim trotted out to the garden where Honeybell and Clementine both were busy at work. Prim walked over to Clementine as she giggled with a bunch of strawberry plants.
“Oh, he was handsome, alright. He was kind of a jerk though, so I turned him down.” Prim froze in her tracks. Who was Clementine talking about? Was it Jay? Did he ask her to dinner before he asked Peach? Was he really so low that he would ask every mare he saw walking around?
Primrose stomped her hoof in frustration. Clementine looked up and behind her at Primrose, who hopped back in surprise. “Oh! I’m sorry you had to hear that. It was just a story about this colt from my hometown, is all.” Prim eased up. Jay may have been a jerk, but at least he wasn’t a womanizer... or a mare-izer... “But it’s all good, he’s my husband now!”
“Oh!” Prim said, surprised. She also noticed the strawberry plants perked up when she did as well.
“Anyway, did you need something, Primrose? I love your name, by the way.” Prim blushed.
“Thank you! But I wanted to ask you if could grow something, if that’s alright. It was… really nice earlier when I did it. I really enjoyed doing it.”
“Of course! We could always use help!” Clementine reached into her saddlebags and pulled out two packets of seeds clenched in her teeth. Prim held her hoof out as Clementine placed the packets in it. “There should be a small plot of open earth over there by the cafeteria door. Have fun!”
Primrose smiled and trotted off with the packets in her teeth. She enjoyed talking to the flowers this morning, and she really wanted to get some things off her chest. She would speak to Leah about some of it, but... she wouldn’t listen the way Primrose wanted her to. It was funny to her as she realized what she was thinking. She felt more comfortable talking to plants and flowers than another human being.
The plot of earth was right where Clementine said it was. The light of the sky was beginning to slowly wane as the afternoon started to come to a close. Primrose dug a series of small holes with her hooves and dropped the loose seeds into them. She covered them up with the dirt and sprinkled a bit of water over them.
“I hope that’s enough water for you all,” Primrose said with loving care. She sat down on the sun warmed earth and looked down to the darkened patches of dirt where the seedlings were planted. “I have a story to tell you all, if you want to hear it.”
She was answered by six small buds popping their heads from the ground.
“Well, a few years ago, well before Equestria appeared,” Primrose began. She stopped her story as the door to the cafeteria opened up. The very pony Primrose did not want to see stood before her, smiling.
“Oh, hi there, Chloe!” Peach Cobbler said.
“My name is Primrose now,” she replied bitterly. She saw the reaction in Peach’s smile as it twitched and faded.
“Oh, my mistake. Do you know where Honeybell is? I wanted to speak with her.”
“She’s over by the orange tree,” Primrose spat. She just didn’t want to have to deal with this right now. It was almost as if Peach was rubbing the fact that she was with Jay in her face, and it drove her mad.
“Oh, um, thank you,” Peach said quietly as she slinked off.
Primrose relaxed once more on the ground and looked back at the flower sprouts. She wasn’t really in a mood to tell a story anymore. She poured one last bit of water over them and stood back up and walked away. Maybe she’ll come back to them tomorrow to talk to them.
Maybe tomorrow will be better.
---
Jay lifted his head from the table. Ponies and the last humans were filing into the dining hall for dinner, everyone in high spirits. Except for Jay.
The encounter with Firecracker had left him in a poor mood, and Jasmine outside the library only cemented it in place. He saw Sunshine wander in through the doors and immediately dash over. The pegasus dropped his rump into the seat opposite of Jay and smiled. “I flew today! Like, actually flew! Fleet Feather even said he was impressed with me!”
“Oh, uh, cool.” Jay rested his chin on the table again and sighed. Sunshine gave him a worried look.
“What’s wrong, Jay?”
Jay looked up at Sunshine with saddened, pleading eyes. “I screwed up. I screwed up so much.”
“I could have told you that, what with Primrose and Peach, but...”
“No... I ruined everything for myself, Peach, Primrose, and Firecracker.” Sunshine dropped his head down towards the table. “If I didn’t ask Peach to dinner before lunch...” Jay said as tears began forming at the corner of his eyes.
“Jay, you need to calm down. Come on, pull yourself together.” Sunshine turned his head towards the front of the cafeteria to see Peach on her way over.
Peach levitated a pair of trays over to the table Jay sat at, watching each step she took. Something was... off about her, he noticed. There seemed to be an air of gloominess about her that Jay felt getting to him. The he noticed what gave it away. Peach wasn’t smiling.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Sunshine whispered as he snuck off to join the rest of the ponies.
“Are you okay, Peach?” Jay asked as she sat down, placing the trays in front of them.
She perked back up, and after a moment, put up a bright, yet forced, smile. “I’m fine! Just peachy!” Jay raised his eyebrow at her. “What?” Jay rested his chin on his hoof, and tapped the table with his other.
She immediately began digging into her green salad with her levitated fork and shoveled the leaves into her mouth. Jay lazily levitated his sandwich up to his mouth and took a bite. It tasted wonderful as usual, but the thoughts that had been bothering him kept him from enjoying the meal as much as he could.
He looked up at Peach who had leaned forward with her fork levitating in front of her mouth with some leaves skewered on it, but her mouth wasn’t open. She noticed him looking at her and immediately chomped down on the greens. He continued to stare at her, until she finally swallowed her food.
“Oh fine,” she said, slumping forward. “I’m sorry, Jay, but... I don’t think this was a good idea, us... having dinner together again.”
“I know…” Jay said to the downcast unicorn. Silence fell between the pair as the echoes of speech and utensils of the dining hall echoed around them. “You still really like Firecracker, don’t you?” Jay stated. Peach looked up at him feebly and nodded.
“I can’t stop looking at him, and thinking about him… I really like you, Jay. I do. You’re a wonderful stallion, but…” Peach paused and looked at Jay’s eyes, which were focused down and on the plate in front of him. “And you still really like Primrose, right?” Jay sighed and nodded. “So... what now? Do we break up or something?” Jay’s eyes opened wide.
“Um, well, I didn’t actually think we were together... I mean, I know we kissed… Twice… but I mean, isn’t there some formal thing that officiates it all or something?” Jay stammered in a panic.
“Well you sure enjoyed those kisses,” Peach said, giggling.
Jay chuckled. He did indeed like them; they were the only kisses he had ever really gotten from anypony... ever. “Yeah, I kinda did. You have… really soft lips… I’m sorry... I’m new to this whole ‘relationship’ thing. I kind of lost my head when I found out you were actually interested in me.”
“Truth be told...” Peach began. “I’m new to it as well. I’ve never had a coltfriend or even held hooves with anypony before. I couldn’t believe it either when you asked me earlier today... It just feels so nice, you know, to be...”
“Wanted?” Jay finished her sentence for her. Peach nodded and smiled.
“Yeah... I just want to be loved, is all... And no offense to you at all, but... I don’t want to thrust myself into somepony’s life on a whim.”
“I know the feeling. Firecracker kind of exploded today at me, and I think it was because he found out about us,” Jay said, nervously. “Um, Peach, do you mind if we...”
“Just stay friends?” Peach paused, leaving a tense silence between the pair. “Of course not, silly!” Peach giggled. Jay smiled and felt his chest relax. “Ooh! I have an idea!”
“What’s that?” Jay asked.
“How about I help you get with Primrose, and you help me get with Firecracker?” Peach said, smiling.
Jay felt apprehensive about it. “I don’t know, Peach. Firecracker kinda hates me right now... And with Jasmine in the tangle, it makes this a bit harder.”
“Yeah... I don’t like her. She’s been really mean to me lately...”
“She was the reason Firecracker didn’t show up last night for you. She made sure he was too busy to see you.”
“Really? So he may still really like me?” Peach said, lighting up.
“I don’t see why not, he has no real reason to not like you after hearing that we aren’t a... thing... anymore.”
“So that just leaves Jasmine...” Peach said, looking down at the table.
“Yeah. But it shouldn’t be too hard showing Firecracker how much of a jerk she is,” he mentioned.
“I suppose...”
Jay held out his hoof. Peach looked at it inquisitively for a moment before looking back up at the beige unicorn. “Promise me that before I leave for Equestria you will be with Firecracker and I’ll be with Primrose. Can you do that?”
Peach smiled and met Jay’s hoof with her own.
“Deal.”
“Do you mind if we… one more time?” Jay asked nervously. He felt his cheeks burning and noticed Peach’s cheeks redden up as well.
“Only if you make it quick, lover-colt!” Peach giggled as she turned her head to the side and gave him a wink. Jay thrust his head forward as quickly as he could and planted a swift kiss on the mare’s cheek. He was just so appreciative of her offering to help… he couldn’t keep himself from doing so.
---
Sunshine looked over at his friend and groaned. Autumn Gale, previously known as Murphy, chuckled as he nuzzled Skysong, the mare formerly known as Andrea. Autumn’s brown coat and deep orange mane suited his name fairly well, and Skysong just really loved the flow of her new name.
Caleb, now known as Quake, and his sister, Sugarberry, both munched on their meals as the time passed. Autumn and Quake settled on Quake’s name after he was testing out his earth pony legs at the edge of the forest. Honeybell had mentioned the power many earth pony stallions had in their hind legs, so the pair intended on testing his abilities earlier that morning. Seven toppled trees later, Autumn had commented on how the ground shook with each tree that fell. For Sugarberry, Skysong was positively in love with the young filly and her energetic personality. She was sweet and pretty, and they had loved the way the name sounded.
“Sunshine, you okay?” Quake asked. He was facing away from Jay and Peach, so he didn’t see what was going on. Sunshine nickered and began munching on his sandwich once more.
“Don’t worry about it too much. I’m gonna be setting that kid straight later we’re done here, just you wait.” Sunshine was intent on shaking Jay out of his delusion. He knew full well what Primrose meant to him. For Jay to just give up on her like that? It was insulting to both himself and Primrose as well.
“Well, if the kid like’s that mare, why stop him? What right do you have over who he’s in love with?” Skysong asked. Sunshine shot a glare at her, making her recoil back. “I mean it. I’m not trying to be a jerk, but why do you get to decide who he’s supposed to be in love with?”
“Because…” Sunshine began. He was milling over the thoughts and reasons in his mind, but whenever he was able to put together an argument for it, he always came off as cocky and arrogant for knowing what Jay wants better than Jay himself.
What if… Jay was actually in love with Peach? He sounded remorseful about what he did before Peach got there for dinner, but what if he cared for her so much he was able to look past it?
“I… don’t.”
Skysong sighed. “Just let him decide what’s important for him, okay? There’s no real need for you to get so head over heels for someone else’s love life.”
“I guess. But he was always so determined on Primrose, and I just hate seeing him throwing that commitment away. But… I don’t want to hurt him if he truly cares about Peach Cobbler. I’ll let him do what he wants.”
Peppermint sighed. “He’s not a bad kid. It was a real shame when Mr. Firecracker snapped at him. The poor guy was really upset with himself after Jay scampered off.”
Sunshine’s ears perked up. “He was?”
“Oh yeah,” Peppermint said. “He was really quiet for a bit after Jay left. I had to ask him a few times to teach me some magic.” Peppermint looked past Skysong and Autumn Gale to Jay. “His bit of advice did help though. I found that ‘bubble’ Jay talked about in no time once Mr. Firecracker started my lesson.”
Sunshine dropped his forehead onto the edge of the table, rattling his and everypony else’s dishes. “So much drama… And to think after getting away from school we’d be free from it all...” he moaned. “I’m getting a little tired. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Sunshine grabbed his tray with his teeth and trotted over to the counter, handing it off to Cocoa Malt.
“Thanks for the food,” Sunshine said with a weak smile.
“No problem, kid. Glad to see someone appreciates our work. Most just drop their junk off without another word.” Cocoa grabbed the tray and brought it over to one of the sinks. Sunshine trotted off down the hall and back to his room where he would lie down while he waited for Jay.
He still wanted to talk to that unicorn, and offer his support no matter who he chose to be infatuated with. A creeping sense of unease spread through Sunshine’s heart as he thought about Jay and his adventures with romance. Would he, Sunshine, find somepony for himself?
Garnet assured him that same-sex pairings were much more common in Equestria than Earth, but… would he find somepony for himself? Wherever he wound up… would there be a stallion there with similar tendencies as him?
The concept of loneliness was a scary thought to him. While he had accepted the fact a long time ago that he wasn’t like other boys he knew, he had always known that finding another boy a region as hostile to people like him and getting them to admit it openly was slim to none. But with the hope of that overarching hatred of alternative sexualities would no longer be near him, the feeling of loneliness, as in not finding someone who cares about you, was… scary.
The questions ate at his mind as he reached his room and climbed onto his bed. He stared at the ceiling as he stretched his legs out as a single thought ran through his head.
Will I ever find somepony to love?
---
Jay bid Peach Cobbler farewell after they finished dinner together. He was feeling really good about things now; Peach and he were really close friends who were intent on helping each other catch the ponies of their dreams. He never really had that close of a connection with anypony before; not even with Sunshine.
The new convert never showed up after they were called. According to Garnet, who came into the cafeteria after the process was complete, told everypony that Hank Cyrus, the convertee, left for his room immediately after his conversion. He said he wasn’t feeling well, so Garnet let him go.
Jay, unsurprisingly, didn’t know Hank too well, but was always intimidated by his mountainous composure. He almost never talked, and was built like a football player. He kept to himself even more than Jay did, which was very surprising. To his knowledge, he has never heard Hank speak a single word.
As Jay walked back to his room, he wondered what kind of pony Hank was. He didn’t seem like he would be a pegasus; Sunshine, Skysong, and Autumn Gale all had a high-energy and cheerful demeanor about them, not something that Hank seemed to fit into. He may fit the profile for an earth pony; he was strong and quiet, qualities that seemed to fit that race much better than pegasus or unicorn.
Jay pushed the door to his room open to see Sunshine lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He lazily turned his head to see Jay walk in before he closed the door. “How was dinner?” he asked Jay quietly.
“It was okay,” Jay said. “Peach and I…” Sunshine picked his head up and his eyes opened up wider. “We decided to just stay friends. And we’re gonna try and help each other.”
“Help each other how?” Sunshine asked.
“I’m going to help her pry Jasmine off of Firecracker and she’s gonna help me get Primrose back. I made some really dumb decisions, and… I don’t know if I can make up for them.”
Sunshine dropped his head back onto his pillow and smiled. “I was worried you were going to abandon all the progress you made on Primrose after all these years.”
“What do you mean ‘progress’?” Jay asked.
“You don’t honestly think she hasn’t noticed you always being so nice to her all this time? Did you see how upset she was this afternoon?” Sunshine sat up in his bed.
Jay leaped up onto his bed. He felt even worse now about his decisions, and it was driving him mad. He just wanted it to be tomorrow and to start to work on repairing the connection he had with Primrose before it’s severed forever… if it wasn’t already.
“Jay? Can I ask you something?” Sunshine asked from his bed.
“Sure.”
“Do you think I’ll find true love?”
Jay paused for a second. “I don’t see why not. Why do you ask?”
Sunshine turned over to look at Jay. “I mean… what with me being gay and all… I’m just nervous about how everypony will see me, and if there’ll be somepony like me where we… I mean… where I wind up.”
Jay chuckled. “W-What’s so funny?” Sunshine asked nervously.
“You’re acting as if being gay makes you different is all.”
“But it is!”
“Is it?” Jay asked back. “You were the one who talked to Garnet about Equestria and their acceptance of ponies like you. So what if you like stallions instead of mares? Humans may see that as something bad, but you’re acting as if ponies will too.” Jay sighed as he stared at the ceiling. “You’re afraid, like everypony else who wants to be in love. Straight, gay, it doesn’t matter. You’re scared because you won’t find somepony, just like everypony else. Being gay has nothing to do with it; it simply changes the pool of eligible mares to eligible stallions.”
Sunshine said nothing back. “And one other thing. There’s no way they can separate us when we get to Equestria. We’re stuck together, whether you like it or not, Sunshine.” Jay smiled at the blue pegasus.
“You’ve changed, Jay. For the better,” Sunshine said. It was true; Jay was a completely different pony than he was when he first came to the bureau. Whether that was due to the conversion itself, the conversion curing whatever was in his head, or just his interactions with everypony here, he had grown considerably as a pony. And Sunshine couldn’t be prouder of his friend.
“It sure feels that way. I like it. I think I’ll keep this new me.”
“Are you gonna try and talk to Primrose tomorrow?” Sunshine asked.
“If she’ll even be willing to stand within a hundred feet of me. Did you see how mad she was during the naming thing earlier?” Jay joked. The pair both shared a hearty laugh. “I want to wait for her to be comfortable with speaking to me first. I don’t want to come off the wrong way.”
“Patience is good. Take it slow. I promise you that the two of you have something there; you just need to wait for the right time to fire it up.”
“Yeah…” Jay murmured as his eyelids began to fall. “I just want to make her happy…”
Darkness enshrouded his vision as Jay fell asleep.