"Oh My God, No more, please, no more," I pant, every muscle clenching. After a moment, I'm able to flop onto the bed. All I can do is breathe heavily. No more words are possible.
My wife moves over to me and kisses me. "Better than once an hour isn't it?"
I simply nod. Oh sweet Jesus. Every part of my body is overloaded right now. My wife cradles my limp body and kisses my ear. Then she runs her fingers along the edge of my ear. All I can do is twitch. One thing humans have that I now envy is fingers.
For a long time, we are silent, just enjoying the afterglow, finally she turns and looks me seriously in the eyes. "Mike… Lightning. You seem to be taking to the change of equipment rather well."
I nod, "I can't change it. Might as well go with it."
"But aren't you going to want a stallion?"
That really catches me off guard. "Helen, I'm not leaving you."
"You know, a male pony. I'm under no impression that you are going to stay with me forever. You are going to want one of your own kind."
I cross my forehooves. "I'm not leaving you, Honey."
I get a slow kiss on the snout. "Oh sweetheart, you are so damned stubborn. We are now different species. I don't really have a problem with it, but that is because I remember the man you were. You said it's not very likely that you will be able to become human again. So, I'm asking you, what are you going to do?"
I open my mouth, and then close it. I have nothing to say. I hug my wife closer. "The memories I've gotten from this change are disjointed, and there really isn't all that much to go on." I close my eyes and think. I let every sexual memory float to the surface, and either Lightning Dust wasn't very active, or there are memories that I don't have access to, I suspect the latter. "What I can remember, they have all been mares."
"Huh?"
"I think the term in Equestria is a filly-fooler. A lesbian, I guess."
I hear a chuckle against my barrel. "So that's why you fell into this pretty well."
"Hey, you are falling into this situation pretty well yourself."
"You've got a tongue that extends six inches. Not as much as when you were human, but close. I can close my eyes and imagine the old you with me. But I think you are going to not want humans for much longer. You are becoming more like Lightning every day."
"But the change is complete."
She shifts around to where she is on her stomach and facing me, her hand cups my cheek. "I'm thinking the mental changes are taking a longer path. Your outside has changed, but your inside, your mind, is taking a little longer."
"But Mike and I have worked things out."
"Did you just hear yourself? You just said Mike and you. Not Lightning and you." She hugs me hard. "It's not your fault honey."
I feel tears starting to form. "Oh, honey. I'm still attracted to you."
She smiles at me. "I know Lightning, but for how much longer?"
I close my eyes. I don't want to answer. I can tell in the back of my mind that humans look kind of ridiculous when nude. In fact, the only human that gets anything out of me is my wife. Is that some remnant of my human self? Is that going to stay? Or is Lightning going to take me over completely? "I don't know."
I hear a soft sigh. "Lightning, you are changing, and I don't doubt for a second that you will always love me." She looks sad for a moment. "But I think as a relationship, I think the end is on its way, and neither of us can stop it."
"No," I huff.
"You were a stubborn human, and it served you well when you were building this life you've made. But being a stubborn pony isn't going to help anything."
"But?"
"Do you think I'm going have a divorce written up and then just run off?"
I can feel tears leaking from my eyes as I nod slowly.
This gets me a long, tight hug. "Not going to happen, honey. We are still parents, we are still partners in life. But I don't think you are going to be in bed with me much longer. The good news is we will make it work, but the relationship is going to be certainly different."
"So, you aren't going to leave me?"
She sighs. "No, I'm not leaving you. And I know you aren't leaving me. But you are going to lose your attraction to me."
I close my eyes and let the tears fall as I finally fall asleep.
***
I'm once again in the dreamscape, I can hear the clop of hooves. I turn to see who is approaching me. A blue alicorn appears. I immediately bow.
"Princess Luna."
"What? How? What's going on?"
It hurts me to see the princess of the night so confused. "Princess Luna? I'm Lightning Dust. One of the Wonderbolts." She jerks as though she's just now seeing me. Then she rears and whirls around, galloping off. I spread my wings and fly after her.
"Princess Luna?" I call out. She is shaking her head as she gallops, her wings clamped tightly to her sides.
"Please, Princess." I brace myself then fly in front of her, tripping her with my body. She tumbles end over end and ends up a sobbing mess. I shake myself, it didn't hurt, but it was an impact. I trot over to the sobbing princess.
"Princess Luna. I'm one of the Wonderbolts." She looks up, and my heart aches, my princess is in tears. I place a hoof on her shoulder. Only to be blasted away.
"How dare one lays a hoof on the royal personage." I'm treated to the full volume of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
All I can do is bow. "I'm sorry Princess, I'm trying to help."
I peek up at her eyes, she's standing in front of me, confusion reigns in her face.
"What is going on, Wonderbolt leader?"
Time to tread cautiously. "What do you remember Princess?"
She shakes her head violently, then her eyes narrow. "I remember Discord."
I smile. "Five score divided by four?"
She nods.
"So you are a human turned pony now?"
"I do not know, I think so. I remember memories in Canterlot, I also have memories of this new world." She shakes her head. "This is so confusing."
I stand up and look her right in the eye. "Princess, I've found that after the physical changes, the mental changes continue for a while. I think that is what's happening to you. You are now able to enter dreams."
Confusion from her."That is not possible."
I smile sadly, "But you are here, I didn't bring you here, you brought me."
She whirls and spreads her wings. "That's not possible!" she screams as she fades away, leaving me alone.
"Damn it, I wish I could have found out her human name, maybe track her down." I sigh. "But it's good to know at least one Princess survived the fight."
"Yes, she did, and thank Celestia she did."
I whirl around, Lightning Dust is there. I look down, I'm still myself, I'm still Lightning Dust.
"What the hell? I thought we were one."
A sad look. "We are, and we are not."
"That doesn't make any sense, Lightning Dust."
She smiles at me. "You can't accept something, something about me. You are blocking this."
My eyes widen. "Helen?"
She shakes her head, "No, you have just realized that your attraction to human women will fade. We will always love her. But that part of our lives is over."
I look down, I think I know what she means. "Were you a filly-fooler?"
A big smile. "And that is the fifty thousand bit question."
I'm actually genuinely curious. "Well?"
"My memories are the same as yours. To be honest, I don't remember. But whether I am or not is irrelevant. It is your attitude to the possibility that is at issue here."
"My attitude?"
She nods and trots to me. She rubs her body along mine, I flinch away. "Ha, you have no problem with a human woman, but if a mare shows affection for you, there the problems come in."
"But you are me, it's weird."
This gains me a dirty look. "Self love, there is nothing wrong with it, and you don't have a problem, if our memories aren't deceiving me."
I look down, I don't know what to say.
"If any mare shows physical affection for you." She shimmers for a moment and suddenly Mindy is standing right in front of me. She bounces over to me and plants a kiss on my lips. I yelp and jump away.
I can hear laughter as I shake my head. Lightning Dust is back. "And you are bothered by it. Why?"
I look down. "When I grew up, it was very taboo for the same genders…"
"You are female now. You must accept that. You are fully a pony now. Accepting that doesn't get rid of Michael."
"But…"
"You are Lightning Dust. A pegasus mare who grew up in Baltimare, who screwed up her first chance, but was given a second chance by Rainbow Dash to become a Wonderbolt, her lifelong dream."
I feel hooves on each side of my cheek, lifting my head up. I stare into my own eyes. An odd feeling.
"Please, Mike, we are ponies, we are not humans, our values and morals are different. There are a lot of similarities, but we are fundamentally different, you need to shed your human thoughts. I promise, you won't lose what it is to be you."
I hear a very small voice answer, and realize it's mine. "Are you sure?"
She nods, and then kisses me. I don't flinch, I just feel warmth, all through my body. I open my eyes, and she is gone. I don't even feel any buzzing around my head. But I'm still me, and I'm her. I had to let it all go.
***
I wake up, I feel calm. I feel cool, I feel… normal. That is so odd for me, since this has started, and for months, I've had a strong sense of foreboding in my chest. Now it's all gone. I reach for my phone. 4:45 in the morning. I tap it with a stylus for a moment, cancelling the alarm. I look at my wife. I can still feel the intense love for her that I've felt for over fifteen years. But I don't have a lick of desire for her body. I sigh and my ears droop. I'm going to miss that.
I'm first awake this morning, I heard Flash snoring in his room, and Soarin is asleep as well. My children are peacefully asleep as well, they have been pretty popular at school with a father as a pony. I've gotten quite a few requests to show up at my daughter's school. I've politely turned them down. But I'm going to have to do something about that soon. I trot into the kitchen. Hot breakfast or cold? I was good in the kitchen as a human, but I really don't want to deal with that right now. A bowl of alfalfa sounds good. I drag the bag out of the cabinet, take the bowl out of the dishwasher, and scoop up the food, finally I sit at the kitchen table. This is amazing.
Breakfast finished, I end up outside in the snow, wing ups, fifty and I'm starting to strain, my conditioning is going pretty fast, I'm glad to have that. And finally, I'm in the air. The cold really doesn't bother me. I'm enjoying that. A few laps around the town, and I'm warmed up and ready for the day. It's almost six when I land in front of the shop. Another day. But I'm prepared this morning. I press the garage door opener that I had clipped to the strap for my cell phone, and the bay door slowly opens. In moments I'm sitting at my half desk. Ready for another day.
***
The morning meeting went well, I've had a few questions from my guys. The other client companies have asked them out in the field about me. I'm going to have to make appearances at a few places. And a printout on my desk shows a larger client has requested my presence in Oklahoma City. I'm going to have to decline that for now. I fire up the computer and send off an email, requesting a video conference instead.
I decide I need to go back to my house, this ‘Equestria Girls’ needs to be addressed. I send a text to Mindy and head out to the house. As I get in, I hear a truck in the driveway. They must have been in town when I sent the text.
"Hi Mindy. Hi Luis," I say as the front door open.
Luis bounces a bit. She's got a big smile on her face. "I was able to actually talk to myself last night, I have a name!"
Before I can say a word Mindy chimes in. "She's Cherry Punch. Get it?"
I know I look confused, because I am. "Huh?"
"Berry Punch in Ponyville, and now Cherry Punch."
My mouth operates a few times without words, I stop and let my mind catch up. "I don’t know Berry Punch."
They take a moment to explain the fanon name of one of the ponies that is apparently the town drunk. That gets a laugh.
"So, have you gals watched Equestria Girls?"
The both nod, "Of course, we were bronies before we became ponies," Mindy says with a giggle.
"How did Twilight get to the human world?"
Cherry Punch waves a hoof. "We already thought of that. There aren't any Earth humans with skin colors like in the movie. It's either not canon, the story was so messed up by the corporate bigwigs at Hasbro that it's unusable for us, or it’s a whole ‘nother dimension that we can’t get to anyways."
I narrow my eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Let's watch it."
We sit in front of the big TV in the living room, and the first part is nice, showing Twilight and friends in the Crystal Empire. Then we get to see Twilight have trouble controlling her wings. I've noticed that, at times, a pegasi's wings can have a mind of their own. I have to chuckle. Then it fades into the musical intro. This actually captures my attention, an excellent electronic remix of the show's admittedly girly intro music. I find my hoof tapping to the music.
As it's playing, Soarin and Flash silently join us and watch the movie. None of us have watched this before.
***
"Well, that doesn't tell us much," Mindy says as the credits roll, rolling her eyes as well.
I jump up and down on the sofa. "There is a portal to Equestria. This movie proves it."
Cherry Punch pipes up. "No, it doesn't. It was just a money grab from Hasbro, they just wanted to suck every penny out of their fans that they could, just like the second movie."
What? "I don't understand, the show is so accurate to my memories, there has to be a connection between the TV show and us."
"How do the people who made the show know so much about us then?"
"The creator, Lauren Faust."
"But she's too old to be one of us, every pony except for you has been twenty five when they transformed. She can't be the source."
I look down. "So, it's a dead end?"
"I think so. But maybe you should search the internet for a school that has Wondercolts as a mascot. Or something from the movie."
"That is a good idea, I'll do that."
In minutes I'm in front of my computer.
I've found an even better way to type, two Velcro straps, one on each forehoof, each holding a pencil. I can work with that. Though they make working the mouse a little difficult. But I manage.
After about an hour I'm storming into the living room, four pony heads and a human head all turn towards me.
"You were right Mindy, it's a dead end. Nothing on Wondercolts, unless you count old websites for the movie." I growl as I sit down. I see the credits rolling for the show.
"Wanna watch the second one?" Soarin asks.
I sigh. "Maybe later, I'm going to head to the shop."
***
I'm sitting in my nice office chair, handling paperwork when there is a knock at my door. Before I answer the door, it opens and Pat is there, white as a sheet.
"I'm sorry Lightning, I tried to send them away, but they are insistent," she stammers as two men in dark suits push past her into the room. I see Rose walk past the door quickly and I turn in my chair and lean back a bit.
"It's alright, Pat. Go back to your office, I'll handle these gentlemen." I shift my wings rapidly a bit, and get a wink in return, emergency message sent and received. I have a very smart office manager. Though, I hope she's thinking what I'm thinking.
As the door closes behind them. "And how may I help you gentlemen."
One of them produces a leather wallet, opening it I see the flash of a small golden badge. He moves to put it away.
"Actually, I would like to see your credentials better than a quick flash." He grimaces and his partner produces his, they both hold them in front of me. I scan them quickly and nod. They put their badges away.
"So, what can I do to assist the Federal Bureau of Investigation?"
"Well, we've been receiving reports of colorful equines popping up all over the place. We've been tasked to bring them in. Social media out of this town has been buzzing about the owner of Lightning Electric being a pony now."
"I expected that."
"And your little stunt in Williston yesterday was posted multiple times on Youtube."
I shrug my wings. "I was hungry, can a pony eat?"
"We are worried about the national security implications of your kind. Especially the unicorns."
Memories from the show and from Equestria surface a bit. "Unicorns? Are you sure they exist?"
"We have some in custody right now." His eyes widen, he didn't intend to divulge that little bit.
That produces a chill in my chest. Ponies, my kind, are being held. I suppress a very strong urge to growl at these humans.
"Any others, pegasi? Earth ponies?" I say very carefully.
He smirks at me. "I'm not at liberty to say, but suffice it to say, you'll get to meet them in holding."
This might get messy. "And if I don't want to go?"
"Where am I saying you have a choice?" He gets up and produces a pair of handcuffs.
"Hold on a moment, I'm a citizen of this nation, that would be a violation of my rights, or can you name a crime I am suspected of, and produce a warrant?"
"We are the FBI, pony. If we feel the need to detain you, we will."
A knock at my door. I chime, "Come in."
Two of my journeymen enter the room, along with a half dozen apprentices, they all crowd into my office. "There a problem boss?"
I smirk at the g-men in front of me. "I don't know. Do we have a problem, gentlemen?"
I see them creeping their hands for their service weapons. I nod at my guys, in moments, both men are disarmed and their handcuffs are around their own hands. Don't mess with pissed off electricians, pulling heavy wire, and bending heavy pipe means that we are pretty strong. One of my apprentices eject the magazines and unchambers the rounds, then goes the extra step to disassemble the Berettas.
I hop off my chair, I feel my wings extend in anger. "I am a citizen of this nation. You do not," I stomp my hoof hard on the tile floor, "have the right to arrest me without just cause. And I think you should be arrested." I canter out of my office and head outside. The agents are manhandled outside as well. I hear the roar of a gasoline pickup and look to the entry road. Sherriff Connelly's truck is powering down the road, he stops in a spray of gravel.
"I got a call on my personal cell from Pat. Saying it's an emergency. What's up?"
I nod my head at the agents. "These agents of the Federal government decided to arrest me without due cause. My workers and I have made a citizen's arrest and are turning them over to the local authorities."
He looks at the agents, then back at me. This gets a big chuckle from him. "I guess under my authority as county sheriff, I will detain them and get charges ready for unlawful arrest." My guys help the agents into his truck. As he closes the door he kneels down to me.
"Legally I can't hold them very long. But as a favor to you, I'll keep them on ice for a few days. If you know anyone to talk to so you can get this heat off of you, you had better start pulling strings. I know your Dad was Army. You might want to see if he has some old friends that can help. Otherwise we will all be in trouble.
I sigh. "I know. I will try. And, thank you Bill. I'll get right on it."
He gets back in his truck, spraying gravel once again as he takes off. Those agents are not going to have a pleasant evening. I look at my guys. "Dispose of their vehicle and get home. I'm going to see what I can do to head this crap off at the pass." I spread my wings and take off like a shot. In moments I'm home, slamming through the front door.
"Flash!" I howl as I walk through the house. In moments I hear him trotting down the stairs.
"Problem, Dust?"
I am starting to shake, the adrenaline is wearing off. I feel tears start to form. "Yes, as in federal government problems."
His eyes go wide. "Fuck."
"I know. You were military, I'm going to email my dad and see if he can do anything, but do you know anyone still in the service, or up in government that can help with getting the FBI off of our asses?"
He looks unsure. "I don't think so, but Irony might, she was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, she might have some pull with some still in the service."
"Call her."
He looks unsure. "I don't know if I can, Dust. I didn't leave on the best of terms. I said things I shouldn't have said."
I turn and shout right in his face, "Everything that we are trying to do can be destroyed by this, Flash. We have to get help, and we can't wait." I lower my volume and let my tears flow. "Please, Flash. I need you to try."
His ears droop and his head drops. "Okay, Dust. I know how important this is," he mumbles. He walks up to his room, in a few minutes he's back down with his phone. He connects it to the charger and turns to look at me. "It died right after I got the text back from you guys. I don't know what's been going on the last few days." He presses the power button and waits for the phone to boot up. He looks at me sadly one last time, then takes a spare stylus and starts to dial the phone.
"Hello, Irony. It's Flash…"