I could reach that space where I felt in contact with the other ponies more easily, and spread that awareness outwards, stretching as far as I thought I could, then trying to go further than that. Each pony was a little point of light in a dazzling sea of stars, some larger, or they would be more sparkling than others, but each one precious. I urged them all to get moving, to scatter away from the city as quietly and quickly as possible. Don't be seen, don't be heard, just get moving.
Sandra poked me with a hoof on the leg. "I assume you didn't mean us?" She had her tongue wrapped around Lone Wing, who looked like he was trying to escape in a futile wriggling.
I reached for Lone and pet him behind an ear. "Relax. You're staying with me." The attention calmed him quickly and Sandra was able to put him down without him bolting away.
The shapeshifting woman nodded. "You're getting better at that, good. This way." She strode purposefully down the street and we fell in behind her. "The name's Liz. You?" We volunteered our names, and she continued, "Nice to meet you. Sorry there isn't a lot of time for idle chat. We have plenty of space to cover and not enough time to do it in. Since I know you're going to ask anyway, I'm a recovered."
Sandra tilted her head. "Recovered?"
She sang as she hiked, her attention squarely on covering distance as quickly as possible.
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
I put two and two together. "You were feral, like most of the ponies, but you got your humanity back?"
"Humanity's a loaded word, but yes. I lucked out, to be blunt."
She didn't answer any further questions. As dawn approached, we were in the suburbs. A helicopter came in, flying towards the base we had left far behind. We hid under a bus stop while it soared overhead, not wanting to be spotted. It left after only a few minutes on the ground, carrying out its unknown mission.
Liz led us along for most of the day, leaving the city behind. When we started to hit actual countryside, she signalled us to stop and leaned against a tree. "Our ride'll be here shortly. Nice work, by the way."
"Which part?" I settled down to wait.
"Making them scatter. The city went from priority number one bomb target to waste of time. I'm sure they can see they are dispersing, which is likely making some of them go into fits, seeing as they'll spread the infection, but there are a lot less clusters to throw bombs at, and they can't tell which group has you."
Sandra frowned. "I don't think he was trying to spread the infection..." She squirmed a little, her thick tail swaying. "Why not?"
I reached for Sandra, subbing across her snout. "Focus. You know why not."
She thought a moment before nodding. "Yeah, sorry. God this is strange."
Lone sniffed around Sandra's tail idly, his own wagging wildly. She snarled at him and kicked back a hoof, discouraging him easily. He sulked and sank to the ground. "No one will play with me. It hurts if I don't play."
Liz sighed. "Poor bastard. We don't have time to jerk you off right now. Wait a little longer."
The familiar rumbling of a large tunneler was felt under us a moment before a pony broke the surface. She only had one head, but was easily twice the size of the three headed model. She slipped onto the surface and turned around silently. Liz moved to climb up and waved for us to join. We clambered aboard. I said hi, but the pony didn't seem interested in talking. The moment we were all secured, she dove into the ground and carried us swiftly away. We'd escaped the city.
We emerged in a thick forest. Once we were off of our ride, she left, still silent. "Is she feral?" I hiked a thumb at her.
"Yep. She doesn't talk at all. She seems to understand a few words, but she's just not interested in that kind of thing. Come on." We didn't have to go far to run into a few other ponies gathered around a new type I hadn't seen before.
The mare was composed of glittering gemstones, smoothed over into a bedazzling and multi-colored body of crystal. She smiled gently on seeing us. "You made it." She trotted towards us, her envoy trailing behind her. "Welcome, fellow ruler."
Sandra tilted her head. "What makes someone a ruler or not? I've heard, or felt, William give commands. Creepy, by the way."
The crystal pony pointed at herself. "I'm Crystal Clarity, but Crystal will do. To answer your question, you just are. I'm not a full-blown leader. Like Liz, I can feel others and influence them, but only over a small area, and it's easier to reject my orders." She leveled a hoof at me. "You are the full deal. I faintly felt your command, and we're quite a way from the city. The Council will be overjoyed."
Liz nodded at that. "Speaking of, when are they getting here?"
Crystal shook her head. "I am their representative for today. The situation's too dangerous to have us all gathered."
I rolled a hand. "Alright, so, what is it? What is this 'council'? I'm swinging in the dark here and I don't like it."
Crystal smiled. "Patience. The council is just a fancy name for all of us leaders. With the pony way spreading far and wide, we felt a need to organize ourselves."
Sandra tilted her head. "So are you trying to exterminate mankind or what?"
Crystal frowned. "Not... exactly? The opinion varies per member, but I have family, both among the ponies and humanity. I don't want to forcibly change them like that. That's just cruel." The ponies with Crystal offered no words, just staying close to her.
Lone Wing tried his luck, approaching one of the smaller mares in the group and sniffing at her flank. She offered no resistance and soon he was getting his much desired relief by pounding away at her. The rest of the group seemed to just ignore the abrupt coupling.
Crystal raised a brow at him, taking more notice than the others. "Your friend is an excellent reason why. The conversion robs most of their free will. Sometimes they get it back, sometimes they don't, and even when they do, they are changed for it. Just thinking about my nephew like that? I couldn't do that."
Sandra snorted softly. "William helped me through it. I'm mostly alright, barring a few slips."
Crystal nodded at Sandra then looked at William. "You are a good friend. Tell me, what would you see done, provided you had the power to convince the others?"
I sighed softly, considering that. "I'd like to see the violence stop, from both sides. People shouldn't be attacked by amorous ponies, and ponies shouldn't be shot dead. Not much to ask, right?" I was distracted by a sudden intense pain in the ass. As the doctor had warned me, my tail decided it needed to emerge, bursting free and tearing my pants as it wetly slid from my flesh and began to cover itself in pink fur rapidly, forming several curled segments. The color seemed to have a gradient, forming an almost sunrise of colors, all tinted towards pink.
Crystal and Sandra winced in sympathy. Crystal shook her head. "You are still changing. You will, of course, eventually be a pony. Are you at peace with that?"
I grit my teeth, still feeling echoes of that intense pain. "No. Does it have to go that way? Liz is bipedal, isn't she?"
Liz shrugged. "I'm cheating. I can become whatever I want, within certain limits. If I let it all go..." She fell to all fours and became a carapaced pony with insectoid wings and a crooked horn. "This is what you get."
Cindy bumped against me. "Don't be so worried. We're in this together and we'll come through alright. Four legs isn't that bad. We have magic where fingers are missing."
Crystal perked her glittering ears. "You were so quiet, I didn't think you spoke. Do you have a name?"
"Cindy. A pleasure to meet you, duchess."
"Duchess?" Crystal tilted her head. "What made you pick that title?"
Cindy took control of an arm to point at Crystal. "Lesser royalty, said with all due respect of course. We are a princess."
Liz hiked a brow as she became human, mostly. "Princess? Does that mean there's a queen model around here?"
Cindy shook herself. "Ponies don't have queens."
Sandra raised a hoof to put to her face. "Could someone explain how you can grow a second head that knows more about this stuff than anyone else who was actually here through it?"
Crystal frowned. "There is much we don't yet know. Still, a pleasure to meet you all." She reached and swatted Lone Wing free of her servant. "You've had enough."
Long Wing sulked, but trotted back over to me, looking much relieved.
Crystal rolled a hoof. "Well, to borrow your terminology, about one in a hundred thousand ponies are a 'duchess', but only one in a billion are 'princesses'. Those are a little rough, seeing as we don't have a census of ponykind."
A flapping sound drew our eyes upwards as a stallion with bat wings and fangs landed on a thick branch above us. He had two tails that swayed against one another. "Mistress Crystal. A detachment of human soldiers approaches. One hour until arrival. Chemical suits are worn."
"Thank you." Crystal took a soft breath. "Alright, everyone gather close. We need to vacate. Umbra, meet us back home." The bat pony saluted with a wing and launched himself into the sky.
Once she had us assembled around herself, there was a bright flash of light, and we were somewhere else entirely.