Richard secured permission to abort their attack on the caves. Dusk waited for him to stop talking on the radio to ask, "So why were you knocking out ponies anyway? We weren't attacking anyone."
Richard raised a brow. "A lot of activity but no movement. Someone wanted to know why and feared the worst. This was as much an exploratory mission as anything else, which is why I'm here in the first place."
One of the other soldiers barked out, "Hey, easy with the intel. They aren't on the friendly list yet."
Richard nodded. "Tit for tat. I'm almost certain you're the one I need to talk to regarding the increasing sighting of non-aggressive horses? Practically overnight the state's national animal becomes a pony and everyone's rushing to get their own. If you were trying to be subtle about it, that was a poor job."
Cindy smiled and leaned forward just a little, controlling an arm to point at one of the sleeping ponies nearby. "That was us, yes. They're living with people. Neither side is attacking the other."
"And infection?"
I stood up and picked up the closest collared pony I could find. "We've worked out a way around that. The collared ones are safe, and contact with non-collared ones doesn't change that."
"Come on now, I can't return just saying 'they fixed it', right?" He sounded hopeful, but obviously wanted more. "Is it a drug? How do you synthesize anything in here?"
How did I explain what I was doing? "Alright... think of the infectious agent as its own separate... thing. Whether a pony has it or not doesn't really affect the pony's basic actions. A pegasus will fly with or without it. A unicorn has the same magic, and so on. The agent is used to change others, and the pony. As they develop more... mutations? They use up the agent. It's possible, naturally, for it to get used up over time, but we don't have that kind of time."
"I'm trying to follow you here, but why wouldn't this agent reproduce like any other infection?"
I shrugged. Not the most convincing answer I had, but it was mine. "The amount of it is set on infection, and doesn't increase afterwards. I don't know exactly what it is, but I'm guessing it's not really... alive, like an infection. I'll leave that to scientists to work out. Either way, we clean ponies by specifically using up that agent. Then they're just ponies, not infectious ponies. It removes some of the urges, mostly those to spread the infection, but other than that, they are who they were beforehand."
One of the sleeping ponies stirred and shook herself out. When she noticed the soldiers she squeaked and shrank back fearfully. She spotted me and dashed over, hiding against me. I reached down and gently pet over the pony even as Sandra circled around to nuzzle and comfort the distressed mare.
"Alright, I'm going to assume that's true, seeing as we've watched the ponies interact with humans with no effect. But how? How do you 'use up' the agent, whatever that is?"
Dusk pointed at me. "She can tell the, er, agent, what to do, until it's burned up. She's very good at it." He flexed his hoof, allowing his fingers free to wriggle. "As you can see, she gave me the gift of hands again, when I want them, and I don't get those... ugh... urges anymore, at least not the violent ones. None of us want to hurt people. I'm delighted to be working with someone trying to stop the violence."
Sandra nodded from my other side. "This has gone on long enough. People are dying, horses and humans alike."
"You don't even know the half of it." Richard stretched out. "I should get back to base. You've given me more than enough to give the brass to chew on and argue about. Hopefully we'll be back with good news. Would you be willing to part with one of your 'cleared' ponies?"
Cindy bristled immediately. "They're people! Ask them."
Richard looked across the room, seeming to skip Dusk and Sandra, instead pointing at the one I was holding. "Well, let's wake that one up."
I gently shook the pony awake. The little pegasus' wings flared out as he looked around. "Huh wha?"
I smiled. "This guy thinks you're not brave and smart enough to visit an army base without making a mess of things."
"Says who?" He took on a proud stance, chest puffed out. "As long as they aren't going to shoot me?" He looked up at Richard. "And I want to come back. My friends are here."
Richard nodded. "I'll work on getting you back, but since we're being honest here, it won't be up to me when you get released."
More ponies were approaching curiously, some of them daring to get quite close to the soldiers. One of the other soldiers shied back. "No collar means it's infectious right?"
Sandra clopped a hoof on the ground. "If you don't have a collar, give them some space. They're our guests."
The crowd thinned as those with active gifts drew back and the smaller number with collars remained. Soon they departed, taking the pegasus with them. "That... Could have gone much worse," I sighed out, looking around before I felt the scared mare from before nuzzle up underneath me and press her cold nose against my sheath.
Sandra, being beside her, hissed angrily and her tongues lashed out, wrapping around the uncollared mare, lifting her into the air easily. "That's mine, not yours." Before the mare could do much more than squeak, Sandra had her securely wrapped in thick tongue-tendrils. "If you want the company of a stallion, I know one that's available." She circled around me and set the female before Dusk, lifting the mare's tail out of the way for him.
I wondered for a moment if this was forced, but I heard the female moan softly and she had a little smile on. She was enjoying the play, so I put it out of my mind and went to find Crystal, leaving Dusk and Sandra to have their way with the willing mare.