How Murphey Struck
The next morning, we found ourselves loaded on the busses once more, driving over the border of Virginia, crossing over into Washington D.C.
Everyone on the bus was equipped with bags, daypacks, sunglasses, and anything else they’d need in the capitol city. The day was bright, almost blinding through the bus windows, and the interior was rich with the musk of sunscreen. However, it was just as loud today as it was yesterday.
One of the teachers stood at the front of the bus, a younger guy wearing a casual flannel shirt and khakis. He put his fingers to his mouth and letting out shrill whistles to get everyone’s attention. After a moment, the bus was relatively quiet.
“Alrighty, first day, everyone! We’ll be heading to the Smithsonian this morning! We’ll let you all go to which museums you want to, just don’t do anything stupid.” A few chuckles rolled through the bus, along with a few snide comments from certain kids.
The teacher continued, “No matter what, stick with a buddy, alright? This is a national museum that won’t take kindly to a few teenagers off alone making fools of themselves. We’ll regroup for lunch before heading out again to the monuments, use your time wisely.”
With that, he sat back down, and the chaos resumed just as if it hadn’t been halted in the first place.
In the middle of all the ruckus, I sat on a bench with Dale, with Fiora sitting one bench behind us, draping her shoulders over the back or ours. The three of us had our own bags with us, though Fiora wore a pair of sunglasses over her face.
Fiora glanced towards me, “Well, since Dale and you are obviously buds, mind if I come along?”
I shrugged, “Sure. I don’t see why not.” I blinked for a second, “Although, could I choose which exhibit we go see first?”
Fiora raised an eyebrow, deadpanning, “Of course you’d actually go in the museum, you and Dale both.” She unzipped her backpack, pulling out a folded-up scooter just so it was visible to them, “If it were up to me, I’d rip up the sidewalk on this all day.”
Dale chuckled politely, before turning back to me, “Sure, where do you want to go first?”
“To the building with American History in it.”
Fiora pointed a finger down her throat, gagging, “Ugh, I hated that class. Why’d you want to go there?”
“Well, American History was my favorite class,” I replied a bit smugly, “But also a friend of mine wanted me to see if I could figure something out for her there from looking at the exhibits.”
“Figure out what?” Dale asked, now curious.
I inwardly grimaced. It wasn’t like I could tell them I was searching for any signs of a possible witch family in the American Colonies. Even if I did, they probably wouldn’t have believed me.
“Just something about colonizing America,” I replied, avoiding the less believable parts.
Dale smiled slightly, “Okay, but can I choose the next museum? I really want to see the natural history building if we can.”
Fiora only sighed, “Great, now I’ve just doubled the geeking to be had on this trip between you two.”
____________________________________
Not long after, the busses stopped in a visitors’ parking lot, and our whole group walked to the National Mall. (Though to my sheer disbelief, a few kids in our group looked severely disappointed to find it wasn’t a shopping mall. Seriously, who doesn’t know this stuff?!) It was a wide open strip of grass separating the rows of museum buildings on either side of it. A small breeze rippled through the grass cut short enough that the effect was only barely noticable.
The capitol city itself was pretty busy with tourists and district residents alike, and here at the National Mall, it was no exception. From what I could see, hundreds of people were milling about the Smithsonian. But though the are was big, people still walked around with the air that they were inside a museum.
... Well, some people, anyways. I thought to myself, glancing towards Fiora. She had pulled her scooter out of her backpack and had ridden all the way here.
However, upon reaching the mall, we were excused to go on our own to any of the museums. Once our whole group split up, it was up to me and Dale to try to keep up with Fiora as she rode ahead on her scooter. Of course, she didn’t wait for us until she reached the Museum of American History. Long story short, Dale and I ran to catch up to her, and the three of us ended up entering the museum, with two of us slightly short of breath, and the last acting mockingly peeved that she had to put away her scooter yet again.
Of course, my shortness of breath basically vanished as soon as we entered the building. I say that with absolute delight, because the moment I stepped through the museum’s threshold, it felt like I had walked onto cloud nine. Immediately, I was greeted by the sight of pictures depicting old events, relics within darkened, glass cabinets, and the smell of aged paper and fabric mingled with air conditioner. Anything and everything beyond the front doors just screamed with history and stories of the past.
Yup, just my little slice of heaven.
“So, where’s this colony exhibit we’re looking for?” Fiora asked, visibly trying to hide the fact she already wanted to leave.
Dale, looking slightly uncomfortable at how many people there were in the museum with us, hurried back to us from the reception desk in the corner. He carried a pamphlet in hand, opened up to a map of the museum, “Found it.” He pointed down a hallway nearby, “It should be about three- no, four rooms that way.”
I smiled, “Thanks, let’s get going.”
Dale chuckled nervously, “Y-yeah… hopefully the Natural History Museum isn’t this crowded.”
Fiora sighed, rolling her eyes as the three of us started moving through the building, “Dale, there aren’t that many people here. You’re just over exaggerating.”
“Er… you’re right. Sorry.”
Again, she rolled her eyes, "You don't have to apologize either."
______________________________________
The man sighed as he stood in a random exhibit in just a random museum he had chosen to come to. It didn’t matter where he went, so long as he performed his experiment today. The only prerequisites he had decided on before was it needed to be near Capitol Hill, but not swarmed with security and other armed guards.
Sure, they wouldn’t be a problem for him, but he needed to conserve his energy for later. He was sure of that.
At the moment, he waited in the Smithsonian Museum of American History, right beside an exhibit depicting some history from World War 1. Several people had passed him already, but the man had been careful to keep his face at least out of sight, either beneath his hat or his sunglasses he wore. He would have preferred his overcoat and mask he’d used on the first capture, but they stood out too much in public at this time of year.
For now, he just needed to blend into the crowd, until he spotted the perfect test subject, whomever they may be. He wasn’t sure what the extended results of the transformation glove would be now size-wise, so it’d have to be someone small enough he could carry away with him. His getaway vehicle was just out behind the museum, so if he could just reach it, he could easily escape capture.
But why bother going through all this trouble? Why risk capture for a measly experiment? Because, this wasn’t just a test. This would be a threat to the public, and more directly, his targets. He wanted them to know that he had power… and that was one thing they couldn’t take from him.
A frown creased across his mouth, the man glanced up around the museum, out into the hallway outside the exhibit. He needed to find a test subject soon; the sooner, the better.
But that’s when he spotted some likely candidates. Walking down the hallway towards his position were three teenagers, two boys, and one girl. They were definitely ideal, compared to the other people here he had come across thus far, except for one of the two boys. The taller one was lanky, and since his proportions would carry over into the transformation, he wouldn't be easy to carry away. The girl was the ideal height, but from her sleeveless arms, he could tell she wasn't a weakling. She would most likely put up a difficult fight when trying to drag her away.
But as the man's eyes fell on the last boy, a smile flashed across his mouth. This boy was a good size, and would mostly likely be easy to carry away, and that fact was only all the more clear, because this boy definitely wasn't very strong. He would do.
The man watched beneath his sunglasses as the three teenagers turned and walked into another exhibit. Out of their sight, the man moved from his spot towards the exhibit as well.
The time was drawing nearer for the experiment... his smile drew into a sneer. It was time for results... and for terror to strike-
But as the man reached the doorway to the exhibit, he gritted his teeth in annoyance. In the exhibit, there stood about ten people, including the three teenagers he had watched enter. But among them was a security guard, standing just inside the doorway.
The man sighed to himself. The security guard would have to go first, but that left the risk of his target, that teenager, from getting away.
Grimacing, the man glanced towards the threshold of the exhibit's entrance, spotting a handle in the wall. He recognized it as a sliding door or steel bars, used to secure the building during closing time.
"... That'll do," The man muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling on the glove.
________________________________
The exhibit was just like I expected it to be. Pictures and plaques were scattered across the room, detailing the history of the colonization of America. Several glass cases sat along the walls, all of them containing some kind of relic from the colonies: Rusted tools, worn and faded clothing, and sketches and models showing what colony life would have looked like.
It seemed like a great place to start looking for that possible magical family that came to America with the colonists... but as Dale, Fiora, and I entered the room, I felt a bit of doubt gnawing in my gut. There was only one room dedicated to colony history, and a single room in a museum can only hold so much information.
I inwardly sighed, taking a once-over glance on all of the exhibit I passed by, Oh well, I'll search here first. Even if I don't find anything in particular, I could always try searching in the Library of Congress. I scratched the back of my head, Wait... is that even part of this trip? If not, I'm going to be kind of pissed!
"So Lyle," Fiora snapped me out of my thought, standing leaning by a display case with her arms crossed, "What are you looking for exactly?" I glanced at her, and she wore a common look I saw plenty of times in History class: Boredom.
I shrugged as I skimmed through some plaques along the wall, but they only told about troubles all the colonies faced in general; You know, starvation, heat stroke, etc. "Um, well, my friend wanted me to see if I could find something more... supernatural, in the colony histories. You know, like the Salem Witch Trials, though, not quite that."
Dale frowned worriedly as he glanced about the room, "... I doubt we'll find any specifics in here. Wouldn't you have more luck at a library, or even the internet?"
"I was planning on checking the library later," I replied, though to myself I remembered, I doubt I'd find anything online though. If the circle ritual Angela found was taken down only a day later, and not to mention the fact that she couldn't find anything else... Strangely, I had an odd feeling that this family didn't want to be found... maybe that's what Angela figured, too.
The moment that thought entered my head, I heard a commanding shout coming from the exhibit's entrance.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Get- ARGH!"
Startled, I glanced towards the doorway like everybody else in the room, only to freeze in shock.
At the doorway stood a security guard. He was the one who had shouted, and for good reason. Another man had his hands around the guard's neck, and the guard was struggling with the man's arms as he tried to pry them off. Gasps of surprise and shouts sounded from the other witnesses, and I immediately rushed towards the man to stop him, like any good person would.
What the heck was this guy trying to do, kill the guard? This guy had to be crazy to do something like that in a National Museum!
But suddenly, as I ran towards the man, time seemed to almost slow as I spotted a faint glow coming off the back of his gloved hand. And I could only watch as everything else happened in a split moment.
As if someone were twisting a knife in his gut, the guard screamed, his eyes wide with pain. His body twitched and cracked at his joints, as if... he was changing... Instantly, navy blue fur erupted from the guard's skin, sprouting across his arms, his face, beneath his clothes, as his hair grew in length, fading in color to grey.
I felt my body freeze as I stopped running. My eyes were as wide as they'd ever been in my life. What the-
The guard's hands fumbled in the grip of his assailant, but it was no use. Pain rendered his hands useless as his fingers seemed to fuse together, becoming blue hooves. At the same time, his neck lengthened and his body shrank, a pair of pony ears springing through his grey mane.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was no doubt about what was happening, but... just what?! How the frick could this guy transform that guard like that?! I couldn't even see a circle for the ritual, that is, even if this guy was even using one.
The whole transformation had only taken a few seconds, faster than any I had ever seen or felt. The man, the guard's attacker, wore a satisfied grin as he now held a limp, blue earth pony stallion by the neck. As if he were a child tossing away a toy he had lost interest in, the man dropped the stallion. There, he laid immobile on the ground, still breathing, heavily.
As the man turned towards the others in the room, towards me, I saw it on the back of his glove. My breath caught in my throat as I spotted the faint, familiar, glowing transformation circle etched into the back of the glove.
How did he have it though? The only person who knew that circle was Angela, so-
Shouts of surprise and panic rang through the exhibit, and even past the doorway the man stood in. I could hear footsteps outside, most likely people running from what they just saw. There was no doubt more security would come, too. I could feel the tension in the room; everyone wanted to run from this psychopath, but he was blocking the only exit. There was no way anyone want to risk the same thing happening to them that happened to the guard, and none of these people knew what exactly happened either.
But suddenly, the man waved an arm behind himself, and as if it were pulled by invisible hands, a barred door slid across the entrance to the exhibit, clicking and locking shut with a metallic slam of steel.
"What the-" I glanced to my side, finding Dale standing there, a look of astonishment written across his face. Soundless words hung from his open mouth as he just witnessed something that defied physics.
Standing on Dale's opposite side, Fiora had her hands clenched in fists as she stepped in front of Dale protectively, shouting at the man who had locked us all in this room, "What the hell is going on?! Who are you and what do you want?"
The man merely smirked, "... Who volunteers as the next test subject?"
I gritted my teeth, hands in fists. Test subject? Was this guy seriously going around blatantly transforming bystanders, just to see what would happen?! That's the same as abusing that power!
... Er, come to think of it, that's kind of what happened when Angela first turned me into a pony.... Whatever! At least she only did it on a friend, and not terrorize a whole museum doing it.
Unfortunately, a lady near the back of the room had chosen that moment to pull out her cell phone and try to call 911. But immediately, the man spotted it. In one swift motion, he raised his open hand towards the woman, and her phone exploded in her hand before she raised it to her ear.
I felt my breath skip a beat as I watched what had unfolded, and I could briefly hear Dale doing the same.
Shocked cries rang through the room, and the woman clutched her hand, yelling in pain. Her phone being destroyed... by whatever it was the man did, must have injured her.
Confused and angry, Fiora turned back towards the man, "What the fu- huh?" Her eyes widened as she realized the man was no longer there.
A scream later, all eyes turned towards the woman, only to find the man suddenly standing over her, his glowing, gloved hand pressed over her face.
No! But just like with the guard, the effect was almost immediate. The woman began changing, screaming as pain coursed through her body. I cringed at the sound of it; Speeding up a transformation was always painful, even just halving the time caused me to collapse to the ground. I couldn't imagine what pain she was feeling with an almost instantaneous transformation.
In less than a few, mere seconds, a daisy colored mare with a mane like cream crumpled to the ground in the pile of her clothes that were now too big for her. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes were closed with phantoms of pain etched across her face.
The man glanced up towards everyone else, and the others began backing away from him in fright. However, the man only clicked his tongue, as if chiding children, "Now, I can't be having interruptions. I have limited time as it is."
As if on que, alarms suddenly began blaring through the building, like the kind someone could hear from breaking into a bank.
Sighing, the man shook his head, "Looks like I have less time than I thought." Just like before, he vanished in an instant, and a gasp escaped my throat as he reappeared just beside me, in front of Dale.
He raised his glove towards Dale, but my reaction wouldn't let Dale experience the pain that would follow being touched by it. Without thinking, I jumped between the man and Dale, and the gloved hand slammed against my shoulder.
Crap... Oh well, I was just going to transform. It wasn't that big a de-AAAAGGH! HOLY MOTH#ER OF PEARL< THAT SMA@RTS!
You know how I described the pain the guard felt like a knife twisting in his gut? Let me rephrase that. IT FELT LIKE A FRICKIN' CHAINSAW! It felt like someone took a giant hammer and busted my kneecaps; like a bed of nails was laying on me; like a medieval torturer and a rabid weasel had a hay-day on my chest and then used my skin as a doormat on their way out; like... Well, you get the idea.
But despite the horrific agony I felt, which felt like it lasted through forever and eternity having a very tedious baby... this was still a transformation, one that I've been through time and time again. Despite it's intensity, it still felt familiar. I knew, if that hadn't been the case, then this would have hurt a lot worse.
Buuuut, it still felt like a dentist tried cleaning out a cavity through every single opening in my body except my mouth; Just saying.
During the time I was transforming, I had lost track of everything else. By the time I regained my senses, I found myself belly down on the ground, my own yellow hooves in my sight, stray blue hairs of my mane poking in at the corner of my vision. My body ached everywhere, but I found that I could still move... barely.
I glanced up, only to hear Fiora scream. The man was still after Dale, but Fiora had stepped in his way.
"Get away from him, or I'll knock your lights out!" Fiora screamed at the man, but quicker than a flash, he shoved her away with his gloved hand.
She screamed as she toppled away, in my direction, the transformation taking effect just as quickly as mine had. As the pain hit and her body changed, she lost her balance and fell over.
"-Fi-ohgra-" My breathing rasped as I quickly pulled myself up, my legs trembling. But thankfully, I moved quick enough for Fiora to land over my back. My legs almost gave out though, due to the fact I still had my backpack and my now baggy clothes on. Holding her up wasn't helping the fact that my body was still throbbing from the transformation.
However, in an instant, the transformation had completely changed Fiora. I glanced over my back, only to find a moss green earth pony lying on her belly, draped over my backpack and back. Her mane had grown longer, becoming a brunette color, though still pointing upwards in a way akin to Spitfire's from the show, the tips of hair ending in a lighter brown color. Her clothes and bag hung loosely from her, and her face was scrunched in an angry wince as she lay immobile.
At least she was fine for now. I quickly glanced back towards Dale.
Dale's eyes were wide as they fixed on the man. He was backing away from the man, gritting his teeth as the man only walked closer to him.
The man's smirk was gone, seeming to have faded the longer the alarms blared through the room, "Come here, boy. I have a schedule to keep, so-"
"Freeze! FBI!"
My eyes turned towards the entrance to the exhibit, past the barred door. To my relief, standing behind it was a group of armed officers. But from the looks of two of them trying to pry the door open, they were having trouble getting in. But that didn't mean they couldn't shoot through the bars. The rest had their gun barrels aimed through the door's openings, all trained on the man.
Back by Dale, the man cursed under his breath, "Shit." Suddenly, just like before, the man vanished, reappearing just in front of Dale, his arm reaching out towards the scared boy.
"Urgh, no!" As quickly as I could, I leaped with as much strength as I could muster towards the man. The weight of me and Fiora together, along with the element of surprise, was enough to push the man slightly, while still making sure Fiora didn't slip off my back and faceplant on the tiled floor.
But despite my effort, the man must have still managed to touch Dale; He collapsed to the ground, clutching himself as he let out a horrifying scream, as if he couldn't possibly handle the pain he was in.
"Crap, no!" I gritted my teeth as I could only watch his body warp and crack into the shape of a pony. Umber colored fur grew over his whole body as a horn of the same color protruded from his forehead. His hair grew to a mane as long as mine as it turned as blue as arctic ice. Within only seconds, a unicorn smaller than me lay on the ground, shaking slightly, his eyes closed as he breathed in short, sharp breaths. His expression was one on the verge of tears because of the pain he had gone through.
"What?" I turned in time to see the man glaring down at me through his sunglasses. "The pain you felt through that transformation should have incapacitated you for an hour at least. How are you still moving?"
He slowly moved towards me, ignoring the shouts at him from the FBI agents still locked outside. He didn't even looked fazed that their guns were trained on him. I tried to back away, but my legs only gave out on me and I stumbled to keep upright. Fiora moaned on my back, and to the side, Dale whimpered as his body shook.
I glared up at the man, unable to move away as he stood towering over me, "... What do you think y-you're doing?"
"...Revenge."
I blinked in surprise, "Wha-?"
Before I could even say the one word, the man's fist connected to the side of my head and my vision turned black as I felt myself hit the tiled floor.
... I hate falling unconsci...ous... uugh...
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I loved it! It's just as good as the rest of your chapters. Keep doing a good job!
Keep writing chapters like this and I will regret never having hacked FiMfiction and therefore never implementing being able to give multiple likes.
Good job, I FUCKING LOVE THIS! What happens next, what happens next, what happens next?
I will wait... impatiently... So please, MOAR PONIES!
Well, things escalated quickly. And I don't have a problem with that. Much. Still, good chapter.
Holy crackers! That evil guy can do a ton of things! Not only can he turn people into ponies, but he can do telekinesis, destroy stuff, and teleport (or move to somewhere at instant speed). I wonder what the evil guy meant by "revenge", though? What sinister plans are forming in his mind to carry out his little "revenge"?
So now Lyle is back to his yellow earth pony form with cyan mane again. And Fiora is now a moss green earth pony with brunette mane, and Dale is a unicorn pony with umber fur and icy-colored mane. (I'm just repeating the stuff in the story to remember how the trio looks like in their pony forms.) I can't wait to read about Fiora and Dale's reaction in their new pony bodies. I bet it'll be something along the lines of "AAH! WHAT HAPPENED TO US?! WE'RE CUTE LITTLE HORSES WITH HUGE EYES! Wait...."
Overall, this was a nice chapter to read.
6361736
MOAR PONIES!!! And just as I got back from work
Holy guacamole! That escalated really damn quickly!
And I can say that I'm the same as Lyle is: a history loving nerd
And it's sad that I too know people who think the national mall is a shopping mall
No! He might get away with Dale! And he can teleport too!
6361886 You called wrong! Fiora drew earth pony XD
6361957
Well, it was a good guess
6361957
6361965
You guys are following this story, too? Awesome.
6362152
Have since the original
There are some errors, but that's to be expected without an editor. I'm so hyped for this! Keep up the good work! HURRAY FOR MOAR PONIES!!!
6361965 I thought so too.
6362858
Athletic usually means pegasi in my head
Who knows maybe he's trying to balance out his unicorn bias in Equestrian Legends Online
6362863 I agree with the first thing, and the unicorn bias thing I didn't know about.
6362887
A good portion of his main cast was unicorns with maybe 2 pegasi and a single earth pony
6362906 Pfffft!
Poor Earth Ponehs! Their strong kicking wasn't enough! 
6362152
Yup, both these crazies have been following me like starved canines following a piece of meat who's skateboarding through a dog show (Yes, that was also an analogy to show I picked up quite a fair number of followers with these stories along the way, too).
... I hate falling unconsci...ous... uugh...
i cant fall unconscious people have tried. though there are a few times it would have been a boon.
6363407
I'm like a bad rash; you just can't get rid of me
6365435
Hahaha!
Exactly
6365702
I simply won't let you :P
Fiora has a scooter... SHE'S TURNING INTO SCOOTS, I CALL IT NOW!
6372353
(five, minutes, later...)
Well buck. There goes that. That would have been hilariouse!
New. Chapter. NOW!!!! GIVE ME MORE!!! PLEASE!!! I BEG OF THEE!!! Lyle will be you if you don't realise a new chapter soon! (Joking, don't lay awake thinking about it.)
Looking forward for future chapters.
Nuuuu
I get here, and it's suddenly over. Well fu-
I find it interesting that Dale is the only non-earth pony. I actually was expecting everyone to be, seeing as the man stated he wanted earth pony variants only, to minimise the chances of them escaping or fighting back. I guess he had to keep contact for that part of the sigil to take effect?
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Hype intensifies
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6396997
Hold your horses(ponies), I'm working on it, k?
Also, hope you're enjoying my other stories. I like it when new favorites on them pop up in my notifications.
6397798
Must. Hold. 500+ Horsepower.Too. Hard.
*ded*
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But though the are was big, people still walked around with the air that they were inside a museum.
Improper grammar
it felt like I had walked onto cloud nine.
What's that suppose to mean
Huh?
She would most likely put up a difficult fight when trying to drag her away.
I'M REALLY STARTING TO HATE THIS (more)