Autumn Scarlet

by IgnitedSage

Chapter 2: Changes

Apple Bloom felt her body crumple suddenly as gravity came upon her. She fell and hit the smooth surface below. She skated across the floor and bumped against the wall. All at once, a wave of distortion came across her body, and for a moment, she felt like she was going to be sick. Her stomach clenched in pain. Her vision darkened. Then the feeling quickly faded away just as fast as it came. Apple Bloom lifted her body up, trying to shake herself in order to get the feeling back to her appendages. But no matter what she did, her body couldn’t remain steady. It was like she was a newborn foal trying to take its first step.

Apple Bloom looked around the room she was in. The interior of this structure was very clean and very bright. It looked a lot more fancier than any place Apple Bloom has been to and that includes the Crystal Empire and Canterlot. The ceiling seems to be emitting a bright light that shined across the clear metal floor. The hallway seems to curve with the outer wall.

Yet this place didn’t seem right. The air was stale. It left a bad taste in her mouth. The floor and the walls felt too clean. Moreso it felt like something was watching her. Like a million eyes were looking down upon her. Apple Bloom suddenly felt small and vulnerable.

“I shouldn’t feel this way.” Apple Bloom muttered to herself. “Nothing is happening to me. I’m perfectly alright.”

The lie didn’t help though. Apple Bloom couldn’t ignore the various pains and numbness that plagued her body. She turned her head only to be hit by a sense of dizziness and vertigo. Once it had passed, Apple Bloom steadied her head. Everything returned to normal except she felt something was off with her ears. She could feel them twitching for a little bit but then they suddenly stopped moving. Slowly they had become numb. Apple Bloom couldn’t feel them anymore. She tried to reach up to them but her front hooves were unresponsive.

“Oh, no” Apple Bloom squeaked. The changes were actually happening.

She needed a mirror. She needed to see her reflection.

Apple Bloom looked around the foyer to see what was the best direction to go in. Her right way, which was running up the structure’s base counterclockwise, had no discernible features. That direction seems endless. Just a continuation of the same piece of the hallway is divided into different sections. But the left way that went clockwise had the remains of a door. It looked like it led to a corridor that went deeper into the structure. That seems to be the best direction.

The decision became affirmative when a loud bang exploded next to Apple Bloom, causing her to jump a little. Beside her, she turned to see that the outer metal wall was dented. A small barb had pierced the material. It was quite obvious what it was. Despite half her body not functioning, Apple Bloom quickly got herself to move to put distance between herself and the rampaging monster. Her back legs were still working a bit, so she was able to scoot herself down the hallway and around the corner of the broken door frame.

Apple Bloom was able to push herself to the other hallway which was pure white. The floor, the wall, the ceiling, all of them were emitting a light that hurt Apple Bloom’s eyes. Her body started to shiver as she went down the hallway. She couldn’t tell if it was from fear or if she was cold. For whatever reason, the chill was making her feel weak. The act of moving her body this way somehow was giving Apple Bloom fatigue. She had to rest for a minute.

At the end of the hallway was another door frame although this one was round. It led to a similar hallway except the right side was pure glass. This gave Apple Bloom a perfect place to rest and to look at her changing body. The knowledge allowed Apple Bloom to gain a second wind and quickly close in the distance between herself and the door. Which seems to be the right time as a series of thumps echoed up the ceiling. The raging manticore was trying to break in.

Apple Bloom musters her earth pony strength and hops over the metal door frame. It wasn’t enough to clear the rim and her right back hoof got caught, causing her to tumble in. Apple Bloom let out a small oof as her body tucked in and rolled. It was during her tumble that she spotted a small metal lever that was sticking out of the door frame. Apple Bloom put together that this could be used to close the door. After untangling herself from the cloak, Apple Bloom leaped up at the lever and pulled it down with her mouth. The taste was unpleasant but the lever quickly gave in. A large, heavy door came down and shut Apple Bloom inside the hallway.

Apple Bloom let out a sigh of relief. Then her eyes turned to her reflection which appeared on the surface of the shiny door.

She could tell at once that her body was changing. Her muzzle was smaller, her eyes became narrowed, and her fur had almost completely receded. But the most telling feature was that of her ears. They were no longer on top of her head like they should be. They were instead on the side, right below her temple and underneath her strands of hair. Apple Bloom let out a startled gasp as she realized how different she looked. Even the shape of her ears was all wrong.

“My ears!” she exclaimed. “My beautiful ears!”

A flash of light and Eos appeared with a slight pop. It looked around until it found Apple Bloom freaking out about her recent discovery. Eos fluttered down to her level. The pony looked like she was either on the verge of tears or anger. Eos, however, couldn’t notice.

“It seems the transformation is going smoothly,” Eos noted. “You will be having a functioning, proper body in just a few minutes time.”

Apple Bloom turned to face Eos with a fiery glare.

“You bastard,” she hissed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“No errors have occurred to my systems since the last time we spoke,” Eos replied. “If you want, I could run a diagnostic check to ensure that my program is functioning as intended-”

“That is not what I want,” Apple Bloom interrupted. “I mean why are you acting so cheerful about the changes happening to my body? You have crippled me at the worst time. In case you didn’t notice, there is a pony eating manticore out there!”

“There is no need to worry little one,” Eos said calmly. “This is one of my master’s advanced ships. It is quite capable of keeping us safe from any threats out there. There has to be an assembled horde of those monsters to get through that door.”

“That’s not the problem,” Apple Bloom paused “….wait, ship?”

“Yes, this is my master’s ship to travel spacetime,” Eos told her proudly. “It was one of the finest ships in my master’s fleet and I’m proud to be its custodian. It is such a shame it fell into such disarray.”

“How is this a ship?” Apple Bloom asked. “It is nowhere near the ocean or the sky. Does it fly, sail, or float?”

“Yes,” Eos answered.

This explanation just infuriated Apple Bloom.

“But how?” She said as she let out a frustrated groan.

Before Eos could answer something large impacted the outside of the structure causing a loud thump to echo across the metal hull followed by another one. Then a series of bangs came next causing the entire ship to vibrate. Eos received a sensation of danger as the defense of the ship was being ripped apart and the monster on top was tearing into the ship. Whatever kind of hope that Eos had was suddenly squashed. Its purpose was to protect this ship and the master’s closely guarded secret. It failed. Now, they were in danger.

“It seems that we have a slight problem,” Eos stated, its voice carrying a slight hint of sadness.

“Ya think?!?” Apple Bloom yelled at Eos.

“It would seem that a hostile entity has breached my safety perimeter and is intended to destroy the remains of my master’s ship. I believe this entity had put on cybernetic enhancements upon the species known as a manticore in order to breach the exterior of the ship... “

“I don’t care!” Apple Bloom interrupted. “You better transformed me back or I swear to the Alicorn Sisters that I will buck you into the next century!”

“Even if I could, I can’t right now,” Eos said, slightly annoyed. “The transformation requires time to finish. Time that we don’t have right now. Besides, if I revert you back into your original form now, the ship’s defenses will knock you into a coma. Only human beings are allowed to operate in the interior of the ship. It was a defense mechanism to prevent hostile lifeforms from entering the ship.”

There was a crashing noise that came out from the other side of the door. Sounds of metal and glass being thrown to the floor and the walls.

“Although, I don’t think it is going to prevent this current hostile from entering,” Eos commented. “Perfect offensive tactic though, have a regular beast enter my defensive perimeter and then activate the cybernetic enhancements once it is inside. A perfect blend of magic and technology.”

Suddenly a metal barb pierced the door, causing sparks and shrapnel to fly out.

“Is there any way to stop it?” Apple Bloom asked.

“There is,” Eos replied. “This ship does have a small cache of weapons on board. However, we needed to get to the center of the ship quickly. If my calculations are correct, I might be able to hold this monster off long enough for your transformation to be complete. Follow me.”

Apple Bloom tried to follow but her hind legs suddenly began to spasm. She looked down to see that her hind legs were becoming longer and were turning backward. The muscles and bones were shifting into a different position. Most startling, however, were the bottom hooves. They were no longer covered with hardened keratin but instead soft, pudgy skin. And Apple Bloom could suddenly feel everything down there. It was as if that bottom of her hind hooves were as sensitive as her mouth was.

Another metal barb tip entered and pierced the door. Eos suddenly swooped down and carried Apple Bloom by the bottom of her chest and began to drag her down the hall. Apple Bloom felt her lengthening body bumping against every obstacle and edges that were all over the hallway. Eos took a few sharp turns that caused Apple Bloom’s longer bottom appendages to smack against the metal wall from the shift in momentum. Once they reached a small, dark room, the ship suddenly vibrated violently as a loud thud echoed across the hallway. The door to the room quickly shut on them, leaving them in total darkness. Then a slight hum and lights appeared on the edge of the room.

Apple Bloom fell to her new knees. Her entire body was shaking. Whether it was from the transformation placed upon her, the raging monster outside, or the storm of stress and anger brewing inside her, she couldn’t tell. She was just crouched down, her entire body flopped uselessly underneath this giant cloak. Apple Bloom happened to look down at her front legs which were starting to transform too. They were also becoming longer. Her front hooves also were beginning to turn into a different shape. She could feel the tips of her front hooves becoming sensitive like her bottom hooves. Maybe even more so. This did not relieve any of the negativity she felt. She turned to Eos.

“Why?” she asked.

Eos was taken aback.

“Why what?” it replied.

“Why did you pick me?”

“I have gone over this,” Eos said, now getting annoyed. “You were the only valuable candidate I came upon in thirty years and it was the only option I had left. I couldn’t find any other way-”

“So, you decided to just experiment and transform my body without consulting-”

“It was the only way to save them!” Eos yelled it’s body flared up in an angry red light.

“Save who?” Apple Bloom did not back down. “Why couldn’t your humans do it? Where are even these humans at? Where are your so-called masters?”

“My masters are dead.”

Apple Bloom flinched as Eos snapped right in front of her face.

“For a hundred years before you were even born, my masters and I were stuck down in the depths of this earth, hidden away.” Eos continued in a low voice. “The entire human species were under attack by an unknown enemy. Billions were suddenly killed, turned to dust. This ship managed to escape the initial attack but we were hunted down ever since. Eventually, this colony realized it couldn’t go on like this forever. After one final effort, my masters managed to teleport and destroy most of the enemy's forces. But in doing so, we were forced to split the ship into pieces. What you see now are the remains of what is left. I don’t know whether other parts of the colony survived or not. All I know is that any of the original crew here had passed away a long time.”

“So, there are no humans left?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well…”

Eos grimly turned to the back of the room. A thin, glowing appendage emerged from the bottom of its body. It twisted around like a string in the air and then began to press something on the wall. A small beeping noise came out that was then followed by a click. The floor next to Apple Bloom suddenly jolted. The floor began to move, revealing a hidden door. A large glass container on top of a large metal cylinder rose out of the hidden door. The monolith rose until it was about approximately the same height as Apple Bloom standing on her new hind legs. Which in fairness did give her an advantage in the height department.

“In the event of my demise,” Eos explained. “My masters knew there would be only one option left. We did everything to ensure that it would not come to this but this has become the worst-case scenario. As we speak, the monster is tearing this ship apart. It wouldn’t be long until they find us. It seems that my final duty is to inform you of my task and ask you to carry it out.”

Eos turned to Apple Bloom.

“Now stand up,” it commanded.

Apple Bloom moved her four appendages so that they spread out but it did little in giving her height.

“No, stand up.”

Eos seems to be pointing with his appendage at the hind legs of Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom shifted her hind legs until their bottoms purchased some floor. Then she pushed with her leg muscles. It was able to lift her off the floor for a little bit. But the legs slip and she collapses to the floor. Apple Bloom let out an angry groan but knew she had to keep trying. It’s one thing to complain and whine about the situation given to you. It is another to become completely helpless in the face of the danger surrounding you. And if her family taught her anything, it is that the Apple Family is never helpless.

Apple Bloom tried half a dozen times to get her back legs to remain on the floor. Around the eighth try, she began to use her front legs to gain balance. The remains of her front hooves, which began to be split into five different digits, were able to help push Apple Bloom off of the floor. Once she did that, her hind legs were able to carry to momentum and help Apple Bloom start to stand up on her new legs.

It was freaking weird. Her new appendages kept low to the ground, just in case she loses her balance. But it seems to be working just standing on the back legs. The balance seems off. Normally, her tail would be able to compensate but she can’t really feel it. Apple Bloom turned around to see her rear end. She let out a sad but not at all surprise moan. Her tail was retreating into her body, disappearing amongst the hem of the robe. Guess these humans didn’t have tails.

Eventually, Apple Bloom was able to stand somewhat at full height.

“You are getting the hang of it,” Eos commented. “Guess the biological interface is helping you gain control of your new body. You should be able to walk and move like a normal human soon enough. Your mind also will soon be able to differentiate the new biological features of a human. Give you new instincts and information.”

“Hold a sec,” Apple Bloom held out one of her front legs which displayed the new feature instead of her hoof. “You be messin’ with my mind too?”

“Only the bare minimum in order to help you survive as a human as well as other things!” Eos let out in a panic. “I’m hardcode not to interfere with a sapient mind unless it is absolutely necessary to help them adjust to a new body.”

“You know,” Apple Bloom closed her eyes and tried to calm herself a bit before she continued speaking. Keyword ‘try’ “I had hoped that I can keep myself calm and figure a way out that you will help me return back to normal. But if you keep withholding information from me, then I’m gonna have to buck you so hard, y’all would wake up till next Tuesday!”

Eos seem to shrink a little as Apple Bloom gave the artificial creature a fiery glare. There was then a loud thud coming from the hallway. The lights above them began to flicker and then dim. Apple Bloom didn’t have her superior hearing but even now she could hear the footsteps of the killer monster coming to them.

“It has found us,” Eos said as its body began to flicker.

“What’s happening to you?” Apple Bloom asked.

“The beast is destroying my power reserves,” Eos replied. “I estimated that we have four minutes and thirty-four seconds before this ship is rendered powerless and I am disabled. It wouldn’t take long for it to break into this room. I have no choice. I have to save him.”

Eos seems to be looking at the glass cage. Apple Bloom took a look inside the clear container and saw something completely new. Inside the container was a metal basket that held a small, living creature on top. It was like one of those primates from way down in the south except it only had fur on top of its head. A small face. No fangs. No claws. There was nothing like it around here. The creature was just totally different. It looked so helpless. But Apple Bloom knew almost instantly that this was a human. A human baby. Apple Bloom looked at the somber Eos.

“Why?” she said, taken aback. “How? I thought you said they all died.”

“They did,” Eos said. “This is their legacy. This is their living will. They knew that even if all of humanity was eliminated, they needed someone left to avenge and retake their old worlds. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep him in stasis for long. He was born right before the final members died off. And I was using all my power reserves to keep him alive and hidden until I could bring back a sizable colony.”

“My best estimate was that I had ten years left. Well, the keyword was that I HAD ten years. But now, most of my power is being drained as we speak. My only hope is that I will use my last reserves to stun the beast into a coma. That will hopefully give you time to run and return to your land.”

Eos floated back to the door.

“You were right,” it muttered. “It was devious of me to transform you into a human. It was not my decision to make. I apologized for that. I just was hoping that my masters would be able to recover from this. But it seems that alas, fortune is not on our side.”

“Wait!” Apple Bloom cried out. “What about the child? What will happen to him?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Eos said. “There are no humans left to take care of him. I cannot judge how long stasis will hold him. If you want, you can take him to your nearest town. Have your authorities determine what is best for him. See how I failed him and my masters, my only option is to give you enough time to escape.”

“You’re not coming?”

“My primary memories are stored on the mainframe of the ship and being subjugated to the stress of the attack. Even if we have the time to transfer to a backup unit, the lack of maintenance will no doubt hinder my physical body. I am bound to this ship and I am unable to go far from it. Whatever happens to this ship will happen to me.”

Apple Bloom began to say something but then her face went numb. Part of her face began to twist up a bit. She looked down. Her cute muzzle began to shrink and disappear. It was changing. Her nose and mouth were separating. Apple Bloom let out a slight cough as she tried to get her mouth to work again.

“What I’m-” Apple Bloom paused as she ran her tongue over her teeth.

Wow, talking felt weird.

“What am I going to do?” Apple Bloom resumed asking. “How can I help fight?”

“Fight?” Eos let out a small chuckle. “This monster just destroyed half the ship. Even if I could retrieve the weapons, it wouldn’t do much. We will need time and better defenses. None of these weapons can stop the beast for long. Even if we kill the biological component, the machine brain will simply take over. The enemy may have found us. They had figured out the weakness of my systems and my ship. They disabled my delivery system. Put every weapon on lockdown.”

“That leaves us with nothing then!” Apple Bloom yelled.

“Well,” Eos paused. “I guess there is one thing. If I can bypass the security protocol and have a short time to the delivery program, I could reroute enough energy to create a giant leap for you, the child, the weapons, and the rest of the supplies we have left. It might be enough to get you guys out of here. If there is one thing I could ask, it is this: take care of him. Take care of the child. Take care of him for me. And if I do survive this, I will do whatever is in my power to restore you back to your true form.”

BOOM!

The door began to buckle. Smoke and flames sputter out of the gaps and whip around the door frame. Eos let out a loud squeak. It’s body flickering. The inner light began to fade.

“What’s going on?” Apple Bloom asked

“I-I-m-m-I’m d-dying.” Eos stuttered. “I-I must not let them get a hold-”

BOOM! The door crumbled a bit more.

“You can’t just die, there has to be something I can do.”

BOOM! The entire room shook.

Eos floated up to Apple Bloom’s new face.

“P-P-Promise me you’ll keep the child alive!” Eos practically yelled.

“I-I-I” Apple Bloom wanted to say something else. Like she can’t do this. This isn’t something she had signed up for. She was way over her head. If she was a filly, then maybe she would agree to do something like this. But she was not the young, adventurous pony she once was. She just wanted to go back to Ponyville and return to normal. Yet Eos was looking right at her and demanded an answer.

“Promise me!” Eos pleaded

“I -I promised!” Apple Bloom said.

Then the door fell down and at the threshold stood the monster of death. The cyber manticore tense up, ready to pounce. Eos started to glow brighter and brighter. Then within a blink of an eye, Apple Bloom felt herself vanished from the spot.

---

*Plip-plop*

Drops of rain were hitting her face. Apple Bloom jolted up and realized that she was outside again. But this time it was night, cold, and windy. She also realized that was almost...naked? The word felt foreign to her yet didn’t. It occurred to her that she was in a new body. And it felt like this body required clothing. Then Apple Bloom felt her body begin to shiver. She can see why they did so. She wrapped herself in...arms? Was that what it was called? Apple Bloom then felt the need to try to stand. But try not to use all four of her appendages. Instead, use just the back legs. It felt so unnatural to stand like that. But she had to start moving eventually. So, shakily, she stood on her hind legs. Her body wobbled and titled. Something on her new body jiggled. Somewhere in the front area. She did stumble a bit. But eventually stood up. This body... It will take some time to get used to.

Then she heard a cry. A cry of a baby. She looked down and saw that it was the human child. It was lying there in his basket. Alone and no one else to take care of him. Apple Bloom felt a tinge of guilt. She could just leave this human out here, let fate decide what to do with him. But even she knew that she wasn’t that heartless. She knew what she had to do.

She kneeled down and began to cradle the baby like so many mothers would. She shushed it and rocked it gently.

“It is alright,” she told the human. “ I'll figure something out for you.”

She spent a good amount of time cradling the baby, protecting it from the elements. The baby eventually began to calm down.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you,” Apple Bloom paused as she just realized something.

“I guess you need a name…”

She looked down to see the human was already asleep. She wrapped it tightly in the large cloak that was provided to her. She kept the human tight against her body to protect it from the harsh, wet winds. Suddenly, Apple Bloom thought of a name for this child.

“Well, welcome to Equestria,” Apple Bloom greeted. “Autumn.”

And now she had to figure out how to get back to Ponyville like this and in this terrible weather.

Comments

[Viper Pit]

I nevet been more interested in a baby then now

[TearingNose24]

for some reason, I imagined Eos sounding like bill cipher.