Solo Run

by Feather Scratch

Straight to the Source

Chapter Four

Strait to the Source

Isaac's Perspective:

I shuffled in place, trying to find a comfortable spot in the back of the cramped van that was taking us to the clinic. Teddy lay curled up in a corner, seemingly content to play on her phone with a stylus, while Kelly rode up front with Doctor Rhodes. I had to confess a small amount of envy for my new acquaintance. While spaces like the van and my living room were more than adequate for her to maneuver in, the world had shrunk around me. I'd lost track of the number of times, over the last few days, that I'd banged my head on a doorframe, or knocked something over with my huge, ponderous behind, or just crushed something that wasn't quite up to supporting my weight. I hope this clinic has reinforced beds.

I cleared my throat. 'Sooo… How about this weather we're having?'

Teddy didn't look up. 'Wouldn't know. I haven't been outside in five years.'

'Right right.' I scratched the back of my neck. 'What's it like being a unicorn?'

This got her to look up and cock her head at me. 'About the same as being an earth pony, I'd imagine.' She flicked her eyes up to her broken horn. 'Not exactly holding my breath for magic any time soon.'

She smirked. 'What's it like to suddenly be the size of a house?'

I chuckled and pointed to the roof, which I was having to stoop to avoid bashing my head on. 'Cramped.'

'I can imagine.'

'But you'd know all about that, right?' I cocked a brow and pointed at her. 'You said you were six foot two? That's pretty darn big for a girl. Must have been hard finding clothes that-'

I slapped a hoof over my mouth, realizing, too late, that it sounded like I was mocking her size. I was about to stammer out an apology when she chuckled. Scratching the back of her neck, she avoided eye contact and looked, if anything, slightly bashful.

'Actually, I used to be a guy. My change came complete with a full "rule sixty-three." I've been trying not to think about it.'

My cheeks burned crimson. Poor guy. Here I thought becoming too big to fit in the bathtub was the hardest challenge to come out of this change. What must a full, involuntary gender change do to a person's sense of identity? 'I'm sorry. How… How are ya holding up?'

She shrugged. 'I haven't been awake long enough, or given myself the downtime to really let it sink in. I imagine I'll be due an existential freak out at some point in the future, but that's Future Me's problem.'

'I can't tell if your composure over the situation right now is a sign of a healthy mindset, or if your actively putting off facing the truth of the situation is the sign of an unhealthy one. This clinic has a shrink, right?'

She rolled her eyes and went back to her phone. 'I don’t need a shrink, I need a solution. And that, I'm working on.'

I opened my mouth to ask more, when a sudden banging from up front made me jump and whack my head on the roof.

'Okay, we're here folks,' Doctor Rhodes called. 'We'll just set up the clean tunnel and you can get settled.'

Teddy snorted as I rubbed my head and examined the dent I had made in the roof. 'You okay there, big guy?'

I sighed. 'Surely.'

~~~

The clinic was a lot nicer than I had expected. The floors were polished, white marble, everything was colour coordinated in bright pastels and warm earth tones, there were well-tended potted plants everywhere. Calming forest sounds played over the p.a. system, and everything from the inset lighting, to the furniture in the waiting room, to the reception desk had a slick, ultra modern feel. All told, this place screamed of one thing. Money.

Kelly whistled. 'Wow. I feel poor just standing here.'

Doctor Rhodes chuckled. 'It’s true, we're not hurting for funds. Most of our patients either are, or are relatives of people earning six to seven figures per annum.' He swept his arm around at the reception area. 'So they expect the VIP treatment.'

Teddy, who, I was just realizing, had been a patient here for five years before the change and, as such, was probably loaded, looked up at the Doctor. 'Speaking of. Where did you move the other patients when you quarantined the place? They couldn’t have been happy.'

'Oh, they weren't.' He rubbed his head. 'But needs must. When we told them we were trying to protect them from a new, highly aggressive pathogen, most accepted it. We moved them to our new sister location across town. It was only recently built, so everything should be modern and fancy enough to satisfy even the pickiest tastes.'

'Speaking of "tastes."' Another doctor, smelling faintly of tobacco smoke, strode in from the ambulance bay. 'I'll need to get on the phone with my supplier. If we're going to have more guests of the horsey variety, then we'll need to stock up on food suitable for an equestrian diet. Not to mention, medicines and vaccines. Oh!' He held out his hand, which, being the only one of us who still could, Kelly shook. 'I'm Doctor Herdman, veterinarian. You must be Isaac and Kelly.'

Kelly withdrew her hand and rested it on her hip. 'Why does a private healthcare clinic have a vet?'

Teddy chuckled. 'Same reason it has a nano-tech expert. Rich people, am I right?'

Doctor Herdman smirked and rolled his eyes. 'Same reason, yes. Teddy. There I was, at the Kentucky Derby, tending sprung hooves and running doping screenings, when I got a call about the opportunity of a lifetime. How could I refuse?'

'Anyway.' Doctor Rhodes stepped between us and waved over a young man in nurse's scrubs. 'While Doctor Herdman gets the supplies in, why don't you let Nurse Redmond here take your bags to your rooms? The rest of us can go to the canteen, grab a cup of something, and get to know each other.'

'Can we grab some lunch?' Kelly chimed in. 'I've heard horror stories about hospital food, but a place like this? I'm betting you have a sushi chef.'

'Ha! We're not quite that decadent, but I'm sure we can whip up something.' Doctor Rhodes dabbed the corners of his eyes and let his chuckles die down. 'Ah. Well, shall we?'

Teddy, to my surprise, turned and made for one of the far doors. 'You'll have to give me the cliff notes later. After talking to Isaac-'

'Troubleshoes.'

'What?'

I sighed and gave a half shrug. 'It’s who I am, right? May as well start trying to get used to it.'

Teddy cocked a brow, but nodded. 'Okay. After talking to Troubleshoes, I have some new ideas I need to investigate while they're fresh in my head. Just answer me one thing. How old are you?'

I cocked a brow. 'Um, twenty-five.'

She nodded and scratched her chin. 'Thought so. Okay. You guys go. Get comfy. I'll talk to you later.'

And with that, she pushed through the swinging door and was gone.

Kelly crossed her arms and huffed. 'Rude.'

'That's just Teddy.' Doctor Rhodes assured us. 'She's very… driven. Give her time, and I'm sure she'll warm up.'

Before Kelly could build up a head of steam I could see coming a mile away, I grinned and stuck my colossal noggin between them. 'Speaking of warming up, how about that hot meal? I don’t know about you two, but I'm hungry as a horse!'

The two humans groaned in perfect synchronicity. My grin only widened.

~~~

There was no fancy chef in the canteen. Much to Kelly's disappointment, most of the non-essential staff had been moved to the other clinic when this one was put into quarantine. But we made the best of what we had. Kelly heated some tomato soup and Doctor Rhodes whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches. I had three cans of soup and half a loaf's worth of sandwiches to myself.

We sat down, me on the floor, and, with much relish, I took my first bite of hot, cheesy goodness.

Kelly tapped her spoon on the table. 'So, what happens now, Doc? Are you going to try and make Is-' She paused and glanced at me. 'Are you going to try and make Troubleshoes human again?'

I slurped some soup with the straw Kelly had, thoughtfully, provided, then frowned at her. 'Kelly, we talked about this. This is me. There's no going back.'

She held up her hands. 'I know. I know. I just want to know what these guys can actually do for us that we couldn't do for ourselves. Our original plan was solid.'

'Our original plan was half baked. All it would have taken was one blabbermouth to slip up and I'd be on the dissection table. Do you really think Cinthea could have kept this,' I waved my hoof up and down, indicating all of me. 'To herself?'

'She would have if I put her in the water torture cell for a few minutes.'

'Wow wow wow!' Doctor Rhodes dropped his half eaten grilled cheese. '"Plan?" "Water torture cell?!" I would really appreciate some context. Preferably, context that doesn't make me want to suddenly call for help.'

I rolled my eyes at Kelly's smirk, scarfed down another grilled cheese, and sighed. 'Story time, I guess. I'll skip over some of the finer details, since you already know about the transformation.'

~~~

May Fifth:

I drove my flower patterned, custom Beetle as fast as I could without attracting the attention of a traffic cop. The tattoos were odd. The hair and eyes changing colour were bizarre. I even, to my shame, cancelled my performance at the children's hospital today to look up unusual medical conditions online. But, ten minutes ago, I noticed my ears had mutated into fuzzy horse ears, and I was really freaking out!

I needed help, and there was only one person I could think to trust with something this freaky. Kelly.

I pulled into her driveway, screwed a baseball cap onto my head, and jumped out of my car. I heard a commotion from the back courtyard and ran around to see what was happening. A crowd was gathered in a wide circle around something. I slipped my way through the forest of legs to the front so I could see.

There Kelly was, standing on a raised platform, her torso was tied to a stake by a thick, hemp rope, and her hands were tied behind her back. The platform was surrounded by wooden logs that, judging from the smell, were soaked in kerosene. There was a trail of kerosene on the ground leading to a lit, old timey wooden torch that was held at an angle by a rope tied to the far wall. A few inches under the rope was a lit candle. The rope was smoking. Once the candle burned through it, the torch would drop, the kerosene trail would ignite, and Kelly would go up like a bonfire.

~~~

'Wait, what?!' Doctor Rhodes' voice had risen several octaves and his eyes bugged as he looked between us. 'You can't be serious.'

Kelly chuckled and munched on her grilled cheese. 'Just listen.'

~~~

The onlookers and I stood and watched as Kelly strained and struggled against her bonds. Sweat poured down her forehead and her face was a grim mask of focus.

We all held our collective breath. You could have heard a pin drop. The only sound came from Kelly's efforts, the crackling torch, and the ominous ping, ping, ping of one rope fiber after another burning through.

Kelly grunted, twisted, and the ropes binding her hands fell to the platform.

Ping, ping, ping.

Kelly scrambled to find the knot of the ropes holding her torso down.

Ping, ping, ping.

Her questing fingers found the knot behind her back. She squared her jaw and kept her unblinking eyes on the burning rope. There were only a few thin fibers left.

I bit my nails.

Ping, ping, pi-

The rope snapped, the torch fell and the kerosene trail caught fire. Kelly struggled and threw herself to one side, then another, still bound.

There was a WOOMPH as the platform was consumed in a blinding conflagration of flames.

Women in the crowd screamed. Panicking onlookers milled around, frantically searching for something to douse the fire.

'And that one,' came a voice from behind the crowd. Everyone spun around and parted to make way for Kelly, unburned, rope slung over her shoulder, as she strutted forward back into view. 'I call "The Witch's Parole."'

~~~

Doctor Rhodes sighed in relief as he flopped back in his chair and ran a hand down his mustache. 'So it was a trick?'

'Oh no. It was very real.' Kelly lounged back in her chair, grinning like the cat who got the cream.

I chuckled. 'Kelly and I are from a circus family. We worked the big top almost our entire lives. I was the little clown and Kelly was a magician's assistant.'

Kelly snorted. 'Until I went rogue and started my own death-defying escapology act.' She stuck her tongue out from between her teeth and threw up the devil horns. 'It was so metal.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Anyway. After our dad passed, I decided I'd had enough of the road. I wanted to try putting down roots for a while. So I got a house here in Lincoln, got plenty of work playing corporate gigs and birthday parties. I made a life for myself. And Kelly…'

Kelly gave me a light swat on the foreleg. 'Wasn't about to go off without her brother. It was about time anyway. The big top could only contain my badassery for so long.'

'Maybe if you turned down the badassery a smidge you'd actually be able to get health insurance.' I chided, emphasizing my point with a poke to the shoulder.

Kelly just shrugged. 'You don't get discovered if you don't take risks. You think Netflix is going to give a special to someone who plays it safe?'

'Speaking of discovery.' Doctor Rhodes sipped his coffee and straightened up in his seat. 'Can we get back to the story? How did Kelly react when she discovered you were changing?'

'Well…'

~~~

Kelly strode up to a cameraman at the front of the crowd and grinned into the lens. 'That's all for today, my little chain links. Hope you enjoyed the show. And remember. Under no circumstances should you try anything you see here at home. I am a trained professional with all the proper safety precautions in place.'

She stepped aside and waved an arm behind her. On cue, four guys with fire extinguishers ran forward and doused the conflagration, while four others held the crowd of onlookers back at a safe distance. Her point made, Kelly turned the camera back to herself. 'I risk my dumb butt so you don't have to. Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe if you enjoyed this video. For more daring escapes and death-defying madness, I will see you next time. Same Grant time, same Grant channel!'

'And cut.' The cameraman closed his viewfinder and straightened up. 'Perfect as usual, Kelly.'

Kelly threw the rope to the ground and ran her fingers through her hair. 'Was cutting it a bit close there. Maybe next time we don't use the Langford double when I'm sweating like a pig?'

'Oh, I don't know. I think you phoned that one in.' Now that the crowd was dispersing, I made my way over to my maniac sister and held my arms open. 'No gunpowder, no flare? Really, sister mine. A bright spark like you could have been a little more flame-buoyant!'

Upon seeing me, Kelly's face split into a wide grin. She ran over, closed the last three feet skidding on her knees, and pulled me into a tight bear hug. 'Isaac! So good to see you! What are you doing here? I thought we weren't having dinner until Saturday.'

I took a moment to return the hug. I really needed one. But priorities won out, and I stepped back to look in Kelly's eyes. Her smile flickered at my serious expression.'Kelly, can we go somewhere private? I have to show you something that may be a teensy bit disconcerting.'

~~~

Kelly leaned forward and sipped her coffee. '"Disconcerting" was putting it mildly. I freaked the heck out. I was mad at Isaac, at first. I thought he'd gotten surgery to make himself look weird. But once he'd explained he wasn't the one making it happen, I believed him. Over the next few days, I saw the changes happening with my own eyes and…'

I played with the half-eaten remains of my last sandwich. 'And that's when we started making plans.'

~~~

Teddy's Perspective:

I trotted into my room, hopped up onto the bed, and pulled over one of my laptops.

While I would have liked a bigger sample size than two to be certain, Troubleshoes all but confirmed my theory. We were ponies first. Then, twenty-five years ago, Discord cursed us to reincarnate on Earth, as humans. And now that twenty-five years had passed, the curse broke.

I knew the "when." I knew the "how." At least, in concept. The "why" was irrelevant. Although fairly obvious if I stopped to think about it. The "where" was another world. What was I supposed to do with that? So the important question became, "what now?"

I couldn't go back to my old life. Not unless humanity as a whole had gotten a lot more tolerant and open minded in the five years I'd been asleep. Fat chance.

I could hide away. I could afford to. Sell my house. Buy some ranch in the middle of bumblefuck nowhere. Have Mrs Henson handle my affairs. Just live out the rest of my life like a hermit.

I snorted at the thought. Like hell! That was no way to live. Why should I have to give up everything because of someone else's actions?

I needed to figure out how to become human again. It may not have been my original life, but it was the life I remembered. It was the life I knew. If I could go from pony to human once, I could do it again. But how?

I cued up an episode of MLP and, idly, set it to play in the background while I thought.

MLP. Where did it come into play? It did, didn't it? It had to. I may have been an unknown quantity, but Troubleshoes and Discord were both featured characters in the show. And in my dream, my memory, I remembered thinking how Dodge Junction was nearby. A featured location in the show. If Troubleshoes, Discord, and Dodge Junction were all real, if Equestria was real, but exiled Equestrians like me and Troubleshoes were only now reverting, how was a cartoon about us made in Canada ten years ago?

On the laptop, the episode playing, a season five one, a goofy "comedic misunderstanding" episode about Rainbow Dash, Soarin, and Spitfire all getting mixed signals and ending up on a triple date, ended. Credits rolled, and one credit caught my eye. "Developed for television by Lauren Faust."

Lauren Faust.

She created G4. She designed the characters, the locations, she outlined the whole thing! She said it was all based on stories she made up while playing with pony toys as a kid. But what if she was lying? It made sense. She couldn't just come out and slap a "based on true events" disclaimer on a cartoon about magical pastel ponies.

But how much did she know? Did she know everything? Did she know about the stranded Equestrians? Was she an accomplice of Discord?!

I took a deep breath and shook my head. No. That was blind speculation. There was only one way to find out what she knew, one way or the other. I slid a pair of styluses into my universal cuffs and pulled up Google. It took a while, but I eventually found Lauren's business contacts on her LinkedIn account. I grabbed my phone, I should probably return this to Frank at some point, took a deep breath to steady my heart, and dialed the number.

It rang several times. With each passing ring, I grew more and more anxious. I was a cop. This was an investigation. I had to stay professional. But it was Lauren freaking Faust! I was actually calling Lauren Faust! There may have been nefarious stuff going on, but I was still a brony. This was like a Marvel nut calling Stan Lee. It was crazy!

After about the tenth ring, she picked up. 'Hello?'

I took a deep, calming breath. Okay, Teddy, stay cool. You're a professional. 'Mrs Faust? Lauren Faust?'

'This is she. Are you calling from Netflix? I'm still going over the last contract proposal you sent me.'

I cleared my throat. 'No, ma'am. My name is… Gladden. I'm a detective. Mrs Faust, I'm involved in a case that, well, I'm not at liberty to divulge specifics, but it involves a dangerous, highly unstable individual we believe may be obsessed with your old show, "My Little Pony," and the characters in it. I realize this is an imposition, but I was hoping you'd be willing to answer a few questions? It would help us in building a psychological profile.'

'O-of course.' I could hear the concern in her voice. I really didn't want to lie to her of all people, but I needed to be careful. 'Whatever you need, detective. Nobody's been hurt, have they?'

'I'm sorry, Ma'am. I'm not at liberty to say. As this isn't an official statement you're making, we can keep this off the record. You ready?'

'Sure. Go right ahead.'

I took another deep breath. 'Well, first thing's first. You are widely credited with the creation of the two thousand and ten series "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," but was there anyone else involved? Any silent partners that went uncredited?'

'No.' She sounded mildly offended. 'There were a lot of people involved in the creation of the show, sure. But the original show bible, the initial designs, the scripts for the first four episodes, that was all me. I even outlined the broad strokes for how the series as a whole was supposed to go from beginning to end.'

'Including the controversial series finale?'

She sighed. 'They ended up making it a lot more graphic than I had intended, but yes. The finale was how the show had to end.'

"Had to?" 'Alright, so you created the show. What about the ponies? They've been held up as sterling examples of both character design and characterization. There wasn't a fan who couldn't relate to one or more of them on a personal level. Seeing themselves in the ponies. How did you come up with them? Did you just dream them up, or…'

There was a pregnant pause.

'Mrs Faust?'

'This is important, isn't it?'

'It really is. I've read your press statements, seen your interviews. I know you claim you based the characters on games you made up as a child, but I was hoping there was more to it.' I rubbed one fetlock with another. 'Please, Lauren. If there's anything more you could add. Any tiny detail, no matter how insignificant that may have slipped your mind. Any source of inspiration you drew from. News articles, fairy tales, encounters with strangers. Anything.'

'Well, in that case.' There was the sound of creaking leather as Lauren, presumably, sat back in her chair. 'You should know that I made up the stuff about playing with pony toys as a kid. That whole fad passed me by at the time.'

Hello! Jackpot! 'So where did you get your ideas?'

'My old friends in Vancouver, David and Mary. They had these twin girls. One was a bit of a tomboy, but the other had the most incredible imagination. She was obsessed with her pony toys. She'd paint them up, do their voices, make up stories, put on little plays. All sorts of things. I loved them. David and Mary put on a lot of parties, but a lot of the time, I'd find an excuse to slip away for an hour or so and just play with Tess.'

"Tess." 'And when you were approached to make the new pony show…'

She sighed. 'I pitched the stories little Tess told me as best as I could remember them. I felt bad about it, and would have changed things later on, but I didn’t know anything about MLP at the time. The show was a big opportunity for me, and I knew those stories would go over well.'

'And they did.'

'And they did.' She agreed. 'The execs loved the pitch so much, they insisted I keep, at least, the broad strokes and story arcs exactly as I had pitched them.'

'And how old was Tess at the time you knew her?'

'Well, she and her sister were born in ninety-five, so about five or six at the time?' She chuckled. 'I know, right? How could someone so young have such a vivid imagination?'

Born in ninety-five. She'd be twenty-five by now. This "Tess" was one of us! She had to be! If she came up with MLP, maybe she still had her memories! Maybe she had answers!

'So a five year old, this "Tess," came up with everything? Equestria, Discord, the ponies. Everything?'

'The broad strokes, for the most part, yes.' A hint of suspicion crept into Lauren's voice. 'I'm sorry, how is Tess or her age going to help you make a psych profile of a dangerous criminal?'

Uh oh. 'I know it may seem trivial, Ma'am. But every little detail is important. This individual is obsessed with MLP. Its lore, its characters. All of it. Establishing when the show and these characters were created, why, and by whom is essential to figuring out how this individual thinks and how they see the world.'

'"Essential," hm?' I could practically see Lauren frowning. Did I blow it? 'Well, in that case, you may be barking up the wrong tree?'

That made me frown. 'How so? You said yourself-'

'That Tess's stories inspired my work. That she came up with the broad strokes for the most part. But "Friendship is Magic" is the fourth generation of a franchise that's been running since the eighties. Bonnie Zacherle created MLP's first generation. Including a lot of the characters Tess told me stories about. Twilight, Applejack, Spike, they're all G1. You want the truth about how and why MLP started, talk to Bonnie.

G1. Some of the characters were from G1. Twilight, Applejack, Spike. Talking ponies, rainbow magic. It all existed in the eighties. No. No no no! This throws the whole timeline off!

'Detective Gladden? Are you still there?'

I blinked and shook my head. 'Um, yes. Yes, I'm still here. I was just… making a note. Thank you for the tip, Mrs Faust. I think that'll be all for now. If I have any further questions, I'll call you. Thank you for your time.'

'No problem. I hope it helped.'

Helped? Shattered my entire theory? Time will tell. 'It did. Thank you. Oh! One more thing. At any point, did you design a tall, dark purple unicorn mare with a broken horn and a scarred face?'

She hummed in thought. 'Hmmm… No. I don't think so. The proverbial cutting room floor was littered with concept designs we never used. We did try to be as inclusive as possible. Characters with different body shapes, ages, even some with visible disabilities and the like. But we drew the line at anything that might cause the younger audience distress. A pony with a broken horn and a scarred up face would have been too upsetting to use.'

My ears wilted and I hung my head. For some reason, hearing that from her felt like a punch in the gut. I had no real investment in this pony I had become, this pony that I used to be. But hearing those words from Lauren Faust herself? It was like being told by your hero that the sight of you offended them.

'Thank you for your time, Mrs Faust.' I hung up the phone before she could reply and flopped back on the bed.

That had not gone the way I hoped it would. I had one potential lead, but I also had a massive hole in my working theory. And what's wrong with a scarred face?! It was pretty prominent, sure. But it wasn't like I was Two Face or anything. Gah! No. Focus!

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I was reborn on Earth twenty-five years ago. Troubleshoes was reborn on Earth twenty-five years ago. This "Tess" person, who gave Lauren her ideas. She was very likely one of us, and she was born twenty-five years ago. All current evidence pointed to the curse that brought us Equestrians to Earth happening twenty-five years ago! So if that was the case, how could MLP exist in the eighties?!

I growled in frustration, feeling my temper rise. I felt a pressure build behind my eyes, and a moment later, several thin bolts of electricity sprang from my horn like it was the electrode in the centre of a plasma ball. All three laptops, the phone, the new lightbulb overhead, and all the medical monitoring equipment in the room sparked and died.

For a moment, I just sat there, stunned. Eventually I looked up and gave the remains of my horn a tentative poke. 'That's… going to be expensive, if it keeps happening.'

At least my head didn’t explode.

Nurse Redmond burst into the room a second later with a fire extinguisher. 'I heard explosions! What…' His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he surveyed the busted light, ruined electronics, and walls covered in scorch marks.

I hopped down off the bed and slipped past him, making my way out to his reception area. 'Sorry I broke your stuff. I shoot lightning from my face now. Bill me. I need to use your computer.'

'Wha… B… "Lightning?!"'

I trotted over to the reception desk, hopped up into Nurse Redmond's seat and got to googling. Bonnie Zacherle.

I swear. If she turns out to be a time traveler or something, I'm going to start thinking my life is a bad fanfiction.

~~~

Doctor Rhodes' Perspective:

'And so I made it out of the alley, jumped onto Troubleshoes' back, and we were in the clear.' Kelly waved her arms as she talked. The more we talked, the more she seemed to warm up to me. Once we had broken the ice, she had become a lot more animated. 'After all, with a blanket covering his cutie mark, and blinkers over his eyes, who could tell Troubleshoes apart from a regular horse?'

Troubleshoes chuckled. 'And who'd suspect the jockey out for a midafternoon ride was the hoodie who broke into the police station? Which I still say was a dumb move.'

'What?' Kelly threw her arms wide. 'This is twenty-first century America. How was I to know the cops didn’t have cameras everywhere?'

Troubleshoes rolled his eyes. 'Yeah. This is America, not North Korea. As many problems as we have, we're not living in a police state just yet.'

Kelly shrugged and slurped down the remains of her third cup of coffee. 'So Plan C was a bust. But I had a good feeling about Plan D. See, we were going to-'

I never did find out what "Plan D" was going to be, as Nurse Redmond chose that moment to burst in and rush over to me. 'Doctor! It's Teddy. Or, Teddy's room. Or… Sir, you're going to want to see this.'

~~~

The four of us stood, crammed into Teddy's room, gaping at the ruined electronics and scorched walls. 'How…'

Nurse Redmond scratched the back of his neck. 'She said she shoots lightning out of her face now. I wouldn't have believed it, but earlier today, I saw a bolt of electricity blow up a lightbulb. I thought the electricity came from the bulb and grounded in her horn. But now I'm thinking it was the other way around.'

I rounded on him. 'And you didn't think to tell me this?!'

He held up his hands and backed up a step. 'I gave her a once over. She seemed fine. She said she felt fine. Like I said, I thought the shock came from the light, so I had Phil fix it. I was going to mention it, but,' he nodded to Troubleshoes. 'You were busy.'

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. 'Frank. A patient getting shocked in the head is not information you just put off. Even if it turned out not to be the case. If you thought it happened, tell someone!'

Nurse Redmond backed up until he bumped into Troubleshoes. 'Right. Right. Sorry, Sir. My mistake. It won't happen again.

The look on his face made me feel instantly guilty for snapping. But even I had my limits, and I hated playing catch up. I sighed. 'Where is Teddy now?'

Nurse Redmond pointed over his shoulder. 'Using the computer at the reception desk. I think.'

Troubleshoes leaned down to whisper to Kelly. 'I wonder if she can charge phones with her face too.'

~~~

Teddy's Perspective:

I dialed Bonnie Zacherle's number on the reception desk's landline phone and set it to speaker. This felt like a long shot. Barring a few superficial similarities, G1 and G4 had nothing to do with each other. I'd be better served looking up Tess and seeing what she knew. Sigh. But a lead is a lead. No matter how tenuous.

The phone picked up. 'Hello?'

Time for my peppy voice again. 'Hello, Ms Zacherle? My name is Cameron Scott. I'm a film student at Columbia University. I'm working on my end of year project. A documentary about the history of the "My Little Pony" franchise, and I was hoping you could spare a few minutes to answer some questions?'

'I don’t really do that many interviews these days, Miss Scott.'

'I know. I realise this is an imposition, and I apologise. But I'm having trouble finding some information about the franchise's early days, and I thought, "why not go right to the source?" It would really mean a lot if you could answer just one or two questions.'

'Oh, alright. Maybe one or two.'

You know, it never really occurred to me before. But I had a pretty decent talent for bullshitting my way through a conversation. If I hadn't become a cop, I could have been a conman. Or a lawyer.

I grinned. 'Great! Then, first question. Why did you design a toyline based around ponies in the first place?'

She chuckled. 'Oh that's an old one. I joined Hasbro in 1980. I was working as an Illustrator in the Research and Design department when I thought I'd try my hand at pitching an idea. I was always fond of horses. Some of my best childhood memories were about my time around them. So I thought, "I'm sure little girls would love a line of fun horse toys."'

I frowned. It couldn't be that simple. 'And that's it? That was how the franchise started?'

'Oh, heavens no. My first pitch went over like a lead balloon. Oh they liked the idea of a line of cute animal toys for girls, but they felt my original designs were too boring. "Why horses?" They said. "Why not puppies or kittens or teddy bears?"'

'Good question. Puppies and kittens would have been an easier sell. So why persist with horses?' How do I phrase this next part? 'The designs and characters you ended up successfully pitching were certainly anything but boring. You might say, they were unique even. Did something or someone inspire you to make the change?'

There was a pause I was beginning to become familiar with. There was someone.

'As a matter of fact, there was someone. I was living in Providence at the time. My initial pitch had just been rejected. I went to a bar for a drink and a bit of a fume. I was determined to stick with the horse idea, but I had to figure out what about my designs weren't appealing.'

~~~

Providence, Rhode Island- 1981

Bonnie's Perspective:

Well. That was a bust. I sat at the bar of a little off campus place near Brown University. I could have gone somewhere more adult, but the dollar beers were worth putting up with the revolving door of jabbering students. I wasn't really in the mood to relax right now anyway.

I sipped my beer and pored over my sketches, trying to figure out where I went wrong. These were good. I knew they were. I would have bought horse toys like these as a kid. They had the whole majestic, Black Beauty thing going for them. So why would puppies and kittens be so much better? Was I really so out of touch?

A young woman flopped down on the stool next to me and flagged down the bartender. 'Hey. Applejack. Neat.'

The bartender cocked a brow. 'I.D.?'

The young woman rolled her eyes and fished a Brown University student I.D. out of her bag.

The bartender nodded and poured her drink. The second it was in front of her, she downed the whole thing in a single gulp and immediately waved for another.

'Rough day, huh?'

'Urgh! Where do they get off treating me like that?' She grabbed her fresh drink and took a gulp. 'They think just because I'm a girl they can talk over me or treat me like I'm a simpleton!'

'The people at the university?' I swiveled on my stool to face her. She was a relatively pretty girl with coppery brown hair, tanned skin, and, if looks could kill, the glare she was giving her drink would have been a war crime.

'I came up with a schematic that would allow a thirty-two bit microprocessor to be manufactured almost as cheaply as a sixteen bit processor. Revolutionary stuff. You know what they said to me when I proposed it?' She spun to face me and gave me a wide eyed, vacant grin. 'Good job, kiddo. That sounds like a neat little idea. We'll see if we can't find time to give this a once over right after we're done looking at Brad's new colour-coded keyboard.'

'Ouch. Looks like it's a bad day all around for proposals.' I sat back and took a swig of beer.

'You too?'

'Yeah. I work at Hasbro. I tried to pitch a horse-themed toy line for girls.' I waved at some of my sketches. 'They said it was boring and I should do puppies and kittens instead.'

She took my proposal and leafed through a few pages. 'They were right. These are boring.'

I frowned, feeling a spike of anger at this kid's casual dismissiveness of my work. 'Excuse me?'

She shrugged and held up one of my pictures. 'I mean, they're just horses. Kids can get horse toys anywhere, right? Isn't the whole point of proposing a new toy line that it's new. What makes these stand out from any other horse toys?'

'They were going to have brushable manes and tails.' My cheeks flushed as she snickered. 'Oh, okay. And what would you suggest?'

She looked at the picture in her hand and frowned. 'Well, have you considered making them ponies, not horses? Horses can be intimidating, but everyone likes ponies.'

I chewed it over. It wasn't a bad idea. The change would be minimal, but it would definitely broaden the appeal.

'And colour. You need more colour. I'm practically falling asleep looking at all this beige and brown. Why not throw in a little blue or pink or yellow? Give the kids a rainbow!'

I cocked a brow. 'Because horses aren't blue or pink or yellow?'

She rolled her eyes. 'They're also not made of plastic. These aren't veterinary science models, they're toys. Little girls love colour. And what do you think is going to pop more on a store shelf? A rainbow,' she held up my picture and mimed gagging. 'Or brown?'

I finished my drink and mulled it over. 'Rainbow coloured ponies. I like it.'

'Yeah. They are…' She downed the rest of her drink. 'Likable.'

I held out my hand. 'Bonnie Zacherle.'

She gave me a small smile and shook my hand. 'Sunny. Sunny Williams.'

I grinned. 'Well, Sunny. Why don't I get the next round, and you can tell me more about how I can make my proposal less boring?'

~~~

We met at the bar several more times over the next few weeks. Sunny may have been a little brash and standoffish at first, but once she started coming up with ideas, she grew more animated by orders of magnitude. And she had a lot of ideas. Not just about how the ponies should look, although, she never did like the designs I came up with, or what their names should be. But when she suggested unique marks for every pony or incorporating lore into the proposal, I contented myself to just sit back and listen in awe.

She proposed adding unicorns and pegasus ponies to the line up. She talked about what the ponies could do with magical powers. She came up with myths and legends about exotic lands and magical artifacts. About villains and curses and monsters the ponies had to contend with. Honestly, I envied her imagination. She came up with her ideas and told her stories so effortlessly, it was almost like she was reciting facts and recounting real events, rather than just making it all up.

But, she wasn't always, well, sunny. The last time I saw her, we didn't exactly end on a high note.

~~~

'What about… community structures?' We were sitting in a booth on a bright Thursday afternoon, chatting over coffee. Thanks to Sunny's help, my new proposal was almost ready to be pitched. Now it was just a matter of finessing out a few last details. 'Should they be herds, like with real ponies, or should they have more of a human social structure?'

Sunny shrugged and sipped her coffee. 'They're not wild animals. Of course they'd have social structure. There are always nobles looking down their noses at everypony just because they have wealth and titles. Probably best to stick with a small town mayor or a sheriff if you're adding a leader character. If you go with a village set up, you could design a bunch of different themed playsets that fit together. Kids'll want to collect 'em all.'

I fished out a drawing I made the night before of a regal, white pony in a ballgown, wearing a tiara. 'I was thinking more along the lines of royalty. Little girls love princesses after all, right? What do you think?'

To my surprise, Sunny slammed her mug down, causing its contents to splash all over the table. She glared down at my princess drawing like it had personally insulted her.

'Princesses. Of course. Because it always comes back to princesses and how bucking special they are.'

She shot to her feet, grabbed her bag and stormed off.

'Sunny, what's-'

'Good luck with your toys, Bonnie. I have work to do.'

~~~

Present

Teddy's Perspective:

'And that was the last I ever saw of Sunny.' Bonnie sighed over the phone. 'I don't know what I did to upset her, but she never came back to the bar again. I pitched the new toy line the next day and, well, the rest is history.'

I sat, staring at the receiver, dumbfounded. The pony's colourful appearances, the different races, the cutie marks, the lore. It all came from one person in the eighties. 'Ms Zacherle, I noticed that sometimes when you were quoting Sunny, you used words like "everypony" and "bucking." Were you embellishing or…'

'No. No I wasn't. I know, it was odd. But when Sunny got going, she slipped into these odd little… I suppose you might call them "ponyisms." It was a cute little quirk of hers I rather enjoyed.'

Sunny Williams was an Equestrian. She was an Equestrian who had full memories of Equestria and lived on Earth before the curse! I needed to find her. She was the key!

'Ms Zacherle. I don’t suppose you kept any of Sunny's contact info?'

'No, I'm afraid not. We just met at the bar. Even if I did, we've been out of touch for forty odd years. No contact details I would have had back then would be any good now.'

I sighed and rubbed my temples. 'Well thanks anyway, Ms Zacherle. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.'

'Not at all. I hope your documentary goes well.'

I hung up and stared at the ceiling. 'Sunny Williams. Who on Earth are you?'

Author's Note:

If you're curious about Sunny Williams, read more about her in Alsey's fantastic 5 Score fic:
Tri-State Area Girls – a Five Score story

Comments

[Princess Elytra]

New Five Score? Well don't mind if I do~

[Poparakelis]

Doctor Rhodes chuckled. 'It’s true, we're not hurting for funds. Most of our patients either are, or are relatives of people earning six to seven figures per annum.' He swept his arm around at the reception area. 'So they expect the VIP treatment.'

Are or were* and use "" for dialogue please

[Feather Scratch]

11673745
This sentence is referring to the patients being rich, or being the relatives of rich people. In this context "are, or are relatives of" is the correct formatting.
As for using "" for speech, I was always taught to use 'this format' for speech and "this format" only for quotes.
This is a common way of doing it here in the UK, and, while I'm sorry if it bothers you, this is how I will continue to do it.
I hope you understand. It's what I know.
Thanks for reading.

[Velvet-Fresh]

well hello there Sunset Shimmer. Heh, and by chance Granny Bonnie also used her named in the show? I mean what the coincidence for the name Megan Williams

[Feather Scratch]

11673795
Ask Alsey.

[Aiwhisper]

Wow this is really well done so far.

[Feather Scratch]

11673953
Thanks!

[Everfree V]

And the ploy thickens more for Teddy!

[harts fire]

grate chapter.
Sunny Williams
not a hard to figure out who that is.

[harts fire]

just wondering when the next installment will be out?

[Sparky Brony]

Excellent story, and I saw the nod to Dust in there. Her visit to the McDonald's in Williston. Bravo, good story, am looking forward to any and all updates!

[DraquineWarrior]

11673795

11683132
And all along the reading here I was thinking: "Sunny? As in Starscout? She traveled from her time and shared her knowledge of [G4] ancient and [G5] modern Equestria to inspire the franchise on Earth?" Buuuut I guess not. I'll check out that other fic though.
(Man it especially got me when the prospect of a smalltown mayor or SHERIFF was brought up.)

(Still might be awesome to see a G5 version of 5-score and/or a fic that gets into some mysteries of the creation of G5 and the Brony artist who inspired the design.) 😃

[harts fire]

11720108
a five score with G5 that might be interesting. it would be really hard to pull of as the time frame would be way wrong.

[harts fire]

11716513

11720235

wink wink something to look into?

[Feather Scratch]

11716451
Yeah, sorry. Been super busy irl, plus dealing with a serious block. It'll be out as soon as I'm able. Thanks for your patience.

[harts fire]

11720990
not a problem i am getting my hay in for the winter and my barn in order i know how IRL happens.

[Poparakelis]

Man, this had so much potential, a pity it's dead, or maybe not?

[Feather Scratch]

11774761
Not dead, just sleeping. Busiest time of year for me, so no time for fics, sadly.
I appreciate your patience and am glad you like the story.

[Somniare]

Your story deserves more likes. I hope you will continue this. Tempest is a nice cop, but a little naive.