The First Day (It's Just A Shot, Right?)

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I opened my eyes, my body still groggy from last night’s dream. I got down from my bed and sauntered over toward the mirror in my room. I stood up on my hindlegs in order to get enough height to get a proper look at my reflection. There it was plain as day, a purple horse face. A pony face. My face.

My hair...my mane rather, was a deep purple with a bright pink highlight and combed to be very straight. A large horn spiraled out of my forehead like someone jammed a waffle cone into my forehead and it pushed down into my frontal lobe. My eyes...honestly, they’d look pretty cute with how big and purple they were...too bad I seemed to be stuck with a look of sadness on my face.

Below my neck was quite simply, the body of a purple pony, complete with a full coat of soft fur. I took a moment to unfurl my wings and spread them wide. They were large, almost majestic looking and I was curious as to how they worked. I pivoted my body to the side so I could get a look behind me. I caught a glimpse of my...my tail, swaying around my behind, having the same color scheme as my mane.

That’s when my eyes fell upon the strangest feature I now possessed. Adorning both flanks was a pink starburst with white stars surrounding it. This mark was the most recent addition to my body and it was the one that filled me with both confusion and wonder. Even now, I’m not entirely sure what it is or what it represents.

I continued to stare at my reflection for the longest time. I certainly didn’t hate it, but it was so alien seeing it in front of me. Before, I was just another person in the crowd. Now I’m a winged unicorn with a body so colorful, even I’m taken aback by it. I keep expecting someone to jump out and tell me this is all some practical joke, or that I’m just hallucinating this.

But I know that’s not happening. This is my life now. I am a small, scared little pony.

Before the First Day

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Man, that clock is gonna make me go mad if I have to listen to it for one more damn minute. I muttered to myself. You never really understand how much you look at your phone or look at your laptop until you’re forced to sit out without any sort of stimulation for even a few minutes. I needed to do this however. The opportunity was too good to pass up. It’s a clinical trial for something that could potentially wipe out this disease we all had to hunker in for. Anything to not go insane from cabin fever or be stuck away from friends is a win in my book.

The large wooden door of the appointment room swung open and I was greeted by a somewhat large man with an even larger smile. I guess I’m not the only one who wants to beat this infection.

“Hello sir, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long” he grinned.

“Oh, not too long at all!” I lied, wanting to stay on his good side. “I am pretty eager to go through this trial though. Anything to get rid of this infection, yeah?”

The doctor sagely nods. “Don’t we all? Well, these clinical trials should be able to hit this problem straight in the head, if all goes to plan. Of course, with you being a part of the first group of people to try this cure, you’ll be rewarded handsomely for your participation.”

I won’t lie, that was definitely part of the reason I was doing this; sweet sweet cash. I could no longer rely on my mom’s insurance so being able to get the cure for this stuff before anyone else and get paid for it rather than having to pay was killing two birds with one stone, or in this case, curing two diseases with one vaccine.

“Well, just tell me what I need to do doc and I’ll get right on it!” I enthusiastically proclaim.

“That’s the spirit!” the doctor claps and produces a clipboard with some paperwork. “We already have your medical records for this trial and you’ve been approved to be in the test group, all you need to do now is fill out all the paperwork and consent forms.”

I nod and grab the clipboard from him and start looking over the paper. Ugh, look at all this legalese that they have here. I’ll just try and figure out what they want in short. I scan my eyes through all the documents.

Basically, I’ll need to be kept monitored for about three weeks where I’ll be observed and looked at for any abnormal behaviors or developments. I’m not gonna be allowed to communicate with the outside world “for security reasons” which probably means no internet. Woof. That’s a hard sell for me but I guess I won’t just be kept in a room for 3 weeks and I’ll have other things to do. I won’t be able to bring in anything into the testing area for fear of “tampering with sensitive data” alright sure.

After going through the paper, I signed the blank lines making sure to dot my i’s and cross my t’s. After all was said and done, I handed the clipboard back to the doc.

“Alright, it’s all done! Ha, I guess you guys own my soul or something on paper now, yeah?” I joked.

“Ahahaha, no no, nothing like that” the doctor replied in earnest. “But now that is all taken care of, we’ll be administering an injection of the medication to you in a moment. Is there anything you need before we give it to you?”

I shook my head. “I’m ready whenever doc!”

The doctor nodded and called for his nurse, who came in wielding a container filled with what I can only describe as “science stuff” as well as an assortment of tools and equipment for performing an injection. As the nurse was going through the process, I turned to the doctor.

“Hey doc, I’m just curious.” I say, with a more reserved and serious tone. “How...confident are you in this medical trial and in the medication itself?”

The doctor turned to me and frowned slightly for a brief moment. “Well, there’s a lot of rigorous testing that’s done even before human trials begin, and quite frankly, there’s a lot of pressure to get this right so I’m confident that this will work” the doctor finished with a firm nod.

“Alright, thanks doc.” I replied. I wasn’t entirely convinced, but his words did make me feel a bit less worried.

The nurse had finished her preparations and now had a syringe filled with the medication.

Just one shot and three weeks of prodding and this will all be over. I declared as the needle pierced my skin.

“Now,” the doctor began “one thing you might experience as this medicine takes hold is a feeling of light-headedness. In fact it’s not uncommon for people to pass out when this serum takes hold.”

“Wait, it might-” I started to complain but already I could feel my world spinning and rushing around me. I heard the nurse say something to the doctor but all the words were slurring together in a blended mess. I could feel the motion of being moved from the table to a wheelchair but my awareness was slipping. The last thing I remembered seeing was...purple?

The First Day

The first thing I noticed was that I was laying down on a very hard surface. Flat, cold, metallic. I groaned. This bed is the absolute worst. First chance I get, I’m leaving one star. How did I get here anyway? I remember going to the doctor’s for that clinical trial, I filled out a bunch of paperwork and got a shot, but after that… I tried to think more but my head was throbbing and my nose felt runny. Ugh, figures you develop mild symptoms before you get an actual cure.

I opened my eyes, only to immediately close them again. The light in this room was uncomfortably bright. I cracked them open and looked over at the wall to help my eyes adjust quicker. The wall was stark grey and very smooth. The only thing I could tell was that it was a wall I didn’t recognize.

Man, I know the doc said he was going to give me a dose of medicine and that it might cause me to faint, but that shit ended up knocking me flat on my ass harder than that night at last year’s convention. What a heck of a start.

My eyes were finally not wincing from the abundantly bright lights so I shifted my body over on the other side to get a look at the whole room proper. Much like my “bed” the room itself was very spartan; the aforementioned lights and bed along with the featureless walls barring one “mirror” on the side where the only door to the room also stood as well as a panel of sorts near the door situated on the left wall. The door itself continued the boring streak this room had going for it with a gunmetal grey color scheme. The only notable difference was something resembling a mail slot at the bottom of the door. Off to the side was a basic sink and toilet that seemed to continue the “beige on boring” theme this room seemed to enjoy so much. Did I mention the room was boring? I think I did.

Ah, right, I remember now. I mused, I read in the paperwork that I’d be kept in a facility for the duration of the trial. I guess they just dragged me here when the dose knocked me on my butt. That thing is a helluva drug.

I slowly pulled myself up and nervously started twiddling my thumbs. This place was cold and uninviting. I had to get used to it though; I was going to be here for a while. Three weeks if I was remembering things correctly.

I continue to sit there, sniffling my nose a bit, waiting for something to happen.

Still sitting.

My concept of time is completely skewed, I’m not even sure what time of day it is right now. I think to myself, dreading even one more minute of deafening silence. It’s like the damn doctor’s office with the clock all over again.

My introspective thoughts are mercifully interrupted by the sound of static, quickly followed by a voice.

“You’re awake” the voice declared.

And the Captain Obvious award goes to that guy. I mentally countered.

“H-hello? What’s going on here?” I responded.

“Relax, you’re safe here” the voice said, trying to reassure me. “We’ve taken you into our facility for the trial. The injection you’ve received is very new and also...quite different from other medicines that are typically employed.”

Oh that pause ain’t suspicious all all. I muttered in my head.

“That’s why you were knocked out,” the voice continued. “However, we need to get testing done because we are all looking for a cure here, and we need to get it done fast. We are going to observe you and record what happens to you. If all goes well, we should be able to release you within 3 weeks.”
Again, why do I not feel reassured by that statement? I pondered, annoyed that I still had very little information about where I was exactly and all the details regarding this trial. Many of the specific details in the contract were listed as “confidential information” which didn't sit well with me.

“Well, if I’m staying here, I’d better get some better accommodations.” I quip as I knock on the hard metal surface I was left upon.

“Of course, we’ll send you a set of bedding to make your stay more comfortable.” The voice conceded. “We’ll also be getting a meal prepared for you and we’ll be doing some medical tests on you. After that, you can be left in peace for the day. We’ll also offer up some recreation for you. I can imagine being isolated here with nothing to do could be upsetting. We’ll be letting you roam the facility freely starting on the third day, but until then, you should remain here.”

I frowned. I’m still going to be spending a lot of time here in this room. When they test for trials, they want to be extra cautious. I surmised. Well, it could be worse I guess.

My ears perk up as I hear someone approaching the door. It’s only now that I realize that I’m only clad in my boxer shorts and nothing else. I get slightly embarrassed as the door opens. A man clad in a typical white doctor’s jacket comes into the room. He was carrying something which looked like a doctor’s bag, probably because it was. Only the smartest observations from me..

“Good afternoon, sir. I’ll be giving you an examination. If you would please sit on the table, we can get started” he plainly stated. This guy seemed like a stick in the mud, but the quicker I do this the sooner I’ll be able to have some peace and quiet today.

I simply nod and go over to the table. I move over and sit down. The doctor looks me over and starts giving me a long series of tests; checking my reflexes, observing my heart rate, asking me to cough and so forth. After every test he writes down a little something in his folder and moves onto the next test.

He then tells me that he’ll be shining a light in my eyes to test dilation. I nod to him, just wanting to get this over with. He shines the light in my right eye followed by my left. After that test, the normally stoic doctor seems much more excited.

“Fascinating” he mutters to himself, barely audible to me. He then starts to frantically write in his folder. Unlike with the previous tests, the amount he was writing felt like he was writing a novel instead of a normal medical file.

I start to get worried. What was so interesting about my eyes? The tests continued as normal but I couldn’t get his reaction to my eyes out of my mind. Eventually, the doctor stood up and gave a small sigh.

“Well sir, you’re all checked out. I’ll be running this data back to our analysts. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and we’ll keep you apprised of details should the needs arise. Have a good day.” He nodded before exiting and then I was once again alone.

I wasted no time in moving over to the “mirror” in my room and stared deeply in my reflection, trying to see what was so interesting about them. It did not take me long to figure out why. My right eye looked exactly as I remembered it looking, a boring, run of the mill shade of brown with nothing to write home about. It was my left eye that was so unusual. My jaw hung low and my stare became unwavering. I was mentally trying to tell myself that it wasn’t real and that I was imagining things but there was no denying it.

My left eye is purple.

My body was very still, unwilling to move, while my mind raced so fast it could outrun the cops. How is that possible? You don’t have eye color changes from a flu vaccine! I don’t wear contacts either, so it can’t be that. Did someone surgically alter my eye? No, there would be surgical scars and I’m pretty sure human eyes don’t come in purple! What’s-

My mental drag race was interrupted by a buzzer sound followed by the sound of metal scraping up against something. I whirl my head to my left to see the panel and the door’s mail slot open up. The former pushes out a featureless box while the latter pushes through a tray of food and water. Upon seeing the food, my stomach growled.

I gave a heavy sigh, putting the eye thing in the back of my mind. It was still a concern, but not exactly something I could deal with at the moment. The most pressing matter at the moment is getting myself fed. The food was a bit bland, just a ham sandwich, a salad and a chocolate chip cookie. However, given that I hadn’t eaten in a while, I didn’t care too much. The salad and the cookie seemed to taste alright and were nothing to write home about, but there was something off about the ham sandwich. I couldn’t put my finger on it. It didn’t taste like it was rancid or something like that but for some reason it simply didn’t taste like ham should for some reason.

I decided to file that under, “Odd, but not Purple Eye Odd” in my mind and decided to take a look in the box that was also deposited in my room. I opened it up to find several items inside; a tablet, several books, a sketchbook with some pencils and finally a note at the bottom saying “Please put the food tray in the box and return it to the wall panel”. Well, at least I won’t be bored. I pulled the items out and set them to the side before placing my used tray inside. The panel unceremoniously closed a few seconds later and I was now alone with my items.

I turned on the tablet and saw several different apps and games on there, but it seems mostly useless as it was not connected to the wi-fi and there didn’t seem to be any routers to connect to in this damn place.

So I have a dedicated Bejeweled machine, fantastic. I sarcastically bellowed out in my head.
I suppose it could be worse, there are at least a few apps loaded on here that didn’t require the internet. I put it off to one side and look at the sketchpad. There were plenty of blank pages in here for sketching which would be awesome, but sketching with no references would be a bitch. Still, having it is better than not having any entertainment. I finally looked at the books that came in the box.

Given my luck, they’re all textbooks for college courses I never took in school. I pessimistically predicted.

My fears were mostly unfounded however. There was only one academic book amongst the three I recieved. The book in question was called “History of Horses in North America”

Wow, what a page turner this thing is. I grumble, my sarcasm meter going into overdrive.

I should give it a read.

“Eh?” I blurt out loud to no one in particular. Did...did someone say something? My sarcasm meter had now dropped to zero. Maybe this quiet room is playing tricks on me. Regardless, I judged the book by its cover which I know is a cardinal sin. I decided to thumb through it to pass the time.

Hopefully, this will pass me by and I can go home soon. I mused in mind as I read the day away before falling asleep.

The Second Day (Body's Achin' All Inside)

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The Second Day

What’s going...it’s dark...who’s....

I thrust my eyes open, only to quickly close them due to the bright, clinical lighting.

Ah, back to this crap again. I bit my tongue, remembering that this would be a long term situation. I pulled myself up off the “bed” which still felt uncomfortable even after getting the bed padding from that wall panel. I rubbed my temples, trying to subdue a headache I was just now noticing. In fact, I had aches all over. I knew I was sick but damn, this was a slog.

And it begins. The constant trials of the eye changing flu. What kinds of nightmares are in store? What terrors will befall our hero? I bellow out in my mind like it’s the closing card of an Anime. I tend to think that snark is the best medicine.

After throwing up the “epic cliffhanger” in my mind, the buzzing of the intercom came up again.

“Ah, you’re awake. Good Morning” the voice declared. Whoever it was seemed to be attempting a comforting tone, but they were unable to overcome the terrible, unfortunate, horrific curse of sounding incredibly bored. I wasn’t sure if it was the same guy from before, but given that this place seemed to be full of “by the books” doctors with the bedside manner of a Subway worker on their lunch break; barely concealed apathy.

“Hey there, quick question. Could you, uh...talk to me face to face instead of just buzzing me over the intercom all the time? It’s really bugging me that this is being done with me being isolated all the time.”

There was a long pause. I tapped my foot in anticipation. It’s not that big of an ask, is it? Just a little more of a personal connection. I have entertainment in here, yes, but I need to be social or I’m gonna go crazy. After a bit of waiting, the “mirror” lit up, showing two people behind there, one looking like a typical doctor and another well dressed individual in a business suit. The doctor seemed to have a neutral expression while the man in the suit seemed not all that pleased to be there. The doc leaned down and pressed a button.

“Is this alright with you?” the doctor asked. His voice was different than the one that talked before.

Huh, that's odd. I thought to myself. The doctor wasn't the one talking before...hmmm. I briefly pondered what that could mean before replying to my hosts.

“Yeah, that’s a lot better, thank you.” I sighed. I knew this situation was gonna make me desperate for social interaction. Sure, I tend to be a bit introverted but that doesn’t mean I want to cut off all social interaction. I figured this might do something to help, even if they were mainly only interested in my medical condition.

“Well then, if that’s all settled, let’s get down to business, shall we?” the doctor responded, sounding less clinically distant than the doctor from yesterday. “We want to get a read on how you’re doing today compared to yesterday. Now, from what we can see, you are still affected by Heterochromia at this time...”

Ah yeah, the purple eye that shouldn’t be purple. Man, what a weird color.

Purple isn’t a weird eye color…

Eh? Did...did I hear something? I mused in my mind. God, don’t tell me being in this box is making me hear sounds now.

“...but we need to check on you to see if you have received any other physical changes. So just tell me how you’re feeling at the moment” the doctor finished.

Ah crap, I missed like half of that. I cursed in my head. Well, I guess I should just tell the good doctor about what’s happening.

“Well doc, I’m aching all over. I feel like crap,” I bluntly quip back.

“That’s understandable and I’m sympathetic to your situation, however, I must insist that you be very specific with your descriptions” the doctor insisted.

“Alright,” I relented and gave careful thought at where the pain was located. The headache was already painfully clear to me right now, but focusing on the specifics made me realize it was localized to one point in my head right in the center. My focus was then drawn to my hands and feet. They seemed to ache a bit more than the rest of my body and while it wasn’t debilitating at the moment, the fingers and toes seemed harder to move, like moving metallic joints that have only just started to rust.

“Well,” I began. “I’ve got a headache but it’s only a specific point on my forehead that hurts right about here,” I explain, pointing to the area in question. “I’ve also got aches in my hands and feet. I’m not sure why, but my fingers and toes feel harder to move than normal” I finished, awaiting the doctor’s reply.

The doctor mulled over my words, writing down what he had heard on a clipboard. I could see him nod sagely a couple times before returning to the microphone.

“Alright, we’ll be performing more tests then. This will include getting a blood sample and hair sample.” I subconsciously scratched my scalp at the mention of a hair sample.

Maybe that’ll change color and I’ll have neon pink hair, that’d be a riot! I amused myself with the hypothetical scenario. Always nice to get a double dose of snark in, just in case.

“Okay, thanks for the heads up,” I plainly replied. I’m still not keen on all these doctors coming up to me and doing all this testing but if I’ve got something, I should get it looked at and not spread it around, even if I had to do it in this boring place.

My thoughts shifted when I heard the sound of the door opening and in walked the doctor from the other side of the two-way mirror. He nodded cordially and gave me a warm smile. He was dressed similarly to the doctor from yesterday and was carrying a similar bag as well, only this one was bigger, presumably to carry more sophisticated equipment. But the difference in demeanor between him and the last doctor was absolutely night and day.

“Hello there, Mr. F-” the doctor began.

“Ah,” I held up my hand to interrupt him, “Actually, you can just call me Penn. It’s my preferred nickname.” I don’t exactly hate my legal name, it’s just that I’m so used to being referred to by my nickname that it’s just a habit at this point.

“Well alright then, Penn! I’m Doctor Matt Eckert and I’ll be looking after you for next few weeks,” he stated. “I know you might be a little worried about what’s going on and how this is affecting you, yes?” he inquired.

I tended to be a pretty laid back kind of guy. I will admit this is a bit unusual and the eye thing was a bit weird at first but I can deal with that. Heck, having a purple eye could be pretty fun. Maybe I could get a contact in one eye to match it. Still, I should be wary of what’s happening to myself.

“I’ll admit doc, this is not something I normally deal with when I have the flu, but I’m not too worried about it. I’m pretty young and healthy, I can endure this!” I spoke confidently.

“Ah, I see,” Dr. Eckert mused to himself, writing down notes on his clipboard. “And if I remember correctly, you also mentioned a headache in a specific area on your forehead as well as aching in your hands and feet,” he continued. “May I examine you?”

“Oh uh, sure of course,” I stammer a bit. This guy was pretty personable. Yep, very different from the last guy I got.

Dr. Eckert moves over to examine the areas in question, putting a warm hand to my forehead and puts his thumb smack dab in the center of my forehead. “Is this where it hurts?”

I wince. Yup. That’s where it’s at.

“Nnngh, yeah!” I found it pretty bizarre that a headache would be so concentrated, I’ve never had a headache like that before.

“Hmm, how strange...well let me examine your hands next, Penn,” he continued.

I put out my hands with my palms out. He whipped out a handheld light and started moving it over my hands, examining the veins thoroughly. With a sufficient amount of Hmms, Ahhs, and a sprinkling of the phrase, “I see” he started to move my fingers apart. It didn’t hurt like my head but it was odd, I felt like I had flexed my fingers a million times like I was exercising them and they had an intense soreness to them.

“How do they feel?” the doctor inquires.

“It’s like they’ve bench pressed for 8 hours straight.”

The doctor gave a hardy laugh. “Well, if they’re feeling that sore, maybe your hands should pull back on the reps a bit!” the doctor jokes. He then motions to the bed. “Alright, let’s see what’s going on with your feet now.”

I nod and hop up on the bed. The doctor leans down and does a similar sweep of my feet. As the doctor does his doctor thing, I start to think about my symptoms. Soreness is a pretty common one to deal with but the soreness I was feeling very specific and very localized. This whole situation was like gas station sushi: Very questionable and no one should ever have to experience it.

‘Well,” the doctor sighs, lifting himself back up. “Aside from the aforementioned problems, you seem to be in good physical health. I know this whole process seems to be moving at a snail’s pace in your mind,” the doctor said with a sympathetic glance.

“Well, you’re already doing a better job than the doctor I had yesterday. That guy was so...clinical” I groaned, not really having a better word to describe him.

“Ah yes, you must be talking about Doctor Phil Tanner...no relation tothat Doctor Phil” Doctor Eckert said with a knowing nod. “He’s got a pretty stale personality and a bedside manner to match. He only shows any real lively excitement when he’s dealing with something he’s never seen before.”

I looked down at the ground, lost in thought.Yeah, he was so stiff until he saw my eye, then suddenly he lit up like a Christmas Tree. Ech, I hope my interactions with him are limited.

My thoughts are stopped abruptly by Doctor Matt clasping his hands together.

“Well, all that leaves now is getting the blood and hair samples!” he said in a bit too cheery a voice.

I groaned. Crap, I almost forgot about that.

Doctor Matt nodded, “Yeah, I know, it sucks but we need to do it” he dictates, opening up his doctor’s bag. He pulled out a lot of equipment including the professional tubey tubes, the fancy ziplock bags, the band-aids without the Hulk on them, among other fancy items I vaguely knew about. Maybe. Probably.

Those are NOT the names of those items and I know it.

I shook my head. I can’t be getting lightheaded now, he hasn’t even started yet!

After assembling his setup, he turned towards me. “Alright, I’m going to draw out some blood now.” I nod and simply look forward so I don’t have to see the deed be done. I don’t hate needles, but the idea of seeing my blood being drawn out made me feel a bit queasy so I figured the best strategy was to just look away and not see it. As the blood left my body, I felt a bit lightheaded.
Hooooo boy, thaaaat’s the room getting dizzy. My body gets very light and distant as Doctor Matt finishes up. I can barely hear him as he tells me he’s going to cut a snippet of my hair. I vaguely nod at him and he does the deed.

“Alright, you’re all done for today...and not a moment too soon, you look pretty out of it” Doctor Matt smirks.

Oh, he’s had this happen before. I surmise. I attempt to roll my eyes at him, but I instead just move my entire head like I’m a bobblehead.

“Suuuuuuuure, doc,” I manage to slur out. “Thaaaaaanksh for your hospitality.” I raised my hand to wave at him, but it ended up looking more like my arm just ragdolled.

Doctor Matt gave a lighthearted laugh. “Alright, I’ll let you rest.”

As soon as the door was closed, I placed my head against the pillow. And just like that, I was out like a light.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Twilight awoke in her bed. The alicorn glanced over at her calendar. Today was the day! She gave a big smile and practically leapt out of bed.

“Ah, I’m ready to seize the day! There are books to read and lists to write!” she gleefully chanted. She was about to go into the city and meet up with her old city friends: Moondancer, Lyra Heartstrings, Lemon Hearts, Minuette, and Twinkleshine. Her excitement was almost palpable. She quickly grabbed her bags, having already packed all the essentials the night before. But one thing needed to be done before she could leave: Breakfast!

She popped into the kitchen and decided that she’d go light for her meal. She figured that her friends would want to go somewhere great for lunch and decided she didn’t want to fill up too much. Lyra was definitely a big eater and would want to go some place with massive portion sizes. She made herself two pieces of toast and a tall glass of Orange Juice. She downs the meal quickly and cleans up her dishes.

“Ahhh, that really hit the spot!” she exclaimed. “Alright, time to lock up the place and head out.” She grabbed the key and opened the door. She looked out at her hometown.

She saw cars driving down the street, fillies and colts playing street hockey (though mostly in driveways thanks to the aforementioned cars), a swim meet at the local pool and the mail mare with a grey coat and blonde mane who seemed to have a lot of Amazon packages in her carriage. It was just a typical Saturday morning in northern New Jersey. Twilight breathed in a breath of fresh air.

“Wow, it’s such a beautiful day today. Feels like Spring is coming early this year!” Twilight observed. She then chuckled. “Guess Rainbow Dash must be really happy to have such clear skies today. She’s been chatting about it for weeks now.” Twilight pulled out her phone and entered her coordinates into Google Maps. She could just call an Uber Pony to take her to New York City but she felt she needed to really use her wings for a bit. She flew over her neighborhood and into the sky beyond.

She didn’t know exactly what would be in store for her when she got there, but if it was Lyra’s idea, it probably was pretty out there. She had some crazy ideas for sure. As if by magic, her phone started to ring and, sure enough, it was Lyra! She smirked and picked up the phone.

“Hello, this is Twilight Sparkle!” she hummed into the receiver.

Lyra replied, “Hey Penn, you should probably wake up now.”

“Huh?”

My eyes shoot open.

The Third Day (Meet Your Fellow Patients)

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The Third Day

I just decided to sit there, contemplating the dream I just had. I mean, dreams can obviously make no sense if they so choose. Dreams are all “I’m chemicals in your brain, I don’t have to make sense!” and whatnot. But that’s not why that dream was so strange to me. What was strange was all the things in it that felt so...normal to me.

I know my hometown and the dream recreated it to a T. The same streets, the same houses, the same parks, and restaurants. But instead of the people I know, it was filled with talking ponies. And then there was that pony I followed in my dream. Her name was Twilight Sparkle, right? She was living in my house and in my room. Was...was she supposed to be me or something? Well, I’m certainly not a purple winged unicorn.

I pulled myself up from my bed. Same boring box, different day. It’ll probably be another test, another doctor and then I’ll be left to my devices. Fun.

The wall panel buzzed and out came a box. Well, this is subverting my expectations. I pondered to myself. I got up on my feet, which was not an easy task as they seemed to be even stiffer than they were yesterday. Despite my somewhat awkward gait, I made it over to the box to open it up. It had some simple clothes, a keycard, a map and a note.

Finally, some goddamn clothes! I exclaimed. It was just a gray t-shirt with several instances of the number 42, plastered on the sleeves and some blue jeans. It was nothing much, but it was better than going boxers only. After putting them on, I picked up the keycard plus the map and put them into the pants pocket. Finally, I decided to open up the note to read what was inside. Turns out it was a letter from Doctor Matt.

Hello there Penn,
It’s a note from your friend, Doctor Matt. I know you’re probably bored being stuck in that same room for two days in a row. Well, the good news is you’re cleared to be allowed to freely roam the facility! Now obviously there are some caveats to this. Obviously, you still have to stay in the facility for the duration of the testing period, there’s no doubt about that. You also can’t go into any areas designated as being for Employees Only for obvious reasons. That keycard you have should allow you to enter your own room, access the recreation area, the shower and bath facilities (try the Sauna, it’s great!) and the cafeteria, among other places.

You should take a walk and get a feel for the place, it’ll be your home for the next 19 days. You should have no obligations for the day aside from a checkup later in the day. When you are needed you will be called in on the PA system. Don't worry, the check-up should be quick and brief. One of our nurses should be coming in to help you with that when the time comes. Well, I’ve gone and rambled for a bit too long. Relax, take a breather and don’t worry about things too much. You’ll be just fine.

Hoping to talk to you soon,
Doctor Matthew D. Eckert PhD

I scanned through the letter and then folded it up and put it in my other pants pocket. Oh thank god, I can finally shower. I sighed with satisfaction. I leap towards the door, only to trip on myself thanks to my stiff feet. Whenever I get there, anyway…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After drying myself off with the towel, I threw my clothing back on. That was very refreshing! Nothing like a good shower. I probably stank like hell yesterday. I thought to myself. I was finally getting used to my stiff feet enough to walk around without much issue, which was good because there were a lot of unfamiliar rooms to explore. Sure, I have a map to use of course, but that doesn’t change the fact that this facility is both very large and very unfamiliar.

Well, there’s a common room not too far from here, maybe I should check that out. Oh, but there’s also the cafeteria. Hopefully, they have a lot more than the bland stuff they were serving me the past couple of days. I contemplated the different choices. There’s also a library...ah hmm...well, nothing saying I can’t do all of this stuff. I’ll just go to the common area first. I firmly nodded to myself and started to make my way over.

My walking and gait are still a bit awkward but I’ve finally stopped tripping like I have four left feet. The side effects this vaccine has is absolutely ridiculous. After this experiment, they'll have a laundry list of stuff crop up like it's one of those drug commercials. Side effects may include sausage fingers, the ability to talk to the dead and the condition known as rake feet! I mockingly spout in my mind, imitating all those ridiculous prescription commercials on TV.

I finally approached the common room and the glass doors pushed open as I approached. The room itself was fairly large with multiple tables and a few couches. Unlike the room I was kept in, whoever designed this room clearly loved the color silver and white. I felt like I was being kept inside an iPhone. Ugh.

There were a lot of people milling about, pretty much just the normal staff and doctors that I was used to seeing. There was one individual that stuck out to me though; a lone guy sitting over at one table, looking at something on his tablet. He seemed to be wearing a shirt nearly identical to my own only his was sporting two big “20”s on the sleeves instead of 42. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he was here for the same reason I was.

I decided to walk over and introduce myself. “Hey man, is this seat taken?” I inquire nicely.

“Oh!” the man’s face shoots up as he takes a second to look at me before smiling. It was then I noticed he had one blue eye and one magenta eye. “Yeah, dude, totally! Table’s free.” He motions to the chair directly across from him. I smiled and took my seat and looked over at him. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair slightly. “So, what are ya in for?” he playfully smirked.

“Oh you know, detaining a homing pigeon.” I claimed with an amused grin. “You?”

“Flipping the bird without a license” he retorted, barely stifling a chuckle.

We sat in silence for a split second before we both burst out in laughter. After all the medical tests and paperwork, it was finally nice to talk to someone in a casual manner. He pulls back forward and puts his hands together. As he leans forward, I can see his eyes meeting mine briefly, probably trying to see if I have heterochromia as well.

“So, I see you’ve got some ‘double vision’ going on too, eh?” I inquired.

“Yeah” he sighed. “I’ve got ‘special eyes’ as it were. I’m pretty sure the next phase is that I shoot rainbow lasers out of them and start flying.” He joked.

I chuckled. “Well, hopefully it’s better than what I’m dealing with if I’m being honest,” I motioned to my feet. “Because these feet have been giving me crap all day.” I complained, clearly frustrated at the sudden lack of dexterity.

My new friend frowned. “You’ve been having problems walking around? That’s..unusual. That’s not how it’s been going for me.” He pondered, seemingly lost in thought. “I felt changes in my feet like you but instead I’ve felt...well...faster.”

I frowned and looked down at the table. Guess ONE of us is benefiting from all of this. I'd love to be faster on my feet.

“Ah, but don’t misunderstand!” He reassured me, waving his hands. “It’s not all fun and games. Because for the life of me my shoulder blades seem to be giving me hell.” He lamented.

“Shoulder blades? Hmm, I haven’t gotten anything like that, though a very specific part of my forehead has been hurting a bit.” I revealed.

I saw my companion stare off in the distance for a second. “OH MY GOD!” He exclaimed before slamming his hands flat down on the table hard. He did it with such force that a few of the employees looked over at the two of us. He quickly turned to them with an embarrassed grin. “Ah, sorry! Sorry. Got a liiiiiiiiiittle too excited!” he awkwardly chuckled. The staff simply turned away ignoring the sudden outburst.

With that bizarre moment behind us, he turns to me and leans in lowering his voice. “Sorry, I just realized that another patient in this lab talked about a headache in a very specific point on their forehead.”

My eyes widen. “Really? That’s crazy. Did you happen to catch their name?”

He frowned. “No, no I didn’t unfortunately. Mainly because the girl he was with was bit...” He trails off and shakes his head. "Well, all I know is that guy mentioned he had 'A very localized headache' and it reminded me of what you were talking about," he finished.

His face brightens up as he leans back. “Speaking of names though, mine’s Will, what’s yours?” He inquires.
I turn away slightly, embarrassed that I hadn’t actually introduced myself yet. “Oh, sorry! I’m Penn.”

Will grins as he stands up from the table and points at me. “Well, when we meet up again, we should keep each other apprised on what’s happening to us. We gotta stick together, yeah?” He grinned. “Anyway, I’m gonna go hit the gym. I’ve got a lot of energy I’ve gotta get rid of. See ya!” He waves as he briskly walks out of the common area.

Well, that conversation was certainly insightful. Hmm, well, I wasn’t in the mood for the gym but maybe there was something else that would pique my interest. I looked back at the map and scanned all of the other places, wanting to refresh my memory at what other areas there were in this place. There was the recreation room, the garden, the library…

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I really wanted to go to the library for some reason. I dunno why but I felt...compelled to go there.

Maybe some books will help me figure out this situation. I said to convince myself. Let’s see what kind of books they have.

I got up from the table and made my way over there, my desire to read compelling me forward.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was funny. Normally, I wouldn't have given a library another thought. Sure, I like reading books, but I normally just got stuff some friends recommended to me or picked it up digitally on my Tablet. I was never a “pick a random book in the library” kind of reader. But still, I felt that I might be able to read about something on my condition.

I immediately went for the non-fiction academic books since that was my best bet. I started picking out books related to anatomy, diseases, and other medically related content.

Well, now that I have all the best selling books featuring disturbingly real looking pictures of anatomy, time to file through this stuff!

I found a table and plopped myself down for a long session of reading. I pulled open the book and immediately my eyes started to glaze over at all the technical terms and scientific names that were based on some Latin word I had no idea how to pronounce. I spent over an hour pouring over the books in front of me, but it felt like I was getting nowhere.

Ugh, maybe this was a mistake. I know I read that other book a couple of days ago but this seems to be on a much higher level. I mean how am I supposed to know all this medical terminology? I mean, I took AP Biology in High School, but this is a whole other level.

“Uhm…”

Maybe I could take a class or watch some videos about it. That certainly could help me get better at learning all this. Of course, where am I supposed to learn all that while I’m stuck in here?

“E-excuse me…”

Oh! Maybe there are some class textbooks and I can just teach a course to myself! Heh, Professor Penn here to teach you about the heart. A professor actually has a bit of a nice ring to it! Maybe I should-

“Please sir, I…”

I tilt my head up. Oh crap, was someone talking to me? I look up to see a nervous-looking guy standing a few feet away from me. He was far away enough and quiet enough that I must not have heard him. He had on one of the same shirts I did, only it was with the number “12” on the shoulders. Both his eyes were downcast, but I could tell one was brown and the other was a vibrant seafoam green.

“Ah! I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.” I sheepishly replied. Geez, how long was this person standing there? “Hey there, I’m Penn, how can I help you?” I inquire, getting my name introduction out of the way at the beginning this time.

“Oh uhm hello, I’m uhm, I’m Juan and I was just wondering if…” he trailed off and became unintelligible.

“Uh, what was that? I couldn’t hear you.” I replied.

“I just wanted to…” Another trail off.

“It’s okay, just tell me what you want,” I reassure him.

“Well, uhm, you’ve got a book I’d like to look at. The one about horses.” He softly stated. I blinked. I don’t remember picking that up. I looked back to the pile and sure enough, there was a book on horse anatomy in my large pile. How did that get there? Maybe that dream made me pick it up? Either way, I don't think I really needed it at the moment.

“Oh man, that’s odd, I have no idea why I picked that up,” I admitted. “Well, if you need to use it, go right ahead.”

He picks up the book and smiles. “Thanks, I just have really been looking for something like this. I really like animals," He says with a shy smile. "Since I can't really be with any animals right now, I figured I could read about them and look at different pictures of them so I don't feel as alone in...ah oh...” He suddenly trailed off. "I uhm, I've been rambling at you haven't I?"

I grin and shake my head. “Naw, it's fine. Anyway, you can have it. I don’t have much need for it right now. In fact, I’m not entirely sure why I needed it.” I relent in frustration. I know there was probably some reason I picked it up, but right now it’s escaping me.

“Uhm, well, is it too much to ask...I mean...if it’s okay with you...to ask...what…” he trailed off again.
“Could the answer be ‘What was I researching here in the library?’ Is that what you were gonna ask?” I surmised.

“O-oh! Yes. I was just...curious.” Juan admitted. He was almost embarrassingly easy to read, but he also seemed like an honest guy so I decided to level with him.

“Well, if you really wanna know, I was trying to see if I could figure out if there was something more to our symptoms than just the typical flu-related stuff.” I lean back in my chair and give a heavy sigh. “I mean, with what Will told me and what I’m actually experiencing, things are a bit weirder than just the normal flu. I’ve got this specific headache, Will had pain in his shoulder blades and-”

“Ah!” Juan suddenly piped up.

“Huh?” I responded. “Something the matter?”

“Oh uhm, I know it’s not any help but uhm...I’ve...I’ve also got...shoulder pain.” Juan admitted.

“Whoa, really? So, this isn’t just a one-off thing, it’s a pattern. There are several people talking about headaches in specific places and also shoulder pain.” I contemplated this new information. What could this all mean? I felt like I was just running in circles and not getting very far. I shook my head and stood up.

“I think it might be better to just sleep on things. I’ve been running around all day with not much to show for it. Well, expect running into a couple of friends I suppose.” I said with a slightly dejected tone.

Juan said nothing but looked on at me with wide eyes. “A...friend?”

“Uh, I mean, yeah!” I expressed in a chipper tone. “You seem like a nice enough guy Juan. Plus, we’re in the same boat together so it’ll help if we all stick together yeah?” I reassuringly pat Juan on the shoulder. Juan returned the gesture with the biggest damn grin I ever saw. It was honestly the cutest damn thing ever. I mean, he seems like a kind enough guy, but it would suck if he’s just out of social contact so much that just saying you’re his friend is enough to get him to beam like this.

"Thank you!" Juan cried.

“Well hey,” I pass by Juan and turn around “I’m gonna head back to my room, but you enjoy that book and lemme know if you wanna talk later.” I grin back at him before turning to leave.

“Oh um, later then!” Juan exclaimed, managing to sound like yelling but still keeping with a quiet library environment. Introverts can truly achieve some amazing feats.

I waved back at him without turning around as I left the library.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I grumbled as I sauntered down the hallway. So much for all that research. Still, it was nice to get in some reading. I looked back at the map. There was one last place I wanted to check out for today and that was the recreation room. The trip down there gave me some time to think about the actual facility itself. I was suddenly struck with the realization that I hadn’t seen a single window outside this facility since I had arrived.

Could this entire facility be underground...or maybe it's in a mountain? I pondered to myself. Maybe this could be some sort of super secluded government facility where scientists are doing some top-secret experiments and other types of mad science. Heh, maybe I’ll get superpowers out of this whole ordeal, like those laser eyes Will mentioned. I grin and shake my head at the absurd scenario I laid out in my head. Yeah right, like that'll ever happen.

Besides, if it really was a secret facility, you’d probably want to hide it from the view of satellites and how could you do that? I mean I suppose you could use a spell that could use everyday objects as mounting points like a tree in a grid to cover the area in a series of false reflections of the area around them to give the illusion that the area is empty, but how would you account for the amount of mana consumption you'd need for such a massi-

*WOOSH*

A door suddenly opened in front of me, nearly smacking me in the face. “Guh!” I yelped out in surprise, nearly stumbling over to avoid a collision with the person leaving. After regaining my balance, I turn to look at who I almost crashed into. She was a young-looking woman and given her attire, it was clear she was a nurse.

The lady dressed in scrubs looked over at me and winced realizing what had nearly occurred. “Oh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t hit you did I?” the woman asked, genuinely concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I rub the back of my head, trying to hide the embarrassment that I was so lost in thought about something completely hypothetical, that I almost ran into a door.

“Well, good! I’d hate to earn a reputation as a nurse who causes harm. I’d never hear the end of it!” she exclaims, laughing a bit. “Well, you have a good day and watch out for doors!” she warns as she strolls away.

I sigh as I look at my surroundings, wondering if I had missed a turn trying to get to my destination. Miraculously, I hadn’t gotten off course and the recreation room I was looking for was just up ahead. I make my way over and open the door.

What lay before me was truly a sight to behold. I figured this place would just be a sad looking foosball table that had parts broken, a few puzzles that were too easy for anyone with a shred of intelligence and a TV with a game console less sophisticated than a pocket calculator from a time when Ronald Reagan was still alive. But no, this room was much more than that.

Not only was there a ping pong table, billiards, and a non-busted foosball table, there seemed to be a couple of arcade cabinets in the back. Heck, calling this place a recreation room was misleading since there seemed to be doors leading to different rooms that seemed to be dedicated to more physically demanding activities. I hear the distinctive sound of a basketball bouncing off a wooden court and the squeaking of shoes as one of the side doors opened.

I scanned around the room and soon spotted what was soon becoming a familiar sight; a person dressed in a gray t-shirt with numbers on the sleeves. This guy’s shirt had the number “02” placed on the shoulders. He seemed to be laser-focused on an arcade game at the moment. Curious at how he was fairing, I walked over to get a look at the game he was playing. He was playing a beat-em-up game, some real Streets of Rage type stuff. It also looked like he was on one of the later levels, given how tough the enemies looked and how high his score seemed to be at the moment. After watching him pull off some pretty spectacular feats, I saw that it had the option for Multiplayer. It seemed exciting so I decided to try and give it a go.

“Room for one more?” I piped up, not wanting to intrude in on his game out of nowhere.

“Oh heck, sure man! Go right ahead, it’s on Free Play” the friendly stranger informed me. Grinning, I moved over to the Player 2 controllers and pressed the start button. What followed was an impressive display. There was a flurry of punches, a volley of kicks and a massive myriad of maniacal adversaries that we faced.

Too bad I was getting my ass kicked.

I was...not very good at this game. My partner was very understanding and gave me a little nudge. “Oh don’t worry about it. I’ve had a lot of practice at this game. You’ve got to have strong reflexes for this sort of thing.” He reassured me. That put my mind at ease, knowing that he wasn’t angry at my poor performance. “I’m Darnel, by the way!” he said as he executed a flaming punch on some unsuspecting bodybuilder looking guy in the game.

“I’m Penn, nice to meet you.” I say, trying to avoid punches from a similar looking enemy on screen.

We continued playing until we got to some sunglasses-wearing dude who said some very poorly translated English phrases. Yup, this was definitely a beat-em-up from the 1990s. We were at the end and the boss put up quite the fight, but in the end, we were ultimately victorious...mainly because I kept distracting the enemy while my partner did most of the punching.

As the end credits started to roll, the veteran player turned to me. “Hey, thanks for helping me out...even if it was mainly to distract the enemies from me.” He said with a chuckle.

I wave my hand and shake my head. “Ah hey, as long as we both had fun, it’s all good.” I motioned to my third companion I had today over to the couch near a TV, so that we no longer have to keep standing. We both plop down on the leather padding of the couch as I continue. “Plus, it helps distract from the current situation.”

Darnel gave a guttural groan at that statement. “Oh god, I know right? Being stuck inside like this is the worst! If I stay inside like this, I swear I’m gonna get really flabby. I like staying busy, y’know? I’m all for doing honest, hard work.” He nodded sagely. “But we’re all stuck in the same boat; no going out until everything comes to pass and the treatment takes its course. I need to talk with people or I’ll come down with a massive case of cabin fever.”

I chuckle. “Well, if you’re worried about getting out of shape and want a friend, I know to solve both those problems in one fell swoop.”

Darnel tilts his head towards me. “Hmmmm?”

“I met this guy earlier today.” I began. “He goes by Will. He said he was wanting to go to the gym and workout. He seemed like a cool enough guy. He looks like-” I wanted to continue but Darnel held up a hand to interrupt me.

“A big guy wearing a gray shirt like we've both got on with some 20s on his sleeves?” Darnel said, with a slightly amused look on his face.

“Hey yeah! How did you know?” I asked with genuine curiosity.

“Well, I saw him on the treadmill earlier today. That guy was really really fast on that thing, like inhumanly fast.” Darnel uttered in awe.

That’s right. I thought. Will did mention he felt faster on his feet, even if he was getting the same pain, I was. Actually…

“Hey, Darnel? Quick question. Have you gotten pain in your shoulder blades or your forehead?” I inquired.

“Hmmm? Well, no not really. All I’ve been feeling is a bit of stiffness in my feet. That and the whole eye thing.” Darnel replied. It was such a common occurrence to me now that I almost didn’t notice Darnel had the same heterochromia that we were all dealing with. To be fair though, he had a hazel eye and a bright green eye, so out of context, it might not even look that bizarre.

Hrm, no headache or pain in the shoulder blades? That's odd. Everyone else I've talked to so far had at least one or the other. I wondered.

After briefly thinking about it, I shake my head. “Ah, well, I’ve just been trying to make heads or tails of our situation. I’m just wondering what’s going on.”

“Heh, I thought the doctors were the ones who were supposed to be doing that?” Darnel quipped.

“W-well, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to learn is there?” I stammer a reply.

“Nah, I guess there isn’t.” Darnel relented. He leaned back and sighed. “Look, we might not know all the information about what will happen to us. We just need to take it all in stride sometimes, ya get me?”

I nod and sigh. “Yeah, I guess so.” Still, I just have this insatiable desire to learn about what’s happening to me. But before I’m able to respond to Darnel, an announcement pipes into the room’s PA speaker.

“Attention, would Penn please report back to his room for a medical examination. Penn, you’re needed in your examination room.” The woman on the announcement proclaimed.

“Huh, guess that means I’ve gotta go then, huh?” I sheepishly chuckle.

“Yeah,” Darnel agreed “I’ll let you go man. I’ll see you around, dude. Maybe we’ll play some more games later!”

I get up from the couch and laugh. “Only if you promise not to take all the glory!” I retort as I wave on my way to the door.

Darnel simply gives me a thumbs-up as the doors close.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It wasn’t too far to get to my room from here. I had ended up going in more or less a circle around this floor of the facility. All this fun made me forget that I was here for medical purposes. Well, time for another visit with the docs. Hopefully, it’ll just be a straightforward examin-

*GAAAAAAAAAASP!*

I whip my head around as I see a green and a blue eye staring directly at me, filled with childlike wonder and amazement.

“It’s another one! Just like I said, Nathan!” the overly excited girl exclaimed. Following shortly behind her is a somewhat haggard-looking man, gasping for breath. He also had a green eye, blue eye situation.

“Meghan, please,” the man said in a formal sounding voice in between his deep breaths. “You need to have a little consideration...for those of us not gifted with your...quite frankly bizarre amount of boundless energy.”

Meghan turned to Nathan and gave a small pout. “Hey, I’m just doing my part to find us all of the bi-sight friends in this place! I wanna see everyone!” Meghan exclaimed.

“Uh...Bi-sight friends?” I inquire, not entirely sure what these two characters were up to.

Nathan shakes his head. “That’s what Meghan insists on calling every patient she encounters who has heterochromia. I’ve been telling her that an unusual change of the color of people’s irises is not a free ticket to go and harass them.” Nathan gives a heavy sigh before looking up at the ceiling. “I swear Darling, you’re going to get us in trouble. You nearly gave that poor boy in the library a heart attack!”

“Juan?” I say, not realizing that triggered yet another phase of Meghan’s energy reserves.

“Oh my GOOOOOOOOOOOSH! You met Juan too?! That’s great! Our friends are already starting to get to know each other!” Meghan giggled with excitement. “Anyway, I’m Meghan, and this is Nathan! Eheh, but I suppose you already figured that out, huh?” Meghan gives a playful grin. “We’re here to invite you into our party!”

“I’m sorry...there’s a party going on?” I scratch my head, not sure of what to make of this.

Meghan furiously shakes her head. “No no no, not like that silly...though I would not be opposed to a party somewhere down the line.” She then slams her fist into the palm of her hand. “No, I’m talking about the Final Fantasy kind of party! The one where we stick together and form bonds and work together! Of course, we can have a normal party later down the line.”

I stare at her for a few seconds before turning to Nathan, my jaw slightly slack, looking on in sheer confusion. Nathan simply sighed.

“She’s been wanting to bond with everyone else as a sign of solidarity. I’m all for doing a meet and greet with others but she can be a bit out of control.” Nathan explained.

“Well,” I began “I’d love to hang out with you all but I have an appointment with one of the docs.”

I turn to leave but Meghan grabs my hand and shoves a handwritten note into my possession.

“Okay, but I’m inviting all of you to Recreation Side Room B tomorrow because I want to meet all my new friends and have everyone get along! See you soooooooon!” Meghan giggles before zooming off, Nathan groaning as he tries to keep up.

What was that all about? I mentally yell. What kind of drugs is SHE getting? I wanted to think about it further but all this excitement distracted me from getting back for my appointment.

I sigh, stuffing the note into my pocket before making my way to the door and swiping my keycard to open it. Inside, I found the nurse who would be examining me...and it was the same nurse I had a near crash into just a couple of hours ago. I recognized her and gave her a somewhat surprised look.

“Well, uh...good news, I’m a master at using doors now!” I joke, attempting to defuse the somewhat awkward situation.

Fortunately, she laughed as she stood up to greet me. “Well, that’s good to know, Penn! Anyway, if you could please sit down, I can begin to perform your examination.”

I do as I’m told and sit down and soon she gets started looking me over. She goes through a lot of the same things Doctor Eckert had me do, probably as a way to track my progress. As she’s going through the examination, I debate on what to tell her about what I’m feeling and what I’ve heard from the other people I encountered today. Not to mention that dream I had…

“Hey listen, Nurse ah…” I trail off.

“Oh, it's Akai, Nurse Akai Shinzō. I’m so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself!” She apologized.

“That’s okay, uhm...Nurse Akai, there’s something that’s on my mind.” I admit to her.

“Is that so? Well, it’s my job to keep an eye on your health, even if it’s something mental. What’s going on?” She asks.

I pause for a moment and look down, unsure of how exactly to convey what I’ve been experiencing. “Well, I’ve been having these weird moments in my mind where I feel like...I go off on these mental tangents that aren’t normally things I would think about.”

Nurse Akai tilts her head slightly. “Oh? Like what?”

I twiddle my thumbs. “Well, I guess I just have these instances where I go off on these analytical tangents and honestly, it sounded a lot smarter than I normally am. Not to say that I’m dumb, just that I seemed to operate on a higher level for a moment, using more intricate and purposeful language. I also have an increased desire to read.”

Akai taps her pen against her chin and gives a big “Hmmmmm.” She starts to jot something down onto my chart and then looks up at me. “That sounds like you feel there’s some kind of fluctuation in your personality, would that be fair to say?”

I nod. “That actually sounds like what's happening to me, yeah!”

Akai smiles “Well, I can let you know that you’re not the only one who’s told me that today, so you’re not alone. A shift in the chemical balance in your brain can cause a person’s mood to shift, though usually, it’s not something so specific as feeling more analytical or wanting to read books.” She says, scrunching her face in thought, before ultimately relenting and continuing with the examination.

A few minutes later and the entire process is done. Nurse Akai gets up and finishes writing her notes. “Well Penn, you’ll be happy to know that you’re doing amazing right now and the effects of the vaccine seem to be working as intended. I’ll most likely be the one checking in on you tomorrow, so I’ll look forward to seeing you again!”

“Well, thanks Nurse Akai. See you tomorrow!” I say as she closes the door to leave.

Well, this was quite a day, I’ve gotta say. I pondered to myself. I met a lot of people and saw a lot of places. I pulled the note out of my pocket and looked at it. And apparently we’re all going to be getting together for a party of sorts. Maybe I’ll see Darnel and Will there. Hmmm.

I continued to think things over in my mind, even as my eyes grew heavy.

The Fourth Day (Enter the Magic Meeting Room)

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Twilight and her herd of heroes marched up to the summit. There stood the villain they had been tracking. Finally, all of his machinations would come to an end here!

“We’ve finally tracked you down, Warlock of the Plague! Your miasma of death shall hinder this land no longer!” Twilight shouted defiantly. “My friends and fellow countrymen are here to defeat you!”

The Warlock cackled. “Oh? You honestly think you can crush a disease? It cares not for what a person thinks. It is an unflinching, uncaring force of nature! You cannot possibly deal with something that has no heart!”

Twilight winced and shook her head. “Any obstacle can be overcome with the right friends and the right knowledge and I happen to know that I have both of those, right here!”

“Hmm, if you are so confident then come and face me. Show me your resolve and your strength. I am eager to see what the power of ‘friendship’ can really do.” The Warlock mocked, clearly unconvinced at Twilight’s boast.

Twilight turned to her five friends. “This is it! Is everypony ready to take him on?” Her friends voiced their agreement.

“This warlock is a darn evil jerk and we gotta stop ‘em!” Applejack piped up.

“Heh, yeah! He’s totally toast! He’ll be flat on his butt in no time flat!” Rainbow Dash added.

“I...I don’t want him to hurt anyone again.” Fluttershy quietly chimed in.

“Darling, he’s a ruffian who will be dealt with swiftly.” Rarity sagely nodded.

Twilight grinned as she heard encouragement from her friends and turned to Pinkie Pie who hadn’t said anything.

“So, Pinkie, are you ready to do this?” Twilight asked.

“Well yeah! But I do have one question.” Pinkie Pie said as she tapped a hoof to her chin.

“Hmm? What’s that?” Twilight wondered.

“You coming to my party, Penn?” Pinkie asked.

“What the?” Twilight reeled back, confused.

I opened my eyes.

The Fourth Day

I grunted as I woke up from another dream filled with those weird horses again. Was that a TV show I watched at some point? I pondered to myself. Hrm, no I think I would have remembered something like that with colorful characters like that. Still, I dreamed about them two days in a row. There’s gotta be some connection to this vaccine and those dreams.

I moved up off of my bed and decided to do a run through on my body, just in case I felt something different about it today compared to previous days. I still had a dull sensation in my forehead but I was used to it now and it didn’t feel like much of a problem. The hands and feet felt a bit more stiff, with my toes feeling like they were just one solid mass. It was all still toes and feet down there, but the sensations seemed to all blend together.

There was something new from yesterday though; I could feel a soreness in my shoulder blades. I thought back to my conversation with Will and how he mentioned that he had some pain in his shoulder blades. I confidently nodded to myself, feeling better knowing I wasn’t the only one having to deal with this symptom. I felt like I was starting to get used to all these different conditions happening to me.

That confidence evaporated as soon as I put my feet to the ground.

My balance felt very off from how it was yesterday. My natural stance felt different than it would have normally. I looked down at my feet and I was stunned to see myself with the flats of my feet angled to the ceiling, my calcaneus raised up, free from the ground with my entire balance hinging on my phalanges...or to put it in layman’s terms, I was stuck in “Tippy Toe Mode” and I didn’t know why.

It was a bizarre sight to behold for sure. There was nothing forcing me to take this stance and I had only just gotten out of bed, so this is the stance my body thought would be “natural” for me. I decided to force myself back down unto the flats of my feet and put my heel on the ground. I was able to do it, but I could tell my body wanted to revert to getting up on my toes. I grumbled. As if I didn’t have enough problems with walking around before. I snarked to myself.

There wasn’t much I could do about it, so I decided to get changed, going through my morning routine, ignoring the bizarre sight of me looking like I’m wearing invisible high heels. I put on my shirt and felt it was less tight than it was yesterday and seemed to be a little bigger, though not substantially so. After putting on my pants, I felt something inside one of the pockets. I pulled out a piece of paper and looked it over.

Ah, yes. I nodded to myself. Meghan and her party. She was wanting to have a little get-together with all of the different patients here. Eh, it’s not like I had anything better to do today.

I looked back at the note for reference. The invite said that we’d be meeting up in the Recreation Room in Side Room B...though thanks to the sheer amount of doodles on this thing, it was a bit harder to get that information from this note. Meghan is very...eccentric, but I’m glad some of us are taking this situation well. No one I met yesterday seemed explicitly uncomfortable with all this but some of them might have been hiding it well. Guess it’s time to see what kind of “party” Meghan has in mind. I left my room and headed for the recreation room.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I opened the doors to the Recreation Room once more. The area seemed about as crowded as it was yesterday though Darnel was no longer playing games in the back. I scanned the area for this side room that we were apparently meeting at today. Sure enough, there was an unassuming door with a name plate next to it saying “Side Room B” on it.

I made my way over and placed my hand on the handle. I hesitated in opening it, thinking about what exactly Meghan had in store. She’s a feisty extrovert. Who knows what she’s got in mind for this meetup. I took a deep breath and sighed. Well, it’d be rude to reject her invitation...even though I never really said yes to this in the first place. I shake my head. Well, if it IS a bad time, I’ll just find an excuse to leave, no problem. I firmly nod to myself and open the door.

What lay before me...was an empty room.

Oh come on, I can’t be the first one here! I groaned. It always sucks to be the first one, because then you’re just twiddling your thumbs until something interesting happens.

“Oh boy, I hate being the first one at a party too.” A voice uttered behind me.

I spun around to see Meghan behind me along with a small entourage of people. I recognized Nathan as well as Darnel from yesterday, but there was another man with them who was new to me. His double eyes were one hazel and one bright seafoam green. Meghan pats me on the head and smiles.

“Wow Penn, you must have been really excited to have come so early,” She states as she moves past me into the room itself. I shake my head and go on inside with the rest of the group. The room seemed to be a hybrid of a meeting room and a hangout room. There was a long table on one side with plush chairs arranged around it, while the other side of the room had a flat screen TV and a set of couches arranged for optimal viewing. There was a small nook for brewing coffee and a mini fridge for assorted drinks. There was also a little desk that seemed to be filled with an assortment of office supplies like notepads, pens, tape and other such nicknacks. All in all, it was something we could easily make into our own little corner of this place.

Meghan wasted no time in getting comfortable, plopping herself down in one of those big, soft chairs near the table. “Aaaaah, sweet cushiony goodness!” she said gleefully. She then beckoned to me to sit down. “C’mon in Penn, the fake leather is fine!”

I grin and roll my eyes slightly as I get comfortable and soon everyone else follows suit with Meghan being to my left and the new guy on my right. “So,” I begin to speak once everyone is settled down. “I’d like to thank you all for joining me in the magic meeting room.”

Meghan tilted her head. “Heeeeeeey, I’m the one who planned this whole thing!”

“Yeah, but I am the one sitting at the end of the table, and that if movies have taught me anything, the person sitting at the end is supposed to be the guy in charge and well, I’m sitting at the end.” I retorted. “But hey, you’re right. You set up this whole meet and greet. So, what exactly did you wanna do with this party?”

Meghan perked up. “Well, for this meet and greet, I’d like us to...meet and greet!”

“What a shocker.” Darnel sarcastically piped up.

“I know, right?” Meghan unironically responded. “It always seems like Meet and Greets are just an excuse to do job networking or to drink Mimosas at 9AM. No no, I want to get to know everyone here! I can start us off. Hey! My name is Meghan and I signed up for this trial because I was in between jobs since finishing my tour of duty in the navy, nice to meet you all!”

I raised my eyebrow at that. I never really took Meghan as someone to join the navy. Maybe she needed more order in her life because she seems like a free spirit? Or maybe she’s just fully embracing being able to relax now that she’s out from naval duty? Either way, that's not exactly something I expected out of her.

My thoughts were disrupted as she turned towards me. “Now that I’ve gone, it’s your turn!”

“Ah, yeah.” I readjusted myself in the chair. “Well, my name is Penn. I’m an artist and I hope to be an animator someday. As for why I did this trial, well, I’ll be honest, art doesn’t pay all that much. I also figured, hey, if this helps us get closer to a cure for what’s going around, doing this one thing might help everypony around the world, so I think it’s worth doing!” I nodded confidently.

As soon as I finished my little speech, I looked around and noticed everyone was looking at me with perplexed expressions, as if I had just grown a second head. They were all silent until the new guy piped up.

“Uhm...what was in that last sentence you said there?” He asked.

I frowned. “Uh, I said if this helps us get closer to a cure that can help everyone, it’s worth doing?”

“No no, you said something else in there…” He trailed off for a bit. ”I think you said 'everypony' or something?”

“That sounds like a fake word.” I quipped.

“Actually, I heard that too.” Darnel added.

“Same here.” Nathan said, bolstering the other two.

"You totally said it!" Meghan chimed in gleefully.

I grimaced and looked down slightly. Did I really say that? No, that sounds dumb. It must have been me thinking about that dream and it messing with my speech.

“Look, I had a weird dream last night, and I only woke up a little bit ago.” I defended myself. “I must have still had stuff like that on the mind.”

I swear, if I had known the effects this vaccine would do to me, I’d probably have reconsidered doing this whole thing. I thought to myself.

“Hey, we’re not making fun of you,” the new guy piped up. “We’re just wondering what’s happening, that’s all.”

“Alright. Well, that’s my intro done.” I lamented. “How about you?” I gestured back to the stranger. “Since we seem to be going clockwise here.”

“Ah, sure.” He began. “Uh hey, my name is Alex and well, I’m trying to get my degree in Graphic Design. Honestly, I just did this because I kinda just wanted to get away from my life for a few weeks. Things haven't been going all that well for me,” Alex said, letting out a heavy sigh. “Sometimes you just feel like you used to be good at something but then your situation changes and then you feel pretty useless.”

Oof, he hasn’t given any details and I can already tell he’s taking it rough, whatever it is. I thought.

“Hey!” Meghan exclaimed. “You’re among friends here, so no need to feel bad! I get it, things can be stressful and you sometimes feel like life is out of control. But guess what? We’re all in this together! If you need to talk with someone, I’m riiiiiiight here.”

Alex looked up. “Thanks Meghan, that makes me feel a bit better.” He smiled, seemingly lifted up by Meghan’s speech.

The chatter was interrupted as we heard the door opening. I looked over and saw Will and Juan entering the room. Meghan waved at them, excited to see more people.

“Hey! You’re just in time for introductions!” Meghan smiled. “Sit down!”

Will and Juan did just that, just as Nathan started to do his introduction. “Well then, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nathan, I’m a computer engineer by trade, however I also like to partake in some hobbies in my spare time. I particularly like to indulge in model kits and handicraft. I took this trial because this was around the time I was supposed to be on sabbatical. However, given the current situation, having a normal vacation was out of the question. So I signed up for this, figuring this was a much better use of my time; Helping find a cure for the greater good.”

Quite a wordsmith there, Nathan. I noted. He’s very formal and specific with his words. Maybe he comes from a higher class background or something? I pondered.

“I also…” Nathan trailed off for a moment. “I also got talked into this program by Meghan here since she didn’t want to be alone.”

“Guilty as charged!” Meghan quipped. “I couldn’t stand the idea of not having friends around!”

“Ah, so it’s friendship by necessity then?” Darnel chuckled. “I’m not complaining though, being alone in this place is not my idea of a good time. I’d rather have a buddy around who can help me punch problems in the face.” Darnel smirks and shoots me a knowing look. “Anyway, I guess it’s time for my introduction. Hey there, I’m Darnel for those of you who don’t know. Not much to say about me honestly. Just another guy who works a bit too much and loves to sleep. I’m with Alex though; this whole thing is a nice way to change things up.” He finished.

Will chuckled. “Does ‘change things up’ include trying to outrun me on the treadmill? Because you certainly tried your hardest to do that!”

“Hey, best two out of three man! I can do it!” Darnel retorted.

“Well, I look forward to it!” Will grins.

“Daaaaaang, you two seem to be really competitive.” Meghan noted.

“Well, I guess I can get carried away sometimes.” Will admitted. “And hey, that transitions pretty smoothly into my turn. Yo! I’m Will. Full-time Musician, part-time laid back hammock enthusiastic, and overall cool guy. I don’t know about all of you but I’m pretty good with how everything is going. Not a worry at all.”

The room was silent.

Will’s grin then turned to a frown. “What? I said I’m laid back. I’m just not the kind of guy who’s worried about all this.”

“Well,” I began ”I can think of a few of us who might be a little worried about this.” I point over at Juan who seemed to be a bit more reserved and sullen more than he was yesterday.

Upon seeing that even more eyes were upon him, Juan simply scrunched up even more. Meghan, seeing him a bit distressed dashed over and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Hey, it’s Juan right? I wanna start off by saying I’m sorry I surprised you in the library yesterday!”

“Surprised is certainly one word that could be used to describe it, I suppose.” Nathan retorted in a deadpan tone.

Meghan continued, undeterred. “But you’re among friends!”

Juan looked up slightly and nodded. “Uhm...thanks. I’m just...I feel a little isolated being here.”

Meghan sagely nodded. “Oh Juan, I’m pretty sure we ALL feel that way.”

“Not me.” Will retorted.

Meghan gave Will a threatening glare that said “So help me god, I will slap you” in big bold letters.

“B-but uh, I do totally understand why everyone feels that way!” Will quickly backtracked. “I get why everyone feels a bit closed in. We’re all in this box for a while and it’s a new experience.”

Meghan grinned. “And speaking of new experiences inside boxes…I...” Meghan then moves over and pulls a couple of boxes from the side cabinet in the room. “...have puzzles that need solving!” She proclaims triumphantly.

Meghan eagerly opens the large puzzle and starts hunting for all the edge pieces. One by one, everyone in the room starts doing their part in their own personal way. Seeing all those pieces in a jumbled up pile stirred up feelings within me. I felt compelled to not just solve the puzzle here, oh no. These pieces needed to be organized!

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I put my hands on my hips, a huge grin adorned my face. I was proud of what I had done.

Everyone else has different reactions ranging from impressed to dumbfounded.

“How…” Nathan began, unable to finish that thought.

“Hmm! That’s amazing!” Meghan said as she looked on in wonder.

In the span of about two and a half minutes, I had managed to arrange all the puzzle pieces and ordered them by color with a special exception to edge pieces as I knew those would be the most important. This 1000 piece puzzle would now be a snap to finish.

After a brief moment of silence, Darnel piped up. “So...are we gonna assemble the puzzle now?”

“A-Ah!” I stammer. “Yes, yes of course. Let’s get to that.” I took one of the piles I had meticulously separated and started to assemble them together.

Will took a puzzle pile and started to assemble his section. “You’ve gotta teach me that trick, Penn. That’s some wicked awesome organization-fu you have there. If I had that, I wouldn’t need to worry about having a messy room ever again!”

I stayed silent for a moment lost in thought. This has happened a few times already. I think it’s time to talk about it.

“I’m honestly not sure, but I need to ask you all an important question.” I admitted. “Have any of you felt like...you did something out of character?”

It was clear I hit upon something big with that question, since a couple of my new friends seemed caught off guard by my inquiry.

“Uh...did I freak some people out? I didn’t mean to do that.” I apologize.

“Nah, don’t be.” Will waved his hand in dismissal. “I have had that feeling a couple of times when I got here. Docs said it might be a ‘hormonal imbalance’ or somethin’ like that. I’m not totally sure I buy that but I do think it’s a side effect more than anything.”

“I’m not sure if this falls under the same changes you’re thinking of,” Nathan began. “But I have noticed an increase in regards to my grooming and physical appearance. It’s not that I necessarily neglected it, but I certainly have a much more acute awareness of it now.”

“I just thought I would be extra friendly!” Meghan added. “I never thought of it like that.”

“Y-you don’t think…” Juan meekly piped in. “That were all unwitting test subjects in some twisted experiment where they do...h-horrible things?”

Darnel immediately gave a disgusted groan. “Heck no. I can put that fear to bed right now, Juan. You’re not in a mad doctor’s crazy lab. There’s so many logistical and moral issues that would need to be wrestled with and people you’d have to keep quiet...basically, it wouldn’t be worth it to do something like that. No one could feasibly get away with that.”

“Uhm...thanks?” Juan replied, looking unsure of how to process Darnel’s reply.

“There is still something odd about this though.” Alex added. “We’ve all got heterochromia going on but the doctor I had didn’t seem all that confused by it. In fact, he seemed to be almost be expecting it. Now, what kind of crazy vaccine have they got where the expected side effects include color changing eyes?”

“That...is a little odd.” I admitted.

I hadn’t really thought about it much before but it was true. The things I was feeling were very unusual and I had never heard of people having side effects like this. I’d never seen eyes change, or people walking while standing on their toes. There was definitely something more going on here.

“I have an idea.” I stated. “We should meet up here and keep a record of all the things that are happening to us. We can consider it a support group. We can make it a real magic meeting room! In fact...” I looked over toward the little office supply desk and rummaged through it, taking out a pen, some paper and a roll of tape. I write something down onto it in big letters and after being satisfied with what I wrote down, I moved over and placed the paper on the door. It said “MAGIC MEETING ROOM” in big bold letters, letting the world know this was going to be our little corner of this facility.

Meghan giggles and thrusts her arms in the air. “Awesome! It’s like our own little club house.”

“Yeah, our own little place. Let’s try and meet up here every day. Friends gotta stick together yeah?” I grin.

Everyone gave a myriad of agreements and positive responses. That was the best I had felt ever since I had arrived here in this place. I went back to helping out with the puzzle with renewed confidence. I knew that no matter what kind of things we would have to deal with, I knew we’d be able to face it together.

I just wasn’t prepared for what was in store for us.

The Fifth Day (The Horseshoe is on the Other Foot)

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The Fifth Day

I opened my eyes. I could immediately tell today was going to be different from the previous days for two reasons. The first reason that immediately came to my mind was that I didn’t really have any sort of dream last night. I didn’t necessarily hate the dreams, but they still felt odd to me because they were focused on someone else which had never really happened to me before. It was just a bizarre experience.

The other reason today felt different was that Doctor Matt was looming over me with a hesitant smile. My gaze looked off to the side and I could also spot Nurse Akai with him as well. As soon as our eyes met, his eyes lit up and a sense of relief seemed to wash over him. It was a little surprising at first but I quickly adjusted to it.

“Hello Penn. I’m sorry to wake you up like this,” Doctor Matt began. “But I need to do another medical examination.”

I yawn and pull myself up so my back is upright, my lower half still underneath my covers. “Couldn’t this have waited until I was already up?” I inquire, wondering why he needed to get me up so early.

Doctor Matt nodded and looked away briefly before turning back to me. “This might take a bit of explaining. You’re in this trial with many other people, several of whom I’ve heard you’ve already met, and that's great! And seeing as it’s a trial, we want to be able to track all the effects that the vaccine produces, both intentionally or otherwise. We’ve been developing this to be used in several groups with different factors being used for all of them. A control group, plus different changes in each of the non-control groups. We, uh...” Doctor Matt trailed off.

He glanced over at Nurse Akai. She nodded and moved in, continuing where Doctor Matt had left off. “Penn, this vaccine was very special compared to most others. The heterochromia being an obvious indicator.”

I figured that the eyes changing color was a result of the vaccine, but it was nice to have that confirmed by a reliable source. I nodded at her in agreement. “That’s probably why the medical staff didn’t have a massive freak out when that happened to us.”

Nurse Akai nodded. “Yes. The reason we have these tests is to make sure these treatments work as intended when they ship out to market and this trial phase is where the kinks and bugs are ironed out.”

I tilted my head. I felt alarm bells ringing in my head. I did NOT like the direction this conversation was going. As if anticipating my panic, Nurse Akai reached out and firmly grabbed my hand. “I want you to know that we’re going to be with you every step of the way.” She pleaded. It didn’t set my mind completely at ease, but it did help alleviate my fears at least a little bit.

“Now Penn,” Doctor Matt spoke up again. “I’m going to be giving you a full medical examination now. Given what we’ve seen from some previous patients, we might encounter something...unusual. We’re here for you if you feel like you’re going to panic.”

I knew he was trying to set my mind at ease and at the very least he didn’t just tell me straight up not to panic. That’s the last thing you want to say to someone if you’re worried about them panicking. Unfortunately, I still felt uneasy about the whole thing.

“Alright, I’m going to need to pull back the covers to get a good look at you now, okay?” Doctor Matt looked at me wanting to get confirmation.

I slowly nodded, wincing in anticipation. He grabbed the covers and slowly began to turn them back. I released an useasy breath. I knew something was wrong below my waist. I had felt it since waking up, but I had pushed it out of my mind until now. There was no running away from this. I had to face whatever was under there. I gripped Akai’s hand harder as the covers continued to get pulled back.

The pull back couldn’t have taken more than two or three seconds, but my mind lengthened it into a cumbersome extended edition where they include all the deleted scenes even if they were completely pointless. My brain wanted to put this off for as long as humanly possible, but as the covers pulled back, there was only so long it could delay the inevitable.

The covers were finally off. I looked down and breathed in sharply. I instinctively curled my toes as the cold air rushes to meet my lower half. For a split second, I feel them pulling back to touch the flat part of my foot, a sensation that was so familiar, I never even gave it any thought before. But soon, the feeling faded, the sensation melting away and I was left feeling something truly...alien to me.

I stared down below my knees and took in what lay below. My breathing picked up, becoming quick and short. What I saw below shouldn't be possible, and yet I was seeing it with my own eyes. I was coming down with a growing sense of dread.

“Penn,” Nurse Akai said to me in a methodical and deliberate tone. “I know you’re scared and confused, but I need you to tell me what you see there. Just take a deep breath and tell me. This will help you focus and reduce panic.”

I swallow hard and give a steady breath in and then out.

“It’s...hooves. I have a pair of hooves for feet.” I uttered.

Even though I was the one saying those words...it sounded unbelievable. The phrase sent an electric buzz to my ears, as if the words themselves were having a physical effect on me.

I hear a barely audible murmur from Doctor Matt before he cleared his throat. “Well, we’ll examine your...appendages here and after that I’ll start looking at the remainder of your body.”

I silently nodded and saw him go to work. As I watched, I decided to take a good look at the hooves themselves. I hadn’t been near a horse for over a decade, but I felt that the hooves that adorned my body were...different in some way. Maybe it was the thickness of the appendage, maybe it was how it was shaped or maybe it was because it was goddamn LAVENDER. It’ll forever be a mystery.

I shook my head. My Snarking was only making me feel marginally better for a brief moment. With all this new information being thrown at me, I nearly forgot that I was still holding Nurse Akai’s hand. I slowly released my grip. Doctor Matt seemed to be doing most of the examinations, so Akai seemed to be here to keep me calm.

“Penn, I won’t pretend to know how you’re feeling right now,” She began. “You’re experiencing something we’ve not really seen before. I wish I could do more to encourage you, but rest assured Doctor Matt and I will be here for you, as will the rest of the staff.”

I sighed. Her words provided me with a bit of relief from this whole situation, but I had the sneaking suspicion that more changes would be happening and I would become more and more horse like as the days went by.

Doctor Matt stood up, having taken a small patch of...fur from my hoof, presumably as a sample for examination later. He moves over to me. “Alright Penn, I’m gonna need you to stand up so I can get a better look at the rest of your body.”

I shifted my body around and pulled myself off the bed. I stood on my hooves and surprisingly, I did so without falling over. I surmised I must have gotten used to walking on my toes yesterday so this wasn’t so odd to me now. It felt like I was just walking with shoes on in a way. What I wasn’t prepared for was how I looked compared to the Doctor and Akai.

I was never a tall guy, I’ll fully admit this. I was always shorter compared to my peers. However looking up at Doctor Matt, I could tell I lost a few inches. The Doctor hadn’t mentioned it, either because he didn’t notice or because he didn’t want to freak me out even more.

“Now, let’s take a look at the rest of you.” Doctor Matt proclaimed.

I held my finger up, wanting to ask a question. “Before you go over things, is there anything right off the bat that you can tell has changed that you haven’t already told me?” I figured I’d just get that out of the way right now so I wasn’t kept waiting in suspense.

Doctor Matt uttered a small “Hmm” and looked me over, looking for little details. “Well, your hair seems to be changing color, nothing too drastic. You are also getting hair on your ah...on your ears.”

My eyes widened and my hand immediately jumped to my ears. I was met with something...very soft? The shape still felt mostly the same but it was like I was wearing over ear headphones on them that were soft on the outside. They also seemed proportionally bigger. That fuzz on the outside felt great to touch because of how immensely soft it was. I managed to restrain myself as I started to catch Doctor Matt’s stare. “Anything else?”

“Well, we’ll soon find out. Let’s take a look.” Doctor Matt then continued his exam, my mind wandering all the while. Was there going to be anything else? This whole experience has made me view medical examinations in a whole new light. Before, they were just a routine. When you were healthy, you patted yourself on the back for taking such good care of yourself. When you were sick, it was an obstacle to be overcome.

This was different. This was so much more.

Doctor Matt went around me, looking at my extremities for any other changes, taking my heart rate, and looking at my blood pressure. It was all normal stuff. It wasn’t until he started examining my lower back that he seemed to find something odd.

“I think we’ve found something else.” Doctor Matt stated.

“Ah...what did you find?” I hesitantly ask.

“There appears to be a small bump where your Coccyx would be.”

I gulp. “That’s the...tailbone, right?”

The Doctor nods. “Yes. Given the trend the rest of your body is taking, I surmise that you’re growing a tail.”

I wince. It was yet another part of me that was becoming less human. I glanced over at the reflective surface of the two-way mirror and glanced down at my lower back. It was barely noticeable, but it was certainly there. I reach down and touch it.

“Oh god,” I say aloud to no one in particular. “It’s...it’s really gonna be a tail.”

“Penn, this is obviously a lot to take in,” Doctor Matt began. “But we will be examining your condition as things develop. I’ve gotten everything that I need from this examination, but we’ll be doing daily check-ins from now on, given how the situation has changed. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do. Thanks for all the stuff that you’re doing.” I sigh. Now if only I could understand what’s happening to myself. Doctor Matt nods at me and walks out the door.

Nurse Akai goes to follow but stops and turns to me. “Penn, I understand how you’re feeling.”

I shake my head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you really don’t. You don’t know what I’m going through right now. Honestly, no one does. I really wish someone did understand though.”

Nurse Akai opens her mouth to try and respond, but she stops and closes her mouth again. We both stand there in silence for a few seconds before she speaks up again. “Well, I’ll try and find a way to empathize with you and the others. Anyway, I’ll see you again soon, Penn.” She nods and walks away, leaving me by myself.

I leaned back onto the bed and just sat there for a bit, taking in all this new information and really processing what’s happened to me. Before, I could just dismiss this as just my body reacting in bizarre ways to a medicine that was being tested. But there’s currently no explanation for hooves! How am I going to show myself in public after this? I look like a freak! I just hope the others are handling this better than I am.

There’s one place I knew that I might find my friends. I got up off my bed and made my way out the door.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I walked up to Side Room B and looked at the piece of paper taped on top of the sign for the room. “MAGIC MEETING ROOM!” it said in many different colors. Unsurprisingly, this was a sign made by Meghan. Normally, I found her antics to be amusing. But given where I’m at right now, I don’t know if anything could cheer me up right now. I sigh and open the door. As the door swings away from me, I hear a small yelp and I see someone dart under the table. I look into the room, confused for a second before sighing.

“You can come out, Juan. It’s just me, Penn.” I reassure the person hiding. It was only a guess but given his personality, it was definitely a strong possibility. A few seconds go by before I see a mess of pink and brown hair pop up before I see Juan fully stand. His eyes looked puffy and red.

“Juan...I’m guessing you had an examination and things...didn’t go well.” I said carefully. Juan said nothing and simply plopped down into the nearest chair, sobbing a bit.

I move over to sit next to him and I offer to hold his hand. He looks over at it for a second and then grabs it, his sobs quieting down. We just sat there in silence for what seemed like hours, though the clock let me know it was only a few minutes. The sobs eventually subside and Juan speaks up.

“I’m scared.” Juan whispered.

I nod and grip his hand. “I am too, Juan. I am too. But we have each other, and the others too. You can talk to me about this.”

Juan turned to me and gave a slight smile. “...because that’s what friends do?”

“Exactly.” I grin in return. Honestly, spending time with Juan right now wasn’t just to make him feel better but to help myself feel better as well. We were both experiencing crazy and unusual effects on our bodies, but at least we were not alone.

I heard the sound of the door opening and I saw Will and Darnel come inside the room. The looks on their faces told me all I needed to know; they had some horse parts and they were just as confused as we are.

“Are we...interrupting something important?” Will asked.

I suddenly realized that I was still holding Juan’s hand and out of context, that might look awkward. I slowly removed my hand to scratch the back of my head. “Ah, Juan needed some emotional support. I don’t blame him though, this is a lot to take in.”

Will sat down and let out a sigh. “I was getting all excited about being faster in the gym, but now I’m having doubts about all this if one of the side effects is becoming a horse. That might be a bit much.”

“I will say though,” Darnel began. “I think we’ve all got our own quirks. I say this as someone who was practicing kicking with his new hooves and well...let’s just say they’ll be installing a new door in my room because the other one crumpled under extreme force.”

My eyes widened. “Aren’t those made of metal?”

“Eeyup.” Darnel stated plainly.

“And you busted it.” I said dumbfounded.

“With a kick, yes.” Darnel added.

“With your hoof.”

“I mean I’m just as surprised as you are.”

I just stared at him, a perplexed look etched onto my face. “Are you secretly a horse Terminator or something?”

Darnel raised an eyebrow. “Last I checked, no.”

Will upon hearing my quip, decided to start humming the theme to Terminator 2.

Darnel simply glared at him. “Look, I don’t know how I did it! I did a lot of manual labor in my job, but nothing that would make me have superhuman strength. I just hope I don’t have to pay for the door. I mean, I’m willing to work it off, but it’ll probably come out of the trial check.”

Will stopped humming and looked over at Darnel. “Well, while you’re dealing with massive gains, I’m dealing with being stupidly fast.”

“Hmm?” Darnel glanced back at Will.

“Yeah. Remember when I came to get you?” Will explains. “My room is on the other side of the wing and I went to grab you. I was able to run over there in about twelve seconds. If I get enough practice, I might be able to do it in ten seconds.”

“Wuh, what!?” Darnel pulled back in surprise. “That’s like...Olympic runner’s speeds!”

“I guess I’ve just taken to having hooves quicker than others.” Will adjusted himself in the chair and put his hands together. “But that brings us back to what Darnel was saying earlier; While we all have changes in common, each one of us has different abilities that set us all apart. I can’t speak for you two,” Will pointed across the table in my general direction. “but if you haven’t shown any special abilities, I’m sure you will soon.”

I silently pondered what that ability might be. I didn’t feel physically stronger...in fact I felt awkward in some places. Maybe my ability was more abstract or more based on my intelligence. Maybe I’ll be able to shoot out rainbow lasers like Will said before? Honestly, it didn't seem so far-fetched now.

“Well, I’m sure we’ll probably have more things come up and we’ll just have to deal with things as they come. In fact...” I trail off as I look towards the desk in the room. I walk over towards it and pull out a blank journal and some colored pencils.

“I have an idea, how about we document our changes in this book? I’m sure the doctors are documenting things, but I don’t think they’re telling us everything. I figure, hey, maybe we can find out something if we put our heads together.”

I got some general nods from the group as I took the purple pencil and started to write down the things I noticed, mentioning the loss in height, the hooves obviously, and the aches I had felt the previous days before. I put the book down and one by one everyone else put their thoughts into the book.

“Uhm…” Juan piped up. “We still need to get Nathan, Alex and Meghan to write in the book, and they haven’t shown up.”

“That’s true. Hmm, could be that they’ve been held up. Maybe I can-” I started to explain, but the PA system fires up and interrupts me.

“Would Penn please report to Room 515? That’s Penn to Room 515.” The announcer proclaimed.

My thoughts were lost as the announcement stopped my plans right in their tracks. Will stood up and took the notebook. “Hey, you go take care of whatever that is. We can get this to the others.”

I smiled. “Alright, thanks guys. Okay, I’ll see you guys later!” I wave goodbye to them as I head off.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I make my way over to Room 515. I was wondering what I was being called away for. This was different from the normal checkups; this wasn’t my room and they hadn’t told me what this was for in the announcement. It seemed like every day I was getting more and more questions and answers were hard to come by. After five days of this, I was starting to get tired of being yanked around. I wanted answers.

I soon found myself in front of the room I needed to be at. I opened the door without hesitation to find a very dark room that was only illuminated by two overhead lamps on two sides of a table. There were only two chairs at the table with the one closest to me being empty. The one across from me had a somewhat large and imposing man seated in the other chair.

“Hello Penn,” The man replied in a deep voice. “Please, sit down.” He motioned to the chair. I sat down as instructed and looked over at the man. This guy was clearly not a doctor, given how he was dressed in a nice suit instead of scrubs or a doctor’s jacket. “My name is Franklin, I’m one of the supervisors for this project. I’m just here to ask a few questions.”

I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “Is this some kind of interrogation?”

Franklin frowned. “No, what makes you say that?”

I motioned to the room itself. “I mean, this darkness just screams dark and moody interrogation.”

The room is silent for a brief moment and then he shakes his head. “Shit, you’re right.” He mutters. “Alright, I’ll fix that. Just a second.” He moves over to the wall and flips on the light switch causing the room to get much brighter, causing me to wince a bit at the sudden change in lighting.

“I don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Really, I don't! I just want to have a chat with you.” He explained.

“Uh huh.” I bluntly replied.

“Look, I’ve read the reports that the doctor’s gave me and if what they’re telling me is true, you have every right to be skeptical of everyone. You’ve been kept in the dark about a lot of things...er...sometimes literally.” Franklin awkwardly chuckled. “However, if you answer my questions, I can try and answer questions you might have if I am able to.”

“If you’re allowed to, you mean?” I rebuffed him. I was starting to get a bit annoyed at all this cloak and dagger and decided I wanted to be difficult in order to force them to get what I want. I didn’t like being mean and aggressive like this, but I didn’t have much else at my disposal.

“Alright, alright.” Franklin threw up his hands. “It’s clear to me that you’re tired of being led around and not told much. So, as a show of good faith, I’ll tell you some information right now. This vaccine is not just being funded by a government effort.” I perk my ears up as he continues. “This is also partially funded by a private enterprise, mainly because the government was wanting people who could come up with some ‘out of the box’ thinking. The origin of where we got our cure from is linked with the...difficulties you’re facing now.”

I leaned in, absolutely fascinated now. “And where did the vaccine come from?”

Franklin folded his arms. “I might be able to disclose it in the near future...if you answer my questions.”

Damnit. Figures it couldn’t have been that easy. Still, Franklin had been true to his word and so I decided to give him what he wanted. “Alright, I’ll answer your questions.”

“Excellent. From what I read in your report, you said that you had a headache in a very specific portion of your head. Would you mind pointing to me where that point on your head is exactly?”

I placed my index finger right on the spot where I had felt it before.

“Alright, good good.” Franklin nods. “Okay, now another question; Have you felt pain in your shoulder blades at all during these past five days?”

“Only very recently. I know a few of the other patients were having aches there, but my pain seemed to show up later.” I responded.

“How Interesting.” Franklin mused. “Many patients have come to me with either the headache or the pain in the shoulder blades, but having both seems to almost never happen." Franklin tapped a finger on the table a couple times before continuing. "Okay, given those answers you gave me, I need to know one more thing. Have you felt yourself doing something unusual, be it a physical feat you weren’t capable of or an ability you didn’t know you had?”

I raised my eyebrow. “If I answer your question, will you answer mine?”

“I’ll do what I can.”

I nodded. “Alright. I haven’t had anything physically different happen, aside from the hooves. However, I do notice that I’m more analytical and my mind sometimes goes on mental tangents...though it hasn’t happened much today given that my mind has been...busy with other matters.”

“I see.” Franklin nods to himself.

“Alright, time for your end of the bargain.” I firmly say. “These questions have been very telling, especially that last one. It’s all leading me to a very important question.”

“And what question would that be?” Franklin asks.

For a moment, I say nothing. I have one question that I know I need to ask, but I’m not sure I’ll like the answer to it, either because it’ll be a non-answer or because it’ll reveal so much more than I’m willing to take right now. Regardless, I push on.

“Did you know from the beginning that this vaccine would change us?” I ask.

Silence fills the room. I wait with bated breath, wondering what the answer will be. Franklin takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh.

“The short answer is technically no.” Franklin finally admitted.

“Technically?”

“What I mean by that is we did not expect drastic changes like hooves and natural hair dye. However, the heterochromia was actually very much expected. In our animal trials, we actually saw that happen in several instances. So, eyes changing color was unusual, but not unexpected. But of course, I realize you’re more concerned about the hooves, and I can assure you, that was NOT the intended effect.”

I stroked my chin in thought. “And the long answer?”

Franklin leaned back and shook his head. “It goes back to the origin of the vaccine and whether or not you’ll be given access to what we’ve been looking at. Given your unique case, it might be worth giving you a look.”

I sit there lost in thought. What the hell could they have obtained that could cause something like this to occur? I knew I wouldn’t get the answer now, but I was glad I was told a little bit more about what was happening.

“I’m guessing there’s not much else you can tell me, huh?” I ask.

“Not at the moment, no.” Franklin frowns. “Still, this has been very informative and I hope some of the questions you had were answered.”

“Yeah, they were, but I still have a lot of other questions that I want answered.”

Franklin nodded. “Well, given the developments, we’ll be giving all the patients information as needed. As I said before, we didn’t expect such drastic changes, so we’re having to learn new things as well so please be patient.”

I sigh. I guess that was all I was going to get for today. “Alright, thanks for talking with me.”

Franklin gave a small smile. “And thank you as well. I’m sure we’ll be talking again soon.”

I get up from the table and walk out of the room. It was clear now that there was way more going on than I had realized. And one way or another, I was going to get to the bottom of this.

The Sixth Day (Tactical Espionage Action)

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Twilight struggled in place. She was restrained, the titanium clamps around her legs prevented her escape. Her horn was also useless thanks to the inhibitor ring that adorned her magical appendage. Things weren’t looking too good for her. Despite the almost hopeless situation, Twilight still struggled to free herself from this diabolical device.

As she fiercely thrashed about, she saw a figure emerge from the shadows. This figure was a tall, imposing man and he had a wicked grin plastered on his face. He rubbed his hands together and then cracked his knuckles.

“Feeling comfortable there, Miss Sparkle?” the wicked man cackled.

“Let me go, Dr. Franklinstein! I’m not some wild animal!” Twilight cried.

“Ohoho, I’m afraid I must disagree, Miss Sparkle. You walk on all fours, you eat grass and you look like a horse. You’re as wild as they come.”

Twilight fiercely shakes her head. “No! No, I’m not! Stop treating me like this! I’m a sapient being.”

Dr. Franklinstein scoffed at her comment. “You might be intelligent, but I doubt others will see you that way. One look at you and they’ll see a strange, feral animal that they don’t understand. They’ll lash out and fight it because it’s something they cannot comprehend. They will hate you, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight gritted her teeth and growled. That statement dug into her more than she would like to admit. She had seen a lot of films and played enough video games to know that sometimes humans reacted in a close-minded manner to other sapient beings. She knew not every person was like this but she also knew that some people might be terrified of her. The fact that it was coming from someone she despised made that harsh fact even harder to bear.

“Oh? Did I strike a nerve with that comment?” Dr. Franklinstein taunted. “You know I’m right. There are those out there who would do far worse to you than I would. I simply want to study you and learn all I can from your biology, maybe figure out what powers you have. Others? They would not be so gracious.”

“You have me strapped down and bound to this weird contraption!” Twilight retorted. “That doesn’t really scream ‘Hey, I have your best interests in mind.’ I just want to go home.”

Dr. Franklinstein suddenly adopted a calm and reserved demeanor. “Well Miss Sparkle, you’re aggressive right now but I assure you, you’ll soon come around to my way of thinking soon enough. Anyway, my computers will work their magic. I’ll be back to check up on you soon enough. You’ll come to see things from my perspective at some point, it’s just a matter of when.”

Twilight watched as the doctor left the room.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Sixth Day

I opened my eyes, looking up at the all too familiar looking ceiling. Despite how comical that dream was, I knew that it highlighted a few fears I had. Anyone looking at me with a naked eye would know that I wasn’t fully human. I looked like some kind of weird mutant. It was clear that the mare I was dreaming about would be the physical end result of this weird experiment. I was certainly curious about why I was dreaming about it and what’s causing these dreams in the first place. I needed some answers.

My mind then turned to Franklin. I dreamt that he was this cartoon supervillain, bent on using my...using Twilight’s body for research and disregarding her well-being. While I doubt he was some sort of evil mastermind, he was definitely hiding something. I also had to question his motives for all of this. He did mention that this was partially a private enterprise which makes me think that he was in it to make some sort of profit. I knew he was holding back some information. I just needed to find a way to get it.

I shook my head. Mulling over that was not going to get me anywhere right now. What I needed to do right now was figure out what about me had changed today. I already knew there would be something different, given the track record of the previous days. The real surprise would be in finding out what exactly changed.

I decided to take a deep breath to prepare me for looking at what had changed, only to be hit with something different already. Breathing through my nose felt different. It wasn’t worse, but it was definitely different. It felt like my nostrils were further apart and instead of feeling one swift motion of air flowing into my body, I felt two distinct gales of air enter my body. They were still close enough together to not seem too different in my vision, but I had the feeling that might be different in the coming days.

I pulled myself up to get a better look at my upper half. Two big changes immediately caught my attention. The first one was the small tuft of soft fur that now adorned my chest. It was a light lavender color just like my hooves that I got the day before. I reached out to touch it with my right hand, only to be reminded of the second new change that happened today; my fingers. It looked like I had gone from four fingers and a thumb to a weird trio of conjoined fingers. This proto-hoof was going to make interacting with the world a fair bit harder. My left hand was still mostly unchanged, but I knew that would probably change in the coming days.

I decided to try and test how I would fare with this new appendage by removing my covers. I attempted to grip my blanket. Miraculously, I seemed to have some kind of grip on it despite me not having anything resembling real fingers. I was stunned at how I was performing this feat. Maybe I was achieving this through some form of granular jamming? Regardless of how I was doing it, I surmised that it might not be as tough as I expected.

Pulling back the covers, I saw that the fur from my hooves had pushed up from being just at the ankles and had passed the Achilles tendon and seemed to be residing around the soleus muscles. My legs looked about half-human, half-horse at this stage. I felt like I was some kind of weird looking satyr with horse legs instead of goat legs.

As I pulled myself off the bed and onto my now familiar feeling hooves, I noticed something more subtle was different about me. Everything around me seemed a bit larger than normal. On the first day, the doorknob met up to around my belly button. Now, it was lining up with my lower chest. I couldn’t get an accurate measure on how tall I was but I feared I might now be in the sub-five foot tall club.

I decided that there was one last place to check myself and that was my rear. I had learned that my tailbone had been growing out and now I might have something resembling a tail. Sure enough, looking behind myself, I saw a dark purple tail unfurling behind me. It had an unusually pink streak going through it but it didn’t look dyed at all. I ran my hoof hands through the silky smooth locks and sure enough, it was real hair. Upon seeing this bizarre and unnatural sight, I simply sighed.

A week ago, this would have seemed like something totally impossible, something that only happened in science fiction and when it first started happening, it was terrifying. But now, the constant changes felt much different to me. They stopped being unusual, stopped being shocking. I was starting to fall into a routine.

I shrugged and sighed. I knew I wasn’t going to get much done just gawking at myself, so I decided to simply get changed. I started by getting into a new pair of boxers. I pulled them down and as I did so, I got a look in between my legs.

If someone was walking past my room at that moment, I would guarantee that they would have heard the blood-curdling scream that I had unleashed upon the unsuspecting ears of the world. I didn’t want to describe what I saw there. The only thing I did know was that just when I thought this transformation was getting routine, it ended up throwing a curveball at me. Let’s just say going to the bathroom just became a bit more...interesting.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After my unexpected freak-out over what was now happening beneath my boxer’s waistband, I decided to try and push those problems to the side and focus on other concerns. My stomach was growling and getting some food in me sounded like a great plan. I pushed open the door to the cafeteria and grabbed a tray.

I had been here a few times already but it was only today that I was really starting to look at all the different foods on display here. Normally, I was a big solid meat and potatoes kind of guy. I still was enjoying the smell of them too, but for some reason, I was getting a strong and alluring scent from the salad bar. I suspected that my altered nose might be the reason I was getting this new olfactory sensation. Still, food was food and I was eager to see how these new smells would affect the taste.

I loaded up my plate full of salad and different vegetables and made my way over to find a table. Scanning the room, I found Alex sitting with Nathan and Meghan. It had been a while since I had seen them and they certainly looked significantly different.

If I had to describe Meghan in one word it would be PINK. She had hair that looked like it was swirling like cotton candy, though the actual color of her hair was a much darker pink. I could see her hooves were covered in a much lighter pink fur. She was dealing with having a hoof for a hand just like me but not only was she not having problems using it, she seemed to almost revel in using it to pick things up. She was using her hoofhand like it was some new toy she had unwrapped for her birthday. After getting a good look at her, I turned my head to look at Nathan.

Nathan had a fur color that was a blueish white, making him look quite regal. His hair seemed to be...styled? It was a deep purple but it looked like there had been some work on it to make it look fancy. Looking behind him, he had a small tail that was still styled much like his hair. Even with all the changes he was going through, he seemed to have a “refined” look.

Finally, I looked at Alex. He seemed to have a “fiery” color scheme going on, having a lot of red and yellow on his body. The styling in his hair almost made it look like his hair was actually on fire, though obviously it wasn’t given that there would probably be a lot more panic and screaming happening if that were true. He also had some hoof hands and a similarly fiery tail.

I walk over to them, my hooves clopping on the tiled floor. Meghan sees me out of the corner of her eye and waves me over, still able to smile even after all that’s happened. I sit myself down in the empty chair at their table.

“So…” I begin “Did any of you have uh...” I trail off, a bit embarrassed at the subject matter. “...a bit of a surprise today below the waist?” I asked, trying my best to beat around the bush about it. I didn’t want to actually say specifically what it was because, hey, that’s kind of an embarrassing subject. I saw some nodding from Alex while Nathan looked away blushing a bit, which was a reaction I was expecting.

I was unprepared for Meghan’s reaction. “You mean the fact that we’re all gal pals now because you’ve all got vagi-HMPH!” I interrupted Meghan’s speech by stuffing some salad into her face.

“Yes. That.” I bluntly retort. “Look, Meghan, when this all began, you were the sole girl in the group. It’s a little odd to suddenly look down and realize you’re gonna have to sit down on the toilet from now on.”

Megan frowns and leans back in her chair. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m a bit more open to all of these changes. I’m kind of excited to see all the different things that could happen! You think we’ll get fire breath? Oooh! Or maybe rainbow wings? Or even-”

“Meghan!” I yell.

“Sorry!” She raises both her human hand and hoofhand up. “I’ll stop.”

Nathan set his fork down and looked at me. “Penn, darling, we’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. Alex has been looking into our condition and he’s got something very intriguing.”

I look over at Alex with an intrigued look. “Is that so?”

Alex nods. He fiddles his hair with a human hand before placing a fuzzy appendage on the table. “Well, it’s pretty apparent at this point that we’re all becoming equine-like creatures. But I don’t think we’re becoming full-on horses, and I’m not just saying that because we have colorful fur that doesn’t match any known horse breed.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Alex nods. “I decided to do some research in the library, and cross-referenced it with the data about what’s changed about us already. Now, some of this is based on speculation given that we don’t know everything yet, but I’ve concluded that we’re not turning into horses, but ponies.”

Silence filled the air for a few fleeting seconds. I decided to break the silence with a simple, “What.”

“I know, I know. You might be thinking, ‘What’s the difference?’ or ‘That sounds dumb.’ but I have evidence to back it up.” Alex then pulled out the journal we all agreed to write in and saw that there were some sticky notes added. “Think about it. Several of us noted that we seemed a bit shorter and if it wasn’t apparent yesterday, it certainly was today! I measured myself at being about five feet and four inches, but my height when starting this whole thing was six feet one inch.”

Alex proceeded to flip through the book noting that Nathan, Meghan, Juan, and himself noted a height drop. He then produced a photocopied image showing a human and a horse. “Now,” he continued. “While every horse breed is different, most of them end up being overall bigger than a human. If we were turning into horses, we’d probably be getting taller, not shorter!”

“So we’re becoming younger horses? That seems a bit odd.” I furrow my brow.

Alex shakes his head. “No, we’re still fully matured. The way our anatomy is going, it’s lining up with how we’re supposed to be at our current age. I suspect that we’re becoming some kind of equine creature that’s just naturally smaller, either because the environment it grew up in necessitated a smaller size or some other factor made it so that being smaller was more beneficial.”

I chuckle. “You did all of this research for us?”

Alex smiles and puts his hand behind his head. “Well, I guess I just like to help others.”

I nod. “Is that all you found out?”

Alex’s smile fades and he looks a little nervous. “There was...one other theory I have. But it kind of sounds silly.”

I gave him a blank stare and simply raised my hoofhand and motioned towards it.

“...point taken.” Alex sighs in defeat. “Alright, as I was researching, I was able to find theories and explanations for the horse anatomy and the reason we were shrinking, but I was having trouble figuring out the soreness in the head and shoulders...at least when looking at real-life anatomy.”

I pull away from the table and raise my eyebrow.

Alex continued. “Do you know what kind of animals have anatomy that relates to the forehead and the upper part of the torso? Unicorns and Pegasi.”

“Excuse me, WHAT?!” I sputter out. “You’re telling me we’re turning into mythical, fictional animals?! That’s crazy!”

Alex gave me a blank stare and simply raised his hoofhand and motioned towards it, mimicking the same motion I had given to him mear moments before.

“Damnit!” I cursed under my breath, realizing my own point was being used against me. “Okay, alright. So, we might be turning into mythical creatures from days long past. That’s a lot to take in.” I sigh.

“Again, this is speculation and theory.” Alex reiterated. “But given what we know and what we’ve seen, I think this is the most likely scenario.”

I hang my head low. “Great, so we’re slowly becoming something that looks like it jumped right off a Lisa Frank folder. I’m not looking forward to the point when we won’t be able to wear pants.”

Nathan raised his hand. “Actually, that might not be so much of a problem. I’ve asked around with the staff and I’ve been able to acquire some basic sewing supplies that will allow me to modify our attire and allow us to wear them. Not to mention I can make something a bit less dreadful and drab.”

I threw a surprised look at him. “I didn’t know you knew how to sew, Nathan.”

Nathan gives a confident grin. “It is a useful skill and one that I wear proudly.”

I nod. “Well, at least we won’t be going around in our birthday suits around this place.” I lean back and stare at the ceiling. “Hmm, you know, all of this stuff is good, but I feel like we’re just reacting to all the stuff that’s been thrown at us. If we wanna find answers, I think we need to start being a little proactive.” I look back down at the rest of them. “I think we need to do a little reconnaissance.”

Meghan gasps. “You mean like a SPY mission?!” she squeals out.

Nathan rolls his eyes. “Not with that kind of volume, no.”

I lifted up my finger and was about to respond to Meghan but before I could, the PA system piped up.

“Nurse Akai, please come to Room 515, immediately.” The announcer said, putting a massive amount of venom into the last word.

“Uh,” I began. “It sounds like Nurse Akai got in trouble about something. I could feel the anger in that announcement. I’m worried about her guys.”

“Should we launch a Spyyyyyyyyyyyyy mission?” Meghan looked over at me with the biggest grin I had ever seen.

I let out a massive sigh. “Well, I don’t have any other leads right now so yes, let’s do this.”

Meghan pumped her fist and danced in her seat. We were off on a “spy mission” even if that was far from what we were actually doing. We just needed to get some information about something that’s being kept from us and hopefully without other people knowing about it.

Damnit, it IS a spy mission. I cursed in my head.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

We were all walking down the hallway toward Room 515. Well, three of us were walking and Meghan was constantly putting her back up against the walls, humming the theme to Metal Gear Solid 2 under her breath. I rolled my eyes but decided to tolerate it since she was actively making an effort to be quiet and stealthy.

Alex smirked. “If we encounter a mile high ladder, I’m out.”

I stifled a laugh at that comment. “Alright, we’re here.” I put my ear close against the door. I could already make out some muffled speaking but nothing concrete. I folded my arms in disappointment. “Well, we can’t hear them from out here and we can’t just barge in either. Anyone got any ideas?”

Alex motioned to the room next to it. “They’re in one of those rooms with the double-sided mirror. We could listen in from there!”

I nod and look over at the door. I look down underneath the bottom of the door. Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone inside. I move to open the door but I see that it’s locked with a keycard. I try to swipe my own keycard but it flashes a bright red LED at me saying that it wasn’t gonna budge. “Figures it couldn’t be that easy. My keycard doesn’t have clearance for this door.”

Meghan whispered behind me, causing me to lurch forward in surprise a bit. “Colonel, I got the Level 3 keycard from Vulcan Raven.” She grunts out in her best Solid Snake impression while holding out an actual Doctor’s Keycard.

“What the? Where did you get this?” I inquire.

“Got it from Doctor Eckert!” Meghan replied in her normal sounding voice.

“Did you steal it?” I glare at her.

“Yes! I also happen to know that you’re probably still going to use it even if you berate me into telling me that stealing is wrong!”

I stare back at her with a dumbfounded expression for the...fourth time this week? I simply shake my head and use the keycard, realizing that trying to talk some sense into Meghan would be a fruitless effort. I open the door and see that the observation room was empty as I had thought. I motion for everyone to come in and quickly close the door.

I looked over through the two-way mirror to see both Nurse Akai and Franklin at the same table I was at only yesterday, but Doctor Eckert was also there standing in the corner. We had dropped in on them mid-conversation but it was clear that Franklin was upset about something.

“Even if it was for a good reason, you still misappropriated resources, Akai! You used it without bringing it up with me or any of the other higher-ups!” Franklin growled. “We don’t need to be dealing with MORE situations than we already have!”

“I did it because I knew that if I simply asked to do it, you’d say no.” Nurse Akai counterattacked. “Given your current reaction, I’d say my hypothesis was dead on. I figured it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

Franklin let out a pained sigh. “This is not some toy we’re dealing with. We’re using something that’s fundamentally different than any other vaccine on Earth. I’ve poured time, money, sweat and tears into this and I can’t have you doing something like that on a whim!”

The room grows silent as Nurse Akai turns her head away and seems to mutter something under her breath. I leaned in closer trying to make out what she was saying, only getting the word “help” from it.

Franklin pinches the ridge of his nose. “Look, I’m not saying your idea doesn’t have any merit. You have a medical background and you could have insight into things that some patients may not. However, Project Alicorn is something that I’ve devoted years of my life into. This entire operation wouldn’t have happened without the efforts and capital I’ve put forth. Now with this snag of people changing, I feel like all that effort is going down the drain.”

Franklin sighs and stands up and looks at the wall, away from the mirror. “You know what happened when I first told the Governor about what I had uncovered?”

Nurse Akai shook her head.

“He said I should stop smoking weed while watching sci-fi movies. I held my tongue at that and continued my efforts. I got research, got hard data, got real tangible results, and tests from this thing. I had all the evidence to back my theories up and when the pandemic hit, all the stars aligned and all the pieces fell into place and he gave me the go-ahead. I felt like my efforts were validated.”

Franklin fell silent. “But I FUCKED UP!” He screamed, slamming his fist against the table, causing everyone, including the four of us, to reel back in surprise. “Apparently, I don’t know enough about what this thing is, people are changing, and now the Secretary of Public Health knows about it and will most likely be going over to the Governor again telling him ‘Franklin Merchant is turning American citizens into horses!’ and everything is going to go sideways. I’m screwed, the project is screwed and unless I can figure out how this transformation is happening, those patients are screwed too.”

Franklin calmly takes his seat and clasps his hands together. “That’s why I’m being so hard on you for going out of line. It’s not because I hate your idea, but because I really REALLY don’t want to be dealing with unforeseen factors. Are we clear?”

Nurse Akai nods.

Franklin leans back and sighs. “Alright, you can continue your duties, and you’ll report your findings, but please do NOT take any outside actions without my approval again, alright?”

Nurse Akai nods again. “Yes, I’ll do that. I’m sorry for acting out of line.”

Franklin shakes his head. “It’s not the worst idea I’ve heard. In fact, I might be able to make this work. Again, let’s not act on ideas without discussion first. Anyway, we’re done here. You can return to your duties. Let me know if anything comes up.” Franklin says as he gets up to leave.

She nods and turns to leave as well. As she does, I look at her closely and gasp. She had a green eye and a pale blue eye.

“What did you see, Penn?” Nathan asked.

“I think Nurse Akai...injected herself with the same vaccine we got on purpose. She had heterochromia just like we do.”

Everyone collectively gasped at that.

“No way,” Alex uttered in disbelief. “She did it on purpose? Why would she do that?”

I look down at the ground. “I think I might know why. I remembered yesterday that she said she understood what I was going through. I said that she didn’t understand and that I really wish someone did. She then replied by saying ‘I’ll try and find a way to empathize with you and the others’ and I think I finally found out what she meant by that.”

Meghan gasped. “She injected herself so she could help us? Wow, that’s amazing!”

I nodded. It was crazy that she would go that far for us but she clearly wasn’t kidding when she said she’d find a way to empathize with us. “Still, what was all that about a ‘Project Alicorn’?”

Alex tapped his hoofhand against his chin. “Well, I know ‘Alicorn’ refers to the term for a unicorn’s horn. It seems fitting given our current situation.”

I nod. “It also means there’s probably some connection to why we’re changing into these Equine creatures. Do you two have any thoughts?”

“I know you’re there,” Meghan said in a stilted tone as if she was reading it off a piece of paper.

“What?” I reply confused.

“Oh sorry, I was just reading what Doctor Eckert wrote on the piece of paper he’s placed against the mirror.”

My eyes go wide as I whip my head around to see Doctor Matt staring in our general direction with a piece of paper placed against the wall with the words ‘I know you’re there’ written on it.

All four of us screamed in surprise.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The five of us stood outside in the hallway, Doctor Matt tapping his foot on the ground, like a father who just learned his kid broke the window with a stray baseball. I kicked the ground, refusing to look at him in the eyes out of embarrassment. The rest of us had similar looks of shame upon our faces. Meghan even offered up the keycard she swiped almost immediately after we had been found out, not wanting to anger him any further.

“So,” Doctor Matt began in a low tone. “You mind telling me what you all were up to?”

Meghan immediately shot her head up. “I confess! It was me! I wanted to go on a sneaking mission! Please don’t hurt my frieeeeeeeends!” Meghan begged in an overly melodramatic fashion.

I sigh and turn to look at Doctor Matt. “Doc, it was me. We were tired of being kept in the dark about things and we also were worried about Nurse Akai when we heard the announcement. I accept full responsibility for what we did. Everypony here knows what we did was wrong but it was my idea to come here.”

Doctor Matt raised an eyebrow, “Everypony?”

I bit my tongue. “Everyone. Look, I’m sorry. We just don’t like to be kept in the dark about this and we wanna know what’s happening.”

Doctor Matt sighs. “Penn, the problem is that we’re not entirely sure what’s happening. I know you might think I’m full of it, that I’m hiding some kind of government conspiracy and you probably distrust me. That doesn’t change the fact that we’re in the dark about some things as well. You’re just going to have to trust me.”

“You want me to trust you? Alright. Tell me at least one thing about Project Alicorn that wasn’t mentioned in that conversation.” I reply.

Doctor Matt falls silently, taking a long breath in and out. “You’ll be happy to know that we don’t have a live unicorn down there. I still can’t really tell you much about it. Besides, Franklin is someone who’s much more qualified to talk to you about something like that.

I scoffed. “Yeah, like he’d talk to us.”

“He does want to talk.” Doctor Matt bluntly replies. “Given he gave me a letter that he wanted me to give to you concerning you specifically, Penn.”

“Seriously?” I ask.

“Yup.” Doctor Matt pulls out a piece of paper and offers it up to me. I grab it and open it. It looked pretty official looking with proper letterhead, logos, and a digitally placed signature at the bottom. I decided to read it aloud so that my friends could know what was in it too.

“Penn, I realize that you’re frustrated with the lack of information you’ve been provided and you want to know more. Given the sensitivity of the project, I cannot divulge the contents of what I’m working on in this letter. However, I am offering you the opportunity to know more if you so choose. The current situation with the patients who are transforming is something that was unexpected for us and my researchers and I need to examine what is happening so we can learn from this. If you wish, I am offering you the opportunity to volunteer for extra testing. This would let you work directly with some of our researchers and you’d be able to find out what we’re learning the moment we do. Out of all the patients, I believe you are the person we can learn the most from. Many of those nagging questions can be answered if you do this. Please consider my offer and let Doctor Matthew Eckert know if you choose to accept. Thank you for reading, Franklin D. Merchant.”

Doctor Matt looks at me with anticipation. “So, you think you wanna try it?”

I frown. “It all seems pretty convenient.”

Alex places his hoofhand on my shoulder. “I say do it. You’re the one who said we need to be proactive, right? You can’t do that if you don’t jump at opportunities.”

Nathan nodded. “I agree with Alex. I understand the trepidation in pursuing this course of action, but we’re in a bit of bind here. There’s not a whole lot we can do at this moment in time. However, it is ultimately your decision.”

I furrowed my brow. Franklin seemed like the kind of guy who was out to protect his bottom line if that speech was any indicator. Still, I could tell he wasn’t completely without empathy, and the fact that he was offering me something at all meant that he knew I wanted answers. While it’s pretty obvious that he’s keeping facts from me, he hasn’t outright lied to me so far either. I turned to Doctor Matt.

“Alright, tell Franklin I’ll agree to do his extra testing.”

Doctor Matt nods. “Alright. I’ll make sure to tell him that. You’ll most likely start this testing tomorrow. We’ll let you know about all the details.” He turns to walk away but pauses and turns back towards me. “Oh and Penn...thanks for trusting me, even if you have no reason to.” He turns back around and walks away, leaving the four of us alone.

“Welp!” Meghan says as she clasps her hands together. “That was a lot to take in. I personally vote we unwind in the Magic Meeting Room because that was a doozy!”

Nathan nodded. “Agreed. Penn, you must be exhausted with all the favoritism you seem to be getting from Franklin.”

I tapped a finger on my chin. Yeah, that was weird how I was being singled out. Maybe there was something special about my transformation that set me apart from the others. Either way, I was on my way to getting some answers...even if I had to go along with Franklin’s tests in order to get the answers I wanted.

I wondered what kind of tests I’d have to do. Would I be jumping through obstacle courses or writing massive essays? Would I be treated like a human being or strapped up like some animal like I was in my dream? Is this going to help set my mind at ease or would learning the truth make me worry more?

Those were all things I would have to find out...tomorrow.

The Seventh Day (Down the Lift and Into the Lab)

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The Seventh Day

I woke up. Same bright lights, different day. I didn’t have a dream last night, probably because I woke up earlier today. I knew I’d be doing all sorts of extra testing today, but I had no idea what that entailed or what kinds of things I’d be subjected to. Still, I was determined to find out what the heck is going on with this whole project.

I also wanted to find out more about Franklin and what exactly was going on with him. What exactly was his deal anyway? The obvious answer was he wanted to make money. He had mentioned that he had invested a lot of money into “Project Alicorn”. However, that answer alone didn’t feel right. He also said he had put in “years” into this project which makes me think this is something more personal to him. I could help but raise my eyebrow at the fact that he said years since this pandemic hasn’t been around for more than two years. Well, I’ll just file that in the “Franklin is hella suspicious” folder and do what needs to be done today.

The next thing I did was check myself for any changes. At this point, the changes almost didn’t phase me. Almost. The “under-the-waist surprise” made me realize that this condition could still catch me off guard. I took in a deep breath and started to inspect my body.

I remembered that I had started to grow fur on my ears, so I decided to check those first. They were now completely different, having now completely wrapped themselves up in a lavender coat. The shape had changed too, but it still had human characteristics to it. They were still positioned in the same place, but I know a horse’s ears are more lined up more with the top of the head, so I’ll be expecting that at some point.

While examining around near my head I noticed two things. First, there was a pink streak going through my hair, looking more like something that would belong in Meghan’s hair than my own. However, upon touching it I could tell that no dye had touched those locks of hair. The second thing I noticed was that my hair was being parted in the middle by something. I moved my hand and felt a large bump that tapered to a small point. It was a small bump, maybe an inch or so out of my forehead. The headaches I had a few days ago now made a whole lot more sense.

Having thoroughly examined my head, I moved down to look at my torso. The fuzz on my chest hadn’t grown all that much. My left arm on the other...hoof showed far more progression. There was no indication that I had ever had a hand on that arm, just one solid purple looking equine hoof. The changes seemed to stop just before my elbow, but I knew that would change soon enough.

Meanwhile, my right arm had decided that it needed to play catch up as it had started to change as well. Oddly enough though, only part of my right hand had changed. My four fingers had merged into two large “hoof fingers'' and it was shaping up to be a proper look hoof. My thumb however, was still entirely human, hanging off my hoofhand like it was some vestigial dewclaw. It was the most bizarre looking thing I had seen, and this is coming from the guy that currently has a stubby unicorn horn jutting out of his head.

The only thing I found I couldn’t examine was my backside. There didn’t seem to be any sort of physical protrusion back there, but I did feel a slight itch back there which implied that something might be coming out of there soon. Given what I’ve seen from other people, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was going to be wings. I’ll probably end up dealing with those soon.

Finally, I decided to take a look down below my waist. Aside from the...awkward changes I saw yesterday, my lower half looked almost unrecognizable. My legs were fully covered in fur and my tail extended out further, mimicking the hair colors now adorning my head. The tail didn’t quite look full length but I suspected that it would get there soon, perhaps even tomorrow.

I sighed. I wasn’t going to get a lot done just sitting here and wishing these changes would reverse themselves; I needed to be proactive. I decided to get dressed, taking a bit longer to accomplish since my new limbs made assembling my wardrobe difficult and I set off for some breakfast. I had the feeling today was going to be a long day.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

My meal in the cafeteria was more lonely than usual. Ordinarily, I could find at least one or two of my “Magic Meeting Room” friends also dining around at about the same time I was, but I was up much earlier thanks to the additional testing. Thus, there were only a scant few staff members milling about the place, leaving me all alone. I sighed as I dug into my eggs and bacon.

I was perfectly content with just eating my meal in peace, but it seems that fate had other things in mind as I saw a familiar face come up to me. It was Nurse Akai and she had heterochromia, confirming that I hadn’t just seen things yesterday.

“This seat taken?” she asked politely.

“Naw, go ahead.” I say, motioning to the empty chair. She pulls up a chair and sets herself down. She grins at me and I return the smile in kind. “So, I see that you decided to get injected.” I point my hoof-fingers at my eyes. It was only at this point that I realized human gestures that used fingers would be pretty much useless to me. Despite my difficulties, Nurse Akai seemed to understand what I meant.

“Yeah. I figured that if we wanted to learn about this transformation, it would probably help to have someone who knows a great deal about science and anatomy to experience the changes first hand. So I took a sample and used it on myself.” Akai explained.

“So you just injected yourself with a vaccine and used it?” I asked.

“Well, it wasn’t quite that simple. Not all of the vaccines developed here actually ended up causing these transformations.” She explained.

I raised my eyebrow. “That’s...news to me. I was under the impression that everyone who had received this vaccine was transforming.”

She shook her head. “No, there were some unusual symptoms but overall, nothing that would physically reshape your anatomy. We had multiple different variants of this vaccine that’s being tested in order to iron out any wrinkles the vaccine might have.”

“Like transforming into colorful ponies?” I bluntly replied.

Nurse Akai cleared her throat. “Yes. That’s obviously something that wouldn’t go in the final version.”

I frowned. Given how cloak and dagger all the doctors have been, I’m finding it hard to take any of them at their word. But Akai felt different. She was willing to go against rules for the sake of my and my friends. Taking a concoction that you know turns people into ponies and using it anyway because you want to be more empathetic to your patients is pretty crazy. I shook my head and sighed.

“Honestly Akai, I’m finding it hard to trust any of the doctors in this place, given what’s happened to me.” I admitted.

“Hey, it’s okay. I don’t blame you for thinking that.” Akai sighs and looks down at her food for a moment before turning back to me. “Actually, how about you call me by my first name...as a sign of trust?”

“Oh?” I cock my head.

“Yeah, we’re talking casually and this isn’t an examination. You can totally call me by my first name.” She smiled.

“Alright then, what’s your first name?” I inquire.

“It’s Shinzo. Shinzo Akai.”

I chuckled a bit. “My Japanese isn’t all that great but...I could have sworn that Shinzo is typically a guy’s name.”

Shinzo gives out a giggle. “Yeah, it is. I was named after my grandfather since he had just passed away when I was born and it seemed like a good way to honor him.”

I turned away. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize your name had that kind of value attached to it.”

She smiles and shakes her head. “Oh no, don’t feel bad. He had lived a good life and from what my parents told me, he was so excited to have a grandchild.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, out of all the doctors and staff people here, I do actually trust you the most.” I said. It was true. Going out of her way to take the injection isn’t exactly something a person would easily do just to go along for the sake of covering something up. Still, I had to be wary since I still didn’t know everything.

“Well,” Akai got up and stretched. “I need to get going. Good luck with the testing. I’m sure it’ll go well. If you feel like talking again, feel free to give me a shout.”

“Alright, thanks for talking with me.” I replied as she walked away. Well, no getting around this now. I have to go into the lion’s den and meet up with those scientists who will probably be poking and prodding me. Time to kiss my kidneys goodbye. I clean up my table and head out the door.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I had grown pretty familiar with the rooms I was given access to. The familiarity of the building and the faces I recognized were a small comfort in this trying time. Now I was going to have to leave that all behind and subject myself to poking and prodding. Why did I agree to this again? Oh right, to see how far this rabbit hole goes.

I got instructions with the letter Doctor Matt gave me and they told me to take the elevator to the 7th basement level. I took a deep breath and called for the elevator. Shortly after, the elevator arrived and with some trepidation, I boarded the lift and watched the doors close. There was no going back now, I was committed to this.

The trip down wasn’t too long, but part of me was hoping it’d be longer. I was still hesitant about doing this because of all the unknowns. I then thought about all the friends that I had made since coming here, imagining their warm and inviting faces. That’s right, I wasn’t just doing this to satisfy my own curiosity. They had as much right to find out what was happening as I did. I might have been a bit hesitant to do this, but I can do this so the others don’t have to be subjected to this.

I heard the elevator chime, indicating that I had reached the intended floor. As the doors pushed open, I looked into the room beyond. It was just a simple hallway with the same boring walls, leading to a glass door. Beyond the glass, I could see a large wooden desk with a bored-looking secretary typing away at her computer. I briskly walked through the hallway and opened the glass doors.

“Uh, hello?” I spoke as I approached the desk. “I was told to come down here by the Doctors for additional testing. I’m Penn.”

The secretary looks up from her work, unphased by my appearance. In fact, she seemed to shift her head to try and glance at my back, as if expecting something there. Upon finding nothing, she gives me a slightly distrusting look and starts typing at her computer. “Let me see if you’re in here.” She utters with the same excited tone one would give if you were watching paint dry. “Ah, here you are! Yes, Penn.” She says, her scowl softening. “Yes, you’ll be taken to Lab 2. Just head down that hallway and it will be the first door on your right.”

“Thank you!” I politely reply. That odd look she gave me was a bit of a worry. Was she expecting me to have wings? I mean, the itch back behind me seemed to indicate that I was going to get some soon, but were there others like me who got special treatment? Well, there were people in Lab 2 that could probably answer those questions so I guess I’d better head over there.

Traveling down the hallway, I come upon the door for Lab 2 and open it up. Just from a passing glance, this place seemed to scream “Science Fiction Lab” very loudly. There seemed to be a lot of equipment here, some of which I knew their functions but others I had no idea about. Of course, I’d love to know what they do. I’m always eager to learn. As I looked around, one of the scientists seemed to take notice of me.

“Ah, hello! Just the person we wanted to see!” The scientist approaches me in a somewhat jubilant manner. “You must be Penn. Come over, Sit! Sit down! We’re really excited to have you here with us.” He motions to a clean looking silver chair. I was worried that the scientists would treat me with apathy and a lack of compassion. The scientists being overjoyed feels almost worse in some ways. It feels like he’s overcompensating.

“You’re laying it on thick, Tyrell. You’re scaring him.” Another scientist a few feet away proclaims, in a slightly scolding manner. This guy gets it.

“Am I? I mean I know socializing isn’t my strong suit but I didn’t think it was THAT bad.” Tyrell replied.

“So much for ‘Third Times the charm’ huh?” The other scientist scoffs.

“Oh and I assume you think you’re just a bastion of civility, Julius? Last I recall, our blue friend James got absolutely spooked when you made a joke about dissecting him.”

“I cannot confirm or deny that this incident occurred.” Julius quickly replied.

“Uhm...can I ask you guys a few questions?” I hesitantly ask as I take a seat in the chair.

“Oh! Sorry, yes.” Tyrell shook his hands and moved over towards me. “Sorry about that, hi I’m Tyrell and this is Julius but uh...you probably already knew that from our bickering.”

“We’re not exactly dispelling the notion that we’re an old, married couple.” Julius jokingly quipped.

Tyrell ignored him and continued. “Anyway, you said you had some questions for us?”

“Yeah, I do.” A huge wave of questions flooded my mind; Why was I changing? What is all this research for? Why was all this stuff being hidden and kept secret? But out of all the questions, I think one of them seemed to be the most prominent. “Will I ever be able to turn back to normal?”

Tyrell and Julius were silent for a moment. They looked at each other and then Tyrell looked back at me. “We’re trying to find out everything about what’s happening to you and those like you. If something caused you to start transforming, then there’s certainly a way to change you back. Rest assured, we’re gonna find out what’s going on.”

“Okay, follow-up question, why is everything being kept secret from us? It’s very stressful not knowing exactly what it is I’m dealing with and with everyone being so evasive and secretive I just feel incredibly scared about what’s happening! I just want to know what the hell is going on!” I blurted out all at once, in a loud voice. I didn’t mean for all of that to come crashing out but after a week of pretending things were alright, I just couldn’t hold things in anymore.

“Penn,” Julius said firmly but calmly. “It’s clear to us that this is taking a toll on you. The transmutation of one physical body is not something that usually happens to humans. I won’t pretend to know what that sensation is like but we’re trying to learn as much as we can about this phenomenon and we’ll share what we find out about you.”

“Are you willing to share about what happened with the other two people you had here?” I reply. I wanted to know who those other two people were and what they had in common with me. I might be able to find out more than what those people were telling me.

“Well,” Tyrell began. “There’s a lot to talk about in regards to those two, far too much to go into right now. But hey, I can give you their names and you can talk to them on your own time, does that sound good?”

“Sure, I guess.” I nod.

“Okay, now, if you’re ready, we can do some tests with you. Take off your pants.” Tyrell says nonchalantly.

“Excuse me!?” I sputter out, dumbfounded.

“I mean, we can’t exactly do a good observation of you if we can’t see all the different parts of your body. Don’t worry, you can keep your boxers on.”

Julius smirks. “The Master of Bedside Manner, ladies, and gentlemen.”

Tyrell shot a glare at Julius while I did as I was told and taking off my clothes except for my boxers. “Alright, now I’m just gonna give you an examination like what those doctors have been doing for a while, sound good?” Tyrell asks.

I nod.

Tyrell nods in kind and takes a look at my changed body. Like he stated before he was going about it in much the way that the doctors were looking at me, however, the vibe was subtly different. He looks over at my horn and starts to look at it intently. He takes out a measuring tape briefly before returning it to his pocket. “Horn has grown out 2 inches. Please note that this seems to be shorter than the previous two instances.” Tyrell says in a methodical manner. I was feeling uneasy for some reason, but I couldn’t put my finger on why.

Tyrell continued to examine me, going around behind me and looking at my back. I felt the cold touch of his hands, causing me to tense up briefly before returning to my previous stance. After prodding my backside, he turned back to Julius once again. “No wings are shown to be growing as of yet. Trend seems to be gearing toward being in an earlier phase.”

He moved back in front of me and held my fully formed forehoof and started looking at it. After getting fairly handsy with it, he did another turn to Julius. “Subject has a fully grown hoof and is observed to be in line with previous assessments.” Wait a minute, that was it. They were talking like I wasn’t even there! That felt...not great if I’m being honest.

“Hey uh...I’m right here you know.” I blurt out.

“Ah...is there something wrong?” Tyrell asked, genuinely wondering what was wrong.

“You’re talking about me like I’m not even here.” I bluntly state.

Julius is the one to respond this time. “We’ve grown accustomed to doing scientific observations with things that...typically aren’t able to talk. Just another notch in the Best Bedside Manner, eh Tyrell?”

Tyrell gives a groan, clearly having dealt with Julius’ ribbing before. “The last two people didn’t mention anything about that.”

“Doesn’t mean they didn’t feel it.” Julius retorts.

“Well, I’ll change that if it makes you feel better, Penn.” Tyrell replies.

“Yeah, that would mean a lot, thanks.” I tell him. It’s amazing how well I’ve been able to change people’s minds about things. I feel like I’m on a massive streak of making friends in this place. It’s like I have a knack for creating friendships or something.

Tyrell continues his observations, now with a newfound respect and addressing his observations by using my name in his notes instead. It certainly felt a lot better than just being called a "subject" all the time. As the observation was winding down, I decided to pop another question at him. “Hey Tyrell, what exactly is all this research for?”

Tyrell breathed in but paused, clearly thinking of a purposeful response. If he was a computer, you could probably see the loading hourglass icon in his eyes. “Well, this facility and the facilities that are surrounding it are taking a look at things that require having a sensitive look and is something you don’t want to have too many prying eyes looking at. Like, did you know that in the Pacific Northwest there’s a huge Redwood tree that’s even taller than the Statue of Liberty?”

My eyes widened, thinking about how large such a tree would be. I'd been to the Statue of Liberty before and knew how large that was so to imagine a tree even taller than that was crazy. “No, I hadn’t heard of that before.”

“Well, it’s one of the largest trees on the planet and because of that, it might attract a lot of tourists and they could potentially damage the tree. That’s why only a select number of people know its exact location. What we're working on here follows a similar concept.” Tyrell explained. “We have something that people would be in awe over that it could attract the same kind of people to our facility wanting to be nosy tourists as it were.”

I nodded. I may not have liked the fact that I was being kept in the dark but I did think Tyrell’s explanation made sense. Maybe there is something that these people are just out to protect from others?

I mentally slapped myself. I’m still turning into a horse, these people are keeping secrets from me and I need to find out about what’s happening to me and my friends. I can’t forget the entire reason I decided to do this testing in the first place!

“I still think I’m entitled to at least know what is causing all these transformations even if I don’t get to personally see it.” I said, crossing my arms in displeasure.

Tyrell shook his head. “I’m sorry Penn. I’m just not allowed to tell you what we’re working on.”

“Augh!” I angrily blurt out, throwing my hoof and hand into the air. Unfortunately, I was unaware of what was happening near me, causing me to thrust my hoof into Julius’ face, smacking him. He winced in pain and worse yet, he lost his grip on his tablet causing it to hurtle towards the ground.

“Ah!” I yelp in surprise and horror, seeing the expensive piece of tech about to be ruined. I reach out to grab it with one of my hooves.

What happened next was a bit of a doozy.

First of all, I was able to save the tablet from being crushed. Having to replace hardware like this was expensive and no one likes seeing scuff marks on your tablets. Now ordinally, such actions of saving something from falling on the ground is met with sighs of relief and the occasional “Nice catch!” from the people observing the situation unfold.

Needless to say, that did not happen. What did happen is that my hooves, the thing I instinctively use to grab things, had, in fact, not been the reason the tablet had been saved. I couldn’t explain what I was seeing. I know it’s become almost mandatory that I have something new and bizzare happen to me that I simply can’t explain and this here was no exception. I just stood there, mouth agape, staring at the unusual sight before me. I could only see Julius and Tyrell out of the corners of my eyes but they seemed to share in my confusion. The room was eerily quiet.

All three of us were dumbfounded because the tablet was floating in a sparkly purple semi-transparent cloud.

“I...what…” was all I managed to utter out before I fainted from shock.

The Eighth Day, Part 1 (Do Patients Dream about The Moon?)

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Twilight’s eyes creaked open a tiny sliver. Her head was throbbing, like she had been slamming her cranium against the wall for a good solid minute. Her attempts to focus on her surrounding environment was proving fruitless. The area surrounding her looked to be foggy. In fact, the fog seemed to be the only thing that she could see. She felt like any minute now Pyramid Head might come out of the haze wielding his massive knife.

She shook her head around and stood up. Despite the seeming nothingness that surrounded her, she desperately looked for a landmark in this sea of murkiness. She squinted and bit her lip, slowly pivoting her body around slowly in a circle. She used the large knowledge receptacle that was her brain to do all the calculations and came to a solid conclusion; she was in a void of absolute nothing. She groaned. “There’s nothing here. Just emptiness.”

She sighed. “Maybe there’s more in the distance.” She trots forward, her head swiveling occasionally to her sides, keeping an eye out through the mist. She trotted. And trotted. And trotted. Her head was slowly sinking, her head turning was becoming less frequent and more sloppy. But off in the distance, she noticed something off. There was something dark blue in the distance.

Twilight squints her eyes. The discoloration was moving up and down in a solid, concise manner. It was also getting closer. Twilight tensed up, an electric shock running up her spine. She dropped her head down and stared ahead at the unusually colored light. Eventually, the blob started to take a more definite shape. The ambiguous blob gave way to an equine quadruped. Twilight gasped.

“Are you...Princess Luna?” she muttered in awe. She had never met this pony in her life and yet the name seemed to come to her mind immediately.

“You...know my name? I’m sorry, but I’ve never met you before.” Luna frowned. “And yet...you are Twilight Sparkle. I know that...somehow. I'm unfortunately not quite sure why I know that though.”

Twilight flashed Luna a sad look. This dream was definitely different from the others. That much was certain.

“Listen Twilight. I need to talk with you and your friends. Is there a place we can meet up and talk?” Luna asked.

“Well, we do have our ‘Magic Meeting Room’ that we get together at. It’s the Side Room B in the Recreation Room.” Twilight stated.

Luna chuckled. “That’s a bizarre name for a place but if that’s where you want to meet, we can meet there.” Luna nodded and started to trot away.

“Ah, wait! Luna, isn’t this a dream? Aren’t you just a figment of my imagination?” Twilight asked, confused.

Luna turned back to Twilight and grinned. “That’s what I thought too. I’ll tell you more in person.” She turned back and faded into the fog.

The Eighth Day

I opened my eyes. That dream was different from the others, no doubt about that. Until now, they had never really been that lucid, just a series of random events loosely related to my feelings and my experiences of the previous day. But now I was getting specific instructions and things related to my life and my immediate surroundings.

There was something else that seemed to bother me about that dream as well. I was dreaming about Twilight but it didn’t feel like I was dreaming about someone else. It felt like I was the one doing the motions in that dream. But Twilight still didn’t feel like me, not quite. Am I supposed to be Twilight or is Twilight supposed to be me?

I ran my hoof through my mane and stood up. Seems I was taken back to my room after my little fainting spell that happened earlier. I'm still racking my mind that I was able to levitate something. Levitation! My mind is constantly stacking on more crazy and bizarre stuff for my mind to process. Anyway, I figured now was a good time to check myself for changes. Part of me considered skipping the whole rigmarole of examining what parts of my body changed, but ultimately I chose to do it now, lest I get surprised later.

Looking ahead, I immediately noticed my nose was wider, looking more equine than ever. I suspected I’d get exposed to a lot more “why the long face” jokes now, give the current circumstances. I placed a hoof on my new snoot and felt fur there. I had the feeling no amount of shaving was going to get rid of that fur.
The change wasn’t just cosmetic either. I could tell my sense of smell had gotten heightened a bit as well; I could smell black pepper, salt, a small amount of dill and the pungent smell of burnt fat. It was the breakfast I had yesterday, but more than that I was able to individually catalog the different scents of the constituent ingredients. I could tell that eating was going to be a much more involved experience from now on.

I looked down and saw that my arms were now looking a bit more equine than human. Both my hands were now fully hooves and there was no trace that there had ever been fingers there at all. The fur had now grown past my elbows and was well on its way to going up my forearms. It seemed that my arms were about 60% transformed.

Moving along, I felt something poking my backside, so I decided to take a look at my back. That was easier said than done however. After a bit of a struggle, I maneuvered my line of sight so I could get a look behind me in the mirror. Perched under my shoulder blades, I saw a small pair of lavender wings. They were comically small compared to my body but since my body had already shrunken a decent amount, I had the feeling that would change very soon.

After looking at my back, I also noticed another strange thing about myself. My ears had moved. They seemed to be migrating up the sides of my head, putting themselves more near the top of my head instead of being placed on the side. These new ears also seemed to have a mind of their own. Looking at them in the mirror, I saw that they would twitch and swivel without my input. They seemed almost...cute.

I mentally cursed at myself, realizing I had just called my own ears "cute" of all things. My ears seemed to share my sentiment, pulling flat against my sides. Hiding my emotions would be much harder thanks to these ears telegraphing how I was feeling. Guess I should refrain from playing Poker anytime soon then.

There didn't seem to be any other physical changes so I decided to go and get ready for the day. If that dream was legit, then “Luna” would be waiting for me in the Magic Meeting Room. I might be able to get some explanation for why she was in my dream and maybe find out more about what's going on in this place.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I walked over to the very familiar Magic Meeting Room and opened the door. Inside I could see all of my friends. My vision was immediately drawn to Nathan. He now had a wonderful looking hairstyle that I had never seen on him before. It was VERY feminine looking, with a nice curl on one side of his head. He was chatting with Juan and he had a comb in his hand. Juan still seemed nervous but was a lot less tense, even chuckling at a statement Nathan made.

I turned my head over to see Darnel and Will. Darnel and Will seemed to be playing some kind of board game. Darnel was relaxing in his chair with a calm, almost smug look on his face. Speaking of his face, he now sported some freckles and his hair was almost all blonde. He was eating an apple and he had a small bowl of fruit sitting next to him. By contrast, Will looked like he was under an interrogation given how much sweat was developing on his brow. His eyes were darting from the cards in his hand, to the game board where his pieces were situated. He grabbed one of his cards and gripped it tight for a brief moment, before shaking his head and looking back at his hand.

Pulling my eyes over to the other side of the table, I could see Alex and Meghan drawing. Occasionally, the two would show each other their work. Meghan seemed to be drawing a cartoon looking alligator doing some silly things. Alex’s art was a bit more reserved by comparison, just drawing a simple looking rabbit. Meghan caught me out of the corner of her eye and waved me over.

“Heeeeeeeeeeey Penn! Come over here!” she yelled enthusiastically. I grinned back at her and pulled up a chair next to the two of them. I sat down and leaned back in the chair.

“Hey guys. How are you doing? I see you guys are drawing Alligators and Rabbits.”

Alex tenses up and flips his drawing face down. “It’s...it’s supposed to be a frog.”

“O-oh. Sorry, I didn’t know.” I pull back in my seat.

“Hey, practice makes perfect!” Meghan positively rebutted. She then turned to me. “So, when do you think Luna is coming by?”

I suddenly sputtered, taken aback by her question. “Wh-what!? How do you know about Luna?” I asked, genuinely curious about how she knew about her.

“In my dreams of course!” Meghan gleefully explained. “That’s what happened to all of us!”

Nathan nods, having overheard our conversation. “Yes, we all had similar dreams to each other, and all of us had encountered somepony named Luna.”

“Huh, and I’m guessing she told you all to meet up here?” I inquired.

“Yup,” Alex replied. “We’re all told to meetup here because ‘Penn told me this was a place you all meet up at.’ So we did.”

“Hmm” I tapped my chin with my hoof. “That’s pretty weird that she was in all of our dreams, all telling us the same thing. She said she wants us to talk about something. Do you think she knows something we don’t?”

“Noooooo!” Will screamed to the heavens.
The entire room was quiet for a few seconds.

“You know,” I began. “A simple head shake would have worked just as well.”

Will crossed his arms and gritted his teeth. “It’s...it’s not that. I just...I. Hate. Losing.” He bluntly spattered out, staring daggers at Darnel.

Darnel simply shrugged and started to put the game pieces away. “I know yer mighty passionate Will, but sometimes you gotta take things easy. Not everything has to be a competition. You can just play for fun.” Darnel said, giving Will a calm smile.

Will said nothing, simply breathing out through his nose in a huff. Darnel sighed as he continued to put the items away.

I turned over to Meghan, getting back on subject about the dreams we had last night. “So, what exactly happened in your dream?”

Meghan tugged at her cheek with her hoof, seemingly lost in thought. “Weeeeeell, I was moving through the field of dancing pumpkin pie flowers on my way to the city of Sweet Treats where I encountered this Wizard called Mary Jane who offered up this magic herb that-”

I held my hoof up. “Well that sounds like a completely normal dream so Alex what did you dream about?” I said in one continuous breath.

Meghan scrunches her nose up a little while Alex adjusts in his chair. “Me? Oh, you don’t wanna hear about mine. It was a pretty boring one about school and stuff until Luna showed up. She told me that she had already talked with you and Juan already about this and she asked me to come here, dropping the ‘Magic Meeting Room’ by name. She didn’t mention anything other than she has something that she wants to talk about with us.”

“Yeah, that makes me wonder if she knows something we don’t.” I mused to myself.

My thoughts were put on hold as I saw the door to the room open up. As the door swung away, I saw another pony-person walk in. The fur they had was a very vibrant dark blue and they had hooves for hands as well as fully transformed legs like the rest of us had. There were three things that stuck out to me though. First off, they had both a unicorn horn and a pair of wings. That was something that I hadn’t observed in anyone else except myself. Second, they seemed to be taller than everyone else. It wasn’t by a large amount and they still seemed a tad short for an adult but it was still impressive looking compared to how tall the rest of us were standing. The last thing that struck me as bizzare was the hair. It had a bizarre, almost ethereal look to it and it was moving on its own which was bizzare to see.

“Hello there,” The person began. “My name is James, though...most of you probably know me better as Luna.”

The Eighth Day, Part 2 (Dream Pains)

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(Part 2)

We all sat in silence for a while. I remembered seeing this person as a full-blown horse before, but now seeing them here in the same condition as us was pretty bizarre to say the least. Things were getting a little awkward with the stranger just standing there and they seemed to hold that same sentiment..

“Is...it alright if I sit down?” They asked.

“Oh, sure!” I say looking around for another chair. There didn’t seem to be one that I could see, but that didn’t stop Meghan from pulling a chair seemingly out of nowhere. I swear she’s able to achieve the strangest things when she wants to.

“Here you go! One cushy chair, ready for your butt!” Meghan grinned.

“I thank you.” James/Luna replied as they took their seat. They sat down slowly, as if they were trying their best to not spook a herd of cattle. They tapped their hoof on the surface of the table and clicked their tongue in frustration. I furrowed my brow slightly wondering what exactly was wrong. I didn’t have long to think because thanks to the ever hyper Meghan, nothing stayed static for long.

“Now that you’ve introduced yourself, it’s about time we did the same for you!” Meghan pumped her fist in the air. “I’m Meghan,” she says before pointing at Alex. He looks a bit confused but then gets his name out. Meghan nods and continues in a circle with everyone responding in their own way. The new pony-person was a bit confused at Meghan’s antics but seemed to quickly adjust.

“Well then, that was an...interesting introduction I must say, but thank you.” They seemed a bit startled by Meghan’s bombastic intro sequence but after it was all said and done, they seemed calmer and less tense. If that was Meghan’s goal, it seems her mission was accomplished. “Anyway, I realize this all might be strange to you seeing me like this.”

That was an understatement. You come into our dreams like some kind of biblical vision and just tell us all to meet up for something. All I know is that this person was exposed to the same kind of experimentation that I was, probably because we both had the wings plus horn combo meal

“First of all, I would like to apologize for invading your dreams like that. I should be more considerate of your wishes.”

“Ah,” I begin. “It’s not a huge deal. None of us seemed all that annoyed by it right?” I ask looking around the room for confirmation. While nothing was said, I got general nods from everyone else. “Still, I have to ask...uhm...do you like being called James or Luna? You technically gave an introduction to us with both names.”

“Hmm, that is a fair point. When I’m my dreams, I see myself as a Winged Unicorn who is dark as night. When I’m awake though, I feel like just another person. So I guess you can call me James here and Luna in your dreams.” James replied.

“I see.” I thought to myself.

“Anyway, uhm…” James trails off for a bit. “Part of the reason I came by was to confirm that you all were...actually real.”
We all looked at each other a bit confused. James continued.

“Walking around in a dream state like that, I see things created by the subconscious and it can be difficult to parse what is real and what is fantasy. I wanted to see you all for myself and see if the ponies I met in my dreams matched the individuals that exist in the real world. That and...well, you all seemed really nice and I wanted to meet you all.”

“Aw, you wanted some friends!” Meghan exclaimed. “Well, we’d love to have you here with us, right?” Meghan looked around at all of us and got general nods from the rest of the group.

James smiled. “Thank you all for your kind words. I do wish to confirm that the dreams I’ve been seeing these past nights are real and not just figments that I’ve been creating myself. However, since they are real, I feel I must apologize for prying in on your dreams. Some of those thoughts I realize are very...” James trails off before eying Juan. “...personal.” Juan returns an uneasy nod in response.

I frowned as I saw this exchange. Was Juan dreaming about something embarrassing? Or was Juan having nightmares that he felt were too traumatizing to share? I guess I was so wrapped up in my own search for answers that I neglected to notice how other people were feeling.

“I would like to make up for it by lending you an ear if you wish to talk about your dreams to me. I know that dreams can be a personal matter but-” James explains but is interrupted by Meghan.

“So! There I was in the lair of the Gumdrop Dragon when SUDDENLY I was attacked by the Tendrils of the Licorice Beast! It was a fierce battle but my stomach was ready!”

“That’s...certainly something interesting to discuss but I know there are others who might like to personally chat about it with me. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine too. I will only talk to you if that’s something you want to talk to me about.”

I thought about all of the different dreams I had and the situations that I conjured up in my head. I thought about how strange they were and I couldn’t really find any time to unpack these dreams and discuss them in a good setting. It always seemed like there was something else that needed my attention. But here was James with this amazing Dreamwalking ability. This was the perfect time and place to tackle these weird feelings I was having.

“I’d like to talk with you about it, James” I said, raising my hoof up. “I’ve been having a lot of different dreams and I’d like to discuss it if that’s okay.”

James claps his hooves together. “Of course we can. Let’s get some privacy and talk about it.”

The two of us march over to the side corner of the room and we set ourselves up there. We made sure we were far enough away from the rest of the group to ensure privacy. All of us have vastly heightened hearing now thanks to the fuzzy ears now adorning our heads, so we have to be extra careful about speaking if we don’t want to have others eavesdrop on us.

“Alright,” James utters in a hushed tone. “Now, I may not be a psychiatrist, but I am someone with a lot of empathy and I want to help. Since you’re the one who wanted to talk to me, I’ll let you begin. What’s on your mind?”

I sighed. “Well, my dreams tend to be about many different things but in all of them there’s one commonality; I feel like I’m not dreaming about myself.”

James raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“You talked to me as ‘Twilight’ in that dream and I talked to you as ‘Luna’ but...I don’t see myself as Twilight. Whenever I have those dreams, I feel like I’m dreaming about another person. It’s like I’m watching a movie about someone instead of acting out a fantasy. It doesn’t take a genius to tell me that physically, I’m turning into something that looks like her. But I never feel like I am her.”

I turn away and give a shaky sigh. “And I worry that I might lose what makes me...me. That absolutely terrifies me.” I close my eyes and feel like I’m on the verge of tears. I had only just met James and yet I was opening up about such personal feelings. Maybe I was just looking for any excuse to get these feelings out and I didn't much care how I did it. James said nothing and simply put their hoof on my shoulder.

“Penn, you’ve shared with me something very personal and heartfelt. That alone is not something that is so easy for someone to do. However when we are put into unusual circumstances, sometimes we can surprise ourselves with how we act.” James smiled.

“Am I more open because I’m scared...or because I’m becoming different?” I retort.

James narrows their eyes. “Penn, do not go down that path of thinking. It can be very easy to sink into despair and depression but you must not give in to your demons.” James turns away slightly. “Trust me, I know what that’s like.”

I tilt my head down in sadness. It’s hard to not keep dwelling on it, especially with the entire lab I’m residing in being a constant reminder of the condition I’m in at the moment. It probably will only be a few more days before my reflection will look like Twilight as well. I seriously don’t want to lose myself.

“Listen Penn,” James started speaking again. “I’ve seen the dreams of many changing patients. A person's dream can say a lot about that person’s personality...though in Meghan’s case I’m not exactly sure what it’s saying. Regardless, I want you to know that you are not alone in this struggle. You never have been...and you never will be.”

I turn up to look at James, the tears finally billowing up. I bury my face into their chest, trying to hide the tears.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After having a good, quiet cry, I moved back to the table with everyone else. Meghan immediately came up to me and simply gave me a silent hug. No loud exclamation, no party, no fanfare. She might be hyper and wacky, but even she seems to know when subtly is called for. Now that my whole conversation was done, everyone else had an opportunity to say their piece.

One by one, everyone who wanted to talk about their dreams did so. Everyone who talked to James seemed to have their own feelings and stance towards both their dreams and this whole situation in general. I didn’t eavesdrop but I was able to discern how they felt from their body language.

Alex seemed to be pretty neutral about it, though there was something he got very defensive about. Darnel seemed to be incredibly calm about his dream and there seemed to be nothing off about it. Will seemed to be almost bragging about whatever he was up to which seemed fitting and do I even need to talk about Meghan’s dream? Despite the two of them being isolated in the corner, we all heard what her dream was about and I think I’ll just leave it at that.

The only people who did not want to have a dream discussion were Juan and Nathan. It made sense for Juan since I saw that look that James gave to him earlier but Nathan’s refusal puzzled the heck out of me. When he was prompted why he simply said, “I simply do not wish to discuss it” and that was that.

Still, I felt a weight got lifted off my shoulders after talking with James. There was still the lingering feeling of dread in the back of my mind, but it was now put at bay with the help of a giant moon horse that pops into my dreams...I probably shouldn’t phrase it like that if I ever need to say it out loud.

When all was said and done, we all returned to the main table. James sighed as he settled back in the plush black chair. “Well, I’ve done what I have set out to do today. I am glad that so many of you trusted me enough to talk to me.”

Will chuckled. “Well now I’m actually looking forward to sleeping. Because now I know someone will be able to see all of my awesome heroics and it won’t just be lost to the ether.”

This boast prompted Darnel to bap him on the nose. “You already look forward to sleep, ya lazy bones.”

“What’d you say to me!?” Will growled back.

Darnel crossed his arms, a smug look plastered on his face. “Lazy... Bones.” He said, putting emphasis on every single syllable.

Will fumed in silence for a brief moment before suddenly getting up only to go to the floor to do multiple push-ups. “Does this...look lazy...to you?!” He grunted, pausing after every push-up.

“No...but you weren’t at the gym today so I know you skipped it...and now you’re getting everything in now,” Darnel stated, nodding his head sagely.

“Wuh?!” Will blurted out as he stood up, dumbfounded by the situation.

Darnel chuckled. ”I reckon you just fell fer my plan right there.”

Will frowned with every muscle he could possibly use on his face and thanks to his weird proto muzzle, the frown looked almost cartoonishly angry. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the hilarious display. The conversation I had with James was now barely a blip in my mind. With my friends here, I think things are going to be just fine.

I’m so glad I got to hang out with my friends today instead of having to be subjected to experiments like I was yesterday and with James here, we now have one more friend in the group. Given that this was James’ first time here with all of us, I decided we needed to welcome him to the group proper.

“Well!” I lightly slapped on the table with both hooves. “I think that we should celebrate and induct our new-found friend into the Magic Meeting Room with a little game.”

James perked up their ears. “Oh? And what game would that be?”

I said nothing and simply pulled out a box with the word “Munchkin” on it.

“We’ve formed some friendships and now it’s time to immediately break them!” I sarcastically remark.

Nathan raised a hoof. “Is that game for a maximum of six players and not eight?”

“When Munchkin is concerned, if we’re following the rules, we're doing it wrong!” I proudly proclaimed. “And besides this is just for fun anyway. It’s not about having a competition, just a fun game of sneaky cheating.”

I started to set up the game and got everyone situated to play and hey, I had a pretty good feeling about this.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This was a mistake.

I knew this game was pretty crazy. I knew there might be some crazy and insane turns. It was a game all about trying to cheat and lie constantly on your way to victory. Sure, there was the time when Darnel tried to take half the deck which was crazy. And there was also an argument over what effect a certain card. But none of that compared to what happened at the end.

All of us were unprepared for the fact that out of all of the possible people to win at the game, it was Juan of all people. We all sat there with dumbfounded looks on our faces when we saw the results that had been laid to bear. None of us could even bring up any sort of quip or snide remark. We were all just genuinely impressed with what Juan did.

I turned to Juan. “How did you do that?”

Juan simply turned to me and said with solid conviction, “When you underestimate the quiet one, it’s the last mistake you ever make.”

“Oooooooookay then.” I replied. Clearly she was in the zone.

“Nice work, Juan!” Meghan said, suddenly popping behind Juan all of a sudden.

“GYAH!” Juan yelped in surprise, falling out of his chair. And thus, he is back to normal.

“Maybe we should play a different game, one that has some more solidified rules.” Nathan suggested. “We don’t all have to play the same game either.”
“Yeah, that’s perfectly fine, what else were you wanting to play?” I asked.

“Uh bad news guys,” I hear Will say from across the room. “We’re out of drinks.”

“Ah,” I nod and rise from my chair. “I’ll go get some new ones from the cafeteria. It should still be open right now.”

“Oh!” Juan yelped. “Uhm...can I go with you?” He raised his hoof quickly to get my attention, only to pull it away and twiddle them around looking down at the ground. “Ah...if that’s okay with you. I don’t want to impose.”

“Uh, sure! Nothing wrong with that.” I wave him over. Juan gave a small grin and got up to follow me. We exited the room, leaving our remaining friends to play amongst themselves.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

We were walking down the hallway in silence. The pitter-patter of our hooves loudly echoed through the hallway. I occasionally shot glances at Juan. His walking was a bit stilted and his muscles were tense. He was pursing his lips, as if wanting to say something but every time I looked over at him, his lips curled back. After a few minutes of this, I simply sighed and turned to Juan.

“Juan, it’s okay to talk to me.” I reassured him. “What’s on your mind?”

“O-oh! Ah, it’s nothing.” Juan attempted to assure me.

I returned my best, ‘Really?’ face back at him. I wanted to make sure Juan knew I wasn’t going to just let this pass by. Juan turned away and let out a heavy sigh.

“N-no, there is something I wanted to talk about.” He admitted. “It has to do with the dream I had last night.”

I let out a small, inaudible gasp. That’s right, there was that look that James and Juan exchanged when James first talked to us.

”I’m sharing this with you and not James because I...well, I just met him and I didn’t want to share something so personal with just anyone. Well, that and...there’s another reason I didn’t want to talk about my dream with James, but that'll be apparent when I talk about it. Regardless, I trust you and I do want to talk about it.”

I leaned up against the wall, crossing my arms slightly. “Alright, I’m listening. Tell me about your dream, Juan.”

Juan tried to speak but every time it looked like he was about to say something, he faltered and stopped himself. This cycle went on for several times before he finally just closed his eyes and breathed in and out. He opened his eyes and looked at me and started to just ramble off his feelings.

“I’m worried that everyone else likes what’s happening to them and that I’m the only one who hates becoming this tiny horse thing even though I really like animals andIhadtroublefacingpeopleinpublicbeforeandnowI’lllooklikesomefreakofnature.”

“Juan.” I calmly state.

“IwassoworriedthatI’dexperimentedoninherebutnowI’mmoreworriedaboutwhatwillhappenifpeopleoutsideseeme!” Juan continued, his breath becoming sharper and more stilted.

“JUAN!” I cry out, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into an impromptu hug. “It’s okay.” I speak very slowly. My actions caused his breathing to slow down. With his body against mine, I could feel his heart racing like it had just finished the 100-meter dash. I held him close until I could sense that his heart had returned to a reasonable level.

“Now. Let’s try this again. You said you were worried that everyone else is just accepting of what’s happening and that you hate that this is happening to you. Is that right?”

Juan says nothing and only gives an abrupt nod.

“Okay, that’s an understandable fear. Did this fear have something to do with your dream?”

Another quick nod.

“Alright, then how about we talk about the dream slowly. Take your time.” I gave Juan a reassuring pat on the back.

Juan takes in a deep breath again and lets it out. His body moved slower and his muscles were not nearly as tense. “I dreamt that I was...a pony. Everyone else around me was...looking at me, they were all so fascinated by me. There were so many eyes on me and I couldn’t get away from all the people staring at me. No matter where I went, there was someone there. I couldn’t be alone. I couldn’t get away. When James came into my dream I was at my wit’s end and I…” Juan looked away. “I decked him in the face.”

My eyes bulged out of my head. “You punched James in the face?”

“I...panicked.” Juan looked down and kicked the ground.

“Well, you were under stress, that’s understandable. No need to feel back about that. Though...you should probably apologize to James.”

“Mmhmm.” Juan nods and smiles a bit.

“Alright," I sigh. "You did good. I'm glad you could come to me and talk to me about that. You did great. I'm...I'm glad you felt comfortable being able to talk to me about your feelings like you did. But hey, that's what friendship is all about, right?"

Juan gave a big smile. "Yeah. Thanks Penn."

"Okay, now let's go ahead and get those drinks!” I proudly say as I turn around...only to get sideswiped by some employee who wasn’t watching where he was going.

“Gyah! Watch it!” The male white-coated employee gruffly said.

“Eugh, sorry!” I apologize, dusting myself off.

The employee barely acknowledged the bump and continued down the hall.

“Oh my, Penn are you okay?” Juan asked, helping me back to my feet.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Still, that dude was a total jerk!” I huff, slamming my hind hoof down on the ground in frustration.

Juan looked over in the direction the employee was going. “Uhm...who exactly hit you?”

“Well, that’s easy, it was that guy!” I turned toward the hallway that the guy walked down, only to be confused that he wasn’t there. There were no doors in the hallway for him to enter and he didn’t change the pace of his walking. I saw a different female employee going down the hall as well, was he behind her? No, that couldn’t be it.

“Hrm...that’s odd. He’s not there anymore.” I pondered.

“Uhm, well, we should go get those drinks, yes?” Juan asked.

“Ah yes, of course.” I replied, trying to push the weird encounter out of my mind.

The Ninth Day, Part 1 (Making an Announcement)

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I opened my eyes and looked around at the room before me. It wasn’t the same medical room I had grown used to over the past week, but an actual bedroom, though it wasn’t my own living space. “This isn’t my room, where am I?” I utter to no one in particular. I get up and land on my feet and run a hand through my hair. I didn’t see any answers here in this room, so I changed into some clothes and made my way downstairs. Despite this not being my home, I effortlessly found my way to the kitchen, where I saw my friends chatting away and having a good time at the kitchen table. Pancakes, bacon, eggs and toast were laid out neatly on the table. I smiled at seeing all of my friends that I had made in the past week. They all seemed to be talking about several different subjects, but I was unable to parse any specific conversations. I waved at them as I approached the table.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” I asked them, curious to know what they’re talking about. Everyone turned their heads to look at me, many of them having puzzled expressions.

“Hey Penn, what’s up with your look?” Meghan asked, stroking her chin with a finger and thumb.

“Huh, what are you talking about?” I raised my eyebrow. I didn’t wear anything weird did I?

“She’s talking about your clothes.” Darnel piped in, after taking a swig of orange juice.

I looked down at my outfit. Nothing seemed all that off about it. I was just wearing a red polo shirt and some khaki pants. Did they know something I didn’t? “I don’t see what’s wrong with my clothes guys, this is just what I usually wear.”

“It’s probably best that you not wear that. It doesn't exactly fit who you are.” Nathan casually retorted.

“Well, why not? I don’t see any reason I shouldn’t be able to wear this outfit!” I growl. "I happen to like it and it looks good on me!"

“Oh, it’s simple really,” Alex explained. “Ponies don’t normally wear clothes.”

Upon hearing those words reach my ears, I suddenly felt myself lose my balance and nearly fall over. I catch myself from falling smack on my face by placing my hands in front of me to catch myself. I turned my head around to look down at my leg that had failed to keep me upright and I yelped out in terror. My left leg was twisting and warping, shedding its human shape. I reached out towards it in a vain attempt to stop the spread of the equine changes only to scream in terror upon seeing my fingers seemingly melt in front of me into a much less dexterous hoof.

I wanted to turn to ask my friends to help me, but my speech was slurred and distorted and my mouth felt numb. My attention turned to the front of my face. I noticed that my mouth and nose was pushing forth into a small fuzzy muzzle. I wanted to get back to my feet, I didn’t want to feel like an animal. I tried to get up on my new hooves but I soon felt my spine snap and pop several times and I went careening back to the ground. I was forced down on all fours, the world of two-legged movement was taken from me.

My head felt like it was splitting open as a large horn spiraled out from my forehead, forcing new, unwanted sensations into my brain. My shoulder blades gave me another wincing pain as a pair of wings lurched out of my body with a sickening pop, tearing through the fabric of my shirt. After those two foreign appendages tore out from my flesh, my tailbone growing out into a real equine tail seemed almost pedestrian by comparison.

The entire transformation seemed to occur in under two minutes, but the agonizing pain made it hard to determine just how long it had taken. My breathing was heavy and deliberate. I looked around at my friends, wondering why they had not even reacted at all to my sudden metamorphosis. I desperately moved over on unfamiliar limbs toward the reflective surface of the window and gazed at my new form.

“No...nnnn...no! Noooooo!” I screamed out upon looking at my finished transformation. “This isn’t who I am! I’m not a pony!” I yelped, desperate for some kind of reassurance from my friends, only to see that they had all changed too.

“Darling, don’t worry about that anymore. We’re all much better off like this, trust me.” Nathan Rarity said in a matter of fact tone.

“Don’t worry about that silly stuff anymore, ya goof! You’ll love Pony life a whole lot more!”Megan Pinkie Pie gleefully added.

“No, please...just stop!” I cried out, putting my hooves against my ears, vainly hoping I could wish this nightmare scenario away.

“You’ll love being this way. We’ll make sure your life as a pony is nice and comfortable.” Alex Sunset Shimmer smiled.

“Make it stop, make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!” I repeated my manta.

“Ah, just let the good feelin’ inside and yer body will feel alright!” Darnel Applejack nodded giving out her sage advice.

I shook my head, tears flowing down my fuzzy cheeks. I was about to yell at them when I saw one more pony approach me with a warm smile painted on her cream colored muzzle, her light pink mane bobbing up and down as she approached.

“It’s okay, Twilight. You’ll love being this way.” Juan Fluttershy beamed.

I snapped. I clutched my head, shut my eyes and screamed down into the ground, decimating my ears with a loud, feminine scream. The world around me erupted into flames, the hollow imitations of my friends vanishing as I stood inside the mental inferno, letting all of my buried emotion be unleashed in one large burst. I felt power bursting from me causing the house I stood in to shudder and burst apart from my show of magical strength.

I then felt a sudden weight behind me, a pair of dark blue wings surrounding my body. My eyes shot open and I craned my neck to get a look at who it was, though my mind already knew deep down.

“It is alright. I am here for you.” Luna proclaimed.

I feel the power of my body quickly fade, the ruins of the house now falling silent. Luna pulls away and looks down on me with a sad look in her eyes.

“Well,” Luna began. “I don’t think I need an explanation for this dream. I suspect our conversation yesterday had something to do with this.”

I say nothing and simply nod in agreement. Luna stays silent for a bit before pulling me into a hug.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Ninth Day

I woke up. I was panting and gasping for air from the rollercoaster dream I just experienced. My fears over losing myself were always lingering in the background, but this dream just decided to go and slam me in the face with my fears and worries all at once. A dream is just that; a dream. But I still felt uneasy after that whole ordeal.

I groaned as I got up and I ruffled my hair with my hoof. I knew I should check on any new changes that happened to me, but the images of my dream still echoed in my mind. I shook my head. It’s best to get them out of the way now, rather than let myself get surprised later. I meandered over to the mirror to get a good look at myself.

The good news was that all the new changes seemed to be all focused on a single area of my body. Now I wouldn’t have to go searching for all the weird places my changes happened. The bad news was the changes were front and center on my head meaning everyone was going to see them.

The first thing I noticed was my eyes being much larger in proportion to my head. I still sported the heterochromia I got all the way back from the first day, but these eyes were larger, almost alien like. I didn’t...dislike the look of it. It made me look kinda cute actually. I then flash back to the image of myself changing in my dream and feel a shiver go up my spine.

I gritted my teeth together and that’s when I noticed another change. My jawline and the interior of my mouth had changed. I was no dentist, but I could tell that my teeth were less sharp. Looks like it’s gonna be all about that veggie life. I should try and eat some meat and see if I can still keep that down. I’d hate to just give up something like turkey er...cold turkey. The only other differences I saw was my wings were larger and my horn was longer, as well as a bit more fur on my whole body.

I sighed and started to get changed and in order to ready for the day. I pulled down the shirt to get it over my body only to get a snagging sensation halfway down. I pulled harder but was met with equally hard resistance. I craned my neck around to see my lavender wings were causing this problem. I grumbled and forced my wings to lie flat against my body so I could get the shirt over my body. It worked, though it now felt like I had worn the shirt along with a coat hanger.

The situation would have to do until I could get some kind of outfit that could work with my new appendages. That or I could just make holes in this shirt for them out of frustration, whichever came first. My pants were a slightly less annoying affair, only having to stuff my tail into one of my pants legs. I shook my head. It was not ideal, but it was functional and it separated me from being just another animal.

I left my room, eager to get a good start to the day.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I looked down at my tray as I went through the cafeteria line. I made sure to get the essential stuff; Salad, Fried Rice, Pasta, a second Salad, Apple Juice and of course a side Salad. Just everything a growing boy needs. I went over and scanned the room for any familiar snouts and it didn’t take me long to spot Nathan casually eating by himself. I called out to him and made my way over, plopping down my large feast in front of me.

“Hey Nathan, how you doin’ today?” I asked.

“I’m doing fine, all things considered.” Nathan shrugged, looking up at me. “But you on the other hand look like you’re in a bit of a state.”

“It’s...it’s not that much food, is it?” I respond, looking away and rubbing the back of my neck.

"I more mean that you look like you barely got any sleep last night. Is something wrong?" Nathan asked.

"I just couldn't get comfortable sleeping last night." I lied. "But once I get this food in me, I'll be fine."

Nathan gave out a small hum before turning back to his own meal. "Well, in that case, I'd like to talk to you about that dreadful hump you've got going on."

"Oi!" I snap back. "I'm not that fat! And heck, if anything, this whole situation is having me lose pounds overall." I say with a bit of pride.

Nathan shook his head. “I’m not talking about your eating habits, I’m talking about your garments, darling! You look like a hunchback with those wings sticking out of your shirt. Listen, I’ll talk to the staff here to start designing clothing for us that can handle our...unique needs for anatomy, but until then I can mend your clothes to fit your wings. I did it with Juan’s outfit and I can do it to yours!”

Upon making that declaration, Nathan swiftly pushed aside his meal off to an unused table and whipped out a compact sewing kit that he pulled out of his pocket.

“Whoa...you carry that around with you all the time?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Yes, Penn. I carry this around because an emergency may arise at any time and I need to be prepared. I learned how to sew, cook and clean from my mother because I saw them as pragmatic skills. I don’t care if they’re seen as feminine skills, I find them very useful!” Nathan firmly nodded to himself.

“I uh...didn’t say anything was feminine.” I pointed out. “Nothing at all wrong with having that. I’m impressed actually.”

“Ah...y-yes of course. Eheheh, never mind then.” Nathan awkwardly chuckled as he pulled out his sewing kit. “Anyway, if you’ll let me take a look at your shirt, I can modify it to allow for those wings of yours to flow freely. Of course, at this rate, you’ll probably need a shirt properly sized for you as well...but one problem at a time!”

“Well, sure. Go right ahead.” I say with a smile.

Nathan frowned a bit. “Darling, I can only really do it if you take off your shirt.”

I blushed and turned away. “O-oh. Maybe we should do it somewhere else then?”

“Nonsense! We can do this right here. Trust me, given how much we’ve...changed, having a shirt off won’t even phase these people.” Nathan attempted to reassure me.

“That’s...not the reason I’m hesitant.” I mutter.

“Oh? Why?” Nathan inquired. “Are you embarrassed?”

I stayed silent for a bit, thinking back at the dream I had last night and the terror of changing and ripping through my clothes. I shuddered.

“Yeah, it is embarrassing.” I said innocently.

Nathan looked at me with a disbelieving eyebrow raise. Eventually, he simply shook his head and sighed. “Alright, fine, we can look at it later.”

I nodded and went back to my meal and for a while we just quietly sat there eating in silence. Eventually, Nathan decided to speak up again. “So, I see you’re going with a much more green diet today.” He commented.

“Well, not all green stuff, I got a-” I looked around at the spread I assembled before me and stopped. I scanned it again and scratched my head. “Huh, I coulda sworn I picked up a burger at some point in my food run. How odd.”

“It’s certainly a much more Equine diet for sure.” Nathan noted.

“Man, forget that, I’m gonna go get a burger.” I definitely proclaim as I get up. I barely go two steps before an announcement goes off.

“Would all patients in Blocks D, E, F and G please report to Room A-101 for a mandatory meeting in 30 minutes? All patients from Blocks D, E, F and G please report to Room A-101 for a mandatory meeting in 30 minutes.” The announcement methodically stated.

“That sounds like a lot of people, doesn’t it? This must be pretty important.” I wondered.

“We best get going then. I think we’re about to find out something big.” Nathan states as he starts cleaning up the table.

“Yeah,” I nod, helping clean things up. “I only hope that it doesn’t end up leaving me with more questions.”

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I walked over with Nathan to the room we were told to meet at. We pushed past the double doors only to be met with a stunning sight for us. It was kind of surreal to see.

The entire crowd of several dozen people were all in the same boat as me; They were all pony people.

It took a while to find my friends in the sea of different hues and color. Most of them seemed to be as far along as I was but a few seemed to be less farther along. But all of them seemed to have at least a small shred of humanity in and around there somewhere. Eventually, I spot a rainbow mane and see the rest of my friends around and the two of us make our way over.

Will waves at us as we sit down. “Hey guys, guess you decided to join the party.”

“Any of you know what the heck is going on?” I ask.

Darnel shrugs. “Beats me, all I know is that we’ve been gawking at all the different people here. It’s kinda hard not to. Also, we noticed that while pony forms are the dominant change, it’s not the only creature that seems to come out.” Darnel states as he pushes a hoof past me and points across the room. “See there? Near the middle.”

I squint my eyes, trying to see what Darnel is getting at. I look around at the different ponies and suddenly I spot it; in the middle of the pack of pony people, there seems to be a bizarre bird like creature with a prominent beak and fearsome looking claw hands. I couldn’t see too much detail from so far away, but I could see that this creature had paws for hindlegs. Despite the wicked looking claws and piercing eyes, they seemed to be just as confused and desperate for answers as we were.

“Huh. Yeah, that is definitely not a pony, that much we can be sure about.” I stated. “It looks like a Gryphon of some sort. Well, I just hope they don’t follow the typical Gryphon diet of eating horses.”

“They eat what!?” Meghan blurted out a bit loudly, drawing stares from a few people across the room.

“Look, that’s just the mythology behind the Gryphons from Ancient Greece. For all we know, this Gryphon is a vegetarian or something.” I reassure my friends. I look back over and look back at the Gryphon person. They pull out a small lunchbox like container. From this box, the Gryphon pulls out a large cheeseburger and they start to chow down. “Oh, goddamn it.” I shake my head, deciding to look around at the rest of the crowd. I wanted to see if there were any other ponies like me or James out there with horns and wings. I was having difficulty given the sheer amount of people here in the seats having a condition like ours.

But then I spotted them.

A few rows behind us, near the right aisle was a larger looking person with a bright off-white coat and with a very colorful mane of bright cyan, green, blue, and pink. They had an exceptionally long horn compared to the other unicorns and they seemed to be a bit larger than the rest of the people around them. They looked more like a regular horse, rather than the small and minuscule looking ponies that most of us seem to be becoming.

“Hey, James. I think I found a pony that’s got the Horn Wing Combo basket just like us.” I comment.

“Hmm? Is that so? Where?” James asks genuinely curious. I point to where I found the winged unicorn.

“Ah," James nods. "I see. There is another. Given what I gleaned from my time with Tyrell and Julius, I remember hearing comments of them doing exercises with a…as they put it, ‘majestic as fuck’ winged unicorn.” James finished, using their wings to make air quotes.

I crack up at the comment. Yeah, that sounds like those two. Still, it confirmed that Luna and I were ‘special’ in the minds of whoever was running this whole shindig and they wanted to know a lot more about us. That Gryphon over there brought forth even more questions; just how many ways could people get affected by this? I remember Akai telling me that not everyone who got a vaccine was transforming like this, but the sheer number of unknowns that are still lingering are staggering. I suspected that we were going to get a lot of answers, but even more questions.

My train of thought was halted at the station as I saw a man move up to the front podium. It was difficult to make out who it was with us being farther in the back but as he stepped up unto the stage it was now clear who it was.

“It’s Franklin.” I uttered.

The Ninth Day, Part 2 (Call in the Guard)

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(Part 2)

I saw Franklin up there on the stage. What kind of machinations was he up to now? My hope was that he was going to level with us and be honest with what’s happening. I thought back to the conversation I witnessed between Akai and Franklin and I realized that there was still a lot I didn’t know, like “Project Alicorn”. If I could get my hooves on that, I think a lot of these nagging questions would be answered.

Franklin approached the podium and carefully tapped the head of the microphone, causing that light tap to be echoed through the speakers. He then leaned into the microphone. “Are we all set? There’s sound coming through?” His sentence was amplified by the speakers and upon hearing his magnified voice, he gave a nod and a slight grin.

“Alright good. Hello there, everyone.” Franklin greeted us. “Some of you already know who I am, but for those of you who don’t know, my name is Franklin Merchant.” He paused and took a brief look at the audience before continuing. “I have no doubt that you all have a bunch of questions as well as concerns regarding the current situation.”

Yes, we all have concerns about these transformations. And in other news, water is wet, the sky is blue, and there was definitely only one Matrix movie.

“I want you all to go forth with the knowledge that my staff and I are working tirelessly on this matter. We’re going to make sure you are informed about what is happening.” There were a couple of people in the audience who raised their hoofs, but Franklin held up his own hand in response. “I know you all have many questions and there will be a Q&A session but please save those questions until the end of the speech please.”

“How do we know you’re not lying about this stuff?! We’re turning into ponies!” A dissenting person in the crowd cried. This person’s outburst got a few grunts of agreement and approval from his peers.

Franklin turned to the person and without missing a beat responded to the upset heckler. “Sir, I understand your frustration. You feel like you’ve been kept in the dark and not told what’s going on. From what I’ve seen, this transformation has been difficult for all of you. I understand the anger. I understand the resentment. I will even fully admit that the limited exposure to this information has been deliberate in order to not incite panic.”

Franklin gave the crowd a serious look. “However, I want you all to know this; We are NOT keeping this data hidden for malicious purposes. The reason we have held this information so close to the chest is because we wanted to ensure what we were telling you was entirely accurate. We did not want to ensite panic by giving out information when we didn’t know all the facts. We are not in the business to give in to baseless speculation or planting the seed for potential rumors that could be harmful or cause confusion.”

Franklin adjusted his tie and continued. “My company and our staff began this project as a way to help combat the biological and medical threats that we now face in this new decade. We knew that we needed to bring our best to help combat what we’re facing not just in this country but all across the whole world.” Franklin continued in his monologue.

I tapped my hoof on the floor. Franklin was still talking and talking about his company and their objectives. I yawned and adjusted myself in my seat. I gave a heavy sigh and started to look over at the crowd of pony people assembled in the room. I had only given the crowd a quick scan before Franklin had showed up so I decided to give the audience a more detailed examination.

I started to look at the crowd more closely but unfortunately the area we were seated at had a fair number of blind spots thanks to some support pillars blocking my view. I craned my neck around those pillars to get a look at the remainder of the crowd. Eventually, I was able to get a good look at all the people in the audience.

There seemed to be a very even mix of Pegasi, Unicorns, and “Regular” ponies in the crowd. I wasn’t doing any sort of math but those three groups combined seemed to make up about 90% of the entire crowd as a whole. As for the remaining 10% there was already the aforementioned Gryphon and the white Pegacorn I had spotted earlier. There were also a couple more gryphons besides the one I saw earlier as well. However, there were a couple of people in particular that had caught my eye.

Firstly, I managed to find another Pegacorn sitting pretty much at the opposite end of the hall. They were very pink like Meghan but the pink was a much lighter color. As for their hair, it had yellow, purple, and pink in it. The wings however were what stood out to me the most. Pretty much every other patient I had encountered that had wings were just one solid color matching whatever the “coat” color was. This person defied that convention by having wings that were pink at the base and purple at the ends.

The other character I noticed was...well, I wasn’t exactly sure what this person was becoming. They still had equine-like anatomy like the rest of the crowd with some hooves and a very colorful palette. However, I noticed that this pony didn’t have normal looking feather wings. They instead had wings that wouldn’t look out of place on an insect. This person’s torso seemed less like a biological body and more like a suit of armor, looking like they had some kind of chitinous exoskeleton instead of a coat of hair.

I wanted to take a more detailed look at some of the other individuals I had picked out of the crowd but Franklin’s speech had gotten everyone’s attention for some reason. Aw crap, did I miss out on something big? I turned back to look at the front stage. Franklin was still up there giving his speech, but the topic of conversation had shifted.

“...we understand that you’re all eager to have things go back to normal and be able to go home. That’s ultimately the goal we’re aiming for here. However, in order to ensure our success, we need you to stay here for a bit longer than expected.” Loud murmurs spread throughout the crowd. “I know, I know.” Franklin bellowed. “It’s not ideal. But rest assured, we are working around the clock and we’ll be helping you all out every step of the way.” Franklin then moved back toward the rear wall near where a large TV was hung up. He turned it on and started pressing buttons on a remote control.

“I would now like to turn it over to a pre-recorded message left by the Governor. She has some things she’d like to talk about.” Franklin said as he fiddled with the remote control a bit more. A few moments later, a video appeared on the screen and began playing.

“Hello there,” the video began. “I am Governor Serah Taggart. By now, Mr. Merchant has briefly talked to you about the difficulties that have unfortunately occurred. My administration believes your safety is important and that producing a vaccine is a priority. That is why I have authorized extra funds for this project and I am authorizing more manpower to this cause. I will be mobilizing the State’s National Guard to assemble and deliver supplies.”

The Governor adjusted her stance as she continued. “When I was told about what had occurred in regards to this vaccine and the effects it had on some of the patients, I will admit, I was very skeptical and thought it was a tall tale. However, after seeing what happened with my own eyes, I realized that this was no fable and that many of you are in desperate need right now. These unusual times call for unusually large and decisive measures.”

“There is an additional reason I have decided to deploy the National Guard.” Serah stated, giving a slight frown. “Given the skeptical reaction I initially had concerning the results of this venture, it is not unreasonable to assume that the general public might have a similar reaction to seeing fellow citizens who currently look very different. My administration wants to create an environment where cooler heads prevail, but unfortunately we may also need to prepare for a scenario where people are not accepting. Rest assured, the National Guard will help you and protect you. You have my word on this. Thank you all for your time and god bless.” The recording concluded and Franklin turned off the TV.

I was a bit conflicted about the revelation that the Guard would be brought in. On the one hand, it might make this place feel even more like a prison. Having guns in the hallways would definitely make me feel a bit uneasy as well. On the other hand, I still have a fear in the back of my mind that people will judge and persecute me for looking the way I do. Having someone who is there for the explicit purpose of protecting me and others like me would help put my mind at ease for sure.

“So,” Franklin bellowed out as he returned to the podium microphone. “I think I can now begin to answer questions.” Immediately, a good chunk of the crowd raised hooves in the air. Franklin scanned the room before pointing at a person. “I’ll take your question.”

“Can you tell us what exactly this vaccine is made from?” The person inquired “It can’t be normal if it’s causing this to happen to us.”

Franklin gave a solemn nod. “I expected that question would come up and yes you do deserve to know. It’s a bit complicated, so I’ll have to simplify some things here. Our project was fortunate enough to uncover a compound with unbelievable regenerative properties. After studying it for many months, we determined it could be used for medical purposes and so we decided to run some tests. We had already performed animal testing and encountered no problems so we decided to shift to doing trials with humans. Incidentally, the primary subject we used for the animal testing trials,” Franklin paused, a slight bit of trepidation in his voice. ”...was a regular horse.”

That revelation caused a wave of conversations to ripple through the crowd. It made sense that you would do animal trials first before testing things on humans. The animal testing on horses is a bit of a startling fact. They use horses for animal testing and now suddenly a good chunck of patients are now turning into weird small ponies? There has to be some kind of connection but for the life of me, I had no idea what that connection was.

Franklin nodded and stretched his arm out. “Any other questions?” He asked.

More hooves shot up, though not nearly as many as last time. After a few seconds, Franklin picked on the Pink Pegacorn I had spotted earlier. “Uhm,” they mumbled a bit. “I was wondering if we might be able to talk with our families again at some point. I...really miss them and I want them to know that I’m okay.”

Franklin smiled and nodded. “Yes, of course. It can feel a bit lonely being here and one can feel a bit isolated. We’re setting up a computer terminal in each block so that you all can send e-mails to your friends and family. We only ask that you refrain from talking about the specific details regarding these trials and to not send pictures, but otherwise, have at it.”

I hadn’t thought about my family in so long. They already knew that I would be gone for a few weeks for this trial, but I’m sure they would love to hear from me. It’s been far too long. I wouldn’t be able to show them what has happened to me, but maybe that’s a blessing. I don’t know if I really want other people to see me like this right now.

“Any other questions?” Franklin asked. More hooves went up and he picked another person in the crowd.

“I’ll just get straight to the point,” the unicorn stated. “Will we be able to return to normal?”

Franklin fell silent for a few seconds. He took a deep breath in and out before answering. “We know that somewhere along in the process, something caused this transformation to occur within this group here. If we can diagnose what exactly caused this outcome to happen, we can reverse engineer it. I’m confident that we can solve this puzzle.”

I narrowed my eyes a bit at his answer. I didn’t hear an explicit “yes” in there and that had me a bit worried. Sure, Franklin didn’t outright say “no” either, but it made me think that maybe they were worried that they wouldn’t be able to return us to normal. I shook my head, trying to get those thoughts out of my mind. It didn’t help me constantly thinking in the negative but my mind seemed to naturally wander there.

The questions went on for another fifteen minutes. Most of the questions after those three had ended up being either redundant information that me and my friends already knew or a minor question about something that wasn’t all that important. After a while, Franklin took a look at his watch and looked back at us. “Well, I’m afraid that’s all the time I have for right now. If anyone else has any questions regarding the current situation, you can use the computer terminals to e-mail my office and I will try and get back to you in a timely manner. Thank you all for your time, and have a good day.” Franklin waved as he moved away from the podium and walked off stage.

The crowd soon started to disperse. I turned to my group of friends. “Well, that was certainly a lot to take in, wasn’t it?”

Darnel put his hooves behind his head. “I’m not entirely sure how I feel about all this. Sure, he answered a lot of burning questions, but now it feels like things have only just begun for us.”

Juan twiddled his hooves and sunk down into his seat. “I’m kinda scared about the fact that the guard is coming in.”

Seeing the fear in his eyes, Meghan quickly placed a hoof on Juan’s shoulder. “Ah, don’t worry! The guard is full of trained people who know what they’re doing. Take this from a gal who’s been in the navy. And if they do try to hurt anypony,” Meghan took one of her hooves and waved it past her face. Her expression went from a bubbly smile to what I can only describe as a “chiseled stoic action hero face” and then said, “They’ll have to deal with me.” She finished, her voice seemlessing going down a whole octave.

Will tapped his hooves together. “You know, I kinda wanna be able to get out there and just fly around for a bit, I’ve been cramped inside for far too long and I’d love to see if these bad boys actually work.” Will stretched his wings a bit.

“Well,” I begin. “They’re a bit small on you right now Will, but maybe in a few days you’ll be able to fly.” I looked over and turned over to James who was looking at the ground with a pouty lip. “James? Is there something on your mind?”

James simply looked over at me. “Yes there is Penn. I’m sure you noticed that there were two other patients that looked like us with both wings and a horn, yes? I think we should try and talk with them at some point.”

I nodded. “I agree. I’m hoping they may have some insight or at least some ability to help us out.”

“Indeed.” James responded. “I will go and contact them via the dream world tonight and have them meet up with us. But for now, I believe we have done all we can do for today. Shall we retire to the Magic Meeting Room?” James finished with a smile.

Nathan pulled out his sewing kit. “Oh my. At this rate, I’m going to need to make a lot more adjustments to everypony’s outfits. There are so many in our group now, it’s almost unruly.”

It was true. The Magic Meeting Room was pretty big but we were starting to run out of chairs in there. Soon we’d have to start renting out a space like the one we were in right now. With that discussion behind us, we all started to make our way over to our usual meeting place. I started to follow but I was stopped by Alex tapping me on the shoulder.

“Hey Penn, got a minute?” Alex asked, looking over my shoulder at my friends leaving.

“Uh, yeah sure, what’s up?” I asked, curious. He looked around briefly to make sure that no one else was in earshot before looking back at me.

“I figured out something interesting but I’m afraid I might freak everyone else out if I showed it off to them without warning.” He explained. He pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper from his pocket. At first, I thought he was going to show me something that was written on it, but my hypothesis proved to be incorrect. He focused intently on the paper ball in his hand and a few seconds later it was surrounded by a bright red aura and it started to float out of his hand.

I gasped in surprise. I had used this same ability before...though I ended up fainting a very short time afterwards from the shock. It was probably good that Alex had prefaced this demonstration first, otherwise I might have had a repeat episode.

“I learned how to use telekinesis with my horn. I read in some of the library books that Unicorns had a myriad of different magical abilities and I was curious if any of us had the same kind of magic. I surmise that pretty much every unicorn here should be able to use telekinesis as it seems to crop up in most of the different mythology books I studied. Man, isn’t this exciting!?” Alex exclaimed.

I was taken back by his reaction. I had been struggling with the thoughts and the fears about the unknown situation facing us and I was worried about losing my sense of self and becoming something different. But Alex wasn’t worried about it at all. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying these changes and seemed to invite them on.

“How can you say that?” I retaliate. “We are losing our humanity and yet you seem to be reveling in all of this!”

Alex leaned back with wide eyes. “Woah whoa, what’s this all about? I thought you were interested in finding out about all the different changes.”

“I wanted to know about them because knowing about your problem is the first step to fixing things! I liked having thumbs! I don’t want to be stuck using hooves for the rest of my life!” I yelled back.

Alex huffed. “Well, maybe not all of us liked being the people we were. Maybe we finally felt special and not completely useless and wanted to share in all these cool, new, and magical things we were learning.”

“This is not cool!” I cry out, gritting my teeth. “This is terrifying! Stop talking about this transformation like it’s some gift!”

“Well, it feels like a gift to me and I-”

“ENOUGH! PLEASE!” An unknown voice bellows out from off to our side. Immediately after I hear that phase, the tension in my body fades and the aggressive stance I had taken faltered. Alex’s expression seemed to change completely. The anger and rage were gone, replaced with a sense of calm, but also one of confusion.

The two of us turned around to find the source of the voice. Standing a few feet away was the Pink Pegacorn I had seen earlier. I have no idea what she did, but her voice and overall demeanor had put my mind at ease. I no longer felt any ill will toward Alex for his stances. I didn’t agree with it but something compelled me not to fight with him. Had this person done something to remove all my anger and frustration?

“Excuse me, who are you?” I ask the stranger standing before us.

“My name is Tyler but that name is feeling less and less fitting by the day. If you want, you can call me Cadence. I feel like that name fits me better nowadays. There’s some things I’d like to talk to you about, if you have the time.”

The Tenth Day (Empathy For Your Fellow Man)

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I open my eyes.

I open “my” eyes.

I open Twilight’s eyes.

Twilight opened her eyes. “Can you hear me? It’s me, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight opened up her own eyes. “I want you to know something. I want you to know that...I’m here for you.”

Twilight opened her eyes that are not my eyes. “I know it feels like you don’t have a choice in the matter. I know that you’re worried about losing yourself. That probably feels scary to you.”

Twilight speaks to “I want you to know that when this is all over, you’ll still be you.”

Twilight talks about “I probably seem like an invasive infection to you or some sort of malignant cancer. I know you didn’t ask for me, but I respect who you are and I won’t erase what makes you unique.”

Twilight asks the “But I need you to understand something and I want you to take it to heart.”

Twilight “I want to help you.”

“We can talk later. But I want you to know this. You’ll always be you. I’ll always be me."

“You can open your eyes now.”

The Tenth Day

I open my eyes. I was awake for real this time, no bizarre dream shenanigans. Now I could be alone with my own thoughts. I frowned, thinking about the “conversation” I had with Twilight. She claims she wants to help me. Hmph. Everyone claims they want to help me. The doctors, Franklin, Akai, the Governor. It’s hard to feel like I’m being “helped” when I’m turning into some sort of weird horse mutant.

I shook my head. That was enough reminiscing, it was time to examine what had changed. I groaned and got up onto my hooves. I knew I was in for something big when I noticed a big change in my stance. Instead of standing straight and upright with my spine standing tall, my body seemed to want to default to a sort of hunchback position. I surmised that maybe I was transitioning to standing on all fours. A shiver went down my now altered spine. Fortunately, it wasn’t a huge problem and it wasn’t super noticeable. Granted that might be because all the stuff surrounding it was even more unusual. It’s kind of hard to ignore purple fur.

My eyes were drawn to my arms. There seemed to be no trace of humanity left in it. I touched my left arm with my right hoof. It was very fuzzy and soft, like a brand new high end pillow, made for snuggling. It was really nice to touch, I just wish it wasn’t attached to me.

My chest was similarly furry, but there were still some patches of human skin here and there. I guessed it was about 50/50 on the horse to human ratio. I figured I should enjoy it while it lasts. I briefly thought about trying to shave it off, but then I dismissed the idea just as quickly. Knowing my luck, it’d just grow back twice as thick and with some magical “anti-razor” shield or something. On the plus side, I probably wouldn’t have to shave ever again.

The only other things I noticed were the continuing growth of my wings and horn. I noticed that they seemed to exceed the length of other patient’s wings. Will seemed pretty in love with his wings, but even with the naked eye, I knew his wingspan was smaller.

I squinted at my wings. It had been a while since I had Biology but I remembered that a creature that has a mutation like this would usually end up with the two different aspects being weaker, not stronger. But there they were; two large wings and an extended horn. I suppose I could ask Doctor Matt or Nurse Akai, but I was not in the mood to talk to those guys after yesterday, especially after what I learned from Cadance.

My eyes widened. That’s right! I forgot I had invited her to come by the Magic Meeting Room. I’m sure she’ll want to be introduced to everyone. I walked over and opened the door only to be met by someone blocking my way.

“Ah, Penn. It’s been a while. How are you doing?” Doctor Matt asked in his typical chipper manner.

“Hmm, what do you want?” I gave a blunt reply.

Doctor Matt frowned. “Well, we haven’t had a check-up for a while and we need to get new readings from you if that’s alright.”

“Hmph, fine.” I turn back around and make my way to the examination bed.

“Penn,” Doctor Matt began before pausing. He looked off to the side before looking back at me. “I’ve heard some stories from the other staff. You’ve made a lot of friends, which is great!”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming though.” I retorted.

Doctor Matt cleared his throat. “I’ve been told that you and some of your friends are building a growing resentment from all these changes.” He explained.

“Ha! Now there’s a massive understatement.” I scoffed. “You’re really putting that Doctorate to good use.”

Doctor Matt sighed at my stubbornness. “Penn, if you blame me or any of the other staff members for what happened to you, I won’t hold it against you. However, I think it’s unfair to expect that every patient will respond to this situation the same way you are.”

“Hm, are you a psychologist too?” I asked.

Doctor Matt shakes his head. “It’s not what I specialized in but I did have to take courses on it. I learned enough from those courses to know that mental health is just as important as physical health. What I’m trying to say is, don’t hate your friends if they feel differently about this situation.”

I sighed. I’m guessing he knew about that outburst I had with Alex yesterday. Not like it was hard to miss, we were yelling so loud the entire presentation hall could hear us. Doctor Matt isn’t...wrong. I shouldn’t bring Alex down just because I’m not comfortable with my situation. I just wish he had a bit more empathy for the people who aren’t totally on board with ponification.

I sighed. “Okay, okay. I’ll be more mindful of my friends. But now, I have a question for you.” I asked.

“Shoot.” Doctor Matt replied.

“Do you think there will ever be a cure for this?” I ask.

Doctor Matt falls silent and furrows his brow. He opens his mouth then closes it again, putting a finger to his chin. After a brief period of silence he responds. “Ultimately, I think we can come up with one, Penn. The real question is how long will it take to create something that could reverse these effects. Unfortunately, that’s a question I don’t have the answer to at the moment.”

I thought about his answer for a long time. Doctor Matt had always seemed like an honest person to me. He always told me the truth, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. He always tried to tell me all he could, even if his hands were tied by Franklin and his restrictions. I nodded at his response. “Alright. Thanks for answering me honestly.”

Doctor Matt grins. “Alright, let’s go ahead and get your check-up done so you can go visit your friends, yeah?”

I nod and get up on the examination bed.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

My examination with Doctor Matt went about as well as could be expected. I did end up slapping him in the face with my wings a couple of times by accident. I hope he isn’t too mad about that. I really need to keep those damn things under control. Anyway, I had gotten all my examinations taken care of and now I was ready to go and meet with my friends in the Magic Meeting Room.

I opened the door and greeted everyone. “Hey everypony, how are you all doing?”

I didn’t get many reactions out of anyone. They all seem laser focused on the TV which was tuned to some news channel. I get a mild acknowledgement from Nathan, “Oh hello. I’d grab a seat if I were you, there’s something you should probably take a look at.” I throw him a look of concern, but I do as he says and get seated in my chair. I look up at the news feed on screen and I’m instantly hit in the face with the headline they’re running.

The text read “CRITIC BELIEVES VACCINE TRIAL HAS QUESTIONABLE ETHICS”

I let out an inaudible gasp. Was this news story about us? It had to be if everyone else was so enraptured by it. I listened in so I could glean more information about what they were talking about.

“So, let’s see if I understand this correctly,” The news pundit began. “You’re saying that Merchant Medical who was conducting these vaccine trials have performed malpractice and are now attempting to cover things up?”

The other person on the screen hadn’t even spoken yet, but he screamed “corporate schmuck” to me. He had slicked back hair with just enough hair gel in there to cause his hair to unnaturally glisten in the glow of the artificial lights. As he spoke, his voice did nothing to shake my initial judgements.

“Well John,” he began, as if talking to a child. “Merchant Medical has been touting the fact that they have a new breakthrough in fighting this epidemic and yet they seem completely adamant on keeping so much of it a secret. They’ve refused to tell the public what they’re implementing in these treatments, while simultaneously asking for government assistance. Now suddenly the Governor is going to be sending the guard in? There’s a lot more going on at the Cheyenne Facility and the American public has a right to know about it.”

The pundit nodded. “Okay, now Mr. Argus, do you have any evidence that this...that Merchant Medical was doing something illegal?”

“Well that’s what we’re trying to figure out.” The man replied a bit too quickly. “We’re trying to find out what they’re up to and have that information be out there for the world to see, but right now we’re being stonewalled at every opportunity. If they’re truly innocent and they have nothing to hide, they would simply tell us what they’re working on.”

“You can’t just assume they’re guilty right off the bat, there needs to be an investigation first.” John the pundit replied.

“Oh, we’re going to be investigating for sure. We’ll see what they’re doing, mark my words. We’ll expose their lies for the world to see. They’re going to need to tell us what they’re doing eventually.”

“Alright,” the pundit quickly replied. “Thank you for joining us, Mr. Argus and thank you for your time.”

“Thanks for having me.” He quickly nodded.

The news program shifted over to another news story. I turned around to look at everyone in the room.

“What the heck was that all about?” I ask, having dropped in at the middle point of the interview.

“Seems like the moves the governor made were public, but what’s actually happening in here with us is being kept private.” Darnel commented.

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that.” Will replied.

Juan nervously twiddled his hooves. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with everyone knowing what’s happening to us.” Juan sunk into his seat, looking down at the ground.

I huffed.“What I want to know is who the heck was that slimy looking business man that was being interviewed?” I didn’t usually keep up with the business world since it always seemed to be a competition to see who could be the most agonizingly boring. Still, whoever he was, he seemed to be incredibly aggressive toward Franklin’s company. Were they competitors or something?

“Ah, that would be Hayden Argus.” Nathan uttered, barely hiding his dismissive tone. “He’s a very wealthy businessman who has his hands in a lot of different industries. While he’s very successful and smart about business, that comes at the cost of being incredibly insufferable.”

“You seem to know a lot about him, Nathan.” I comment.

“I’m well versed in the business world and I must be aware of the different players and what they do. Even if those people happen to be...very unpleasant.”

Meghan popped up next to me. “Yes, the world of Capitalism is a cruel place indeed, comrade.” she muttered in a fake Russian accent.

“That whole conversation brings up a good point though,” Alex said while tapping his chin with his hoof. “What exactly do we do if...when this all gets exposed to the outside world? We might be hidden here in this facility right now, but I don’t think we’ll be able to keep that up for long.”

The room was silent for several seconds. I was so concerned about what would happen to me, that I didn’t even think about what the others would think about it. Could we be able to get jobs? Would we still be treated like any other human citizen? That was a lot to think about and not all of those thoughts were pleasant.

James spoke up. “I think we’ll be okay...but we need to be the ones to control the narrative.”

Darnel tilted his head. “Pardon? What do you mean by ‘controlling’ the narrative?”

“Well, we want to be able to show our best faces. We don’t want someone else telling us what we are and what we intend to do. We need to show humans that we are peaceful and if we do things right, people will accept us.”

Nathan stifled a laugh. “Ah yes. I’m sure people will accept us!” Nathan belted out with heavy sarcasm. “Sure, many people right now are struggling financially, scared about a pandemic and are divided on social issues. But no, you’re totally right James! They’ll just accept us with open arms!”

“I shan’t be made a fool in this instance, for I did not say this venture would be a simple jaunt!” James fired back at Nathan. After a brief pause, James cleared his throat. “T-that is to say, I never said this would be easy. I suspect we will initially be met with confusion and maybe even fear and hostility. But that’s exactly why we need to control the narrative, so we can tell everyone who we are.”

“That’s under the assumption that we’re stuck like this, right?” I blurt out.

The room goes silent.

“I-I mean, we can’t ignore that possibility!” I continue. “Nothing like this has ever happened before and we don’t know if it can be reversed. We need to keep that in mind.”

I saw Juan somehow sink even more into his chair while Nathan frowns. I sigh. “I...I know that’s not what some of us want to hear. I’m sorry for putting that out there. I hope there is some way to get us back to normal and back to the way we used to be.”

Darnel plopped his hoofs on the table. “Well, I don’t how everyone else feels but…I kinda like this and I was hoping I could stay a pony.”

“WHAT!?” An aggressive yell erupted through the room startling everyone. The defiant yell came from Juan. “How...how can you say that!? You’re just going to give up who you were just like that? Do you not care about who you used to be? Are you just gonna toss that away?”

“Hey, I never said I would do that!” Darnel rebuffed. “Just because I like having a pony body does NOT mean I’m forgetting who I am. I ain’t no liar."

Juan narrowed his eyes and started to breathe in sharply. His hooves shook a bit, his forearms tensing up a bit. If he still had hands, they’d probably be curled into fists.

“I don’t want my friends to change.” Juan spoke, his voice trembling. “I’m worried that we’re going to be different after this is all over and then...we...we’ll stop being friends.” Juan uttered, trying to hide the shakiness in his voice.

I quickly get up and pull him into a hug. Hearing Juan utter his fears so openly stirred up something within me and made me want to reach out to him and let him know everything was okay.

“Juan. Even though we’re changing, we’ll still be your friends. I want you to know that.” I say, squeezing him tight. The tense feeling in the room subsided and the noise calmed down.

“Uhm...am I interrupting something?” A voice came out from the side of the room. My eyes whipped around to see Cadence standing in the doorway, with a confused look on her face.

“Ah!” I stumble over my words, realizing that out of context, this looked a bit weird. I slowly released my hug and gave Juan a pat on the back. “We were having a heart to heart.”

Cadence smiled and entered the room proper. “Well, that’s something I can definitely get behind. Is a...there a chair I can use?”

I was about to say no but Meghan once again pulled out a chair from out of the corner of my eye and plopped it down near the table. “Here you go! Come sit down!”

Will threw up his shoulders, his mouth agape. “Where the heck do you keep those?!”

“Oh, I have them hidden all over the place...in case of chair emergencies!” Meghan said confidently.

Will lifted his hoof again as if to comment but he soon lowered it and shook his head, deciding to just not question it. Cadence soon got herself seated and made herself comfortable. “Anyway, hello there, everypony! Some of you already know me but for those of you who don’t, my name is Tyler, though lately I’ve been going by Cadence.”

I took my seat to listen to what Cadence wanted to tell us, even though I pretty much already knew what she was going to say.

“I’ll be very direct; I need your help.” Cadence said, a small frown forming on her face.

“We’re really popular, aren’t we?” Will commented.

“I’ll have to do a bit of explaining first,” Cadence continued, ignoring Will’s comment. “I don’t know how the rest of you are reacting to these changes, but I’ve noticed something strange...well, besides the physical changes. As far as I can tell, I have an ability that’s unique to me. It might sound weird to say, but I seem to have some kind of...super empathy powers.”

“That...doesn’t sound like a real power.” Will interjected. “I mean, James being able to wander into people’s dreams and interact with us sounds like a legit super power. But super empathy? What does that even do? Are you able to understand everyone before you even meet them?”

“Well, it’s kind of like that but there’s more to it. I’m also able to instill that empathy in other people. I can help calm down two people who are arguing and help them empathize with each other.”

“Whoa, what?” Darnel jumped up in surprise at the explanation. “That sounds like it’s some kind of mind control!”

“W-what?! N-no! I don’t control people’s minds with it!” Cadence shot a panicked look at me. She wanted some back up from me. I nodded at her.

“I’ve seen her powers in action Darnel and I don’t really think it’s mind control.” I said.

“Hmmm?” Darnel responded, a twinge of curiosity in his voice.

“Yeah,” Alex interjected, rubbing his arm and looking away from the group. “Penn and I, well...we got in a bit of a fight yesterday. Funnily enough, it was basically the same argument Juan and Darnel were having. I was so angry, but then...it all just kinda melted away and I realized Penn was still a friend and well...I was able to empathize with him.”

“Whoa!” Meghan yelped in surprise. “So you two were arguing but then you just became friends again and weren’t mad anymore? That’s awesome!”

Cadence chuckled. “Oh, it’s nothing quite that amazing. I just made them realize the friendship they already had. Another thing related to this power is I can read the emotions of others and that helps me figure out how a person is feeling toward another person. Sure, sometimes people yell on the outside, but people can also bury their feelings on the inside too.”

“Remind me never to play poker with you.” Darnel quipped. “Granted, I’m not great at it to begin with, but that’s another story.”

“There is another quirk involved with my power.” Cadence continued. “My powers seem to respond much more strongly with transformed people like you guys. I can use them on humans but it seems to take much more effort and gives less of a payoff. I suspect ponies just have more compatibility or something like that.”

“Hmm, that’s all well and good,” Nathan began. “But that doesn’t explain why you’re here and why you said you needed our help.”

“Right.” Cadence nodded. “I wanted to mention the unique powers and how it interacts with both humans and ponies because I think I’ve seen someone else here using their powers around here. And let me tell you right now, it was definitely not for benevolent or altruistic purposes.”

“You think you saw someone using powers?” Will said, crossing his hooves and tilting his head.

“Well, let me explain.” Cadence presses her hooves together as she continues. “I was walking down a hallway and I saw a lab tech walking by in another hall. Normally, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought but...remember how I said my power works way better with ponies? Well, with most humans I only get a modest reading on them, but with this guy, it was just as easy as with any pony. Not only that but this person’s emotions seemed to not fit. Like someone wearing a t-shirt inside out or something. Basically, it was completely off.”

Everyone except Alex and myself gave surprised looks at that little bit of information.

“That made me stop in my tracks. I decided to backtrack and take a look at this person. I made sure they couldn’t see me so I didn’t give away my position. I saw them walk over to a locked door and stop. The lab tech looked around, as if trying to see if anyone was looking and then…” Cadence trailed off for a second, as if preparing for a bombshell statement.

“The lab tech well...he shapeshifted into a completely different person!” She exclaimed.

“WHAAAAAAAAAT?!” Meghan yelled in surprise. “You mean he’s got super secret shapeshifting stealth powers?”

“Er, I guess you could call them that, yes.” Cadence replied.

“Finally, a worthy opponent.” Meghan grinned, rubbing her hooves together. “A stealth battle for the modern age!”

Cadence cleared her throat and got back to the story. “A-anyway. I saw this shapeshifter go inside a room that looked...incredibly restricted. There were a lot of signs and labels that basically meant that you needed some massive high level access to get in. But the ultimate takeaway is this; someone has the power to change forms, and they’re using it to take human form and sneak around this facility.”

I nodded solemnly. Alex and I had been told this yesterday, but it still didn’t change the gravity of this information. We had no idea who this person was, what they wanted or what their ultimate goal was. Was this person like us, just someone who wanted to know all the answers and they were going about it in a more stealthy and direct manner? Or was this person’s intent more malicious and sinister?

“If it makes you all feel any better, I know for a fact that none of you here are the shapeshifter. None of you have that weird mismatch.” Cadence explained calmly.

“Whew, that’s a relief.” Juan sighed. “I’d hate to think that any of my friends was a shapeshifter.”

“Still, I have no idea who the shapeshifter is and while we’re talking, they’re still out there doing who knows what.” Cadence grimly explained.

“Augh!” Will threw up his hooves. “The more we learn, the more questions keep popping up! Why can’t there just be a simple, straight answer?”

“Well, there’s not much we can do about it right now.” I reply. “But we should try and find out more about this shapeshifter character. Find out what they’re up to. They might have the answers we’re looking for, especially if they’ve been into those restricted areas.”

“Spy Mission 2: Spy Harder. Coming this summerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.” Meghan belts out in a very gravelly voice.

I chuckled and shook my head. “I guess so, Meghan. Well, since we have yet another friend who’s joined us in the Magic Meeting Room, you know what that means!” I proclaim.

“Our table gets more crowded?” Alex replies.

I shake my head as I produce a game box labelled Cards Against Humanity. “Game time!”

“...we really should find games that work well with more than 8 players.” Nathan commented.

“Oooooooh, we should make a Pathfinder group!” Meghan happily exclaims.

“Well, maybe we can try to do that next time.” I say, putting that suggestion in the back of my mind. “But for right now...it’s time to see how raunchy you all are!”

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“Cadence?” I ask.

“Yes, Penn?” She replies.

“Did you use your empathic powers to tilt the game in your favor?” I inquire.

“...now what in the world would make you think that? I can assure you, I played this game completely legit.” She replies, her side of the table absolutely drowning in black cards.

“Hmhmm.” I mutter out, unconvinced. “It’s official then. I hereby dub Cadence ‘The Princess of Lewd.’ Wear that title proudly!” I snicker.

“Pffft, alright, I will.” Cadence chuckles.

“Well, it’s getting a bit late.” Alex comments. “We should probably get to bed. Same time tomorrow, right guys?”

Alex gets a myriad of positive responses from the group.

“Alright guys, see you all tomorrow!” I say as I leave the room.

I made my way back, trotting up the hallway in a casual jaunt. As I head towards my room, I encounter someone I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Ah, hello there.” Nurse Shinzo Akai said, waving at me as I went down the hall. She seemed just as friendly as ever, but I noticed small bits of pink hair starting to unfurl from her normal human hair.

“Oh, hey there Shinzo.” I reply, trying not to stare.

“I...guess I’m finally starting to understand what you all are going through. It’s definitely a shock to have your hair suddenly change color.” She looks away.

“Ah, look, it’s okay.” I reassure her. “I know I was a bit harsh to you a few days ago. I felt like you couldn’t understand what I was going through. But, heh, I ended up learning a lot about empathy from a friend of mine.”

Shinzo grinned. “I’m glad to hear it.”

I felt that Shinzo really did care about our wellbeing and wanted to help us out. Even though I knew there was a shapeshifter about, I felt a genuine sincerity from her. Still, maybe I should ask Cadance to use her “Super Empathy” to figure out if she’s the real deal or not.

A thought soon popped into my brain. “Hey, Shinzo. Are you still assigned to do Nursing duties given your...condition?”

“Well, they haven’t told me to stop what I’m doing yet, though they have assigned me to solely do tests and check-ups on transforming patients, given my situation.” She explained.

I tapped my hoof against my cheek a couple times. “Would you mind telling me if you spot any of the other staff members who look like they’re sneaking around?”

Shinzo narrowed her eyes. “What exactly are you scheming?”

“I wouldn’t call it a scheme. It’s...well...have you checked up on a patient named Cadence?”

“Hmm? That kid who used to go by Tyler? Yeah, I’ve checked on them a couple of times. Why?”

“Well, she’s seen something very unusual happen with one of the staff members.” I explain. “I just want you to ask her about that and tell her I asked you to do it. If she asks if that request really came from me, just utter the phrase, ‘The Princess of Lewds’ and she’ll understand.”

“The Princess of WHAT?!” Shinzo yelled out in surprise.

“Uh, long story short, she’s REALLY good at Cards Against Humanity.” I explained calmly.

“Ah...alright, I’ll be sure to ask her.” Shinzo agrees, still a bit put off by the wording.

“Thanks, I really do appreciate it. Anyway, I’ve probably kept you up for a while. See you around!” I say as I walk towards my room.

“See you around!” Akai waves goodbye as I turn the corner.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I opened the door to my home away from home. Even though the room was as clinical as it gets, I was finally starting to get used to the whole thing. Being alone in my room gave me the chance to think about all the things I had learned over the past 10 days. I went from just some guy trying to earn some extra money, to being in the center of a medical anomaly with a plethora of players and a myriad of mysteries for me to solve.

Heh, I love alliteration. Alliteration is appealing.

My mind then drifted to my condition. Despite all the other things happening, that’s what concerned me most of all. Some of my friends were embracing these changes and they were in the mindset that this was something amazing that happened to them. Others seem to resent the changes and feel like they’re losing who they are. I feel like I’m leaning more towards the latter myself.

That finally leads me to the last thing on my mind; Twilight Sparkle. Who exactly was she? Obviously, she’s the pony who’s body I’m going to have pretty soon, but in terms of her personality and her motive, I’m completely at a loss. She says she doesn’t want to hurt me and even wants to help me out. Then again, a lot of people here want to “help” me. Maybe my dreams would be able to shed some light on things. With that thought in my mind, I hopped up onto the bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.

The Eleventh Day (Burger Time with Twilight Sparkle)

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I opened my eyes.

I looked around to see myself in a weird blueish purple void of sorts with no real landmarks to be seen. I was seated in a wooden chair, my back standing straight up. My body was human and it looked like how it was before I left for the clinical trials. It was a dream, so that wasn’t too unusual. What was unusual was the table that was seated in front of me.

The table itself had an assortment of food and condiments laid out before me. It was all very delectable and wonderful, like a Thanksgiving dinner. That alone wasn’t all that unusual. It was when my eyes started to wander farther away from my plate that I started to notice some unusual foods and sides that I had never seen before.

For starters, there was a bowl that seemed to be filled with nothing but an assortment of flowers. Normally, I would think that it was simply a table decoration, but then I noticed a pair of salad tongs stuck in the bowl as well, implying they were meant to be eaten. The placement of salad dressings next to it seemed to confirm my suspicions that it was being served up as some kind of salad. I glanced over to the other side of the "flower salad" to get a glance at the dish that was behind it. Upon first glance at the plate, it looked like it was filled up with something resembling veggie burgers but with hash-browns as the patty. However, upon further inspection, I saw it was actually hay between those buns and not potatoes. The odd buffet continued as I saw some cupcakes that seem to have shards of crystals in it for some reason and a large jug of Apple Cider, one of the only normal things on that side of the table.

The obvious explanation for this bizarre befuddling brunch was that all this food on the other side of the table was not meant for me. Rather, it was probably for the young mare sitting across from me. There she was. I recognized that purple mare from my dreams. She was either the mare I was watching from afar or someone who’s body I would unknowingly possess. Now that she was sitting there she seemed so...normal. Our eyes locked and after a brief moment of awkward staring, she finally spoke up.

“Uh, Hello there!” Twilight responded to me.

“Uh, hi Twilight,” was all I managed to utter out before an awkward silence filled the room.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to her, given the bizarreness of the whole situation. This was really the first time I was able to “talk” to Twilight as a separate entity. Up until now I had either been watching her, I “was” her or was otherwise indisposed. There were so many things I could ask her and so many different things I could learn from her. Maybe I could even learn about why this transformation was happening to me. But there was one thing that was on my mind most of all.

“Uhm, what the heck is going on with those burgers?” I blurted out, unable to get any other question to come out of my mouth.

“Oh these?” Twilight held up the burger with a hoof. “This is what’s called a ‘Hayburger’. It’s like a normal hamburger but obviously instead of a meat based patty that's made from cattle, it’s a grass and herbaceous based patty filled with all the vitamins and nutrients a pony might need. Though...it’s kind of embarrassing, but I like a lot of ketchup on it to the point where it sometimes drowns out the flavor of the patty!”

“Ah,” I exclaim softly, not expecting such a detailed explanation. That was a dumb thing to ask. I should have just talked to her about this whole situation and why she’s here. I figured an icebreaker would be a bit less awkward. Well, regardless, I decided to get right to the heart of the matter.

“So, here we are finally. You and me.” I say with slight wonderment. “I’m not entirely sure what to say to you. I have no idea if you were involved with my transformation at all, or if you’re just along for the ride. There’s no doubt you’re connected to me and my condition. The real mystery is why you’re connected to me. But before all of that, I think we need to get proper introductions out of the way. I’m Penn.”

Twilight grinned and nodded. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, though I suspect you knew that already.”

I nodded and gave a small smile. I pressed on. “Well Twilight, that brings me to my next question; Who exactly are you, Twilight Sparkle? The obvious answer is ‘A purple talking unicorn who likes to over explains things’ but I realize there’s more to it than that.”

“Hey!” Twilight exclaimed followed by a whinny of frustration. “I make sure to fully explain ideas and concepts to make sure they’re fully understood! I would much rather be accused of over explaining than leaving something out that could be vital to the discussion.” She huffed a bit, clearly very passionate about her methods.

“Alright, okay. I’m sorry.” I apologized. “Still, it would be nice to know more about you in...well...a reasonable amount of time.”

Twilight gave a slight sigh. “Well, I guess I can give you an abridged history of my life and my accomplishments.” She cleared her throat before continuing. “Ever since I was young, I had an almost insatiable desire for books and learning and the subject I loved learning about the most was magic. I learned so much about magic and spells that my parents enrolled me in a school dedicated to magical learning. This avid quest for knowledge came at a price; I had basically no friends.”

“Boy, I understand that feeling.” I idly comment.

”My teacher Princess Celestia told me that I needed to make some friends and that it would help me with my studies. At first I didn’t believe her and I even bemoaned the idea of having to make friends, thinking that it was a waste of time. But I soon came face to face with a threat that I was unable to tackle alone. That’s when I came to know five of my closest friends; Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash. It’s not so different from how you formed friendships with the people in this facility.”

“You mean my friends from the Magic Meeting Room?” I asked.

“Heehee, yes, exactly. It’s a humorous name, but I think it's also very fitting. From what I’ve seen, the friends you’ve made are similar to the ones I have. Those friends helped me become the mare I am today and helped me out through thick and thin. However, while I’ve explained the history of Twilight Sparkle, I haven’t really explained the history of who I am.”

“Eh? What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Well,” Twilight let out a sigh. “I’m Twilight in terms of personality, memories and intelligence. However, I believe my consciousness only began when you were injected and I was “put inside” of you. Basically, I think that I’m a Twilight Sparkle, but I’m not the Twilight Sparkle. Does that make sense?”

“I guess it does. You’re along for the ride and these changes are the vaccine’s doing.” I plainly state.

Twilight then shifts in her chair, a frown forming on her muzzle. “Hey, I have a bit of a personal question to ask you. Do...do you...hate me for what’s happening to your body?”

I sat there in silence for a moment. That was a pretty big question. I took a deep breath in and let it out before continuing. “I’ll fully admit this...I was very scared about the changes at first and I’m still a bit cautious about what is happening to me and what the end result will be. I was definitely angry at losing my human body at first since it was something I was accustomed to for so long. It's the body I was born with after all. Do I hate you for it? No. No, I don’t hate you. You didn’t ask to be put in here. You didn’t have a say in changing me. You’re stuck in this situation the same as I am.”

Twilight let out a sigh and smiled. “Ah, that means a lot. I was worried that you hated me for that.”

Well, this was the moment for me to ask the big question. All the other questions had been nice to know about but they all distracted from the big mystery question that was at hand. I took a deep breath in and out and then asked Twilight the big one.

“Twilight, do you know why I’m changing?”

The smile faded from Twilight’s face and she turned away briefly. She turned back, closed her eyes and put her hoof to her chest. She took a deep breath in, and breathed out pushing her hoof out towards me. She then opened her eyes and looked at me with a friendly but stern gaze.

“The short answer to that is a ‘No’ and the long answer is ‘No, but...’ though that isn’t exactly an answer to your question.” Twilight began. “As I’ve said before, I’m basically a part of you and as such, a lot of the knowledge I gain is from your perspective. So because of that, I’m in the dark on a lot of these things, same as you. However...that doesn’t mean I don’t have a theory for why you’re changing.” Twilight explained.

“Hmm, alright, what theory do you have?” I asked.

“My guess is that the vaccine was made by gathering from a strong source of magic. Franklin said he sourced the parts for the vaccine from a ‘compound with amazing regenerative properties’. Whatever he has, it’s got a lot of magic in it and it’s being used as a cure all. While it certainly can work and I think that's a noble cause, I think there is a distinct lack of understanding on the scientist’s part and that’s why some of the patients are transforming.” Twilight finished her explanation.

“Hmm, I knew whatever they had was probably pretty unusual, but it helps getting a second opinion on the matter. Hopefully, we can find whatever it is they’ve been using.” I utter with determination.

“What will you do when you find what’s causing the transformations? Will you try and find a cure and fix things?” Twilight asked in a somber tone.

My initial instinct would have been to blurt out “yes” almost immediately, but after this conversation with Twilight, now I wasn’t so sure. A part of me wanted to be selfish and just say that this was my body and that Twilight was just an invader who didn’t belong here. But I just couldn’t bring myself to say that.

No one “asks” to be brought into this world. I didn’t ask to be born but I was. Twilight didn’t ask to be formed inside my head from the vaccine, but she was. All this time I thought she was some invasive presence, some kind of unwanted influence or a parasite but now...she was just like anyone else. She was like a friend. A friend who would always be there.

“I don’t feel like you’re something that needs ‘fixing’ Twilight. If there are others that want to change back and become human again, I won’t stop them. If there’s a way to make my body human but keep you in here, I might consider that. But if any of those choices asks me to destroy you, I don’t think that’s a choice at all.”

Twilight beams at me, tears starting to form in her eyes. She reaches over the table with a hoof, wanting to reach out to me.

I reach out my hand to meet her hoof.

We reach out to touch and-

There’s a loud crash as I fall out of bed.

The Eleventh Day

I was sprawled out on the floor, my head still aching from the fall. So much for reaching out to Twilight. Still, my worries about her were much less prominent. I don’t think I should reject her but rather I should embrace her. Hopefully, I’ll dream about her tomorrow so I can get another chance to talk to her again.

I gathered myself up off the floor and shook my head. I should talk to James since he seems to be the pony to go to for dream advice. There was also the matter of finding out more about that shapeshifter person. Maybe they’d be able to answer all the questions that have been brought up.

I stretched my limbs and walked over to the mirror. It was time to go through my daily ritual of checking myself for changes. The fear from the previous days was gone and replaced with curiosity. Heck, I almost felt a sense of excitement. I was curious how much of that was me and how much of that was Twilight talking. I dismissed that thought for now and focused on what my reflection in the mirror.

The first thing that caught my eye was...well, my eyes. They were still very large in proportion to my human head and they made me look very...cute? It was certainly pleasant to look at for sure. Moving out from there, I noticed that there didn’t seem to be any trace of humanity left on any part of my head. From the neck up, I was a dead ringer for Twilight.

Looking down to my torso, it was still a mishmash of human and equine anatomy sprawled all over. It was a patchwork of purple fur and human skin, though the amount of purple was increasing. I twisted my body to get a look behind me and the wings that were growing back there. They looked bigger, but they didn’t feel fully grown. I doubt they’d be able to sustain my weight right now and even if they did, the idea of flying around felt a bit intimidating. Maybe I can observe and look at one of the pegasi patients and see them flying around and learn from them.

I sighed as I looked over the rest of my body and couldn’t really find any other significant changes. The changes today were pretty light overall, but I felt that was more likely a result of there not being much left to change. I was becoming more and more comfortable with myself and my body. I just hope others would be receptive to the changes as well.

I turned over to my clothes, specifically the new set that Nathan had made for me, complete with spots for my wings to stick out from the back. It was a bit bizarre seeing back slits on otherwise normal looking clothing. I started to imagine what Twilight might look like in one of my outfits. I pictured her in a polo shirt and khaki shorts. It was a pretty ridiculous image that made me giggle slightly.

I got dressed and looked back to see how I looked. Nathan’s outfit fit me perfectly and it accented my colors pretty well, but I felt something...off about seeing myself in an outfit. It felt like...the outfit was unnecessary? Twilight wasn’t wearing anything in my dream so I’m guessing she wasn’t all that concerned about being nude. I furrowed my brow. Maybe I was feeling that too? Well, I’ll only give that a thought when I’m fully changed.

I sighed and moved over to the door. I should go and talk to James about my dream with Twilight. Given his connections with people’s dreams, he might be able to shed some light on this. I pushed open the door and headed down to the cafeteria.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I went down to the cafeteria at a slow trot. I didn’t really need to rush myself and it was giving me time to think. Over the past 10 days, I’ve done almost nothing but thinking. It’s not like I could do much more than that, given the current circumstances, but I felt like that was going to change. Once I was completely changed, I could focus exclusively on answering the burning questions sitting in the back of my mind.

I pushed open the doors to the cafeteria. I looked around at the different people sitting down and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tyrell and Julius sitting at one table. Memories of using my horn for the first time flooded back into my mind. If I was going to find out more about what was going on, I’d needed to master the abilities I had and they seemed to know the most about how my horn worked. I walked in and noticed that they were sitting with James as well! That’s right, James had done some testing with them too. I guess I’ll be able to feed two birds with one scone.

I pushed through the line at the cafeteria to see what to get for myself. I got a nice salad, a veggie burger and some fries. I was about to leave the line and grab a seat, but I stopped dead in my tracks. I whipped my head back around at the food line and that’s where I spotted it. The small bowl was calling to me, begging me to take it. The temptation was immense and I was only able to get out one audible response.

“P u d d i n g.” I bellowed, entranced by the delightful dessert.

I quickly grabbed it and put it on my tray. I smiled to myself. The pudding was mine. Today was going to be a good day. I soon waltzed over to the table containing the three familiar faces.

“Room for another?” I asked in a chipper tone.

“Ah, sure.” Tyrell said, with a surprised look.

“Heh, well then,” Julius grinned looking over at me. “How’s that pudding smell?”

My smile faded, replaced with an embarrassed frown. Did I say that pudding part too loud? Oh boy.

“Good day,” James greeted me, unphased. “I hope you slept well?” James winked at me.

My brief embarrassment faded and I nodded at James. “Ah, yeah, I did have a pretty good dream last night. I’ll tell you about it later. But first…” I turned over to glance at Tyrell and Julius. “I haven’t seen you two for a while. I’m guessing you’ve still been doing research and trying to find out what makes us ponies tick.”

Julius nodded. “Yeah, we’re doing a lot of important work and researching how your abilities work. Levitation is a pretty cool thing to see and we wanna know how it works. I would love it if you could come by so we can take a more detailed look into those abilities. There’s just so many things we need to examine.”

I nodded. I wasn’t exactly on board with Julius’ fanatic zeal in regards to research given that he tended to ignore the fact that he was working with a living, breathing, sentient being. That being said, he and Tyrell did know a lot about my abilities and I knew I could learn a lot if I worked with them.

Tyrell shook his head. “Don’t worry, Penn. I won't let Julius get away with unchecked science-y shenanigans.”

“I’ll have you know that I am the best at science-y shenanigans!” Julius jokingly growled. I knew he meant that as a joke, but still felt a bit uneasy about it. Still, these two seem to know at least a little bit about my powers.

I decided to focus on eating my meal, listening to what the others had to talk about. Tyrell sensing a lull in the conversation, decided to speak up. “So, I got news about when the guard is supposed to come by. They’re gonna be here in three days. I’m worried they might end up doing more harm than good.”

Julius shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just another hurdle we’ll all have to leap across. I don’t think they’ll be a serious problem. Plus, last I checked, the guard is deployed in times of crisis, yeah? Well, I can safely say that the country is in crisis at the moment. Still, I get your concern man; A buncha trained armored people with guns surrounded by talking ponies that can levitate stuff? That could be a recipe for disaster.”

“We will not harm anyone.” James suddenly interjected with a defiant proclamation. “Humans might see us as a threat, but I assure you, we do not want to harm others.”

"I believe you, James." Tyrell gave a solemn nod.

“Hey now, I never said you guys were at all violent.” Julius defended himself. “Interesting powers, yes. Violent? No. I haven’t seen any of you become violent and I don’t think you guys will. There’s almost a calm harmony about you guys. It’s very relaxing, I’ve gotta say.”

“Well, we ought to get back to our lab.” Tyrell stated, standing up. “The doors to our lab are open to you two. I’d like to see you guys there more often. We considered the idea of making visits mandatory but Franklin put a stop to that. He said he didn’t want you guys feeling like you were an experiment. Anyway, have a good day you two.”

“Later Penn, Later James!” Julius waved goodbye as he followed Tyrell out the door.

“Hmm, Franklin didn’t want us feeling like experiments, huh?” I muttered to myself.

“Penn,” James said, interrupting my thoughts. ”I suggest we meet up with the others. I suspect we’ll all have a lot to talk about.”

I turn to face James. “Oh? Did you see into my dream? Did you see Twilight and me there?”

James nodded. “While I did not venture into your dream proper, I did take a glance at what you were dreaming about. And while I am not at liberty to discuss what everyone else dreamed about, I can say that many of our friends had similar dreams last night. This is why I feel we should all discuss this in the Magic Meeting Room.”

I nodded at James and cleared the table. When we were all finished cleaning, we both trotted out of the cafeteria. The dream was now back on my mind. I thought about what James had said about everyone else having similar dreams and it made me curious.

“Hey James,” I begin.

“Yes?” James replies.

“I know you said that everyone had a similar dream to mine last night but I’m curious; Did ‘Princess Luna’ ever come and talk to you?” I inquired.

James gives a small gasp. He was not startled by it or even angry, but he seemed surprised that he was being asked.

“I...well…” He stumbles over his words before taking a deep breath in and out. “Yes. I did indeed have a dream with Princess Luna. I had a dream about her much earlier than everyone else. While the others had interactions with their pony selves last night, I had an interaction with Princess Luna very early on.”

“Really...what was that like, if you mind me asking?” I pushed further.

“Well,” James begins. “She told me about how the dream world functions and what I can do with my abilities. She was a very reserved pony and she didn’t really want to talk about herself. I surmise that she may have had a troubled and unhappy past that she does not want to talk about. I do not blame her for not wanting to talk about that. Though slowly, I have been able to get her to open up more to me. My hope is that eventually we can come together and discuss what terror haunts her so.” James looks off into the distance, a frown plastered on her face. “Ah, I apologize, I talked at length about that. Excuse me.”

I shake my head. “No no, that’s fine. I like hearing about relationships...and I suspect Twilight does too.”

The two of us continued to chat about our dreams as we ventured up the hallway.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I threw open the door to our own private domain to see the plethora of colorful faces staring back at me. A week ago, we were just regular people but now we are these new creatures that the world had never seen before. It was both exciting and mysterious. I made my way over to my seat and sat down.

“So,” I began. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I had a pretty interesting dream last night.”

“I’m guessin’ it involved a small pony talkin’ to you in your dreams, yeah?” Darnel asked.

“Yeah, it did.” I replied. “I’m guessing you had the same thing happen?”

Darnel grinned and chuckled. “Heehee, yeah, I had a nice cowgirl named Applejack talk to me about family and honesty. She also talked about how amazing apples were which was a bit odd. Then again, her name is Applejack. Regardless, we had a wonderful conversation.”

“Well,” Will interjected. “I didn’t so much have a conversation as I had a heart pounding race with the fastest Pegasus I have ever seen. Then again I’ve never really seen a pegasus until now. Her name was Rainbow Dash and she was pretty awesome.”

I nodded then turned over to look at Juan. I knew that he was always worried about losing his sense of self and his identity. If there was anyone who would be hesitant about this, it would probably be him. But when I examined his face, he didn’t seem worried.

“Hey Juan.” I leaned in to talk to him. “Did you have a conversation with a small pony last night?”

“Oh uhm, yes! I did talk to somepony. Her name was Fluttershy and she was wonderful.” He gives a small smile as he talks about his dream. “We were sitting in a field filled with a bunch of different animals and she started talking to them and well, it was weird but I was able to understand them too.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You could understand them?”

Juan nodded. “Yeah. Fluttershy told me it was her ‘special talent’ and she guessed that because I was starting to look more like her, I was starting to gain her talents as well.”

I tapped my hoof to my chin. “Alright...and you weren’t at all scared by this development?”

“I won’t lie, I’m still a little scared about this situation. But I don’t think I’m scared about transforming anymore.” Juan nodded. "Fluttershy helped me deal with my fears."

I smiled. “That’s good. I was worried about you since you’ve shown some hesitation towards anything relating to transforming. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Ohmygosh! I had an AMAZING dream!” Meghan exclaimed. “There I was walking along a pathway when suddenly there was a HUGE picnic blanket filled with all sorts of pastries and treats! And then I met Pinkie Pie and she and I went bananas over all these banana splits and oh my goodness there were SO MANY DIFFERENT TREATS! I think I had like 4 dozen doughnuts, 5 gallons of ice cream and like 10 whole pies!”

“...I think I got diabetes just from hearing that description.” Nathan groaned a bit. “I should point out that I also had a wonderful conversation with a pony last night. She was an off-white unicorn named Rarity and she was a delight to talk to. We discussed many topics from fashion to design and even business. She’s a wonderfully intelligent woman and one I hope to converse with on a daily basis.”

“Ah, that’s good.” Cadence spoke up. “I remember when I spoke to Cadence. It was a pretty fun conversation all things considered.”

“Eh?” I piped up. “You had a conversation with your uhm, ‘Pony Self’ as well?”

“Yes, I did. I guess I was just more receptive to Cadence’s presence so we connected quicker. Ah, that’s not to say that you guys don’t have a strong and wonderful connection with your pony! But I think you guys got a little bit of help with that.” Cadence grins as she turns her gaze to look at me.

“Wh...what me?” I say, puzzled.

Cadence nods. “From what I’ve seen, every patient that’s been changing seems to have a special ability that’s unique to them. This can be something mundane like being amazing at cooking, or something fantastical like Luna’s dream walking or my empathy. From what I’ve seen, I think you have an amazing ability, Penn. I think you’ve got the power of friendship.” Cadence remarked.

“That full on sounds like something out of an Anime.” Will snarked. “But it DOES explain how Penn was able to forge friendships with all of us so quickly and bring us together day in and day out. You’re a pretty cool guy, Penn.”

I blushed. I don’t think I did that much. “Eheh, thanks.” I meekly reply. “I’m glad we’re all doing better than we were before. This will make things much easier in finding out more about this shapeshifter person.”

The tone of the room shifted as I brought up the specter of the mysterious being.

“We still don’t know much about this person.” Nathan commented.

“No, we don’t.” I replied. “But if what Cadence is saying is correct, then we probably have a patient who’s also tapped into their abilities. Namely, the ability to shapeshift.”

“Ooooh, are they like Mystique from X-Men? That’s pretty cool! If I had those kinds of powers, I’d sneak into the cafeteria and snag aaaaaaaaaall the cupcakes.” Meghan started to rub her hooves together and began to chuckle.

“Well, if this person is using abilities to move around and sneak into places, I figured we need to find out more about our own powers.” I stated.

“How are you plannin’ on doin’ that?” Darnel asked.

“Well, there’s those two scientists named Julius and Tyrell. They seem to know a lot more about us and might be able to help me unlock my potential. I already know them and I might be able to share some of the knowledge I get with you guys.”

Will narrowed his eyes. “Can we trust them though?”

I sigh and frown. “Probably not, but I don’t think that we have much choice.”

“Well, we will be here to support you in your endeavor.” James assured me. “We must find out about this shapeshifter and if they know anything about what’s going on in this facility.”

I firmly nod. “Yeah. I’m gonna hone my abilities and hopefully, we can find out more about what’s going on around here.”

I knew what I’d be doing tomorrow. My friends and I soon moved on to other subjects and topics of discussion, but that spark of determination stood in the back of my mind. I would need to learn more about my new body and I would need to know more about Twilight if I ever wanted to get to the truth about what’s happening here.

One thing is for sure; tomorrow was going to be important for me.

The Twelfth Day (Skeletons In The Closet)

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The Twelfth Day

I wake up from my dreamless sleep. I didn’t get as much rest as I would have liked because I was anticipating the experiments I’d be doing with Tyrell and Julius. I was curious about what kind of powers I’d be able to conjure up. I already knew I had telekinesis, I just needed to make sure I didn’t faint immediately after using it. But as for any other powers? My mind was blanking. I had absolutely no idea what powers were hidden in Twilight’s body. Even if I knew what they were, using them would be a completely different matter.

My thoughts then shifted to Twilight herself. I didn’t dream about her last night, probably because I woke up early. I noticed that I only tended to dream about her when I had a full night’s rest. Every time I hadn’t dreamed about her, it was super early in the morning or I had been forced awake by someone else. Either way, I secretly hoped she might be able to help me in some way with learning my powers today.

I figured speculation on my powers would be fruitless at the moment and I decided to just waltz over to the mirror. I threw the covers off of me and I started to make my way over there, but I soon stopped. For whatever reason, my body had decided to put me on all fours rather than standing upright. I pushed up with my forelegs and rose up unto my hindlegs. I was now standing up and it felt very odd to me. I had no difficulty in doing it, but my body was reacting to it the same way you might react to sitting on a table; it was perfectly doable, but it felt inherently wrong. I sighed and lowered myself back down to four legs. My body felt at ease now.

I continued my trot over to the mirror and decided to get a grasp on any new changes. It was getting harder and harder for me to notice things that were different about me aside from growing more fur. I was almost done with changes, at least physically. I noticed my wings were bigger than they were yesterday and my body’s overall size was reduced even more. I was now a bit more confident that these wings could get me off the ground and flying. I still did not want to fly around unless I was in a controlled environment. I did not want to be flailing around in the air and panicking and trying to make my wings work under pressure.

I gave my body yet another look over and I couldn't really find much else of note. I realized that I probably wouldn't need to do this physical examinations for much longer because then I'd...just look like this all the time. I was satisfied with my examination, so I donned the outfit that Nathan had made for me and I made my way outside to go get some breakfast.

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I had just finished my daily routine of getting myself cleaned up and looking fresh and ready for the day. Showering on all fours was different, but I was finding adjusting to my pony self easier and easier every day. At first, it seemed like these pony limbs and anatomy would get in the way and hinder me at every turn. But my friends and I haven’t had all that much trouble. I pondered to myself wondering if Twilight had something to do with it.

As I was making my way down to the cafeteria, I noticed Alex walking ahead of me in the hallway. I waved.

“Hey Alex!” I yelled. “Wait up!” I trotted over at an increased pace to catch up to him until we were side by side and then resumed my leisurely pace. Alex was on all fours, just as I was, leading me to think that most of us were thinking the same thing in regards to walking.

“Hey Penn. I just got up. How are you doing?” Alex asked.

“Well, I’m just going to get some breakfast and then head down to the lower level to see if I can learn about my powers from those two weirdo scientists.” I explained.

He nodded. “Ah, I see. Yeah, I was gonna go see if I could find any more research on Unicorns to see if there were any sort of magical abilities they innately knew. It’s a bit difficult because all those accounts are from mythology and not a scientific perspective so there doesn’t seem to be any hard evidence.” He gave a strong sigh. “And even if there was, would knowing the science behind it help us activate it or would be just left wondering? It’s...frustrating.” He finished, not with a tone of anger but one of sadness.

“Well,” I began. “I could try and ask Twilight about it. She seems to know a lot.”

“That’s true.” Alex agreed.

The two of us sat in silence for a bit. I was lost in thought about our current situation. Alex also seemed lost in thought about something but I had a gut feeling he was thinking about a much more sensitive topic.

“Hey Penn, I want to ask you something...personal.” Alex asked, the last word spoken being quieter than the rest of the sentence.

“Oh, yeah sure. Go ahead.” I responded in a calming manner in an attempt to make Alex feel more comfortable.

Despite the effort to make things easier, Alex still took a long time in producing a question. He turned away, not wanting me to see the look on his face. He tried to speak but he made many small tones and false starts. It seemed to me like he was struggling to come up with the proper way to say what he wanted to say. Eventually, he turned towards me, ready to ask his burning question.

“Do you...still think of yourself as a guy? Or do you think of yourself as a girl?” Alex finally says with a sad tone of voice.

That...was actually a very good question. Before this entire incident, there was no question in my mind what the answer to that question would be. I was physically born a guy and I felt like a guy in terms of my personality. I hadn’t really had any sort of dysphoria growing up so that question wouldn’t have phased me.

But right now? That was a much more complicated question. Aside from the species change, I was physically changing into a female and with that change brought some unusual implications. I certainly didn’t look like a man, that much was for sure and I wasn't just talking about the change in species.

As for how I felt? That was a whole different situation entirely. Every day brought about a new change to my body and with those changes brought new feelings to the very core of my being. It was warping and changing, just like my body. Once I stop changing, where will I be at mentally? To be honest, I wasn’t sure where I’d end up.

That brings me to the reason that Alex is bringing this up in the first place. I’m guessing the reason that Alex asked is because...they felt that they were not so sure if they felt like a guy anymore thanks to these changes. It was certainly thought provoking and I can understand where they’re coming from. After taking the time to think it over and take similar care to word my response, I finally answered.

“If I’m being honest Alex...I’m not so sure right now.” I admit “Neither one of us really fits into being a guy physically anymore and mentally I feel very different and I’m not just saying that because I have another personality placed inside my head. I feel like parts of my mind have changed to fit my body and I’m not sure if that ‘different mind’ is a guy, a girl or something else. But you know what? I don’t think it really matters what I identify as now. You and I are changing everyday and with those changes come different feelings. When these changes are all said and done, I’ll need to ask the question, ‘Who am I?’ and when I get an answer, I’ll let you know.” I finished my explanation and turned to Alex. “I’m guessing the reason you asked that is because you’re wrestling with that idea too?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah. I’ve felt less like who I was and more like someone else. I was more welcoming of the changes mainly because I didn’t really have a good self-image of who I was when I started this whole thing.”

“Hey, if it means anything to you, you’re a lot better than you think you are.” I reassure Alex. “You might think that the pony part of you is making you better but you both complement each other. I can’t speak for what the pony in your head is saying and thinking, but if they’re anything like the pony in my head, I think you’re better united than apart.” I pause for a second before asking another sensitive question. “If you don’t mind me asking, is there a specific reason you have low self-image that’s also related to this dysphoria?”

Alex tapped their chin. “Well, I don’t think there’s just one contributing factor to that, but I think I have an idea where that dysphoria comes from.”

I sit there, listening intently. “Is that so?”

They nod. “Yeah. My father was very...hands off in raising me. He wasn’t a bad dad or anything, and I wouldn’t say he did anything that was actively harmful. But he didn’t really take an active interest in raising me I suppose. His father had raised him with a similar parenting style and I suppose if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me. So because dad wasn’t around too often, I ended up being raised by my mom and interacting more with my older sister. All my authority figures were women which made me respect the feminine perspective and I didn’t really get any sort of teaching about the masculine perspective. That’s how I see it at least. There's probably way more to it than that but that's the gist of it."

I nodded my head. I could see how being raised in an environment like that could breed a sense of gender dysphoria.

“Well,” I begin. “You don’t have to come to an answer right now. But I do want you to know that we’re still friends and I still care about you.”

Alex grinned. “Thanks. I guess for now you can just use ‘they’ as a way to refer to me. If that’s not too much trouble.”

I nodded. “Sure thing, Alex.”

Alex nods back. “Well, we should probably go get some breakfast, yeah?”

“Sure thing.” I respond.

We both trotted along to the cafeteria. I occasionally looked over at Alex and noticed a nice hop in their step, as if a large weight had been lifted.

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We arrived at the cafeteria. It was the typical bustle of people milling about and the occasional pony sprinkled throughout the crowd. Already, I could spy Darnel and Will sitting together and they seemed to be having a wonderful time. Alex and I quickly grab our food from the line and move over to sit with our friends.

As we approached the table, I saw the two of them playing some kind of card game. They seemed to be really into it and they barely noticed our approach.

“Hey guys. Whatcha up to?” I asked as I set my food down on the table.

“Shhh!” Will blurted out, lost in concentration. Will and Darnel seemed to be playing a nice game of Uno and Will seemed to only be at two cards with Darnel at five cards. Will let out a smirk and placed a card down.

“Uno, my friend.” Will smirked, confident they would be victorious.

“Gosh, yer down to your last card.” Darnel said with a sigh. “I’m not sure what I’ll do.” They said, before turning back with a devilish smirk. Will had little time to process this situation before Darnel proceeded to produce four different skip cards, declaring Uno and then laying down the final card they had of the same color as the last card. “Oh, I guess I’ll do that then.”

“GOD DANGIT!” Will yelled, throwing their card down onto the pile. “You were setting that up the whole time weren’t you?”

“Maaaaaaaybe.” Darnel giggled, clearing out the cards to keep the table clear for eating.

“Humph, well, I get you next time, you can count on it!” Will retorts, their confidence coming back. With that exchange the two of them turn to us and bring us into their conversation. “So, now that our exciting competition is over, what’s going on with you two?” Will asked.

“Well, the two of us got into a conversation about new developments regarding our transformations.” I begin, eyeing a glance at Alex, wondering if it was okay to go into detail. They gave me a small grin and a nod, giving the green light to talk about the sensitive subject matter. In fact, Alex decided to take the reins of the conversation.

“We were talking about how this whole transformation made us re-evaluate how we looked at ourselves and I asked Penn if they still felt like a guy or if that had changed.” Alex explained.

Darnel looked at us with wide, curious eyes, clearly interested in the conversation. “Golly, that sounds pretty interesting. I hadn’t really thought ‘bout it too much but I can see why that would be somethin’ you might want to talk about.”

Will on the other hoof was very indifferent on it. “Eh, I don’t think it matters all that much. I’m a mare down there and I feel a bit different, but I’m still me. Granted, it’s now an athletic, tomboy version of me but still me. You can be whoever you want and you shouldn’t be judged for being you. People change, whether that’s through emotional experiences or by growing wings and getting a rainbow mane. Just be who you want.” Will nodded, finishing their oration.

The three of us stood silent at Will’s blunt but articulated point of view. Will turned back to us a bit flustered. “W-what?! It’s not like I can’t be thoughtful or nuanced! It’s just that I hadn’t really felt the need to shift into that gear.”

Darnel giggled. “I know you can be thoughtful, Will. I just know that you tend to express it differently. Plus, I get the feeling you’re getting a bit inspired by that pony yer becoming.”

I furrowed my brow a bit at that comment. “Inspired” wasn’t exactly how I would put it. It felt a bit more like we were being filtered through a pony like lens. There was another worry that was related to all of this. It was something that I hadn’t really addressed or thought about too much mainly because of the fears and implications involved. But the conversation with Alex and the comment Darnel made forced it to the surface in my mind. Well, there was no running away from it.

“Hey guys,” I say in a quiet tone. “Do you think...we’ll stop being ourselves when this transformation is done? Do you think we’ll lose some part of ourselves?” I ask.

The mood of the conversation shifts and it’s clear I’ve made everyone a bit uncomfortable with the revelation I’ve unveiled to everyone. It was something that Juan had brought up before but I felt that it deserved to be reiterated. We have no idea how this transformation works and we don’t know what the end result will be.

Darnel is the first to speak up. “I don’t think I have the answer to that right now. But I know we’ll be there for each other no matter what happens. I’m making that a promise.” Darnel firmly nods their head.

“How can you be so confident in that?” I retort.

“You remember those dreams with the ponies we had before? They honestly don’t seem like the types of people that would intentionally destroy our personalities. If anything they’d probably work to try and make sure that doesn’t happen. I don’t think they want that to happen to us. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen, but I have faith they’ll come through for us.” Darnel finished with a reassuring smile.

“Hmm, yeah. I guess I should put more faith in Twilight.” I admitted. “She seems like a smart girl and she wants to help out. At least, that’s what I gathered from my dream.”

“Well, we’ll tackle that stuff when we come to it.” Will said, putting their hooves behind their head. “Right now, we’re worrying about what’s happening right now...like with Penn trying to learn magic.”

“Ah, yeah that’s right.” Alex exclaimed in excitement. “You should document all the things that you learn and come back and inform us of what you learned. If we can do that, the other unicorn patients might be able to mimic and recreate what you do when you’re down there.”

“Okay.” I reply.

“And if those two weirdo scientists try and pull anything, you give them a one two punch!” Will proclaimed.

“I don’t think I’ll need to do that but thanks. I’ll be fine, don’t you worry.” I reassure my friends. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be going back down there to meet with those scientists since I couldn’t exactly trust them given our current situation. But my best chance of learning about my powers would be by catering to them so I would need to humor them.

The conversation eventually shifted to other topics, bonding over small talk until we were all finished with our food. While I didn’t have a solid time commitment to Tyrell and Julius, I knew I shouldn’t keep them waiting too long so I decided to bid my friends farewell and left the cafeteria to venture down below.

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It had been a while since I had been down in this lab area. Despite this floor having the similar sterile aesthetic as the living area I was accustomed to above, this area just seemed a bit more mysterious and ominous. Part of it was because of what happened last time with me using magic for the first time. The other part was this sinking feeling I had in the pit of my stomach that there was something else hidden in this place.

It wasn’t just the feeling of unease in my mind either. I was feeling something in my horn that I certainly didn’t feel the first time I was down here. It wasn’t a particularly uncomfortable sensation or anything, but it was like it was being given a light tug every now and again. I had no idea what was happening to it and I couldn’t really ask Twilight since she was stuck in my head.

Well, nothing much I could do about that right now. I came here to learn about my magic. Finding out all the secrets of this place would come later. I approached the door and could hear the muffled sounds of speech coming from the other side. I took a deep breath and then pushed open the door. I knew that I would need to talk to scientists who were well versed with my anatomy and could help me unlock my potential.

Unfortunately, all I had was Tyrell and Julius, the latter of who was currently trying to balance three pens on his nose. I’m starting to think that maybe these guys were not as smart as I had initially thought. Regardless of how I felt about them, they at least knew a little bit so I needed to press them for as much information I could about my powers and I needed to see if they could help me in any way.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.” I bellow in a sarcastic tone.

Immediately as I say that, Julius panics and the pens fall off his face and clatter to the floor. Tyrell simply turns toward me.

“Ah, Penn.” Tyrell greets me with a warm smile. “Sadly, we’re light on things to do as of late. But given that you’re down here, I have the feeling that’s about to change.”

I nod. “Very perceptive. Yes, I was wanting to learn more about my magic powers since I went and fainted the last time we tried to do this. I don’t think I’ll freak out as much this time around. Might freak out a little.” I chuckled.

Tyrell gets up and clasps his hands together. “Alright. Let’s go ahead and get started. Since you’ve already done levitation before, even if only briefly, we’ll start with that.” He explained.

Julius motions to a table for me to move over to and I make my way over. I hopped up onto the table and sat there looking up at the two of them. Now that I was alone with fully sized humans, it had really sunken in how small I had become over the course of these two weeks. I was less the size of a human and more the size of a large dog. While I could stand up on two legs to diminish the size disparity, it felt more comfortable and natural to just stick to all fours.

“Alright Penn, we can start off small.” Tyrell explains, putting a pen on the table in front of me. “Now, the best results we’ve seen from learning with James is to imagine that you’re encapsulating the object with your mind. Try to imagine what that might be like and see if you can lift this pen up.”

I looked over at the pen. Encapsulating the pen with my mind? That sounded pretty bizarre but if that’s what it took, I guess I should go for it. I glared intently at the pen in front of me, ignoring the rest of the world around me. I wanted to pull this thing up in the air and get it off the ground. After staring at the pen for a solid two seconds, it became surrounded by a semi-transparent purple cloud. Seeing this I decided to use my mind’s eye to lift this cloud up into the air to rest in front of my eyes. It took a bit longer but eventually the pen raised itself up and now it was floating in the air!

I stared in awe of what was happening. I was using telekinesis! No smoke and mirrors or anything, this was legit magic. In my excitement my cloud dissipated and the pen clattered back unto the table. The two scientists were equally thrilled at my display.

“Good job, Penn!” Julius exclaimed. “That’s some pretty good levitation skills right there.”

Tyrell nodded. “I would strongly suggest you excel at using your levitation since it will be useful in lieu of using hands to handle objects.”

I look back at the pen and try to pick it up again, trying to practice. I pull it up into the air a bit quicker this time. I think I’m getting the hang of this! I hadn’t had too much difficulty with using my hooves to grab things surprisingly enough, but it would be great to have an alternate way of grabbing things.

While I’m practicing, Julius sets up a series of empty soda cans on a table across from me. He also proceeds to clear out everything in between me and the cans. After this whole setup, Tyrell and Julius stand behind me. With all this setup, I was curious what they wanted me to try out, though I had a feeling of what it would entail.

“Alright.” Julius sighed, rolling his shoulders. “Our ‘shooting gallery’ is all set up.”

“Er, a ‘shooting gallery’ you say?” I asked.

“Indeed.” Tyrell responded. “The same energy you use to levitate and pick up objects can also be expelled in a concentrated beam at whatever your horn is pointing at.”

“Or to put it another way, you can shoot LASERS from your horn!” Julius grins with exuberance.

Tyrell groans. “Yes, you can shoot lasers from your horn, if that’s the way you want to describe it. Personally, I’d like for it to have a slightly more refined name. Regardless, we’re going to test this out and see if you can hit those targets. What you’ll want to do is similar to levitation except instead of encapsulating it, you’ll want to expel energy out towards your target. Imagine that you want to give a push with your mind while looking toward the can there. Be sure to tilt your head down a bit like this.” Tyrell lightly grabs my head and pulls it down to where my horn is more lined up with the can while being in the upper part of my vision.

“It can be a bit awkward.” Julius explained. “It’s not like aiming down the sights of a gun since that’s something external and you can look down the sights of it. Your horn is straight up attached to your head so you’ll need to adjust your head itself to get it to aim properly.”

I took in all the information that the two of them were telling me and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath in and out. Shooting lasers from my horn, eh? Well, I guess it was time to try and make it work. I opened my eyes and stared down at one of the empty soda cans in front of me. I felt a build up in my horn and a pink glow entered the top of my vision. Finally, I did a mental push in my mind and a burst of light shot forward. A pink burst of light went soaring through the air and hit the leftmost can off the table, sending it sailing down to the floor.

“Lasers, man!” Julius exclaimed with a wide smile on his face. Tyrell said nothing and simply shook his head at his partner’s display.

“There is one other technique we were hoping you’d be able to try today, Penn.” Tyrell said.

“Oh? What’s that?” I inquire.

“Teleportation.” Tyrell stated plainly.

“E-excuse me?” I was dumbfounded at Tyrell’s response. Levitation and lasers were one thing but being able to teleport? That sounded like a high ramp up in difficulty.

“Don’t worry,” Tyrell said, trying to reassure me. “We wouldn’t be testing this out if we couldn’t do it safely. We’ll only be doing very basic teleportation, not even leaving the room. This is however much more difficult than the previous two techniques, so we might be at this for a while.”

My confidence was starting to wane a bit. Sure I had tackled the first two spells no problem but teleportation seemed like a bit much. But I also knew that I needed to learn all I can about my abilities and my body. That combined with the curiosity of how my powers worked and I was convinced I should go for it.

“Alright, I’ll try it. I’m trusting you guys not to do anything that could put me in danger.” I state, making my feelings known.

Tyrell gives a thoughtful nod. “No one here wants to see you get hurt. And you don’t have to try the teleportation if you don’t want to.”

I immediately shook my head. I knew if I was given a moment to hesitate, I might end up backing out of this.

“Alright then. Julius, pull out the glass pane.” Tyrell motioned to his friend. Julius, without missing a beat, moved over to the middle of the room. He pressed a few buttons on a panel which caused a glass wall to start pushing through the middle of the room. Eventually it reached the other side of the room, cutting the width of the room in half. Julius was now on the other side, waving at us.

“Okay Penn. We’re going to try and get you to go from this side of the room to the other side. Since there’s a barrier between us, you’ll have to use your teleport to get you from one side to the other. You can see where Julius is right there, you can see where he’s at and you can visualize where you need to go. You want to imagine yourself standing where you want to be. Imagine what it looks like in your head, what sounds there are, what it will look like to you. When you have that idea built up into your mind, focus your energy like you did with the last two times and then mentally pull yourself over there.”

It all sounded pretty complicated but I felt like I could do it. I looked over to the other part of the room and tried to visualize myself over there and think about what it would look like in my head. I could feel a build up of energy in my horn and the power that was coursing through it. I then unleashed it by trying to yank myself awa-

*POP*

For a split second, I could feel myself drifting through a form of nothingness. It wasn’t empty space, it felt like I was in a reality where nothing existed and yet I was also drifting through said area. It was so surreal and I didn’t know what to make of i-

*POP*

I felt my body tumble unto the floor with a slump. I reappeared only a few inches off the ground but even still, my landing was not graceful. Julius pulled me up.

“Whoa, are you okay there Penn?” He asked, concerned after my little trip. I gripped my head slightly and gathered myself to my hooves.

“Yeah, I’m fine...just a bit dizzy.” I replied. Julius nodded at me and gave a thumbs up to Tyrell from across the room. Tyrell gives a positive response in kind and moves over to the control panel on his side of the wall. After pressing a few buttons, a solid panel pulls down over the glass wall and now the other side of the room is now visually blocked.

“Alright Penn, we’re doing one level harder this time.” Julius explained. “You need to teleport back into the other side of the room but now you can’t actually see into the other side so now you have to abstract it and be a bit more indirect.”

I nodded and tried to once again transport myself through a solid object. I was trying to imagine the place I was just at but it was proving to be much more difficult to accomplish. I pooled my energy into my horn and tried to pull off what I had just accomplished before. However, not being able to see my target was proving difficult. After struggling and wincing, I let out a huge gust of air from my lungs and slumped over.

“I can’t seem to do it.” I admit.

“Ah, that’s okay, keep trying.” Julius encouraged me. “Honestly, you’re grasping these concepts a lot quicker than I had expected.”

I attempted to teleport again, doing all the steps that I followed in my previous teleport and tried to get myself over to the other side but again I felt myself falling short. Maybe going through a solid object was impossible. Did I need a line of sight to make my teleport work? Did I need a sense of familiarity to the place I arrived at to teleport there? Maybe I could talk to Twilight about this.

Julius was seeing me struggle and started rummaging through a drawer. After a bit he produced a small rock and knelt down so I could get a good look at it. “I think this might help you out.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Well, you can think of it as a power booster. It should give you extra power and let you perform your teleport. If you’ll let me, I’ll place it on your horn so you can maybe absorb its power.” He explained.

I was a bit skeptical. Where exactly did he get this stone from? How did he know it would boost my abilities? And how exactly did they know about my abilities?

I sighed. They were questions I still didn’t have the answers to, but I knew I’d need to solve those mysteries at some point. I give Julius the go ahead to use the stone. He moves to place the stone on my horn. Immediately, I feel a surge rush in to meet my horn. My horn glows with the same pink glow as with my other powers but now it was glowing especially bright. The adrenaline in my body kicks into high gear.

“Oh my god, I feel so much po-”

*POP*

I moved through the same void world but I seemed to be moving through it much faster this time. It felt like my body was overloaded with energy and I was having a hard time controlling it all. I just needed to st-

*POP*

I was now straddled atop a table I had become all too familiar with. It was the table we used in the Magic Meeting room. I was now sitting atop a board game, pieces strun about and I was now looking into the confused faces of all my friends. I had little time to process what was happening before I felt the glow of my horn envelop my vision. I did however hear a voice speak out.

“What the FUC-” I heard Will blurt out before I-

*POP*

Once again, I was hurtling through a void going to a place I had no idea where it would be. All I knew is that I’d b-

*POP*

I found myself on a desk this time, a very nice looking desk. Once again, I found myself on top of someone’s work at the moment though instead of a rousing board game, it looked to be a group of files and paperwork. I was now staring into the eyes of the last person I really wanted to be talking to at the moment.

“How the heck did you get in here?!” Franklin yelled at me, clearly not expecting a visitor.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what-”

*POP*

I’m in that void again, it was getting less whimsical and more irritating. I just wish I could contro-

*POP*

I land in a room that looks less like a science lab and more like the spoils of an archeological dig. I see several old books that look to be absolutely ancient and seem to be in a writing that I cannot understand. There’s also an ornate looking bag that has seen some damage due to the elements but seems relatively well preserved despite nature weathering it.

But the most obvious thing in the room was the large object being covered by a sheet. The mystery object looked to be a fossil of some kind of creature given the general physical shape of the object. I could tell that it was a creature that stood on all fours and seemed roughly equine shaped. It was also huge, even bigger than both Cadance and James. I’d say it was roughly on par with the size of an actual horse.

However the thing that was most intriguing about it was the energy I could feel it giving off. It was a similar feeling like that stone but was magnified several times over. Whatever was under that sheet was overflowing with that power. It was almost overwhelming how much power it had contained within.

I slowly trotted towards the artifact and reached out to touch it. I knew that it was probably covered for a reason so I made an effort to be careful so as to not damage it. I reached out with my hoof and touc-

*POP*

It was immediate how much energy was poured into me. I was going even faster than I had ever done the previous two times. What could be happening n-

*POP*

I was outside. I was high above the ground. There was nothing under me. I began falling. The ground was approaching at high speed. Fear. Panic. Terror. I needed to teleport again. I needed to live. I had to survive. I closed my eyes. I had to concentrate. The wind was pushing up against my face. It wouldn’t be long until-

The Thirteenth Day (The Unlucky News)

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I opened up my eyes. I darted around in a panic. After all, the last thing I remembered was my body hurtling toward the ground at high speeds. But instead of me hurtling towards the ground, I was in a familiar looking room filled with many different looking books. It was a room that filled me with a sense of nostalgia...or at least it felt familiar in an indirect sense. This is where Twilight spent a good amount of her time studying, learning and discovering different aspects of friendship.

And yet at the same time I knew that those memories were completely foreign to me and that this was from the mind of someone else. It was strange seeing this room as both a warm and inviting place and also a place I had never been to before. I was starting to understanding Twilight more and more and I had the feeling she was starting to understand me the same way.

Speaking of Twilight, I looked around to try and see where she was at. As if hearing my mental wish, Twilight appeared in front of me in a burst of light. I yelped a bit at seeing someone appearing in front of me. Sure, I had just learned how to that same technique but seeing it be performed in front of me was still a sight to behold.

Twilight turned around to look at me. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry if I startled you.”

“Ah...no no, it’s alright. I’m not hurt or anything.” I responded. “Though I'm still a little shook up from what happened. I was so certain I was gonna get hurt. What happened? I knew I was falling to the ground after that teleport went haywire but after that I have nothing.”

“Well, I realized you were in danger and I stepped in to help.” Twilight explained.

“Whoa, did you take over my body or something?” I asked defensively.

“Ah! N-no no, nothing like that!” Twilight exclaimed. “No, it was more like, I poured my power into you in order to save us both. I didn’t realize that getting exposed to that much magic would make you start teleporting around like crazy.”

I thought back to before that situation occurred. I had gotten exposed to that crystal that Julius had on him and then I got whisked away to different parts of the facility before getting flung into the sky. I’m just glad that I was apparently unharmed. It’s either that or this is a really weird purgatory.

My thoughts shifted to magic in a more general sense. I didn’t want my magic going haywire again, so I would need to get it under control. I have Twilight here so maybe I could talk to her about how to use magic. She IS a magical unicorn and all.

“Say Twilight,” I began. “I was wondering...could you possibly teach me some magic? I only learned some basic things about magic and I would like to know more.”

Twilight eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree. “Oh gosh, I would love to!” Twilight beamed as she waltzed over to go grab a book off one of the bookshelves.

She levitated it over and dropped it unto the table with an audible slam. The weight of the book caused the table to shake ever so slightly, causing me to hesitate a bit. I kinda felt like I just opened Pandora's box and now I was in for a whole lecture about magic.

“Alright, let’s get started!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Aha, alright then!.” I chuckled awkwardly.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Twilight mercifully only grilled me on the basics of magical spells and magic technique since she knew I was a complete novice when it came to magic.

“There’s a lot more I’d like to teach you but given that I’ve been studying magic for years, we can just leave it at the basics for today.” Twilight nodded.

“Funny, usually when I’m in class in my dreams it’s always because there’s a test I’m supposed to be taking that I haven’t studied for.”

“Oh my gosh, you get those dreams too!? Ugh, those ones are the absolute WORST!” Twilight yells.

“Uh, yeah. The worst.” I played along. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know about that giant fossil we encountered when I was blinking around like crazy?”

“Hmm, well, I can safely say that it wasn’t an alicorn I readily recognize. The body shape wasn’t like Celestia or Luna. Er, that is my Celestia or Luna. I realize that James might be different from the Luna I’ve known. But no, this alicorn looked to be bigger than either Celestia or Luna.” She explained.

I nodded. There was still a lot I didn’t know, but I knew that whatever was going on, that fossil was the epicenter of everything. I knew deep down that if I learned more about that thing, I’d be able to answer all the questions that have been hounding me since this all began. I needed to ask a lot of questions and I know who exactly I needed to talk to.

“I’m gonna talk to Franklin and make him tell me about all the things related to that fossil.” I proclaimed with a firm nod.

“That sounds good. Just remember the most important thing.” Twilight said.

“And that is?” I replied.

“The strongest magic is friendship!” Twilight exclaimed.

I sat there in silence for a solid three seconds before throwing myself unto the floor. “Really? You gotta admit, that’s pretty cheesy.”

Twilight giggled. “Maybe to you, but it’s the truth all the same.” She trotted over to me and offered up a hoof to me.

“Well, at least I can say that your friendship has been pretty great at least.” I smiled as I grabbed her hoof and she pulled me up and-

I woke up.

The Thirteenth Day

I was definitely not back in my normal room. In fact, I looked to be in an office of some sort. It was actually an office I remember seeing before. The memories came flooding back of me teleporting around and I jumped into an office that looked just like this. I remember seeing Franklin there and looking none too happy that I just happened to appear on his desk.

I had a feeling I would get to have that conversation with Franklin a lot sooner than I had expected given that I was now inside his domain. I pulled myself up from the makeshift cot that I was placed on and looked around the room. It was a pretty fancy looking office with a very expensive looking desk complete with a name plate and everything.

There was a shelf next to the desk with several different pictures on it. One was a picture of Franklin smiling for the cover of a big magazine and another showed him shaking hands with a former president. I looked and saw yet another one that seemed to feature him and what I presumed was his family. However, the picture that stood out to me however was the frame that was purposefully placed face down. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to lift it up to see what was being hidden.

I lifted it up to see a picture of Franklin standing right next to another man. Both of them were smiling and wearing sharp looking suits. I remember seeing the face of the other man before but I couldn’t place a hoof as to where I had seen it. I racked my brain for a minute or so before shaking my head in frustration. I couldn’t seem to figure it out so I just put it on the back burner for now.

I placed the picture back down and looked around the room some more. There was a laptop sitting on the desk currently on the lock screen and next to it was a file filled with documents and papers. The label on the folder had...my name on it! He must have been looking at stuff related to me. I wanted to open the folder, but a series of footsteps approaching made me rethink my idea. I moved over back towards the cot just in time for the door to open.

Sure enough, it was Franklin coming in. He saw me awake and moved over to greet me. “Ah, you’re awake Penn. How is everything?” He asked.

“Ah...I’m fine.” I say neutrally. “I suppose I have you to thank for getting this sleeping cot out for me?”

“Yes, I had the staff bring that up for you.” Franklin explained as he took a seat at his desk. “You caused us all a bit of a scare when our cameras caught sight of what happened. Still you exhausted a lot of energy with that last teleport so we were concerned with what had happened to you. But it seems you’re just fine.”

“Yeah. I am.” I say moving over to the chair directly across from Franklin. “So, I’ve got a few questions for you and I want them answered.” I state bluntly. I wasn’t in the mood for any of Franklin’s sidestepping today.

“You mean that fossil you found during your ‘trip’ around the facility?” Franklin responds, unfazed by my direct questioning.

“Ah...yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to talk about.” I shook my head slightly. I wasn’t expecting things to go this smoothly when talking about him.

“Well, given what you’ve seen, I don’t see any reason to keep the truth from you any longer.” Franklin explained, his face taking on a somber expression. “That fossil you saw in there was something one of my companies discovered several years ago. It was obviously a stunning surprise for everyone involved when it was found. An equine creature from millions of years ago that looks similar to a unicorn? That alone would have been an amazing find.” Franklin clasps his hands together and looks away momentarily before continuing.

“However, there was more to that fossil than we had anticipated. We found an energy emanating from it that was unlike anything we had ever seen. It was some kind of unknown radiation, though not a dangerous type like normal nuclear radiation. It was a type of energy with functions and properties that our scientists had never seen before. Though, you probably know it better as ‘Magic.’” He admitted.

I finally had heard it from the mouth of the head guy himself. I always had a feeling in the back of my mind that Franklin must have had something magical at his disposal given what had happened to everyone but it was finally nice to hear it from the man himself. I turned my focus back on Franklin as he continued.

“Now, you’re probably wondering how this fossil’s magic comes back to you and the vaccine. Well, in our research we had come across a property of the fossil that allowed for amazing regenerative properties. It was able to accomplish things in the medical field that people could only dream of before. So, when the world started to fall victim to a new deadly virus, we felt it necessary to try and get this vaccine out and help the world deal with this crisis.”

Franklin typed something up on his computer and continued his story. “You remember me telling everyone at the meeting that this went through animal trials with horses, correct?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I figured that might have something to do with why some of the patients were turning into ponies.”

Franklin shakes his head. “It’s partially connected, but probably not in the way you’re thinking. We did those trials with the horses and things went very well, though there were minor side effects.” Franklin looks back to his laptop and then turns the screen towards me so I can see the image being displayed on there.

I take a look and at first glance it seems to be an ordinary horse. However, Franklin zooms in on the face and I can see the difference. The horse had a change in eye color, just like the patients who took the vaccine. I looked over the image for a solid minute before turning back to Franklin.

“So the vaccine worked, but it caused a side effect of eyes changing color?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. We suspected it might have something to do with the inherent nature of how magic worked and the fact that both the fossil and the test subject looked similar biologically. However, we figured that even if the eye color change would crop up in humans, it was a small price for getting cured of the virus. The horses had no other biological hang ups so everything was approved for human trials. But as you can see, that part didn’t go so well.” He finished.

“Okay, that answers one question but I have another.” I retort.

“Shoot.”

“Where did the fossil come from? It doesn’t seem likely it originated from Earth, so do you know where that alicorn comes from?” I asked.

“Hmm, you’re pretty perceptive. Yes, this creature was not from Earth. Where it comes from exactly is another mystery entirely. Normal archaeological techniques are ill-equipped to handle winged unicorns. However, we’ve speculated that this being might have had a power similar to teleporting but used it to cross into different dimensions.”

“D-different dimensions!?” I replied, baffled at where this conversation had gone.

“Yes. I know it sounds far fetched but we built this on top of the things we were able to deduce from the objects we found along with the creature itself. Whatever this creature was, we know it was intelligent and thinking like us.” Franklin moved back to his computer.

“And how do you know that exactly?” I asked.

Franklin grinned as he turned his screen back towards me once again to show off another image he had dug up. “We found something else that got preserved with the fossil. Namely, we found a book bag and inside it was a journal written in a language that doesn’t correspond to any Earth language.”

“That’s...wow.” I stood there, dumbfounded at the revelation. “So, have you had any luck translating it?”

Franklin shook his head. “No, as I said before it doesn’t really correspond to any known Earth language. We were able to catalogue a character set but we’ve been stuck trying to figure the language out and since we’re now caught up in the vaccine, the translation ended going to the backburner.”

“Ah, I see.” My ears droop in disappointment.

“There’s...one other thing I want to discuss with you. It’s in regards to your little fiasco.” Franklin explained, shifting to a much more serious tone.

“I’m guessing I’m in trouble and you’re looking to punish me, huh?” I narrowed my eyes.

“Punish you? No. No, I wouldn't do that. But your problem did cause some trouble though not in the way you think.” Franklin explained as he hooked his laptop to the TV behind him.

As the computer’s display was mirrored up there, he pulled up a news story. The first frame of the entire thing caused my heart to skip a beat. It showed a short video of me as I was falling outside of the facility shortly before I had teleported back inside. Unlike other shaky cam affairs with “bigfoot” and other such found footage, I was actually very clear and visible, though from somewhat far away. The headline “IT’S RAINING HORSES?” was emblazoned below.

“People saw me falling?” I muttered in disbelief.

“Yeah, they did. I’ve been trying to hold back the media as I knew that could devolve into a massive quagmire if they saw talking ponies, but it seems the cat’s out of the bag on that one.” Franklin sadly explained. He didn’t even seem mad at me, just frustrated with the general situation.

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Now people have been hounding me with legal actions and at this point, I’m not sure if I can hold everyone off. I know I probably haven’t been the best host for all the patients, but I fear of what exactly might happen if other people get a hold of you in this current climate of fear and paranoia.”

I felt something churn inside my stomach. I didn’t want to think about what the outside world might think about me and my friends, but now it seems I have no choice but to face that problem now.

I sighed and looked back up at Franklin. “What’s going to happen to me and my friends?” I asked.

“Well, we’re working on that. You’re still on schedule with observations for one more week and then theoretically you should be able to be released. We’ve got no reason to keep you here after the observation period since the ponification isn’t deadly nor is it contagious. However, thanks to this wrinkle...well, let’s just say that things have gotten significantly more complicated.” Franklin let out a heavy sigh as he closed the news story and shut down his computer.

Franklin then turned toward me. “I’ll explain what exactly has been going down. Shortly after that story broke, there have been calls to expose what we're doing here to the public and the primary effort is being led by a man named Hayden Argus. He used to be a business associate of mine but we had disagreements about how to use the fossil and we broke ties. It’s something that I don’t think he’s been able to let go since he’s been doing everything in his power to shut us down and take over.”

Franklin pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head. “And now I’m afraid he might have been given the ammo he needed to get his wish. He’s tried some underhanded tactics to try and get the edge on me. He was on the news a few days ago attacking our company and pushing for us to reveal everything.”

“A news report, huh? Wait…” I suddenly realized something major after hearing Franklin talk. The person in the photo he had placed face down...it was the same man Franklin was talking about! I had seen him on the news before! Things were now falling into place.

“Is he that guy in the photo you have facing down?” I asked.

“Heh, snooping around the office?” Franklin said in a joking matter. “Yeah, he and I used to be close business partners but we clearly had different philosophies in regards to what to do with that fossil we found. But I’ve already gone on about that. If I know Hayden, he’s not going to stop until he gets what he wants.”

I furrowed my brow and sat up. “Alright, can you answer another question?”

“Yeah?” He responded.

“How long was I out asleep? I felt like I had slept a lot given how...groggy I felt.” I said. The real reason it felt so long was because I had gotten an entire crash course on magic from Twilight without waking up so it felt longer than I had expected.

“Well, you were asleep all day yesterday and for a while today.” Franklin explained.

“Wait, WHAT!?” I exclaimed, realizing that I had slept through an entire day.

The Fourteenth Day (The Fallout of Falling Down)

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The Fourteenth Day

I slumped down on my makeshift bed and rubbed my left temple with my hoof. I let out a pained groan as I reviewed what Franklin had just told me. I had been asleep for over a day after my magical escapade and now I’ve earned a lot of unwanted attention with that accident I got involved in earlier.

I sighed, thinking about all the different consequences that would arise from what I unintentionally did. If it was on the news then the public probably knew about us now. Sure, the officials can deny it, but given what I saw, it’s gonna be pretty hard to convince people not to pay attention to what’s happening.

I gritted my teeth and let out a groan. “Hah...this is a real mess I’ve put everyone in, huh?” I mumbled, my eyes downcast, not wanting to look Franklin in the eye.

Franklin leaned against the desk and crossed his arms. “Well, while you might be the cause of our current situation, I know you didn’t do this intentionally. Don’t worry, I’m not pointing fingers at you, Penn.”

Despite Franklin’s words, my ears drooped and I hung my head low. “Thanks for the reassurance but I still don’t feel great about this.”

Franklin frowns and sighs. “I’d like to say I have some good news, but I’m afraid if I did that, then I’d be lying.”

I turned my head back to look at Franklin. “When it rains, it pours, doesn’t it? Gah, this sucks.”

Franklin nodded sagely. “Ain’t that the truth? Like I said before, Hayden was a business partner of mine and when our research into that fossil began, we both had wildly different ideas about what to do with it. Fortunately, the board of directors saw it my way and chose to put me in charge. But now? I fear that this incident has given him the ammunition he needs to oust me as the leader of this project. He still has clout with members of the company and I think this is enough to tip opinion in his favor. I fear I have little time to act before he executes his plan.”

I tilted my head slightly and pursed my lips a bit before nodding. “Alright, what do you want me to do about it?”

Franklin chuckled. “You don’t miss a trick. You’re pretty smart.”

I shrugged. “It was just deductive reasoning based on the fact that you brought me to your office just to have a chat.”

He nods. “Well, you’re right Penn. There’s a good chance I will be asked to step down as the director of this facility and Hayden will be put in my place. While I probably won’t be kicked out of the company completely, Hayden will be doing everything to keep me away from here. He’s still got a sore spot in regards to me, so he’ll probably use his new power to snub me by kicking me out to another position away from here.”

I tapped my hoof on the floor. “So, what do you need me to do?”

“I need you to be my eyes and ears here in this place to keep me informed of what’s going on. I’ll be using my own contacts and connections to try and keep things from going south, but I can only do so much if I’m not there in person. So I need your help.” Franklin sighed and breathed in sharply. “Please Penn. I know I can’t make you do it, but I’m begging you to help me. You might dislike me and I can understand why. However, I can guarantee you that Hayden is far worse. Please.” Franklin then walked over toward me and hunched down to meet me at eye level. He turned over the palm of his hand slightly for a handshake, or in this case a hoofshake. “Please, will you help me?” Franklin asked.

I stood there in silence looking at his outstretched palm. Any other day before this and I probably would have said no given how closed and evasive Franklin was being with me and my friends. However, my life was put in danger and me getting seen like that might have put my friends in danger as well. In addition to that, Franklin was finally opening up to me and not being evasive with what was happening. I felt like he was being open and honest with me. For the first time, I felt like I could trust him.

I moved over and placed my forehoof into his palm. “Alright, I’ll agree to help you.”

Franklin smiled and shook my hoof. “Thanks a lot, Penn. I’ll make it worth your while. I know it probably wasn’t easy to agree to this but I’m grateful that you did. Now, let me get you something to help you out.”

Franklin moves over to his desk and pulls out a small electronic device that looks like a weird looking bean. He moves back over to me and shows it to me. “I’ll need you to wear this in one of your ears.”

“Alright but...what exactly is it?” I ask with a hint of hesitation.

“It’s basically a one-way receiver. I’ll be able to hear things you hear and I can save that audio for future purposes, but as a show of trust, it’ll only be active when you want it to be. I realize having something that can receive audio could be considered an invasion of your privacy, so I made sure it’s under your own power. Only you can turn the power on.”

I nod and pick it up with my magic. “Okay, now how do I activate it?”

“Just press the little button on the top of the device right there.” He said, showing me where it was.

I placed it in my ear and tucked it out of sight. “Hum, it fits surprisingly well! Alright, what do we need to do next?”

Franklin seemed ready to give me another explanation but before he could say anything, the intercom on his desk pinged. He moved over and pressed the red button on the box. “This is Franklin Merchant” he spoke, his tone taking on a much more rigid and neutral tone.

“Mr. Merchant sir, Hayden Argus is here to see you, he says it’s urgent” the female voice on the other end replied.

Franklin seemed briefly surprised by that fact but he quickly recovered. “Alright then, go ahead and send him up.”

“Yes sir, I’ll send him up to you right away.” The voice responded. As soon as he finished the conversation, his tone shifted again. “You need to hide, now.” He bluntly stated.

“W-wha?! Alright.” I stammer out a response as he begins to usher me toward the desk.

“On the plus side, it’ll be a perfect test run for the bug in your ear.” Franklin muttered as he gently pushed me underneath his desk. The leg well of his desk was very spacious and sat flush to the floor so there was no chance of being found out when looking from the front. After a bit of fumbling, I was firmly underneath the desk.

Thanks to my smaller stature, the area under his desk wasn’t actually all that cramped and I could actually extend my wings a bit if I needed to. Despite me being well hidden, my heart was still racing at the idea of being caught by someone from outside the facility. It almost felt like I had the instincts of a wild animal and that I should flee from here. But I knew that escape would be impossible in such a short amount of time unless I were to teleport and...well, I didn’t want to risk something else going wrong again.

After hearing Franklin moving items around in the room, he finally sat down at the desk right in front of me. I could only see his lower half and he seemed to be consciously pulling back to make sure I had plenty of room underneath. It didn’t take long for me to hear the door open. I quickly pushed the button on the bug and sat down in silence, waiting to hear what the two would talk about.

“Ah, there you are Frank. It’s nice to see you again!” the new voice said with a bit too much exuberance.

“I would prefer Mr. Merchant, Mr. Argus.” Franklin coldly replied.

“Ouch, last name basis now, Frank? I’m hurt. I didn’t realize our differences were so vast that you feel the need to address me like that. I thought we were friends, ol’ buddy!” Hayden replied.

“Can I help you with anything?” Franklin calmly replied.

“No pleasantries, huh?” Hayden gave a small chuckle. “Well fine, if that’s how you wanna play it, I’ll get to the point; the board of directors will be meeting today to see if a change of leadership is needed.”

“They’re meeting today? Why wasn’t I informed of this?” Franklin demanded.

“I’m informing you now, aren’t I?” Hayden replied with fake indignation. “I just came to help a friend and let them know what might be happening to them in the near future. Based on the recent...developments and the situation that’s arisen because of it, the board is most likely going to remove you from your position and place you elsewhere. A slap on the wrist for bringing unwanted attention to the company. I know you care a lot about this operation and it would be a shame for someone of your talents to be forced elsewhere.”

“Just tell me your deal already.” Franklin spat out.

“Okay okay, calm down Frank” Hayden relented. “I get it, you’re angry about this whole situation. I feel you. You’re probably expecting me to offer you the assistant director's position of this facility and just ask you to be my right hand man if you agree to go along with my way of doing things, yeah?”

“Not an unexpected offer.” Franklin flatly replied. “But given how you phrased that last sentence, I’m guessing you have something ‘better’ in mind for me?”

Hayden laughed, clapping his hands. ““Very astute of you, Frank. Yes, I do have a better offer for you. Instead of offering a watered-down position, I can call the members of the board and rescind my vote of no confidence and convince my friends on the board to do the same. Everything will go on unchanged here. You’ll simply get a small reprimand and you’ll forfeit a bonus, but other than that, no problems at all.”

“That all seems too good to be true.” Franklin replied. “So I’ll ask the obvious question; what do you want in exchange?”

“Oh, nothing too much really. You know the…’pony’ or whatever it is that was featured in the footage that’s all over the news reports?” Hayden chuckled a bit. “I want you to hand over custody of that individual to me.”

I felt the fur on my back stand up. I stifled a breath. I wanted to gasp in fear but I knew that I couldn’t compromise my position so I fiercely bit my lip to prevent the sound from escaping. From the outside, the room was quiet. But in my head my mind was filled with questions about why he’d want me specifically.

“What do you want with that specific individual?” Franklin said slowly, trying to pry more information out of Hayden. I couldn’t see Franklin’s face but the tone suggested he was narrowing his eyes.

“I don’t need to reveal that information to you.” Hayden responded, his faux glee evaporating in an instant, replaced by a cold calculated response.

“If I don’t know what you’ll be doing with one of my patients, then I can’t in good faith hand them over to you.” Franklin responded. “No deal.”

“Are you sure about that, Frank? You’d lose basically nothing defending them. Rejecting my deal means I’d get custody over that purple little pony anyway. Accepting my deal just means you’ll end up losing a lot less.” Hayden said.

“What I’d lose...is my principles. Unlike you Hayden, I realize that there is a benefit to treating your fellow man with dignity...even if that man isn’t a man. There is more to life than just money. As for custody, I know you’d be bound to certain rules set forth in the Project charter that are unalterable even if you were to run a radically different ship.” Franklin countered. “No. Deal.”

“Hmm…” Hayden hummed to himself. “Well then! If you’re absolutely sure you don’t want to accept any of my deals then I guess I’ll let the board come to their decision. You’ll most likely be removed from your position here. If I were you, I’d pack up your stuff now so you can get a head start before you’re given the boot. Oh, and one more thing...”

I hear a brief pause before I hear Hayden speak again. His voice is lower and much quieter, but I could tell his voice was much closer. “You could have prevented all of this if you just went along with my idea...any blood that’s shed will be on your hands now.” I hear the sound of brisk footsteps before hearing the slam of the large wooden doors.

After a few seconds Franklin pulls away from the desk and looks down at me. “You can come out now, Penn.”

I meekly crawl out from my hiding place and look up at Franklin. “You...you weren’t considering selling me out, were you?”

Franklin scoffed. “Of course not. I think that human...er, sapient life is valuable. Handing you over to Hayden would be tantamount to a form of slavery. I don't bargain with people’s lives.”

I sigh a breath of relief. “Thanks, but what about you? If what he said was true, you’re gonna be thrown out of here and instead we’ll be stuck with that guy who’s…” I trail off as my mind starts conjuring up different, terrifying scenarios that he could come up with. I shudder and turn back to Franklin. “It’s not fair!”

“You’re right, Penn. It’s not fair at all, but I unfortunately don’t have much choice in the matter. Don’t worry. I still have friends here like Shinzo and Dr. Matt among others. They’ll help support you, I guarantee it.”

“Alright, I’ll trust you, Franklin.” I respond, my ears drooping down. I had the sinking feeling that everything was going to change drastically and not for the better. Regardless, I didn’t have much else to do in Franklin’s office so i felt that I should head out. “Well, if that’s all, I guess I should get going, yeah?”

Franklin nodded. “Indeed, I have a lot of stuff to do before tomorrow, but you should meet with your friends and tell them what’s up beforehand. Better that you tell them than Hayden.”

I nodded as I made my way outside his office.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I made my way down to the Magic Meeting Room. I thought back to all the times and memories I made in this room and all the friends I made. I remember the games we played, the plans we hatched and the feelings we shared all in our own little hideaway. But now...things were going to be tough. Who knew if things would ever be the same? I took a deep breath and let out a pained sigh. I shook my head and opened the door.

Upon stepping into the room, I was rushed by a flurry of different pastel ponies. I felt my body being firmly but gently gripped on all sides by my friends. I was now sandwiched in a large, warm, fuzzy hug. “A-ah!” was all I managed to get out before the barrage began.

“Penn!” I heard Meghan cry out. “We were so worried about you!”

“You can’t go away without telling us first!” Will blurted out gruffly.

“Are you okay?” Juan asked.

I was so overwhelmed by the love and affection from my friends that I almost didn’t notice how tightly I was being squished by everyone. “I’m...alright but...can you guys let up a bit? I’m a little crushed here!”

Upon hearing my plea, my friends released me from the hug hold. I breathed out as I looked at all of them. “Thanks for being so worried about me, but I’m fine.” My friends grinned and gave me nods of approval. I sat down in my usual spot and sighed. “Well, I’m alright but...things are not alright in general.”

Darnel frowned and tapped their hoof on the table. “Yer talkin’ about that news report that just happened, yeah?”

I nodded and began to retell everything; my teleporting mishap, the fossil I found, my experience falling, the events in Franklin’s office, what he discussed with me, his likely expulsion, the meeting with Hayden and how I was asleep for over a day. The reactions from my friends all varied from shock to disgust.

Alex growled. “This is bullshit!” They said, slamming a hoof down onto the table. Everypony jumped at Alex’s sudden outburst. Upon seeing this, Alex pulled by into their chair and sighed. “I’m sorry for startling everypony. I’m just so frustrated with all this. We’re being led around like a dog on a leash and just when we were finally getting somewhere, this falls in our laps! Terrific.”

Juan shook their head. “No, you don’t need to apologize, Alex. This whole situation is annoying and disruptive. It’s okay to be mad about it. Honestly, I feel the same way. It just makes me feel so...peeved!” Once again, everyone reacted to this sudden burst of anger, though the group seemed even more shocked by Juan’s sudden change in attitude.

Will sat there slack jawed from the outburst before finally managing to utter a simple. “Holy shit.”

Juan’s sudden bravado was quickly followed by an equally quick withdrawal into their chair. “I...uhm…I mean, I’m a little frustrated…”

Nathan grinned and shook their head, “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a good bit of venting, darling.”

James simply looked on at Juan and nodded. “Impressive” was their only reply.

I sighed and looked at everypony. “Guys, this is a big deal but I know if we can overcome it. Whatever happens with the new changes, we need to be ready to face them head on. Plus, we now know where all this magic came from.”

“That giant pony fossil, right?” Cadence said, tilting her head. “What could that thing be? If it’s a fossil, it must have been there for thousands of years. Could it be a space alien?”

“An alien that’s shaped like a horse?” Will interjected. “I’d say that’s weird but well…” Will motions to their body. “...y’know.”

I continued. “We’re gonna need to be even more aggressive in our information gathering and see what we can all find out about these artifacts, especially that fossil. The answers we’re looking for are so close. I can just feel it. We’re going to need to be wary though. From what I overheard in Franklin’s conversation with Hayden, that man is a deeply unpleasant individual. Franklin told me he’s going to do what he can to help from the outside, however it might be limited.”

“All this time I thought Franklin was some suspicious jerk, but then the plot thread just went NYROOOOM in the other direction!” Meghan said, imitating the sound of screeching tires.

“Things are probably going to get harder from here on out. If any of you have any reservations to us doing all this cloak and dagger motions, I won’t force any of you to be here.”

“N-no...we’re all in this together.” Juan stated firmly.

“You’re not gettin’ rid of us that easily!” Will smugly nodded.

“We’re like a family and families stick to it through thick n’ thin!” Darnel grinned.

“It’s time for Spy Mission 3: Spies Take New York!” Meghan gleefully chuckled.

“I’m in it ‘til the end, Penn.” Alex nodded.

“We will not fail you!” James proclaimed.

“Darling, did you really think you could be the hero by yourself? Friends stick together.” Nathan flipped their mane and smirked.

“Looks like the whole team is on board.” Cadence happily pointed out.

I sighed and smiled at all of them. “Thanks, you guys. Alright, let’s do this.” I knew that things would be tougher from here on out but now I knew I wouldn’t have to face it alone.

Author's Notes:

Hey folks. It's me again. I know I said that I would try and get these in at a quicker pace, but I was unable to fulfill that promise and for that I apologize. Allow me to explain why it took so long for me to get this chapter out to you guys.

This here is my first multi-chapter story that I've basically ever written. I've done a ton of different one-shots, short stories and world building exercises that I've posted elsewhere, but this is the first time I've tried to go for a story that's the length of a novel and my inexperience shows. I jumped in because of the excitement surrounding the concept and universe that was being built and I just wanted to pitch in with my own story.

However in my haste to post a story, I neglected to plan out my story and to pace myself accordingly. This ended up leading to me burning out and reaching dead ends in my mind. Realizing I was getting nowhere, I decided to take my time and work on establishing a plan for my story. I just needed to take the time to fully consolidate my ideas and thoughts about this story and not just store them in my head. Given that this is my first multi-chapter story, I failed to effectively plan things which let do this month long drought of content.

I hope that you can forgive me for keeping you all waiting so long. Again I deeply apologize for the delay. I know saying "I'll try and have them out faster" will seem like I'm crying wolf on this but I do think that I can get them in faster now.

Thanks for sticking with me guys and stay tuned for the next chapter!

The Fifteenth Day (Cross-Dimensional Learning)

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I pulled my head up and took a look at my surroundings. I was in a reading room filled with books. The bookshelves stood so talk, I’d need a ladder just to reach them. I was seated in a plush reading chair that was just a bit too small for my human body, which didn't surprise me as it was probably built with ponies in mind. As I glanced around the room, I realized that I had been in this place before in my last dream. This was Twilight’s Library...and in a way, I felt like it was my library too.

I glanced out the window. The sky was looking pretty much the same as last time; an infinite void of nothingness. Looking down to the “ground” however was another story, mainly because there actually was one now. The immediate surrounding area of the castle I was in was filled in with dirt roads and settlements within the immediate area. It only extended for a certain length as some buildings were cut off, dropping off into the void.

After getting in my fill of this world’s ever changing surroundings, I decided to pull my attention back inside the room. Twilight wasn’t around, so decided to go out of the room and look around for the young alicorn princess myself. I lifted myself onto my feet and walked toward the entrance of the room. I pushed the ornate door and it pushed away revealing a long hallway with many more doors just like the one I had just opened.

“Geez, Twilight’s house is massive. This feels more like a castle than a library.” I muttered to myself. There were so many rooms, I felt like I could end up touring this place all day. I decided to roll the dice and look around some of the rooms. I pushed open one of the identical doors and walked inside.

As I walked in, my eye was drawn to the photos on the wall. Most of them featured Twilight Sparkle either alone or with her friends. One of them featured her with her five best friends. There was another that had a group of young creatures in front of what looked like a school. I was also able to spot a handful of photos that didn’t feature her at all. There was an older unicorn couple with the woman having almost the same mane style as Twilight.

As I moved along, I came across a photo of another unicorn pony. It was a picture of Starlight Glimmer. I furrowed my brow when that piece of information passed through my brain. I immediately knew who this mare was despite the fact that I’d never seen her before or met a patient that looked like her. It wasn’t just her name coming to mind but also the many interactions I or rather Twilight had with her, from stopping her from terrorizing a village to befriending her and helping work towards a redemption, to her new position helping out students at the school as a guidance counselor. They were all vivid memories and they were all things I knew but that I had never personally experienced. Was this a result of having Twilight in my head? It was all very perplexing.

My confusion only got stronger as I moved on to the last picture in the room. It featured Twilight once again, smiling her same wonderful smile. Next to her however was a large alicorn. It wasn’t Princess Celestia, Luna or Cadance. This was an entirely different alicorn from the princesses. She looked very graceful though that might just be the alicorn body type talking. I also noticed that despite having a size that’s comparable to Celestia or Luna, she lacked any sort of regalia. In fact, the only type of item she seemed to have with her was a very modest looking saddle bag that was packed to the brim with different items.

The picture was from the front so it was impossible to see what her cutie mark looked like. I picked up the photo and looked at her intently, trying to see if I would come to a sudden mental revelation like I had with Starlight Glimmer’s name. But no matter how much I tried, my mind was drawing a blank as to the identity of this mare.

I was about ready to give up when something came across my mind. I actually DID see this alicorn before but it wasn’t a result of tapping in to Twilight's memories. This alicorn had the exact same shape as the fossil I found a few days ago. I couldn’t tell at first since the fossil only had the rough shape of the Alicorn and none of the features like her mane or the color of her coat. But who was she?

My thought train was derailed as I heard a young male voice call out to me.

“Twilight!” the voice cried out “There’s somepony here to see you!”

I blinked. Right, I did tell Spike to remind me when our new guest would be arriving. I put the picture back in its place and gathered up my saddlebags before trotting down to get to the front hall. I galloped at a decently fast pace so as not to keep the guest waiting. I turned the corner and flew down the stairs to meet up with-

I opened my eyes.

The Fifteenth Day

I pulled myself upright and yawned, outstretching my wings in a big stretch. I pulled back and hopped down onto the floor. Normally, I would have gone over to look at myself in the mirror, but thanks to a quick observation I noticed that I was now a full fledged pony at least physically. There wasn’t a single physical trace of my humanity left. There were only two things that set me apart from the real Twilight; One was that my flanks did not have any sort of cutie mark. Maybe it wasn’t something I could just get right away through super science but rather it was something I would have to “earn” like she did. The other difference was that I still had heterochromia with one of my eyes retaining my ordinary brown coloration and the other taking on Twilight’s more fantastical purple shade.

Two weeks ago, I probably would have been terrified at these changes and panicking like crazy. But my fears have been pushed aside thanks to Twilight reassuring that I’d still be me when this was all said and done. It also "helped" that I was more worried about more pressing matters, namely the “change in management” that was going to be taking place. I had finally gotten used to the way Franklin was running things and who Franklin was, but now he had been replaced by someone who was a lot less caring and a lot more aggressive. I knew that we needed to get to the bottom of things and make sure that Hayden didn’t try to do anything funny with my friends.

My mental motivation speech was interrupted by a loud knocking on my door. This knock was clearly different from the knocks on my door that I received previously. While the knocks I received before might have been loud, they were only ever meant to get my attention. This knock was not only loud to the ears but also hard and aggressive, the reverberations made it clear that whoever was knocking had a lot of arm strength. The abrasive knock was quickly followed up by a gruff sounding call.

“Is Penn in there? Please open the door.” The voice spoke. It wasn’t quite a yell but it was definitely a much louder tone of voice than normal.

“C-coming!” I squeaked out quickly, still shaken by the sudden knock. I moved over and opened the door. Before me stood a tall, imposing man decked out in what was clearly a military uniform. The name badge on his coat read “KESSEL” and he had several shoulder patches including an American Flag and another with the words “Colorado National Guard” written on it.

“Are you Penn?” The armed man said in a stern emotionless tone.

“Yeah, that’s me.” I replied, trying to sound confident so as not to show any weakness.

“I’ve been assigned to look after you today in regards to both the Governor general orders and Mr. Hayden’s personal request. My name is Kessel.” He said with an even voice. “Mr. Hayden has also let me know that he wants to see you at 11AM today. You’re expected to show up in the Basement Level Research Lab. He apparently has a need for you there.”

“I see.” I replied. “Uhm...can I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.” He responded flatly.

“Am I...in trouble?” I responded with a bit of hesitation.

Kessel was silent for a moment. He was trying to hide his emotions but it seemed like he was slightly taken aback by the question. He quickly cleared his throat. “No, I can safely say that you are not in trouble. That was not the tone of my conversation with Mr. Hayden. If anything, it seemed to be that he felt you were very important to the project he’s working on.”

“Ah, I see...and you’re not...freaked out by my appearance?” I asked, curious about his reaction.

“I was previously briefed about your situation and what you would look like beforehand so the brunt of my shock and confusion has already passed.” He explained. “That being said...it is still a bit strange to be conversing like this.”

I nodded. This was a worry of mine when I heard that the guard would be called into the facility and that we’d be looked down upon or even abused by these armed guardsmen. Kessel seems like an alright if somewhat stoic person. However, he’s also taking orders from Hayden and that could be very problematic down the line.

“Well, I was planning on taking a shower and getting some breakfast first. I’m assuming you let me do that before seeing Hayden?” I asked.

“Of course.” Kessel replied.

I nodded to him as I went together to do my morning tasks.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I made my way down to the lower levels, my large intimidating shadow in tow. Kessel hadn’t been as intrusive as I had expected, all things considered. He gave me plenty of space when I was eating with my friends deciding to eat at a separate table. When I needed to take a shower, he was simply outside the bathroom, reading through a book he had on his person. Still, the fact that he was an ever present figure was...unsettling for me. Maybe I could convince Hayden to get him to ease up on me.

The speculation in my mind would have to wait as I approached an unfamiliar door. Kessel swiped a key card on the reader and the door slid open, revealing a room I had been in before. The same alicorn fossil stood in the center of the room on full display with several lights shining on it. The big difference today was that there were a lot more people milling about this time. I could spot Julius and Tyrell among the scientists seemingly being put to work on examining these items. I surmised that Franklin had them all on stand-by duty in order to focus all the efforts on the patients. However, Hayden’s priorities seem to be very different.

Speaking of Hayden, I could see him in the center of it all, barking orders at the different scientists to get them to look into the different items that they had at their disposal. His overall temperament was slightly aggravated, seemingly from being both annoyed at the seemingly lack of progress made on the objects and with them being more focused on fixing up the patients rather than leaving a discovery like this just collecting dust. Of course, all of this was simply speculation on my part.

I gulped at the whole situation. I didn’t want to get involved, but given that I was asked to come down here by the head man himself, I had the sinking feeling I couldn’t exactly refuse. Kessel motioned for us to move into the center of the room and I nodded trotting my way inside.

“Mr. Hayden, I have Mr. Penn here for you.” He spoke bluntly.

Hayden gave a quick nod. “Ah, yes yes. Thank you so much. for bringing him to me today.” He schmoozed.

Kessel simply nodded. “Will that be all for now, sir?”

Hayden gave a dismissive hand wave. “Yes, I think that’ll be fine. You’re dismissed for the day. Do what you want.”

Kessel nodded once more and walked off. I turned to see him walk away and then slowly turned my head to look at Hayden who had a phoney smile on his face. “Penn! So good of you to join us today. Are you feeling well?” He asked, feigning interest in my personal problems.

“I’m fine. You said you wanted me for something? What is it?” I asked bluntly.

“Ah, straight to the point, are we?” Hayden gave a knowing smile. “Well, Mr. Penn. I’m in a bit of a pickle. You see, we have all of these artifacts here and they’re closely linked to the condition you and your fellow patients are suffering from. Now, I’ve had my scientists here work extra hard to find the problems and attempt to work out some solutions that could lead us to some answers. However, as smart and as talented as they are, they simply have not been able to give me the answers I need.”

As I was listening to Hayden drone on, I caught a glance at Julius and Tyrell out of the corner of my eye. They seemed to give Hayden the stink eye behind his back when he brought up the bit about the scientists. Hayden then continued on.

“However the current information that I've been able to gather has been somewhat disappointing. So, I thought that I might be able to get more answers with your help.” Hayden turned around to look at the fossil. “There’s so much we can learn about this but it’s just barely outside our grasp.” He turned back around to face me. “So will you offer your help to us, Penn?” He asked. His tone and demeanor made it pretty clear that saying “no” was not really an option.

“Well, with such a stirring argument, how could I refuse?” I exclaim, with a thin veil of sarcasm. “However, I have to ask, how exactly would I be able to help?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“I’m glad you asked.” Hayden replied. “I’ve been made aware that certain objects can react differently when exposed to your radiating energies, or what some of the scientists have childishly decided to call ‘magic’. If you remember your little incident, you pushed a bit of your energy into one of the crystals we found and it reacted in kind. We’re hoping to find out if more items we’ve come across will react in a similar fashion.”

“Ah, I see. That makes sense I suppose. Alright, let’s go ahead and get started!” I say with some degree of genuine enthusiasm.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

My enthusiasm was all but drained.

We had gone through the gamut of objects and items that were there and one by one we seemed to be constantly hitting dead ends. I was getting very stressed out over all this. It also didn't help that Hayden’s controlling nature and dogged insistence to try absolutely everything was conflicting with the scientists who were insisting that they did do everything and were getting as much as they could out of it. This back and forth would go on for a long while before Hayden eventually relented and we moved on to the next object where the whole process would start over again. Repeat for hours and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Tyrell sighed as he went down his checklist. “Alright, we should move onto this next item...though I don’t know exactly how much we’ll get out of this one.”

“We cannot leave any stone unturned and that attitude of yours is not helping!” Hayden spat back.

“Well, let’s look at what we’ve got. Ah, okay. The next item is the journal.” Tyrell stated.

“Hmph, okay then Penn. Use your levitation on it.” Hayden ordered.

“Levitate it? Would it be more useful to try and read it?” I asked, which immediately led to Hayden giving an audible scoff.

“Oh, we’ve tried it and it’s completely stumped the linguists we have on hand. The contents of the book itself could be some schlocky novel about aliens for all we know.” Hayden dismissed my concerns.

“Well, can I at least give it a try?” I asked.

“Hmmm, sure fine, just don’t take up too much time with this exercise” Hayden relented.

I nodded as I took in the book with my levitation. It was an absolutely massive tome, filled to the brim with pages. I opened up the book and glanced inside. The markings were all very strange and didn’t look like any sort of character that currently exists on Earth. I furrowed my brow as I looked at it. “These markings are all very bizarre.” I commented.

Hayden nodded. “Yes, as I said before, it’s all quite difficult to look at. Now, since we’ve indulged in your little side venture, could we please get back to the real reason we’re here?”

I tried to open my mouth to give a retort but I was interrupted with an oncoming brief migraine. I shook my head and it dissipated as soon as it came on.

“Alright, I’ll-” I began to speak as I went to close the book, but then I froze. I quickly opened the book to look at the characters again. Nothing about them had changed at all and yet...all of a sudden I had absolute clarity in what these symbols meant. It felt like I was near-sighted and suddenly put on a pair of glasses to help me see.

“Day 504 - R43” I began. “I’ve decided to have an extra large breakfast today since I know I’ll be hiking a lot given the large mountains I have before me. I could always fly sure, but then I would miss out on seeing all the wonderful nature before me.”

“Wait...were you able to read what’s on that page?” Hayden said, his angry demeanor softening in the face of this major revelation.

“I...I can understand it clearly as if it were written in English. I can read it.” I stated.

The room was silent as everyone there stood there processing the information. Then all at once, everyone started talking, the energy in the room revitalized into a frenzy at such a revelation. Suddenly, I was bombarded with many different questions. The quick barrage was soon quelled as Hayden raised his voice to drown out the others.

“Everyone, we need to figure out what is contained within first. I suggest we all write down whatever is read aloud to us and we can review these notes later. Does that sound good?” Hayden asked. The group all gave general agreement to the idea and then they all turned to me. “Alright, Penn. We’ll have you start from the beginning of the book.”

“Right, of course.” I replied, closing the book and looking at the cover. The cover itself didn’t have any sort of words on it but it had a beautiful design emblazoned on the cover with what looked like a streak of light bursting through an open gateway. I briefly mused what that could have meant before opening the book proper in order to read the contents of the book itself. The first page answered a big question; who did this belong to.

“The journal belongs to Lady Aion.” I read aloud. “That’s...an unusual name.”

“Hmm, definitely not like any modern human name.” Hayden commented. “Keep reading, Penn.”

I nodded and continued on. “Day 4 - R1. I’ve decided to keep a log of my travels. I do apologize for not documenting the previous few days of my travels but I was so caught up with the world I’ve been exploring that I didn’t think to document it until now. I do apologize to anyone in the future who might be reading this.” I raised my eyebrow a bit. This book seemed to be written as some kind of a diary or journal by the way it’s written. However, the text in this first entry seems to imply that this person wanted people to read it.

I shook my head and continued on. “I would like to outline the purpose of my journey for both my own sake and for future generations should they happen to find my thoughts written upon this paper. Throughout my life, I desired knowledge. I was fascinated by the world around me and what it could offer. Every day was a new adventure to me. And for the first couple of centuries, life was pleasant in this regard.”

Hayden seemed to raise his hands up at that last sentence. “I’m sorry, did I mishear your last sentence because I could have sworn you said ‘Centuries’ back there.”

“I didn’t stutter. That’s what’s written down here.” I replied.

For once, Hayden was silent, unable to give a venom filled comeback and was simply processing what had been told to him. He simply turned back to me and said, “Continue reading, Penn.”

I nodded and looked back at the journal. “However, after a while, things started to repeat and become familiar. I realized that in my quest for knowledge, I failed to realize that I might end up running out of things to learn in my world. New facts and ideas became rarer and harder to come by. Soon, I was going years without any sort of new stimuli to foster my creative urges. I was in a depressive slump.”

I briefly stopped to notice that the area around this sentence had deteriorated a bit from what looks like a small bit of moisture hitting that specific part of the page.

I quickly moved on to the next page. “However, I soon came upon an idea. I learned a spell to allow me to traverse to other worlds and if there was nothing left to learn from my home, I could instead travel to a different world and seek out more knowledge. Now I’m here in a world completely foreign to me, filled with different creatures, different lands and different people. I will continue to document what I find and keep a record of what I’ve learned. Until next time, Lady Aion.”

“Hmm, so we know this winged unicorn could travel between worlds with her…’magic’ and that’s how she ended up here, at least if her word is to be trusted.” Hayden surmised, stroking his chin. “Let’s continue on, shall we?”

I agreed and continued to read. I went through entry after entry reading all about Aion’s travels in which she found. She seemed to always have a curiosity about her no matter where she travelled, whether it was going to an idyllic, peaceful world or a planet ravaged and barren. She met different characters and people along the way and she added it to her experiences and noted it in the journal. Eventually, Hayden asked me to just keep skimming through the entries for anything of note. After doing that for a while it seemed like there was going to be nothing of note until I reached one of the later entries.

“Day 3501 - R955.” The entry began. “I’ve encountered another world filled with ponies such as myself. It seems to be a nice and peaceful world which is a nice change of pace from the last few dozen worlds. I will say that this world is already exceeding my expectations since unlike most of the other dimensions I’ve encountered, I was not the one to initiate contact but rather the locals contacted me. I was approached by a hyperactive pink pony with a bubbly mane.”

I stopped. That description...that sounded a lot like what Meghan looks like...what...Pinkie Pie looks like. I continued on. “She was very excitable and she was insistent that I be introduced to her closest friends. I was soon taken around the town which I later learned was called Ponyville. She started introducing me to the townsfolk who were very kind and thoughtful as I was dragged around by my sudden new friend.”

I took in a deep breath as I read, unable to draw my attention away from the words on the page. “Eventually, I was taken to a large castle where these fabled friends were waiting. Pinkie Pie marched over to five other ponies and a young dragon and started introducing them to me. Her friends were Applejack, the honest farmhand, Rarity, a generous dress maker, Rainbow Dash, a loyal speedster, Fluttershy, the kind animal caretaker, Spike, the number one dragon assistant...and finally…”

I trailed off at the end of the sentence. I re-read the last statement to make sure I wasn’t getting anything incorrect or that I wasn’t just hallucinating or that I wasn’t just tired from reading all the other entries. However, no matter how many times I scanned the passage, the writing refused to change. It was immutable, unchangeable and completely fixed. I took a deep breath and finally read the last words in the sentence.

“...and finally, Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship.” I uttered. “I’ll be learning more about these ponies and what their world is like in the coming days. Until next time, Lady Aion.”

“Curious,” Hayden began. “Why did you take such an interest in that passage in particular?”

I froze. That’s right, he wouldn’t know about the Twilight in my dreams or any of that. I really don’t want to tip my hoof and tell him about all that. I’ll need to come up with an excuse.”

“Well, I took an interest since...it’s one of the later sections that have multiple entries. It seems to be important to this Lady Aion so I felt the need to speak it aloud.” I replied. It was technically true. It appeared to be the largest section by far in the book but that wasn’t the reason I was so interested.

“Hmm,” Hayden narrowed his eyes. “And why did you take so long to finish that last sentence?”

Crap, I did take a long time to finish that. “Well, I was having a hard time wrapping my head around a Princess of Friendship. I mean, what kind of title is that?! It sounds so silly! Ahaha!” I laughed, attempting to deflect the questioning with a bit of humor.

Hayden took a long hard look at me...but eventually he shrugged. “Well, that’s true. It is quite the bizarre title to be sure. Anyway, let us skip to the end and see if we can learn anything else.”

I nodded and flipped to the last section. The entire book had been labeled with a numbering system that had the letter R or at least the character in this language that represented the letter R followed by a number. I suspected that was short for something like “Reality” or “Region” but whenever it ticked up, Aion was talking about a completely different world. I flipped to the last one and started reading.

“Day 4041 - R988. I have come upon another world again, this one seems to lack any sort of large civilizations this time around so I have the feeling this will be another quiet world that I’ll be exploring.” I began to read but it seemed to follow the same kind of story that I was already familiar with. I started to flip through and things seemed normal right up until she said she would be leaving this world. The next entry was...very different.

“Day 4101 - R988. the world has no ambient magic. i am stuck here.” I finished reading. The entry was so short compared to all the others. “If she couldn’t leave and this fossil is her...was she stuck on our planet and she eventually became a fossil?”

The entire room was silent as my revelation permeated the air. Everyone’s silence told me all I needed to know.

“I guess I’ll go ahead and skip to the final entry.” I said to no one in particular. “Day 4322 - R988. I have come to terms with my fate. I realize that even though I’ll most likely never return home or be able to fulfill my ultimate quest for knowledge, I am content with knowing that I had a full life. This world may be devoid of any sort of ambient magic, but I still have my own magic that I can use to great effect. I will use my own body as a seed for which magic may be able to bloom. I want this world to experience the wonders of magic someday, whether it be years, decades, centuries or even millennia from now. This is my gift to the future generation who end up inheriting this world. I only ask that you use it in kindness and not hate, be generous with it and not greedy, be honest about what I am and do not hide the truth. I hope that my legacy can bring happiness and laughter to those in the future. Please entrust this to someone who will be loyal to my wishes. If you do that, I can assure you that you’ll experience the wonder of magic. Thank you for taking the time to read this, Lady Aion.”
“So,” Hayden crossed his arms. “She ended up on our planet, couldn’t get back home and then decided to…’seal’ herself away so that future generations might be able to use her magic? Hmm.”

“So, I’m guessing the vaccine used something from the magic inside herself and it ended up changing some of us.” I speculated out loud.

“Well!” Hayden clasped his hands together and smiled. “That’s a load of information that will be useful to us. Good job, Penn. I think we’ll be able to take things here for today.”

“Wha? But there’s still so much I want to know!” I stammered.

“Well, once our team finds out, you’ll definitely be the first to know.” Hayden said dismissively. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ll need to get to work. I’ll be sure to call you if we need you to read more of that journal. You know the way out and if you don’t, I’m sure Mr. Kessel would be glad to show you himself.”

I stood there in shock for a brief moment, trying not to show fear in the face of Hayden’s idle threat. Unfortunately for me, there really wasn’t much else I could do for now so I simply walked away from the scene. It was getting pretty late as we had been going on all day finding out about the journal but now I had some answers. Tomorrow, I’d be sharing this information with my friends.

The Sixteenth Day (Truth Comes and Darkness Follows)

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I stared up at the ceiling.

I just stared at the ceiling for a long time, allowing myself to be alone with my thoughts. I was starting to get accustomed to falling asleep in the facility only to wake up in Twilight’s Castle Library. It was a place that was quickly becoming like a second home to me. Well, really it should be a third home since the facility has become that second home but regardless it was becoming more familiar to me.

I was mulling over what I had learned yesterday in my mind. The entire reason we're all here in this facility and are being transformed could all be traced back to one individual; a pony named Lady Aion. If the journal she was writing in was correct, she was hopping around different dimensions basically to learn about the multiverse and all its different trappings.

“So,” I began speaking to no one in particular. “This pony came across Twilight and her world, the same world that I keep seeing more and more of here in my dreams and the two are connected because Lady Aion visited them at one point. But I still don't know the reason the patients are transforming into this ponies specifically. Damnit, I feel like I’m so close to connecting the dots here, but I’m missing the link that ties all this information together!”

I toss the facts around and around in my head but every time, I come back to that missing connection. If I could just talk to Lady Aion I’d be able to figure all this out. Sadly, there's no fusible way to make that happen given that she's encased in a fossilized rock and that's assuming she's even alive at all in there.

I yank a pillow from the couch and pull it over my face and I scream into it in frustration. I huff out a frustrated sigh and push the pillow off my face just in time to see Twilight walking towards me. I adjust myself and stand up straight. “Ah uhm, hey there Twilight. You uh, didn’t hear me just now did you?”

Twilight shook her head. “No no, I just arrived, but I did see you grab that pillow in frustration. Is there something you want to talk about?”

I sigh and pull myself upright. “Yeah. I want to know about Lady Aion. I know you said that you’re not the “actual Twilight” but I still figured that you might know something about her.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Last time I had this dream I saw a picture of you two together and I also read about you two having met in her journal. I figured that if you knew how she interacted with you when she visited your world it might help me figure out why this is happening to all of us.”

Twilight frowns and looks away for a brief moment. “I’m sorry. While I am remembering more and more about Twilight's...about my life, the memories around her are still eluding me at the moment.”

I wave my hand at her. “It’s okay. I understand.” I stood up and moved toward the window. Outside I could see the entirety of Ponyville lying before me. The quaint little village was fully restored at least as far as this lucid dream was concerned. The world of Equestria itself however was still incomplete. The sky for example was still a colorful void where the clouds and the sun should be. The city of Canterlot and the majestic mountain she stood on was nowhere to be seen on the horizon either. There wasn't much of the world outside the city limits of Ponyville.

I pull myself back inside and sit back down. “You’re remembering more though, yeah? This might be me speculating, but I think as the world gets built more and more out there, you start to remember more and more up here.” I explain, tapping my head. "I think the village out there is a visual representation of that."

Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. “Hmm, that seems like a plausible connection. Every day, I’ve been remembering more and more. Your body has fully changed and now I think your mind is experiencing changes too, or at least, I’m experiencing mental changes. My memories are becoming more detailed. I’m getting so close to the answers but it’s just out of reach!”

Twilight taps her head a few times and gives out a loud groan of frustration. “Argh, I’m so CLOSE! I just need a little bit more!” Twilight takes a pillow next to her and slams her face into it and yells.

“Heh, welcome to my world.” I quip, amused at her similar reaction to our mutual frustration. “Well, I’m thinking that we can either wait around and let the memories come to us or we can do more sleuthing and figure out if Hayden knows anything we don’t.”

Twilight’s eyes narrow as I mention Hayden’s name. “Do you think we can stop whatever he has in store for us?”

I grin. “Hey, with your brains and my dogged persistence, there’s nothing we can handle.”

Twilight returned my grin and trotted towards me. “Alright. Let’s do this together! I know that when friends work together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.”

I smile, feeling invigorated upon her saying the word “Friendship”. It was strange. There was something about that word that empowered me and made me feel powerful. Now more than ever, I knew what I needed to do. As I was enjoying this euphoric high, Twilight raised her hoof, seemingly wanting to shake my hand. I moved in to grab her hoof and-

I woke up.

The Sixteenth Day

I threw myself up and stretched my legs and wings. My pony body was now starting to become routine. It probably helped that the transformation from human to pony was gradual and helped me get accustomed to this new way of moving. Still, I knew it would take much longer for me to get fully used to this and refer to it as “normal” in my head.

I knew I had no time to waste today. Before I would have taken the time to examine my changes in agonizing detail and look on in both fascination and dumbfounded surprise at how my body had changed. I would have strutted around for a couple minutes in front of the mirror until I had finally come to grips with how the human appendage I had grown used to for over 20 years was now Equine in nature.

None of that mattered now.

I needed to get in contact with my friends. I needed to tell them what I learned and hatch a battle plan to stop Hayden. I may not know any sort of concrete detail as to what he was up to but his ill intent was nakedly apparent and I wasn’t about to let him abuse Lady Aion’s powers. Stopping him took top priority in my mind.

I exited my room and headed to do my morning routine of showering, getting my breakfast and then meeting my friends in the Magic Meeting Room. As I made my way up the hall to the showers, I was constantly running by guards and other new personnel who were unfamiliar to me. Hayden only took formal control yesterday and yet I felt the coldness of his leadership creeping into the facility as I roamed the halls. At this point, I almost expected there to be guards in the shower itself.

Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone inside the bathroom itself so I was able to take my shower in peace. As the water from the shower ran through my fur, I started to think about what I needed to tell my friends and how we’d go about beating Hayden. We would need to catch him doing something so damaging, even his most supportive allies would seek to distance themselves from him. He’s already shown that he has a very repulsive personality, though that in and of itself wasn’t illegal.

I sighed as I moved over the shampoo with my telekinesis. There was also the matter of that shapeshifter. I hadn’t heard anything about that individual for a while. Maybe they were hiding because they caught wind that we knew about their existence? Or maybe they have something more sinister planned and they’re just biding their time until they can act upon whatever scheme they had in store.

Well, I knew what I wanted to do; I wanted to catch Hayden in the act, I wanted to stop him from abusing Lady Aion’s powers and then I…

I stopped, letting the water pelt my back.

What comes after that? This whole time I was thinking in the back of my mind that eventually I’d be cured and I’d just continue my life as it was before I came here. However, I wasn’t so sure about that now. It wasn’t because I thought that Doctor Matt and his colleagues wouldn’t find a way to reverse this ponification, but it was more that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back. I was finding myself enjoying my time with Twilight and empathizing with both her hopes and plights. I was a bit torn about what to do.

I shook my head. I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. Right now, I needed to stop Hayden and his plans. I might have been torn on the choice, but I had the feeling that he wouldn’t even give me a choice in the matter. I shut off the shower, confident that my coat was fully clean. I pulled in a towel to dry myself off as I thought about what my friends would think about the future. Maybe they were in a similar situation that I was? Perhaps they didn’t know what they wanted and were as torn as I was about changing back.

Well, I’d have the chance to tell them after breakfast. I trotted out of the bathroom and made my way to the cafeteria.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I approached the Magic Meeting Room. This would be our first meeting ever since the take over by Hayden and I had the sinking feeling that the room was going to be a bit more somber than normal. I was already imagining their faces as I entered with glum looks all around and it being unnervingly quiet. I guess I’d better get it over with.

I opened the door and was greeted by a close up of Meghan’s face smiling at me.

“Yooooooooooou’re here! Great, now we can get the meeting started~!” She exclaimed with glee.

“Er...huh?” was all I was able to get out as Meghan bounced back to her seat. “What’s with everypony? I thought you’d all be down in the dumps because of what Hayden’s been doing.”

“Oh, we’re mad about that, no question.” Will retorted, her hooves stretching above her head. “But thanks to some good convincing and morale boosting from Meghan, we’re all determined to not let this get us down.”

Darnel gave a firm nod and crossed her legs on the table. “Yer lookin’ at a group who ain’t about to just give up because the goin’ gets tough. We’re friends...and more than that we’re like a family. Far as I’m concerned, families stick together!”

Nathan nodded in agreement. “Darling, we’re not pretending that this new situation isn’t taxing or of no consequence, but we’re also saying we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be controlled by it.”

Juan played with her soft pink mane and looked over toward me. “I...I won’t allow myself to be scared off by a big meanie like Hayden. I want to stand up for myself!” Juan stood up in her chair and she looked more confident than she ever had been before.

Meghan giggles. “So! Are we gonna prepare for ‘Spy Mission 4: The Sequel They Did Because the Main Star Ran Out of Money’ or what?”

I sighed and gave a smile to them all. “Heh. I’m glad I have great friends like you.” I moved over to my chair and sat down. “Alright then, let’s formulate a plan then!” I spoke with new found confidence.

“Okay,” I began. “We’re gonna need to find out more about what Hayden is up to. First, we should figure out what he’s scheduled to do today. If we know where he’s going, we’ll be able to keep eyes and ears on him and as long as we keep ourselves hidden and out of sight, we should be able to pick up on something that might be able to help us use against him.”

I pulled out the listening device that Franklin gave me. “We’ve also got this listening device. It’s a bug that can relay audio that I’m hearing and it’s small enough to be undetected. If Hayden says something damaging, I can record it.”

I put the small device back in my ear and continue my speech. “I think two of us should follow Hayden directly while the remainder of us try to talk to the remainder of the Pre-Hayden staff. People who we can still trust like Doctor Matt, Nurse Akai, and maybe Tyrell and Julius though I’d be careful since they tend to interact with Hayden a lot if my day spent in the lab yesterday was anything to go by. Still, we can make this work. All we have to do is keep a calm head and figure out what’s going down with Hayden. I’ve already got a general idea from yesterday but I need more details.”

Juan twiddled her hooves. “Uhm...if you don’t mind me asking, what...what did you learn about in the lab yesterday.”

I took in a deep breath and exhaled. It was a lot to take in so I needed to prepare myself for a long explanation. “I learned a lot from yesterday, so strap in for the long haul.” I explained.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I ended up telling them everything I learned about Lady Aion; who she was, what she did, her many adventures into different realms, and how she eventually met up with a group of ponies that we’ve all become familiar with over the past two weeks. I also told them of how she ended up here or rather what we speculated happened to have her here. After I was finished I let out a big strained sigh.

“That’s all I learned.” I sighed. I moved my head around to get a good look at the reactions of everypony. It seems most of them were surprised and curious which is about what I expected. The only look that surprised me was Juan’s sense of confusion at this whole situation.

“Why do you think Lady Aion made us like this?” Juan asked. “It seems pretty obvious that it was her magic that made us this way, but I’m wondering why it was the ponies of Equestria of all things and not any of the other creatures she encountered.”

“Hmm, well, from what I learned about from reading her journal and my own gut instinct, I’d surmise that it was because they were individuals that really stuck out in her mind. She might have remembered those ponies fondly and thus they were on her mind and that had some reaction with the magic. That’s my guess anyway. I don’t have any specific proof that my explanation is absolute fact.” I finished my theory.

“Well,” Will began. “She seems like a pretty awesome pony and I’ll be damned if I let Hayden use her for some half-baked scheme!”

“Indeed.” Nathan replied, nodding her head. “I will not allow this uncouth act to go unchallenged!”

Meghan snorts and giggles a bit. “She seems like she would have been a fun pony to hang out with and I don’t wanna see anything bad happen to her body or her stuff. So count me in!”

Darnel stretched in her chair. “If he thinks he can mess with her, then that Hayden there has a ‘nother thing comin’ that’s for sure!”

“Then we’re all good to go ahead with the plan, yes?” I asked. “I’ll go seek out Hayden and the rest of you will go and talk to the other staff and try to find out more about his agenda.” Everything was looking good, now all I needed to do was to figure out who I wanted to take with me. I felt like I wanted somepony I could rely on in a pinch, someony who I felt would be able to react quickly if the chips were down and finally somepony who was loyal to the end.

“Hey Will, you mind coming with me to keep an eye on Hayden?” I asked.

Will beamed upon hearing my request and flew up a bit in the air before coming back down. “Ah hell yeah! I’m down for that! If Hayden gives you any trouble, I’ll be ready for a tussle for sure!”

“Awesome. As for everypony else, go and gather up as much information as you can from the others and then we’ll report on our findings tomorrow.” I explained as I put my hoof into the center of the table. “Together as friends?”

One by one, everypony put their hooves into the center until there were six hooves stacked on top of each other.

“Let’s do this together. One, two, three, BREAK!” I exclaimed as we pulled all our hooves up into the air.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Finding Hayden was easier said than done. The two of us had a general idea of what he got up to every day, but there was no indication of where exactly he would be at what time. Then there was the added hang up of not being able to access all the areas of the facility which Hayden of course had no problem of doing. We’d also need to be a lot more stealthy this time around because I knew Hayden would be less tolerant of our actions than Franklin was. Overall, this was going to be tough.

Will however didn’t seem too worried. “Alright, we’ve checked all the recreational areas and larger rooms. I think we need to look more into the smaller office and living quarters areas.” She explained.

I nodded. “Yeah. Probably a good idea.” I knew that we would need to be careful with Hayden. From what I’ve seen of him, he is not a pleasant human being. The last thing I’d want is to be on the receiving end of his unpleasantness.

We soon arrived down on the office level, wandering the corridors, looking for Hayden. Time passed as we moved around and there was still no sign of him. I was about ready to move on to another area when I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. I could have sworn I saw a green flash somewhere. I turned to where I thought it was coming from and soon saw a random scientist...talking with Hayden!

I nudged Will a bit so as not to make any noise and pulled her head around to see the two of them turning a corner to go into another wing of the facility. Will nodded and soon we were following after the two of them, making sure to stick to the shadows and not be caught by their stares. Eventually, they entered a room and the door shut.

The two of us moved over to try and open the door but unfortunately it was locked by a keycard and trying my own keycard on the door did not open it.

“Shoot, we’re so close!” I exclaimed in frustration.

Will tapped a hoof to her chin and looked around and saw a vent above the door. “Hey Penn, you think you could fit into this?” She asked.

I moved up to see the vent itself, trying not to overdo my wing flaps in the process. I looked over the vent and shook my head. “I don’t think so, Will. I could fit in there, but I don’t think I’d be able to turn around or move much at all. Unless...wait.” I formulated an idea in my head. If I could see around in there, I could probably use a teleport to get around in the vents without needing to actually physically move. That might actually work. “I think I can use them in combination with some teleports. This will be weird and a bit cramped but I think I can do it. Stay out here and if anything goes wrong, go and tell the others.”

Will’s smile faded and was replaced by a look of frustration. “Wha? You don’t want me to fight it out? Why not?”

“If I’m captured or subdued, I need someone to deliver that information before it's too late. Do you understand?”

Will stared at me for a while but eventually she sighed and nodded. “Alright, fiiiiiiiiine. I’ll be ready to fly if I need to, for you.”

I grinned as I moved over to the vent and peered inside. I knew I would need to keep calm and not panic while inside the narrow tubes. I concentrated energy into my horn, causing heat to build up from the base to the tip. Finally, I unleashed the energy causing me to pop from my current position to a new one inside the vent.

My limbs were somewhat constricted by the enclosed space. I pivoted my body slightly to give myself more mobility with limited success. I figured it would probably be best to get used to the tight feeling and trust that my teleports would ring true. I turned my head to get a better view of where I needed to go. I used my horn again to teleport myself.

I was now at an intersection of the vents. The entrance I had come in through was now much farther away and I could barely see the hallway. My ears perked up as they picked up a faint noise coming from the right path. I did another quick teleport.

I was now less than a meter away from a vent that led into a room. The noises I had heard earlier were much louder and clearer now and I recognized that it was two voices holding a conversation. One of them was an unknown person who I did not recognize. From the overall tone of their voice they seemed...hesitant and uneasy. Clearly whatever they were discussing was becoming uncomfortable for them. The other voice I instantly recognized as being from Hayden. He was his usual aggressive and overbearing self and he was having a heated argument with this other person.

Before proceeding any further, I tapped the bug in my ear to turn it on. A small monotone voice in my ear spoke, “Recording Function Activated”. With that step taken care of, I physically inched closer, fearing a teleport might be heard by the two inside the room. As I approached, the conversation became even clearer. Finally, I was able to move my head so I could peer out the vent slits and get a good view of the argument.

“I need you to commit to this!” Hayden gruffly stated.

“L-look, this is a lot more than I expected.” The nervous person replied. “I’m not entirely comfortable with what you’ve been asking me to do. I mean when it was just keeping an eye on people and sneaking around, I was hesitant but I did it because no one would get hurt. But this is going too far now for me.”

Hayden gave a sharp exhale and stood up, towering over him. “You’re not reneging on our deal, are you?”

The other man hesitated. “T-that’s not...no, I’m not. But I am concerned about-”

“Ah ah ah.” Hayden interrupted, wagging his index finger. “Let me go over the terms again. I told you that I would give you expedited care, money, a cover story given your situation and of course, your eventual release. You already helped me a great deal. You got Franklin tossed out and you’ve provided me with so much information and you’re incredibly helpful when it comes to creating cover stories.”

Hayden started to pace around the room. “You remember how I had found you, right? Back when this had just started, I was only able to be here as an observer because Franklin had so little faith or trust in me. You were in a bizarre state of flux, portions of your limbs were of one creature that were connected to completely different ones like some sort of bizarre, ever changing Frankenstein’s monster. But out of the goodness of my heart, I gave you an experimental stabilizing agent that allowed you to get a grip on your powers much more quickly and well, look at you now!”

I raised an eyebrow at his story. None of the other patients went through anything like that, it was all gradual changes. But according to Hayden, this guy was “ever changing” which seemed very odd to me. Something wasn’t adding up. I looked back to see Hayden moving back toward the other individual.

Hayden leaned in and got right up in his face. “But just so we’re clear, you agreed to help me with weeding out anyone who wasn't deemed loyal to me. If you’re deciding to go against my wishes, then I guess I’ll just have to tell all my scientists that I have a shapeshifter who we can experiment on.”

I stifled a gasp as I saw the other man get engulfed in a green fire to reveal a changed creature just like all the other patients. This individual had a bright green sheen and large orange horns on his head. He looked almost like a cross between a pony and some kind of insect. This new creature was clearly panicked at the prospect of being experimented on, flailing in his seat. “No no no, please don’t do that! I’m sorry, I don’t want them to poke and prod at me. Compared to the other patients, I’m a freak! I can’t let them know who I am!”

Hayden moved over near where the vent was and I pushed back, hoping that he wouldn’t see me. I was relieved when he turned his head and looked back toward the shapeshifter and continued speaking. “All I’m asking is for you to do what I need you to do. You’re the only one among the patients who has this shapeshifting ability. You can do things I cannot and some of those things are going to be messy. I told you when we made this deal that things might get hairy but you agreed to it.”

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll do it, okay? I’ll do what you need me to do.” The nervous shapeshifter relented.

“Hmm. There’s one thing to say you’ll do something, it’s another thing to actually be committed.” Hayden bluntly said. “Well, not to worry, I have a little task for you to do to prove your loyalty.”

As I wondered what he could be talking about, Hayden suddenly whipped around and threw the vent open and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. Panicking, I tried to teleport out, but Hayden stuck something onto my horn that seemed to block my attempts at casting. With that avenue of escape out, I tried to physically escape his grasp which was easier said than done as I was much smaller than him.

“This little pony here was spying on our conversation. Now if she were to get out, she’d be able to tell everyone about our secrets, including about you and your powers. But if you help me, no one has to know what happened here.”

My eyes widened as I processed what he was saying, he wasn’t gonna kill me...was he? I looked over at the shapeshifter who looked nervous as he approached me. I looked up at him as he leaned down to face me. As he drew in closer I could hear a very quiet and muffled sentence.

“I’m sorry about this.”

A second later, a jolt coursed through my head as I felt a blast of magical energy slam me in the face. I fell to the ground, my body limp, unable to get to my hooves. I could hear the muffled voice of Hayden saying something before darkness overtook me.

The Seventeenth Day, Part 1 (You Can't Keep Friendship Locked Up)

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I buried my face into the pillow, slamming my fist down unto the couch I was lying on. The soft material of the sofa diminished the force of my punch, but my anger was still raging. I repeated the motion again and again, venting off the anguish that had built up deep inside myself. All the posturing and encouragement I gave to my friends about how we were going to get through this and it all just blew up in my face.

“I’m an absolute failure.” I finally muttered to myself.

I pulled my face out of the moisture laden cushion and looked up at the ever familiar sight of Twilight’s library. Normally, I’d think of this place as an area of solace and peace before I take on the tasks and challenges of the real world. Now however it’s just a sign of my failure to do what I needed to accomplish.

“God, what was I even THINKING!?” I belted out rhetorically. I was so damn confident with myself that I thought that I could just pull off a stealth mission and be all covert and shit, getting the information and leaving Hayden none the wiser. I was overconfident, that’s what did me in.

I heard the familiar sound of the doors opening and once again, I saw a young purple mare trotting towards me. Well, she’s probably here to yell my ear off about how badly that whole operation went. Can’t say I really blame her; it was an absolute mess.

My thoughts process fell silent as she wrapped her hooves around me and embraced me in a hug. All the self-hate, anger and frustration seemed to completely melt away in an instant. I stood there silently for a brief moment before returning the gesture in kind, wrapping my arms around Twilight. We stood there for a long time, not saying anything.

Eventually, I slowly pulled away and looked down at her. “Well, I kinda screwed that up, didn’t I?” I eventually muttered out followed by a sad chuckle.

Twilight shakes her head. “It wasn’t a complete failure. You learned about Hayden’s plans, recorded what was happening with the listening bug Franklin gave you and we know the origin of the mysterious shapeshifter and their motivations. Sure, we got caught and that is a set-back, but I’m willing to bet we can get out of this situation and confront Hayden.”

I shake my head and sigh. “I don't know...I’m still worried and it's not about being captured. I’m worried about what will happen to our friends with us knocked out. I mean Dash was right outside and for all I know, she’s been captured too.”

“Well, if she’s anything like the Rainbow Dash I used to know, she won’t go down without a fight. I’m not worried at all.” Twilight grinned.

“Hmm, that’s true.” I admit, walking over to the window. I had made a habit of looking outside at the world outside the door. Every day, it was getting larger and more detailed, showing off a world that was new to me. Looking outside, I could see all the way out to the horizon. The mountain containing Canterlot Castle and the vast fields spreading out from the peak were all visible to me now. The sky was now a bright blue with swirling clouds flowing through the air. They looked different from clouds on Earth; they were more rigid and seemed less random like they were mass produced.

I pulled back from the window and sighed. “You know it’s funny, I dreamed about my world once before but after that it’s been pretty much all Equestria all the time.”

Twilight tilts her head. “Oh? That's odd, the view from my room has been quite different.”

I raised my eyebrow as Twilight moved over to the window on the opposite side of the room. She opened it and revealed a sight I hadn’t seen in over two weeks. I placed my hands on the window sill and stared outside. It was my old neighborhood. The same streets that I had grown up on, the same familiar houses filled with the same people I had made friends with over the years and among them was my own home, still the same as when I had left.

“Wow,” I managed to utter. “It’s all here.”

“Yep! It never went anywhere, it’s always been here.” Twilight said, smiling. “You’ve just been so worried that it escaped your mind for a bit.”

“Heh...imagine that.” I say, shaking my head.

“I said we were in this together and I meant it.” Twilight said, suddenly adopting a serious tone. “We’re equals here. No one is losing themselves and no one is taking over.”

“Huh? Where’s this all coming from?” I ask, puzzled.

“Listen Penn, you’re going to face a tough battle ahead when you confront Hayden. But I don’t think we’ll be able to take him on if we keep thinking of ourselves as two separate individuals. We’re both here in this body and we should be together as one.”

Twilight then shows me an open hoof. The reason is clear to me. I reach out and grab her hoof.

The two of us…

It was never two of us.

It was always just me.

I was just so worried about losing myself.

I didn’t want to imagine myself as anything different.

My physical body may have changed…

But I am still me!

I breath out and settle down onto the floor on all four hooves. I look outside. I see the quaint New Jersey neighborhood that I’ve called home for over two decades, still the same as it’s always been. I turn and look out the opposite window. I see Ponyville, the cozy little town I’ve called home for several years ever since I came here for the Summer Sun Celebration and defeated Nightmare Moon.

The two thoughts passed through my mind. They were two separate lives and two separate sets of memories and yet they both felt right and proper. They were both experiences I felt and they were both lives I’ve lived.

“I think I’m ready.” I say to myself. I march my way to the door and reach out to grab the handle...

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The Seventeenth Day

My body thrusts up as I awaken. The colorful hues of the library had given way to the sterile walls of the facility. I pulled myself up just in time to have a wicked jab of pain hit my horn soon followed by a general dull pain in my skull. I shook my head, desperately hoping the pain would go away if I just banged my head around hard enough. I knew deep down it wouldn’t but my monkey/horse brain instincts felt like it might do something, even if it was only a placebo.

I pushed through the pain and stood upright. As I started to take in my surroundings, I could tell immediately that something was off. The light fixture was similar to the one in my room but instead of a nice healthy glow, it was giving off a much more orange light, the buzzing from the apparatus filling the otherwise silent room.

The glass that would normally be reflective was instead see through, albeit very tinted. There was a wire mesh going through the window, which was already a notable difference but as I looked closer, the metal looked somewhat different. It had a notably bluish hue to it unlike the typical gunmetal grey you’d see in security windows.

As I got closer, the metal suddenly glowed bright and lightning started to arc nearly clipping my horn. “Gah!” I let out a feminine wail.

“Wouldn’t recommend that.” An unnamed voice called out from behind the thick steel door. The tone was devoid of passion. “It’s a field that can intercept any of your weird voodoo powers you use with your horn. Getting too close will set it off. And despite what you might think, it can get you if you decide to teleport. I won’t warn you again.” He spoke about the window’s defenses with the same passion you’d use to read an End User License agreement. “Oh and just so we’re clear, the vents have the same metal field inside it, we stripped the room of any objects and we’ll be giving you dishware and cutlery that you can't levitate, okay? That's what I was told anyway.” He finished, feeling less like he was bragging about the cell’s defenses and more getting things out of the way so he could get on with his life.

So I was locked up and I couldn’t use any magic to teleport my way out of here, there were no exits and I have no idea what’s going on outside. Great. Well, I wasn’t going to let a near impossible situation stop me from doing what’s right. I started pacing around the room to get the creative juices flowing in my brain. If there’s no avenue for me getting out of here, then I guess the next logical way is to try and convince the guard to let me out. His total apathy for guard duty seems like a good place to start.

I approached the window but far enough away so that I wouldn’t trigger the magical defenses. “So...you sound like you’d rather be anywhere but here.” I observed.

“It’s a paycheck.” He bluntly replied. “I get paid well enough. I don’t ask questions. Just smile and wave and let the check clear.”

I frowned. “That sounds...pretty boring, Mr...”

“It’s ‘Guard’ to you, and I don’t need to justify my life choices to a talking horse. I’m good with making what I need.”

“But…” I trail off a bit. “Doesn’t that seem a bit empty? I mean, don’t you have any friends or anything?”

“Not really. A couple but they’re not close or anything.”

“What about anything you’re passionate about?” I press further.

The guard shakes his head. “I- ju- what? What’s with the 20 questions?”

“You left me in a cell with fuck all to do, so talking to you is literally the only entertaining thing I can do to pass the time.” I bluntly replied.

The guard pauses for a moment before letting out a breath of air. “...that’s fair.” He turns around so he can look at me face to face. He had on a similar outfit to the National Guardsmen though it was notably missing identifying markers like a name tag or flag patches. If I had to hazard a guess, this was someone who was in Hayden’s pocket and not a part of the guard but armed like them. “Well, if you honestly must know. It’s well…” His eyes dart away before he mumbles something under his breath. My ears barely manages to catch “-ing”

“What was that? Could you say it again?” I ask.

The guard crosses his arms and huffs. “It’s. Sewing.”

“Oh? Sewing? I never guessed that was what you were into because it’s-”

“Queer, right?” He interrupts, a mouthful of venom in his voice and a look of tranquil fury plastered on his face.

I clear my throat loudly, taken aback by his sudden reaction. “...because it’s something that I don’t typically see from big military guys like you.”

The guard’s expression softened slightly and he exhaled sharply through his nose. “Well yeah, it’s the kind of ‘hobby’ that gets all kinds of dirty looks where I grew up. Men are men and women are women. We stay in our lanes and we don’t mix things up. Doesn’t matter that I had to learn all sorts of things when one parent dies and the other is working themselves to death half the time and is sick the other half. Doesn’t matter that I had to do it for practical reasons. Doesn’t matter that I’m damn good at it and I could make a killing with it if I was just allowed to do it! It’ll all just end with, ‘Oh, you like to sew? What a fag! Why don’t you just wear a dress while you’re at it?’ from every clown in town. So I have to bury it.”

I sat in silence as I listened to this man’s story. I certainly didn’t expect that this is where this conversation was going. Still, hearing him talk about his problems and his feelings, something inside me was compelling me to help him. Escaping from my cell suddenly seemed secondary. I couldn’t just leave this man in such a disharmonious state. I needed to try and help him.

The man shook his head. “Fuck man, why did I even say all that shit to you?”

“Well,” I began. “Probably because you ‘buried’ an integral part of yourself. You shouldn’t deny a part of yourself like that.” I stated.

“But people will-” He began.

“Fuck what they think!” I snapped back. “You should look out for what you want to do! Does your sewing end up hurting anyone? Unless you’re jabbing them with needles, I highly doubt that. If it’s something that brings you joy and it’s something you think you could make a living doing, you should pursue that.”

The man falls silent, his gaze pointed off to the side. After a few seconds, he pulls something out of his pocket and holds it up to the window for me to see. In his hand is a small little charm that looks...a lot like me! “When they brought you in, it gave me inspiration to make something and well, you were good reference material.”

“Do...do you just bring your sewing materials with you?” I asked.

“Obviously. Who knows what kind of emergency situation will come up where you need a thread and needle, ya get me?” He replies calmly.

“That’s pretty forward thinking of you!” I responded. I leaned in closer to get a full look at his handiwork. I was genuinely impressed with the charm, and even with my lack of knowledge in the needle, I could tell there had been a lot of care and effort put into his little project. The curve of the ears and the small roundness of the snout, the tiny horn having a perfectly woven spiral in it, and the tail being in the same style as my own just on a smaller scale. It was truly a marvel how he managed to make something so small have that much attention to the specifics.

“You know, that charm there is truly impressive. You should start an Etsy store or something. You could probably make a killing.”

“Hmm, yeah.” The guard nodded. “Hank.”

“Huh?”

“You asked me for my name earlier and I was short with you. But my name is Hank.”

“Oh, well, thanks for telling me!” I smiled.

“Mmhmm.” Hank nodded and looked over at the wall. “Man, I dunno what compelled me to spill my guts to you, but there’s just something about you, something that resonates with me. I feel like you’re someone who can act as an understanding friend...which is a bit odd since this is the first time we’ve met n’ all.”

I frowned. It did seem a bit sudden. I was just trying to see if I could find a way to let me out of here but then the subject drifted away and before I knew it, I was giving him advice and encouraging him in his sewing. It was like I had to help him and I was compelled to give him friendship advice.

“Listen...I’m gonna go out for a smoke break. So if you were to get out and run around the place while I was away well...I wouldn’t be able to stop you.” He turns back to me. “It’d be a…’shame’...if that happens.”

I stared in silence for a moment before I let out a small gasp, realizing what he was telling me.

“Anyway, I’ll be back.” Hank muttered as he opened the outside door, leaving me alone.

I quickly scanned around my room, trying to devise an escape. I could try and find a way to short out those magical wires that are keeping me inside but there could be unintended consequences or side-effects to using it. Hank said that teleporting would still activate the trigger and I’m not good enough with my magic to teleport far enough away to not trigger it...not on my own anyway. I shuddered when thinking about how I was falling through the sky thanks to an uncontrolled teleport.

I paced around the room. Hank gave me an opportunity and it was important that I not waste it. I think my original plan of getting someone to open the door would still work but I'd need to plan things out. It would have to be with only one guard around and I would need to catch them with the element of surprise. All I need is a bottle of ketchup and then I could thin it out with water to make it appear more like blood and then I could have a puddle of it beneath me to make it look like I’ve been injured. All I would need to do then is to lie still for the guards to make it look like the injury is serious and the door is already open an-

I paused.

I whipped my head around to see that not only was the door to my cell already open but there was a figure standing in the doorway. It was a face I had only run into once before and it was a face that belonged to the creature that helped put me in here in the first place. It was that shapeshifter from the meeting I was spying on before I got knocked out by him.

I immediately took a defensive stance, ready to take on this guy with everything I had...which admittedly wasn’t much but I did have a determination to get out of here. My moxie was stifled somewhat when the creature before me knelt down or whatever you do when you’re a quadruped and put his head to the floor.

“I want to help you.” The shapeshifter murmured, his words being muffled thanks to his mouth being pointed towards the floor.

“Well, you could start by pulling your head up so I could understand you better.” I advised, trying to make him feel a bit more comfortable.

The shapeshifter hesitantly raised his head. It was then that I was able to get a good look at him for the first time and I had to admit, his colors were pretty wild. He had a vibrantly green sheen to his body. It wasn’t a coat like the other ponies or even feathers like the few gryphons I had seen before. It looked like a hard surface, almost like that of a bug. In fact his eyes were non-reflective and were a deep purple. He possessed a large set of orange horns that jutted upward and wouldn’t have looked out of place on a stag beetle.

“Oh...oh wow.” I unintentionally uttered out.

“W-what?” The shapeshifter stammered.

“Ah! Sorry.” I winced, realizing my gawking was not being kept to myself. “It’s just that your color scheme is very...unusual.” I remarked, trying to be as diplomatic as possible.

The shapeshifter sighs and shakes his head. “I’m not exactly proud of my appearance. I tend to hide from other people by disguising myself. I don’t really like people seeing me like this…but I figured if I came to you without a disguise, you might be able to trust me a bit more.”

“Hmm…” I mused to myself. “Well, what do you want?” I inquired, still not willing to trust him fully.

“I want to help you.” He stated. “I don’t want to work for Hayden anymore and I wanna get out of this place. You and your friends seem to be trying to throw a wrench into his plans and I want to do whatever I can to help you out. For starters, I’ve opened the door here so you can get out.”

“I see. Well, don’t think that just because you’re saying you want to help and you’ve helped me escape, that doesn’t mean that I immediately trust you.” I huffed. “You’re also the reason I’m in here in the first place.”

The shapeshifter lowered his head. “I know, I understand.”

“But...thanks.” I added, giving him a slight smile. “Alright, let’s get out of here. Is there a safe place we can hide out and catch up on things?”

The shapeshifter nodded. “Yeah, I know a place. Follow me!” With that, we both stormed out of the cell.

The Seventeenth Day, Part 2 (Poor Hopeful Changeling)

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(Part 2)

The two of us were running through the hallways, keeping to the shadows and trying our best not to get caught. I kept myself a good length behind my new “friend” because I was still a bit suspicious at his intentions. I wondered if I could maybe prod him a bit for some more information about himself.

“Hey,” I muttered in a low tone, still aware of our stealth situation. “I hate to bring this up now, but I never actually got your name.”

“Ah.” He uttered. “Well, it’s Gunther. Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”

“It’s okay. I just didn’t want to just keep calling you, ‘The Shapeshifter’ the whole time.”

“Well, I do appreciate it!” He gave an awkward chuckle as we rounded a corner. As soon as we turned to the hallway, we could see a couple of guards also turning the corner. Thinking quickly we ducked away inside a closet before anyone could see us.

“Man, this place is crawling with those guards.” I muttered under my breath, frustrated at having to sneak around a place I used to have free reign of only a couple of days before.

“I get what you mean, things have been ramping up recently.” Gunther grumbled in agreement. “Even with my powers, it’s not easy to sneak around with so many people.”

“I was meaning to ask about that Gunther. You were sneaking around before Hayden took over, yeah?”

Gunther winces and turns away for a second before turning back to answer me. “Yeah, I was. Hayden was wanting information. I suspected he wanted details so he could undermine Mr. Franklin’s operations.”

I frowned as I tapped my hooves on the floor. “That begs the question; Why were you helping him? He doesn’t seem to have your best interests in mind.”

Gunther was silent for what felt like a long time before taking a deep breath and sighing. “I guess to answer that I need to explain who I was before I became...this creature.” He darted his head around and motioned for me to enter an empty meeting room. I quietly trotted inside and Gunther closed the door and locked it behind us.

“Better to tell this story where no one can interrupt us.” Gunther stated. “Anyway, I’m not like the other patients. In fact, I was never a patient at all. I was one of the scientists who was brought in to examine the artifacts Franklin’s company acquired. I was there to examine the items and try and find out what they were. It didn’t take long before we soon discovered that the items in question had some otherworldly properties.”

Gunther gave a wistful sigh. “We were excited at the prospect of what these items could do and what we could learn and discover. However, there was some disagreement on what should be done with the items and how far we should go in terms of experimentation. Hayden wanted to do a lot and was making it very clear he wanted to exploit the artifacts for all they were worth, regardless of the consequences.”

“On the other side was Franklin. He understood that we couldn't just poke around with something we didn’t understand fully and that we needed to be methodical and precise with our examination to figure out exactly how things ticked. After those two butted heads, a compromise was reached in which we decided to do some of Hayden’s more brazen experiments but with only one scientist at a time to reduce the possibility of exposure and harm and if anything bad happened, the project would go with Franklin’s method.”

I gasped. “It...doesn’t take a genius to figure out where this is going.”

Gunther gave a sad nod. “Yeah, I was the one who volunteered to be the scientist. As excited as I was to be working with these mysterious items, I agreed with Franklin; we should have been more careful with these items. The first few experiments went fine but Hayden was pushing for more and more reckless ideas. But it was when we were trying to extract energy directly from the Alicorn statue that things went south. We knew it had a lot of unusual energy and Hayden was wanting to use that so I was asked to extract it. But as I extracted it, there was a discharge from it and it caused me to quickly transform into the state you see now.”

“I see...wait, quickly transform?” I asked.

Gunther nodded. “Yeah, the effect happened in about 2 minutes.”

“Hang on a second, it’s been taking us days to transform from the vaccine.” I pointed out.

“Well, while I wasn’t involved in the creation of the vaccine, I know that the new process of extracting energy from the statue is much more indirect. Additionally, the vaccine is a by-product of the energy used so the effects may not be as pronounced.” He explained.

“Either way, I was no longer human.” He continued. “The experimentation was halted and I was carted off to be studied by Hayden’s team. It was there that we learned about my new powers of shapeshifting. Everyone was excited about all the applications that it could have and what could be done...though this was all at my expense.”

Gunther tensed up. “I didn’t want to be some rat in a maze and Hayden knew that all too well. So he cut me a deal; He could get me out of experimentation and having to endure all these trials and in exchange I’d work for him personally to undermine Franklin’s efforts. Hayden figured that he could become in charge if he could force Franklin out so he was asking for me to do little acts of sabotage. Taking a file here, erasing some documents there. All with the threat of being put back into my ‘cage’ as it were.”

I slammed my hoof down. “That’s sick! Making you do all that terrible stuff just to further his own agenda. I can feel the bile in my mouth rising up just thinking about it.”

“I detested what he was asking me to do, but it was mostly harmless stuff as it was mainly things to inconvenience Franklin’s efforts and to gather information. But now that Hayden is in charge, he’s been asking me to do a lot more unnerving stuff and soon I started to question what I was doing. Finally, asking me to take you out was the final straw. I realized I couldn’t continue on with Hayden’s schemes and I needed to take action.”

The room filled with silence. He had finally spilled his story to me and I wasn’t sure what to say. My body on the other hoof seemed to know exactly what to do. I leaned in and wrapped my forelegs around Gunther and embraced him in a hug.

“A-ah?” Gunther gave a small yelp of surprise.

“I’m sorry you’ve had to go through so much. You were stuck in a terrible position and forced into a situation you hated. My friends and I will help you out. From what I’ve seen, you’re not a bad guy.” I said. While I still had a few suspicions, they were significantly reduced. Given what I could glean from his personality and the given situation, it seemed that his overall story was true.

“Alright,” I pulled away from the hug and gave a firm nod. “I’m assuming that Hayden’s got plans to accelerate the use of Lady Aion and her items, yes?”

Gunther an angry frown. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m sure he’s going to be accelerating things along. I also have a sneaking suspicion that he might try and use the patients here for his experiments. He knows this energy can transform people if handled improperly and recklessly. But given what has happened and what we’ve seen with all the patients, I have no doubt in my mind that Hayden is going to find some way to exploit them.”

“So we need to go and find out specifically what his plan is, yeah?”

Gunther nods. “That would be a good start. If we can figure out what it is, we can send the message out about it and tell the world what’s happening here.”

“Well, I did have a recording device that Franklin gave me but it seems it was taken from me.” I sigh, tapping at my ear to confirm its absence.

Gunther ended up doing something I hadn’t seen him do at all in the time I had been with him; he smiled at me. “Well, does it happen to look like...this?” He pulled out a small electronic device that was indeed my recording device.

“Whoa! Yes, that’s it!” I exclaimed as I picked it up and placed it back in my ear. “Thanks, Gunther.”

He smiled. “I was told to destroy it but I figured it was probably pretty important if he wanted to get rid of it so badly.”

I nod. “Alright. I think I’ve heard what I need to. I trust you more now.”

He grins at me and seems a lot less nervous. “Whew, you have no idea how happy that makes me feel.” His relief is soon replaced with a stern look. “Alright, we should track down your friends. The more hooves we have, the better off we’ll be.”

I nod. “Okay, but what exactly do you have in mind?”

“Well, Hayden wants to use those items for exploitation, right? But if we destroy them, he won’t have anything to exploit now will he?”

My eyes widen. “You’re going to destroy the statue and all the objects in the lab? But that might be the only thing that might help…” I paused for a moment. “It might be the only thing that can help the others return to normal! We can’t just destroy the only method of possibly reversing this.”

Gunther stayed silent for a moment and then turned to me. “I know. I’ve known for a while that if we destroy those items, we might never return to normal. But honestly...I’ve come to terms with that. Maybe it’s because I can change forms that I have an easier time going through with this but I feel like it would be a worse idea to let more people unwillingly go through with this procedure just to have a slight chance at maybe turning back to normal.”

I didn’t respond for a bit, looking down at the ground before looking back at him. “Gunther, do you like being what you are?”

“Huh? Well, I’ve gotten used to it for sure. Do I like it though? I honestly don’t know for sure.”

“Ah.” I nod. “To be honest, I was terrified at first. I felt like I was losing myself to some other being. I felt like my personhood was under attack and that any day the “me” that I had known since I was born would be gone and replaced by a pony. But...ultimately that’s not what happened. I’m still myself. The sky didn’t fall and the world didn’t explode. I...I actually kinda like what I am now and I think I’m okay with being this way.”

I smile a bit before turning it into a frown. “However, it would be foolish of me to think that everyone feels the same way I do. I know destroying the relics would end all of this, but I think we need to find another way to put a stop to Hayden’s machinations before they have a chance to start.”

Gunther sighed. “Alright, I’ll let you do the planning. What should we do?”

I grinned. “Well, you were right about the first part: We need my friends. We’ll all be doing a part to putting an end to this.” I stood strong and nodded confidently after my speech.

“Great! So what’s the plan?”

I chuckled awkwardly. “When I come up with it, I’ll let you know…”

Gunther’s ears drooped. “Ah...figures.”

I clear my throat. “W-well, it’s not like I have no plan right whatsoever! First of all, we have the recording device you gave back to me. I made a transmission to Franklin about that conversation I eavesdropped on that involved you two.”

Gunther winced. “Ah yeah...that one.”

I continued. “Franklin has some evidence of foul play, but it’s nothing solid or definitive. We need something more…” I mulled over things until a spark lit up in my brain. “Wait! I think I have something...maybe we should try and destroy all the relics.”

Gunther gave me a confused look. “Didn’t we just have a conversation about how we shouldn’t destroy them?”

I shake my head. “We’re not going to actually destroy them. We’re just going to make it look like we are. After all, Hayden’s plans depend on those things that are being kept in that lab, right? If he feels his livelihood is in danger, he’ll probably panic and to everything he can to defend it. Plus, if we approach him in a position of strength, he might be willing to negotiate with us and then we can try and get dirt on him.”

Gunther taps his hoof to his chin. “Alright, so we basically threaten to destroy his prized items to get him to spill his guts about his plans. That’s not the worst plan I’ve heard...but we’ll actually need to make it look like we’re trying to destroy it without actually destroying it. How do you suppose we do that?”

“Well, I can teleport around with my magic right? And I can also teleport other things with my magic. I honestly could just threaten to teleport it to a high place and let gravity do the rest of the work,..though really what we’ll actually do is teleport it to another room instead.” I explained.

Gunther seemed to mull over my plan in his head for a bit before shrugging. “Well, I guess that could all work out.”

“Y-you could have a little more faith in my plan.” I stammer.

“Sorry! I guess I’m just getting nervous. Everything is just happening so fast.” Gunther mulled.

“Well, we need to act quickly because I don’t think Hayden is just going to be sitting around.” I give him a serious look. “We can do this. We will succeed. We have to.” I took a firm stance in the hopes it would inspire Gunther or at the very least, get him to stop worrying so much. Either way, it seemed to do the trick.

“Alright, sounds good. Well, I think we’ve dawdled enough in this room. Shall we go find your friends?” He asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s end this.”

We opened the door and stealthy made our way deeper into the facility.

The Seventeenth Day, Part 3 (Assemble)

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(Part 3)

The halls of the facility hadn’t physically changed at all since Hayden took over. It was still completely the same at a cursory glance. However, it didn’t change the fact that it felt different to me. Maybe it was the new pony hearing I had but the hallways seemed abnormally silent, save for the occasional stomping of a firm set of boots echoing through the halls. There were no friends around to brighten up my day, no smiles to make the thoughts of my uncertain future fade away into nothingness. For the first time in a long time, this facility was unwelcoming. Uncaring. Unloving.

I shuddered.

I really only had one confidant with me in the form of Gunther, who up until recently seemed like someone who might be using me for their own selfish gains, but ultimately he was just as much of a victim of all this just like I am. I wanted to help my fellow man...horse...bug thing out, but I knew that going up against Hayden with an army of only two was going to end badly. That’s why we needed to find my friends.

If we even knew where they were.

“Hey Gunther.” I pestered with a light jab causing him to dip forward a bit. “Do we even know where we’re supposed to be looking to find our friends?”

“If I know Hayden like I think I do, I know what’s happening with them.” He responded with a firm tone. “He most likely wants to maintain control of the situation as much as he can. He’s been swift to employ the full might of all the guards to maintain control and flex on everyone else with the forces he has. It’s him announcing to everyone, ‘Hey, look at all the might I have!’ and being smug while doing it.”

He sighs and briefly stares at the ceiling before shaking his head. “As for where your friends are at, he won’t harm any of them...at least initially. He doesn’t harm anyone or get rid of those he thinks might be useful. I’m a testament to that. He knew I could be useful to him and put me in a position that would force me to work for him. But the situation has changed. I realized that I can’t just keep blindly following him. It ultimately led to this whole situation we’re stuck in right now and that’s my fault.”

“Hey,” I interrupted, placing my hoof on his shoulder. “He played on your fear of being ostracized by people because of the way you looked and was gaslighting you to keep you in his favor. You didn’t have any control over your change and you didn’t deserve to be thrown away and rejected. Plus...now you’re not the only one who's gone through a physical transformation. I’m here for you...and once I explain things...I’m sure my friends will be too.”

Gunther flashes me a small smile. “Ah...thanks.” He stammers out before reverting to a mild frown. “Thanks for the pick-me up. Let’s try and find your friends.”

I nod. “Alright, who do we start with first?”

“Well, we should probably start with your friend with the pink hair and yellow coat. She’s being kept in an area of the facility that’s less guarded so it’ll be easier for us to get in there.”

“Ah yeah, Juan’s probably feeling pretty scared right now.” I uttered out as my ears lay flat against my head. I felt a heavy ball build up in the pit of my stomach as I thought about all of my friends. I had been concentrating so hard on getting out and getting revenge...so I wouldn’t have to think about the pain and worry that my friends are probably enduring right now. I felt physically ill at the thought. I winced. “Damn it.”

“Hm? Something the matter?” Gunther inquired.

“I’m worried about my friends...it’s only been like two days but that feels like an eternity. It’s not just that I’m worried about them, I feel like part of me is gone when I’m not with them. It’s tearing me up inside. I need to be reunited with them.”

Gunther gave a knowing nod. “I see. Let’s get them out.”

I took in a deep breath and regained my composure. “Alright, what do we need to do to rescue Juan?”

Gunther pulled out a map of the facility and pointed to it. “Well, she’s been kept in a normal living quarters room, right here. They’ve only posted one guard there. I’m guessing that he evaluated Juan’s temperament and abilities and figured that they didn’t pose too much of a threat and thus dedicated very few resources to it.”

“Which means it should be easy for us to get in there and rescue her!”

Gunther nods. “That’s the theory anyway. Alright, I’ll go and pull the guard away from there and you can slip in and grab your friend.”

I nod and see Gunther take a couple of steps away so he’s right behind the corner leading to the hallway with the aforementioned guard. He closes his eyes and soon his entire body is engulfed in a ball of green fire. The fire itself wasn’t hot, however it did illuminate the area around us and I briefly worried that the guard might notice the sudden light out of the corner of his eye. My fear was unfounded however and soon the flame disappeared and Gunther’s bug-like form was replaced with that of a human guard who’s face I didn’t recognize. He turned around and gave a quick wink before moving around the corner and confronting the guard.

I lay myself flat against the wall, just barely out of sight. I could hear the two of them conversing a bit. Gunther’s conversation was too far away for me to hear but the conversation seemed to be having an effect. The guard looked over Gunther briefly before nodding and walking off at a brisk pace down the hall. I braced myself against the wall so I could avoid falling into his cone of vision. Thankfully, I seemed to escape his notice and I was able to fully peer around the corner. Gunther waved at me to come on over. I quickly trotted down the hallway, relieved that our deception went so well.

“Alright.” He muttered to me, still keeping his human guise up. “I told the guard I was here to allow him a 15 minute break so we’ll need to act within that time frame. I’ll be ‘guarding’ here while you go inside.”

“Sounds good.” I responded with a nod and tentatively opened the door. The room I found myself in had a similar setup to the last room, though thankfully there was no guard on the inside. As I got closer to the door for the inner cell, I was able to hear something from the other side. It didn’t take me long to figure out what it was; the sound of crying.

I lifted my head up to peer inside the room through the window. Immediately, I spotted a cream colored Pegasus facing away from me, sobbing softly to themselves. My ears drooped down flat upon seeing my friend like this. A lump seemed to form around my heart, making my entire chest feel heavy. For a good five seconds, I just stood there gazing out at my comrade in need.

Eventually, I shook my head, remembering that I didn’t have time to dawdle and that we needed to rescue the others. I tapped my hoof against the glass. A yelp of surprise greeted my actions as I saw Juan whip their head around, a look of despair and fear gripping them. However, upon seeing my face, they thankfully calmed down from “intense and paralyzing fear” to simply “wary uneasiness”

“O-oh! Penn, you’re okay. Thank Celestia, I was so worried about you.” They breathed a sigh of relief. “When I heard you had been taken away I...I didn’t know what to do and things were happening so fast and I...I…” Their breathing became more erratic and clipped. Just by looking at their eyes I could tell their mind was racing and I knew I needed to calm them down.

“Hey Hey! Just relax. Take a deep breath. Just do what I do.” I explained as I moved my body up so they could see me more clearly. I pulled in a hoof as I took a deep breath in, and then as I exhaled out, I pushed my hoof away from me as if to thrust away my worries from my head if only for a brief moment. It was a technique that was both something I had never done before and something I remembered fondly.

Juan stared at me for a moment and took the effort to mimic the motion I had just done; Breathe in and then breathe out. They turned to me and gave me a sad smile. “T-thanks for coming to rescue me. I was so worried about everyone and I didn’t know what to do.”

“I understand the feeling. I was pretty scared too, heck I still am a little bit. But I can push on through the fear because I have a secret power that helps me out.” I grinned confidently.

“What’s that?” Juan asked.

I turned back to them with a knowing grin. “It’s because I have friends that I can trust.” Part of me might have called it out as a cheesy line, but seeing Juan’s face light up with hope made the line completely worth it.

“Uhm...thanks Penn.” They responded with a sheepish grin.

“Hey, don’t thank me yet. I still need to get you out of there. Now where are the keys?” I moved over to check at the nearby desk. There had to be a key somewhere in here. I quickly darted through the drawers skimming through all the junk that was contained within. I was making a bit of a mess which made the organizational part of me squirm a bit, but I needed to get Juan out and fast. However, one drawer after the next came up with nothing. I let out a snarl as I was striking out time and time again.

“Ugh, where could it be? It must be somewhere around here. “ I told myself.

“Penn?” Juan stated plainly

“Yeah?” I whipped my head around, my body covered in a pile of papers, rubber bands and underused markers. My gaze fell upon Juan.

Juan was in front of me. Outside of the cell.

“Uh…” I raised my eyebrow in confusion and peered over at the door to their cell. “Don’t tell me I forgot to check to see if it was unlocked.” I groaned.

“Oh uhm...no. I really do appreciate the offer to help me but I was able to get it unlocked with the help of Francoise here.” Juan stated plainly.

I raised my other eyebrow. “Who is Francoise?” I inquired. Juan motioned down to their hooves. I lowered my gaze and saw an unassuming brown rat curled up near her leg.

“The…rat is named Francoise.” I stated bluntly.

“Yes, she helped me open the door since her hands are very tiny and she could pick away at the locks. Oh, but I appreciate your help, Penn.”

“I...see…” I uttered out. Juan continued to chat with the rat that was apparently named Francoise. I could get part of their conversation since I could still understand what Juan was saying but it was still a bizarre sight to behold. Then the gears started to turn in my mind. Juan said they liked animals. I’ve been able to use magical abilities like levitation and teleportation...could it be that Juan has an ability to talk to animals? That certainly seems like an ability that would be fitting for them.

My thought process was interrupted by a knock on the door. Juan jumped and Francoise scurried off into a dark corner and seemed to disappear. The door opened and Gunther in his human disguise peered inside. “Hey, we don’t have too much longer. We should leave now if we wanna avoid interacting with that guard.”

“Alirght, we’re done here anyway. Let’s go rescue the others. C’mon, Juan!” I motioned for them to follow.

“A-ah! Okay!” Juan stammered out a reply as the three of us left the cell in pursuit of the others.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

We scampered through the lab at a middling pace, making sure not to catch the eyes of any guards or other personnel that would want to see us locked away. I took the lead with Juan close behind me and Gunther took up the rear at a distance. I peered at the map and got a good look at my surroundings.

“Alright,” I muttered to my friends. “We should be close to where Will is being kept. But where is she exactly?” I tapped my hoof to my cheek before turning my head to peer around a corner. In the hallway, there was one door that had a whopping four guards stationed outside of it. My eyes widened as I quickly yanked my head back.

“Well, I think I know which room she’s being held up in. Sadly, it looks like it’ll be impossible to pull the same trick again with there being four guards all around.” I grumbled.

“There must be something we can do.” Juan stated. “I can try and see if Francoise knows any other animals around here that could help us out.”

“Hmm, I dunno, those animals could get hurt and I dunno if we could get anything in the lab big enough to deal with the guards.” I countered.

“I could shape shift into something and try to get the guards to chase after me.” Gunther offered.

“Well, there’s no guarantee that all the guards would follow you and if you get caught, we’d be down another person.” I replied. “No, we’re gonna need to do something different.”

I peered back around the corner. There were four guards outside, but how many of them were inside? I needed more info.

“Hey Gunther. I have an idea. I need you to disguise yourself as a guard and talk to the others to get intel. I need to know if it’s just those four or if there are more people in there.

“Ah, alright. Here goes.” Gunther gets up on his hind legs and is enveloped in his changing fire. When the flames clear, he is replaced by a human guard once more. He soon makes his way down the hallway and greets the other four people.

As Gunther made his way down the hall, I turned back to look at Juan. They were keeping quiet as usual but something was amiss. I could see them fidgeting more than usual. It was a sure fire sign that they wanted to say something but were too nervous to actually speak the words. Juan’s gaze met mine and they quickly turned away. I sighed and spoke in a low murmur.

“Juan, there’s something you want to tell me, but you’re too nervous to say it.” I said, keeping my gaze affixed to the yellow pony.

Juan turned back and sighed, realizing that I could read them like a book. “I’m worried,” Juan began. “I’m worried about us going around and freeing everyone because well…don’t you think it’s been really easy so far? What if we’re about to wander into some kind of trap?”

I paused for a moment to think about Juan’s worries. It was pretty easy getting out and breaking into Juan’s chamber. Heck, they more or less had a small army here, they could capture us easily if they really wanted to. Juan’s comments planted a seed of doubt in my mind. After going over all the facts, there’s no way it couldn’t be a trap. However, at the same time, I realized that given the current situation, I was going to have to take that risk. I looked back at Juan with a pensive look.

“I think you’re right, Juan. There probably is a trap waiting for us at some point. I’ve been preparing for when the alarms go off and we have to start rushing out of here. But so far it’s been eerily quiet.” I cocked my head up and gave a smirk. “But since we know there’s a trap, we can better prepare for it. I’ve already got a plan for it, don’t you worry about it.”

Juan beamed a large grin. “Oh thanks Penn. I feel so much better knowing that.”

I smiled back and returned to look over at the guards.

My smile quickly turned into a frown.

Oh crap, now I actually need to make a plan. I thought to myself. Twilight would have probably come up with a full fledged eight step process to get through this but I was just flying blind. I guess in that respect I’m not at all like Twilight.

I had the “framework” for a plan, but it’s a bit hard to plan for something you had very little information about and were basically flying blind. I just boasted about having a better case to Juan to make them feel better. I didn’t lie, just embellished. Still, if Darnel was here, they’d probably frown at my egregious stretching of the truth.

After mulling over my selective truth telling, I noticed a bit of a ruckus coming from the guards. I wasn’t listening in to the conversation due to talking with Juan but I managed to catch one of them arguing not with Gunther, but with another guard.

“You mean to tell me you’ve been able to get out of clean up duty and you’ve been saddling me with it this whole time!?” One guard growled.

“That’s not true, I’ve just been able to choose my stuff on the chore list because I get to the chart at the beginning of the week and you always end up last because you’re trying to get as much breakfast as you can first. Not everything is about eating, Gerald!” The other guard snidely counters.

“Well either way, I’m going to go and fix this! I ain’t gettin’ saddled with this duty anymore! This duty is bullshit!” Gerald complains.

“Heh, duty.” The third guard childishly comments.

The guard known as Gerald, makes his way down the other hall with two of the guards following them. Gunther has a quick little chat with the fourth and soon the last one chases after the other three. Once they’re out of sight, he motions for the two of us to make our way over. We all gathered around the door ready to open it.

“Alright, let’s get in there.” I told the others, gripping the door handle tightly. The door slid away as the inner room opened up to us. Inside we could see the window peering into the cell where we could see a blue mare, flying around in circles in the small enclosed area. Upon us approaching, she turned to look at us.

“You guys! Geez, am I glad to see you all.” Will exclaimed.

“Oh, we would never leave you behind.” Juan quietly smiled. “Friends are loyal to friends after all.”

“Hmm, loyal…yeah, yeah they are.” She mutters to herself, enjoying the thought of a close knit group of friends. She shakes her head, dispelling the reverie. “Well, anyway, what are we waiting for? We have to get everyone else out!”

I smiled and chuckled a little. “Oh? I thought you’d wanna go right after the guy who locked you up in the first place?”

Will shakes her head. “And leave my friends hanging? Heck no! We gotta get them all out.”

I smile and pry open the inner door to let Will outside. As soon as the opening was wide enough she zipped through and soared in the air, doing laps around the room. Judging from the quick reactions, it seems she’s been eager to expel all the extra energy she’s been accumulating. She stretched in mid-air and did a flying backstroke above our heads.

“Whew, finally out of that stuffy room!” Will exclaimed.

“Gee, you’re pretty good at flying.” Juan commented, their own wings flapping slightly as if trying to emulate what Will was doing.

“Hell yeah, I am pretty awesome. I’ve had an urge to fly around since getting put up in that cramped room.” Will smirked. “It’d be even more awesome if I could actually go outside and fly around the open skies.”

“We’ll get to that.” I assured her. “But first, we gotta get everypony rescued from their rooms. Then we can confront Hayden and stop him from abusing those magic items.”

I mulled over the current status of our predicament. We had half of our mane group…er main group of six ponies gathered. Part of me wondered if I should try and gather up more friends to help, but I realized that too many of us would be hard to coordinate and we’d be easy fodder for capture and then we’d be back at square one. Either way, three right now would not be enough.

“Okay, we need to find another friend. I think Meghan would be our next bet. She’s pretty off the wall and would be a nice wild card to have in our team.” I surmised.

Gunther frowned. “Well, unfortunately, she’s one of the few people who’s location I don’t know. I am aware that she was taken away but after that, no one’s seen much of her at all. Even the guards don’t really seem to mention her.”

“Could she have been…t-taken away?” Juan whimpered.

“Or worse, maybe she was put in some kind of interrogation chamber?!” Will growled in anger.

“Oh! Or maybe it’s some other super duper chamber that no one here knows about and it’s hidden because you need to clip through the floor with frame perfect timing because there’s no actual doors that lead there!” Another individual proudly speculated.

I turned over to see that the owner of the voice was…Meghan, gleefully smiling back at me.

“What.” I groaned.

“How!?” Will yelled.

“W-why?” Juan inquired.

“When?” Gunther asked.

“Who!” Meghan beamed.

“Uh, You!” I snarled.

“Ah, well, that explains everything I guess!” Meghan casually stated.

“No it doesn’t! You can’t just show up and expect us to accept it!” I stammered.

“Hmm, well, I think I used something…what was it called…oh! Yes, I used the “Rule of Funny” and it let me come to you guys at the most comedic moment regardless of any semblance of logic!”

We all stared at her in silence for a good three seconds. I finally tried to break the silence with my attempt at a rebuttal. “But that doesn’t explain how you could simply drop in without anyone noticing.”

“That’s what I call Spy Mission 5: The Actors Really Needed the Money!” Meghan replied.

“But tha- Nope, you know what, I don’t care. We have four now, let’s just find Darnel and Nathan.” I exclaimed, realizing that if I tried to apply logic, it would just end with my brain breaking under the strain. “Gunther, let’s go find the others.”

“Ah…right.” Gunther stammered, still clearly confused by the whole ordeal himself. “I think Darnel is the closest to us, I’ll show you the way.” He motioned for us to follow behind him, leaving the strange event behind us.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As our team grew in number, it felt like we were closer and closer to approaching danger every time we peered around a corner. It was becoming clear to me now that we couldn’t handle a group this large and maintain stealth for very long. I knew we would need to confront Hayden with a smaller team if we had any chance of getting the drop on him. I wanted to gather everyone else as well, but that was a risk I couldn’t rightfully take. Still, part of me wondered if there might be a way to get them out to help on my behalf.

My train of thought was interrupted by Gunther signaling that we had arrived at our destination and was getting eyes on the target. He stares out into the hallway for a surprisingly long time before pulling back.

“That’s odd.” He muttered. “There’s no one guarding the door.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Wait, what? That can’t be right.” I darted my head out from the corner to confirm this information for myself. Sure enough, not one soul occupied the hallway. I frowned and turned back to the group. “Could this be some mistake?” I wondered.

“Well, no use looking a gift horse in the mouth…pony? Ah whatever, let’s go in!” Will said, with a confident grin. She dashed over to the door and went to open it.

“Ah! Hey hey hey, not so fast!” I stammered, trying to get her to be careful.

Will was about to open it up, but stopped though it seemed to be from whatever was happening inside the room and not my pleas for her to stop.

“Hey.” Will uttered. “I think Darnel is talking with the guard…because the guard is in the inner cell with her.”

“Whuh?” I was baffled at this development and peered inside. Sure enough, there Darnel was, just talking with the guard. The guard was lying on the bed, almost like a stereotypical therapy session, just chatting away with Darnel. This was incredibly weird.

Well, I decided to try and find out what was happening for myself. “I’m going in alone. If anything happens to me, come bail me out, okay?”

Everyone looked worried at first but ultimately they agreed. I turned and took a deep breath and opened the door. I moved into the room and could finally hear what was being discussed.

“-and it’s just not something I actually want to do.” The guard in mid-conversation said to Darnel candidly. “I’m not here out of any sense of justice or pride, this was just a job for me. I did it because I wasn’t good at anything else.”

Darnel nodded. “Well sugarcube, you need to be honest with yourself which I think you’re finally starting to do with me, thankfully.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to open up to others but for some reason I feel like I can be honest with you.” The guard replied.

“Uhm, what’s happening here?” I asked. I knew this could provoke the guard, but he seemed to not be in a defensive mode…and even if he did become hostile, I was confident that our group could take him on. Fortunately, it didn’t seem at all necessary as the two turned to me and Darnel grinned.

“Howdy Penn! You caught me havin’ a heart to heart with my friend here. He’s been telling me about his passions and what he wants to do with his life. He’s not really satisfied with doing the gun toting life and wants something else.”

“I…I see. That’s…that’s good to hear!” I stuttered out a reply. I realized too late that this might be a more personal conversation that I was intruding in on and that I should probably give the two some privacy.

“Well, listen, I’ll just be going now…I hope your “friend” doesn’t mind.” I eyed the guard with suspicion.

“It’s okay.” the ambivalent guard replied. “This was just a job to me, no passion in it at all. I won’t tell anyone you’re here.”

“Thank you. When you’re done Darnel, I’ll be waiting outside for you.” I announced and closed the door behind me. I trotted out of the room and trotted back to my friends.

“Sooooooo, what happened?” Meghan leaned in, eager to hear the details.

“Darnel is playing therapist to their own guard it seems. They’ll be done soon.” I calmly stated.

“...huh.” Will bluntly replied. “Weird.”

After a bit of waiting, I spied Darnel leaving the room and making their way to us. Darnel grinned as they trotted next to me.

“Howdy, y’all. Sorry for takin’ so long in there.” They apologized.

“Hey, no need for that. You were doing some important work. It’s always good to find out what you want to do with your life.” I gave a small grin.

Darnel looked at me and frowned. “Yeah, it’s hard to admit when you’re sometimes scared about the future and you don’t know what you want to do. No one has all the answers but we’re all trying to figure out where we wanna go.”

“Boy don’t I know that.” I muttered.

“...Sugarcube?” Darnel inquired.

“Ah! Sorry, I’m just thinking about…well, what we’re gonna do in the future. Will we be able to change back? Will we be accepted by the world at large?” I mouthed off my worries to everyone.

“Hey.” Will chimed in, a softness in her voice that I had not heard before. “It’s like Darnel said, no one’s got the answers. Even an egghead like you doesn’t know…but I do know that we’re all in this together and if we’re together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.”

I beamed at that. Yeah, we can do this together. “Thanks. I needed that pep talk.”

“Ah, don’t have me gettin’ all mushy! It’ll ruin my image! We need to get Nathan and find that Hayden guy and give him a hoof sandwich!” Will said, slamming her hooves together.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go and find them.” I said, turning to Gunther. He responds with a knowing nod and soon, he starts leading us to the last friend we needed

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This has all become routine by this point and we all knew what we were doing; scout the place out, figure out whether or not the guards would pose a threat to us, and subdue or otherwise remove the guards from the situation and prevent them from raising an alarm or getting suspicious of us. We just needed to find Nathan and get them out of the situation they were in and then we could finally confront Hayden.

It all sounded so good on paper, but this current situation was proving difficult. Unlike all the other guards, this guard was proving to be particularly difficult to distract or otherwise get to leave like all the others. Gunther’s disguises weren’t cutting it and we couldn’t risk having the guard see these ponies going around and about.

“What are we gonna do? This is so nerve wracking…” Juan muttered.

“I could rush up there and smack that guy!” Will growled, clearly wanting a confrontation.

“Nuh uh, no way.” I countered. “We can’t risk that.”

“I could try a different disguise.” Gunther suggested.

“No no, he might get suspicious if multiple ‘people’ come up trying to distract him.” I retorted.
“I could do another off the wall jaw dropping maneuver buuuuuuuuuuuut I’m having trouble thinking of a good punchline that could work in this situation. I’ll need a minute on that.” Meghan explained.

“Ah…thanks for trying.” I sighed.

“Hey…the guard’s goin’ inside y’all.” Darnel pointed.

We all clambered around the corner to get a view on what was happening. The unimpressed guard was being called inside by what we assumed was Nathan. The guard moves inside and shuts the door. After about 30 seconds, the guard reemerges, his stoicism having melted away and a look of embarrassment being shown square across his face. His eyes dart around to make sure no one is looking and with great haste he makes his way down the hall away from us. It was hard to catch but it seemed that he was covering his pelvic region for some reason.

Despite that weird and bizarre display, the room was now free of obstructions and we could enter in freely. I made my way over to the door and opened it, looking inside for the ivory unicorn. Sure enough, inside the room was our friend and confidant, simply using the window to groom themselves.

“Ah, hey there Nathan. How’s it going?” I casually ask.

“Oh, hello darling. I’m very well thank you. The guard that they had watching me was so impressively stone faced, it was a miracle I was able to get him to leave at all. But embarrassment seems to be a universal constant in this world.” Nathan explained.

“Oh…what uh…what exactly did you do?” I hesitantly asked.

“Ah, it’s simple really: I called him in to ask for some refreshments and while he was distracted, I pulled at the fabric of his uniform until he had an unsightly wardrobe malfunction in regards to his pants.”

I coughed and shook my head, thinking I misheard them. “Woah, what!? I’m sorry?”

“Yes, it was a bit uncouth.” Nathan rescinded with a fleeting interest. “I know I should really be working on making sure clothing stays in tip top shape, but the guard really didn’t leave me with a whole lot of other options and thus I used the method I already outlined earlier.”

“Ah…well, that’s certainly an impressive tactic. Well done!” I replied, still a little weirded out by it.

“Well! Now that this is all sorted out, shall we be going?” They asked me.

“Yeah, let’s do it!” I responded eagerly.
I smiled and opened the door and the two of us trotted back to the group. We now had a full group of six, plus our new friend Gunther. I think it was now time to get to Hayden.

“Alright.” I begin. “I think it’s about time we went down to the lab and retrieved those magic items before Hayden decides to do even more damage with them. I know it might seem like a daunting task and that there’s not a lot we can do, but I want you all to trust me. I have a plan that can make this all work. I won’t ask you all to go along with this if you don’t want to and I know it’s a lot to ask. But if you would find it in your hearts-”

“Hey Egghead.” Will interrupts. “Relax. We’re all in this.”

“Darn tootin’!” Darnel nods.

“I’m ready to PARTAAAAY!” Meghan yells.

“Darling, I’ll go with you, wherever you need me.” Nathan exclaims.

“...yay~” Juan gives a small smile.

“Seems like you’ve got a full party on your hands.” Gunther notes. “We’re ready to fight with you.”

I smile, tears welling up in my eyes. “Thank you all so much. Okay, let’s go.”

My friends all move out and start to make their way towards the elevator leaving only Gunther and myself alone.

“So, do you really have a plan or was that a confident front you were putting up?” He inquired.

I stood in silence for a brief moment before turning and shaking my head. “No, I have something that I think just might work.”

“Oh? What do you have in mind?” Gunther asks.

“Okay, here’s what we’ve gotta do…”