Chapter 12: Dog Fighter

=== The Conversion Bureau: A New Age, A New Era ====== Chapter 12: Dog Fighter ===

[ Earth, October 17, 2080 ]

        The customary week passed, and a lot of things have changed for the Isegawas, the Four Amigos, and the two Bearers of Harmony now holed up in St. Louis. Celestia ‘volunteered’ Rainbow Dash to be Ethan's personal tutor in the finer points of being a Pegasus, much like Twilight Sparkle and Blue Vague. Rainbow Dash tried to argue that there was no way that she could be a proper teacher for Ethan, but let's just say that trying to argue against an ages-old monarch is an extremely tall task indeed. The building behind the Isegawa's Clinic that was being built was finally completed and furnished; and the purpose for said building turned out to be blindingly obvious.

It was dormitory hall: ten rather large bedrooms each with a computer terminal, a kitchen, two bathrooms, a recreational room, and some kind of storage room. Twilight and Dash were duly impressed with the sheer speed that the humans could construct buildings, although they were somewhat put off by the lack of aesthetics. The Four Amigos were stunned by the fact that none of them thought to ask the Isegawas about this building before now, having grown used to the sight of construction drones forever building up and tearing things down where they lived. The Isegawas were glad that they didn't have to pay for the construction and furnishing, having access to Richard Edwards and the considerable assets of the H.E.A.; and a number of orchards and farms in Equestria sending in a bit of their wares to make sure the Ponies that were there (or to come) would be properly fed. Everyone involved couldn't help but speculate on just what Celestia and Luna were planning, not that anyone had the nerve to ask them to their faces just yet.

        Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle were left alone in the cold looking atrium to the dorm hall; the others having gone to retrieve Twilight's belongings which she meticulously packed away, in order to file away quickly when they all came back. Rainbow Dash only had a couple of bags worth of things, mostly Daring Do books and the like. They decided to spend that interim talking about what lay before them.

"Twi, let me tell you. I haven't felt better since coming Earth-side, now that I got some free space to spread my wings. I mean, it's like the humans never seen something flying around in the sky that wasn't a machine," Rainbow Dash said, putting a placard of her Cutie Mark over her room's door on the second 'floor', overlooking the lobby-like common area.

"Well for the most part - aside from the small birds that can still live around humans, they really don't see living things in the skies that often. That's just how bad it's gotten," Twilight said, levitating her own placard onto her room's door, which was on the ground level directly under Dash’s.

"I know, and honestly, it's kinda disturbing. On top of that, it takes so much effort for me to clear the pollution around the Clinic; probably built up from all the years of the humans just apparently not caring at all," Rainbow Dash said disappointingly.

"Well, for the most part, the people who'd want to see the environment cleaned up have either passed on or are in no position to do anything about it," Twilight replied, having already read the history articles on the mostly failed Green Movement.

"I wonder if that could be another angle to get Converts? I can see the billboards now - 'Come to Equestria: At least you won't choke while outside!' ," Rainbow Dash asked, her trademark impatience and somewhat crass humor showing through, as she fluttered down to the ground floor after putting her bags in her room.

"Well Dash, Celestia and Luna are right when they say we can't go around trying to convert the humans en-masse. Then it really would seem like an invasion and us trying to force our 'help' on them. They have to come to our side of their own accord, and on their own time frame," Twilight responded. She thought in the back of her head that there had to be a better way to get the word out to those who'd be willing to Convert, before it gets too late.

Rainbow Dash just nodded in agreement. There they waited a few minutes longer until Ethan, Andre, and the others came back with Twilights roaming repository of books.

"Man Twilight, there has to be a better way than this for moving all your material," Ethan remarked. He was still astonished by the sheer volume of printed paper he was looking at. In fact everyone except Twilight and Dash were trying to figure our just how and where she kept everything back in Equestria.

"Yeah, I guess... I'll have to ask Princess Luna about that sometime. Anyway, you're looking pretty chipper in that new body of yours," Twilight responded before redirecting the conversation to the subject at hand.

Ethan was indeed feeling pretty good in his new Pegasus body. "Truth be told, I feel like I could just take off right now like a rocket. I never felt this energized about, well anything; except for spending lots of alone time with Natasha." He looked lovingly at his beau while perched on and already halved pile of books.

"Down boy, or I might have Dr. Jun deal with you somehow," Natasha said half-jokingly. Truth be told, as far as she thought, being around her live-wire of a boyfriend was making her feel better about her own internal dilemmas.

        As the mock-fight between the Ponified Ethan and still-Human Natasha continued, Kyoko just sat in one of the many couches to herself. Andre trotted over to join her, to see maybe if he could lend a helping hoof.

Andre, however, was just as unsure as ever when approaching Kyoko about anything truly personal. "Um, Kyoko, mind telling me what's up?"

Kyoko could easily read the Pony's nervousness, but she really didn't know how to respond herself. "Well... I dunno. I mean all of this is kinda happening suddenly. I mean it's only been... I think 5 months since Celestia's speech... and already half of us are Ponies; and by the looks of things, it won't be long until I'm the only Human left of our group."

Andre still couldn't figure out just what was eating away at her. She was just as bad about opening up as he was, even though it seemed like being a Pony subconsciously made you wear your emotions on your sleeves. He asked a couple more times just to see if he could find anything, but Kyoko was well practiced at deflection. With no real progress being made on that front, he managed to get Kyoko to agree to come outside to watch Rainbow Dash's first set of lessons for Ethan. So with that, the Four Amigos, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash all went outside behind the Clinic, as the domestic drones came in with the Four Amigos' belongings for sorting out in their rooms.

=====

        After getting the terminal set up again, everyone sat as Rainbow Dash began the lesson, or at least tried to.

        "Alright Ethan. Princess Celestia has basically ‘volunteered’ me to be your new teacher in the ways of the Pegasus; so let's get to teaching... or learning, whatever...," Rainbow Dash said somewhat nervously. She was trying desperately to project any kind of sense that she knew how to teach something she felt most Pegasi just knew in the gut.

What has Princess Celestia gotten me into... Ethan could only think to himself, not wanting to say anything aloud to insult her or Twilight Sparkle regarding Princess Celestia.

Dash continued, "OK then, I know the Bureau tutors showed you the very bare basics of flight, so I need to show you how to really stretch those new wings of yours."

With that, Rainbow Dash stretched her wings, and began to flap and climbed to about 20 ft off the ground. Ethan then did the same, a bit wobbly since he hadn’t done any flight exercises in a couple of days, but he climbed the 20 ft..

At least he's better than Fluttershy when she started, then again almost everyone was... Rainbow Dash said to herself inwardly.

She then said, "Ok Ethan, we're going to do some basic flight patterns, just follow my lead. I know you have good flight instincts for your airplanes, we just have to translate that to your Pegasus body."

Ethan replied, now more stable in the air, "Yes Ma'am, Miss Dash!"

Ugh, I am not gonna get used to that... Makes me feel like an old mare... Rainbow Dash thought, clearly not used to the ingrained military formality.

They began what seemed to be a fairly basic flight pattern. Rainbow Dash and Ethan flew at varying elevations in an oval about 300 meters across at it’s widest; Andre figured that Rainbow Dash had probably internalized the dimensions of an old sports stadium or some such.

Rainbow Dash was all the time shouting encouragement to Ethan, impressed that a Newfoal could fly this well a week and a half or so fresh off the bed. "Hey man you're a natural at this, you're managing to follow my flight path pretty well." They were about 500 ft in the air now.

Ethan replied, "Just following orders..."

Rainbow Dash said with a smirk, wanting to see just how far she could push her Newfoal student. "Alright then fly-boy, let's try something a little more complicated..."

She then broke the spiral pattern and began flying over the forest ... along a totally random course. She was twisting and corkscrewing all over the place - pretty much being a one-mare stunt pilot show.

Ethan, thought to himself. What... I never learned how to do any of that...

He then had a flash of insight, almost as if something in his head just clicked on.

If she thinks she is going show me up on my first real day back in the air, she has another thing coming...

Ethan, purely on instinct, quickened his pace. If Rainbow Dash was going to be a stunt plane with all the corkscrews and twists, then he was going to be a fighter jet with hairpin turns and raw speed.

Which was not the best idea to picture yourself as when in the middle of a flight with Rainbow Dash...

Oh so that's how it's gonna be newbie? Well if it's a dog-fight you want then it's a dogfight you're gonna get...

Andre, watching this on the ground, was wondering when some music from an old anime about transforming planes had started up, Kyoko chuckling a bit all the while. Twilight was fretting that one of them was going to do something stupid and get themselves injured. Natasha and the two Professors (both watching over a com-link) were just enjoying the show.

"See, I told you the cameras planted all around the back of the property was a good idea," Dr. Jun stated, greatly amused at the antics of the two Pegasi.

        Rainbow Dash broke off her seemingly random flight pattern and began to engage in a ‘playful’ chase of Ethan. Ethan was wondering if Rainbow Dash had lost her damn mind, and was trying to hunt him down like he stole something from her. They were easily a couple of thousand feet in the air; Ethan, for being a Pegasus for all of nine days, was seemingly getting quite adapted to everything below him looking incredibly tiny. They continued the mock dogfight for quite some time, Ethan having already broke off his pattern, and was the one trailing Rainbow Dash. Well at least he was attempting to trail her, now starting to look like a cyan-and-rainbow-striped blur.

Oh she thinks she's going to get away from me...

The flight instincts had taken them both over entirely. Ethan was finding gears he never knew existed in any living thing, let alone something that could take to the air. They were easily going in excess of 400 mph now, and he was looking like a gold streak with platinum-blonde trim to match Dash's cyan-and-rainbow colored blur. The observers on the ground had completely lost visual contact with them, the haze of the upper atmosphere obscuring sight. They were a good 5000 ft above ground level now, Ethan only now noticing because of the rapid drop in temperature, and the thinning oxygen... which was a problem because Rainbow Dash told him she only cleared so much of the pollution of the surrounding area.

"Hey Dash, don't you think we oughtta break this off. I mean we are getting really high up and you couldn't have gone this high before, trying to clear the smog and whatnot," Ethan yelled out.

Rainbow Dash, now totally in the groove of the dogfight, was clearly having none of this 'slow-down' talk. "Slow down so you could catch me? ... In your dreams!"

Ethan's wings were growing tired and his normal Pegasus mana reserve depleting. As much as a natural as he was in his head and heart, his body was in no way used to this kind of stress, and the pollution wasn't making it any easier. He was thankful that Rainbow Dash had begun to slow down, thinking he could finally run her down and they can get back to 'base'. "Hey Dash, let's go ahead and get back to base, I think we've done enough for now, and this smog is starting to sting my eyes..."

Dash didn't say anything... and she was slowing down a lot more.

"Hey Dash, ok seriously I think we need to turn back, this air is way too thin for me and this smog is way too much for you," He yelled, the obvious concern in his face.

"Can't... breathe... too... thick...," Dash barely managed out get out before blacking out from the lack of oxygen and possible poisoning.

Oh God oh God oh God, this is not happening... not on my first day... Ethan thought to himself, but Rainbow Dash had already begun to go into free-fall. Her body had completely given itself over to gravity, and gravity would be a true bitch to run down.

Ethan than began to fly straight down, trying his best to catch up to the plummeting Rainbow Dash, completely unconscious and unable to slow her own descent.

NO NO NO, I AM NOT ABOUT TO LET MY TEACHER DIE HER FIRST DAY ON THE JOB!, he yelled in his own head.

They were already down to 4000 ft above ground level, before a Gold Magic Circle appeared about his waist. He was so focused on catching his teacher he didn't even notice the hurricane-shaped medallion was around his neck, his only thought was trying to break Rainbow Dash's fall. But he was losing the race against gravity, and starting to lose it badly...

Oh my God I'm not gonna make it... no... NO... I gotta try, gotta push faster, faster... FASTER!

He reached deep within himself, looking for anything that could propel him faster. He got his wish, as the Terran Element of Wind activated, and propelled him straight down like a rocket pointing the wrong way. He had managed to catch up her somewhat, but now they were only 2000 ft. above the ground.

Just a little more... please... I gotta catch her...

He did indeed finally catch her. He reached out his forelegs and grasped her as tight as he could manage.

Ok I caught her... but how the hell do I stop?!

He was only 1000 ft above the ground, the gigantic golden contrail giving some idea to Twilight and Andre needed to be as they began teleporting to wherever they could be guess they'd land; hopefully not finding an impact crater when they arrived.

Damnit damnit damnit... how do I stop, how do I stop... Ethan was in a panic and running out of time. He had to find some way to stop both of them without necessarily killing each other. Then he had yet another flash of inspiration. He turned around so that Rainbow Dash would be facing up and out while he faced down.

God, Celestia, someone, please, help me make this work! He prayed as concentrated as hard as he could. He didn't notice Rainbow Dash's Element of Loyalty manifesting at the same time he charged up his Element of Wind.

All anyone could see after was a mixed red and golden flash, and a burst of wind from all directions where the two should have landed.

"What in the hell was that... I just saw this flash and BOOM... It was like a damn bomb just went off... Wait a minute... my Element of Water..." Andre said, trying his best to keep up with Twilight through his shorter but faster teleporting.

"I know, I felt the same thing too." Twilight said, her Element of Magic resonating with the sudden outburst of magic.

Suddenly they felt the air-burst, Twilight having thrown up a shield for herself and Andre right before getting hit with the winds and the debris they were carrying.

"Well that answers where they landed! Let's hope that they are still in one piece!" Twilight said, feeling where the epicenter of the magic burst was. She grabbed Andre by the foreleg and teleported straight to where she felt said epicenter.

        What they found were two Pegasi on top of each other. Both were unconscious, but alive, and still in one piece. The forest around them though, definitely had seen better days. Everything around them for about 50 meters out was blown down completely flat, as if, like Andre figured, a bomb had gone off either ground level or close to it. Twilight walked over, and saw what the cause of this magical explosion most likely was. Both the Elements of Wind and Loyalty had manifested for their respective users, and glowing like they had recently been used. Twilight nor Andre could figure just what happened, other than gigantic contrail of magic and then a sudden explosion.

"Wha... what... happened... how... are we on... the ground," Rainbow Dash barely managed to stammer out, the combination of nausea and mana depletion making it hard for her to speak.

"You're safely on the ground, more or less, Dash." Twilight responded.

Ethan himself was coming to a bit, "Are we... alive?"

Andre walked up to him and just hugged him as best he could, "Yeah man, both of you. I have no idea how you did it, but you did it."

The heartwarming moment was unfortunately interrupted by the sound of a certain cyan Pegasus throwing up off to the side.

"Well that just ruined the moment..." Twilight said, a bit miffed the heartwarming reunion had to be interrupted.

"Well... by the sound of that... I guess that's everyone... good night." Ethan passed out again, the sudden manifestation of his Terran Element of Wind and the near-death experience rendering him completely spent for energy.

"I... need a nap too... night night..." Rainbow Dash said wearily, passing out for similar reasons.

===== =====

        Late that evening, Natasha walked into Ethan's room, to check in on her big (or little?) Pony hero. Somehow he had managed to stop his and Rainbow Dash's free-fall with little to no injury to either. No one could really figure out why without tracing out the mana patterns, and only Twilight and the Princesses could manage that, as far as anyone at the Clinic knew. Ethan was just glad all he had to deal with exhaustion, something that could be solved with lots of laying on his bed, and watching some random programming. The only problem was, he couldn't find a damn thing worth watching.

"Ugh T.V. today is so trite. I mean you don't have real actors anymore so I guess it's 'Try random shit until more than 100,000 people decide to watch it.',”  Ethan said, obviously chafing under the fact that he had nothing to relax with.

"Well why do I just put it on some old music, you probably should be getting to sleep anyway. After what happened I'm surprised you aren't still passed out, " Natasha said, trying to get him to relax again; Natasha found it way easier to tell when he was stressed now that he was a Pony.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Anyway how is R.D. doing?" Ethan asked, as he set the holo-display on some atmospheric music.

"R.D.? Oh Rainbow Dash... only a day into studying under her, and you're already using abbreviations? Anyway, yeah, she only had nausea from what she breathed in, but given how far up in the air you were that was enough for her to black out and fall like that apparently," Natasha said, trying to relax her little big Pony. She then thought back to something Kyoko said to her a little while after Ethan came out of the exam room post-Conversion...

"Ponies really, really like to be brushed, just like real horses. When it looks like he's getting stressed out, just offer to brush him some. Trust me it, it really calms them down...."

"Man your fur and mane are all messed up, why don't you let me do something about that?" Natasha said, reaching for Ethan's fur and mane brush on his desk. It had a strap for wrapping around his hoof, not that Natasha needed it necessarily.

"Yeah sure ok, just don't go trying to mess around with my mane too much, I hadn't decided on a style for it yet...", Ethan said, not noticing the devious looking smirk on Natasha's face.

She said silently to herself, Oh I am going to really enjoy this...

As soon as she put the brush to his back, Ethan quickly realized what he was in for. He felt charge go through his entire body. It was something he had hardly ever felt unless they were being particularly frisky or he had just eaten a giant meal back at the Bureau.

Oh God... all over... I... ahhh... he thought to himself, his brain hardly able to form coherent thought.

As she continued along his sides and belly, he was starting to feel a lot more relaxed, almost as if he was going into some kind of pleasure-induced trance.

So good... oh God... she does it so well... he thought, he never felt like this when he was brushing himself. Sure it felt good, but nowhere near the scale of what Natasha was doing to him right now.

When she began to start along his back, he yelped and his wings flared out like he was about to take off right then and there. Natasha was briefly startled, but then remembered what some of the brochures that she got second hand from Ethan said about Pegasi:

"When Pegasi are sufficiently emotionally stimulated; be it by sexual arousal, pleasure, anxiety, or fear - they tend to involuntarily stretch out their wings. This is part of normal fight or flight response, just in case the Pegasus has to fly away to escape danger."

"S-S-S-orry, but... it felt so good... I couldn't help it...," Ethan said sheepishly, he didn't want Natasha to stop though, it truly felt quite good.

"Oh don't worry... now shall we continue?" Natasha asked, relishing the opportunity to relax Ethan and let him forget all the troubles of the day and in general.

"Yes... yes please...," he said. He was still in a bit of a haze mentally, his normal bravado replaced by a quiet, almost mouse-like demeanor. She sat back down on the bed, and returned to brushing Ethan along his back. Ethan lowered his head on the covers, letting Natasha go along the entire length of his spine. It felt simply divine to him, he just wanted her to go and on and on until he fell asleep. She continued on brushing; neck, back, tail, head.

Rainbow Dash was walking by when she heard the goings on. She was quiet and tried to hide as much of her mane as she could as she peeked past the gap in the door.

She saw Ethan entirely oblivious to the world around him, neck in Natasha's lap, his mind just wanting to soak in the good feelings from the grooming until he dozed off. As she walked off to leave the two lovebirds alone, she said to herself, I wonder if Spitfire and Soarin do that to each other... oh what am I thinking, they aren't even an item... are they?

======

An eventful day, my new little Pony?

Yes Princess Celestia, about as eventful as I can stand right now honestly.

Heh, I see. Well let me ask you this, Mr. Ethan. Have you considered your Equestrian name?

Hrm... I have... I think I got one that suits me just right.

I would like to hear it then.

Golden Storm, I want to be known as Golden Storm when I get to Equestria.

Alright then, Ethan, your new moniker is 'Golden Storm'. I wish you good tidings, my little Pony.

Hrm... I wonder how long it's gonna take for me to get used to being called that...

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Author's Notes in Closing

The music used as a sort of BGM for Golden Storm and Rainbow Dash's 'dogfight' is the Super Robot Taisen Alpha 3: End of the Galaxy Rendition of "Dog Fighter", an insert BGM from Super-Dimensional Fortress Macross the TV Series and the 'compilation' movie Do You Remember Love

Be forewarned, a LOT more allusions and references are coming, and not just from this particular franchise.