Chapter 7: Change

The Conversion Bureau: A New AgeChapter 7: Change==============================================

          The next couple of weeks on Earth were nothing short of a hurricane of public relations for the Equestrians. Celestia, relishing the role of being the point mare, made many media appearances. The intent of these appearances was simple, to ease the public into accepting the existence of another sentient species, and the fact they all looked like cartoonish horses. Celestia found it amusing speaking the many languages of mankind, seeing as the Equestrian language seemed to be almost a perfect match for modern English when spoken. And so the days and weeks went, the White Horse princess showing up on news program after news program. She had to play the whole thing quite coy though: if she told humanity of the state of Equestria as it stood, the humans might end up being the ones sent stampeding to try and get in. So she told the absolute bare minimum she felt the humans needed to know to date - she and her sister were co-equal rulers of the Nation of Equestria, their world was full of real, honest-to-God magic, and pretty much all the population of her nation were Ponies, just like herself (albeit smaller). She didn't speak of the other major powers in her realm: their Zebra cousins, the long-time enemy Gryphons, the somewhat isolationist Dragons, or the mysterious Changelings. That was information to save for a later date, in her estimation.

           The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony also participated some in this initial public relations push. Rarity attended a British State Dinner with Queen Bethany, impressed by the levels of pomp and circumstance that they could manage, all things considered. Rarity thought of how generous they were to her, the penultimate of foreign dignitaries, in all that they provided for the dinner and entertainment. But she could easily see the slums of London all around the Royal Domes, and how listless almost all the population looked during the aerial tour.

Rainbow Dash took in a baseball game in Chicago at the now twice-rebuilt Wrigley Field. She found the sport boring to begin with, but soon understood why so many remained loyal to the Cubs after all the decades. Man I bet this game will be awesome when they play it with wings, but how any of them would hit any home runs... Rainbow thought to herself as she watched the home team tie the game with a home run in the late innings, and eventually win in the 13th. After the game, she thought about how these people could still show loyalty to a sports team or some sort of ideal even as their leaders had all but abandoned them.

Fluttershy visited several animal preserves, thanking those running the facilities for trying to maintain the health of the occupants to the best of their ability. She couldn't help but notice the depression and lack of vivre in the eyes of the occupants. She thought how keeping them alive like this was both kind and cruel, a microcosm of human thinking in some respects.

Applejack visited some the larger Dome run farms in the interior of the United States. She learned of the structure of the food distribution on Earth, which quite honestly made her a tad bit miffed. She did restrain her true feelings however, not wanting to cause an incident during her real visit with humans on their turf. She couldn't help but notice that the soil was steadily growing weaker, despite all the machines and chemicals the humans were using to help keep it in some semblance of health. She shuddered at what condition humanity would find itself in, if those living outside the domes weren't able to at least eat from the Nanite factories that produced passable food for them.

Celestia thought that world was not ready for Pinkie Pie to be released into their midst, but somehow she found her way to one of the few remaining music festivals. Somehow her general presence did not cause an international incident either, just enjoying the human music for what it was.  Pinkie knew in the back of her head though that these festivals and concerts weren't going to be around much longer; much of the art of playing live music, even with electronic instruments, was being lost to the population in general, even those in the domes.

Twilight Sparkle found herself interested in the Internet and it's workings, visiting one of several network hub facilities. All of the collective works, major and minor, good and ill, past and present of man was represented by this incalculably large network of arrays like the one she visited, she wondered how creatures of such knowledge and inventiveness could also be so incredibly self-destructive. As she left, she hoped with all she could that Celestia and Luna would see fit to preserve these works, if for no other reason than allowing the Ponies to learn how to adapt human technology while avoiding the evident pitfalls.

           Luna, while not necessarily camera shy, did not want to get involved with the media to any significant. She limited her availability to a few cultural events, theatrical productions and the like. Her role was most definitely in the shadows as far as this world was concerned. What she was working on with the Human scientists was something no one outside of the operative circle could know. She could only pray that the humans she were working with could keep everything under wraps until Celestia made her formal pronouncement once the development was complete.

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[ Earth, April 2, 2080, 20:00 CST ]

It was a quiet night on the Great Plains of the United States. A quiet unassuming exurban clinic had recently opened using an old, abandoned strip mall. The banks whom approved the land sale for the refurbished facility sold it for next to nothing; land outside the Domes was devalued due to utter lack of demand. With that, ever since the day after Celestia made her introduction at the Rose Garden, construction drones had been busy at work: retrofitting the structure for human residency, re-writing the structure for modern devices and telecommunications, and carving giant chambers directly underneath the structure in order to house the massive laboratories. Luna was greatly impressed at the absolute speed and efficiency which the human machines worked, what would have taken probably a full month for a team of Ponies or a team of humans to build only took the drones five days to finish. She was walking around the lobby, contemplating how to decorate the facilities for any humans that would actually come in for treatment or observation; appearances did have to be maintained after all.

          Luna was watching some of the news reports over a satellite news station. she had quickly adjusted to various means of human telecommunication devices, even if the input devices left something to be desired. She looked around the lobby, a bit off-put by the plainness. "These construction drones are certainly very good at what they are instructed to do. The only problem is how... clinical everything looks. A tad depressing from my perspective..."

"Well dear Luna-hime, it is a medical facility. Usually the aesthetics are reserved for other places." replied a middle aged Japanese man in extremely fluent English. Doctor Hayato Isegawa, otherwise known as Oni-Hakase in his native land for his... rather peculiar views on ethics during his experiments on genetics and general demeanor.

A somewhat younger Japanese woman walked in behind him, hearing most of the conversation from outside the prospective waiting room. "Hayato, Luna-hime is right. We could at least make this place not look so... antiseptic." Doctor Jun Isegawa, Dr Hayato's lovely wife and world-class nanotechnician walked in, with a drone carrying her luggage. The Isegawas were effectively moving in to this facility, knowing their expertise would be needed beyond this particular stage of the project.

          The three of them walked to an elevator while the drones carried the Isegawas' luggage to the residential area of the small complex, more a full-blown research laboratory than the clinic it claimed to be at first blush. There were not that many people assisting herself and the Isegawas, exactly as Luna perferred. Herself and the Doctors proceeded down to the underground labs, which were built deep under the topside edifice. They walked around the various rooms and chambers, the computers all humming along as the data was being transferred from various other labs that were specializing in one aspect of the technical side of the transformation serum or another. Time was of the essence was well, as Luna nor anyone else knew how long humanity had before some unforeseen event could send society into a death spiral.

Luna and the Doctors walked into a conference room, sitting down to discuss matters for the evening before Luna left for Equestria. She wanted to inquire about the next part of the development of the serum. "I can see from the data that our preliminary work has been going rather smoothly. I trust this means we can begin applying our Equestrian Magic to run more active trials?"

Dr. Hayato was impressed by scholarly nature of Luna. She was a voracious intellect, able to understand a lot of the basic and intermediate levels of human science without much outside tutoring. "Yes Luna-hime, I believe we can begin the first trials once our technicial assistants arrive tomorrow. In fact, I'm quite interested in learning more about Equestrian Magic in general once this project is over, or at least far enough along to where we don't have to personally oversee it."

Luna replied with a chuckle. "Indeed Dr. Hayato; but as you implied, that is a discussion for a later date. Anyway, Dr. Jun, what are your thoughts on our proposals for the specialized nanites that can deliver our magic without needed a Pony present to activate it?"

Dr. Jun looked over the proposals with a critical eye. "Yes looking over these proposals, it should work in theory. The gems that you brought from Equestria, to perform as a conduit for the magic, are completely chemically identical to analogous gemstones here on Earth. So standard nano-factories can mass produce those crystals. After which, you all can literally work your magic on them. The only question I could think of at this point is maintaining the consistency of the Magic if we don't have access to a powerful enough Unicorn."

Luna had an answer for that as well. "Although raw magic is extremely dangerous to humans, once it is specifically invoked or imbued into something, it becomes safe for humans to handle.”

They continued discussing various matters into the late evening, after which Luna bid farewell and teleported herself back to Equestria across the New Light Bridge. Dr. Hayato looked up at the ceiling, contemplating what he and his wife were about to embark on. <"Have you ever wondered why they choose us out all the scientists on this planet?">

Dr. Jun responded as they walked back to the elevator to go topside to see how the drones were performing in sorting out their belongings and getting the topside clinic furnished for human occupancy. <"I have. I believe it's due to our reputation as the some of the best in our fields, and the fact we can both see where humanity is inexorably marching towards if something drastic isn't done.">

Both of the Doctors Isegawa were deeply concerned for the current track of mankind. The fact that only a few research scientists weren't in the private employ to some nonsensical rich twit in the Domes, meant that society was already starting to regress intellectually under the current order. The proverbial center was not going to hold at this rate. A severe set of storms, some idiot lobbing a bomb in the wrong place, an earthquake, almost anything could set off a chain reaction that could spell the utter end of mankind. They saw the Equestrians as a safety valve almost, willing to at least try and talk mankind off the precipice; at least, they hoped that was Celestia and Luna's intent.

[ Earth, April 10, 2080 ]

          It was a little over a week later, another quiet, unassuming late evening in the Great Plains of the U.S. Luna was visiting the lab again, deciding to check in every couple of evenings to make sure everything was continuing apace. She was incredibly impressed at the speed at which the project was proceeding while maintaining the ultimate objectives, a serum that could achieve Ponification safely and in a reasonable amount of time. The live tissue trials were all successful, the runic-nanites were working exactly as the Doctors Isegawa intended. They had successfully recoded cloned human tissue into a Pony analogue, enough to where the AIs could make reasonable projections about constructing an entire body without having to go through too many 'trial' bodies, which was important because the fewer live trials they had to run, the better for all involved.

          Unlike a week or so ago when Luna was talking to the Doctors Isegawa, the laboratories were a veritable hub of activity now. About 40 fellow scientists were working under the direction of the Isegawas, and slowly learning how not to be utterly shocked by Luna's presence whenever she decided to show up. One poor lab technician was still nervous in her presence though, and Luna's manner of speaking to those she was unfamiliar with was not helping matters at all.

"Oh, good evening Princess Luna. I trust everything is still running to your liking?" he asked, almost trembling before the indigo horned-and-winged mare.

Luna, replied in her usual tone towards unfamiliar. "Yes it is good sir, also We would appreciate it if you did not cower in fear before Us, at least not before We did anything to warrant cowering." The sheer pressure of her affectations and stifling verbiage not doing anything to calm the technician down.

"Princess Luna, ah good timing. Just the equine I wanted to see," Dr. Hayato said with all manner of warmth toward Luna as if she was an old friend, "I trust you received the results of our latest test?"

"Indeed, I did Dr. Hayato, apparently the progress of our little 'elixir' is going by even faster than expected.", Luna replied, levitating out a simple digital pad in order to re-review the test results.

Dr. Jun was a little more interested in how was speaking towards the other workers there besides herself and her husband. "Anyway, dear Luna-hime, why is it that you talk to us in first-person but you speak to our employees in that stifling 'Royal We'?"

"Take it as a sign of affection or familiarity, much like how your native language posses different 'suffixes' for names and relative social position and familiarity. I address those I know personally in the first-person," Luna replied matter-of-factly.

"Ladies, please, business first, discussion on the validity of affectations of speech later," Dr. Hayato said, trying to redirect the conversation back to the matter at hand before a linguistics discussion broke out. He continued, "I would like to reiterate my interest in a more in-depth study of Magic. It has certainly sped things up by quite a significant degree."

"I'm sure you know the reason why we cannot have a more in-depth magic study, yes?" Luna replied.

Dr. Jun replied, "Yes, we know, the whole 'Exposure to raw magic causing near-instantaneous death in humans' problem. Although if our experiments bear the right fruit, that problem will not exist in the near future."

Luna added, "Indeed it won't. Although I do have one question: Why is it that you'd agree to this, knowing full well our conditions and the potential ramifications?"

Dr. Hayato fielded this question, "I can be called many things Princess: a crackpot, loose in the head, someone doesn't understand the meaning of the sentence 'Jumper cables are not to be used in that fashion.'. But I cannot pass up an opportunity like this, and I'm afraid that should humanity's actions continue unabated, it will be the only opportunity we have to preserve ourselves."

Luna then prodded, "Is that why they call you a 'cracked pot'? The fact you can see the coming destruction that the social elite seem to want to blind themselves to?"

Dr. Hayato replied, "That, and the fact I would grab electric eels out of a tank of water bare-handed as a child."

Dr. Jun clarified, "That was a robotic facsimile and you know it, I swear you and your exaggerations..."

Ugh, this man is absolutely off his rocker, at least when it comes to inter-personal reactions. Luna could only think to herself.

Dr. Hayato then stopped while walking to the one of the rooms in the underground laboratory, as if he just remembered something vitally important. "Oh yes, it just struck me right now. My dear daughter shall be moving into our facilities tomorrow, I believe she would be extremely excited to meet you Princess Luna."

Luna replied very curtly, "You know we are trying to keep everything going on here a secret until we are ready to make the Great Announcement? Right?"

Dr. Jun reassuringly said, "These labs are at least 150 meters underground and locked both physically and electronically by 3 redundant layers of security. I am fairly sure that girl couldn't reach down here until we are ready to tell her everything. Although I fear that meeting you would excite the poor girl into a stupor. She is the kind of girl who'd be excited by a live potted plant after all."

Dr. Hayato retorted in defense of his daughter, "To be perfectly fair, Honey. Being excited by something that isn't grass that could grow healthy outside of the Domes isn't the worst thing in the world. Why do you think she picked 'MidoriHana' as a Network Contact name?"

Hrm, someone excited by natural greenery, the soul of an Earth Pony if I ever heard it. Maybe meeting this girl wouldn't be a bad thing after all. Luna thought to herself.

She then answered the Doctors request. "Actually, I do believe I can make time tomorrow evening to meet your daughter. I'm fairly sure a private audience with the child of the Doctors I commissioned would not set anything backwards any significant degree."

She then immediately thought - I have no idea why I just said that...

Kyoko was at the Tokyo International Airport. The lobby wasn't terribly crowded, given most people besides the wealthy couldn’t travel by air anymore. She called Andre on her portable terminal, not wanting to use her neural implants should she have to suddenly board. "HEYYYY Ao-chan, I'm gonna be stateside again starting tomorrow."

"Huh, again? I didn't know you ever lived in the US before.", Andre answered.

Kyoko smiled and replied. "Yeah, I haven't been there in 6 years though, hopefully too much didn't change. Apparently my parents have opened up a nice medical clinic outside of St. Louis. I guess this is them trying to take things easy for awhile."

Andre asked, "Oh your parents are doctors? Hrm they must have done some big things in order to move between countries in these times..."

Kyoko then asked a question that'd immediately set Andre's mind to racing. "Hey, have you ever heard of Dr. Isegawa?"

Andre eyes immediately bulged. He had indeed heard of the infamous Dr. Hayato Isegawa, Tokyo's Demon Doctor. A man who seemingly had absolutely NO scruples at all in the experiments he wanted to perform. Yet, despite being by all accounts a man that was a few cards short of a full deck, he was currently one of the foremost geneticists of today. The two restraining bolts on him, preventing his going full blown mad-doctor, his loving and highly intelligent wife Jun, premier nanotechican in her own right, and a daughter who most didn't know the name of, but as far as Andre could remember was about Kyoko's age.

Andre then asked very nervously, "Um... yeah, I heard he had a daughter didn't he?"

Kyoko, grinning madly at this point nodded and said, "Yep, he sure did..."

The wheels were turning in his head, Someone like her couldn't be... not her... not sweet little MidoriHana...

Andre then asked, almost dreading the answer that was about to come, "Are you his daughter or something?"

He didn't expect any answer. He honestly expected her to yell his ear off for assuming such a thing. How does one ask someone, one only knows through a pseudonym, to divulge such personal information?

However Kyoko did respond, standing up and beaming with pride. "Yep. I'm Kyoko Isegawa, Daughter of Hayato and Jun Isegawa. And your name since we're being so forthcoming?"

Andre, despite being of chocolate-colored skin, was white with shock, and could only stammer out, "A-A-Andre Bowman..."

He stared at the ceiling, wondering just how he had spent the last 3 years cavorting through the 'Net with the mad scientist’s beautiful daughter.

Kyoko chirped up, "Hey, are you alright, you don't seem to be saying much. Hey, maybe once I get settled I can spring a trip for you up to St Louis, you know, a face to face meet."

Andre was still in shock, his only thought: I'm internet friends with the daughter of someone who'd try and put my brain in a robot body if his wife didn't kill him first...

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[ Earth, April 11, 2080 ]

          "OH MY GOD, The Night Princess... here... this... WOW... really!?", Kyoko exclaimed, never imagining she'd actually meet a Pony face to face this soon after their debut on the world stage, and then one of the Royal Sisters on top of it.

Dr. Jun did tell me she was excitable, I'll have to remember not to leave her in a room with Pinkie Pie. Luna mentally recorded.

"He'll never believe it, hah. I'm face to face with Equestria's Princess of the Moon... and HE'D NEVER BELEIVE IT.", Kyoko squealed, giddy like a 5 year old girl. She walked all around the Princess, wondering how her mane looked like a holographic image even live and in the flesh.

Dr. Hayato then asked, "Hrm who is this 'he' you speak of?"

Kyoko then immediately downshifted into a normal tone of voice and replied, "Oh the 'he' is Andre, he's just this guy I talk to online from time to time, the 'BlueDragon' you see in my contact list. Also, by the way, I know you've been trying to get in my private messages and I wish you'd stop. I am a 20 year old woman after all." She made a somewhat strange looking face at her father, something conveying both annoyance and mild anger.

Hrm, even in this world the young adults can still be immature of mind. Luna thought to herself.

Dr. Jun, ever the matchmaker, eased up to her daughter, "Oh I see, a nice male friend. I wonder when you were going have him meet us? You know it's not proper for a young lady to cavort around with young men and not have them meet her parents."

Kyoko immediately chafed at the thought of her and Andre being involved seriously, "Oh come on he is just some guy I know online. Well yeah I've known him for 3 years which is a lot longer than you know most people online, but seriously we don't have anything going on besides a nice NON-ROMANTIC and TOTALLY PLATONIC relationship."

Dr. Jun then began to pry a bit more, "Well, seeing as you seemingly don't go for the Dome types... I'd have to assume that if he were to come meet us, that we'd need to pay for the trip."

Kyoko blanched at the thought of her parents paying for a trip and answered, "I could pay for it myself, it's not expensive really to travel anymore, although I'd probably need help arranging for decent food..."

Dr. Jun and her daughter Kyoko then continued on in the background, apparently the thought of setting up a nice dinner date for her dear, unwed daughter too much to resist for the good Missus Doctor.

Luna then trotted over to Dr. Hayato and began speaking with him telepathically.

Seems like you have quite the daughter and wife, all things considered a nice little family. Luna started.

To be honest, given the condition of my work and the world, they are the only things that keep me sane. Dr. Hayato said with stunning introspection.

You know the formula is growing close to being completed, the last few trials could only be considered smashing successes. Luna began.

Yes, although I shudder to think of what my daughter would say if she knew everything we were having to do to make this work. Hell, I'm personally quite unsure of what to do with the recent test subjects. Dr. Hayato said, knowing full well he did not want to estrange his daughter.

We will simply place them in asylums in the various cities in our Nation, they are physically healthy Ponies with the minds of various of your domesticated animals, so they will blend right in with the population there. Luna said, knowing full well what she was doing was of questionable ethics, at the very least.

You know what the final stage of tests are though, that is what especially concerns me.

Yes... human trials.

My only suggestion I can make is that we use the terminally ill or the completely invalid, sad to say but the hospitals are ripe with them.

It is a shame, but this has to be tried on humans before my sister can announce anything, the last thing we need to do is offer any kind false hope.

From a humane perspective, it is awful to know that this has to be done. However, science has to be verifiable. If we want the public to accept this, we must get this formula to the point where it will work without question.

Indeed.

The nature of the process concerns me though. I know this question comes out of some sense of vanity, but why does so much of the transformation itself have to be behind a black box scientifically? As far as I can tell, we cannot even pre-determine the form the subject will take once the process is complete.

The nature of the nanomachine programming and the sensitivity of the runes means the more complexity we introduce, the greater the chance of error we also introduce. While it is not ideal, as you stated, we must have this formula working without question.

Indeed Luna-hime. On another note, when all this is done, maybe you should found a university. If you were born to this Universe, you would have made a world class scientist and/or professor.

I can say similar for yourself Dr. Hayato Isegawa. Had you been born in my realm, you most likely would have been a premiere Unicorn Mage.

Hey now, you never know what the future may hold.

Indeed, let us hope this road we walk is no dead end...

==== - ====

[ Earth, April 14, 2080 ]

          It was four days after Kyoko met Luna, Equestria's Princess of the Night. She spent most of the time between then and now talking to Andre about the meeting, about how Luna's mane was almost exactly like the Aurora Barrier during the day, and how Kyoko (and her mother especially) wanted him to come up to St. Louis to visit for a couple of days. Andre was only now beginning to come to terms with the fact that Kyoko came from an incredible intellectual lineage, and hopefully her mother would be able to keep her father from doing anything too insane while he was up there. So, while the totally-not-lovebirds continued to chat each other up, more interesting events were occurring about 150 meters or so under Kyoko's feet.

          3 gurneys were being wheeled through the corridors of the underground laboratories, Kyoko would not have noticed any of this since there were many entrances to the underground labs far away from the main building of the above-ground complex. Each gurney held a person in various states of non-viability insofar as leading a normal, healthy life (such most anyone could lead at this point in society). In the first gurney, a quadriplegic woman, she was one of the many residents of the slums that had to use outdated equipment just to use the Internet, and an accident during a power surge fried much of her spinal cord. It was a miracle that she could still even breathe without assistance from an external device.

In another gurney, a man driven utterly insane. He was in full restraints, mind crushed by losing his supposedly safe and high paying job, thereby no longer able to pay for his residence inside the Dome community where he was born and raised. Effectively, thrown into the maw of a world gone mad; so mad, that in his eyes, his only recourse was to go mad himself. He could hardly communicate anything resembling a cogent thought anymore, the closest he ever got was talking disjointedly about how many things he'd buy whenever he got back into the Domes.

In the last gurney, a man suffering from Neo-Black Plague inside of a sealed chamber. In the previous week, he was stricken with the disease while on military operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. No one knew where the Neo-Black Plague even came from, it was hard to tell if it was a natural mutation of an existing disease or some kind of bio-terrorisim. Either way, the disease would have torn Africa even further to shreds, if it weren't for the fact that the disease was so efficient at killing its victims, that there was hardly any time for it to spread beyond the community that was initially infected. He was heavily sedated and his entire body was crawling with nanomachine 'doctors'; the only thing that could have kept him alive, short of placing his body in suspended animation.

          Luna looked at the cameras as the three gurneys were being wheeled into the various examination rooms. "It is truly depressing to see the state of this world outside of the enclosed settlements." She could only shake her head as she tried to remain focused on the task at hand.

"These tragedies are seeming to be occurring more and more frequently, the non-Dome hospitals are completely swamped with people trying anything in order to preserve their lives just a few weeks more...," Dr. Jun said, she was intimately familiar with how her and others nanomachines were being used to just to preserve the so-called Outsiders instead of allowing them to thrive.

Dr. Hayato looked at the same scene, somber as the two ladies sitting or standing with him at the center of the main data collection room. "It shows you the drive to live in humans. Someone could theoretically ask what these people have to live for if they were completely cured of their ailments. A life of trudging along trying to stave off soul-crushing boredom and apathy, mostly. Yet, not even the state of the world as it is could kill the human spirit to survive. If it could, we might have destroyed ourselves already." The doctor Ponies accompanying Luna for this round of testing could only remark on just tight of a rapport these humans were already developing with their demigod princess.

The scene continued as the gurneys were rolled into their respective examination rooms. Non-invasive biometric scanners lined all of the walls, taking records of the vitals. The technicians calibrated the machines in order to ensure that the readouts were consistent with the aliments the three subjects were suffering. As the clock clicked closer to noon, the technicians gave the all green that they could start whenever ready. Attendants in each room then unsealed 3 boxes, each containing a beaker full of a translucent white liquid with a seeming metallic sheen to it, as if someone put very fine glitter in highly diluted milk.

          Dr. Hayato then spoke into a microphone. "Ladies, Gentlemen of all species present. What we are about to embark on in a short while is yet another step on the road of human endeavors into the upper limits of science. I am not one for long speeches, my wife is far better at that I would wager. However, I would like to say this. What occurs within these walls does not leave these walls until the White Princess makes her remarks, should these trials prove successful today or sometime in the future. If any word does leave these walls, I will release the flying monkeys to hunt you down."  A chuckle rose from the room and those who could hear him through the audio implants, Dr. Hayato obviously was trying to releive some of the tension before the trail began in earnest.

Does he actually have a squadron of flying monkeys on beck and call? Luna asked Dr. Jun telepathically.

No, but I don't doubt he would try and design a species that looked like flying monkeys, for the expressed purpose of getting back at people who renege on their promises to him. Dr. Jun replied, with an tone that implied that Dr. Hayato was in no way serious about the flying monkeys, or at least she hoped he wasn't.

          Luna then began to speak aloud to everyone present and listening over the com-links, giving a brief explanation about the process as it should occur based upon the previous trials. "Good day all. This is Princess Luna, as you all have already figured. Anyway, We, as the good doctor Hayato already stated, are about to embark on an endeavor that no mage in Equestria or scientist on Earth have ever attempted to date and record. The basic theory of the transformation sequence is reasoned to be such... first, the runes will link to an extra-dimensional energy source in order to channel the energy for the various magics and to partially shield the body during the process, this will appear as the body glowing. Second, the soul will be removed from the body and sent to the Astral Plane while the subject body is effectively re-written as a Pony body. Third, once the body has been completely re-written, the soul is moored to the new body. Finally, there are various checks in order to ensure the body has been properly rewritten and the soul is firmly entrenched into the new body."

The various attendants and technicians briefly discussed among themselves the metaphysical nature of a lot of the process, but reasoned that the animal tests proved that the process should work unless a human soul was that difficult to 'move'.

          With that little conversation over, and as the clock struck high noon, the tests finally began. The nurses began to administer the potion to the patients, taking special caution around the plague victim. Each gurney had reinforced nano-carbon tube bars, just in case the subjects began thrashing, in order to prevent spills to the floor and further injury. Luna and all the doctors present watched intently as the 3 patients were given the serum, and the men and women in their hazmat suits, some of them bionically enhanced to subdue a thrashing, crazed human or Pony, all ducked to the walls as soon as the solution was administered. A few moments ticked by, nothing much happening.

          Suddenly all the meters began going wild; Luna and the 2 Doctors knew that the transformation was underway. As a bright, white light began to emanate from each subject, all Luna and the Isegawas could do, was pray that their theories would be borne out here and now.

Five minutes passed, the readings were all high but stable, a good sign.

Seven minutes passed, all brain activity in the 3 subjects went to near-zero. If anything went wrong now all the subjects would be brain-dead misshapen wrecks.

Ten minutes passed, brain activity was going back up, although the imprecision of the devices meant that the three scientists could only guess as to whether or not their souls had been reattached to the new bodies.

Twelve minutes passed, visual evidence that the subjects had changed shape, although the exact shape still could not be confirmed due to the glare created by the magical glow.

Fifteen minutes had passed, the magical glow began to cool, and the two doctors and a Princess could now see what their machinations had wrought.

The glow in Room 1 cooled, they saw a mahogany Earth Pony mare, stunned her legs would even respond to her confused commands.

The glow in Room 2 cooled, they saw a dazed cerulean Unicorn stallion, eyes darting around, wondering where he was.

The glow in Room 3 cooled, they saw an ashen gray Pegasus stallion, also wondering where exactly he was given the fact he had been rendered nearly comatose some days ago.

The sensors from the 3 rooms gave an all-green. As far as the sensors were concerned, nothing was amiss except that 3 humans disappeared and 3 Ponies appeared.

Luna, as a precaution, teleported herself into Room 3 with the Neo-Black Plague patient turned Pegasus, and quickly cast a surface-area microbe destroying spell, ensuring that no humans would be infected by the disease when the suits and the chamber were disposed of.

Luna then teleported in each of the Pony doctors, as they and the human doctors began analyzing the three subjects for any kind of physical or psychological defect. It would take about twenty-four hours to derive initial conclusions from the experiment, and it would be twenty-four of the most tense hours the Isegawas would experience to date.

==============

[ Earth, April 15, 2080 ]

          After a few hours sleep the previous night for the Isegawas, they spent the morning going over the data with Luna and the various specialists, both human and Pony.

Luna turned to a pale-cream colored Unicorn and asked, "Well Dr. Light Walker, what can you tell us?"

"As far as we can tell, all 3 of the new Ponies are completely healthy, sound of both mind and body," Dr. Light Walker responded, honestly surprised that the transformation worked as well as it did.

Dr. Hayato, "Well Princess Luna, it seems like we have achieved something only thought of as an absolute fantasy."

Luna responded, "It does seem that way. Of course we will need to hold the three patients for at least a week's observation, just to ensure that the spell has properly worked and there are no physical or psychological complications or relapses. Also I will have to arrange for tutors for our new brethren, they will need to learn their gifts so that they may find their place in our society."

Dr. Jun picked up on this line of thought, "Yes, you did tell me one of the driving forces of your kind are finding your place in society. Do we have to fear any magical outbursts from the Unicorn though?"

Luna then answered, "Not necessarily, Unicorn magic must be cast from force of will. Our patient is probably entirely unaware he can even use magic, and so long as he does not encounter an extremely stressful situation, he should not pose a danger to any human at this facility."

Dr. Hayato quipped, "You'd think falling asleep and waking up in a completely different body would qualify as 'extremely stressful', though."

          Luna then, with a bit of a devious smirk on her face, motioned to the door. The three Ponies walked in, somewhat unsure of their steps but at least now able to walk slowly while still balanced. All three looked at the 2 Doctors, a serene grace etched on their faces.

The magenta Earth Pony then spoke up, "My God, I can walk... I can feel the air conditioning along my back, I can even swish my tail around... it's like a miracle, a miracle." It had been nearly two years since she could lay claim to moving under own power.

The cerulean Unicorn then spoke, "Everything... everything makes sense... It's like... it's like I can see straight for the first time in months, maybe years. That experience, it was like a thousand therapists came into my mind and re-organized everything. I've never felt better... So much time, so much time I need to catch up on..." He continued on with his external monologue for a bit; his thoughts finally making sense inwardly and his speech making sense outwardly.

The ashen gray Pegasus stood looking up at the doctors and their digital-pads and papers, he then looked at his new Princess, and said with a firmness he hadn't been able to muster in days, "Princess Luna, ma'am. There are no words I can use to thank you. I was staring at Death's door, no, I should have already been dead. You saved me, you and your magic and these Doctors diligent work saved me and the rest of us. Anything we can do to repay you, we will do to our utmost, you have this soldier's promise." His body assuming the Pony equivalent of a soldier's stance.

The three new Ponies were then directed out of the room to somewhere more comfortable to rest and await their instructors from Equestria.

The two Doctors sat there thoroughly stunned. Not only had the transformation worked, but it had seemingly cured them of everything. The former businessman's madness quelled, the former slum-rat's paralysis lifted, the former soldier's plague extinguished.

"It is too good to be true... I... I can't believe that it worked, and not only worked, but it worked beyond anything we could have hoped.", Dr Jun stammered, her brain trying desperately to restore her diction.

"Princess Luna, what we have just done WILL change this world. I am absolutely sure of it. My only fear is what change we will have wrought because of it.", Dr. Hayato then stated, his eyes seemingly piercing ahead into the future, trying to game out all the potential twists and turns.

Luna looked up, seemingly to gather her thoughts, and then back at the two Doctors, "My good Doctors, that will entirely depend on if this world can accept a legitimate second chance being offered to them."

Meanwhile, in place unknown to any being, Pony or human, a figure began to stir. She could sense the other-worlders coming into her world, but she was not angry. In fact, she was hopeful that they could do something. “Rulers of the Other World. Do you have the fortitude and skill to reawaken the lost souls of this world? Do you have the nerve and will to carry out your plans, regardless of their consequence. The final countdown is ticking on this world; if you are true about your mission of mercy, you have no time to waste...”