Amore

Finally, the moment has arrived...

The doors to the grand hall burst open, a row of trumpets herald in the bride, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

Rows of noble stallions and mares bow their heads as the bride adorned in a flowing gown of white with gold trim enters the ballroom. Three little fillies bounces around in front of her, cascading purple flower petals in her path as she walks down the aisle.

For her, to be one lucky bride...

Her movements command the attention of everyone in the room, including Princess Celestia, who stands on the platform under a floral arch at the top of the staircase. In front of the stairs to the left, the bridesmaids, Twlight's group of friends from Ponyville. To the right, the groomsmen, my four lifelong friends from Canterlot.

Cadance walks up the stairs, and now stands opposite me, looking at me with a smile, and a flash of green in her eyes. Immediately, I'm hit by a blast of shell shock. Immediately I remember it. The explosion in the bathroom. But right now I was trapped in this dream. Why would I be dreaming at a time like this!? I attempt to move my body, now the body of Shining Armor, but I'm locked in place. Sleep paralysis. Except it's happening in the dream too. I'm transfixed on Cadance in front of me.

She looked absolutely stunning. A beautiful dress with a crown of flowers atop her head, veil tucked behind her head. Her mane perfectly set in one of Canterlot's bridal styles. I bet she worked for months planning this wedding. I couldn't change my focus very well with the fishbowl-like effect my head is under, but the flower arrangements, the bridesmaids' dresses... everybody worked long and hard to bring this wedding day together.

"Mares and gentlecolts," calls out Princess Celestia in her elegant, regal voice, bringing the murmur of a crowd to an immediate silence. "We are gathered here today, to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor."

Those words bring about the migraine again. These words hurt, for some reason. I'm just having a really hard time remembering why. It takes everything in me to even focus my thoughts. The words of Celestia echo inside my mind, but I can't distinguish the sounds. It's too muffled. Her words don't matter though. Wedding. Why am I hallucinating about a wedding? I remember the explosion in the bathroom, and ending up on the ground. The back of my head was bleeding... if I hit my head hard enough, could it send me into this delusional state?

As my thoughts drift away, I can comprehend Celestia's voice once again. "Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you--"

"STOOOP!" comes a loud shriek from the entrance to the grand hall. The deep chamber acts like an amplifier, and everyone's attention is ripped from the ceremony, mine included, to focus on Twilight Sparkle.

Immediately the audience erupts into cries and chatter of disbelief. Next to me, Cadance and Celestia both wear surprised looks, although Cadance has a more definitive tone of anger to hers. It boils over in her, expressing it in the form of a snarl, her eyes snapping to me to vent her frustrations. "Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" stomping a hoof to emphasize her emotions.

And like a switch, out come the wounded puppy eyes, that hoof she dug into the ground now at her mouth, unable to contain herself. The room goes silent. On command, she breaks down sobbing, "Why does she have to ruin my special day?" covering her eyes and turning away from everyone. What the bride doesn't know, is that the attendees are not focused on her.

They're focused on a dirtied, tattered-looking mare standing next to Twilight. Her purple eyes burning into the imposter who has stolen her place up at the altar. Next to her husband. Next to me.

Princess Cadance, the real Princess Cadance, Mi Amore Cadenza...

"IT'S NOT YOUR SPECIAL DAY," her voice matching her eyes, seething with barely-contained rage, "IT'S MINE!"

The audience lets out a dramatic gasp, as the bewildered Cadance next to me shouts her surprise, "WHAT? But how did you escape my bridesmaids?" This wasn't her voice though. There was a... foreign undertone to her voice. Her words dripped with venom; you could feel the sting in your ears as she spoke.

Twilight Sparke and Cadance share a knowing look between each other, exchanging a smile and a single word in unison: "Bouquet."

"Hmph, clever, but you're still too late," comes the imposter Cadance's snide remark.

"But, I don't understand," one of the bridesmaids, the orange one, speaks up now. "How can there be two of 'em?"

"She's a changeling," Cadance answers back with a snap. "She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!"

Not missing a beat, the imposter's horn whirls with a green glowing magic, her eyes now matching the vibrant aura. In a circle around her, emerald flames rip from the ground, bursting with power as the imposter weaves a spell of massive power. With one final burst of light, a column of fire blasts to the ceiling, forcing me to close my eyes and turn away.

I notice the shellshock effect starting to wear off as this power emerges in front of me. It's drawing a part of me into it, and as it feeds on this energy from me, I start to hear sound more clearly. The ringing sound drowns out the voice of the creature that emerges from the crackling energy aura, laughing as she looks down upon the battered Cadance.

"Right you are, Princess... and as queen of the change..." The voice fades away, as a rushing wave of sound comes barreling towards me, the force of the energy about to strike me in the face. It's coming from this being that's emerged next to me, black body radiating with green crackling electricity.

***

I return to the real world, greeted with the sound of crackling electricity, coming from the busted light bulbs above my bathroom mirror. The ringing sound is coming from the hallway; whatever happened managed to set off the fire alarm. I can feel a throbbing in my head; thankfully this time it is not the usual migraine. But it confirms I hit my head pretty hard. My neck is wet with blood, and the wound throbs, oozing out blood with each heartbeat. I reach over and grab my towel off the floor, and press it against the back of my head, laying against the wall.

The smell of smoke is fresh; the explosion burned something pretty badly. I can see it once I've settled my head into position. The small wall that held the doorframe for my bathroom door is completely gone, replaced with a giant, smouldering hole. There's only wisps of smoke in the air, so it doesn't look to be on fire at the moment. But what the fuck caused all this?

I close my eyes, trying to think through the pain of this new headache. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as the migraine did, but the force of the impact has my entire brain swelling. It's making it difficult to concentrate. As I shut off my eyes for the moment, my ears pick up noises in the hallway.

"Who the fuck's shootin'? Who the fuck's shootin' up my home?" I can hear one of the other tenants stomping up and down the hall. "Who the fuck is steppin' on 13th Street turf!?"

I chose to live in one of the low-income housing projects, because the rent was so cheap. I found out through some helpful (white) locals, that these few blocks were dominated by a gang that traffics in strictly marijuana. The crime in the area was a lot less than neighborhoods that dealt in crack or meth, they said, and most of the people don't get in to trouble so the cops leave them alone. That said, the several months that I've lived here have definitely enriched my understanding of the different classes and cultures of the country. Once I got to know a few of my neighbors, I had built up a reputation with them after I started buying weed from them. I was known as the "quiet little white boy". To them, that meant that I was cool enough to stick around, and wouldn't cause any trouble. Everybody liked it that way. Truth is, I was scared of them, so I liked it when they left me alone.

BANG BANG BANG. Not tonight though. Three resounding slams at my door. "HEY, OPEN UP. WHO'S SHOOTIN' IN THERE?" This isn't a voice I recognize. People were in and out of here at all hours, but I at least knew the voices of my neighbors.

I don't answer. Even if I could explain away the explosion, the fact that I'm dressed up like a fucking horse right now would not go over well with whoever this is. I was just going to have to pretend like I wasn't here, and that they haven't figured out that I was the one who set things off.

The fire alarm shuts off, and I can hear more voices in the hallway now.

"Fire department ain't comin', false alarm, relax y'all," one voice calls out. Unknown.

The second voice I recognize as my next door neighbor. "Yo man, what'cha doin' at that door?" We hung out once a month or so, smoked a bowl. We weren't close or anything.

BANG BANG BANG. "This nigga ain't be out here like the rest of us. He must be the one who's shootin' up in here. I want him," BANG, "TO COME," BANG, "THE FUCK," BANG, "OUT!"

Footsteps rush towards my door. I'm afraid another hit will bust the locks. Nobody can see me like this, but at this rate, if I don't say something to stop this guy, I'll be found ou--

"Yo, that dude? Some little white cracka, plays video games and shit. He probably heard that gunshot and pissed his pants. If he in there, he probably hidin' under his bed." A few voices break out in laughter. I'll take it. I'll be the ass of the joke if that gets them away from my room. "Leave him alone. He ain't got no gun to be shootin'."

There's silence for a moment, and one last BANG against the door. Heavy footsteps move away, and eventually things quiet down in the hall as doors close.

I open my eyes now that the dialog is over. The light bulbs are still sparking, and not doing much for lighting right now, so I get up and turn off the switch. I'm lucky that it even works still; I get a close up of the damage that whatever that blast was caused. This will be a fucking nightmare to explain to the landlord. I move to rub my forehead, and am immediately greeted with the point of my horn.

My horn! I remember seeing that pink aura around my horn... an aura around the horn usually meant that a pony was doing magic in the show, but that couldn't be possible here--

"No," I say out loud. I run my hand along the wall, coating my finger in ash. "I'm a fucking horse." I look to a shard of my mirror still in the frame. There it was, my horn, sticking out from a wild mess of blue hair, in between two pony ears. I have to let the thought sink into me, until I finally smile, my eyes wide, and lean in to inspect my horn in the little bit of mirror still available.

"I did fucking magic."

***

Monday, October 12, 2020

I spent the next three hours picking up bits and pieces of the blown-out wall from my floor. To be honest, the damage wasn't that bad. The burn marks and busted glass belied damage on the level of someone running a two-by-four through a thin, apartment wall.

I just wanted to do it... with magic.

The sensation was something else, and the first hour I spent just trying to get my damn horn to work again. Half of me wondered if I had... blown my load, so to speak, when the discharge occurred. I started getting desperate, and with plenty of fear in my heart, I began to entice it much in the way I had done in the bathroom, gingerly running my fingers along the length of white bone.

I didn't have to do that for long. It really was like the first time I had messed around with my lower horn, and my brain could now process and understand the nerves and sensations that my new appendage generated. After some practice, I could get the magic engine--for lack of a better word--generating power without any sensual touch.  When the task of lifting every piece one by one became a bore, I was able to scoop up the rest into the trash can. The sensation is indescribable. It's essentially a third hand with no apparent limit to its strength, distance, and to my surprise, dexterity. With the kind of practiced precision I had developed, it became real easy to see why the unicorns of Canterlot were so damn dainty.

They simply could be.

By the time I got around to laying in bed, and lazily levitating the pizza box to my lap, my head was in an unfocused, painful daze. The migraine crept back with every successive attempt to perform magic, but really, it was nothing compared to the giant knot on the back of my head. During the clean-up I couldn't help but take a moment of vanity in my hall closet's mirror. In a normal case, this would be a trip to the ER. It bled, badly, and I wouldn't doubt if it was deep enough to reach the skull.

The ER, of course, was not an option.

I settled with what I had available in a first-aid kit: a roll of gauze, and thankfully, a quick-clot powder. If I ever had an issue with my migraine again, I knew exactly what would take my mind off of it. I don't remember the few minutes of unimaginable burning, but it put pouring hydrogen peroxide on a wound in the category of foreplay.

I levitate over a plate from the kitchen, and send a slice of pizza to the microwave. The use of magic, for me, wasn't so much something of a product of laziness. Though I can't deny the fact that because I can do magic now, I'm finding an excuse to use it for every little thing. If there's one thing that seeing ears, a blue mane, and a giant horn growing from my forehead made me realize, is that I am, in fact, turning into Shining Armor.

I only assume that means hooves and all.

Getting the microwave to operate is a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I didn't have the hang of solidifying my magical energies, so opening the door and operating the buttons on the panel involved me stabbing at it with a magically-held spoon. It gets the job done, and when the machine dings, I levitate the plate back towards me. Old reheated pizza doesn't look that appetizing, especially with an aura of pink energy around it. I have no idea if magic has a taste; I just end up shoving a huge bite into my mouth.

Immediately I'm doubled over, coughing and spitting it to my floor. Fast food is fast food, but sweet Celestia, the meat that tops it makes pre-sliced bologna taste appetizing. I turn to the box, and give it a good smell. This is the type of pizza I normally order; it's saved into my app's favorites. Today, instead of making my stomach growl, it makes bile rise, a cross between bad heartburn and puking.

I break my moratorium on hand use. When I return to my bed, most of the meat topping was left in the sink. I was left with a mangled slice of cheese pizza, and a complimentary salad. I usually put the salad out in the hall; one of my neighbors would pick it up and eat it. This time around, I end up eating the salad. The meat-grease-saturated cheese bread doesn't make it past my tongue before I fling it at the sink with a whirl of magic. Concussion, partial transformation, and unusual mental behavior. I really need a hospital.

I polish off the rest of the bottle of tylenol; around seven or so pills. My liver was going to be the one screaming in pain next, but I am at a complete loss. There is really nothing I can do at this point, and the stress of realizing that drives my migraine. The absolute, best chance I had right now, is to wait and see what happens when the inevitable happens. I've been fighting fatigue all day with the transformation, and now, with the head injury, and expenditure of a sizable amount of my... mana, I guess, I can barely stay awake upright in my bed.

The only thing keeping me awake, is the fact that I know what will happen the next morning.

Before going to bed, I gather what remains of my possessions and litter them across my floor. One moderate-sized overnight bag is placed in the center of it all. I grab hoodies, blankets, and other garments that I think will best fit what kind of body structure I envision having when I wake up. Pants, boxer shorts, socks and shoes are tossed into the corner. I stuff food into another pouch, mainly bags of dried fruit snacks and other preserved, easy-to-operate foodstuffs. I'm confident I could rip open the bag with my magic. Without hands.

I finish off the salad and toss the bowl aside, lying down in my bed. It wasn't anything fancy coming from a fast food pizza delivery joint, but the amount of flavor it had made it worth the fifteen bucks I just wasted on a meat pizza disaster. No wonder my neighbors made it disappear. It really was good stuff.

2:31AM. With only my worries and nerves about what's to come tomorrow keeping me away, fatigue eventually wins over. As sleep engulfs me once again, I can't help but feel a warm, tingling sensation wrapping around my body. A hug. Like one my mother would give me... but... different. My eyes crack in the dark, but all I can make out are the stars and night sky.

That's odd, my window... was closed...

***

The dream isn't coming easily this night.

You overworked your mind.

I know. But it had been a long day.

I will help you.

What do I need help going to sleep for? Shouldn't it be easier?

You are already asleep.

I get that. I can't move my body, and I can't perceive the outside world. Normally, I'd be dreaming.

It isn't a dream.

Of course it is. I fall asleep, and that same dream keeps coming back every time.

It isn't a dream...

What else would it be, then?

***

I spent some time in a state of limbo. It's been a few minutes since my thoughts had stopped. Now, there was only a surreal blankness. The voice hadn't answered back.

The empty space quivers with a light when the silence is broken, the sound of a somber piano playing a haunting, familiar theme.

This day has been just perfect...

This voice that plays in my head. It bothers me. I've watched the episode so many times, and This Day Aria had well over a thousand playbacks on my computer alone. I drive it from my mind. The silence returns for another minute. The cold of this space crept into my bones, ice flowing through my veins. As quick as it started, the frost melted, replaced with a warm fire. My blood boils now. I'm angry. I'm mad. This day was fucking awful.

It's okay.

A warm pressure rests against my cheek. I lift my hand to brush against it, and become aware of my lack of fingers as a hoof meets my skin. It's my hoof. Somehow, I was on all fours again, unknowingly making the transition back to the body of Shining Armor. To have delayed the dream this long, just how hard did I push myself with my "magic training"?

I'm here for you.

As the warmth from my cheek washes down my neck, and across my body, white electricity streaks across the blank field.

A rush of vertigo and shell-shock blow past my field of vision. The sensation against my horn feels as if someone took a sledgehammer to drive it into my skull. There's no pain though. Only the pressure, and as soon as it arrives, I leave behind the limbo, and return to a world of color and sound.

Before me is the inside of Canterlot castle, decorated for some kind of formal event.. A tear-stained, bruised Cadance steps back from me, her forehooves sliding from my body. Immediately, I press my hoof against my forehead as the migraine returns, albeit in a more subdued, manageable form. This situation before me, seemed familiar, but I couldn't truly process what was going on with around me.

"Wha... where... huh?" escapes my mouth. I shake my head to throw off the earlier sensations. It helps, but in exchange makes the throbbing in my brain all the more pronounced. Behind Cadance, stands the Mane Six, including Twilight. This time, they are without the fancy dresses that they wore as bridesmaids.

I look to Cadance. Even she isn't wearing her wedding dress. I look down my front, and find myself decked out in a red guardspony uniform. I focus on Cadance, confused, and my thoughts slip from my mouth without reserve. "Is the wedding over?"

The look of absolute jubilation coming from Cadance, directed right at me, is enough to unnerve me. The blood rises in my cheeks, and as a human male, I recognize the innate feeling of spaghetti rising internally. By Celestia, she was gorgeous.

"It's all over!" Down comes the sinister, melodic voice from before. My admiration of the princess is cut short, as a black figure drops down in between myself and the rest of the Mane Six.

"Your spell!" Twilight shouts from across the room to the both of us. "Perform your spell!"

Princess Cadance takes up a defensive stance next to me, glaring at the floating black pony laughing before us. My body moves into a similar state. Unlike previous dreams though, it's not as if I'm being controlled by an outside force. These movements... they feel natural... they feel like mine.

"What good would that do?" The black, insect pony pointing a perforated hoof in our direction. "My changelings already roam free!"

The word changeling resonates inside, a drop of water against a still lake. Immediately visions flood my head. Things I haven't seen in my dreams. Things from the episode? Queen Chrysalis has control of Canterlot. I knew that much, but when I try to focus further, I'm met only with the pain inside my head. I glance aside as the mare next to me. Cadance's distraught, battered features spark something inside of me. I understood, if anything, that the person responsible for how she looked right now, was the black, bug pony before me.

"No..." my flat teeth grind against one another. I spread my legs wide, bracing myself as I stir that familiar tingling sensation in my horn.

That's right. I have magic now. This is only a dream. I can take control of it at any time.

Try as I might, as sweat rolls down my face... I'm unable to. "My power's useless now," thoughts once again escaping my lips without filter. Of course it was. I had spent the entire evening using most of my magic just to figure out how it worked.

I hang my head. Even in a dream, my one advantage proves to be useless. "I don't have the strength..." It was hopeless. What little courage I had to muster control of my thoughts fades, understanding this dream is heading for the path of a night--

"My love will give you strength." Princess Cadance declares it boldly. The fire in my eyes, gone, had passed to her. Her hoof wraps around my neck as she draws me close in for a hug.

Queen Chrysalis had said something, but I'm lost in the moment. The pink mare wrapped around me... her soft, delicate skin... the inviting warmth in her heart... that was all that my mind could process.

You can trust this mare.

There it was again, the voice nagging in my mind. But how, I asked it.

You love Cadance too, don't you?

What kind of question was that, right now? Sure, I liked Cadance, and she was my favorite pony, but I--

Use it. Use that love.

"What do you mean..." I whisper to myself, and now, to the mare in front of me. I lean back from the hug, and look into Princess Cadance's eyes. Her expression read the same as the thoughts in my mind.

I trust you, they said.

Again, I close my eyes, my face scrunched as I draw on every last bit of magic my mind could muster up at this point. The pain in my head was intense, bordering the pain from clotting the wound on the back of my head several hours ago. But unlike that pain, it fades away. A faint, light blue light glows against my eyelids, and I can feel the breath from Cadance against mine as she draws close.

The tip of her horn touches mind.

The room is engulfed with the intense purple glow our linked horns produce. The pain in my very being is lifted from my shoulders. Even with my eyes closed, Cadance is there, at the forefront of my mind, as we exchange magical energies. We share a moment, as both of our eyes open in unison, gazing into each other

Think of our love, her mind wordlessly reaches out to mine. Anything.

The command is still confusing, but the goading sensation in the back of my mind draws my eyes closed. I have to trust her. I have to trust this feeling.

Immediately, I bring to mind everything I knew about Cadance. The comics from IDW come first, and I recall every panel that I can. When Shining first bumped into Cadance in the hall. The rock concert where he sung for her. The Fall Formal. My mind wanders, drawing on random scenes of life in Canterlot. Then, the preparation for the wedding. Casting the giant shield that surrounded Canterlot. Twilight's angry confrontation at the train station.

And then, the future. A crystal throne, the centerpiece of a hall, nay, a kingdom crafted from the most pristine crystal. Cadance is there, atop the throne, holding out a hoof to you. I reach out, our pose rivaled only by the Creation of Adam. Except that our hooves touch.

At that moment, the weight of the world is gone. Our two bodies linked together at the horn now float high above the grand ballroom, while the bright pink energy of love radiates and swirls around us. The power generated is intense; the magical revving drowning out the gasps and cheers from the Mane Six, and the enraged snarl from the Queen halfway across the room.

Our eyes open, and the entire room quakes. Our bodies contort into the shape of the heart, touching at the hooves and horn. The culmination of our combined efforts erupts from our horns, as we pour out our very being, our future, our life together... our love... our final hope... into one, giant explosion of magic.

***

I come to to the sound of a fire alarm in the distance, and the ever-increasing presence of silence. Coughing forces me upright; anything I breath in tastes of ash and smoke. I rub the sleep from my eyes. Looking up, I see the bright half moon and starry sky looking down to me.

From a burning hole in the roof of my apartment.

It took me several moments to realize the gravity of what I had awoken to.

I sat upright, choking on clouds of ash and debris. In between fits, my watery eyes caught sight of the only source of light within the building now: my clock, on battery power. 5:02AM. Screams and yells from various people came at me from all angles. The professional sounds from the outside world, and the panicked animalistic cries of my neighbors. They were trapped, probably injured, in various parts of the building. From whatever had caused this.

The roof was completely gone. Only several chunks at key structural points remained, but for those on the top floor, they now had a wide-open view of the night sky. The same went for the walls; I could see across into my neighbor's apartments. Basic frameworks and large piles of demolished walls, interwoven with televisions, bedspreads, refrigerators. Even the floor hadn't escaped punishment, tearing up several chunks of the ground, allowing me to look down below. The sight down there wasn't pretty either.

Although it hadn't received the brunt of the blast, most of the building's power and gas systems were stored on the lower floors. Instead of being strewn about, people's possessions were now engulfed in flames. The crackles of the fire were far enough away, that there was still a good floor and a half between it and myself on top of the fourth floor.

I could see the sides of several other large buildings next to me, absent power. Against the building across the street in front of my apartment, a menagerie of sirens brought the only light to the area. Taking care to keep myself hidden, I peer down to the street below. Currently, the majority of personnel appear to belong to Fire and Rescue. I don't see any cops. Yet.

My mind starts to shake off the rest of the sleep. I move a hand to wipe at my face, but knock myself over when a large round object hits me right in the cheek. The sight I get as I fall over explains it all, and keeps me from getting up for several moment. All I can do, is roll my head, catching the bottom of my floor mirror across the room from the gap underneath my bed.

What looks back to me, is a white stallion with a blue mane, locked onto me with bright, cerulean eyes.

***

I stand propped with my hooves against the wall of the bathroom above the tank of the toilet, as I relieve myself from a penis now tucked away in a fuzzy sheath.. Looking in what's left of the bathroom mirror, I see the white, round face of Shining Armor staring back at me underneath a large, black hoodie. This was, without a doubt, the pinnacle of my transformation.

I am a My Little Pony. I am Shining Armor.

Who needs to piss like a hor-- well, you get the idea.

Learning how to walk was, surprisingly, not that difficult. Translating it properly into four-legged movement though, was something else. With several false starts and wavering steps, I managed to get down a basic walking pattern, and made it to the toilet.

I had taken the closet mirror and put it up against the wall of the bathroom next to the toilet, giving me full sight of my body as I relieved myself. This allure was strong enough to distract me from the state my apartment was in. My hair, no longer a conservative working-class cut, flowed all the way down my back in three vibrant shades of blue. It stopped, leaving my now horizontal back bare skin with white fur. It picked up again, at the end of my back, right above where I felt my ass was.

My tail. I turn my head around to look behind at it. Moving my body causes me to lose what little control I have, and I can hear the sound of my piss hitting the floor. At this point though... it doesn't matter. I focus on my tail, wiggling a second new bone protrusion from my body. The blue ribbon attached to it swishes in unison with it.

My eyes wander lower. What were once human legs, were now these distinctly animal-shaped appendages, completely coated in white fur. I'm thankful though, that the hooves now replacing my feet, were colored differently so that I might be able to distinguish them. The sensation of them against the floor was beyond my comprehension. At the same time, it acted as the tough tool used by ponies to walk, yet as I rub my forehoof against my face, I feel the soft, delicateness of it. A hoof that, quite literally, defied human logic. This is what you get when you become a cartoon pony, then.

Everything else didn't bother me too much. With the major facial changes having happened earlier, the transition into the rounded white pony's face seemed more natural than a human with an unnatural color scheme and features. My cutie mark, the shield, looked as bold as ever, just now fitting the body style much better than it did as a human. The rest of my nude body

As far as... my penis... I wasn't sure what to make of that. Right now, the majority of it was covered in a small, white-furred pouch. A furry's fucking wet dream, I'm sure. Only a small portion of it extended as I bumped the last few drips from it.

It was... black... and strangely shaped.

BANG BANG BANG. "Fire Department, anyone in there?" The sound came from my door, surprisingly one of only a few things left in such a state. I left my equipment inspection at that; the last fucking thing I needed right now is to try and evade human sight with a foot long dong. I cinch down the hoodie with a small application of magic. My horn stuck out, but my eyes and ears were hidden well enough. I could've been worse off changing into a pegasus and trying to hide wings. A horn shouldn't be that noticeable.

I don't bother trying to flush with the lack of hands now. I can't even bring myself to do magic. Back on all fours, I quickly stroll by my bed, fishing out the bug-out bag I had put together the night before from underneath a piece of ceiling, and sling it over my body. It's hardly an ideal fit, but cinched down, it remains in place. I raise my head, and give a look around the apartment. It was utterly devastated. The few scorch marks that weren't currently ablaze reminded me of what happened when I... experimented with my horn in the bathroom. When I had brought to mind the images I last saw in the dream, I came to the conclusion I had performed the magic in my sleep, while it was happening in the dream. Although Shining and Cadance's spell came with the intent of being benign, performing it for myself, unconsciously, had resulted in this.

THWACK. The sound of splintering wood, coming from my doorframe. I wanted a little more time, but the Fire Department's attempt to enter the room meant that time was at an end. I had also settled onto my only option for getting away from this place in the body of a pony. I look out the window again. My budget put me in one of the apartments on an odd corner; one of my windows faces inside an alleyway. This particular window was more or less decoration for all the "view" it provided, but I was ever thankful as I peered over the edge.

Then, one foot in front of the other, I launch myself through it. It's a brief, slow-motion feeling as the destroyed floor of my apartment leaves my view, and I see nothing but garbage bags fifty feet below me.

Shielding, personal. Impact protection, maximum strength.

It is the complete opposite of slow motion when I hurl towards the ground below. Instinctively, I activate my horn, and in a small explosion crash into the ground below.

Dispel.

The effects of my magic dissipate with a fizz, and the various pieces of garbage that were stuck to me fall to the ground. My chest and lungs work overtime, fighting off the shock of having just done that. I smiled to myself, coming to an understanding about my new sense-of-self. As in my dream, when it came to the moment, a natural urge in my body took control,

I didn't have time to dwell on this thought. The sudden casting caused another loud noise, and already I hear footsteps racing from the mouth of the alley. I start running on all fours towards the fence. My mind and my body came to a compromise; instincts carried my legs in the natural pattern of a four-legged animal. I thought nothing of it. No, I couldn't think of it. I had no idea how to run, and only by goading the fight-or-flight reactions within myself did I have a chance of getting out of this alive.

Instead, my brain mapped a path, and I spoke it aloud inside my head. First, I charge through a small hole in the bottom of the fence, big enough for the local dogs to run loose. The mouth of this alley spilled into a small cul-de-sac behind the apartment complex. From there, it was merely avoiding the--

--sirens. They weren't making noise, but they had already barricaded the street off. Just arrived, from the looks of it. The majority of them were still gearing up with assault rifles and armor. It surprised me to see this, but when I turn to look up the the burning shell of my apartment complex, it's understandable. If the magic I cast was anything close to the power used in the dream, people probably think it was some kind of bombing. I shoot a glance to the side of one of the armored trucks.

Department of Homeland Security.

Fuck. My worst fears are confirmed. If they're already on these streets, they're probably setting up a perimeter. I couldn't stay out in the open like this either, so I take off down the sidewalk away from the blockade. I only make it a few more feet before I trip and roll into another alleyway, my back pressed against the wall. The bag of gear I was carrying is torn from me as I go down

My legs had given up. Whatever animal brain that had taken over before was no longer present. I try to stand up, but my joints buckle under the combined sensation of trying to process how my new limbs work, and the sheer exhaustion from the past few days. Basic idiot-proof walking was fine enough in the apartment, but with my adrenaline maxed out and my brain entering a frantic state of panic, I couldn't simply put my feet in front of the other. I take another half-step and fall to the ground, grunting in pain.

"I've got movement," calls one of the urban commandos, several feet from the entrance of the alleyway I was now sitting in.  "Side alley, west side. Sounds like some kind of animal, but profile's possibly a human. Carrying a bag. I'm holding at the entrance, requesting backup and EOD, a-sap." His radio call is ended with the metallic clanking of his rifle chambering a round

I wasn't going to make it. I was going to die here as a pony. My legs scramble upright, and I stumble and crash into trash as my body launches itself deeper into the darkness. The animal brain realizes it. Fear and panic wrack it, thinking of only one thing: escape.

My progress is halted when I crash into something that doesn't give way for me this time. I immediately pick myself up and attempt to swerve around it. Only when it places two large arms on me do I freak out. I move to scream, and my horn charges with magic, ready to blast myself away from whomever grabbed hold of me.

Everything stops. Not just my magic, and my scream, but everything around us as well. Falling trash and soot from the apartment fire hangs in the air, suspended. Looking up at the building, I see licks of flames dancing in the air, detached from the body of the fire, frozen in time. When the two large limbs set me down and leave my shoulder, only then do I understand that the only two things moving are myself and the being before me. I jump back, looking at my attacker, as he steps forward through the light of my magic.

I stare in utter disbelief, as a rich blue body steps through the light, trailed by a flowing mane decorated with the same stars that hang in the sky above. A bright flash of lightning, green in color, cracks the sky overhead, illuminating the face...

...of Princess Luna.