Convergence

James patted Alex’s back, marveling at the gray hair.

“How are you holding up?”

Alex sighed, pondering the question.  Physically, he was as tough as a horse… literally.  How he was mentally, on the other hoof, was a completely different question.

“I don’t know James.  I’m trying to accept this, but I just can’t.  It’s so strange.  My mind keeps thinking that I’m still… me, but I’m not.”

Alex shook his head, his mane blowing in the breeze as the two friends walked along the walls of Canterlot castle.

“When I woke up this morning, I slid out of bed and stood up, and could hardly pull it off.  Then I remembered what had happened.”

Alex was slightly shaky, still learning how to walk on all fours.

“It’s just so weird.  I mean, even weirder than things already were.  I just can’t think right now.  There’s so much going on.”

James simply listened, letting Alex vent about recent events.

“There are a few benefits though.”

James took note of this statement.

“Really?  Like what?”

Alex chuckled a bit.

“Well at breakfast this morning, there was oats and hay and… you know what?  I liked it.  As in, I really, really liked it.  It tastes great now, and when I went for an apple, it tasted so good, like it was a piece of cake or chocolate or something…”

Alex licked his lips.  James laughed.

“You know, this is going to be weird, not only seeing you with hooves and all, but also eating grass!”

Alex scoffed.

“Come on man, I said that I was eating some strange stuff, but grass?  I mean, I never…”

He looked down at the grass growing in the gardens.

“What?”

Alex shuffled nervously.

“Well… now that you mention it, that grass does look rather appetizing…”

James couldn’t help but burst out laughing.  Alex laughed too.  Recovering, James asked;

“Ok, have you noticed anything else, other than your newfound love of plants?”

“Well…” Alex blushed.

James noticed the nervous look on Alex’s face.

“I think that the transformation has done more than mess with my tastes… I’m beginning to realize its screwing with the way I think too.”

James was curious.

“Like what?”

Alex blushed harder.

“Well… I’m beginning to notice…”

He stopped awkwardly.  James looked at his friend.

“What?”

Alex looked away.

“Twilight is actually sort of hot.”

James stared at Alex for a few seconds, processing the information.  Then he fell to his knees, laughing hysterically.  Alex looked back, clearly annoyed.

“IT’S NOT FUNNY!” He put his head in his hooves. “Something is seriously wrong with me!”

James got his laughter under control.

“I’m sorry but,” he let out another chuckle, “That is seriously even more ridiculous than you turning into a pony.”

Alex sighed.

“I know, I know… I’m just trying not to think about it right now.  You brought it up, ok?”

Alex was embarrassed at the admittance, and somewhat annoyed by James’ reaction.  Alex sighed again.

“Though that’s really been the least of my worries, I have more important things to deal with.  Like, what am I?”

The question put a final end to James’ mirth.

“What do you mean Alex? You’re you, and you always will be.”

Alex looked depressed.

“Maybe, but what am I really?”

He put his hooves up on the wall’s railing.

“I look like a pony, and I feel like a human, and I just want go back…”

Alex hung his head.

“I wish that we had never come here.”

James nodded slowly.

“Alex, I know that I don’t have any idea of what you’re going through right now, but maybe you should think about that for a minute.  Even if we hadn’t tested that bomb, somebody else would have.  Somebody else would have discovered this place.  Who knows if they would have done the same thing we have?”

Alex just sat, listening to James talk.

“Maybe this is screwing up our lives.  Maybe our lives were already screwed before we came here.  I don’t know.  But the thing is, we’re here, and as long as Nickelson is trying to blow this place up, or any place that’s full of innocent people, then we’re going to try and stop him.  Whatever it takes.”

James smiled down at his longtime friend.

“Maybe we’ll have to go through some more crap before it’s all over.  Maybe by the end of everything, I’ll be a duck and you’ll have grown wings.” Alex smiled a bit at that part.  “But whatever happens, I know that I would be willing to go through hell and back again to protect my town, and God help me, I think I’m willing to do the same for this place.  So, are you with me?”

James smiled at Alex, and stuck out his hand.  Alex hesitated, thinking over James words.  They were true, Alex had been willing to die if it meant keeping his country safe.  He knew that he would be willing to do the same, even as a little pony, to protect his country from itself.  He shoved his hoof forward, grasping James’ hand.

“You can bet your life I am.”

<(^)>

Swiftwing had barely had a moment to relax in Canterlot, before he had been called out once more.  After another long flight, on which he had glanced the ruins of Cloudsdale, he had settled into a tent in the middle of a large military camp.  His one encouragement on the journey was that he had learned his sister and her family had survived the Cloudsdale attack.  That was the only glimmer of good news he’d had.

He grunted as he slid on his armor.  First buckle, second buckle, the protective garment was slowly secured.  He admired the way the armor gleamed, how it emphasized his cutie mark.  He stared at the mark, an image of two lightning bolts flashing behind a sword.  He had gotten it the day he joined the military.  It had taken him longer than most colts, but it had been well worth the wait.

Sighing, he strapped on his weapons.  Soon he would determine whether or not the mark was an accurate depiction of his combat prowess.  Swiftwing trotted out of the tent, and surveyed the rest of the camp.  Metallic noises could be heard as weapons were sharpened and armor was mended.  The air was thick with the smoke of campfires.  Swiftwing looked towards the distant mount Ragnon.  Soon.

<(^)>

“Hiya!  My name Pinky Pie and I am so excited to meet you I mean when I first heard that there were things from another world I was like HUH but then I realized that there would be new ponies to meet but then I found out that they weren’t ponies at all but you are and…”

“Alright!  That’s enough Pinky!”

Twilight looked slightly annoyed with her pink friend.

“He’s kind of going through a lot of stress right now, so please try and take it easy on him?”

Pinky smiled even more than she had been already.

“Oki doki loki!”

Twilight nodded, and then looked back at Alex.

“Anyway, this is Pinky Pie, and as you can already tell, she’s excited to meet you.”

“SUPER excited.”

The pink pony interjected.

Alex grinned slightly, and held out a hoof.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

He had his hoof shaken vigorously by the mare.

“An’ I’m Apple Jack, it sure is mighty fine to be making your acquaintance Alex.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well.”

Alex turned to the next pony in the room, a yellow pegasus.

“Though I’m sure you’ve already heard, I’m Alex, what’s your name?”

Alex smiled and held out his hoof.

“I’m… I’m Fluttershy…”

Alex’s smile weakened slightly.

“Um, I didn’t quite catch that, can you say it one more time please?”

“Fl… Flut… Flutter…”

The Pegasus cringed in fear.

“Oh really, her name is Fluttershy, and she’s just always nervous when she’s meeting new ponies.  You should have seen her when we were introduced to your friend James, absolutely terrified!  Anyway, I’m Rarity, its simply wonderful to meet you.”

The white Unicorn offered a hoof, which Alex happily shook.  He was still rather stressed, but at least he had something to take his mind off the situation.  Alex turned to face the whole group.

“It’s awesome to finally meet all of you.  Twilight told me a bit about her friends, and you certainly live up to the description.”

“Aw, shucks Alex, the pleasures all ours.” Apple Jack took off her hat and smiled.

Alex ran a hoof through his mane, lifting it slightly.  Twilight watched as his horn could be fully seen for a second, then the mane dropped back again, obscuring the base of it.  Wait… Horn…

“Horn!” Twilight shouted.

Everypony else just looked over at her, confused.

“Oh my gosh I am so sorry everypony, but I totally forgot!  Princess Celestia told me that I had to teach Alex some basic magic control, or else he might accidently hurt somepony!”

“Oh, um, alright, well I guess that is rather important, so… see you later!”

Rarity nodded.

Twilight smiled in appreciation.

“I’m glad that you understand.  We’ll see you at dinner, good bye!”

Twilight pushed Alex out the door, swinging it shut behind them.  She sighed.

“I am really sorry about that, but we really need to take care of your magic.  I mean, no offense, but I have to give you some instruction, or you could accidently hurt somepony.”

Alex grinned slightly.

“Oh, I understand, I guess I didn’t even think about being able to use magic though.  I just wish you could have been a little less rushed about it.”

Twilight started walking off, motioning Alex to follow him.

“I know, it just slipped my mind, that’s all, and it’s REALLY important.  I remember the first time I used a large amount of magic before I knew how to control it.”

She laughed a little.

“I turned my parents into plants.”

Twilight glanced at Alex, seeing that he was startled.

“Oh, um, their fine now, it was only for a few seconds.”

This brought some memories rushing back to Alex’s mind.

“As opposed to my transformation?”

Twilight’s smile disappeared,

“I really am sorry about that, but that’s the thing about uncontrolled magic.  I still don’t have any idea how it happened.  There probably is a way to turn you back, but we just haven’t discovered it yet.  I promise you, I’m working on it, but the chances are… you’ll at least be stuck like this for a while.”

Alex nodded.

“Alright, well, at least being able to levitate stuff and whatnot sounds like fun.”

He chuckled a little.

“Maybe after you teach me magic, I won’t want to go back to being human.”

“I don’t know, isn’t it awfully strange?”

Twilight looked at him as they walked.  Alex nodded.

“It’s all a little odd really… I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit, I guess.  Like I said though, I’m not angry with you in anyway Twilight, I’m just happy that you saved my life.”

The Lavender unicorn was silent for a little while, before they turned into a new hallway.  Twilight motioned to the first doorway.

“In here please.”

Alex followed Twilight through the door, and into the rather large room beyond it.

“Where are we?”

Twilight smiled, “This is where I practiced magic when Princess Celestia first took me on as a pupil here.”

She looked around the room, and her smile grew.

“I have a lot of good, and rather strange, memories in this room.”

Alex looked around, eyeing the book shelves, glass jars, and work tables.

“Strange?”

Twilight nodded.

“Thus is the nature of magic.”

She levitated two chairs over.

“Please, sit down.”

Alex sat on one of the chairs, and Twilight seated herself across from him.

“Now, we’re going to start with the basics, just lighting your horn.”

Twilight made her own horn glow for emphasis.

“It’s basically as simple as magic gets, and we should always start with the basics.  We’ll just go as far as we can today, depending on how well you progress, although the main point is teaching you to control your magic.”

Alex nodded.

“Ok, all you have to do is, it’s hard to explain to new magic users but, try and channel your energy into your horn.”

Alex looked at Twilight blankly.

Twilight thought of a better explanation.

“Just focus as much as you can on your horn, you can feel it right?”

“Yes, and thankfully, it no longer feels like it weighs a million tons.”

Twilight laughed.

“I guess that’s a good sign, but just go ahead and try what I said.”

Alex nodded, determined to see how magic worked exactly.  He began to focus on his horn, trying to…  Alex gasped.  He felt something that he had never experienced before.  It was like a cool, tingling pit, a vault that he had never had access to before.  Energy.  The thought rang in his mind.  So that’s what she meant…  He focused on the cool reserve, feeling it race through him.  He felt like he could manipulate it, call upon it…  He once more focused on his horn, this time mentally “grabbing” the energy.

Twilight sat on the edge of her seat, carefully watching Alex.  His face was scrunched up in concentration.  Twilight stared intently at his light gray horn.  A flicker suddenly ripped across it.  She held her breath.  Slowly, very slowly, the horn began to glow.  A gray and green aura surrounded it, giving off light.  The light slowly grew brighter, until it was almost blinding.  It suddenly vanished, as if someone had blown out a candle.

Alex smiled ear to ear.

“I did it!”

He leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling.

“That was incredible, I mean, I’ve never felt like that before, it felt like a stream of cool water was flowing around my horn!”

He let out a breath.

“I can’t believe it!”

Twilight smiled at the gleeful ex-human.  She knew what he was talking about.

“You did well, especially for a first attempt, most unicorns can never pull it off on their first try, sometimes even their first day.”

He looked at her.

“Well… I’m thankful for the flattery, but I would be willing to guess that most unicorns start learning magic when they’re a lot younger than I am.  Correct?”

Twilight hesitated.

“Well… yes, most of the time they start learning at about the age of six, but still, you did really well for your first time ever!”

“Thanks Twilight.”

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

“Wait, Twilight… your Princess Celestia’s personal student, does that mean that you’re really good at magic?”

Twilight looked at him like he was kidding.

“Are you joking around, I mean, magic is my cutie mark and all.”

“Um, Cutie mark?”

Alex stared at Twilight.  She stared back.

“You mean that I seriously never explained that to you?”

“Explained… what?”

Alex stared at her blankly.

“Cutie marks!”

Twilight shifted in her chair, showing off her own mark.  Alex stared down at the colorful stars that adorned Twilight’s flank.  Then he turned to look at his own.  It was blank, a simple light gray, just like the rest of his body.  He thought back, about how all the ponies he had seen had marks on their flanks.

“So… what are they?”

Twilight returned to her original position.

“Well, you see, a cutie mark appears on a ponies’ flank when they discover their special talent, or their destiny, or whatever it is that makes them different, and special.  Sometimes, they symbolize something about the ponies’ future.”

“So I don’t have one… because…”

Alex looked at her.

“Well, there are a number of possibilities, one, it could just be that you were originally human, so you simply won’t get one, which I highly doubt.”

Alex thought it over.  On one hand, it would certainly help him fit in if he did get one of these marks, while on the other hand, he wasn’t quite sure if he wanted anything on his body that involved the word “cutie.” Twilight continued.

“The one that I believe is the most likely, is that you don’t have a cutie mark because you haven’t discovered your special talent, your purpose, so to speak.”

Alex slowly nodded.

“So you do think, that maybe, I will get one though?”

Twilight smiled.

“I’m almost positive that you will, unless we figure out a way to change you back very, very soon.”

Alex thought for a moment.

“Well that should be an… interesting experience.”

Twilight grinned.

“Trust me when I tell you, you will never forget getting your cutie mark.”

She sighed.

“I got mine as soon as Princess Celestia took me on as her personal student.”

Her eyes were almost dreamy for a second.  Then she shook her head.

“Anyway, we should really get back to the lesson, I want to try teaching you some basic telekinesis spells…”

Alex smiled, and eagerly listened to Twilight’s instructions.

<(^)>

“Commander on deck!”

The bridge crew snapped to attention as Admiral Peter Wiley strode onto the bridge of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, a Nimitz class aircraft carrier.  Peter looked around, and then shouted, “At ease!”

The crew returned to their tasks.  Peter looked at his second in command, Captain Bartlett.

“I want you to tell the task force to turn around and set course for San Diego, we’re going home.”

The captain stared at the admiral.

“Um, as you wish sir, but might I ask why?”

Peter sighed, then repositioned his hat upon his head.

“I’ll explain more later, but for now, let’s just say that the country has more use for us at home than chugging through the south pacific.”

“Yes sir!”

The captain saluted, before dashing off.  Admiral Wiley took a seat in his chair, looking out over the flight deck of the carrier and the ocean beyond.

“Navigation!”

He called, “Set a course back to our home port, flank speed.”

“Yes sir!”

The huge ship began to turn in the ocean, surrounded by its escort.  The steel giant slowly began to make its way home.